COLACOLA XX

FINAL BOOK GROUP 8 Mary Hager Cameron Lippert Emily Matusek Livia Sanders Lucas Simes TABLE OF CONTENTS

BRAND COMPASS 1 CLIENT BACKGROUND 2 CATEGORY 3 CULTURE 4 CONSUMER 5 COMPETITION 7 POSITIONING 8 CREATIVE BRIEF 9 INTERNAL BRAND TOOL 10 CONSUMER CONTACT PLAN 11 EVALUATION RESEARCH 12 APPENDIX

C A T EG ORY

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • X BRAND COMPASS N CO ITIO NS ET UM P E M Naturally “The \\ R O C Sweetened Sidekick” \ Cola They are a lovable, relatable, average group; they are just (365 Cola, Zeevia, Coke Life, etc.) ]]] not the protagonist

Carbonated Drinking cola doesn’t have to / feel as guilty as it C Cola used to. A E T E R G T U ORY CUL

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 1 CLIENT BACKGROUND

Cola X is a new cola entering the market. It has the same memorable features as big name , but uses a natural sweetener instead of chemicals or high fructose corn syrup. Because Cola X has yet to be released, it has neither brand awareness nor consideration in a market dominated by Coca-Cola and . In launching Cola X, we hope to gain brand awareness to encourage trial. These goals will be achieved through our messaging, which will highlight our core brand value --- customers deserve a slightly healthier alternative.

Key Features:

Crisp taste Carbonation Carmel color 12 oz. can packaging Natural sweetener

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 2 CATEGORY

Cola falls under the carbonated soft drink (CSD) category umbrella. There are three main facts to understand the CSD market. The first is that there has been a steady decline in sales within the overall soft drink market for the last 30 years. 2016 revealed the lowest point for cola consumption since 1985. This decline is most often associated with consumers looking for healthier alternatives such as juice or flavored water. Diet cola brands have taken the hardest hit; and consumption have fallen over 5%. Over the next five years diet carbonated soft drink sales are expected to decline by over 11% (Sisel, 2016). From this, we can conclude that current needs of cola consumers are not being met.

Secondly, consumers have become increasingly aware of artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, a carcinogenic commonly found in diet colas, and high fructose corn syrup in regular colas (Kell, 2016). Consumption of high fructose corn syrup has been linked to negative health effects such as diabetes, heart disease, weight gain, and fatty liver disease (Parker, 2010). This has led to an increase in demand for naturally sweetened and low-calorie sweetened sodas (Worland, 2014). A group of consumers was asked what benefits their ideal soda would have and 73% responded with added health benefits. The most popular responses were added vitamins and minerals, caffeine, and zero calories (Sisel, 2016).

Finally, the cola industry has taken on a new barrier from government taxation and regulation. In October 2016, the World Health Organization advised nations to tax soda in an effort to curb the global obesity epidemic (Aubrey, 2016). Despite the controversial recommendation, early taxation efforts in Berkeley, CA indicated a 20% drop in soda consumption (Aubrey, 2016). The recent social shift away from cola has led to the development of new beverage offerings, including flavored sparkling water, liquid water enhancers, and freshly pressed juices (Taylor, 2016). As the CSD category begins to grow, customers are experiencing an overwhelming number of choices.

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 3 CULTURE

Culture concerning carbonated soft drink consumption can be diluted to health/ingredients, more options in the market, and increased tension between government regulation and a greater disparity between the price of naturally sweetened cola and craft cola brands.

Cheat Days. A 2016 study from The Journal of Consumer Psychology found that incorporating a cheat day into a wellness regime may actually help with weight loss and encourage more balanced living (Khazan, 2016). Participants who incorporated a cheat day once a week, approximately a 2,700 calorie splurge day, were better able to maintain their motivation and self control during the rest of the week. With that, cheat days are becoming increasingly popular in many diet and workout plans.

New Nutritional Labeling. In May 2016, the FDA released a new nutritional label, meant to reinforce research in nutrition and draw attention to calories and serving sizes in processed foods. The FDA is also requiring companies to include information on the added sugars in their products, apart from naturally derived sugars. The design was specially geared for consumers interested in restricting added sugars from their diet without eliminating natural sugars.

Increased amount of health and wellness trends. Instagram trainers, YouTube vloggers, and social media influencers alike have gained cult-like followings, using hashtags like #fitspiration and #whole30challenge to encourage users to lead healthier lives. Workouts such as Crossfit and OrangeTheory have also gained popularity because of their high intensity workouts and impressive body transformation testimonials.

