final report atlantis water
TRANSCRIPT
Marketing Plan: Research-Based Strategic Marketing Audit
for the Commercialization of “Atlantis Water” in the Twin
Cities’ Market of Pakistan
Final Year Project Report
Year of Completion 2011
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences,
Islamabad
Arslan Khalid 07-0232Farjad Iftikhar 07-0257Jalil ur Rehman 07-0099 Syed Sultan Haider 07-0131UsmanRiaz 07-0245
SupervisorMr.MohsinLohdi
Co-SupervisorMr.RajaShuja-ul-Haq
Marketing Plan: Research-Based Strategic Marketing Audit
for the Commercialization of “Atlantis Water” in the Twin
Cities’ Market of Pakistan
Final Year Project Report
Year of Completion 2011
Word Count:24,300 Approx.
This report is submitted to National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences on
12/05/11, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelors of
Business Administration.
Arslan Khalid 07-0232Farjad Iftikhar 07-0257Jalil ur Rehman 07-0099 Syed Sultan Haider 07-0131UsmanRiaz 07-0245
SupervisorMr.MohsinLohdi
Co-SupervisorMr.RajaShuja-ul-Haq
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Mission Statement
“To strategically market Atlantis water, by using all necessary tools and techniques of
marketing for exposing the qualities and purity of Atlantis towards the customers”.
Bottled water industry of Pakistan is a fast growing industry. Safe drinking water is an
issue for the people of Pakistan hence more people are getting aware of its importance. There
are many national and international brands trying to reap the benefits of this huge market.
Atlantis with its unique composition and benefits is ready to challenge all the existing brands
in twin cities. Atlantis has already started its operations for corporate clients and has around
six hundred corporate clients.
The main purpose of this project is to come up with marketing strategies and activities
that can help commercializing Atlantis water in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. This is a research
based project and marketing research is a tool that we are going to use to understand the
customer preferences, role of the collaborators (distributors, suppliers) and the competition in
the market.
The end result of this research will be inculcated into a model of three tier strategy i.e.
strategic level strategy, tactical level strategy and administrative level strategy. The goal is to
produce a genuinely prepared document that recommends a research based marketing
strategy with proper application of marketing concepts and it tools.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful towards Mr. Mohsin Lodhi (CEO Atlantis) who gave us the opportunity and
trust for developing the strategic marketing audit plan for his company and also for the
guidance, motivation and sense of belief that he provided throughout the project.
We are very thankful to our Co-Supervisor Mr. Raja Shuja-ul-Haq whose directions,
suggestions and continuous support assisted us in the project.
We would also like to thank all our teachers who have played a role directly or indirect.
Especially, we would like to thank our parents and friends whose prayers and motivation lead
us to complete this work.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction and Methodology...............................................................................10
1 Introduction......................................................................................................................10
1.1 Purpose of the Study..................................................................................................10
1.2 Mission Statement.....................................................................................................10
1.3 Aims and objectives..................................................................................................10
2 Literature Review.............................................................................................................11
3 Research Design and Methodology.................................................................................11
3.1 Environmental Scanning...........................................................................................11
3.2 Primary Research.......................................................................................................11
3.3 Post Survey Analysis.................................................................................................12
5.1 Administrative Marketing Plan.................................................................................13
Chapter 2: Field Research Environmental Scanning...............................................................14
4 PESTEL Analysis.............................................................................................................14
4.1 Political......................................................................................................................15
4.2 Economical................................................................................................................16
4.3 Social/Cultural factors...............................................................................................17
4.4 Culture:......................................................................................................................18
4.5 Technological Factor.................................................................................................19
4.6 Legal:.........................................................................................................................19
4.7 Environmental:..........................................................................................................20
5 Porter Analysis.................................................................................................................21
5.1 Existing Rivalry in the Industry:...............................................................................22
5.2 Threat of substitute:...................................................................................................24
5.3 Bargaining Power of the Customers:.........................................................................25
5.4 Bargaining power of Suppliers:.................................................................................27
5.5 Threat of new entrants:..............................................................................................27
Chapter 3: Analysis..................................................................................................................31
6 Consumer Pattern Survey.................................................................................................31
6.1 Information Needed:..................................................................................................31
6.2 Structure of the Questionnaire:..................................................................................32
6.3 Determining the validity of the questionnaire...........................................................32
6.4 Methodology..............................................................................................................32
6.5 Reason for using non-probability sampling technique:.............................................33
6.6 Sample size................................................................................................................33
6.7 Consumer Survey analysis........................................................................................34
6.8 The Conceived Results and Analysis:.......................................................................34
6.9 Survey Findings.........................................................................................................34
7 Distributors Network Survey...........................................................................................37
7.1 Interview Guideline:..................................................................................................37
7.2 Information Attained:................................................................................................37
8 Retailer Survey.................................................................................................................38
8.1 Retailer Survey..........................................................................................................38
8.2 Product Velocity:.......................................................................................................39
9 Perception Mapping.........................................................................................................40
9.1 Perception Map Questionnaire..................................................................................40
9.2 Result of Perception Mapping Questionnaire............................................................40
9.3 Perception Map..........................................................................................................42
Chapter 4: 3C’s Analysis.........................................................................................................43
10 Consumer:........................................................................................................................43
10.1 Customers Profiling:..............................................................................................43
10.2 The Buying Decision process:...............................................................................45
10.3 Psychographic........................................................................................................46
10.4 Target Market:.......................................................................................................50
11 Collaborators:...................................................................................................................51
11.1 The Collaborators and their Role:..........................................................................51
12 Competitors......................................................................................................................55
12.1 Levels of Competition...........................................................................................55
12.2 Types of competitors:............................................................................................56
12.3 Analyzing the competitors:....................................................................................57
12.4 The Analysis of Major Competitors:.....................................................................58
Chapter 5: Proposition Models and Positioning Strategies......................................................65
13 Value Proposition Models................................................................................................65
13.1 Value Dimensions:.................................................................................................65
13.2 Value Dimension for Atlantis:...............................................................................66
13.3 Customer Value Hierarchy....................................................................................66
14 Positioning Strategy.........................................................................................................68
14.1 Positioning Statement:...........................................................................................68
14.2 Positioning Frame Works......................................................................................68
Nestle:......................................................................................................................................72
Local brands:............................................................................................................................72
Category Positioning:...............................................................................................................73
Competitive Positioning:..........................................................................................................73
Chapter 6: Marketing Mix and Branding.................................................................................74
15 Product Strategy...............................................................................................................74
15.1 Packages:...............................................................................................................74
15.2 Services:.................................................................................................................75
15.3 Added Features of Atlantis:...................................................................................75
16 Pricing Strategy................................................................................................................77
16.1 Pricing Objective...................................................................................................77
16.2 Cost........................................................................................................................77
16.3 Competition...........................................................................................................78
16.4 Price Strategy Matrix.............................................................................................78
16.5 Prices List for Customer........................................................................................79
16.6 Price Flexibility:....................................................................................................79
17 Placement Strategy...........................................................................................................80
17.1 Placement...............................................................................................................80
17.2 Departmental Stores...............................................................................................80
17.3 Specialist Stores.....................................................................................................80
17.4 Super Store.............................................................................................................80
18 Distribution Strategy........................................................................................................81
18.1 Opportunity for Atlantis in distribution.................................................................81
18.2 Distribution channels.............................................................................................81
18.3 Kotler’sFour Steps of Designing the Channel System..........................................82
18.4 Distribution strategy for Atlantis...........................................................................83
18.5 Evaluating the Distribution Strategy......................................................................84
19 Promotional Strategy........................................................................................................85
19.1 Advertisement........................................................................................................85
19.2 Sales Promotions....................................................................................................88
19.3 Promotion through the public relations:................................................................89
19.4 Personal Selling:....................................................................................................90
20 Branding Atlantis Water..................................................................................................92
21 Packaging Strategy...........................................................................................................96
21.1 Packaging Level.....................................................................................................96
21.2 Labeling.................................................................................................................97
Chapter 7: Recommendations and Roll out Strategy...............................................................99
22 First Year Implementation Plan.......................................................................................99
Chapter 8: Questionnaire Results...........................................................................................100
23 Questionnaire Result and Analysis................................................................................100
23.1 Sample Questionnaire..........................................................................................100
23.2 Result and Analysis.............................................................................................104
24 Appendix........................................................................................................................119
25 Reference........................................................................................................................121
Table of FigureFigure 1 Brand Decision Process.............................................................................................93Figure 2 Kapfer's Brand Identity..............................................................................................93Figure 3 Kapferer's Brand Mapping Model.............................................................................94Figure 4 Long term Values and Ultimate Goal........................................................................95Figure 5Result Analysis Age.................................................................................................104Figure 6Result Analysis Gender............................................................................................105Figure 7Result Analysis Location..........................................................................................105Figure 8Result Analysis Income............................................................................................106Figure 9Result Analysis Preferred brand...............................................................................107Figure 10 Key Choice of Consumption.................................................................................108Figure 11 Major Brand Differences.......................................................................................111Figure 12 Rating of Attributes...............................................................................................112Figure 13 Home Consumption...............................................................................................113Figure 14 Brand Ranking.......................................................................................................113Figure 15 Rating of Attributes with respect to Home consumption......................................116Figure 16 Brand Awareness about Atlantis...........................................................................116Figure 17................................................................................................................................119Figure 18................................................................................................................................119Figure 19 Retailer Price List..................................................................................................120
Chapter 1: Introduction and Methodology
1 Introduction
1.1 Purpose of the Study
Mineral water market in Pakistan is growing every year with a growth rate of 40% annually.
There are around 58 players in mineral water market including national and international
brands currently operating in Pakistan.(Market Research Report
“Atlantis Water”, Aug30 2010; ThemissingP). In this growing industry Atlantis is stepping in
to bring the best quality water which has more features than any other brand currently
operating in Pakistan. Atlantis is well researched water with proven technologies and
formulas that make water safer than any other brand. The main feature of Atlantis is that it is
the only virus free water; no other company can claim itself as virus free water in Pakistan.
The main purpose of this project is to commercialize Atlantis water in the market for the
customers (public). As it already is being used by Atlantis corporate customers so the main
focus will be upon the ordinary people. We will make a marketing plan indicating the
necessary measures that need to be taken in order to aware people about the brand, its
qualities and how it differentiates from other existing brands.
1.2 Mission Statement
“To strategically market Atlantis water by using all necessary tools and techniques of
marketing for exposing the qualities and purity of Atlantis to customers”
1.3 Aims and objectives
Following are the aims and objectives of the marketing plan of Atlantis water:
To utilize already existing research survey for Atlantis water conducted by the
company “ThemissingP”.
To conduct a new survey dedicated more towards analyzing the buying behavior,
needs and wants of people consuming mineral water.
