Rockstar Quietly Introduced Energy Waters

The three flavors of Rockstar Energy’s new Energy Waters: Citrus, Orange Tangerine, Blueberry Pomegranate Acai.

Rockstar Energy showcased their Rockstar Energy Water over 18 months ago at the 2012 NACS Show, but never divulged the launch date.  The energy drink manufacturer’s enhanced water offerings were quietly introduced in September 2013, and has recently launched into Canada.  Via Rockstar Energy Canada’s Facebook page – the three flavors of Citrus, Orange Tangerine, and Blueberry Pomegranate Acai – launched February 24.

Beyond their energy drink’s portfolio breadth, Rockstar has been traditionally known for their innovative and attention-grabbing packaging.  Their energy drinks come in aluminum cans that have matte finishes (Rockstar Recovery series) and slim cans with straws (Rockstar Pink).  However, their foray into enhanced waters have stayed with safer packaging resembling other products that define the segment landscape.  Even as packaging can help demonstrate a product’s unique features, Rockstar has chosen to play it safe since they do not have a strong brand name.  Their packaging resembles that the glaceau’s vitaminwater packaging, the clear market leader.  Perhaps Rockstar is looking to enter this segment as a follower and build up credibility as a key competitor in this segment before experimenting with its packaging.

The launch of Rockstar Energy Water is also an indication of the energy drink manufacturer’s goals to diversify beyond energy drinks.  Similar to Starbucks’ aim to expand outside coffee and Monster Energy’s expansion into teas, Rockstar is leveraging their expertise in energy drinks to introduce other caffeinated beverage products.  These new products are targeted toward a different consumer, and will be placed in other beverage sections within convenience and grocery stores.  With more touch points in the grocery aisles, Rockstar now has more opportunities to connect with the shopper: both the energy drink shopper and the enhanced water shopper.

As Rockstar targets a new consumer demographic, their marketing message and vehicles should also change.  Energy drink companies have forged strong ties with extreme sports athletes since their products fit that particular demographic and lifestyle.  Their new beverages may need to start communicating on other media channels (ie TV, print, digital) and communicating differently to identify more closely with this demographic’s behaviors and needs.  While some analysts expect Rockstar Energy Waters to go after the same “energy” consumer, there are bound to be new interest.  At the same time, communicating similar messages within identical media platforms dilutes the overall product awareness.

Even as Rockstar Energy Drink continues to increase its availability, two key challenges they must address are awareness and consideration. Their February launch showed that they have only communicated to the public through sporting events and social media.  How will they improve their awareness?  And with their competition firmly entrenched in shopper’s minds when they are looking to buy enhanced waters, what will Rockstar Energy Water do to have the shopper consider trying Rockstar Energy Water?

Seeing that expansion is a key growth opportunity, Rockstar’s broader portfolio is a good first start.  If they continue supporting these new drinks and work to build both awareness and consideration, Rockstar can become a strong player across both the energy drink and enhanced waters segments.

Pepsi Next May Find More Success in Canada

After launching in other parts of the world for the past two years, Pepsi Next officially launched in Canada.  Unlike the American version that contains 60% less sugar compared to the regular Pepsi, the Canadian version contains 30% less sugar.  The difference is a function of the sweetener composition.  The American version is sweetened with artificial sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose.  The Canadian version is naturally sweetened with stevia extract. This difference affects how Pepsi Next is marketed on both sides of the border.  How will Canadian consumers respond to Pepsi Next and its marketing communications?  More curiously, how much of the marketing communication will be customized to the Canadian market?

Pepsi supported Pepsi Next’s introduction with a pre-launch promotion, partnering with the NHL and the Heritage Classic hockey game in Vancouver.  Here is part of the Canadian consumer reaction to the beverage as captured by Pepsi below.  The initial consensus indicates positive response to the beverage.

While mid-calorie soda is still an emerging product area for Canadians, it is certainly on point with what most people are looking for.  Canadian consumers are more health-conscious and more proactive at seeking out healthy food offerings.  Sugar intake and calories per serving are more top of mind for Canadians shopping within grocery stores.  A product that provides the same taste without any bitter aftertaste (like the American Pepsi Next) and contains less sugar helps to lessen the guilty burden.  Naturally sweetened with stevia also helps to increase adoption since artificial sweeteners are also perceived to be less healthy.  Consider Pepsi Next similar to the early successes of the vitaminwater Canadian launch.  The enhanced water brand pioneered a new segment with a health-based product positioning at a time when consumers were beginning to question what they eat and drink on a daily basis.  The beverage met their requirements given its appeal as a great tasting healthy product.  While Pepsi Next is still a soft drink and cannot be considered “healthy” in the traditional sense, it is healthier relative to the other soft drinks.