Naturally Sweetened Cola. While diet cola is the most presented option for people looking to consume cola in a “healthier” way, the inclusion of artificial sweeteners turns many consumers away from the zero-calorie drink (Sisel, 2016). No, Main competitors are striving to present their product in a healthier way. A small step towards healthier drinks made by market dominators would be Pepsi’s “Pepsi Throwback” and “Coca Cola Life” Though there is no evidence of these drinks as being healthier, consumers view them as less processed because of presence of “real” sugar (Waxman, 2012).

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 4 CONSUMER

Secondary Research Support

Cola is the most popular sub-category within the CSD category and Both Coca- Cola and Pepsi hold top positions on American soft drink sales charts (Caffeine Informer, 2014); Coca-Cola Company’s namesake cola, Coca-Cola, as well as their healthier marketed derivative, Diet Coke, take the top two positions. Pepsi- Cola holds position 3, and occasionally trades places with Diet Coke (Caffeine Informer, 2014). Millions of Americans buy a cola every day; because of this, most adults in the US have consumed a cola product in their lifetime (Ferdman, 2015). It’s also important to note that consumers have become more guilty due to the correlation between their soda consumption and its negative health effects. This has contributed greatly to the declining soda consumption trend (Steinmetz, 2015).

After searching through our sources for a clear-cut consumer, we realized that our audience couldn’t be boiled down to a couple of key demographics. Instead our consumer was better identified as “the sidekick.”

Sidekick Sam

- Sam has been an avid cola consumer for most of their life but the recent news on artificial sweeteners have made him feel guilty about daily cola consumption - Sam’s friends have been cutting out cola but they have had difficulty cutting cold turkey - Sam is looking for a cola product that still has the familiar taste that they have grown up with - Sam enjoys cola with comfort foods that have greasy/ salty flavors

Primary Research Rationale

We conducted two methods of primary research: survey and focus group. For both research methods, our goal was to determine how cola was currently being viewed by consumers in terms of packaging, taste, and value. We also wanted to gain perspective on how young cola drinkers have altered their habits based on new health recommendations. Overall, our survey confirmed hypotheses regarding soda consumption trends, while our focus group led to more fruitful insights on the target consumer and their lifestyle.

Survey: We decided to create a survey with the hope of reaching a wide range of people from a variety of backgrounds. We needed to find quantitative

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 5 data about how cola is being consumed in 2016, compared to times of higher consumption.

Focus Group: Our focus group was our opportunity to learn more about consumer behavior and general interest in cola through more qualitative methods. We also conducted taste tests to see if participants could differentiate between name brand and generic cola.

Primary Research Summary

Survey: Our survey on cola reached 302 people, ranging from college students to retirees. We began the survey by questioning respondents preferred beverage and further questioned how frequently respondents drink soda. One of the greatest findings was that consumers prefer regular, full calorie cola rather than diet or zero-calorie cola. Additionally, when questioning respondents on why they had lowered soda consumption, the top two responses were because of unhealthy sugar content and the negative health effects associated with soda consumption.

Focus Group: Our focus group consisted of eight college students with a variety of majors. When we asked if participants drank cola, the room was split. Those who did not drink cola argued: cola had no nutritional value, diet cola contained carcinogens, and the drink was cheap, which enabled an addictive habit. In regards to the overall theme of cola, participants frequently used words like, “happy,” “classic,” and “light-hearted.” Participants also referenced how cola is best enjoyed with salty or fatty foods, like pizza, hamburgers, and movie theater popcorn. In our taste test, participants could taste the difference between brand name, generic, and craft cola, but were unsuccessful in differentiating Coke and Pepsi. Finally, when asked what television character represents cola, the overwhelming majority chose male characters from sitcoms (Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, Kelso, Barney Stinson).

Primary Research Insight

- Our target audience shifted from a well-educated millennial hipster, to the average Joe who is trying to enjoy cola without guilt. - Cola drinkers are aware of negative health concerns, but still crave the taste of full calorie soda - Consumers place highest value on taste (above packaging and price) - Cola consumers pair cola with heavier foods - Non-consumers are willing to return to cola if they knew the soda was “healthier”

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 6 COMPETITION

Cola X’s main competitors are naturally sweetened colas. Some of the popular competitors include 365 Cola (Whole Food’s generic brand), Zevia, and Coca-Cola Life. It is important to note that these competitors do not have a lot of messaging circulating to our target audience. 365 Cola only offers in-store implementations. Zevia is such a niche product, that they have limited media placement. Due to the dominance of Coca-Cola in the US market, the soda powerhouse has yet to largely advertise in the states because of the popularity of their brand and other soda products. Below are two examples of print ads from Zevia and Coca-Cola Life that speak to the drinks’ healthier features.

