Marketing Strategy and Plan for Vodka Cruiser Product Line

This article discusses the marketing strategy and plan for Vodka Cruiser product line, including the challenges faced in reaching potential customers, product-market strategies, critical success factors, and situational analysis. It also covers segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies, customer value creation mix, and implementation plan.

Marketing Strategy and Plan1
Strategic Marketing Plan
For
The Vodka Cruiser Product Line
July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019

Marketing Strategy and Plan2
Vodka Cruiser
Executive Summary
The findings of the research were that the Vodka Cruiser Company was faced with the
challenge of reaching a large number of potential customers through advertisements. The
Vodka Cruiser Company can meet this challenge by employing advertisement methods such
as advertising on the DSTV and super sport platform as a large number of individuals are
sports fans. According to the research, the Vodka Cruiser should always put into
consideration all the product-market strategies necessary for its long-term survival in the
market. The product-market strategies involve the product, price, place, and promotion (Liu
and Atuahene-Gima 2018). Vodka Cruiser should ensure that they produce products that
satisfy its customer needs in terms of quality. The price of those products should be customer
friendly for the purposes of their affordability. Vodka Cruiser company should also ensure
that its products are available globally having already created its brand name. Although the
products of Vodka are largely known globally, the company should keep on promoting
already existing and new products to ensure that it remains competitive in its industry.

Marketing Strategy and Plan3
Marketing Strategy and Plan: Vodka Cruiser
Introduction
This case study about Vodka Cruiser, a ready to drink brand and the strategies it used to go
from one of less liked brands to a large brand. The strategies show the challenges the
company had faced in marketing and reaching its audience especially the female ones. It also
shows the marketing objectives the company employs, how it allocates it resources control
processes it employs. The study also shows how the company has gained the audience
through campaigns and advertisements through use of social media such as Facebook.
Mission Statements
The Vodka Cruiser company mission is to provide the customer with the best beverage and
alcohol flavors, and to be the leading ready-to-drink company in Australia and in the world.
Strategic Analysis of Vodka Cruiser
Vodka cruiser is an alcoholic drink that had manoeuvred in the Australia market within very
short time. The brand was not very prominent until the millennials changed their perception
towards the drink from the year 2004 and 2010. The brand is known to have joined forces in
helping the alcohol brands to reach the customer satisfaction and therefore, the company
implemented a variety of means to publicize its products and reach approximately 1.5 million
Facebook users on their page and approximately 3.2 million viewers of the Vodka Cruiser
TV Series ("Vodka Cruiser & SketchShe Join Forces For New Campaign - B&T," 2017).
Economic forces
The scope of the Vodka Cruiser is traceable in Australia, though the company has extended
its market in virtually all parts of the world. The main consumers being the Australians, the
brand has targeted the middle class customers, and most of them are the millennials. Australia
is enjoying a stable economy and there is a good market for the Vodka Cruiser ("Library
Authentication - La Trobe University,")

Marketing Strategy and Plan4
Sociocultural forces
The main social cultural issue that is prevalent in Australia is the issue of the state laws and
policies on the alcohols and related beverages. For instance, the millennials who would enjoy
taking the Vodka in open places would not make it because the state do not allow people to
just take alcohol at open places.
Political-legal forces
The government has also imposed very high rates of tax duty to the company, therefore, it is
hard for the company to make its market plans as purposed.
Technological forces
The Vodka Cruiser Company uses the latest technology in processing, manufacturing and
packaging of its contents. The processed products are packed in smart and well-designed
bottles that attracts many customers in the market. Since the year 2009, the company has
been able to compete in the technologically advanced society and by the same, upholding the
current production and marketing processes (Baker, 2014, p. 106).
Natural environment forces
The natural environmental factors affecting the company are the political, religion, economy
and also climate of the region. The gender and the perception of the product to different
people designs and affects the marketing strategies of the company.
External environment – near environment
The Vodka Cruiser has achieved a wide market through the marketing strategies of
advertisements, selection of real customer target; the youths and through making a powerful
product.
The company has been able to compete effectively with other companies which produce a
similar brand. Some of these companies are the Cruiser Guava, Cruiser Raspberry and other
imitations of the original brand. The end user customer for the brand are the millennials

