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 * __ 1.0 Executive Su __****__ mmary __**

__ 4.0 Macro-Environmental Influences: __
__ 4.1 Political Factors __ It is widely believed that sugar-sweetened beverages are contributors to the rapid prevalence of overweight and obesity around the world (Hawkes, 2010).Society today has generally adopted a more 'health concious' approach when buying and consuming products due to a hightened awareness of the negative side effects to ones health cause by bad lifestyle choices. Consequently, one of the most effective channels used by industry to encourage soft drink consumption is in schools; governments right around the world are taking action to limit the selling of these drinks in school canteens. More than 30 national and subnational governmental bodies have made efforts to restrict availability, and the soft drinks industry has also taken some limited voluntary action. Due to the highly competitive nature of the soft drinks industry,the voluntary industry efforts often take less restrictive efforts(Hawkes, 2010). One non-governmental organisation that aspires to reduce the impacts of obesity on Australians is the Australian Beverages Council. The Australian Beverages Council is a leading force, representing the interests of 42 manufactures distributors and importers of non-alcoholic beverages as well as 39 suppliers to the industry. The Australian Beverages Council shares the concerns of the Australian Government in relation to the serious impact the increasing obesity rate in the Australian community. All its members acknowledge the complexity of the obesity issue and are committed to working alongside other industry members, regulators and health professionals to identify optimal long term solutions. Member of the Beverage council have drafted voluntary initiatives to contribute in a more positive manner to constructively help Australians fight obesity. These initiatives include commitments to continue to increase beverages with low or no calorie content, provide additional nutrition information in packaging, not direct product advertising and marketing to children under 12 as well as where possible, not engaging in commercial activity in primary schools and promote educational programs in schools which provide information of a healthy lifestyle and eating habits.

to add to the bibliography The Australia Beverages Council, 2008, ‘Obesity in Australia’ [], Last accessed 13/05/2012

__ 4.2 Economic Factors __ Australia continues to be one of the Top 10 most optimistic markets globally, our confidence has slipped in the latest quarter as we continue to juggle rising interest rates, escalating debt levels, increasing utility costs, and economic uncertainty with the recent change in leadership so close to the upcoming Federal Election. Consumer confidence has slipped in the last quarter with more Australians apprehensive about economic uncertainty, financial security, and rising gas and electricity prices. (Economic effects, 2010)

Increasing utility bills was by far the biggest concern among Australian consumers, with 30 percent citing it as a major concern over the next six months – up 10 percentage points compared to a year ago. In addition, almost two in three consumers (65%) said they had already taken action to try and save on gas and electricity over the past year, and even when economic conditions improve, saving on gas and electricity was the number one action cited to reduce household spending. (Economic effects, 2010) The restraint and vigilance continues to be a key theme among Aussie consumers with around two in five channelling their spare cash into savings (41%), and 38 precent of consumers2 of 3 channelling any surplus cash into paying off debts, credit cards and loans. Furthermore, more than half of Australian consumers said they were actively cutting down on take­away meals, out­ of­ home entertainment, and new clothes; as well as switching to cheaper grocery brands to reduce their household expenditure. (Economic effects, 2010)

The Australian population is set to embark on some major demographic shifts over the next few decades with significant changes in cultural diversity, an ageing population and general population growth.

The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey shown in the diagram above was conducted between May 10 and May 26, 2010 and polled approximately 27,000 consumers in 48 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America about their confidence levels and economic outlook. The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index is developed based on consumers’ confidence in the job market, status of their personal finances and readiness to spend. The sample has quotas based on age and sex for each country based on their Internet users, and is weighted to be representative of Internet consumers and has a maximum margin of error of ±0.6%. It is evident that the Australian Economy has a higher consumer confidence index than many countries but has significantly dropped dramatically from October 2007 to April 2009. Australia’s resources boom boosted advertising spending in 2010 to the pre-GFC levels of 2008. The strengthened economy helped Australia out-do markets globally and a market boom in August, with significant ad spending during the federal election, ensured the Australian media market was surging. This is a positive for us in launching Virgin cola into the Australian Market. Statistics are showing us that the market performance is strong) (percey, 2010)

