Situation Analysis
In today’s economy, people have to watch every cent that they’re spending- the
size of the product doesn’t matter. Our product is a new and better form of one of the
major necessities of life, water. The recently new brand, blk. water, uses minerals and
electrolytes, which neutralizes, hydrates, and balances the body. The only other brand in
the market of water that comes close in comparison is smartwater. Currently, smartwater
is priced $1.20 above the blk. water product. This provides us with an extra advantage to
attract consumers.
Water alone is one of the key necessities in survival. It’s a valuable resource to
people, organizations, and the world. The average person is supposed to drink 8 glasses
(64 oz.) of water a day. While there are no exact statistics on how much the average
person actually drinks in a day; it seems safe to say that most consumers do not drink the
recommended amount. Our goal is to increase water intake, while increasing the quality
of the water people drink.
Although all water is zero calories, blk. water is zero calories and offers various
other benefits. Other products that offer these benefits such as: Gatorade and Vitamin
Water lack the satisfaction on a zero calorie intake. Not only do these other brands add to
your caloric intake, but also are short of the valuable ingredients that blk. water offers.
With the state of our economy, and the growth of obesity, blk. water provides a
double solution to consumers. This alternative has the ability to attract not only
individual consumers, but larger organizations as well. One of the main ingredients in
blk. water provides the nutrients for plant and animal life to grow. Similarly to this
ingredient, we hope that blk. water can help people to grow nutritionally.
Brand History
blk. water originated when a Canadian mother was sick from her chemotherapy
treatments for breast cancer. Research done by her children concluded that fulvic acid
would help subside her pain. The mother shortly came to realize that drinking the black
water did in fact help ease her discomfort from the disease. They then decided to bottle
and market this product, entitling it blk. water.
The Manzo brothers from the popular reality television show, “The Real
Housewives of New Jersey,” then discovered this blk. water brand and took it under their
wings to market. Consumers like all of the added benefits that blk. water provides in
comparison to regular tap water. This water supplies ingredients such as, fulvic minerals,
electrolytes, and alkaline pH. It is the overall understanding that these three ingredients
offers a more nutritionally balances life-style and provides a natural energy boost. While
this is a main attraction to the water for consumers, it is not the only one. Consumers are
drawn to the packaging and design of the bottle, as well as, the unique color that is
created from the natural ingredients used. The idea of black water, rather than clear,
appeals to consumers because it comes off as being “hip” and “distinctive.”
This water brand, while new to the market, has already received many celebrity
endorsements. Jillian Michaels, from the esteemed show, “The Biggest Loser,” is a
supporter of blk. water, as well as, other exercise and nutritional experts. This brand was
originally promoted via the brother’s reality television show, “The Real Housewives of
New Jersey,” and established their brand and an audience that way. In addition to these
gurus and stars, blk. water was represented at the 2012 Emmy Awards in the gift bags
that are given out to celebrities and other respected guests. These endorsements will most
likely continue to grow as the brand continues to grow for the future. If these supporters
grow or are at least maintained, then the popularity and growth of the product will
increase.
Product
As you can see from the image above, this is a recent advertisement for blk.
water. The genius behind the product design is the clear bottle, along with the clear label.
The look of the bottle is deceiving to the average uneducated consumer because they are
not aware of the black water. The bottle appears to black, when in reality, it is the water
that is black and the bottle is clear. Once the consumer begins to drink the water, they
shortly realize that they have been deceived and this water is like no other. Not only does
the design of the bottle intrigue consumers, but the slogan does as well. The slogan is
appealing and catchy, by using play on words that corresponds with the originality of the
color of the product. Currently, there are only two available sizes for blk. water. It is
available in the typical 16.9 oz bottles and the 8 oz bottles. The average price that it is
being sold at is $2.29 for the larger bottle, and $1.77 for the smaller bottle.