Both of these print ads feature friendly and positive messaging. They are neutrally colored and predominantly feature the color green; one associated with health. They also feature messaging that mentions both “natural” and “low calorie,” which are what consumers crave. Lastly, they get back to the heart of consumer needs by featuring messaging that reminds buyers of their great taste.

Even though Cola X has yet to create any ads (since it hasn’t been released). We would suggest to create ads that explicitly highlight the products natural sweetener since it is the main feature associated with Cola X. Where our messaging will diverge from the competition will be the way that we show how Cola X is a slightly healthier alternative to regular cola.

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 7 POSITIONING

Below are four ways in which Cola X can be positioned knowing its attributes and audience.

Cola consumers deserve a change. Healthier than Coke, better tasting than water. Cola X is the sidekick to your delicious meal. Cola X is cola-- just slightly better.

Our preferred position is, “Cola is is your favorite cola-- just slightly better,” because the primary goal of Cola X is not to change the taste of cola, but rather take a small step in the direction of healthier choices. Our non-cola drinking focus group participants spoke extensively on how they would return to cola if improvements were made in health (sugar) content. In contrast, the same participants spoke of how they enjoyed the taste of full calorie cola compared to diet colas that contain artificial sugar. Any major consumption-changing habits alienate our audience, so our messaging needs to be approachable and achievable. Cola and non-cola drinkers alike are looking for a cola that tastes like cola, only a little bit healthier.

Communication Objectives

- Increase awareness of Cola-X by 15% eith “the sidekick” - Increase consideration of Cola-X in our target audience by 10% - Audience connotation of Cola-X with its natural sugar content

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 8 CREATIVE BRIEF

Reason for the Brief: Since we are a new product, no one knows what Cola-X is. In a landscape dominated by Coke and Pepsi, we need to create better brand awareness for our new product.

What Do We Want to Achieve (objective)? We want to increase awareness of our naturally sweetened Cola-X by 15% through advertising executions. Our messaging will boost awareness to encourage the trial of our product, which provides the classic cola taste that our audience craves, with a little less guilt.

Who Are We Talking to? We are talking to “The Sidekick.” This is the group of people who are not necessarily the protagonist of the group, but who are equally just as important or arguably better liked. They are the Chewbacca to someone’s Han Solo. They are a loveable, relatable, average group. And when it comes to cola, their biggest concern is the achieving the taste they know and love without having to worry about the negative health effects that cola has. More than anything, they want a cola that won’t make them feel as guilty as they do when they drink Coke or Pepsi.

Big Idea: Cola X. It’s slightly better. That’s it.

Why Should We Believe It? Cola-X is not supposed compete with big brands like Pepsi and Coke. They are always going to be a “number two” product, but that’s ok. Cola-X tastes exactly like the colas that our audience already know, they just won’t need to be as concerned about the sugar content and negative health concerns that typically come with it since it’s sweetened naturally.

Tone of Voice: Friendly and lighthearted.

Mandatories/Considerations? Make sure that we convey that we’re not trying to replace Coke or Pepsi, instead just provide a slightly healthier alternative. Must include that our product is naturally sweetened.

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 9 INTERNAL BRAND TOOL

Cola X is not a flight of stairs, climbing one from one level to another. Rather, Cola X is a step stool, moving consumers up a single step. We represent a single step in the right direction and the step stool represents the small, positive, incremental adjustment our customers desire. Instead of the daunting task of fully changing one’s lifestyle, consumers just need to know that their choices are moving them a little bit closer to their objectives.

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 10 CONSUMER CONTACT

Social Media

We found in our research that our target consumers use social media services to keep in touch with friends and family, stay in tune with the latest celebrity news, and to seek out details on new products and services. We will use popular social media networks to introduce the Cola X brand into the sites that our consumers already use on a daily basis. Native advertising on Pinterest, specifically geared toward young moms and sponsored advertising on Buzzfeed for high school and college students will allow Cola X to deliver its tone of voice in an accessible and widespread manner. Sponsored Facebook posts will reach a variety of cola consumers and non-cola drinkers in a concise and effective manner.