Following it’s launch, Pepsi Next has ran a TV commercial adapted from the American Pepsi Next “Baby” spot.  The Canadian version included some very noticeable differences.  The key components being the refreshed packaging, the slogan of “Taste It to Believe It”, and of course, the “30% less sugar”.  The call to action of “Taste It to Believe It” is clearly catering to the Canadian audience.  The American slogan is “Drink It to Believe It”.  The customized “Taste” instead of “Drink” speaks toward a different value system between the two countries.  “Drink” implies consuming the entire beverage.  “Taste” obviously imply giving the product a try.  Perhaps the Canadian population may be more cautious at first toward trying a new beverage, but adapting the slogan clearly shows customizing the message toward the Canadian audience.  In order for Pepsi Next to succeed in Canada, this is a great first step.

The truly telling piece will be how Pepsi Next is supported following the launch period.  We know from earlier articles that Dr Pepper TEN and Pepsi Next are not sustaining earlier launch-period sales following reduced media support (article here).  With less attention dedicated toward the product, consumer focus will shift toward other health option.  Pepsi Next can maintain its launch momentum and also continue its early success if it keeps advertising to maintain its awareness levels .  Let’s hope the Canadian marketing team learns from what happened in the U.S. and find more success than its neighbors south of the border.

Coca-Cola’s Reply to SodaStream: Keurig Cold

Courtesy of nytimes.com

Most people by now may have heard of Coca-Cola purchasing an investment stake with the makers of the Keurig machines – Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR).  For those that haven’t, there’s some quick information from the New York Times here.  As a result of this deal, Coca-Cola appears to be making its first foray into small home appliances and endear itself more closely with consumers.  Experts have called this a great deal for both companies, providing each with mutual benefits.  But is this really the case where both companies benefit?  And what about other companies, should companies like Pepsi, SodaStream, or Starbucks be concerned?  Let’s take a quick look, first at the participating companies and then toward the others that are potentially affected.

For GMCR, this is partnership born out of necessity that will secure their footing in the single-serve beverage marketplace.  Following 2012, Green Mountain’ single-pod (K-Cup) cup patent expired and paved the way for other manufacturers (namely store brands) that could make these beverage pods cheaper.  To ensure survival of this increasingly rich revenue stream (more than two-thirds of the company’s revenues come from these pods), GMCR took to forming licensing agreements.  Coca-Cola was added to a licensing roster that already includes Starbucks, Lipton, Snapple, Timothy’s, Kahlua, and many more.  With a Keurig machine that produces single-serve hot beverages and now one that can product single-serve cold beverages, Green Mountain has certainly done well to ensure its survival.  With Coca- Cola’s reach across the consumer distribution channels, the Keurig machine will see dramatic business growth over the course of their 10-year pact.  Think of what Coca-Cola has done for beverage brands like evian, Monster, and vitaminwater.  An even better scenario would be signing Pepsi to a licensing agreement as well, which will further increase the Keurig’s machine placement among households and strengthen their dominance in making branded single-serve pods.

With Coca-Cola, this is a partnership that further segments the beverage landscape, and answers competitive pressure from new entrants to the ever-changing beverage market.  Coca-Cola is undoubtedly answering SodaStream’s “Sorry Coke and Pepsi” campaign about how the global beverage manufacturer is creating waste through its plastic bottles.  With single-serve pods and small home appliances, Coca-Cola is able to compete in a position similar to SodaStream – providing carbonated beverages at home without the need for plastic bottles.  And Coca-Cola now has an opportunity to exist on the counter shelf within the household, in addition to the refrigerator, pantry and garage.  Think about the ability to remind the consumer to consumer or purchase your product when your products are so pervasive within their household.  The next step to success for Coca-Cola may be investigating opportunities to leverage Coca-Cola Freestyle (create your own beverage mix) with the Keurig Cold, building on consumer insights to provide custom combinations and offer exclusive flavors “voted” by consumers.

Courtesy of belloblog.com. Scarlett Johansson stars for SodaStream’s 2014 SuperBowl spot – “Sorry Coke and Pepsi”.