The Rising confidence in Australia in 2010 defied the trend of other developed markets and reflected the strongest outlook Australia has had in more than two years for job prospects, personal finances, and the ability to buy things over the next 12 months. Australia was the third most confident market globally, boasting a Consumer Confidence Index score of 115 which was 25 points above the global average of 90. An overwhelming 74% of Australians said their perception of local job prospects over the next 12 months was excellent or good; 70%believed that the state of their personal finances was positive; and 59% (the highest score globally) claimed the next 12 months was an excellent or good time to buy the things they wanted and needed. The results are consistent, with the continued rise in Australia’s employment growth fuelling a strong labour market and underpinning household income. Our economy also benefited from expansion over the first half of 2010 with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast to be around 3.25%for the year – a result of rising commodity prices, increasedpublic investment and a growing population. (percey, 2010).

__ 4.3 Socio-Cultural and Demographic Factors __

Socio-economic status, Australian Bureau of Statistics Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas and current occupation were identified as being associated with soft drink consumption among adults in the 1995 NNS. Consumption of soft drinks was significantly higher among those in the quintile of highest socio-economic disadvantage compared to those in the quintile of lowest socio-economic disadvantage — 161 ml compared with 117 ml per capita respectively. Socio-economic status was not associated with soft drink consumption among children. Having a non-professional occupation was associated with higher consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks compared to having a managerial or professional occupation — 192 ml compared with 108 ml per capita respectively [1] In the recent sports drinks, weight status and health review it was found that fewer girls than boys consume soft drink in Australia, and among those that do, girls consume smaller amounts of soft drink than boys [2]

The FSANZ phone survey of adolescents and young adults in Australia found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were more likely to consume sugar-sweetened soft drinks compared to other Australians (72 per cent versus 50 per cent) and consumed significantly larger amounts (249 ml versus 128 ml per day) (Food Standards Australia New Zealand 2003a). The 2004 SPANS survey of children in Years 6–10 in NSW found consumption of soft drinks to be lowest among students of Asian background and highest among boys of Southern European and Middle Eastern background (Booth et al. 2006). [3]

Producers such as Arnott’s (biscuits and cakes), Coca-Cola Amatil (soft drinks), Cadbury Schweppes (chocolate bars, soft drinks and cordial), and Master foods confectioneries such as Mars and Snickers bars) are also four of the top 10 grocery suppliers to the Australian [4]

Recent consumption studies found that Australians consumed an average of 110 litres of soft drinks per person in 2003 [5] and that between 42-44 % of Australian children consume 1 or more than two cups of soft drink per day. Between 1992 and 1997 Australian consumption of soft drinks steadily increased by 3-5% per annum with 120 L of soft drinks being consumed per capita by 1997. [6] International market research data indicates Australia is ranked among the top 10 countries for per capita consumption of soft drinks (Beverage Digest 2006). Second, they are well-identified products that are readily available and marketed extensively, especially to teenagers. [7]

[1] Hector, D, Rangan, A, Louie, J, Flood, V, Gill T,

A NSW Centre for Public Health Nutrition project for NSW Health, SOFT DRINKS, WEIGHT STATUS AND HEALTH: A REVIEW, Department of Health 2009, Sydney, accessed 20 march 2012, [] [2] Hector, D, Rangan, A, Louie, J, Flood, V, Gill T,

A NSW Centre for Public Health Nutrition project for NSW Health, SOFT DRINKS, WEIGHT STATUS AND HEALTH: A REVIEW, Department of Health 2009, Sydney, accessed 20 march 2012, [] [3] Hector, D, Rangan, A, Louie, J, Flood, V, Gill T,

A NSW Centre for Public Health Nutrition project for NSW Health, SOFT DRINKS, WEIGHT STATUS AND HEALTH: A REVIEW, Department of Health 2009, Sydney, accessed 20 march 2012, [] [4] Owen B.j Carter, “The weighty issue of Australian television food advertising and childhood obesity" ,Health Australian Journal of Australia 2006,

Perth, accessed 16 march 2012, [] [5] Australian Beverages 2004, Australian Beverages Council, NSW Australia, accessed 16 march 2012, [] [6] <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Owen B.j Carter, “The weighty issue of Australian television food advertising and childhood obesity",Health Australian Journal of Australia 2006

