Energy Punch: A Comprehensive Marketing Research Plan for UK Launch

This document details a comprehensive marketing research plan for the launch of Energy Punch, a new energy drink, in the UK market. It includes a situation analysis covering industry trends, sales, competition, and customer demographics, identifying the target market as young adults under 35 primarily in urban areas. The plan outlines a SWOT analysis, marketing objectives focused on achieving a 15% market share within three years, and a marketing strategy based on the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). The marketing communication plan emphasizes television and social media advertising to enhance brand awareness and consumer engagement. The implementation plan details the steps for launching the product, and performance evaluation methods are included to monitor the effectiveness of the marketing campaigns. Financial information projects a 200% return on investment within three years, and contingency plans are in place to address potential challenges.

MARKETING RESEARCH PLAN
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................4
Situation Analysis............................................................................................................................5
Industry Analysis.........................................................................................................................5
Sales Analysis..............................................................................................................................6
Competitive Analysis...................................................................................................................7
Customer Analysis.......................................................................................................................8
Target Market..............................................................................................................................8
Market Segmentation...................................................................................................................8
SWOT Analysis.........................................................................................................................10
Analysis of Marketing Activities...............................................................................................10
Objectives......................................................................................................................................11
Marketing Strategy........................................................................................................................11
Marketing Communication Plan....................................................................................................13
Implementation Plan......................................................................................................................14
Performance Evaluation and Monitoring.......................................................................................15
Financial Information....................................................................................................................16
Contingency Plans.........................................................................................................................18
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19
References......................................................................................................................................20
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Introduction
The increasingly demanding nature of modern life has necessitated people to be constantly alert
and focused. This has created the demand for products such as energy drinks that help consumers
achieve an instant stimulus for their mind and body. The market of the energy drinks industry is
expected to grow in the future and thus Energy Punch is expected to perform well in the market
provided it manages to establish itself effectively. It is the purpose of this assignment to
determine the steps necessary to plan an effective marketing campaign and introduce a new
product in the market effectively. A host of factors have been considered and all possible
scenarios have been analysed with the help of appropriate tools in order to plan an effective
marketing campaign.
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Executive Summary
Energy Punch is a newly formulated energy drink that is to be introduced in the market. The
drink will be launched in the domestic UK market and an effective marketing campaign is to be
developed for the product. The global energy drink market is worth billions already and is
expected to grow. The goal of the marketing campaigns is to make the brand recognisable in the
UK and gain at least a market share of at least 15% within three years of initiating operations.
The total implementation of the project is expected to cost around £ 9,000,000 and the revenue
earned is projected to provide a 200% return on investment within 3 years of starting operations.
The vast majority of the consumers are identified to be young and under the age of 35. This
opens up new opportunities and avenues for the marketing to be implemented. Social media will
be heavily used, since the vast majority of the intended customer base have a strong presence in
them. The success of the marketing campaigns relies on the effectiveness of the strategies
developed and therefore periodical ways to assess their effectiveness will be utilised in the form
of market surveys and financial audits.
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Situation Analysis
Industry Analysis
Characteristics of the Market
Energy drinks have been gaining favourability in the whole world, owing to their wide-spread
use by people with demanding lifestyles. The global market is currently worth $ 43 billion USD
and is expected to grow at a significant pace in the foreseeable future (Mordor Intelligence,
2018).
Trends or Drivers
The increasingly demanding lifestyles of people across the world have been a major driver in the
adoption of energy drinks (Ali et al., 2015). The majority of energy drink consumers are young
and below the age of 35. However, there have been growing concerns regarding their use and
their effects on health, which might affect the market.
Legal, Political & Economical Factors
Energy Punch must take into account all the relevant laws and regulations set forth by the
Government of the UK regarding food administration through the Food Standards Agency. The
company must also take into account the tax rates for non-alcoholic beverages and economic
factors such as stability of the market and inflation rates.
Sociocultural Factors
The consumer spending habits regarding energy drinks have been becoming favourable. The rise
of hectic lifestyles and increase in expendable income have increased the demand for energy
drinks
Technological Factors
Food and beverage production industry has increasingly been adopting automation (Groover,
2016). This allows organisations to hire less manpower and drive up productivity; thus,
increasing their profit margins.
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Sales Analysis
The energy drinks market is one of the most profitable and lucrative opportunities in the whole
world. The industry today is worth over $ 43 billion USD and is projected to grow at a pace of
around 4 percent up to the year 2025. A significant number of people are switching over to
energy drinks and quitting carbonated beverages owing to rising concerns regarding their sugar
content.
Figure 1: Energy Drink Market Projections
(Source: Grand View Research, 2018)
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Competitive Analysis
The energy drink market is rife with extreme competition. Large brands such as Monster and
Red Bull are current market leaders and have aggressive marketing techniques. There are also a
range of other competitors in the market. The competitive analysis table illustrates the current
market scenario effectively:
Competitor Market
Share
Strengths Weaknesses Marketing
Strategy
Aggressiveness Threat
Direct
Competitor
1. Red Bull 35% Large
market
share
Growing
concerns
about
caffeine
Quirky
advertising
campaigns
High Shifting
consumer
perspectives
2. Monster 13% Extensive
marketing
campaigns
Negative
health effects
Sponsorships
to a large
number of
sporting
events
High Concerns
regarding
caffeine
content
Substitutes
1. Green Tea 2% Healthy Limited
market share
Well known
source of
anti-oxidants
Low Change in
market trends
2. Juices and
smoothies
5% Healthy Expensive Appeal to
health-
conscious
people
Low Low
spending
power of
consumers
Potential
Entrants
1. PepsiCo 40% Enormous
resources
at disposal
New to
market
Large
advertising
campaigns
Medium High level of
competition.