For SodaStream, this marks their inclusion into the Soda Wars that has primarily existed between Coca-Cola and Pepsi over the past few decades.  If you keep on making eye-catching commercials targeted against the beverage conglomerates, they are certain to pay attention and respond.  This may be detrimental to SodaStream given the extra competition toward securing household counter space, but it also calls for innovation and a return to focus on the product benefits.  SodaStream’s foundation is still their ability to make soda at home, less expensive and without the use of plastic bottles.  Similar to GMCR, SodaStream must innovate and work to secure more licensing agreements.  Beyond Kraft and Ocean Spray, SodaStream may also work to sign on other brands such as Pepsi, Dr Pepper, and many more.

Now that Coca-Cola has invested into single-serve pods, it’s almost certain that Pepsi will respond in some way with their own pod offerings.  They responded in the past to Coke Zero with Pepsi Max and Dasani Drops with Aquafina FlavorSplash, amidst a host of other gap-filling products.  Pepsi surely won’t allow Coca-Cola to dominate the consumer’s counter space when their own offerings are just as robust, so it will only be a matter of time before Pepsi take the Soda War to the small home appliance.  The question is when and with whom.

The dark horse in all this may actually be Starbucks.  Starbucks had trademarked the name “Fizzio” with the intent to produce their own carbonated beverages.  To expand on their own burgeoning beverage empire, Starbucks may need to move up the deadline for when the Fizzio will be launched, or partner more closely with GMCR to serve both hot and cold single-serve beverage pods.

This news of Coca-Cola and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters signing a 10-year agreement has certainly created ripples across the industry.  The impact that has yet to be fully fleshed out with retailers as well, and that itself will be another article in the coming weeks.

Coca-Cola Expands “Official” Olympic Drink Portfolio

Courtesy of eprize.com

It’s another year for the Olympic games, this time in Sochi.  For Coca-Cola, every Olympic year is a boon based on the event partnership agreement where they hold the distinction of official Olympic non-alcoholic beverage partner.  As one of the Olympics’ global partners, the beverage giant pays about $100M to monopolize non-alcoholic beverage serving rights in all Olympic venues (other global partners hold exclusivity in their respective industries).  In recent years, the definition of “non-alcoholic beverage” has expanded to include more than just carbonated soft drinks.  Coca-Cola has gained exclusivity to serve sports drinks (Powerade), juices (Minute Maid), and waters (Dasani, vitaminwater) over the past few Olympics games.  The “Olympic Wolrdwide Partner” logo has also started appearing on Coca-Cola’s ZICO coconut water brand lately.  So given the substantial cost, how beneficial is it for Coca-Cola to be a worldwide Olympic partner?  And with the expanded definition of “non-alcoholic beverage”, which product categories are next to gain Official Olympic product status?

Despite a cost of $100M each active Olympic year, Coca-Cola has renewed their Olympic partnership until 2020.  It would appear that this agreement delivers substantive returns.  For one, Coca-Cola has blocked out their global competitor in all product categories that the conglomerate participates in.  No Pepsi-branded soft drinks, Aquafina, Gatorade, or Tropicana can be served within all Olympic-event venues.  Brand visibility is another partnership benefit.  Every game or after-party event that becomes broadcasted will feature a Coca-Cola logo or Coca-Cola beverage product.  Live viewers and spectators may only celebrate with Coca-Cola branded products and nothing else.  Positive associations is another partnership benefit.  Spectators seeing their athletes win also see them hydrating themselves with Coca-Cola products.  These same spectators will associate hard work, performance, and winning all being supported by Coca-Cola.  From a qualitative perspective, these are invaluable benefits that Coca-Cola has been able to enjoy – reduced competition, brand visibility, and positive associations.

Courtesy of designyoutrust.com

With changing taste preferences among spectators and athletes alike, incorporating other product categories as “Official Drinks” certainly makes sense.  Some people will choose carbonated soft drinks, some will want flavored water, and still some people prefer juices.  With coconut water emerging as a beverage category, expansion to include this as an Olympic-approved beverage makes sense.  However, increased exposure of Olympic branding potentially cheapens the Olympic brand with broader availability on all products – not just beverages.  Furthermore, not all products will be suitable to display the Olympic logo on its packaging.  For example, energy drinks may be one category that could be denied Official Olympic product status given possible negative associations despite the category growth.  Within Coca-Cola beverage portfolio, it’s likely that liquid enhancers (Dasani Drops, Powerade Drops) and teas (Honest Tea, Fuze) could gain approval should they apply for it.  Both these categories are enjoying growth and have fewer negative associations portrayed by the media.