To utilize the data collected and designing the marketing plan that is well in
accordance to the results gathered from research analysis.
To aware the customers about the arrival of Atlantis water in market by using
different marketing tools and techniques.
To mark the name of Atlantis water in the list of top 3 mineral water brands in the
minds of consumers in Rawalpindi Islamabad.
2 Literature ReviewThe information available to us before the startup of this project is a survey which was
conducted by company ThemissingP during August 2010. However being not fully satisfied
with this research conducted in Islamabad as it is more focused at retailers and corporate
clients than customers. Atlantis will be using the stats about the retailers and the competitors
from this survey report.(Market Research Report“Atlantis Water”, Aug30 2010;
ThemissingP)
3 Research Design and MethodologyTo achieve our aims and objectives we will be using different tools and techniques. The road
map of our journey towards the ultimate goal is as follows:
Four-Tier Research Strategy
3.1 Environmental Scanning
The secondary research was carried out in order to evaluate the environmental factors at
micro and macro levels. At micro level we performed 3C’s Analysis and Porter’s 5 Forces
Analysis, whereas at macro level we performed the PESTEL Analysis.
3.2 Primary Research
The primary research was based on field research. During our field research we did
researches at following levels:
3.2.1 Consumer Survey
To identify the preferences, needs and wants of the consumers of mineral water we conducted
a questionnaire survey for identifying the buying behavior, preferences of customers
regarding different brands, their needs and want. For this survey the sample of 300 people
was taken.
3.2.2 Distribution Network Survey
Distribution channel is one of the most important parts of the availability of an FMCG market
product. Realizing its importance we conducted a survey in different distribution channels
available in Rawalpindi and Islamabad to understand the distribution patterns and how we
can incentivize them to distribute our product in an effective manner. This was done by
channel auditing and face to face structured questionnaire interviews. The channels to be
audited and surveyed were selected through judgmental sampling techniques.
3.2.3 10-Point Scale Perceptual Mapping Study
In a perceptual map plotted different bottled water companies in the market on a map. These
competitors were plotted based two most important criteria identified by the consumers in
survey.
3.3 Post Survey Analysis
Components of the Strategic Marketing Audit of Atlantis Water
The strategic marketing audit is based on three following levels:
3.3.1 Strategic Marketing Plan
The components of strategic marketing plan are:
Value proposition: to analyze that what type of value are we creating for our customers’ i.e.
psychological value, economical value or functional value. In value proposition answered the
question that why will the customer buy Atlantis instead of any other brand.
Segmentation Model: after the value proposition we segmented the market and identified the
target market that suits Atlantis or with which it goes well. For this segmentation is done
using following model:
Profile / Psychographic / Behavioral Segmentation
Positioning Frameworks: after selecting the target market and identifying their needs and
wants decided the positioning strategy for Atlantis water. This is done with perceptual map
where plotted different players in mineral water market on the basis of two most important
criteria for customers and then we positioned Atlantis.
3.3.2 Tactical Marketing Plan
At this level the marketing mix for Atlantis water is designed. The marketing mix will be made keeping in mind the four conventional P’s and the other 3 or 5 P’s as well if needed. Following are the components of Tactical marketing plan:
Product Strategy Pricing Strategy Channel Strategy Promotional Strategy
5.1 Administrative Marketing Plan
At the third and last level we devised the first year implementation plan which is the roll out strategy. The success of any brand is very much dependent on its performance in first year. So at this level we decided that at what level and intensity should we carry out the marketing activities and what will be the outcomes.
Chapter 2: Field Research Environmental
Scanning
4 PESTEL AnalysisIslamabad and Rawalpindi the twin cities of Pakistan have their own importance. The
military headquarters, Presidency, Secretariat, Supreme Court etc all are in these twin cities.
To analyze the different external factors in twin cities that might affect the commercialization
and operations of Atlantis in Twin cities we are conducting an external factor survey using
Philip Kotler’s model of PESTEL analysis.
Atlantis Water
Political Technological
Social Legal
EnvironmentalEconomical
PESTEL Analysis
4.1 Political
Political conditions of Pakistan have always been a question mark. Stability in politics has
rarely been observed in Pakistan. The frequent martial laws and corrupt democracy for the
long time has discouraged the foreign investors from taking interest in any activity. On the
positive side, currently the government of Pakistan is operating in a democratic manner
which has been desired by most of the people of Pakistan and other nations. Different
governments from last decade or so have been trying to create a suitable environment for the
investors to invest and conduct businesses. This suitable environment has also created good
opportunities for conducting full fledge marketing activities as well. In recent times the
evolution of media has played a major role in this regard. Since May 2002 when private
channel Geo was inaugurated many other channels like ARY, AAJ, Indus vision etc on aired
their channel which gave a new life to the prime media and advertisements.
Similarly, telecom industry is another example of Government’s desire to provide a better
environment for the investors. PTA deregulated the monopoly of PTCL in country; this
allowed the private companies like Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor and Warid to enter the market
and facilitate the people of Pakistan. Currently telecom industry is one of the most promising
industries of Pakistan.
If we talk about the mineral water industry, Nestle is considered to be the biggest player
followed by some other international brands like Aquafina, Sparklet, Kinley, and local brands
like Springley, Sufi etc. The issues regarding clean drinking water has raised concerns for the
people of Pakistan and ultimately has created opportunities for mineral water producing
companies. Government in this scenario is liable to provide clean drinking water to people
but unfortunately government has not been able to do accomplish on the wider scale. Mineral
water companies have helped the cause but there is still a huge population of people who
cannot afford this bottled water.
Pakistan is currently in state of war with extremists who have been responsible for the
killings of many innocent people. This war on terror begins after the incident of 9/11 which
took lives of many innocent people. The war has created a fuss condition in the country.
There has been a huge collateral, infrastructural and human resource damage which is not
easy to overcome. The recent conditions of uncertainty and security issues has damaged the
reputation of Pakistan very badly and has forced many MNC’s and international firms to
close their operations in Pakistan.
4.2 Economical
Economy of Pakistan after a constant growth in between years 2002-2007 showed a major
decline due to the global recession. According to the economic survey of Pakistan in years
2008-2010 there has been an increase in economic loss from 8% to 11%. The conditions are
alarming for the country. The major losses have been because of the war on terror through
which Pakistan is going. According to the economic survey of Pakistan the major reasons for
the loss in economy are:
Decline in GDP growth Reduction in Investment Lost Exports Damaged/destroyed Physical Infrastructure Loss of Employment and Incomes Diversion of Budgetary Resources, to military and security‐related spending Cutbacks in Public Sector Development Spending Capital, and Human Capital, Flight
Reduction in Capital + Wealth Stock
Despite of this loss in economy there is a hope for a recovery in economy in next few years.
These economic conditions have severely affected the people of Pakistan. The buying power
of people is getting low day by day. The electricity, technology, food items and basic needs
are getting expensive due to some inefficiency in the system. The transportation costs with
fuel prices recently raised have become unaffordable. Atlantis in this regard will have to look
at its costs as the scenario is not like it was few years back. Looking at the purchasing power
of consumers the prices and target market selection will be crucial decisions to make.
4.3 Social/Cultural factors
For any company to commercialize its product in Pakistan, it is very essential to analyze the
social and cultural patterns of Pakistan and its cities under consideration. Pakistan is a High
context culture with many defined norms and values, which are supposed to be practiced and
respected.
According to National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS) estimates of population for
2009 the total population of Islamabad is 1049 thousand and according to the district
government of Rawalpindi the total population of Rawalpindi is around 3,252 thousand.
(Reference:Available on internet www.rawalpindi.gov.pk)
The different alternate sources of water used in these two cities are:
CDA and WASA (RCB) Water Boozers and through pipeline. Filtration Plant which are been placed at different location in Rawalpindi and
Islamabad. Bottled water from number of companies Other most important source is through Boring or drilling wells.
Social Differences of Islamabad and Rawalpindi:
Islamabad is considered to be the cream of Pakistan where people are financially stronger as
compared to the people in other cities and Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi is a mixture of people
from all income groups. The main headquarters of Army is in Rawalpindi so it has its own
strategic importance as well. People living in Islamabad are not its natives; they have
migrated from different parts of Pakistan so there tastes might vary.
Current Scenario:
According Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) about 70% of the diseases in
Pakistan are water borne diseases.
The different sources of clean water other than bottled water used by the people of twin cities
are boiled water and PuR treated water i.e. small filtration plant at home. According to
USAID PuR treatment of water can only reduce the water born diseases to a level of 50%
which is not enough to call it a healthy drinking water, as around 62% of Pakistan Urban
Population and 84% of the rural population do not treat their water.
(Reference Available on Internet: http://www.usaid.gov/stories/pakistan/fp_pakistan_water.html)
Clean drinking water has now become an issue for the people of Pakistan. It is one the basic
necessity that cannot be availed by every citizen. The media has empowered and educated
people with the knowledge regarding the importance of clean and healthy drinking water.
This is the reason that the growth rate of bottled water industry is showing increase every
year. According to the latest research conducted by PCRWR there is positive growth of
bottled water market in Pakistan; which is increasing with the rate of around 40%.
(Reference: http://www.pcrwr.gov.pk/Btl_wr_report/btl_wtr_rpt.htm)
4.4 Culture:
As Pakistan is a High context culture so for educating and making people use bottled water
the information should be either in the physical context or in behavioral context. This means
people learn and understand those things which are either they experience or are shown as an
example. In a high context culture the influences and social class pressures are also very high.
Culture of Twin cities:
Islamabad is considered to be a “modern” city where people are more sophisticated
and stylish. People are rich and more class conscious. If we compare Islamabad with other
cities there are some cultural differences for example things that are considered to be
unethical to wear in other cities might be considered modern and style in Islamabad.
Rawalpindi is not much different than Islamabad but as mentioned before Rawalpindi is more
diversified city with different social classes and preferences.
4.5 Technological Factor
Pakistan being a developing nation is making its efforts for the advancement in science and
technology. Telecommunication system and improved roads of Pakistan is and evident that
some effort has been made for the improvement in overall conditions.
Major issue which Pakistan is facing in the progress of development and technological
advancement is the energy crisis issue. This has not only damage the industrial production of
Pakistan but also damaged the overall economy. Load shedding of electricity has shattered
every single business in Pakistan and in recent years’ natural gas shortage has also damage
the transportation and production system of the industries. Due to these reason; prices of the
electricity and petroleum have been increase constantly causing inflation in the market.
Many companies recently have installed heavy water filtration plants and new machinery is
available for water filtration. Pakistan in this regard is no way backward and is making its full
efforts to provide favorable environment and conditions.