Marketing Strategy and Plan5
between the age of 20 years and 35 years. The product is supplied by the company and its
affiliates such as the Ripe raspberry which has shared trademark with the company, therefore
bringing in the issue of the company merging.
Critical Success Factors
One of the success factor of the company is the merging with other product companies to
strengthen its trademark. For instance, the Vodka Cruiser shares its tradename with the Ripe
Raspberry, Vodka Cruiser Zesty Lime and Vodka Cruiser Juicy Watermelon. This step has
enabled it to establish a strong market segment.
Critical success factors and situational Analysis
The company opportunity to extend its market and opportunities has been accompanied by
the availability of efficient management skills, and the ability to achieve the competitive
advantage. The threats of the Vodka Cruiser are based on the competition by different
alcohol brands in Australia. There is the local brews which are more embraced by the
indigenous people and the Vodka products is sometimes limited to people of higher
economic status. The company has faced a lot of competition from different brands such as
Mr Black Coffee and Archie Rose Liquer, which are among the top brands. These has
exposed the Vodka Cruiser to a state of seeking advantage over them through improvement
of marketing strategies such as packaging, advertisements and targeting the most prone
consumers; the millennials.
Competitors
Competitors Competing products
Phillip Moore and Tom Baker’s
company
Mr Black Coffee Liquer
Rosebery’s Liquer Archie Rose liquer
Coffee Spirit Company:
Espresso Martini
Onyx Coffee Spirits
Espresso Martini 666 Vodka

Marketing Strategy and Plan6
Problems and opportunities statement
The problem statement for the company would be based on the marketing capabilities of the
company. What would be the new and effective marketing strategies that Vodka should
employ to have a positive progress and maintain its market power?
Product Definition
Product category Our products/brands
Flavour range Vodka Cruised Wild Raspberry, Lush Guava, Cruiser
Mixed, Zesty Lemon
Mud Shake Original Cow Boy, Espresso Martini and Classic
Chocolate
Sugar Free Cruiser Sugar Free: Mixed Berry flavour, Citrus Blend
and Peach & Mango brand flavors.
Strategy Development
Marketing Objectives
The main goal of the Vodka cruiser company is to raise its scale, involvement, and efficiency
within its medium choices. The increased scale is a Vodka cruiser company’s goal whereby
the firm is looking forward to increasing its product, the vodka cruiser by at least 3%
annually as from the year 2016. Vodka cruiser sales from the year 2014 have been declining
thereby, resulting in those sales to be negative (Zia and Kumar 2016). In the year 2015, a
slight change in increased sales was observed which was clearly portrayed by a marginal
growth of 1.1%. Therefore, the company’s goal since the year 2016 up to date is to ensure
that they increase their sales per year. The Vodka cruise company is also looking forward to
enhanced efficiency through modification of the product to suit its target needs. The Vodka
cruiser company also has a goal of engaging its target market through improved campaigns
recall whereby, they look forward to improving on their campaigns recall annually by 5%.
Product-Market Strategies
Vodka Cruiser company has effective marketing strategies whereby, it puts into consideration
all the 4 p’s involved in a marketing mix. The 4 p’s includes the product, price, place, and

Marketing Strategy and Plan7
promotion (Anker, Sparks, Moutinho and Grönroos 2015). For the existence of product-
market strategies, a product must be present which is to be marketed. Price is also an
important aspect of marketing a product. Therefore, the Vodka Cruiser Company has set its
product’s price fair whereby, its target customers can easily access the product. Vodka is
packed in different quantities such as 250ml, 500ml, and 1L with respective prices. As a
result, the Vodka Cruiser Company has ensured that all its target customers can be able to
afford its product depending on their financial stability. The Vodka Cruiser Company also
promotes its products through promotional techniques such as an advertisement, public
relations, personal selling, and sales promotion. Finally, the Vodka Cruiser company has
created its brand name whereby, it is highly recognized by a large number of individuals
globally hence, its ability to supply its products globally.
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Strategies
The segmentation of the Vodka Cruiser Company is the young consumer base (Kumar and
Reinartz 2016). Vodka cruiser target a demographic of women who are in the range of 18 to
24 years of age. The positioning strategies of the Vodka Cruiser Company is that it airs a
series of its six-part branded content weekly on Facebook.
Customer Value Creation Mix
The Vodka Cruiser Company has been able to survive in the market for a long-term, 15 years
as a result of its competitiveness. The Vodka Cruiser Company has been able to put the
interests of its target market ahead of its own (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker and Brennan,
2015). The Vodka Cruiser Company has ensured convenience, customer cost, communication
and customer’s solutions hence its ability to survive in the market in the long term. The
Vodka Cruiser Company has been providing its target market with solutions on what to take
through the production of high-quality products and at an affordable price. Usually, the target
Market wants to purchase value or an answer pertaining their problem(s). For an effective

