MARKETING PLAN for Jones SodaDESCRIPTION:Being a small company has its advantages—except in the cutthroat world of soft drinkmanufacturing. Behemoths like Coke and Pepsi have consistently had their way when it comes tomarket share buying up whatever else they cannot manage to create on their own.Yet one small company Jones Soda Company (JSC) has made a valiant effort to be that Davidamong Goliaths—albeit with varying levels of success. Started by Canadian ski instructor Peter vanStolk JSC sold its first bottles to thirsty consumers in January 1996. JSC however was not soldalongside Coke or Pepsi in convenience stores. Instead it was sold in skateboard shops and tattooparlours to consumers looking for a drink that matched their lifestyle. Its unique style was evidencedby its use of bottles that resembled classic beer bottles and by pricing higher than for regular softdrinks.The lifestyle that JSC attracted was that of younger consumers from tweens to high schoolgraduates—in other words those who revelled in the coolness of the unique and different and whoenjoyed alternatives be they in sports or other pursuits. Jones Soda appealed to this segment byflying under the radar even asking its customers to help package the product. From the start JSCasked consumers to send in pictures of themselves. Some of these ended up on Jones Soda labels.Van Stolk notes: “We allowed the labels to be discovered and that gave consumers a sense ofownership. It makes it more relevant to them and provides an emotional connection.”Without much money for marketing Jones began an underground movement that utilizedsalespeople in RVs instead of ads on TV. For nine months of the year a Jones Soda RV travelledaround the United States visiting everywhere from small skate parks to large events like the SummerX Games. The idea was pretty simple: show off the brand to the young kids and offer free drinks andkey chains. JSC also hired extreme pro athletes from BMX riders to surfers all of whom would beseen at events wearing the Jones Soda logo. JSC’s connection to its target segment always seemedmore personal than what other drink manufacturers were doing and loyal customers appreciated it.Jones Soda has also tried to stay avantgarde with product development. It is well known forbringing out uniquely flavoured drinks usually in conjunction with holidays and other special events.For Halloween a few years ago JSC introduced a few new flavours including Candy Corn andCaramel Apple. This perhaps was not as much of a stretch as the holiday bundle of new flavours which included Broccoli Casserole Turkey and Gravy and Pecan Pie. These “new” flavours whichmore often than not were available for only a limited time were used to generate curiosity amongconsumers.JSC has also experimented with brand extensions. Some have succeeded (Jones Soda HardCandy MyJones bottle labelling Jones Music); others not so much (lip balm frozen popsicles). ButJones has always looked for different angles from which to compete.As time passed JSC realized that it needed to find other ways to get out there and meet consumers.Facetoface was nice but it did not sell enough to keep Jones Soda in competition with the bigplayers. The bottom line was this: find a better distribution method to get more Jones Soda out tomore of the market. Jones Soda launched a more aggressive attack on the market and its products were soon availablefrom Starbucks 7Eleven and Barnes and Noble. Large soft drink distributors including NationalBeverage now deliver Jones Soda by the truckload not the RV.One of the greatest coups in the growth strategy for Jones Soda was the Seattle Seahawks deal.The Seahawks who play in the National Football League (NFL) signed an exclusive rights deal withJSC. This deal meant that only Jones Soda not Coke or Pepsi would be offered at the Seahawkshome games played at Qwest Field. In honour of signing the deal JSC came out with a sports packthat included flavours like “Dirt Soda” and “Natural Field Turf Soda.” Jones was finally going bigtime.But going big did not necessarily mean big success. JSC has recently suffered some setbacks. AStarbucks distribution deal fell through and JSC’s initial attempt to distribute its product in cans toWalMart was seen as a major failure. These failures led to quarterly losses a struggling stock price and the resignation of van Stolk as CEO in late 2007.Other outside factors have led to challenges for JSC. A lower U.S. dollar has meant that exporting toother markets is becoming more expensive for the Seattlebased company. Luckily JSC does havesome bottlers in Canada so it has been able to take advantage of the trade policies on both sides ofthe 49th Parallel.Corn syrup a common sweetener for soft drinks has become more expensive due to high demandfor corn. This has prompted many bottlers to switch to cane sugar. Jones Soda recently changed tosugar sweetening of its products; the hope is that sugar prices will remain stable. However recentconsumer trends toward healthy living are a cause for concern for companies like JSC that sellsugarbased products. Recent research showing a correlation between unhealthy diet choicesamong young consumers and serious health problems including diabetes has generated aconsumer backlash against many consumer product companies.Earlier in 2010 the Seattle Seahawks announced that they were dropping Jones Soda as a drinkpartner. As well American Airlines announced an end to its deal with Jones Soda which hadprovided soft drinks on the airline since 2008. The new partner for both the Seahawks and AmericanAirlines: Coke.Despite these setbacks JSC is moving forward with plans to go mainstream. Distributors are in line new product lines are being developed (Jones Natural Jones Energy Drinks) and the company isfeeling confident about its future. Some though wonder whether the snowboarding and alternativesegment that Jones Soda first appealed to will be as excited about this new direction. With a newWalMart deal making investors happy does this constant attempt to achieve mainstream statusmean a break with this alternative segment?To test out this move toward the mainstream JSC is exploring potential markets. Given theCanadian roots of Jones Soda it should not be surprising that JSC achieved early successdistributing soft drinks in Western Canada. Now might be as good a time as any for the company toreturn to its roots. Given what you know about the Canadian market it is now up to you to lay out thepossibilities for Jones Soda making a big splash in Canada this fall. Use the following pages to layout your strategy. Help prevent Jones Soda from fizzing out.Resources:Jones Soda background: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/92/jonessoda.html Van Stolk quote:http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2005/id20051026_869180.htmJones Flavours: http://www.jonessoda.com/limited-editions.htmlJones Soda sugar cane: http://www.jonessoda.com/beverages/pure-cane-soda/12-pack-ofjones-pure-cane-cola-soda.htmlJones and Seahawks deal:http://www.jonessoda.com/invest/pdf_documents/2007/seahawks.pdfJones Soda Seattle Seahawks and American Airlines split:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012259194_qwestsoda02.htmlINSTRUCTIONS:As a Marketing Manager of Jones Soda develop a 1 500 word marketing campaign plan for theCanadian market. This plan will be presented to the Executive Committee of the company. Click onthe following link to see the Marketing Plan Outline for the correct format that is used whencreating a Marketing plan.Your plan must be strongly communicated and demonstrate your knowledge and understanding ofthe concepts learned in the course. Be creative in your work and ensure that all yourrecommendations are fully substantiated.OUTLINE FOR THE MARKETING PLAN.1. Organizational Overviewa. Name of Organizationb. Mission Statement – this tells people why the organization exists it should be short andmemorable2. The Opportunity — Describe the opportunity that this plan will address3. Situation Analysis (SWOTT)SWOTT Analysis. Strengths:- List the internal strengths that we can callon to be successfulWeakness:- List the internal problems that will limitsuccess and must either be corrected orneutralizedOpportunity:- List those things external to theorganization that can contribute to thesuccess of the projectThreat:- List the things that will threaten the successof the projectTrends – List the trends that can have either a positive or negative impact on the plan4. Marketing Research a. Industry analysis – what is happening in the overall industry for this product/serviceb. Consumer analysis – demographics behaviors geographic considerationsc. Competitive analysis – who are your potential competitors and their strengths andweaknessesd. Opportunity analysis -information to substantiate the opportunity you identified in section 2.5. Differentiating and Positioning – how will your product/service be different that yourcompetitors and how will you position it compared to your competitors.6. Target customers and marketing mixa. Target customersThe demographics this plan will target geographic area age etc.b. Product/Service – Type and featuresc. Placei. Channels of distributionii. Product location/availabilityiii. Location of facilities ( if applicable)d. Pricei. Pricing strategy is it profit oriented or sales orientedii. How does it compare to the competition iii. Suggested selling priceiv. The price quality relationshipe. Promotioni. Personal sellingii. Advertising1. Direct mail2. Internet3. Telemarketing4. Radio/television5. Newspaperiii. Sales Promotioniv. Public relationsv. Web site and social media7. Key success factors – what are those key factors that will contribute to the success or failureof the plan8. Goals and objectives –this section details short and long-range goals and objectives for thisenterprise.Develop an overall goal and 2 short-term objectivesShort-term objectives should be specific and apply to the next yearThese can be performance objectivesi. Number of customersii. Market Shareiii. Revenue Or action objectives e.g. Place advertising in all local papers9. Implementation plana. What are the 3 initiatives you will start in the month following the approval of the plan10. Budget –Sales Forecast and planned expenditures for the first year11. Control/monitora. Feedback mechanism to monitor progressb. Evaluation process12. ReferencesNEED PROPER CITATION AND REFERENCES IN APA FORMAT.