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Perth, accessed 16 march 2012, []

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[7] <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Hector, D, Rangan, A, Louie, J, Flood, V, Gill T,

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">A NSW Centre for Public Health Nutrition project for NSW Health, SOFT DRINKS, WEIGHT STATUS AND HEALTH: A REVIEW, Department of Health 2009, Sydney, accessed 20 march 2012, []

__ 4.4 Technological Factors __

Advancing technology - leading to new and various ways to understand and receive information from them.
Based on reviews of top advertisers in 2010 and current social media trends, traditional and new media were becoming more closely aligned and playing a vital cross-platform role for many leading marketers. The pace of traditional media developing new technologies and further expansion of new media adoption will continue to be the biggest learning curve facing marketers and agencies. The key challenge is for marketers and agencies to understand, quantify and increasingly engage with “connected consumers” across a continually diversifying media ecosystem. Last year saw exponential growth in the popularity of mobile devices. Driven by new product releases such as the iPad and internet TV, and product enhancements such as improved functionality of smartphones, Australians are getting connected like never before. This increased connectivity has resulted in significant changes in the way Australians consume media –television viewing is becoming more flexible through the advent of Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) and Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), and television programs and movies are available for “on demand” viewing. Digital Free TV delivered substantial growth in the number of commercial free-to-air channels as the end of analogue television kicked off in some regional Australian centres. Increasing connectivity means Australian consumers are accessing information wherever, whenever and often at the same time.

It is critical to identify and understand consumers, so we need to know their relationships with all media types and help find new ways for marketers to engage with them. Through innovative vertical and cross media research initiatives, fusing data from multiple research platforms, we are now beginning to see the complete picture of consumer media consumption and purchasing habits, providing unique insights on what they buy and consume in a holistic, measurable and actionable way. (percey, 2010)

__ 4.5 Legal Factors __

Virgin Cola Extra intends to enter the Australian market as a high performance cola beverage with double the energy of an average Coca-Cola. Although there is no formal legislation that restricts the amount of caffeine, there is however regulations proposed by Foods standards Australia New Zealand that limits caffeine in energy drinks to the amount of cup of coffee per can. Virgin Cola Extra will be manufactured in 250ml cans, therefore by regulation the drink must only contain 80mg of caffiene, which will limit consumers to two cans daily. Companies must abide by the following requirementsin order to make it onto Australian shelves and is warranted as acceptable to consume ;Labels must have warning statements that; the beverage contains caffeine and that is not suitable for child labels must have warning statements that the beverage contains caffeine and that is not suitable for children, pregnant women and people who are sensitive to caffeine. Virgin Cola Extra will have to abide by these standards entering the shelves as the product that contains higher amounts of caffeine than an average soft drink, it therefore must follow the requirements of an energy drink. As well as controlling the levels of caffeine produced in beverages across Australia, companies are also obliged to avoid direct commercial and marketing activity towards children under 12. The Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative encourages major companies such a Coca Cola and Pepsi to commit to an action plan, ensuring that they do not advertise to children unless the product they are advertising are ‘core foods’ and promote healthy lifestyle choices (Responsible Children’s Marketing initiative, 2009). Coca Cola Pacific explicitly states this aim in their recent published 2008 action plan. It is advantageous that any Virgin Cola branded products launched into Australia follows the lead of Coca-Cola and become signatory to the RCMI and commit to an action plan. __ 4.6 Natural Environment Factors __ ==== Australia is the lowest, flattest and, apart from Antarctica, the driest of the continents. The island continent of Australia features a wide range of climatic zones, from the tropical regions of the north, through the arid expanses of the interior, to the temperate regions of the south. Temperatures in Australia were relatively stable from 1910 to 1950. By 2009 the maximum and minimum temperature increased by 0.8%.The acceleration in the warming trend that has occurred from the late–20th century has been largely attributed to the enhanced greenhouse effect. ====

South-eastern Australia was affected by one of the most extreme heatwaves in its history in late January and early February 2009. In total six sites broke the previous state record of 40.8°C, and nearly half the state had its hottest day on record on the 30th, with Launceston Airport (39.9°C) breaking its previous record by 2.6 degrees. Elsewhere on the 30th, Melbourne (45.1°C) and Adelaide (45.7°C) both narrowly missed all-time records, and some South Australian and Victorian stations set all-time records (many of which were to be broken the following week). Adelaide (33.9°C) also had its warmest night on record on the 29th, and Adelaide and Melbourne also set records by experiencing four and three consecutive days, respectively, above 43°C.