Marketing Strategy and Plan8
market, a two-way communication is necessary. The Vodka Cruiser Company has therefore
been communicating with its target market regarding the product whereby, it gives back its
customer’s answers with immediate effect. Basically, customers are more interested in
purchasing products whose prices are straight-forward. Therefore, the Vodka Cruiser
Company has been able to effectively compete in its industry as it has set its products’ prices
which are stable; that is, they do not keep on changing day by day hence reliable to its
customers. Finally, the Vodka Cruiser company has made its products convenient to its
customers globally as these products are found in the supermarkets worldwide hence making
them more accessible to the target market.
Strategy implementation
Resource allocation
The implementation plan will help the company manage the activities that are associated with
the delivery of its strategic plan. Vodka cruiser has reconnected with its younger market
through Facebook live chats. Vodka cruiser is active in paid media and in 2016 they spent
almost $17 million on the campaign and this was the lowest spent in the recent years.
Resource allocation is mainly aimed at ensuring efficient use of the company resource to
ensure optimum profits and exceeding the core objectives ( Bower 2017)
Good resource allocation and budgeting will help it ensure that there is the effective and
efficient use of resources, it demonstrates sound business decision and helps it take remedial
action where needed. When allocating budget, the following phases should be followed; the
initial budget should be amassed with the involvement of whoever will be accountable for its
control, the outcome of the budget decisions communicated and the responsibilities of each
element of the budget given to one individual (Bogsnes 2016). The company can monitor
expenditure by seeking information which involves the actual spending to date, any future
expenditure commitments, the balance of the annual budget remaining and analysis and

Marketing Strategy and Plan9
explanation of any positive or negative variances between the expenditure and forecast
outturn to budget.
Implementation plan
Vodka cruiser typically holds campaigns every summer using tactical promotions, broadcast
media and point on sale to promote their products to their consumers (Harding 2015). The
campaign tries to uncover why there is tension between enjoying vodka cruiser and not
identifying with it. The brand also aims at changing its perception, increase its associations
and make sure that it maintains its journey of as a progressive icon. This has given rise to the
strategic platform ‘Discover your spirit’ that helps take the women consumer on a path of
discovery that encourages confidence and fuels self-expression. Their campaign also covers
the media who for so long was the hardest audience to engage as the blocked their ads. This
is because they favored the use of real celebrities in advertisements and not the A-listers. The
key to reaching them was through the use of their favorite devices, using credible voices of
influence and play on their turf. The company thus needed to come up with a platform that
delivered immediately, authenticity and the content created by FOMO (Cândido & Santos
2015). By using the above approaches, vodka cruiser was able to position itself as a modern
brand that inspires and entertains.
To ensure that the campaign was a success, they rolled the campaign in three phases. First,
they got the customers excited through teasers and invited them to submit their own content
they wish to be included in the campaign. Next, they tried to sustain fandom during the
campaign; they streamlined the episode live on Facebook every Wednesday. The show
ensured that the existing audience was always on the show and created a desire for the
exciting range of vodka cruiser flavors.
Its marketing structure is one common in most organizations. There is the marketing
president who manages the marketing department team including roles of product manager,

Marketing Strategy and Plan10
public relations manager and advertising manager (Onarheim Gabrielsen & Christensen
2015). Product manager focuses on product research, promotion, and development and
closely monitors the market. The advertising manager concepts ads and ensures that
advertisements meet the company guidelines. Public relations manager is responsible for
sharing the message about the company and its products.
Strategy evaluation and control processes
Evaluating and control processes the business involves checking of the success of the
strategic plan. At this point we are going to examine the bases of Vodka Cruiser Company,
compare the actual results the trend of Vodka compared to the expected results, we list the
corrective measures that should be put in place for the success of the company.
Internal forces
Vodka Cruiser Company over the past 15 years has demonstrated good financial records.
Good amount of profit has been realized in the company. It results as from the good line of
management within the company (Jones 1999, p.14). The leadership of the Vodka Cruiser
Company has worked hard in the past years to ensure that all policies formulated in the
company are followed and the profits rates expected are keenly checked through to ensure
that losses are minimized. The internal management of the company ensures that all bodies in
the in the company work harmoniously to ensure the success of the Vodka Company. The
vodka Company has a good flow of communications within it, information systems within
the company are maximized by all means this ensures that there is a clear flow of strategies to
all stakeholders involved so as to reach the goals and objectives of the company.
External Forces
69% of the people sampled in 2016 declared that the brand was appropriate and they liked it.
The results gotten showed the highest level of marketing of the product realized since the
year 2014. The progress of the company, one the company goals objective was fulfilled and