Coca-Cola has been one of many key sponsors that has supported the Olympic games through the years, and it appears that both parties are satisfied with the results.  2020 is still three more Olympic games away, but given the goodwill both parties have been generated, it’s very possible that this relationship goes well beyond 2020.

Lost in Translation: vitaminwater Canadian Promotion Goes Awry

vitaminwater’s promotion blunder. Image courtesy of Metro through adweek.com

Over the last few weeks, glaceau vitaminwater have come under scrutiny for its under-the-cap promotion that spelled out the words “YOU RETARD” (story link here).  As a bilingual Canada nation that calls English and French as its national languages, certain words may not translate so well.  vitaminwater’s promotional intent was to put one English and one French word under the cap, with the consumer collecting the caps to make funny sentences.  Apparently the problem was that the English list of words and the French list of words were separately approved and no one thought of what the consequences should both words were combined.  These consequences were amplified given that the family finding these words were a special needs family.  Doug Loates (the dad) sent Coca-Cola a letter immediately letting them know of his displeasure toward their campaign and how hurtful it was to his family.  As you see from the letter (below), he has signed it as “an ex-Coke drinker” which likely means that they have lost a customer for life.

As the glaceau business unit goes into public relations defense, what can be learnt in this situation?  The obvious lesson is to develop stronger approval systems when running a bilingual campaign in Canada (as in any other nation with more than one national language). Ensuring that the correct message is not lost in translation is critical and avoids the company any negative PR and embarrassment.  If there was a business team that handles the French marketing and another team that handles English marketing, then these two teams must collaborate more closely to ensure each party is dialed in to what the other team is doing.  Ultimately the national campaign is approved by someone that manages both teams, so that executive should also be aware of the consequences.

Aside from focusing on the directly results of this campaign, one has to wonder why vitaminwater ran this type of a campaign in the first place.  If the intent was to stimulate sales by having beverage enthusiasts collect the caps to create words, is there a prize for the funniest word?  Or was it simply a game for instant gratification by combining words together?  I have not noticed any type of media promotion to build awareness or excitement for this campaign in either case.  vitaminwater may have fared better had they simply piggybacked off of Coca-Cola’s iCoke.ca loyalty program.  After all, with an existing infrastructure where consumers are already knowledgeable of the reward system, this would make it easier to achieve the campaign’s objectives.

The next time vitaminwater runs a marketing campaign that spans the nation, we’ll see whether they have truly learned their lesson.  Will it be regional promotions with stricter guidelines for English- and French-speaking provinces?  Or will it be the same problem?

Doug Loates’ letter to Coca-Cola on finding the vitaminwater bottle cap

what happened to vitaminwater?

Since the explosion of vitaminwater on to the beverage scene years ago, momentum appears to have subsided for the brand and enhanced waters.  It seems that a variety of market conditions has reduced excitement for vitaminwater to just another product on the shelf.  There are certainly more reasons behind the brand’s continued decline, but BevWire will detail three major contributing market conditions.  

Market Condition #1 – vitaminwater has benefited and been obstructed by being a part of Coca-Cola’s beverage family.  As highlighted briefly in an earlier post about Zevia, vitaminwater saw immense benefits from the Coca-Cola acquisition.  The enhanced water brand entered a broader distribution network that vastly improved the brand’s availability.  At the same time, their initial marketing strategy was to be driven by “consumer demand”, relying on key influencers to spread word for the product.  This type of demand ensured that consumers and retailers were willing to pay a premium, and made discounting less unnecessary.  However, as Pepsi’s Aquafina Plus (in Canada) and SoBe Lifewater (in the U.S.) kept on promoting at enormous discounts, vitaminwater was compelled to react.  Without their premium positioning, vitaminwater became just another brand in Coca-Cola’s portfolio that had to fight for promotional dollars.  And with Coca-Cola focused on growing its sparkling business of Red (Coca-Cola),  Silver (Diet Coke), and Black (Coke Zero), a host of beverage brands lost promotional funding.  After initial success in the Canadian market from 2007 to roughly 2010, the vitaminwater has slowly lost market visibility as advertising support shifted more to other Coca-Cola properties.