Overall bottled water industry can be divided into two major portions; one is the international
brand company which have advanced and highly sophisticated equipment and filtration plants
to provide clean drinking bottled water. They have achieved different production standard
certification to provide clean bottled water. Other portion is of local brand which don’t have
every advance form of filtration plants and don’t follow any standard certification.
4.6 Legal:
Since Atlantis water is to operate in Pakistan, it has to follow certain rules and regulation laid
down in the law to operate legally. There are efforts going around the country for providing
clean drinking water to the people of Pakistan. According to the “National Drinking Water
Policy of Pakistan 2009” the main goals are:
To make sure that pure and secure drinking water is provided to the people of Pakistan at a reasonable cost and in sustainable manner.
To make certain that the incidence of death because of water borne viruses must be decreased.
Infectivity in water is the key reason of many stern water borne viruses. Harmful infections in
drinking water such as arsenic, fluoride and nitrate were found in different areas of the
country. Due to impure drinking water for the public, majority of the consumers actually
shifted towards bottled water and the industry also growing. Hence it is compulsory for the
government to keep check of all these bottled water companies’ product to ensure that they
provide clean and pure water to the people of Pakistan.
Pakistan Quality Control Authority and PCRWR are responsible to make sure that bottled
water provided in the country adheres to the necessary standards. Mainly PCRWR (Pakistan
Council of Research in Water Resources) is assigned by the government of Pakistan to
examine the standard and quality of the existing bottled water brands in the market after
every 90 days and publish the outcome.
The different brands are collected and brought to the National Water Quality Laboratory of
PCRWR and then utilized for further tests and analysis. Every sample of is then tested and
examined for 25 chemical and biological factors. The information regarding these 25 factors
and parameters can be found out on the council’s official website.
The chemical and biological examination of water samples is performed according to specific
method multiple tube fermentation technique which is described by American Public Health
Association, American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation.
The result obtained for 25 chemical and biological aspects are set separately. Then the
outcome is actually compared to the allowable limitations of the World Health Organization
principle values and IBWA (International Bottled Water Association) water quality
standards.
After the comparison, in case the sample of any brand’s bottled water contains either
chemical or bacterial infection then it is considered to be unsafe for the public.
4.7 Environmental:
Environmental factors in Pakistan are favorable for a mineral water company. The weather is
favorable for the water industry. Summer season in Pakistan lasts for more than 4 months,
which is an attractive figure for mineral water companies like Atlantis water. Similarly in
twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad the summer’s season is pretty hot. The temperature in
summers remains between thirty degree centigrade and 45 degree centigrade. Under such
conditions, the consumption of liquids (mainly water) increases. The disastrous conditions of
flood have also led the country into a prime need of clean mineral water safe from impurities.
Overall there is an ongoing debate about the availability of clean drinking water for the
people of Pakistan. Due to the pollution and unclean environment this issue has not so far
been addressed properly.
Bargaining Power of SupplierCosts for switching Suppliers-Medium to High
Availability of Plastic Bottle Suppliers-Low to MediumPrinting Facilities On Bottles – High
Overall Bargaining Power of Suppliers-Low-Medium
Bargaining Power of Customers
Differentiation of Quality – Low to Medium
-Brand Switching Costs- Low-Standardization- Medium to
High-No. of alternate Brands- High
-Pricing- SameOverall bargaining Power
of Customers-High
Threat of Substitutes
-Substitute Products- Medium-Switching Costs- Low
Threat of Substitutes is Medium to high
Existing Rivalry -Number of Players with same target market- High-Brand Loyalty- Low-Brand Switching Costs-Low-Differentiation in Services- Medium-Perceived Differences in Water Quality- Low to MediumOverall Existing RivalryMedium to High
Threat of New EntrantsInvestment- Medium
Government Policies – Perfect Competition – No Monopoly
Exit Barriers- MediumSubstitutes Available- Medium
Overall threat of New Entrants- Low to Medium
Porter Analysis
5 Porter AnalysisPorter five Forces Model
5.1 Existing Rivalry in the Industry:
Bottled water industry is a fast growing industry with an annual growth rate of 40%. This
industry is a mass market industry where more and more people are getting aware and
concerned about the importance of clean drinking water. Increasing growth rate of bottled
water market and being an attractive business there are number of companies that have
jumped into this business. According to the survey of PCRWR there are around 58 players in
Pakistan providing bottled water to the consumers. The need of clean and healthy water
cannot be denied but according to recent reports a research conducted by Pakistan Council of
Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Ministry of Science and Technology, out of total 66
bottled / mineral water brands, 47 are safe while 19 brands are unsafe. These 19 brands of
water are contaminated and are not safe to be consumed. The 33 brands that are declared to
be consistent in quality and not contaminated are Nestle, Aquafina, Kinely, Nector, Alfa,
Aqua Hygienic, Golden, Sufi, Pak Crystal, Nation, Gourmet, Better Life, Piyaas, Blue Gold,
Max Fresh, Sprinkle, Fairmount, Maza, Pacific, First Water, Aqua Save, Bake Master, Isberg,
Khyber Aqua, Natural, Sparklet, Aqua Water, Classic, DeAar and Spring Fresh.
Bottled water industry is divided into two types of competitors international brands like
Aquafina, Kinley and Nestle and local brands like Piyaas, Max Fresh, Maza, Qurshi etc. the
difference between international and local brands is that international brands have tried to
make sure that there brand is available everywhere in the country whereas most of the local
brands only operate either in their own cities or in their provinces like Gourmet water only
operates in Lahore and has achieved a good level of market share. Local competitors like
Gourmet focus upon providing cheap water where as international brands focus on portraying
their ability of providing healthy drinking water like Aquafina claims “7” steps of
purification.
International brands are better known and trusted among the consumers than the ordinary
local brands. Because of the availability of around 62 bottled water brands, the competitive
rivalry in the industry is very high. The major players like kinley, Aquafina and Nestle spend
money at marketing their products through ATL and BTL activities. These companies
promote their brand and this is the reason that they are the prominent water brands with
Nestle being the major player followed by Aquafina, kinley, Sparklets and Springly. Apart
from the marketing activities the main factor that defines the market share of water brand is
its availability. Nestlé’s wide distribution channel gives it a competitive edge over other
brands to reach almost every part of the country. We will go through following criteria to
gauge the intensity of rivalry in the industry:
5.1.1 Intensity of Rivalry:
1. Number of Firms: As discussed before, there are lots of competitors in the industry
including the local and International companies fighting for getting a larger market
share. International companies possess greater market share than the local competitors
because of their brand image and availability. But the research by PCRWR shows that
the industry is still growing as more people are getting aware of the importance of
clean drinking water there is a chance to grab some market share with healthy
marketing and supply chain operations.
2. Market growth rate: The market expands by 40% per annum. This means that there
is a good opportunity of educating the consumers and grabbing their attention towards
the brand. But many new customers are inclined towards buying Nestle pure life
water because of its brand image, brand awareness and its strong distribution network.
So it is important that the consumers are made aware of the new brand coming in the
market with high intensity and the proper exposure of product availability is
maintained.
3. Fixed Costs: Bottled water production requires a huge filtration plant (provided that
the company is genuinely producing quality bottled water). The labs, for water
testing, consist of expensive instruments and fixed costs are quite high which means
that water brands have to work hard on their efficiency to bring the per unit cost
lower.
4. Product expiry life and storage cost: The expiry life of bottled water depends upon
the quality of plastic bottle material and the ingredients that are used in water.
5. Brand switching Cost: The consumers have lots of alternatives and brands to choose
from. Being an FMCG product it requires the brand to be available and in reach of the
customer to grab customers attention. Water is water and nothing more than that for
most of the people. So switching costs are almost none for bottled water consumers.
So the company really has to work hard at its distribution and supply chain function in
order to reach the customer faster than any other brand.
6. Room for differentiation: There is no way in which water brands can differentiate.
There is one common claim from all the water brands of being purer than others. As
discussed before water is water nothing more or less than that.
7. Strategic Stakes: There is a definite room available for earning profits and
developing good customer base by grabbing their attention in the industry as more
and more people are getting aware of the importance of healthy and clean drinking
water. The industry is growing at the rate of 40% per year, which means that there is
potential on the market of earning profits and establishing market share.
5.1.2 Examining Industry Rivalry under BCG”s “The rule of Three and Four”
According to the rule of Three and Four, in a stable market there are no more than three or
four significant competitors in a stable competitive market. If we analyze bottled water
market, there are many local and international competitors in the market but the most
prominent players are only three of them i.e. Nestle, Kinley and Aquafina. The reason that
these brands are more prominent is that they have invested in promoting their brand.
Another point of BCG rule of Three and Four says that the market share of market leader
should not be more than 4 times the share of the weakest player. Nestle is undoubtedly the
most preferred and famous brand which has the most of the market share in its account but
we have to identify reasons for its success i.e. the overall brand image that Nestle has, the
distribution and sales force ( for which Nestle is proud of) and its availability in every part of
the country. So for a brand to follow or to jump into top three it is vital to follow the road
map of efficiency and strong distribution system in order to reach the customer faster than
any other brand and in convenient way. Otherwise when the shakeout stage arrives when the
growth in market is stagnant the brands other than top three or four will perish.
(Reference: Available on internet at http://www.bcg.com/expertise_impact/industries/consumer_products/default.aspx)
5.2 Threat of substitute:
The nature of the product that Atlantis is offering is such that it is not extra ordinary product in its type but the pure form of water which is sanitized for removing the impurities. Water is something that is available on earth since its beginning, so for an essential thing like water, which has been available and used for living on earth, there will definitely be multiple ways of gathering it and using it. In short, water used in older times was simply taken from the rivers and used for drinking and with time people realized the importance of clean water because of increase in pollution around the world. Health conscious people started boiling
water for removing germs from it, as the technology advanced new filtration equipments arrived in the market through which the water can be cleansed. All these alternate sources of purifying water are substitutes of Atlantis. For a price sensitive customers it is essential to know that what value is earned from their money. The hike the price of one substitute might or might not result in the transfer of customer’s preference towards other substitute.
Substitute of bottled water industry can be categories as follows:
Filter water: There are two major source of filter water.
Filtration Plant: These plants are installed by government (CDA, WASA,
and RCB) for public. These plants can be found in various places where
people take their bottles and get them filled. Filtration plant is not a guarantee
of pure water. The water pipelines and taps used for water transfer are open to
air and are not sanitized properly. In short there is not proper quality control
system.
Filtration equipment: This is small filtration equipment installed with the tap
or with water pipe line. The limitation in this type of equipment is that it can
only clean the dust particles from the water and it cannot kill the germs or
bacteria, as the bacteria can only be killed above 100 degree centigrade.