Television

After a long day of working, the consumers we are reaching are going to be in their family rooms watching the prime time sitcoms that the nation enjoys. Cola X will primarily focus its TV spots on network hits from NBC, ABC, and FOX. Daytime and primetime television will take up a large part of our media spending. Daytime shows like Dr. Oz, Ellen, The Doctors and Dr. Phil will target a widespread audience of stay-at-home parents and retirees who may be looking to improve the beverage choices of their loved ones and themselves. Primetime shows like Modern Family and reruns of How I Met Your Mother are consistent with the personality of Cola X. These efforts will help us in expanding awareness of Cola X to a variety of audiences.

Radio

As Cola X aims to appeal to the older middle American, radio advertisements will be part of our media spending. Cola X will advertise on national radio stations, such as iHeart Radio and ESPN Radio networks. These national stations consistently have impressive listener ratings and carry a universal appeal because of their mainstream music and talk radio content. For more tech-savvy listeners, Cola X will partner with Sirius XM radio to reach a more targeted market of older, white collar commuters.

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 11 EVALUATION RESEARCH

Increase awareness of Cola-X by 15% with “the sidekick”

Utilizing a variety of social channels, we hope our audience will gain awareness to our new cola product. Measuring Facebook likes, clicks on sponsored Buzzfeed posts, and repins on Pinterest will give Cola X metrics that will allow us to use more targeted methods henceforth.

Increase consideration of Cola-X in our target audience by 10%

Before Cola X has been introduced into the CSD market, we need to examine how Cola X is being perceived by potential consumers in a focus group. First we will ask participants to rate their likelihood to of considering Cola X when compared to cola competitors on a scale of 1-10. Three months after our campaign has been launched, we will conduct a follow-up focus group in which we ask the same questions about cola consideration to see the increase in the average rating that Cola X receives.

Audience connotation of Cola-X with its natural sugar content

Conducting a pre/post campaign survey sent out to 1000 cola consumers, we will gauge their understanding of Cola X’s main feature -- natural sugar. The pre survey will include other questions about other cola brands and the audience’s understanding of these alternatives before our campaign launches. Six months after our campaign has launched, we will conduct a post campaign survey with the same individuals. We will ask them the same questions about all of the cola brands, including Cola X, and their understanding of each soda’s main feature.

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X 12 APPENDIX

1. Questions (Primary Research Questions) 2. Reference List 3. Visual TOV (Positioning) 4. Infographic (Client Background Continued)

Primary Research Questions

Survey

1. Please select the following beverages you most regularly consume. Select all that apply.

2. How frequently do you drink soda per week

3. Have you ever consumed cola more than twice a year?

4. How do you prefer to drink cola?

5. Have you lowered your soda consump on because of increased press on the dangers of soda consump on?

6. If you have lowered your soda consump on, please select all the reasons why.

7. Please indicate your feelings for the following statements.

8. Please indicate the level of importance each of these components has in your purchasing of cola.

9. Please rank your preference of bo le/can by dragging you most preferred bo le to least.

10. Please click on the part of the can that is most appealing to you and would increase you likelihood of buying it.

Focus Group

Liv: “Hi everyone. Thank you so much for coming out tonight to help us conduct primary research. Our team is currently working to determine the best way to

ADV 284 • GROUP 8 • COLA X market a new soda to the public. Your input on the following questions and in our discussion is very important in determining our approach and is therefore highly valued. Let’s first start by everyone briefly introducing themselves (name, year major, ideal vacation destination)...

… Ok great. Thanks everyone and welcome. The focus group will last an hour and will be split into two different parts. The first part will consist of an informal group interview/ discussion about your soda preferences and why you may or may not consume soda. If at any point you want to respond to another participant or add onto what they say, please do so! It is encouraged as long as everyone remains respectful. I along with my team will be taking notes along the way so don’t be phased or offended if we’re not looking at you directly, while you talk, we just want to make sure we’re not going to miss any insights that you may be providing.

The second part will be a taste test of a variety of different sodas while using pizza as a palate cleanser in between swigs. Does anyone have any questions?...

Alright, let’s begin.” By a show of hands how many of you would say you consume soda on a regular basis. By a show of hands how many of you used to consume soda on a semi-regular basis, but stopped. Why did you stop? By a show of hands how many of you consume soda?