Market Condition #2 – shifting consumer trends and preferences, highlighted by more juice, tea and energy drink entrants.  Since 2010, we have seen more product releases coming out from the juice, energy drink and ready-to-drink tea segments.  Starbucks was a strong force that expedited this trend.  Their acquisitions of Evolution Fresh and Teavana, along with their Starbucks Refreshers product launch gave them greater market coverage and allowed them to capitalize on the consumer trends.  In energy, the big three of Red Bull, Rockstar, and Monster all had product innovations enter the marketplace.  And also some negative media attention that led to consumers increasingly purchase these products to find out what whether all the extra attention was merited.  With consumers increasingly empahsizing health benefits – and vitaminwater also paying attention to this with their vitaminwater zero production introduction – the natural benefits of juice and tea became top of mind.  Because vitaminwater was relatively less healthy than these other products in the emerging segments, consumers shifted their purchase dollars from enhanced waters to juices, teas, and energy drinks.

 

via forum.smartcanucks.ca – just one of many Aquafina Plus coupons. This one is a fairly reasonable 33% discount.

Market Condition #3 – retailers react to new reality of people’s purchase habits.  Following the economic recession (that some still think we’re in), many Canadians buying behavior has focused more intensively on price.  That is not to say that they are not willing to pay more, but the value-benefit equation is more influential of their purchase decision.  Retailers have long pressured manufacturers for price concessions and finally Coca-Cola gave in to price promotions on vitaminwater in 2010 – around the time its descent began.  What happened next was more price cutting by its competitors to maintain their own sales – Aquafina Plus discounts became much deeper than before.  Ultimately this leads to the current situation, which is reduced segment value.  Since vitaminwater is no longer the premium brand that it once was, retail support started to transfer to other segments.  Shelf space for vitaminwater was compromised, and sku rationalization also start to slowly creep in.

While these three conditions do not represent the entirety of why vitaminwater is losing steam, it summarizes what is happening.  There are both internal and external contributors.  However, all hope shouldn’t be lost on the segment itself.  More competitors will look to redefine the value equation because the market leader is down.  Bottled water sales itself is on the incline.  And other vitamin beverages like Karma, Activate, and even Rockstar Energy Waters look to carve out their own niche in the marketplace.  Liquid enhancers such as Dasani Drops, Kraft MiO, Crystal Light Liquid are also seeing sales gains too.

Just wait to see how vitaminwater will react to the competitive pressure and what they might do to revive the one-time darling of the beverage industry.

Zevia’s Organic Growth Differentiates Them From vitaminwater

Courtesy of Zevia.com

Zevia recently announced that they were adding three more all-natural soda flavors to their Canadian offerings.  Cherry Cola, Dr. Zevia and Caffeine Free Cola joined the existing Canadian selection that included Cola, Cream Soda, and Ginger Ale among many other flavors.  In total, that brings their total portfolio to 11 sodas for the Canadian market.  Our American counterparts only have four incremental flavors than us, which may prove that our taste preferences are not really all that different.  See all the Zevia flavors here.  However, with the proliferation of soda flavors, will Zevia run into a problem that we have seen with another beverage offering: glaceau vitaminwater?  Will this end up being detrimental to Zevia in the long term, as we have seen vitaminwater peak and start to decline with reduced advertising support?

In more ways than one, Zevia and vitaminwater have common ground that would lead us to come to this conclusion of Zevia’s possible rise and fall.  For one, both beverage brands capitalized on consumption trends.  Zevia gained market acceptance as consumers became increasingly interested in all things “all-natural”.  vitaminwater gained sales as consumers started to look for something less boring than bottled water.  And because both were the leaders of their respective categories, their growth became synonymous with their segment’s growth.  Both companies started out as independent outfits separate from global beverage manufacturers.  vitaminwater as most of know may know, is now a part of Coca-Cola, despite all the separation the hydration brand is trying to create between them.  In terms of product offerings, both have great tasting products that stretch into the double digits.  It is a very plausible assumption to think that Zevia will follow vitaminwater’s path.