Boiled water: This is the most traditional way of making water clean and safe for
drinking. Water from the source of bore holes, wells or government water supply can
be used and boiled by heating. People generally have a misconception that by boiling
water all the impurities and germs are removed but actually the virus in the water can
only be removed above 105 degree centigrade which is unachievable on an ordinary
stove burner.
Tap water: using tap water is like opening the tap of the water and drinking it
without thinking about its quality and damages it can do to the human health.
For Atlantis to minimize the threat of substitutes it will be essential to educate the
consumers about the differences among the bottled water and other sources of water.
5.3 Bargaining Power of the Customers:
Customers for any industry can be divided into several parts based on their preferences, tastes
and values. Customers with strong financial backgrounds will probably go for buying quality
products in contrast lower income background customer will probably go for an economical
product. Water being an essential part of life is very important for people. If we analyze the
industry and different water brands that are operating in the market there are some variations.
There are brands like Gourmet (currently operating in Lahore) who is providing bottled water
at lower price in contrast to Nestle, Aquafina etc. The bargaining power of the customers is
high. We will support our argument on the basis of the following criteria:
Quality: The quality of water is something that customers cannot easily identify.
Water packed in plastic bottle and cover being sealed is considered to be clean and
healthy for consumption. The only difference that mostly customers can identify is
with brand image.
Price: The prices of major local and international brands are standardized except
some who offer low prices. Customer can buy any brand if there is a problem in
packaging, quality or availability of one particular brand.
Standardization: The product offered by different brands is same and perceived to be
offering the same value of purity. There is no major differentiation that customers can
identify in different brands as the color and nature of water is always the same
provided that customer is not very intelligent to identify the composition and
advantages of using certain brand of water.
Switching Cost: Brand switching costs are close to none. If a customer do not find
for example Nestle can easily switch to Aquafina without any hesitation provided that
the customer is not very brand loyal.
Competitors and Customers: The number of players in the market is around 62 in
Pakistan. Islamabad and Rawalpindi also filled with different water brands. There are
local brands such as Sufi, Qurshi, Sparklets and Al-Saffaetc and the international
brands like Aquafina, Nestle and Kinley offering bottled water so the number of
alternatives available to the customers is very high.
So the criteria’s above indicate that consumers have a bulk of choices. In Islamabad and
Rawalpindi if any brand goes above the limit of pricing standard set by the market leader the
consumers have an easy choice of switching to some another brand. Similarly if there is a
problem with taste color or quality customer can easily switch to other brand. The bargaining
power of customers in this regard is high. It is essential for Atlantis to maintain its quality
standards and prices according to the standards set by the competitors to retain and gain the
significant market share.
5.4 Bargaining power of Suppliers:
The supplies that a bottled water company mainly requires are Plastic bottles, and packaging
material like printing and plastic wrapping of bottle bundles provided that the filtration plant
is not outsourced which does not really happens .
Plastic Bottle Suppliers: The suppliers of plastic bottles are not less. There are
numerous suppliers like Thermosole Industries, PolyPack industries, Pet packing and
Modern plastic industries etc. Suppliers while doing a deal; do realize the fact that
these deals are very big for them and if they get the deal done their bread and butter
can be earned on regular basis i.e. huge number of bottles is to be supplied to the
bottled water companies on regular basis. The number of suppliers that can be
contacted easily through internet is around “40” except the ones who do not have any
websites and their operations are restricted to particular cities. So the bargaining
power of the suppliers is low they cannot intervene and dictate their terms.
Printing Facilities providers: Now if we look at the printing suppliers, there are
numerous printing companies in Rawalpindi and Islamabad like a town named Bani in
Rawalpindi is fully dedicated towards printing press companies or shops where there
are numerous printing shops.
5.5 Threat of new entrants:
Analysis of threat of new entrants comprises of two factors i.e. the level of entry barriers and ease of exiting from the market. Keeping in mind Atlantis product and its utility we will evaluate the intensity of this force by examining the entry barriers and the exit barriers.
Entry and Exit barriers:
As discussed before water is something very essential for living, and bottled water industry is
not very new since many competitors have developed their market shares provided that
Nestle has the major one. We will analyze each entry barrier to gauge its vitality.
Government policies:
Government has not allowed any monopoly in the market which means that no company has
special rights to exercise which can help them to gain advantage over others. But
government, being responsible for regulating the food industry to insure the quality of
products to be consumed by the consumers, has laid down the rules and regulations. The
Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CCRP) in its National Drinking Water Policy
under the section 6.7 has laid down following rules and regulations:
Following points are quoted from CCRP website and only the points relevant to bottled water
drinking water are mentioned:
Section 6.7
The Pakistan Quality Control Authority and PCRWR will be responsible for ensuring
that the bottled water market in Pakistan adheres to the required standards.
Any private vendor of bottled water will be responsible for ensuring that the water
supplied adheres to the approved quality standards
Random testing and surveillance of water quality will be undertaken of water from
different sources including government schemes in urban areas, wells, hand pumps in
rural areas, bottled water, private vendors etc. by PCRWR, ministry of environment
and PQCA to determine the quality of water from different sources
Section 6.9 States:
At federal level PCRWR and PQCA will publish reports in the national press and
provide information on the quality bottled water and inform the relevant enforcing
authority for appropriate action.
The standards defined by PQCA and PCRWR can be witnessed from the Figure17 and 18.
These are the standards defined by the government organizations but this does not mean that
there is a rocket science in these standards and they are difficult to achieve. Many companies
like Nestle, Aquafina, Kinley, Sufi and many more have achieved these standards. These are
basic standards of the ingredients to be used in bottled water and if a brand cannot maintain
these standards it does not deserve to claim a clean water providing brand.
Government is active and making policies to make sure that clean water is in reach of every
human. So in this regard it is a supportive fact that government will encourage any bottled
water brand to operate in Pakistan to achieve a target set by government of providing clean
healthy water to the 95% of population.
Patents and Proprietary Knowledge:
Producing clean drinking water requires a filtration plant consisting of different attributes
quality level of these attributes describes the ability of a company to produce a quality
mineral water. These attributes includes ingredients used in water, its taste, its packaging, its
ability to avoid inculcation of germs like bacteria and virus. Filtration plants are no secrets
but the ability of utilizing them i.e. Efficient management might vary. Nestle in this regard
can be said to be best of all as its distribution system is stronger than any other brand. So
there are no secrets of management it’s all about following the best practices of management.
Assets Specificity:
Water filtration plants are dedicated towards only filtering water and no other product can be
made through filtration plant. The resale of filtration plant is also near to impossible and
resale value can be very low so the asset specificity is highly independent and asks for
industry specific assets.
Operational Excellence:
Operational excellence plays a vital role in the success of any FMCG product. Companies
strive for bringing the per unit cost as low as possible to earn more profits. It vital to
understand that Nestle being an experienced competitor realizes the importance of
operational excellence and has made its supply chain extremely well managed. We will
discuss how the competitors are achieving the economies of scale in competitor analysis but
for now to make the prices compatible and competitive to the competitors it is vital to
maintain high standards of operational excellence.
Marketing Activities:
The intensity of existing level of marketing activities carried out by the competitors also
determines the height of entry barriers. There is not much attention by all the bottled water
brands on marketing activities excluding Aquafina and Nestle. Nestle and Aquafina have
carried out BTL and ATL activities to promote their brand and create brand awareness.
Marketing activities are vital in this industry which is occupied with so many competitors and
players. For Atlantis to become one of the top four brands it is important to aware the
customers about the presence of Atlantis to penetrate into the market. The overall intensity of
marketing activities is not very high as not much attention has paid at this area by different
brands and it is also an opportunity of Atlantis.
Based on the analysis above, the conclusion is that entry barriers are medium to low and exit
barriers are medium. No monopoly support from government, no specialized secrets of
producing water and low intensity of marketing activities are the opportunities Atlantis can
capitalize upon. Whereas the level of operational excellence achieved by some strong brands,
strong distribution network and high asset specificity are some of factors that raise entry and
exiting barriers. In a country like Pakistan where a few established distributors (e.g. Al-
Barkaand Elite) have monopoly in the market, it is very costly for a new company to acquire
a proper distribution network. This can also prove to be de motivating for a new company to
enter the Pakistani market. The reason why brands such as Nestle bottled water, Kinley and
Aquafina entered the Pakistani market and gained profits is that they have the backing of
Nestle, Coca Cola and Pepsi Co, companies which already have a strong relationship with
consumers. The ability of a new mineral water company to enter the market would be very
different from a company which is already present in the market and is known by the
consumers. So as a whole we rate the entry barriers to be medium not very high to be scary
and neither low to be a piece of cake for a new entrant.
Chapter 3: Analysis
6 Consumer Pattern Survey
6.1 Information Needed:
To determine the consumer pattern following information was put forward to construct the
frame work of the questionnaire.
Consumer preferences regarding different brands, quality and other factors that might
play role in the buying behavior of the consumers.
Existence of brand loyalty, whether there is brand loyalty exist or not.
Most valued attribute or quality that a customer expects in a bottled water brand.
Reserch Degin Formulation Specifying the information needed Specifying the type of interviewing method Determine the content of individual questions Design the questions to overcome the respondent’s inability and unwillingness to answerDeside on the question structureDetermine the question wordingArranging the questions in proper orderIdentify the form and layoutReproduce the questionaireEliminate bugs by pretesting
Home consumption and decision makers for choosing the brand.
Customer expectations from a new brand.
Flows in existing bottled water
Customer level of satisfaction
Most important factors for consumers.
Level of existing “Atlantis” brand awareness.
For understanding the consumer pattern questionnaire technique is selected. First thing to
Formulate and design the questions
6.2 Structure of the Questionnaire:
Keeping in mind the above mention information which is needed, questions were design. As
there are two way of asking questions unstructured questions and structured questions.
Structured questionnaire was selected in which: Multi-choice questions, Dichotomous
questions and Scales questions were asked.
6.3 Determining the validity of the questionnaire
To determine whether the questionnaire is understandable it is important to construct the
question in such a way that respondent get the questions easily, there should not be double
meaning questions or any question which provide vague information to and from the
respondent. For that reason pilot testing was conducted to get feedback from different group
and age bracket of people.
Responds from the initial pilot testing resulted in constructing the consumer pattern survey
questionnaire.
(Marketing Research An Applied Orientation Fourth Edition by NareshK.Malhotr)
6.4 Methodology
Methodology for conducting questionnaire is the major task which determines who will be
the respondent.
Defining the Methodology and frame work
There are two major types of sampling probability and non-probability sampling technique.
The methodology select for the consumer pattern survey is non-probability sampling
technique. This technique is selected keeping in mind the constraints and time limitation of
the research.