==== Recently in the natural environment, there have been developments in recent years towards better management of natural resources, such as improved conservation in the use of household energy and water use, and increased recycling of many materials which include the most used product plastic bottles. **(Earth911, 2010)** ====

==== Plastic is an integral and useful part of our daily lives. Lightweight and shatterproof, plastic beverage bottles are among the most commonly used plastics. In 2009, the plastic bottle recycling rate reached 28 percent, ranking it among the highest recycled plastics which effected many factors such as, green house emissions. When the recycled material is substituted for virgin material, greenhouse gas emissions from extraction, preprocessing and production are significantly reduced saving the environment. ==== ==== The more we recycle, the more recycled plastics are available, and the more recycled plastics that we buy, the more the industry will create. According to the American recycling council, the demand for plastic bottles has surpassed the supply being produced. In result to this the number of plastics recycling businesses has tripled in recent years. Using less plastic also conserves energy and reduces pollution and greenhouse gases. ====

__ 4.2.1 Industry Trends __ Data from the soft drink industry have indicated that the rapid market growth observed over previous years has slowed over the past 5 years. This slower growth has been accompanied by an increase in sales of artificiallysweetened drinks. For example, recent research used industry-based Australian sales figures to analyse purchasing patterns of water-based beverages from 1997–2006 (Levy and Tapsell 2007). During this time, the total volume of sales of all soft drinks (diet and regular) ]increased by 5 per cent and this increase was mainly due to an increase in sales of diet soft drinks which increased by 28 per cent, with sales of sugar-sweetened soft drinks.

Showing that consumers are increasingly being more and more concious of their health, thus buying the diet versions

Soft drink consumption in NSW and Australia has increased dramatically over the past decades, with Australia now ranking in the top 10 countries based on market share (Beverage Digest 2006). Apparent consumption data, based on national food balance sheets, indicate that soft drink consumption (both regular and diet) increased by 240% between 1969 and 1999 to 113 l per person per year, or 300 ml per person per day (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1998).

Since then, sales figures indicate that this rapid growth has slowed, with an increase of just 5% between 1997 and 2006 (Levy and Tapsell 2007). This increase was mainly due to a growth in sales of diet soft drinks, with sales of regular soft drinks relatively stable. The sales of sports drinks, drink mixers (used with alcoholic drinks) and energy drinks are also growing (Levy and Tapsell 2007).

Australians consume around 2 million liters’ of carbonated drinks each year of which 90% are soft. As for the industry, flavored carbonated soft drink is the only category at a decline, apart from cola, which is growing at just under 1%. This compares dramatically with energy drinks at a growth rate of 24%. There is growing demand in low sugar carbonated soft drinks as people become more socially aware of health issues related to sugar content. (1).

Virgin cola has decided to create value for customers in Australia by introducing a Virgin Cola with extra caffeine to compete with industry players Coke and Pepsi. Virgin cola’s marketing team aims to work in harmony with other company departments to create customer value and customer relationships. As Virgin Cola is a new product in Australia it is key to gain brand recognition early. Virgin Cola has a competitive advantage as it is differentiated from other products.

The size of the market for Virgin Cola is large ranging to all types of demographics. Statistically, the targeted age group is between 18 and 40 because they are the main consumers of cola and will be the main consumers of Virgin Cola. This age group responds favorably to packaging attributes, convenience, and the creative/unique look of bottle packaging.



Figure 2: Volume of sugar-sweetened soft drinks consumed among adults in Australia, by age and sex; data from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey; analysis by NSW Cluster for Public Health Nutrition

As Virgin is already a well recognized brand name in many countries, it will have little threat of running out of money due to the large amounts of existing profit from other business opportunities. This eliminates Virgin Colas threat of competition for introducing a new brand because its brand name already exists and is successful. Virgin Cola will simply penetrate the market for carbonated soft drinks in Australia and can meet all demands to satisfy customers.

Virgin cola will need effective strategic management of the product and a creative/well executed launching of the product to gain brand recognition and get the attention of the aimed customers. Virgin Cola is already known for humorous ads existing in the UK and USA. Virgins marketing team and other company firms plan to engage customer attention with similar ads in Australia because of the high recognition rate between humor and memory.

Virgin Cola aims to sit just under coke in the price category as it will increase customer attention of value for less, but Virgin will have to manage other costs to assess this cost. As Virgin will have higher caffeine levels than Coke and Pepsi, it is important for Virgin Cola to gain strong supplier relationships to custom demand needs. Virgin Cola will have to create an effective cost structure to attain the business from going under due to lack of profits.

__ 4.2.2 Competitor Review and Analysis __
Out of the four competitors, Coca-Cola and Red bull are market leaders, whilst Pepsi and Mother compete using low pricing strategies. Coke and Redbull are extremely recognized companies in over 90% of the world. This is because their logos and promos are well recognized and have developed strong customer loyalty. Coca-Cola and Redbull use pricing strategies like market penetration to keep on top of competitors and keep their brand at the top of mind awareness. The use of low pricing strategies gains large numbers of buyers quickly which inevitably leads to a greater market share. Pepsi also uses low-based pricing strategies to compete with Coca-Cola. Pepsi’s organization is growing dramatically and will forever be Coca-Cola's top competitor. Pepsi’s main objective is to gain wider brand recognition by expressing their brand through the use of celebrities such as David Beckham and the Major Baseball league. Mother is owned by Coca-Cola therefore uses mostly the same pricing/promotion and marketing strategies as Coke. Mother’s objective is to give people a kick of caffeine out of a can rather than a coffee. This is because Mother has extremely large caffeine content (Robinson 2009). Mother also uses penetration-pricing strategies to compete with Redbull. Coca-Cola and Redbull are distributed to most convenience stores, supermarkets, grocery stores, gas stations and big events because of their large market share. Mother and Pepsi are sold in most places but not as many as Coca-Cola and Redbull. This increases product market share as there is an increasing demand for convenience in peoples lives. People are shopping more frequently, there are more flexible shopping times and eating on the go has become more regular. This is due to changing consumer demographics and advancing technologies.(Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 2007).

__ 4.2.3 Company’s Product/Brand Review __



__ 4.2.4 Customer Analysis __ ­­­­­­All four competitors have roughly the same target audience. Coca-Cola and Pepsi have a wider range of market where as Redbull and Mother only really appeal to the younger more active crowd. Coca-Cola has distinguished their product as accepted at any age where as you would rarely see a 50 year old man or child drink a Mother energy beverage. Redbull is known for their target audience being people who live to the extreme doing extreme sports and crazy stunts. **__ 5.0 SWOT analysis __** **__ 6.0 Objectives __** **__ 7.0 Segmentation and Targeting __** Virgin Cola Extra will use various market segmentation techniques to raise brand recognition and overall sales in the Cola industry. To begin with, Virgin Cola Extra will focus mainly on capital cities and larger Australian towns. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2010, there is roughly 70% of the population living in Australia’s capital cities. Although we will be neglecting 30% of the Australian population, we believe that it is important for Virgin Cola to establish brand awareness first and a stable amount of market share before we decide to enter into advertising and marketing our product to the entire population. When segmenting into demographic factors, our main focus will be on Age group. The target age for Virgin Cola will be ages 16-40. The main reason for this is that advertising to children under the age of 16 may draw negative attention to the company, due to its double caffeine hit and high sugar content. We believe that our product can effectively reach up to the age of 40 and possibly beyond that, however our main marketing efforts will have to focus on the younger generations. Gender will also affect the ways we advertise; one example of this could be the way we market our brand on TV by advertising during rugby games as well as during reality shows. Behavioural segmentation will also play a major role for Virgin Cola Extra. We want to have the image that Virgin Cola Extra is better than Coke in every aspect, whether it be image, benefits sought and even price. It is important that we let the consumers know of our higher quality product so that when they have the decision of Coke or Virgin, they choose the latter. We will start off by using an un-differentiated marketing strategy by promoting our standard Virgin Cola Extra. The reason for this is that it is important to establish our market share with a single base product before we move into sugar free versions and different flavours. This will allow Virgin to position itself in the consumers mind as a refreshing alternative energy drink with a classic cola taste. Once we have the achieved desired market share, we can then look at a differentiated approach by possibly adding a sugar free version or altering the taste to suit different segments of the market.

**__ 7.1 Positioning and Value Proposition __** Source: Armstrong,Adam,Denize and Kotler, 2012, Possible value propositions, [Book] //Virgin Cola Extra’s// positioning statement: **Same taste. Double the energy.** This will be our slogan presented to the Australian Market. The slogan suggests to the consumer that //Virgin Cola Extra// offers more value than both energy drinks and cola soft drink competitors. Virgin Cola Extra is designed to enter the market as a fresh, new and superior alternative product that meets consumer’s needs which is; to provide a refreshingly energising beverage. Virgin Cola Extra will stand in the Australian market as a unique alternative to other cola type drinks as well as energy drinks, as we offer consumers the classic taste of coke they love, with the added benefit of double the caffeine. We believe that this energy-soft drink will give us the competitive advantage in the market as there is no other product quite like it. Caffeine has become a culture as such, as societies consumption of coffee has increased over the past few decades with coffee shops having a large presence in communities today (Australian Beverages Council, 2012). It can therefore be said that there is an increased value placed upon the daily consumption of caffeine and the benefits and effects it has on people because it allows consumers to stay awake for longer and get the most out of their day, be it pulling all-nighters studying or partying, or just getting an energy kick to get through the day (Dr Gangemi, 2011). Through analysing the Australian market, we consider the target market of 40s and under most profitable. Considering the groups youthfulness, //Virgin Cola Extra// is an appealing alternative for consumers looking for the convenience and value as essentially we offer the benefits of two beverages in one. In the consumers’ minds, the brand hopes to achieve the product image as; offering more consumer benefits against its competitors at a lower price. Simon Baker has been selected as spokesperson for the campagin of //Virgin Cola Extra// in year one. Simon is a highly esteemed Australian Actor, recognised for his key role in the American television series //‘The Mentalist’//. Like //Lipton Ice Tea’s// successful employment of Hugh Jackman in their advertising, it is hoped the use of Simon Baker gathers similar success, making the foreign brand of Virgin Cola relatable. Simon is aged 42, appealing to the older segments which is difficult to capture in the energy drink industry, however due to the popularity of Channel Nine’s //‘The Mentalist’// and various other films Baker has stared in he is a face people do recognise which is optimum when launching into product advertisement. In recent analysis however, //‘The Mentalist’// was down by 652,000, this has been said to be a result of an explosion of successful new television shows such as ‘//The Voice’//, ‘//Master Chef’// and ‘//The Block’// averaging 1.3 million viewers each (Bodey,2012). Never the less, Baker will represent an average Australian bloke, on the move and looking for extra value. We will use Baker to help provoke the need within our chosen target market for the refreshingly energising //Virgin Cola Extra//.

to add to the bibliography Dr Gangemi, 2011, ‘Energy Drinks Might Kill You, Unless You Listen to Red Bull & Rockstar Proponents’, Dr Gangemi.com, [], Last accessed 13/05/2012

Bodey, M, 2012, ‘Master of reality universe no more’, The Australian, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/master-of-reality-universe-no-more/story-e6frg996-1226349291944, last accessed 13/05/2012

Product and service strategy

- Business objectives: to create a cola that will have 45mg more caffeine than coke and give consumers a better tasting energy drink as a alternative to coffee. Our main objective is to compete with coke. - Our target market is of age groups 18 – 40. - We want our poduct to be viewed by customers as a more for the same value energy/cola drink. - The benefits of Virgin cola are; gives you a greater hit of caffeine and tastes better than coke. - Features involve new bottle shapes and less plastic. - Selling strategies involve promotions at unis/sports events/nightclubs and so on. We will also have celebrity’s such as Russel crowe and Hugh Jackman fronting our tv commercials. - Our pricing will beat competitors as we offer a more for the same prcing strategy, which enables consumers to gain more value. - Product changes including more caffeine