However, what sets Zevia a part from this comparison is that they are still a stand-alone entity and not a division within a larger beverage organization.  That makes a world of difference.  While they may not have the luxury of stronger financial backing, they are also growing themselves organically.  When vitaminwater was brought into Coca-Cola, the hydration brand was given much stronger product distribution and piggy-backed off of Coca-Cola’s distribution network.  This helped vitaminwater gain strong market visibility, and at a much quicker rate than when they stood separately.  Unfortunately, the downside of being in a conglomerate beverage company also proved detrimental to vitaminwater.  As Coca-Cola shifted their focus inward to grow their core offerings of Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero, vitaminwater as well as other beverages in their portfolio suffered.  They received less advertising and promotional support.  Zevia will continue to grow because they are their own company, and their sole dedication is toward this beverage brand.

Zevia is also not as celebrity-endorsed as vitaminwater.  With celebrity endorsements, they could endorse one beverage now and change their endorsement later when another refreshment company provides them with a more lucrative deal.  And while Zevia has less star power than vitaminwater, they are also certainly less volatile given the celebrity’s reputation.  For example, if a celebrity was perceived negatively by the media, the products and services they endorse would receive a “halo effect” and also be viewed as negative.  Take Tiger Woods and Nike a few years back.  Or does anyone want to have Lindsay Lohan as your spokeswoman right now?

In any case, Zevia should continue to rise while vitaminwater continues to experience growing pains.  While Zevia may still yet encounter the same problems that vitaminwater is currently going through, they still have a ways to go.  The all-natural trend is here to stay, and all-natural sweeteners are getting more widely accepted by consumers.  Let’s just hope that Zevia keeps these things in mind should a similar scenario arise for them.

vitaminwater spark…Yet Another Flavor

Regular readers of the blog will know that though I’m a fan of vitaminater as a brand, my belief is that this many varieties of vitaminwater undoubtedly cause cannibalization.  vitaminwater spark launched in mid-February, bringing the total count to 11 (9 vitaminwater flavors and 2 vitaminwater10) flavors.  spark is a blueberry grape flavor and has all the natural ingredients and healthy benefits that the other alternatives possess – it’s just a different flavor.

Unless spark has a niche following of open wallet consumers, it may follow vitaminwater rescue to be discontinued after some time on the market.  In any case, there is only so much demand for vitaminwater, or enhanced waters as a whole.  A consumer  that chooses any number of flavors will eventually stick to one or two, and keep on going back to these trusted choices.  Some (not all) of the remaining flavors may be popular but not to the same level as the favorites.  These flavors also remain on shelves contributing to incremental sales.  But since a grocery store has limited shelf space and must determine planograms, it is unlikely that all 11 flavors will be on shelf.

So how many flavors does a grocery store carry of vitaminwater, and how much shelf space does vitaminwater get?  Without getting into too much detail, vitaminwater’s top 4 flavors make up nearly 60% of their overall sales in the 20oz bottle size.  If the store manager or a category manager must make decisions to cut out flavors or keep only the best selling flavors (to make way for new products), usually 4 flavors of vitaminwater are kept.  So far, spark is not generating as much sales as XXX, focus, multi-V or essential.  Though its still very new to the market, I doubt it will match any of those item’s sales.

Therefore, it is like that there are no volume thresholds that spark must meet in order for glaceau to keep it on shelf, except providing their hydration experts (sales representatives) with incentives to keep pushing this product.

Next time you head into a grocery or convenience store where this product is sold, take a quick count of what flavors of vitaminwater are on shelf, and if spark is among those.  If the two new introductions before spark are not even on shelf, then it’s likely that the particular retailer does not have  an appetite to try any more vitaminwater flavors.

glaceau smartwater: Jennifer Aniston Has a Sex Tape

Jennifer Aniston doesn’t really have a sex tape, but the original name for her video ad that she made for smartwater was named a sex tape, that’s all.  glaceau smartwater has been using Jennifer Aniston as their spokeswoman for some time and the water company has been known to come up with entertaining advertisements for some time now.  This new video shows their creativity in getting people’s attention again.  The video features a kid lip-syncing a popular song, puppies, babies dancing, double rainbow plug, groin kicks, and cheesy porn music – each element being successful in getting viewer’s attention online lately, all rolled into one satirical video.  And then it finishes reminding you about smarrtwater being pure.

This ad’s been getting a lot of negative attention from the internet viewers, saying that the ad isn’t creative and tacky.  The claim is that the video doesn’t really have any creativity – all it does is have a celebrity spokeswoman and an attention-grabbing video title.  However, how do you define the success of any advertisement, wouldn’t getting attention be deemed successful?  Looking at alternate video sensations, aren’t Old Spice, Paul Vasquez (double rainbow guy), and Volkswagen’s Mini Darth Vader successful because of their ability to get your attention?