In non-probability sampling technique it is not random selection of the questionnaire
respondents. This methodology does not suggest that it caters all of the population rather it
only refers to targeted group or predefined group. Non-probability is further divided into two
frame work:
Accidental, Haphazard or Convenience Sampling
Purposive Sampling
Model Instance Sampling
Expert Sampling
Quota Sampling
Heterogeneity Sampling
Snowball Sampling
In non-probability technique purposive sampling framework is selected (predefine group)
which will provide the most relevant and seeking information. In bottled water industry most
relevant group of people are those who use bottled water either at home or outside.
Snowball technique will be used to reach potential and relevant group (people who use
bottled water); this mean respondent will be selected from reference group, relatives and
most closest referral group; those who uses bottle water either at home or outside.
6.5 Reason for using non-probability sampling technique:
This technique is used when the potential group in the population (n) cannot be calculated or
number of the relevant group from which the information is needed is not available. The
sample size was chosen on the judgmental basis of an experienced person keeping in mind
the constraints In this case, bottled water population (n) is not available. Time constraint for
conducting research is also major constraint.
(Book: Research Methods Knowledge BasebyWilliam M.K. Trochim)
(http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/sampnon.php)
6.6 Sample size
For consumer pattern survey we selected the sample size of 300 questionnaires.
These questionnaires were filled from people living in Rawalpindi and Islamabad; those who
use bottled water either at home or outside. Reason for getting response from only these
people was, we wanted to gather information about the consumer behavior, values they
assign with the existing brands, preferences among the existing brands in the market.
6.7 Consumer Survey analysis
A detailed consumer survey was conducted in the twin cities for analyzing the buying
behavior and other purchase patterns of the consumers of bottled water. Following is the list
of information required for the marketing research.
6.8 The Conceived Results and Analysis:
The questionnaire was filled from the people within the age groups of 18-65. People within
the age group of 18-53 consisted of the major portion of the respondents. The ratio of
approximately 55% and 45% was maintained among the male and female respondents with a
fifty-fifty percent ratio of respondents from Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
6.9 Survey Findings
The survey analysis will consist of following important criteria’s:
6.9.1 The market shareThe survey results show that Nestle has the major market share i.e. 68% people prefer buying
Nestle, 17.3% people Kinley and Aquafina 10%.
6.9.2 Brand LoyaltyThe brand loyalty among the consumers of bottled water can be understood from questions 2,
3, 4 and 5. The crust of these 4 questions show that the customers do have the preferences in
terms of the brand and they will prefer buying their preferred brand but the brand loyalty does
not exist. The brand loyalty means that the customer strives for buying the preferred brand
and searches for it in different shops and never buys the alternate brand whereas the results of
questions 4 and 5 show that the customers if do not find their preferred brand in one shop will
not look for it in other markets or shops and will buy any other available brand in the market.
6.9.3 Customer’s ability to differentiate among brands and preferencesThe survey results show that the customers can only differentiate on the basis of the brand
image, the taste of water and high availability. The customers cannot differentiate among
different brands on the basis of the ingredients involved in the water. This means that the
customers are not much aware of different ingredients involved in the composition of water
so the factors that can play an important role in building a brand are brand image which is
created through promotions, availability which is possible with an efficient distribution
channel and the taste can be made better with good level of technology which Atlantis
already has. Moreover the factors that really matter for the customers while choosing a brand
for consumption are Taste, availability and brand image. The customers are not very price
sensitive and buy the product which comes up to the level of the identified factors i.e. Taste,
availability and brand image.
So at personal level, customers tend to buy the product that is most readily available and in
easy access. Brand loyalty does not exist but customers do have preferred brand and if they
do find their preferred brand in the shop with other available brands they will tend to buy
their preferred brand.
6.9.4 Home consumption pattern and findingsFor home consumption the customer preferences regarding brands are same as mentioned
above. Nestle is the most preferred brand followed by Kinley and then Aquafina followed by
local brands. The factors important for the customers while choosing a brand for home usage
or for family consumption are Taste, in time delivery and brand image. This means that the
timely services play a very important role for 19liter bottle consumers. A brand providing
better customer services can create a positive brand image and trigger the customer to go for
the same brand when consuming the pet bottles. Customers are not conscious about the price
of the bottled water they just want a better quality product and the quality in cust6omer’s
dictionary is defined as better taste, better customer services and positive brand image.
6.9.5 Atlantis Brand awareness:The brand awareness of Atlantis is low at the moment only16.6 percent people have heard
about Atlantis. A promotional effort is required to build the brand awareness and brand image
of Atlantis.
6.9.6 The crust of Analysis:Bottled water industry has lot of competitors in the market. The nature of the product i.e.
water is FMCG and is consumed very frequently. The major success of any brand is reliant
upon the strong distribution channel, taste of water and the brand image. The brand image is
important because if a positive brand image is in the mind of the customers they will prefer
buying the brand when choices among different brands are available. After brand image the
availability and customer services play a vital role. Customers at personal or group
consumption level tend to generally buy any brand that is available if the preferred brand is
not available. So it is vital to pay attention to the distribution channel and retailing strategy to
keep the product in access of the customers. Taste is another factor; Atlantis is capable
enough of bringing the taste of water up to the expectations of the customers. The market is
not much price sensitive especially the target market that international brands are targeting.
So it is vital to capitalize on the opportunities of availability, taste and brand image.
7 Distributors Network SurveyFor Distribution Network Survey, judgmental sampling technique was used. Although a
brilliant brand image is important in depicting quality. Similarly, in bottle water industry
availability is a major factor. Nestlé’s success is also based upon brilliant availability and for
that their distribution network plays a massive role. So gaining information regarding the
major distributors in the twin cities, mainly focusing on bottle water distribution was the
target.
7.1 Interview Guideline:
What are the brands you distribute for? What is your coverage area for distribution? What is your distribution margin? What are the incentives the company provides you with?
7.2 Information Attained:
The biggest distributor in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad is SHAN Marketing
Services. For Nestle, SHAN distributes 500ml and 1.5L water bottles, whereas 12L and 19L
bottles are distributed by Margalla distributors. They also distribute pet bottles of Aquafina
but only in the region of Islamabad. Moreover Aquafina and Kinley distribute the water
bottles in Rawalpindi through numerous small distribution channels and themselves as well.
All these international brands perform intensive distribution. All other local brands have their
own distribution channels and they do selective distribution.
(Margalla Water Company Distributor: Manager Sales & Distribution FarhanLatif)
(Shan Marketing Services: Director SyedWajihZaidi)
8 Retailer Survey
8.1 Retailer Survey
Recently Atlantis water has also been made available in the cafeteria of FAST National
University and many students are consuming it on daily routine as well. We opted to perform
a retailer’s survey and asked them few questions about Atlantis water. This was done to in
order to take accurate feedback from them about what do they think after using it and also the
consumers as well.
As far as the taste of Atlantis water is concerned, the people did not find any problems with
that. The retailers said that the taste and consumption is normal. They do not find any
awkward taste which will avoid people from consuming it and there has been not even a
single complaint about the taste as well.
Regarding packaging they told us that there are more than a few problems. First of all, the
cap of the bottle is not at all strong, while drinking you actually put the cap on and off again
and again, in case of a little heavy twist or turn, the cap breaks. Moreover the cap is not able
to grip the top perfectly as well. After opening the seal once, the water leakage is a problem
in some bottles.
Also the material the bottle is made up of is pretty ordinary. One out of every ten bottles
comes out to be vulnerable. When placed in fridge or a refrigerator for a long period of time,
some of the bottles lose their original shape and looks as if expired as well. They showed us
some of the bottles that had lost their shape.
From this survey we concluded that the Atlantis does not focus on packaging which can be a
major setback. The quality of bottle is way below par. Although in our consumer’s survey,
the result showed that majority of the people did not rate packaging very highly but still it is
an important aspect for a bottle water brand. In case consumers face the problems mentioned
above then they might be put off from it as well and this can be a major setback because at
one side we are claiming to be the best in quality and purity, and on the other hand poor in
packaging stuff can change consumers’ perception about the brand and Atlantis will lose
customers.
(Reference: AbbasiCafa, NUCE University and General Store G 10/1)
8.2 Product Velocity:
We also asked the retailer about the sale of Atlantis water. They replied that around 15 to 20
bottles of Atlantis are sold on daily basis. That is a very less when you compare it to the
leading brands especially the number of Nestle water bottles sold per day is more than 50.
Moreover Atlantis is sold when people just look to consume water and ask the retailer about
bottle water without mentioning the name of any brand, or at times they just pick it up from
the fridge themselves. On the other hand in case of Nestle, the consumers name it that they
want Nestle bottle water.
(Reference: AbbasiCafa, NUCE University and General Store G 10/1)
9 Perception Mapping
9.1 Perception Map Questionnaire
9.1.1 Purpose of Perception Map
This technique used to get consumer perception about the different brands with respect
different attributes, which consumer gives most importance. For making perception map it is
significant to get the most important attribute. According to consumer pattern survey two
most highly rated factors that consumers assigned were Taste and Availability.
Packaging
Availability
Brand image
Taste
Price
Ingredients
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6.77
8.27
7.87
8.49
7.17
7.26
Rating
Perception mapping questionnaire was conducted from the age bracket of 18-28 Year. Total
Respondents were 100 in number. As mentioned before that perception mapping will be
between taste and availability. So following questions were asked from the respondents to get
the desired information. Both were close ended questions in which respondents had to rate
the brands from the sale of 1- 10.
how do you rate the taste of the following brands?
Please rate the following brands according to the level of its convenience and easy availability.
9.2 Result of Perception Mapping Questionnaire
1. how do you rate the taste of the following brands?
Nestle Aquafina Kinley Sparklet Qurshi Sufi0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 8.87
7.45 7.52
4.55 4.76
3.41
Taste
Ratin
g
2. Please rate the following brands according to the level of its convenience and easy availability
Nestle Aquafina Kinley Sparklet Qurshi Sufi0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 9.4
8.498.05
4.474.9
3.67
Availability
Ratin
g
10--9--8--7--6--5--4--3--2--
1—0--01234678910
IIIIIIIIII
Availability
Taste
Nestle
Aquafina
Kinley
Sufi
Qurshi
Sparklet
Target
9.3 Perception Map
Perception Map
The results shows that all the international brands are rated highly on both the aspects i.e.
availability and taste. On the other hand, all the local brands are nowhere near the
International competitors as all the local brands were rated less than 5 both in availability and
in taste as well.
The target for Atlantis is to reach among the top 3 brands in the country. For that Atlantis has
to increase its share of mind among consumers by increasing the availability of the product as
much as they can and also not compromising on taste at all.