“Ok now please move to this side of the room if you’re a non-consumer, and the other side if you are a consumer. We’re going to do a brief activity where you each work with your team to create a list of things that you all like or dislike about drinking cola. Then you will be tasked with a 2 minute pitch to the other side about why they should switch to your team. Does anyone have questions...?”

“Ok that was great!! Awesome job everyone. That was a great debate! Ok hardest part is over, now we’re going to ask some questions about your lifestyle, so let’s just go around the circle and answer them individually…” What are some items or parts of your outfit that you can’t leave your house without everyday? (Probe). What is one of your favorite clothing store and what is your favorite grocery store? What are some of your favorite instagram/ snapchat accounts? (Probe) Which kinds of soda do you consume? What is your favorite? (probe) This question is for everyone: have/do you ever used different kinds of soda to achieve different things? (Probe.) What kinds of things? What drives you to buy a soda? If cola were a character from your favorite TV show, who would they be and why? “Alight our last activity is going to be a design challenge. If you were to try a new kind of cola, what elements would you want it to have? We would like you to draw both the container it comes in that would be the most preferential to you as well as include any visuals that are appealing that would make you buy the cola. Also, since I know not everyone here is an artist, please list some of the attributes that’d you’d want in this ideal cola. Remember, this is something that you would 100% buy in the store, so please cater it to your desires.”

PART II: The Taste Test

“Alright now we will move on to part two. Help yourself to a slice of pizza. Take a survey and carefully try each cola. You will need to rank each of the 6 colas against each other so that there is a most and least preferred. The second element will have you guess which brand you think you’re drinking -- with a reveal at the end.”

- design ideal cola - interaction between drinkers vs. non-drinkers (convince the other party) - draw the kind of person you think would drink cola

References

Aubrey, A. (October, 2016). Tax soda to fight obesity, WHO urges nations around the globe. NPR. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/sections/ thesalt/2016/10/11/497525337/tax-soda-to-fight-obesity-who-urges-nations- around-the-globe

Aubrey, A (November, 2016). Souring on sweet? voters in 4 cities pass soda tax measures. NPR. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/sections/ thesalt/2016/11/09/501472007/souring-on-sweet-voters-in-4-cities-pass-soda-tax- measures

Brownell, K., Harris, J., Schwartz, M., (October, 2011). Sugary drink facts: evaluating sugary drink nutrition and marketing to youth. Retrieved from: http:// sugarydrinkfacts.org/resources/SugaryDrinkFACTS_ReportSummary_2011.pdf

Brownell K., Harris, J., Schwartz, M., (November, 2014). Sugary drink facts: sugary drink marketing to youth: some progress but much room to improve. Retrieved from: http://www.sugarydrinkfacts.org/resources/sugarydrinkfacts_report.pdf

Ferdman, R. (October, 2015). How Coca-Cola has tricked everyone into drinking so much of it. Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost. com/news/wonk/wp/2015/10/05/how-coca-cola-gets-its-way/?utm_ term=.275eb3ebff07

Kell, J. (March, 2016). Soda Consumption Falls to 30-Year Low In The U.S. Retrieved from: http://fortune.com/2016/03/29/soda-sales-drop-11th-year/

Khazan, O. (April, 2015). The glory of the cheat day. The Atlantic. Retrieved from: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/04/its-my-cheat-day/478881/

N.A (December, 2015). Soft drink market share in the U.S. 2015. Statista. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/225464/market-share-of-leading-soft- drink-companies-in-the-us-since-2004/

N.A (2014). Top 10 Soft Drinks. Caffeine Informer. Retrieved from: http://www. caffeineinformer.com/top-10-soft-drinks

N.A (June, 2015). Top 100 Beverage Companies of 2014. BevIndustry. Retrieved from: http://www.bevindustry.com/top-100-beverage-companies-2014-chart

Parker, H. (March 2010). A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high- fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain. Princeton. Retrieved from: http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/ Siesel, E. (June, 2016). Carbonated Soft Drink Sales: Executive Summary. Mintel. Retrieved from: http://academic.mintel.com/display/775198/

Steinmetz, K. (January, 2015). Coke makes extra money from your guilt over drinking coke. Money Talk News. Retrieved from: http://www.moneytalksnews. com/coke-makes-extra-money-from-your-guilt-over-drinking-coke/

Worland, J. (August, 2014). Pepsi Made With Real Sugar: Is It Healthier? Retrieved from: http://time.com/3064288/pepsi-real-sugar-healthier/