If we were to look at it in the traditional way of AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action from the university advertising textbooks), this video may be considered a success.  It has gained instant attention and interest given its title and has many people searching out the video online to view it to find out what this “Jennifer Aniston sex tape” is all about.  On the desire spectrum, this video may fall short because in the entire video only about 30 seconds are spent to tell you what the product is all about (purest tasting water there is).  For action, the sales results will measure will show how successful this ad is with sales before and after the video ad.

Another way to look at it, despite negative attention is the overarching goal of advertising.  Companies advertise to get your attention and peak your interest in their product, and increase it’s share of mind.  The video has shot up internet video ranking charts and has more people aware about the product; not sure about knowledge of the product’s benefits itself, but it has certainly made more people know it’s out there.  So if that’s the main goal of advertising, I would say that it’s pretty successful.  If smartwater were executing a multiple-phased ad campaign, then this would definitely be phase one where people are made aware of the product itself (and then later phases educating the consumer on the product’s benefits on how pure the water is and how it’s been manufactured).

Only smartwater’s marketing guys can truly tell you if this video has been a success or not, but the video has already gotten 6.5 million youtube views in a little over a week’s time.  Not too shabby.

update: Advertising Age says that the Jennifer Aniston video ranks as this week’s top viral video (most unique views).   See article and ranking chart here.

vitaminwater10 arrives in Canada

BevWire recently recently wrote about new vitaminwater being introduced to the Canadian market (read here) and it turns out it was true but slightly inaccurate.  It turns out that yes, there will be more vitaminwater, but now it’s in the 10-calorie per bottle format.  Same bottle, similar packaging, and promising the same great taste with less calories.  In order to bring the calorie content down to 10, these two new flavors are naturally sweetened with Truvia (a plant based sweetener).

Two flavors are entering the Canadian market – Recoup and Go Go. Recoup will be a peach-mandarin flavor, and Go Go being a mixed berry flavor.  Recoup’s side label copy – (cue: movie trailer voice guy) in a world of neurotic bosses, in-laws, dying cell phones and agonizing relationship talks, one bottle stands alone.  naturally sweetened with only 10 calories per bottle and armed with vitamins b3, b5, b6, & b12 this tasty force of hydration can help you cope with whatever life throws your way, coming to tastebuds near you. And Go Go’s side label copy – how can you possibly be reading this label right now? isn’t there a meeting that you should be in? a gym you’ve been paying for? when everyday is a marathon something’s gotta give.  fortunately, this delicious source of hydration you’re holding has some vitamins and nutrients to help motivate you towards your daily finish line.  and to sweeten – or naturally sweeten – the deal,  we made it with only 10 calories.  now hurry and go – you’re already late! These two new flavors can be found anywhere your regular vitaminwater is sold – grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and mass merchandisers.

Is this a good time for glaceau to launch vitaminwater10?  While they are the market leader in the enhanced waters category, they are late to join the 10 calorie niche.  Aquafina Plus10 stepped into the Canadian market nearly a year ago and vitaminwater10 is only being made available?  We know that vitaminwater10 will be successful when it enters, but why take so long to come out with the innovations?  And will this mean that there will be less regular vitaminwater flavors now that there’s a 10 calorie version?

It turns out that Aquafina Plus10 has been experiencing a natural transition from the regular Aquafina Plus to the Aquafina Plus10 and also slightly growing market share.  This is likely related to a few factors: healthier perception of a lower calorie alternative, discontinuing slower moving Aquafina Plus options, and no innovations from its competitor.  Sources indicates that Aquafina Plus10 accounts for nearly half of their enhanced water sales since its launch in 2009.

That being said, vitaminwater figures that they were due for some innovation launch and should also release a lower calorie alternative to compete and regain lost market share.  However, the market can only sustain so many flavors and options for beverages – does this spell the end for some other flavor of vitaminwater? Aquafina Plus discontinued a few flavors when they launched the Plus10.  There will be a total of eleven glaceau vitaminwater and vitaminwater10 options if they do not delist something – definitely too much for the marketplace in my opinion.  That said, we have yet to see any vitaminwater10 in stores yet so either glaceau will be taking some flavors off the shelf themselves or grocery stores will do the delisting for them.

So my parting question for this week’s blog psot: if you were to discontinue one or two flavors of vitaminwater, which flavor would you choose?