Behavioural Psychographic Profile
B2C Segmentation
Chapter 4: 3C’s Analysis
10 Consumer:The marketing research and the application of marketing strategies are heavily reliant on the
consumer analysis. Until and unless the product gives the solution of the identified consumer
preferences, tastes and buying behavior success of the brand is unattainable. The consumers
are at the heart of every brand. Understanding the needs of customers is very vital for
identifying the unmet or partially met needs of the customer. To identify the consumer
behavior for buying the bottled water Atlantis needs to understand the consumer needs and
wants. Following are the criteria’s and models through which consumer behavior can be
analyzed.
10.1 Customers Profiling:
Customer profiling is the tool through which the demographics, geographic, economic, and
social and interest factors are taken into the account to identify their preferences. The
customer profiling for bottled water consumers is as follows:
ConsumerCompetitorCollaborator
Demographics
Age 18-54years
Economic characteristics5000- above 100,000
Social ClassLower middle- Upper class GeographyRawalpindi &Islamabad
Age Group: Age groups can be divided into several parts, because of the nature of the
product being water is consumed by every human being regardless of the age group but all of
them are not the decision makers while making the purchase decision. The argument can be
supported by the fact that a 4yr kid also consumes water but the decision that whether the kid
is going to consume tap water, boiled water filtered water or bottled water etc. rests with
kid’s parents. So in this regard it is important to know the decision makers. The decision
makers for buying bottled water can be further divided into two parts i.e. the decision maker
at personal level normally when buying the pet bottles for personal use and for home usage
when buying water for the home usage. The decision makers in personal usage category can
be males or females whereas for home usage normally the head of family or the one who
purchases the house hold items are decision makers. Following are the age groups that fall in
this category:
The probable consumers who are target for purchasing bottled water are within the age
bracket of 18-54 years of age. This age bracket does not mean that a person more than 54 or
less than 18 year do not buy bottled water but they actually are the most probable customers
to make the buying decision. For example mostly when people in Pakistan get older, one or
more than one of the offspring’s of the old person takes the responsibility of running and
bears the expenses of house. Similarly a person who is 16 years of age can also purchase
bottled water but the more probable consumer would be of 18 years of age at personal level
of decision making. This income group includes all the males and females.
Economic Characteristics: people within the bracket of income level of 5000- above
100,000 Rs are included into the targeted consumers. These income levels can further be
characterized as the youngsters who get the pocket money from 5000- 20,000 and the people
who have monthly income from 30,000- above 100,000 Rs. The youngsters normally
consume water for their personal usage (500ml or 1liter) but they do not make the purchase
decisions for buying water for home usage i.e. 12 or 19 liter bottles. People within the income
group of 30,000- 100,000 and above can make both decisions personal level and home usage.
Social Characteristics: People from lower middle to upper social class. Lower middle will
not include the purchase of 12 and 19 liter bottles.
Geographical Area: the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
10.2 The Buying Decision process:
The consumers profiling gives the idea of the demographical, geographical, economical and
social characteristics of the probable customers. After profiling it is essential to know the
purchase decision patters i.e. the buying decision process. It is essential to know the
influences and the patterns of buying behavior that people show while making decision for
buying the bottled water. The buying decision process will identify the decision patters in two
dimensions i.e. at personal usage dimension and home usage dimension.
Following are some facts that are concluded from the marketing research:
52% people buy any brand even if there preferred brand is not available.
75% people say that if they do not find their preferred brand in one shop they are not
willing to search for it in other shops or markets.
Similarly the availability is the factor that is considered to be important after brand
image and taste. Availability is a factor that consumer perceive to be obvious.
The above facts are applicable for the buying decision based on personal usage. Following
are the facts that explicit the purchase decisions that people make while buying water for
home usage:
The customers using water at home rate taste, brand image, services, and packaging
higher than price.
Similarly people are more conscious about the brand image, taste of water, services
and packaging as compared to price.
The facts above indicate that at personal level people are not very brand loyal and they buy
any brand that is available with convenience. Brand image is also one of the factors but brand
image is created with time. Brand awareness with its easy availability i.e. the customer can
easily buy the brand from any shop and market. Secondly, the research about the home usage
shows that the customers are more conscious when they make a purchase decision. The
reason for this concern is that it is a risky decision that directly will affect the family of the
decision maker. This decision cannot be made on daily basis because once the brand is
chosen the bottles are delivered at the door of the customer. So it is a riskier decision with
infrequent decision-making (regarding choosing the brand of bottled water) since the
perceived differences are based upon the brand image and not quality or ingredients
differentiation.
From the information above the conclusion is that the personal buying behavior is a habitual
buying behavior where the perceived differences are low and most of the customers buy any
brand that is available for them. For home usage, customers are more conscious about
services, brand image, taste and packaging providing the fact that it is an infrequent decision
to make while deciding the brand to use hence for home usage the buying behavior is
Dissonance-reducing buying behavior.
10.3 Psychographic
10.3.1 LifestyleThe lifestyle of the people consuming mineral water brand involves people who are very health conscious and want themselves and especially their families to consume healthy water which is completely pure and free form all kinds of impurities. They do not care about the price; they only focus on the quality of the product. They consider water as essential for hydration.
10.3.2 PersonalityIn case of bottled water, personality factor has not much of an influence. There are only very few number of people in the society who would not like to consume a not so famous water brand in a social gathering.
10.3.3 Behavioral Segmentation
10.3.4 Benefits SoughtThe first preference in a bottled water brand that a consumer look for is that the product must
be clean of all the impurities and makes him or her feel fresh after consumption. Another
factor can be economy but it has not got that much influence as bottled water can be bought
at a reasonable price from everywhere. Last but not the least is the image that caters people
who are very brand conscious and would only consume a famous brand.
10.3.5 Purchase OccasionA person such as the likes of students and workers or anyone, when not at home feels thirsty
only prefers to drink clean water, quench his thirst and feel refreshed. For this purpose he or
she will go to any nearby shop and purchase bottled water brand and solve his or her
problem. On the other when it comes to the head of the family to buy the product then he will
only purchase quality water for them and for that he will call the preferred brand to deliver
water at his house.
10.3.6 Purchase Behavior
Problem Recognition: The buying process is initiated when the purchaser recognizes a
problem or a need. The need can be activated by internal and external stimuli. In case of
water that is a normal need such as the likes of hunger so here the person’s internal stimulus
Problem Recognition
Five- Stage Model of the Consumer Buying Process
Information Search
Evaluation of Alternatives
Purchase Decision
Post-purchase Behavior
is active and rises to a level that drives the need. On the other hand if someone is very
conscious about health than he will look to quench thirst from pure product only.
Information Search People who are not very conscious about brand and perceive that all the
bottle water brands provide pure water; they would not look find information about any bottle
water brand before consumption. Whereas people who are health and brand conscious would
like to attain information about the purity of water and how good it is for the health when
consumed. In case of bottle water more than a few consider strength of a brand as a symbol
of quality as well.
Majority of the people are not aware of Atlantis water at first. The company must strategize
to get the brand into the prospect’s awareness set, consideration set and choice set.
Evaluation of Alternatives – Home: When it comes to Home usage of water, we surveyed
our customers on 5 different alternatives. Majority of the people consider taste as their first
preference. Secondly In-time delivery is significant as water is very essential and customers
do not want their homes with lack of drinking water at any time. The third vital factor in
home usage for the customers is the brand image. For them brand image is directly
proportional to the quality of drinking water. Then comes the installation of bottles and lastly
price as people utilizing the services of water at home can compromise on price but not on
quality.
Intime Delivery
Installation
Brand image
Taste
Price
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
8.02
7.46
7.71
8.58
6.93
Rating
Evaluation of Alternatives – Individuals: For Home usage, we surveyed the customers on
6 different alternatives. Among them again taste is there first preference just like the home
usage customers. Then comes availability, as majority of the customers said that they would
buy any brand available in the market if their preferred brand is not available. Third aspect is
the brand image of the bottled water brand. Fourth preference among the customers was
about the ingredients that are used in the bottle water. These people are very health conscious
and want to be aware of the minerals and other ingredients that are present in the water. Then
comes the price factor, for individuals the majority does not care about the price as they are
more or less similar but for few it does matter. At the end, the least preference is given to the
packaging of the product.
Packaging
Availability
Brand image
Taste
Price
Ingredients
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6.77
8.27
7.87
8.49
7.17
7.26
Rating
Purchase Decision: From our research it shows that majority of the people are not much
loyal and they purchase decision is based on convenience i.e. if one brand of bottle water is
not available in a shop then they will just pick up another brand to consume without thinking
much about its characteristics such as the likes of taste, quality and ingredients etc.
Whereas when it comes to home usage, there is risk involved that is family’s health. So the
head of the family has to think and analyze the options and then make a purchase decision
selecting the best one that suits his criteria for home water usage.
Post-Purchase Behavior: For majority of the individuals, brand loyalty is not the case so
even if they were overall satisfied with the bottled water brand it would not matter much. The
reason behind this is that if this brand is not available in a shop they visit then they will just
buy some other brand. Still good word of mouth is spread which is a major positive aspect.
On the other hand for people who are using the product at home and they and the family are
completely satisfied with the taste, quality and services provided by a brand then they would
stick to the same brand instead of trying a new one out. Moreover the case of word of mouth
remains the same.
10.3.7 Usage:There are mainly three types of usages of bottled water.
1. Individual (600ml), Group Consumption (1.5L)-(6L)
2. Home (12L-19L)
3. Occasional (All)
10.3.8 Perceptions and Beliefs:When it comes to bottle water, the people’s perceptions is that there is not much difference
among the products and they believe all are mineral water brands without any kind of
impurities. On the other hand brand image is also considered to be a sign of quality for some
people. The more famous the brand is, the more it is perceived to be of high quality.
10.4 Target Market:
The target market for Atlantis includes the people within the age group 18- 55 based on
decision makers. The target market is divided into two parts: for pet bottles the target market
includes people who like to consume bottled water outside home and their monthly income\
pocket money is between Rs5000- 100,000 and above. Second target market includes the
health conscious people who consume bottled water at home and they lie within the income
group of 30,000- 100,000 and above.
Above mentioned is the target market for Atlantis and as discussed before, the target market
defined includes the people who are most probable of using bottled water or are prospects of
it and consume water regularly.
11 Collaborators:Analysis of the task environment for any industry requires an in depth study or research about
the collaborators i.e. suppliers, distributors and the retailers. The collaborators are the
intermediaries responsible for moving the product from the manufacturer to the customers.
The success of any FMCG product lies upon the efficiency, superiority, promptness and
focus of the collaborators. The reason for this dependency is that a company only produces
the product; it is taken and carried forward to the customers through a whole chain of
collaborators i.e. from the manufacturing to the distributor and than from the distributor to the
retailers.
If we look at the bottled water industry, the success of the market leader Nestle has been for
two major reasons i.e. it has a strong distribution channel and its brand image. The success
story of the market leader implies that it does not matter if your product is better than other
brands or not until and unless your brand is in easy access of the consumer. Same is true for
Aquafina and Kinley, they are the sub brands of Pepsi and Coca-Cola which makes it easier
for them to make their brands distributed in different parts of the country.
We will identify the role of collaborators in bottled water industry in the following way:
11.1
The Collaborators and their Role:
11.1.1 Distributors The distribution patterns in Bottled water industry might vary for the same company in
different cities; for e.g. Nestle has its own distribution of pure life water in Lahore but in
Collaborators
Rawalpindi and Islamabad they have outsourced the distribution to the Abbasi distributors.
Similarly, the distribution channel may also vary with the size of bottle . Bottled water brands
like Nestle for example have two different distribution channels. The 600ml and 1 liter bottle
is distributed by Shan marketing services in I8 Islamabad whereas for home delivery services
(19 liter) Margalla distribution network is hired...
The distributors actually buy the bulks of bottled water according to their perceived demand
and then sell them forward to the retailers. Distributors have fixed margins in the sale of
every bottle which is their profit. Companies offering good margin to the distributors might
get good results with the increase in sales.
Trade Channels: The generally followed design of trade channels consists of an individual,
wholesaler, agent or a distributor buys the bulk of water bottles and then sells it to the
retailers. So the key intermediaries involved in the trade channel after manufacturing are
distributors and the retailers. This is true in case when the distribution is outsourced. For the
companies like Kinley who have dual distribution system, the Islamabad distribution is done
by Coca-Cola itself whereas in Rawalpindi region there are small distributors in different
areas. In a 19 liter category the role of retailer is performed by the distributor where the
distributor takes the water at the door of the customer. The customers do not have to go to the
retailers for buying it. In the category of pet bottles the customer needs to buy the bottles
from the retail shops.
11.1.2 RetailersThe product reaches the customer through the hands of the retailer. Retailers buy the product
from the distributors keeping in mind the demand or expected sales of the product. The
retailer plays a vital role in terms of promoting the brand on the retail outlet. It totally lies on
the retailer that which brand’s bottle of water in placed in front while others rest at the back.
Retailers get incentives from the companies for promoting the sales of their brand. Retailers
promote the brand by advertising the broachers, posters by keeping the product of particular
brand ahead of others. Retailers will always do this for the company that pays them higher
profit margin with incentives like refrigerators.
Retailing Formats: there are two types of retailing formats i.e. store based formats and non-
store based formats. The store based formats include the retailing options where customer
buys the product by visiting the retail outlet where as in a non-store format the customer gets
the services of the company by getting their orders delivered at home. Further these two
retailing formats have different options that can be utilized according to the nature suitability
and compatibility of the product with the retailing option.
Store Based Format: the store based format includes the following options of retail
outlets where the product can be placed:
Departmental Stores
Convenience Stores
Super Markets
Super Store
Hyper Market
Specialist store.
Bottled water being an FMCG product can be easily found in any of the above mentioned
stores. Departmental stores and convenience stores have chillers where they store water
bottles and people passing by these stores can easily buy the water without even having to
visit the super market or hyper market. The departmental stores can easily be found in almost
every market in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Variety departmental store in Rawalpindi is one
of the examples of departmental stores where bottled water can be found. Similarly the
convenience stores are even more common, and can be found everywhere even in some
streets of Rawalpindi, selling Pan, cigarettes and beverages. Some specialist stores which
offer medicines and have pharmaceutical things also sell bottled water in their stores.
Regarding super market, one of the examples of super market is Metro where consumers
purchase items in bulks because of the discount that they get over it. These super stores also
contain bulks of bottled water in a bundle of 6 or 12 bottles of different sizes except 19 liter
and 12 liter.
Non-Store Formats: these formats have the following options available for retailing:
Mail order
Direct selling
Vending machines
TV shopping
Internet retailing
Out of the formats mentioned above, direct selling is one format that is used for retailing of
19 liter bottled water. In this direct selling format the customer data base is maintained by the
company and after periodic intervals water is delivered at home, office or any other
prescribed place. This type of direct selling retailing format is known is personal retailing
where the product is sold door to door by the company.
So here we conclude that the retailing formats that have been used are the combination of
almost all store based formats except hyper markets and the direct selling (personal retailing)
from non-store formats.
11.1.3 Suppliers: Suppliers play a vital role in the assembling, manufacturing and outlook of any product.
Same is the case in bottled water industry. Following are some of the suppliers of bottled
water company.
Packaging Suppliers: Bottled water consists of water, a plastic bottle with plastic cap with a
printed paper attached with the bottle. Out of these items water is something for which no
company needs supplier water is taken through any of the means available and then purified
according to the standards. Whereas packaging requires the suppliers who supply either only
the plastic and paper (for the companies who manufacture the bottles and printed papers
themselves) or already manufactured bottles and printed paper with company’s logo. As
discussed in porter forces model the bargaining power of the suppliers is low because so
many suppliers are there in the market with whom the company can buy the supplies.
12 CompetitorsBottled water industry as mentioned before is filled with different players. This industry
includes local as well as international competitors. International brands such as Nestle,
Aquafina and Kinley have most of the market share because of their presence at larger scale
as compared to local brands.
There are different levels of competition that a product faces at macro and micro level. The
marketing research conducted in Rawalpindi and Islamabad region shows the level of
competition and the preferences of the consumers regarding different brands.
12.1 Levels of Competition
12.1.1 Brand Competition:This level defines the competition at brand level i.e. the different brands that are offering the
same product with same features, prices, fulfilling the same need and targeting the same
market. This includes all the bottled water brands because of the reason that all the brands are
targeting the same market with same prices, products. There might be few differences in
prices but there has not been much differentiation in the appeals that different brands claim
i.e. the clean drinking water.
In region of Islamabad and Rawalpindi there are three international brands:
Nestle Aquafina Kinley
Local Brand includes:
Sparklet Sufi Qurshi-Springley Nector (Only in Rawalpindi) Blue Bell (only in Rawalpindi) Iva Saffa Few other brands with every little share.
The local brands mentioned above are the most prominent local brands only, there might be
more brands in the region of Rawalpindi and Islamabad but no proper record of number
brands in Rawalpindi and Islamabad is available.
12.1.2 Industrial competition:The industrial level competition includes the competitors that serve the same purpose
regardless of the prices. These competitors will include the alternate solutions that are used
for treating the tap water and turning it into clean water i.e.
Boiled water
Filter water (Installed at home)
Filtration plant
Chlorine tablets
12.1.3 Form Competition:This includes plain drinking water that quenches thirst regardless whether the water has been
treated or not. This form of competition includes water from tap well or any other source of
water. In case of Islamabad and Rawalpindi source of plain water can be well, tap water,
CDA/ RCB boozers.
12.1.4 Generic Competition:Generic competition includes all the substitute products, which provide alternative for quenching the thirst. These substitute all the soft drink and beverages.
(Book Name: Marketing Management by Philip Kotler 11th edition)
Keeping in mind bottle water industry we will be focusing only on brand level competition and industrial level competition when we will be analyzing our competitor.
12.2 Types of competitors:
To understand competitor deeper it very important to define, who are your direct competitors
and indirect competitors.
12.2.1 Direct CompetitorsDirect competitors are those competitors, which offer same product to same target market.
These competitors include all the branded bottle water available in the market. As mention
before there are around 58 brands of bottle water. As our initial focus is in twin cities region
it will include all the local brand and international brands that are present in the market of
Islamabad and Rawalpindi
12.2.2 Indirect CompetitorsIndirect competitors mean those competitors, which fulfill the consumer demand by
providing alternative way for the same target market. For bottle water industry indirect
competitors are all treat water e.g. filter water, Filtration plant water.
12.3 Analyzing the competitors:
To analyze the competitors we have to first answer three important aspects of the level of
competitions in the market. These three aspects are:
Share of market Share of mind Share of Heart
12.3.1 Share of market:Major portion of the share of consumers’ heart is covered by Nestle followed by Kinley and
Aquafina. Nestle pure life has around 60-65% share of the market. Reason for this high
percentage of share is Nestles dedicated distribution channel that makes it brand availability
in almost every area of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. (Reference Ac-Neilson)
12.3.2 Share of Mind:In terms of share of mind again Nestle is the leader followed by Kinley Aquafina and other
brands. Although the consumers cannot differentiate among different brands on the basis of
quality, Nestle being in the market for so long has developed a brand image of being a pure
drinking water which makes the customer think and perceive Nestle to be more pure and
clean as compared to other brands.
12.3.3 Share of Heart:Share of heart mean the most preferred brand for the consumer of bottled water. Indicated in
the research below the most preferred brand for the consumers is also Nestle.
Nestle Aquafina Kinley Sparklet Qurshi Sufi Other0
10
20
30
40
50
60
7068.3
1017.3
1.3 0 03
Prefered Brand
Brand Names
Perce
ntag
e
12.4 The Analysis of Major Competitors:
The competitor analysis of different brands will include the major three international brands
in the market. The reason for choosing these brands is that Atlantis is also an International
brand with features that are similar and even better than other International brands. The
mission of Atlantis is to enter the list of top three market leaders list in 4 years. For this
Atlantis has to benchmark and differentiate as well from other brands.
12.4.1 Competitors profile:Atlantis competitors are the international brands considered to be the markets most famous
and prominent brands in terms of market share, target market, prices and brand image. The
profile of the target market customers of these competitors is same as described in customer
profiling in consumer analysis. The customers they target are health conscious people who
are aware or are probable to use bottled water when made aware of the importance of clean
drinking water.
Nestle:
Nestle is the brand that has its deep roots in the heart and mind of the consumers of Pakistan.
Nestle has developed a reputation of providing the quality food items and has developed a
strong positive image of being a quality products providing brand. Under the umbrella of
Nestle is their brand called pure life endorsed with its parent brand Nestle is known as Nestle
pure life.
When Nestle in Pakistan entered the market of bottled water there was an established brand
AVA which was the first brand to introduced bottled water (12Liter and 19 Liter) in Pakistan.
Nestle being a giant having global appearance and profits acquired AVA.
Nestle pure life uses its image of being a trust worthy brand and uses emotional appeal for
attracting the customers through their advertisements using a tag line of Safe and Healthy
drinking water. According to the sales area head of Nestle they have a full focus upon Nestle
pure life and that is the reason that a complete team of sales and promotion is dedicated to
Nestle pure life.
Nestle Packages: Nestle offers bottled water in four different bottle sizes. Out of four two of
these bottles are used for either personal consumption (e.g. a person feels thirsty and buys a
500ml pet bottle) or group consumption (e.g. a group of friends feel thirsty and buy a non
returnable 1.5 liter bottle.) other two bottles are used mainly for the home usage purpose i.e.
