This paper received a 10/10 and although there is some room for improvement it is a great paper and can

be used as a guide. It states/cites the theory and then matches research to that theory to prove a point. That is all that is required. No bull, no history lessons, no opinion, etc. Scott

J. Doe, Student No.xxxxxxx, 25/03/08 Sprite 2 Litre bottle, Marketing, Section 1184

Sprite is a clear, lemon-lime flavoured, caffeine free soft drink which is manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company (Wikipedia). The objective of this report is to analyze Sprites usage of the marketing mix. The marketing mix is the combination of product offering, promotional methods, pricing and distribution system that brings a specific group of consumers superior value (book1 page 375). {more needed in this intro to briefly tell the reader how the issue will be examined ()- Scott} The initiation of the marketing strategy is generally done with the product (book1 page 375). The product strategy is choosing a brand name, packaging, colours, a warranty, accessories and a service program for the good or service (book1 page 375). A convenience product is an inexpensive product that needs little shopping effort and can be bought routinely without planning (book1 page 404). Sprite falls under this category since it is a soft drink (Wikipedia). A brand is what identifies a companys product (book1 page 406). Starting off as Fanta Klare Zitrone (Clear Lemon Fanta) in Germany, Coca-Cola Company introduced this drink in North America under the brand name Sprite (Wikipedia). The packaging of a product identifies it from competitors products and increases its customer value (book1 page 401). The two litres Sprite bottle comes in a green transparent bottle with green and blue labelling (Wikipedia). Sprite uses persuasive labelling but putting a focus the longstanding slogan obey

your thirst (9). Since Sprite has been available since 1961 and still is with a larger variety such as Sprite Zero and Sprite Remix, it belongs to the maturity stage in the product life cycle because products that have been in the market for a long time belong here (book1 page 415, Wikipedia). In maturity stage products also bring out variations of a basic product which Sprite has done as well (book1 page 410, Wikipedia). The situational analysis is used to understand the current and potential environment that a product will be marketed into (book2 page 28). The S.W.O.T identifies Sprites strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (see appendix). Since Sprite took into consideration majority of the elements in the product strategy, Sprite has successfully utilized the convenience product strategy.

Most firms usually use some sort of promotion to inform or persuade consumers about their products (book1 page 470). The promotional strategy is the unique combination of advertising, personal selling, publicity and sales promotion to stimulate the target market to buy a product or service (book1 page 376). Advertising is any paid form of non-personal promotion by an identified sponsor (book1 page 471). Sprite did major ad campaigns with renowned NBA basketball athletes such as Grant Hill, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James (Wikipedia, 14). Sprite commercials use subliminal advertising (Wikipedia). Television commercials also include Miles thirst, a vinyl doll representing the growing hip hop market (9). Publicity is the information about a product or company that appears in the news media and is not paid for directly by the company (book1 page 484). Sprite did major publicity by sponsoring the NBA Slam Dunk 2008 (10). Sprite is also actively linked to snowboarding and skateboarding (14). Sales promotion is marketing activities that increase consumer buying (book1 page 471). Sprite gives special offer such as redeeming codes under sprite caps will allow consumers to win prizes (11). According

my research Sprite has used three out of the four elements in the promotional strategy. Therefore Sprite has successfully used the promotion strategy.

The distribution strategy is the channels through which a product flows from the producer to the consumer (book1 page 346). An aspect of the distribution strategy is that how many wholesalers and retailers will be handling the product in an area, geographically (book1 page 376). The intensive distribution system states that a manufacturer tries to sell its product wherever there are potential customers (book1 page 446). Usually products that are inexpensive and are purchased frequently are often distributed intensively (book1 page 446). Since Sprite is a convenience product (paragraph1), it should be using the intensive distribution system. According to my research, in Montreal, Sprite is available in the most frequently visited stores by consumers starting from 24hours stores such as Couche-Tard(1) to drug stores such as Uniprix(2) to gas stations like Ultramar(6). It is also in major retailers such as Provigo(4) and Metro(5). Due to its high accessibility it can be concluded that Sprite has successfully utilized the intensive distribution strategy.

The pricing strategy states that a price is set based on the demand and cost for a good or service (book1 page 375). According to my research the pricing strategies used by Sprite is the odd-even (psychological) pricing and penetration pricing. The odd-even (psychological) pricing strategy states that a price is set at an odd number to designate a bargain and an even number to propose quality (book1 page 421). Sprites pricing of the two litres bottle ranges between 1.99 2.75 (1, 2, 4, 5, 6). Therefore it can be observed that this method is being used.

According to some retailers odd numbers are favoured by them because it is believed that they sound less imposing on customers (book1 page 422). Odd numbers also connote a bargain according to the odd-even (psychological) strategy therefore it is a fitting strategy for a convenience product like Sprite (paragraph1). Penetration pricing is selling new products at low prices with the goal of achieving large sales volume (book1 page 420). During the initial launch phase of Sprite this strategy was used (12). Among the distribution channels I visited, Sprites biggest competitor is 7UP (see chart).

Sprite has been the market leader in the lemon-lime category since 1989 (Wikipedia). As analyzed in this report, it can be observed that Sprite successfully uses the product, pricing, promotion and distribution strategies. Therefore it can be concluded that Sprite has properly utilized the marketing mix.

Appendix

Situational Analysis (S.W.O.T): Strengths Manufactured by the Coca-Cola company therefore very well funded, clear colour (good for people with braces or dental appliances), caffeinefree; versatile: can be mixed with other juices to create different taste sensations. (1,2)

Weaknesses

Contents of the product are all chemical based which may cause health conscious people to avoid; 7UPs (major competitor) website is far more informative than that of Sprite it offers nutritive facts and answers to frequently asked questions which the Sprite website lacks.(1,3)

Opportunities

People tend to believe that high amount of bubbles in Sprite settles down stomach; People who limit their caffeine intake prefer lemon lime soft drinks. (2)

Threats

7UP (major competitor) has recently been made a healthier soft drink. As well as competition from other brands in the lemon lime soft drink field such as Sierra Mist and Bubble Up. (1,3)

Sources for S.W.O.T: 1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(soft_drink) 2-http://www.lohipedia.com/article/show/59 3-http://www.7up.com/

CHART

Provigo Sprite 2L 7Up 2L 1.99$ 1.99$

Metro 1.99$ 1.99$

Couche-tard 2.29$ 2.29$

Ultramar 2.75$ 2.75$

Bibliography
Visits to:

1- Couchetard (514) 843-6541 235 Sherbrooke West Montral, QC H2X 1X7 Visited: 23/03/08

2- Uniprix Edddy Bishara Andrew Ly Pharmacien 514-849-6176 3575, avenue du parc Montreal, QC H2X 3P9 Visited: 23/03/08

4- Provigo 514-281-0488 3421 avenue du parc Montreal, QC H2X 2H6 Visited: 24/03/08

5- Metro

3575 avenue du parc Montreal, QC H2X 3P9 Visited: 24/03/08

6- Ultramar (514) 987-9737 265 Sherbrooke West Montral, QC H2X 1Y1 Visited: 24/03/08

Websites:

7- http://www.sprite.com/#/theyard/

8- http://www.sprite.com/#/spritesips/ 9- http://www.tvacres.com/admascots_sprite.htm 10- http://www.sprite.com/#/spriteslamdunk/ 11- http://www.sprite.com/#/mycokerewards/ 12- http://www.business2000.ie/cases/cases_6th/case10.htm 13- http://www.beers-portugal.com/soft_drinks.htm 14- http://www.americasgreatestbrands.com/volume1/flash/sprite.swf 15- http://www.marketingmag.ca/magazine/current/promo_report/article.jsp? content=20020916_22861 Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_%28soft_drink%29

All Pages from:

Book1: Title: The Future of Business, 2nd Canadian Edition Author: Althouse Publisher: Thomson

Book2: Title: Marketing, 3rd Canadian Edition Author: Lamb (et al) Publisher: Thomson-Nelson