There are three main ingredients that attract consumers to this water brand over
others. The first are fulvic minerals, which are organic minerals that exist within
structures of prehistoric plants and deposited onto the surface of earth. Fulvic minerals
are obtained from plant matter and fulvic acid. The acid is rich in minerals and life-giving
nutrients and is crucial to the growth of plant and animal life. This mineral is where the
drink gets its black unique color.
Similarly to smartwater, blk. water contains electrolytes, which provide an
electrically charged ion. As busy people, we are constantly running on the electricity our
body naturally produces. blk. water helps us maintain the electricity we need to run 100%
by providing electrolyte concentrations in our blood constant. Every time you sweat, your
body is losing electrolytes, resulting in body levels fluctuating. That is why in order to
stay hydrated, you must drink water- but in order to stay energized, you must drink blk.
water.
The last, but certainly not least ingredient, that makes up the greatness that blk.
water offers is alkaline pH. Our blood needs to maintain a certain pH to have the best
possible health. Alkaline is the opposite of acidity and there are many different acid
forms in the foods and drinks and intake daily. This water offers some alkaline form to
food and drinks to help maintain our balance and bring us to an overall healthier state.
This water was designed to make the human body feel better and improve the
health in a quick and painless way. It is with this in mind that we hope to market to
potential and current customers. Since this brand already has many nutritional and
exercise experts on their side, our target audience will be those that are health conscious
or interested in becoming healthier, and athletes. To market this product, we intend on
obtaining more celebrity endorsements as well as athletes. Each athlete and celebrity
would also be provided with a social media outlet. With celebrities such as Jillian
Michaels on our side, we could further promote the product via the television show “The
Biggest Loser”. With the assistance of the cast from “The Real Housewives of New
Jersey”, it is possible for us to show how blk. water provides these added benefits in their
hectic lifestyles. These details are what attract consumers to the drink and with an
extensive plan it can reach its full potential.
Price
Currently, the price of the larger 16.9 oz
bottle is $2.29 and the 8 oz bottle is $1.77. We
believe that we can successfully raise the price of
the larger bottle by 20 cents. We based this
increase in price by comparing blk. water to the
same size smartwater bottle. The smartwater
bottle is sold for $3.50, which still allows our
product to be $1 less than the leading competitor. For now, we do not have any plans to
alter the price of the newer, and smaller, blk. water bottle.
We can confidently raise the price of this drink because the consumers that are
buying this drink are willing to spend money on a product they can already get for free.
Our target audience is health conscious people or those trying to get healthier, as well as
athletes. This target audience contains people who are already willing to spend more
money on better food options, exercise equipment, and supplements that help give their
bodies everything they need.
blk. water is sold mostly in grocery stores and food markets as well as health food
stores and gyms. Over the past year, they have expanded to numerous locations across the
country as well as a store in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Currently people can buy this
product on websites like amazon.com if they wish to buy in bulk. There is no direct
correlation between the blk. organization and this product being sold at amazon. They are
adding locations every day and have a section on their main website that allows you to
track stores near you with the product.
This brand is already well established through their online media outlets by using:
Facebook, Twitter, a blog, tumblr, and their main website. Our plan would be to continue
the constant efforts that are being done through social media and to try to increase the
following on every outlet. By continuing to stress the health benefits this product
provides, as well as gain celebrity support, this product will reach our target audience
successfully. Representatives will make visits to gym and other health facilities that
support our product. During these visits, we can hold a gym class and facilitate out the
blk. water drinks giving the people an opportunity to try the product out themselves.
Following the class, blk. water will continue to be sold in that facility.
Influences
While external influences are a constant struggle, we feel that our product is
currently the most innovative water being sold on the market. It is important to be on a
constant work for competitors trying to create or upstage a product similar to better to
blk. water. Our main competitors have similar ingredients in their products, but as of
now, blk. water offers the best there is.