Marketing Strategy and Plan11
this shows the company is growing and achieving their goals (Iannuzzi 2017, p.45). 57% of
the people indicated that the drink was pleasant and it was good to be seen when drinking.
78% of the people sampled customers indicated that Vodka drink has flavors and is worth
drinking. All this percentage proves the drink acceptance in the market which is one of the
goals achieved by the company.
Measurement of performance
One of the Vodka Cruisers strategies of advancement, the advertisement has been very
successful. Online advertisements have received a lot of ads which similarly follows with an
increased number of the sales within the company. Facebook and YouTube advertisements
get a lot of likes and subscribers summing to millions and the numbers increases with time.
The manufacturing side of the Vodka Company meets the target laid down for it (Niland,
McCreanor, Lyons and Griffin 2017,p.281). All the drinks manufactured are transported to
the markets at the required time. Vodka Cruiser has gained a lot of share in the market for
drinks. Similar companies share the little share left by the Vodka Company. The performance
of Vodka Company is almost the standards set by Center for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
Correction of Performance.
On the advertisement docket, some changes must be done to ensure that the adverts are aired
live in Super Sports in DSTV where they will get a large market large in among fans of
games which are mostly the target markets of the company. The company should seek to get
involved in social activities and community service where it promotes the social well-being
of its end users. Some lucky games should be initiated which gives chance for the customers
to win prizes like cars and trips to lucrative areas (Mulgan, Tucker, Ali and Sanders 2007,
p.13). The strategy helps to capture a lot of customers which ensures that the advancement of
the Vodka Cruiser Company is assured.

Marketing Strategy and Plan12
Conclusion
The Vodka Cruiser Company has been on the rise in the beverage market. It mainly due to
the strategic plans put in place. To capture a wider markets marketing of the products in the
advertisement is essential which ensures that the end consumers are reached to and hence
increased market selling (Dowling 2004, p.34). Constant evaluation of the Vodka Cruiser
strategic plans ensures that the company is constantly gaining profit within the market and
that losses are minimized. Good strategic planning is essential for the advancement of the
Vodka Cruiser Company.

Marketing Strategy and Plan13
References
Anker, T.B., Sparks, L., Moutinho, L. and Grönroos, C., 2015. Consumer dominant value
creation: A theoretical response to the recent call for a consumer dominant logic for
marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 49(3/4), pp.532-560.
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Baker, M. J. 2014. The (Short-Term) Marketing Plan. Marketing Strategy and Management,
496-503. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-34213-3_23
Bogsnes, B., 2016. Implementing beyond budgeting: unlocking the performance potential.
John Wiley & Sons.
Bower, J.L., 2017. Managing resource allocation: Personal reflections from a managerial
perspective. Journal of Management, 43(8), pp.2421-2429.
Cândido, C.J. and Santos, S.P., 2015. Strategy implementation: What is the failure rate?.
Journal of Management & Organization, 21(2), pp.237-262.
Dowling, G.R., 2004. The art and science of marketing: marketing for marketing managers.
Oxford University Press, USA.
Harding, T., 2015. Elements of a Strategic Implementation Plan: Implications for Enhancing
Combination Classes Using a Multiage Framework.
Iannuzzi, A., 2017. Greener products: The making and marketing of sustainable brands.
CRC Press.
Jones, J.P. ed., 1999. The advertising business: Operations, creativity, media planning,
integrated communications. Sage.

Marketing Strategy and Plan14
Kumar, V. and Reinartz, W., 2016. Creating enduring customer value. Journal of Marketing,
80(6), pp.36-68.
Library Authentication - La Trobe University. (n.p.). Retrieved from https://www-warc-
com.ez.library.latrobe.edu.au/content/article/afa/vodka_cruiser_tv_live_on_facebook/
112182
Liu, W. and Atuahene-Gima, K., 2018. Enhancing product innovation performance in a
dysfunctional competitive environment: The roles of competitive strategies and market-based
assets. Industrial Marketing Management.
Mulgan, G., Tucker, S., Ali, R. and Sanders, B., 2007. Social innovation: what it is, why it
matters and how it can be accelerated.
Niland, P., McCreanor, T., Lyons, A.C. and Griffin, C., 2017. Alcohol marketing on social
media: Young adults engage with alcohol marketing on Facebook. Addiction Research &
Theory, 25(4), pp.273-284.
Onarheim, B., Gabrielsen, G. and Christensen, B.T., 2015. The Role of Marketing Logics in
the Selection of Innovations. In The 22nd International Product Development Management
Conference. IPDMC 2015.
Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Schaltegger, S. and Wagner, M. eds., 2017. Managing the business case for sustainability:
The integration of social, environmental and economic performance. Routledge.
Vodka Cruiser & SketchShe Join Forces For New Campaign - B&T. 2017, (March 26).
Retrieved from http://www.bandt.com.au/marketing/cumminspartners-unveil-new-work-
vodka-cruiser

Marketing Strategy and Plan15
Zia, M. and Kumar, N., 2016. A Three Dimensional Vertical Differentiation Model:
Implications for Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning.