Britvic shoots wide of the mark with Freekee Soda
earlier this year, have been disappointing - evidence of the
difficulty of marketing any new product to that most fickle of
consumers, the teenager, claim market analysts Datamonitor.
Britvic launched its innovative new soft drink Freekee Soda in a blaze of publicity at the start of the year, but with sales faltering after just three months on the market, the brand is facing a make or break summer period, according to market analysts Datamonitor.
The brand's disappointing sales performance is causing retailers to review the product, according to Datamonitor, a failure which suggests Britvic may be relying too heavily on out-dated notions of how to effectively target 'tweenagers', the core target audience for the drink.
With an advertising budget of £6.25 million and an investment of £1.5 million in new manufacturing equipment for the milk-based drink, Britvic has a lot to lose if it cannot successfully appeal to its target audience.
Current marketing tactics have tried to make the product cool and fun, two vital propositions of any tweenage offering, the analysts said. The approach includes a Freekee Soda microsite - freekeesoda.com - mainstream TV advertising and in-store sampling campaigns.
The ads, complemented by widespread sampling and price promotions, are set to continue during the summer in what will be a very important period for the product's overall success.
"At the time of launch, Britvic claimed Freekee, after three years in development, filled a gap in the tween (10- to 13-year-olds) market with its 'texture-based fizz'. However, this has been deemed part of the problem. Freekee's milk base combined with fizz has been deemed confusing, whilst the premium pricing strategy is also a deterrent. Asda has already cut the price of Freekee Soda by more than half," Datamonitor commented.
"However, perhaps of greater significance is that Britvic has failed to understand the aspirations of its target consumers. One of the major desires of tweenagers is to mature beyond their years and attain what they perceive as the benefits of being older.
"Consequently, they have a tendency to disassociate themselves from what they perceive to be child-orientated products or marketing that treats them as such. On this basis, perhaps Britvic should consider giving Freekee a heightened teenage focus in order to appeal to its 10- to 13-year-old target market."