Some problems arose that led to a lawsuit against the Manzo brothers and other
reality television stars that were involved. This drink was originated in Canada and the
Canadian design and marketing company, Creative Thinkers, Inc., are claiming that these
parties used their reality TV fame to sell a false story of how black water was originated.
There are a few articles posted online that discuss the lawsuit that took place. Our
research has shown us that this lawsuit did not impact the sales of the beverage in a large
scope.
The environmental influences of this product actually help to promote the brand
rather than hurt it. The main ingredients that make this product so popular come from
nature and is what helps make nature and animal life grow. blk. water contains over 60
trace minerals that come from the environment. They process these minerals with
purified, cool water, causing no harm to the environment or the people.
Through the research that we’ve conducted, Dr. Bob Breach, Head of Quality and
Environment Severn Trent Water, discovered that consumers number one concern when
it comes to their water supply is that it must be safe. By this they mean they want it to be
free from harmful bugs and chemicals. The second thing that consumers are looking for
is that it tastes good and looks good. Lastly, a major concern of consumers is that their
water is affordable. blk. water certainly meets some, but not all, of these requirements.
We think that social trends may be one of the most challenging factors in marketing blk.
water because our competitors hold a slight advantage over us in the social market.
Product Analysis- SWOT
Strenghts
- It's unique due to it's color and ingredients.
-The health benefits. It has Fulvic Acid, Electrolytes,
and Alkaline pH to help the human body.
-It has been known to ease a cancer patients pain
from chemotherapy. The person who discovered this
product suffered from cancer, and found this product
to help her pain.
-It is priced below the main competitors, such
as,smartwater, gatorade, and vitamin water. It is
priced at $2.29.
-They are a new product, and up on their social
media. They also have a lot of celebrity endorsments
and promoters, as well as, nutrition experts who had
to their credibility.
Weaknesses
-The color black disgusts and turns a lot of consumers
away from the product. When people think of top-quality
water; they think of crystal clear water.
-Compared to regular water, such as Poland Spring and
Nestle, blk. water is priced slightly above theirs. This
water is also not available in large quantities, such as 24
packs, and is only offered in two different sizes.
-Due to how recently this product was marketed; there is
limited awareness on it to consumers. Even though it has
recently expanded to other locations, it is still not available
in all states in the U.S. Many consumers that do have it
avaialbe to them are also not made aware of it.
Opportunities
- Jillian Michaels from, “The Biggest Loser,” is an avid
supporter of the water. This opens many windows by adding
credibility, and opportunities for the drink to be sold in different
venues. These venues consist of gyms, health stores,
supplement stores, and whole food stores.
-Many consumers do not know about the product, but when
distributing survey’s most asked to hear more information on it.
The idea of black water intrigues a lot of consumers, and the
more details we gave them, the more interested they became.
This tells us that we need to create opportunities to inform
consumers through media about the benefits of blk. water.
-It can be marketed toward several different target audiences,
and in several different points of views. This can be targeted
toward health conscious people, people who love to exercise,
and people who need to rid their bodies of toxins.
-Not a lot of water companies use blogs as a main form of
relaying information and advertisements. blk. water does an
excellent job at keeping their blog up-to-date and attracting
readers. This opens the window to advertise to different types
of consumers, as well as, reach a larger mass of people.
-Since this product is unique due to its color, they have a unique
opportunity in the advertising world. They can advertise the
product in a variety of ways that will make it stand out from
their competitors. It will remain memorable and relevant in
consumer’s minds when they go shopping.
Threats
-This product is strongly marketed by brothers from, “The
Real Housewives of New Jersey,” which to many tarnishes
the credibility of the product. A lot of consumers with high
buying power in the market do not take reality television
seriously, and think that it is a disgrace to society.
-There are skeptics that are questioning whether or not the
benefits of this product are legitimate. Skeptics are posting
articles online questioning whether or not the ingredients
actually supply what marketers are claiming. Some
skeptics have gone as far as to trying cling to scientific
research.
-Competitors are a threat to any product, but with a product
as unique as this it becomes a greater threat. Competitors
might claim that blk. water is making false promises of the
benefits, or they might try to turn people away from the
color of the product. Competitors can also price their water
to compete with ours.
-Since this product is new and unique there is an initial
hype that builds it up and attracts consumers. After
consumers have tried it a couple of times, this hype might
wear off and they may not be as interested in purchasing it
again and again.
Based on our SWOT analysis, we were able to compare and contrast the strengths
and the weaknesses of this product. We discovered that the strengths outweigh the
weaknesses when it comes to marketing blk. water to consumers. We plan to play up the
uniqueness factor of this product and promote how beneficial it is compared to similar
products that are in the market. We will do this through the social media outlets that have
already been created as well as create additional print and billboard advertisements. We
think that it would also be beneficial to create a commercial that is played on Bravo,
NBC and MTV. We want to begin with these three networks because these are the
networks that star the current product endorsers. Consumers that are more likely to buy
this product are those who enjoy watching reality television, therefore, we have decided
to advertise it on MTV.
Since this product is not widely known, we have decided to limit our marketing to
a smaller horizon. We think that it would be best to aim our efforts toward consumers
that we can effectively reach first. After we have developed a larger hype and have
allowed consumers to spread awareness by word of mouth; we will be able to expand our
marketing scopes. People’s natural instinct is to reject the black color of the water but we
believe that we can subside this fear through positive reinforcement. We plan to have our
celebrity endorsers advertise, through commercials and YouTube videos, the natural taste
of the water. These videos can also be displayed through the other social media outlets,
such as- Facebook, Twitter, Blog and Tumblr. While price is a concern of ours, we have
still decided to increase it slightly because our research shows that people are willing to
pay more for higher quality. As the company expands, the price should be continually
monitored based on progression.
Consumer Evaluation
We conducted field research by surveying 31 participants on a variety of
questions that targeted different interests. Through this research, we came up with
meaningful and useful information that will help us to successfully market this product.
In our experience we found it useful to identify the gender of the participants to
distinguish if their responses were greatly varied. Our other questions were focused on
competitors, emotions, benefits, price, design and location. With this key information, we
can design the most effective marketing plan for the target audience.
Our results varied somewhat, but overall we came to the conclusion that our idea
to increase the price to $2.50 is reasonable. This is based on the fact that most
participants said that they would be willing to spend, at most, $3.00 on a bottled
beverage. 18 out of 31 participants all agreed that their drink of choice is water. The next
highest number was 7 for Gatorade, followed by 3 Vitamin Waters and sodas. This
information is categorized as a strength for marketing blk. water because it shows that
most consumers reach for a water before any other beverage. However, 25 participants
have never heard of blk. water before. This presents a weakness because it is clear that
the efforts that have been made in the past year have not reached a large market. The
marketing efforts definitely need to be expanded so that consumers nationwide are aware
that the product exists.
One of the largest ways that we are marketing this product is through the natural
benefits that are provided by the three ingredients: fulvic minerals, alkaline pH and
electrolytes. 20 out of 31 participants surveyed said that additional natural benefits in
water matter to them and impact their decision to buy a certain brand. This opens up a
window of opportunities of how we can market to different target audiences by focusing
on not only the uniqueness of the water but also the health benefits it provides.
There’s never been a product on the market that can compare to blk. water. We
found through research that a major influence in social trends, in relation to water, is the
safety of the water. When people think safety their instinct is to imagine crystal clear
water. Due to the information we gathered, we decided it would be best to collect
people’s feelings on drinking water that is displayed black. The four options that they had
to choose from were apprehensive, eager, intrigued and disgusted. Intrigued ranked up
the most votes coming in at 11. This is an opportunity because it tells us that there is a
decent amount of consumers that are willing to try black water and are interested by the
idea of it. In spite of this, 9 participants were disgusted by the thought of consuming
black water. After explaining the product in further detail, some of these 9 participants
were willing and eager to hear more and said that could be persuaded. Alongside the
other results, 6 people said they were apprehensive and 3 said they were eager to try this
product. This presents both threats and opportunities because people are hesitant to try
the product but also excited. The more we inform the public on the reasons as to why the
water is black, the more opportunity there is for them to be persuaded into trying and
buying it.
We surveyed participants and asked them if the above advertisement appealed to
them. 19 said that the advertisement spoke to them while the remaining 12 did not care
for it at all. While we thought that this advertisement was clever, our recently discovered
information has told us that we also need to consider other angles of advertisement for
the product. The slogan “Enjoy the dark side,” played on the color of the water but we
now see that this isn’t appealing to all consumers. It may be useful to stay away from
advertising the color of the product at the beginning, and instead to focus advertisements
on the ingredients.
One of the major strengths of the product is the design of the bottle. When people
first see it, they think the bottle is black. After drinking it they come to realize that the
water is black and the bottle is clear. The bottle was designed this way on purpose, to
further advertise the originality of the product. When asked how much the design of the
bottle impacts the consumer’s purchase, 12 of 31 said it impacted their decision a small
amount. Following this, 9 said it moderately affected their decision, 6 said not at all and
3 said it affected their decision a lot.
Marzia Prince, eco-friendly trainer, is one of the main endorsers for blk. water.
Her specialty is training women who model, are pageant contestants and bikini fitness
competitors. On blkblog.com Prince said, “Through my many years of expertise, I have
become a published writer to help educate women on all things health and fitness. I am
proud to bring you this BLK Challenge to give you my knowledge on how to reach your
best body in a healthy way.” One of the most famous endorsers, Jillian Michaels, was
quoted on the show “Daily Dose” saying, “I consider it a beverage as opposed to bottled
water”. The star trainer from the Biggest Loser and nutrition expert claims it to be her
new favorite thing. According Sharon Hill, who writes for the Skeptical Inquirer, she was
shocked to find that when she poured the water out of the bottle, it was the water that was
black and not the bottle. “Most people associate the color black with dirt or being ‘dirty’,
while clearness of the water has an aesthetic appeal, indicating purity.” Had she been
blindfolded she would have thought that it was regular water. This author believes that
this designer bottled water is a large waste of money. There’s limited research due to the
limited awareness of this product, but as assumed, there are both commenders and
skeptics of the authenticity of a product.
Marketing Goals and Objectives
As an agency we plan to raise awareness, build credibility and increase sales for
your product, blk. water. While the product seems to be flying off the shelves in areas,
like New Jersey, it is not even available in certain states, such as, Rhode Island. We
realize that this is a growing brand but we think that it is more important to sell in at least
one store in every state before finding multiple distributers for states that already carry it.
Within the next year, our hopes are to increase awareness nationwide by 45%. This is
based on our research that about 80% of our survey participants had never heard of or
seen this product. If we can raise awareness by 45% then we are expecting to increase
sales by at least 20%.
We have decided to focus a large part of this public relations campaign through
social media in order to save money. Since this is a newer company and product, we
realize the net worth of this company is not as large as those that have been established
for years. However, we do plan to adventure outside of social media. The budget that we
have planned out for our public relations campaign will cost $300,000. This budget
includes commercials, billboards, magazine advertisements, guest appearances and social
media. Media is the focal point of our plan but will only need 30% of the money from the
budget. 50% of the budget is going towards three separate guest appearances, weighing in
most of the expenses. Finally, 20% of the budget will be allotted to us, the PR agency.
We expect this $300,000 budget to enable us to create a tremendous public relations
campaign, in which we will succeed every goal and objective we have in mind for you.
Media Plan
Our media plan is one of the strongest aspects of our campaign. This company
already has a strong presence that exists in the social media stratosphere. We plan to
utilize the existing Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and blog accounts to explain this product
in further detail and share stories and statements from people who have already tried it.
Hearing testimonies from every day consumers will ease apprehensive consumers into
trying this product. We applaud your efforts thus far on celebrity supporter’s cooperation
through the blog and hope to continue these efforts. We also plan to utilize YouTube as a
social media tactic by creating an account and uploading the future commercials that will
be produced. Through this YouTube channel, we will also share any time the product is
televised and we will welcome YouTuber’s to share their touching stories with us of their
product experience. We will accept submissions and sort through them to find the best
possible stories to share.
This year long campaign will televise a commercial 365 times on three different
networks. The first network we chose is NBC because the endorser Jillian Michaels stars
on “The Biggest Loser”, which airs on this station. Our second choice is obvious leading
in with Bravo. The Manzo brothers are the ones who put their heart and sweat into
marketing this product and with the support of the rest of “The Real Housewives of New
Jersey” cast; fans will be enticed to try it. Our last, and less obvious choice, of networks
was MTV. This network is notorious for their reality tv series and we have come to
realize that the viewers of these shows is a target audience that we can reach. With the
foundation of this fan base, word of this product should spread rapidly.
To begin, we have decided that it would be beneficial to create and advertise 3
billboards in major areas. These billboards will be advertised on the main highways of
New Jersey, California and Florida. These 3 areas contain a variety of stores that already
sell this product, so by advertising here we will spread the word that it is available to buy
now. We chose to spread the billboards across the nation east, west and south. Since our
research told us that many people were turned off by the initial black color but turned on
by the benefits, we have decided to combine these two factors and create a new slogan.
The slogan will read, “More pure than clear water”.
This slogan will also be advertised through our full page, magazine ads. We will
run a full-page ad in 3 separate magazines every month for a year. We decided to target 3
different audiences by choosing 3 different genre magazines; health, sports and
entertainment.
The first step is to make consumers aware that this product exists. How will we
do that, you may ask?
Promotion Efforts
As we discussed in our media plan, there will be a contest on YouTube for who
can submit the best stories about trying our product. Each month, we will feature a
different story and at the end of the year, the 12 contestants will win a free meet and greet
with the cast of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” and Jillian Michaels. For our last
guest appearance with Jillian Michaels, she will visit the fitness center that has
collectively lost the most weight after 6 months. The fitness centers that enter the contest
will post before and after pictures on our Facebook page. The winner will be decided
through the center that has the most weight lost and they will win an information session
about blk. water with a workout class to follow. Each of the gym members that attends
will receive a free case of blk. water, as long as they partook in the 6 month challenge.
Public Relations Efforts
Our public relation tactics for this campaign consist of both the old and the new.
Through our Twitter account, we will create a hashtag that promotes the two contests. For
our YouTube contest the hashtag will be #blkinspires. Our fitness center contests’
hashtag will be #blkgetsfit. To promote blk. water on a daily basis, people can hashtag
#tastetheblk every time they drink a bottle.
A press release will be written for Jillian Michaels’ guest appearance at the
winning fitness center. This press release will be distributed to local newspapers and
news stations as well as media within surrounding areas.
Blogging will be done on a weekly basis in order to connect with our younger
audiences regularly.
Our print advertisements will be in magazines such as sports illustrated, people
and health and fitness to reach every target audience that we possibly can. We are going
full force with these efforts, trying to target as many prospects as humanly possible.
Conclusion
As a PR agency, we want to bring you the reward of knowing that you have
created and sold the best water product available. We see a lot of potential in this product
and with the proper promoting; we believe that it can reach a whole new level. This
product has window of opportunities with its unique makeup and design. The three
ingredients, fulvic minerals, alkaline pH and electrolytes, offer benefits that no other
water on the market can. Through our research we have heard and read some incredible
stories that your blk. product has already created. With these miracle stories, we hope to
make believers out of those that are currently skeptics or those that are soon to be
skeptics.