Introduction to Nexba Beverages and the Mint Shock Product

Discuss about the Marketing Management and Digital Communications for Mint Shock of Nexba Beverages.

A marketing plan helps an organization achieve the goal of increasing sales, product positioning, and the number of customers in the target market. Nexba Beverages is a private company that faces stiff competition from other big players in the market. Some of these competitors include DR PEPPER SNAPPLE, COCA-COLA, AND PEPSICO. The main products of Nexba Beverages include real iced tea, soft drinks, sparkling influsion, and flavored sparkling. Recently, the company innovated Mint Shock and the marketing management seeks to design a marketing plan for promoting the product in the market (Australia, 2015). The marketing plan of the company will help the management streamline product development, set the right prices, and design the right distribution, formulate excellent marketing communications, and help in managerial planning. The marketing plan and strategy will be designed in such a way that a budget will be proposed and strictly adhered to assist in measuring the overall returns and output of the entire process. There are numerous opportunities in the market that need to be exploited by the company. The high demand for Mint Shock by the Australian customers has made the company invent this new product with the right features and qualities that suit the tastes and preferences of the target market (Guthrie, Cuganesan, & Ward, 2008). The aim of this assessment is designing a marketing plan for Mint Shock product by the marketing management of Nexba Beverages.

Nexba Beverages is an Australian based company famously known for traditional soft drinks and seeks to launch a new product (Mint Shock) in the market. The company started in the year 2009 and has been operating to deliver on its core mission of furnishing sugar-free refreshing drinks to the Australian people in the target market (Baker, 2016).  This part seeks to analyze the Nexba marketing strategy in market segmentation, targeting and position of their newly introduced product (Mint Shock) in the market.

Nexba’s segmentation assists the brand in defining the appropriate product for a particular group of customers. Nexba does not target a specific market segment but adapts its marketing strategy by designing new products. The new product in this report is Mint Shock. In this essence, segmentation entails the process of dividing a larger target market into smaller pieces based on one or more shared characteristics (Kraus et al., 2016). Nexba has more than one well-defined market segments and this marketing plan tries to reach as many customers of the new product as possible. These market segmentations can be identified demographically based on gender, age, and psychographic segmentations.

Market Segmentation and Targeting

Mint Shock brand is designed for both genders. The demographic segmentation of the company is mainly focused on the age and sexes of the target market (Mulhern, 2013). The target market comprises of both male and female customers who are expected to but Mint Shock from the company. Also, the product features and qualities suit the tastes and preferences of kids, the teens, youth, and the aged consumers in the market. The fact that demographic segmentation differ and their tastes and preferences on the product differ with differences in demand in terms of quality, quantity, features, and color; the new product is made of unique attributes that suit these variables (Karjaluoto, Mustonen, & Ulkuniemi, 2015). People from all age-groups need the beverage whose demand differs with generation differences. Nexba is exactly what consumers want it to be- real Nexba taste, zero calories, and a new brand (Mint Shock) to call their own. The proper understanding of these emerging untapped segmentations has enabled Nexba to expand its product offerings in the Australian market; in particular Mint Shock. Additionally, psychographic segmentation in the market helps Nexba design the right marketing plan for Mint Shock. The marketing management of the company uses psychographic data to gather the appropriate information for segmenting customers in terms of shared interests, opinions, behaviors, habits, and activities.

Once market segmentation is undertaken, Nexba management evaluates information’s about the target market such as the size of the segment, their buying capabilities, purchasing power, and the current trends in the market for the already marketed products (Natter et al., 2008). Mint Shock product of Nexba is designed targeting consumers who want a strong flavor. The product is health conscious and the marketing campaigns will mainly target teens and the youth and partly target the working class people. Younger people aged 10-25 years will form the primary target market of Nexba’s Mint Shock product. On the other hand, people aged between 25-40 years will form the secondary target market for the company’s new product.  Also, the marketing campaigns and ads of the company about Mint Shock will be done across all potential markets in Australia. The marketing campaigns target to increase the company’s customer base by 40% per annum through this product (McDonald, 2016). The product will be offered at discounted prices and this is aimed at winning and retaining more customers’ loyalty by the company. In this regard, different communication strategies are used when advertising the product in relation to the age of the target market in order to win them easily.

Market Positioning

Strategic positioning is the strategy adopted by Nexba Breweries in marketing its newly invented product; Mint Shock in the market. Strategically, Nexba has positioned itself strongly in the Australian beverage market. Currently, the company is up growing and partnering with other retailers in the country to increase its brand positioning in the market (Royle & Laing, 2014). In 2016, Nexba partnered with Coles and in 2017 it won sugar-free products of the year in Australia. The management now seeks to enhance Mint Shock’s brand positioning in the market through marketing campaigns and product promotions in the target market (Killian & McManus, 2015). The company is thinking wide and acting local in an attempt to meet the needs, tastes, preferences, and demands of the local consumers in the country. As a result, Mint Shock product has been invented as demanded by the consumers in the target market. The brand image is of top quality and is designed in a manner that the consumer needs are properly addressed. The brand is designed in a way that conforms to the norms, cultures, beliefs, and behaviors of the target market. As a result, it’s positioning, growth and sustainability in the market is boosted (Järvinen & Karjaluoto, 2015). Further, the marketing campaign programs used by the company are fun and entertaining to the target consumers. Nexba projects more success in future since it uses Unique Selling preposition related to consumer happiness and joy from the new beverage product being marketed in the Australian markets.

This marketing plan formulates three marketing and three financial objectives of Nexba in promoting its Mint Shock product to the target market.

Marketing objectives

1. Nexba Breweries aims to be domestically known and this is why its marketing campaigns are being designed to target different areas across Australia hence improving their brand name, popularity, and reputation.
2. Becoming a highly effective, lean, and a fast-moving organization that delivers upon customers promise in a more convenient and reputable manner.

• Inspiring moments of optimism, joy, and happiness by bringing to the target market a portfolio of high-quality beverage brands that satisfy and anticipate consumers’ demands, tastes, desires, and preferences.

Financial objectives

1. To achieve a 40 percent profit growth in the next financial year. In this objective, Nexba aims at increasing revenues by 25 percent in 2018 from Mint Shock product only.
2. To generate a positive cash flow of $ 35,000 in the next financial period and ensure that the company’s financial position is strong and credible to both internal and external users.

• To reduce near-term expenses such as advertising by concentrating on digital marketing by $10,000 per annum in the next financial period in which this strategic plan will be put to use.

The marketing mix for Mint Shock of Nexba Breweries will incorporate the 4Ps (product, price, promotion, and place) aspects as follows:

Product

The main products sold by Nexba Breweries include real iced tea, soft drinks, sparkling influsion, and flavored sparkling. However, a new product has been launched and its brand name is “Mint Shock”. The marketing mix strategy of Nexba will major only at promoting Mint Shock in the market. The Mint Shock product of Nexba Breweries will be sold in different packages and various sizes to ensure that all Australian consumers purchase the product (Theron & Terblanche, 2010). For instance, Mint Shock will be offered in 200ml, 300ml, 500ml, 1litre, 1.5litre, and 2litre bottles in glass, cans, and plastic bottles. The Mint Shock product will contain Nexba Breweries logo; clearly visible in the bottles, glasses, and cans to differentiate it from the other products offered by the company as well as by competitors (Goi, 2009). The Mint Shock bottles and glasses will have unique shapes and designed pertaining the brand. Through this doing, Mint Shock will gain a high market share and excellent growth rate in the market in terms of demand and revenue generation to Nexba Breweries at large (Villeneuve & Pasquier, 2017).

Marketing Objectives

Price

Nexba Breweries seeks to adopt a second-degree price discrimination strategy in its marketing mix in an attempt to increase sales and offer Mint Shock at affordable prices to the target market (Rowley, 2008). The company charges different prices for its products to customers in different segments. The same strategy will be employed by the company when marketing its Mint Shock product in the different market segmentations in the market. The Australian beverage market for Nexba’s newly brand can be considered oligopoly for there are few sellers and numerous buyers of the beverages. Nexba will price Mint Shock at a more affordable price that what Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and other competitors charge. This pricing strategy aims at ensuring that Mint Shock product is purchased more by consumers than the prices offered in the same market by the dominant competitors in the market (Järvinen et al., 2012). The marketing management of the company projects that price parity of its new product will be maintained in all segmentations. Further, Nexba will offer discounts on Mint Shock bulk purchases by bundling the product brand to boost sales, profitability, and overall company productivity.

Place

Being the market leader in the Australian beverage market, Nexba has been able to diversify its operations in all Australian markets and segmentations. The marketing management is assured that Mint Shock will gain popularity in the entire country given its excessive development of distribution network for its products (Chaffey, 2010). The excellent distribution networks for Nexba depict its strong place strategy in its marketing mix. Nexba Breweries will produce the Mint Shock beverage using a secret formula and transport the brand to the bottlers located in different locations in the country. Further, the company has partnered with other retail companies such as Coles in 2006; and this has helped in building strong distribution networks for the company (Sheth & Sisodia, 2015).

Promotion

Nexba Breweries has established an excellent benchmark for branding and advertising of Mint Shock. The promotional campaign strategies of Nexba for the product will focus on aggressive marketing via ad campaigns using digital marketing like the website, social media, online ads, sponsorships, print media, and television among others. Nexba seeks to engage in sponsorship events like Olympic games, FIFA world cups, BET network and others. The company will also launch TV advertisements to market Mint Shock to the target market in various national languages across the country (Argenti & Barnes, 2009). Further, the use of online social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will also be used in promoting the product in the market (Moore & Pareek, 2009).). Additionally, the use of company website will be considered in marketing the company’s product to the target markets in Australia.

Marketing Mix

Conclusion

Nexba Breweries provides diverse products portfolio in the Australian Beverage industry. Formulating a marketing plan helps a company realise/ achieve its objectives effectively. In every marketing plan, a proper integration of a company’s marketing mix together with its strategies is required. This helps in ensuring that the product gains a strong position in the market as well as enhancing its growth, sustainability, and competitiveness in the market. The market demand for beverage products is ever changing, and this calls for the innovation of new products as demanded by customers in the market. Companies need to ensure that the demands, tastes, desires, and preferences of consumers in the market are appropriately met through the delivery of high-quality products at affordable prices and different sizes, quantities, and colors. The stiff competition in the market requires companies to ensure that the prices charged on their products are reasonable, fair, and lower when compared to those of the competitors in order to boost sales and achieve other marketing and financial objectives as stipulated in the strategic plan. The use of promotional mix tools such as online ads, social media, television ads, company website, and print media enable companies to boost product awareness and sales in the target market. Therefore, the marketing management of a company should ensure that a detailed marketing mix strategy is formulated in relation to segmentation, targeting, and positioning approaches of the company in the market. Further, SMART marketing and financial objectives need to be generated by the management before setting a marketing strategic plan as a guide to its budget allocation and measurement of its performance and competitiveness in the market.

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