Packaging- Steel can, with blue background and

brand name in green with a design around the name (Virgin Cola Extra)

the can will be 375mL

Brand strategy

3 levels of product:

core benefits- refreshed and Energized with a core hit,

tangible- sugar hit

augmented product- not high because we haven't established a market

__ 9.0 Pricing Strategy __
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">When entering into the cola market we will adopt a market penetration pricing method by undercutting coke by 20 cents per can and bottle until we’ve reach the projected market share. Although our profit margins may be small, it is necessary to undercut the competition to successfully penetrate the competitive cola market.

Virgin Cola Extra can at 375 mL
Coca-cola at coles = 2.92

- it will be less than coca Cola, $2.75?
With putting the price below cola, with double caffeine hit it will substitute buying energy drinks when you can get the best of both worlds. **__ 10.0 Place Strategy __** Virgin Cola has not been established before in Australia, until a factory is built or Virgin Cola is co-produced with other soft drinks in a facility, Virgin Cola Extra will be developed in the Silver Spring Factory Soft Drinks in The United Kingdom and shipped to Australian wholesalers and driven by truck to retailers; it is therefore optimum that we maintain a good relationship with our suppliers and distributors. Although air transport is the fastest most reliable in delivery performance, it is however the most expensive mode of transport. To avoid these high rates we will ship our product by sea and transport to retailers by truck, which will give the brand more money to promote and create brand awareness which is high priority for Virgin Cola Extra’s success especially in the first few years. Cola Extra will hit the streets of Australia’s major Cities in which sample booths will be set up, and Virgin Cola Extra vending machines will be made available in train stations. Virgin Cola Extra will be also formally available in Supermarket fridges and 7/11’s across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Virgin Cola Extra will be the ultimate convenience beverage of choice for consumers as a can of Virgin Cola Extra will be widely available to them, which will benefit those who want a quick fix to boost their spirits when and wherever they need it. Virgin Cola Extra will use the Channel 3 of the Customer Marketing Channel as this channel is commonly used for supermarket products which are the appropriate distribution strategy.

**__ 11.0 Promotion Strateg __** As Virgin is known for having crazy publicity stunts and being outgoing and ingenious, the launch of Virgin Cola in Australia will be just the same. On the 1st of January we will be hiring a crane to put in Kings Cross. The crane will be flying a Virgin Cola flag and will be positioned in front of the iconic Coca Cola flashing sign. Then, on the 2nd of January Richard Branson will be jumping out of an aeroplane with 30 models wearing bikinis and landing on Bondi beach to promote the new product. This will hopefully gage the attention of Virgins audience and appeal to the age group targeted. The main objective of this stunt is to create an appeal that Virgin Cola is here. Other promotion strategies involve a double decker bus handing out free Virgin Cola to the public, hilarious ads that engage consumers, having Virgin Cola on every Virgin flight and an assumed 1 month of intensive promotions to gain customer awareness. Our spokesperson will be Simon Baker, a very well known actor in Australia and promotions will appear on T.V, radio, social networking sites; Facebook and Twitter. There will be many promotions and chance to win cool prizes that will appeal to the targeted audience such as skydiving passes and festival tickets. Virgin Cola will be promoted through sporting events and festivals where brand recognition will inevitably increase.

Decide how much we will promote virgin cola extra in the first year

**__ 12.0 ACTION PLAN __** **__ 13.0 Control PLAN __** **__ 14.0 CONCLUSION __** **__ 15.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY __**
 * Involving using a spokesperson which will accompany Richard
 * Promoting through
 * newspapers, Magazines,
 * social networks, Tv ads, Sampling booths,
 * Radio and flyers
 * competitions to win certain events,
 * Sponsoring specific festivals,
 * Sporting events(which coke would already sponsor) - so might buy you out.
 * Promotion on getting discounts on Virgin flights from buying virgin cola
 * Using Virgin wide products to promote the cola.
 * Virgin Trucks, going around Australia to promote and give out free sampling ( higher populated areas)
 * Media in general