The above table clearly illustrates that Red Bull and Monster are the current market leaders with
both of them aggregating almost half of the total sales volume in the market. Therefore, Energy
Punch must develop a unique brand image that lets them market themselves effectively since the
market is very competitive and developing a brand image is essential to the organisation’s
success.
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Customer Analysis
Target Market
The potential customers are identified to be mostly comprised of young people under the age of
35. A significant number of the consumers are identified to be in high school or college. The
consumers are mostly located in urban areas (Peacock et al., 2017). The market is observed to be
growing steadily and is projected to be worth over $50 billion USD by 2025. The local market
seems to be perfectly suited for an energy drink company; with a growing number of young and
adventurous people in the area.
Market Segmentation
The market can be segmented on the following bases:
Segmentation Segmentation factor Discussion
Geographic Geographic
region
Urban Urban populations are more likely to buy
energy drinks
Rural The rural areas consume comparatively less
quantities of energy drinks
Demographic Gender Male Men account for around 60 percent of the
current market share.
Female Women account for 40 percent of the market
share
Age Under 18 A significant amount of the market is held by
teenagers.
18 – 30 The vast majority of the market belongs in
this age group.
31 – 45 Considerably less number of consumers in
this age group.
Distribution Retail Online Online shopping for daily products has been
constantly on the rise.
Offline The majority of the market operate offline.
Wholesale The product is sold wholesale to large
retailers.
Lifestyle Social class Upper class A significant number of consumers belong to
the upper class.
Middle class The majority of the market belongs to the
middle class.
Occupation Students Students in either high school or college are
large consumers of energy drinks.
Employees Young professionals also account for a
significant amount of the market.
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Income Medium Medium income households are the majority
in the market.
High High income households also account for a
considerable market share.
Product Life
Cycle
Early adopters Few number of people adopt the product
early.
Trend followers The majority of the market belongs in this
segment.
Late adopters A significant amount of people also adopts
the product in its late life cycle.
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SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is an effective framework that can help ascertain the various internal and
external factors affecting an organisation. The SWOT analysis of Energy Punch has been
illustrated below:
Strengths Weaknesses
 Strongly growing market
 Valued product
 Relatively new to market
 High competition in the market
Opportunities Threats
 Increasing nutritional value in energy
drinks
 Adopting innovative marketing
strategies
 Rising concerns regarding caffeine
content in energy drinks
 Shifting consumer preferences
towards alternatives such as juices and
smoothies.
Analysis of Marketing Activities
The current marketing plan consists of marketing activities in the form of advertisements in the
local television and radio stations as well as newspapers and magazines. The company
established itself firmly in the digital realm with the help of an enhanced social media presence
and search engine optimisation techniques. These activities have ensured a steady rise in sales
and increase in customer base. The sales of the drink have risen as a result of these marketing
activities as evidenced by the latest quarterly reports. Surveys conducted by the company also
indicate that customers are becoming more aware of the brand and recognising it as a viable
alternative to rivalling brands.
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Objectives
The key objectives of the organisation are as follows:
 To establish the brand firmly in the United Kingdom market.
 To gain a market share of at least 15% in the first three years of starting operations.
 To produce and sell at least 500,000 bottled units and 300,000 canned units of the
beverage in the first two years of operations.
 To achieve at least 50% return on investment during the first year of operations and
200% return on investment within 3 – 5 years of operations.
Marketing Strategy
The marketing strategy employed by Energy Punch can be broken down using the 4Ps of
marketing mix approach, which has been explained below:
Aspect Discussion
Product The product is the most integral part of the marketing mix. The product
offered in this case is an energy drink by the name of Energy Punch. The
market is already saturated and is dominated by names such as Monster and
Red Bull (Statista, 2018). Thus, it is important to have a unique selling point
that differentiates Energy Punch from the rest. The product will contain
caffeine and taurine along with a host of other compounds which would help
the consumer gain instant mind and body stimulation. The product will be sold
in varying sizes of bottles and cans and will bear the distinctive look and
branding of Energy Punch.
Price The initial costs of setting up the production facilities and distribution channels
will be heavy. Further, the ingredients contained in the drink are considerably
expensive. Thus, it is important to sell the product at a price which will
provide a viable return on investment in a suitable amount of time. However,
the selling prices of the rival products must also be considered since the selling
price will be crucial factor that determines the performance of Energy Punch.
Thus, an effective balance must be reached between these two factors at play
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and a feasible selling price must be established.
Place The product will be sold nationwide, but with an emphasis on urban places
with an abundance of youth. The drink will be sold through retailers and
certain trade agreements have been established with large wholesalers. Since
online shopping is broadly adopted by the targeted market, Energy Punch will
also be available online, through retail stores as well as directly from the
company website. Further, the company is also planning to enter partnerships
with fast-food restaurants to sell the drink at select restaurants.
Promotion Since the company is mostly unknown to the majority of the target market, a
extensive marketing campaign has been planned. The most emphasis is given
on advertisements in television and social media marketing, since these two
were identified to be most prominent sources of influence for the targeted
groups. Several contests and promotional events on social media will also be
held to ensure enhanced consumer engagement rates.
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