12 liter and 19 liter bottles. The 10 liter bottle is delivered at home by Nestle free of cost
whereas 12liter, 0.5 liter and 1.5 liter bottles can be bought from the retail outlets.
Nestle Pricing Strategy: Nestle pricing is considered to be a standard price used by the new
entrants. There might be brands that are pricing their bottles less than Nestle but no brand has
priced its products above Nestle. The retail prices of Nestle bottles are as follows:
Bottle Size Retailer Price Retail Price
500ml Rs. 17.81 Rs. 20
1.5 Liter Rs. 34.92 Rs. 40
5 Liter Rs. 78.25 Rs.90
19 Liter Rs. 110 Rs. 150Source: From figure 15
Services: Nestle provides the facility of home delivery services for its regular customers who
are health conscious and like to consume clean drinking water at home on regular basis. For
this service Nestle sales force with regular intervals visit the customers to supply the water. In
this process the old already consumed water bottle is returned by the customer and new filled
water bottle is delivered to them. The bottles used are returnable and a security is taken from
the customer before availing these services.
Nestlé’s Market Share: Nestle overall in Pakistan has the largest share. It is the market
leader with a market share of 60-65% according to the research conducted by AC- Nielson
Company. According to the marketing research conducted for Atlantis it has a market share
of 68% and for home usage the most preferred and used brand is Nestle in the Rawalpindi
and Islamabad. The reasons for its success is its home delivery services, availability, taste and
strong brand image.
Nestle Distribution System: Nestle has a strong distribution channel that allows them to
make their product available at maximum areas. For Rawalpindi and Islamabad Nestle has
outsourced its distribution. They have two distribution channels in Rawalpindi and
Islamabad. For the pet bottles i.e. 0.5liter and 1.5liter the contract of Nestle is with Shan
Marketing services in sector I/9 Islamabad. This distribution channel is responsible for the
distribution of small bottles in Rawalpindi and Islamabad and Nestle has no other distributor
apart from Shan marketing services company in pet bottles where as 19 liter bottle is
distributed by Margalla distribution Services
Nestle Strengths and Competitive Advantage:
Some of Nestle pure life competitive advantages are as follows:
The name of nestle with its water brand pure life is in itself a competitive advantage.
Nestle has a very strong brand image of being a quality food products producing
company which gives it an advantage over other brands.
Nestle is market leader and entered into the category of pet bottles before any other
brand and acquired AVA as well for bigger bottles.
Nestle has a very efficient distribution system which means that its availability is
higher than any other brand.
Nestle is the most preferred brand for the consumers of bottled water for the reason
that it is perceived to be the best quality water.
Nestle considers its sales force as an asset which makes it efficient in attracting and
building the customers.
Nestle has a vertical integration system i.e. they produce their plastic bottles which
brings their costs very low. The per-unit cost is also because of the reason that they
produce bottled water in very large amount as compared to the other brands.
Weaknesses:
Nestle has a wide range of products and Nestle water is one of them. Nestle pure life
has not paid much attention towards the competition that is building up in the market
e.g. when Aquafina started its marketing campaign Nestle did not reply by its
marketing campaign which resulted in an increased market share of Aquafina but still
lesser than Nestle.
Kinley:
Kinley is a sub brand of Coca Cola. Coca-Cola has a global fame and is known for its soda
drinks. Apart from these soda drinks, juices and bottled water. Coca Cola being one of the
most renowned companies in the world has developed a strong recognition and brand image
in the mind of their customers. Coca Cola originally being soda drink producing company its
core focus has always been on their soda drinks i.e. Coca Cola, Fanta, Sprite 3G etc. Kinley
since its launch has shown some good results and that is the reason that its market share is
now above Aquafina and next to Nestle, but still its market share is very less as compared to
Nestle.
Kinley Packages: Kinley offers there customer only two packages i.e. the pet bottles of size
0.5liter and 1.5 liters focused upon the personal consumption or group consumption. Kinley
does not offer larger sized bottles.
Market Share: The market share of Kinley is next to Nestle. According to the research by
Ac-Nielson company Kinley has a market share of around 15%. The research conducted for
Atlantis water indicates that 17-18% people in Islamabad prefer Kinley for consuming water.
Kinley has also been rated higher in taste and brand image as compared to Aquafina. Kinley
can actually increase its market share if Coca Cola pays some attention towards Kinley as
well. The storage house of Coca cola at Humak tells the whole story. The storage house has
bulks of coca cola’s soda drinks whereas Kinley as compared to other products was in very
limited amount. The supply chain manager of coca cola thinks that coca cola does not has its
focus on bottled water because of the opportunity costs associated with it. A fully dedicated
plant is required for making bottled water which means that the time that they can consume at
producing their core product i.e. soda drinks. Kinley never meets the demand of bottled water
for the same reason that they do not produce much bottled water.
Marketing activities: Kinley has not indulged into any major marketing activities. In few
promotional campaigns Kinley showed the emotional appeal of the pure relationships
between mother and children.
Kinley Pricing:
Bottle Size Price
500ml 20
1 Liter 40
Kinley Distribution: Kinley being coca cola’s brand has long hands in distribution which
makes it eligible enough to get distributed in all the areas. But coca cola does not produce
much as discussed earlier because of their opportunity cost. In Islamabad Kinley has its own
distribution system whereas in Rawalpindi they have outsourced it many small distributors
according to the area they cover.
Kinley Strengths/Competitive advantage:
Following are some of Kinley’s strengths:
Kinley is a subsidiary of Coca cola which has a good brand image and history.
Kinley can take advantage of a strong distribution system that coca cola has developed
over time and focus upon the availability factor.
Kinley’s Taste is well appreciated among the consumers.
Though Kinley came next to Aquafina but they have actually gained higher share of mind
and heart.
Although coca cola is not much focused upon Kinley, still they have good market share
and if Kinley in future tries to expand they can give a good competition to Nestle.
Weaknesses:
Kinley is not well focused upon the water production, distribution and demand.
Kinley is not dealing in bigger bottles which mean that they only fall in the category of
personal usage which falls in the category of habitual buying behavior.
Aquafina:
Aquafina is a sub brand of another big giant PEPSI. Aquafina entered the Pakistan market in
2003 and for the first time gave nestle a tough competition as Aquafina was grabbing the
market share. Aquafina because of it global presence also has a positive brand image and is
considered to be a good product producer. As Aquafina is a sub brand of Pepsi, the core
product of Pepsi is soda drinks i.e. Pepsi, Marinda, 7up and Dew.
Aquafina Packages: Aquafina offers the bottled water in two packages i.e. 0.5liter and 1.5
liter. Aquafina do not deal in 6, 12 or 19 liter bottles.
Market Share and Marketing activities: Aquafina few years back started its marketing
campaign with a bang claiming 7steps of water purification. This advertisement campaign
positioned Aquafina as a superior brand because of its 7step purification system this gave
Aquafina a boost in sales but after the launch of Kinley the market share of Aquafina started
declining because of the taste. The reason for this decline in market share is basically because
of the taste. The exhibit case study indicates that when Aquafina came into the market they
processes of filtration and purification turned it into tasteless water. Ac Nielson research
shows the market share of Aquafina to be 10% (less as compare to Nestle and Aquafina) and
research conducted for Atlantis shows exactly that 10% people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad
prefer Aquafina.
Aquafina Pricing:
Bottle Size Price
500 ml 20
1 Liter 40
Distribution Strategy: Aquafina is distributed in Islamabad by Shan marketing services (the
same distributor as of Nestle).In Rawalpindi most of the distribution of Aquafina is carried
out by the company itself. (Reference: Mrs.Rifat from Shan marketing Services)
Strengths/ competitive advantage:
Following are some of Aquafina’s strengths:
Brand name of Pepsi with Aquafina is strength.
Long hands and access in distribution channel.
Pepsi being the most famous brand in Pakistan in terms of beverages people have positive
perception about its products.
Its advertisement campaign made it popular among the consumers for its 7 step
purification.
Weaknesses:
Aquafina’s lose focus on bottled water.
The taste of Aquafina is not much appreciated among the consumers.
Other Brands:
Other brands include the local brands. These brands if combined have a market share of only
10% whereas the research conducted by Atlantis shows that only 1 percent people prefer
these other brands. Other brands will include Sparklet Sufi, Springly, Nector, Blue Bell, Iva,
Saffa and few other brands with every little share.
The market that these brands target is niche. The target market is niche because of their
limited capacity of production and low brand awareness.
Distribution System:The distribution channels of these brands are not very strong. These
brands have their own small distribution channels through which they take their products to
the selected places.
Prominent Brands in “other brands”:The brands that are making some progress as
compared to other local brands are Sufi, Qurshi and Sparklets. Qurshi and Sufi only produce
0.5 liter and 1.5 liter bottles whereas Sparklets delivers the 19 liter bottles. Sparklets is owned
by the Hashoo group one of the richest groups in Pakistan. The main purpose that Sparklets
achieves is of backward integration i.e. the water supplied to the hotel like Marriot and PC
are only of Sparklets. Other than that they deliver water for home usage as well through their
own distribution system.
(Online Book: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/competitor_analysis.htm)
(Online information about Disturbers http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?
itemId=1074451288&type=RESOURCES)
(http://pagespak.com/pakistan-yellow-pages-company-details.asp?id=161145)
Chapter 5: Proposition Models and Positioning
Strategies
13 Value Proposition Models
13.1 Value Dimensions:
The value dimensions actually define the factors based on which the brand’s message is
communicated to the customers. Out of the three value dimensions i.e. functional Value,
economical value and psychological value it is essential to identify the best available value
that is most important for the customers. The three value dimensions and the analysis of the
Atlantis against them are as follows:
Psychological Value: Atlantis provides free home delivery services with an innovative
service of the delivery of water within 90 minutes of order taking.
Economical Value: The prices set by Atlantis before this project is lower as compared to
the major competitors but some local competitors are also offering the lower price.
Atlantis offers 600ml at the price of 500ml.
Functional value: The functional benefits of Atlantis water are more than even combined
benefits of other two value dimensions. The functional benefits offered by Atlantis are
14 Step Purification, Smaller Molecular Structure, Enviro-Shield, the only Virus
Free Water and the only Natural Mineral Water. These functional values have been
discussed in detail in product part of marketing mix.
13.2 Value Dimension for Atlantis:
The bottled water market is already filled with different kind of appeals the economical
appeal made by the local small competitors, the psychological appeal is made by almost
every brand where as function value appeal has been created by fewer competitors. Atlantis
will focus upon creating the functional value appeal explaining the customers about the
functional benefits of using Atlantis. Since Atlantis is entering into the market by creating its
own category of being the only natural mineral water of Pakistan it will be vital to utilize its
strengths of being a natural mineral water and 14 Step Purification System. The other
functional benefits offered by Atlantis are also important but they cannot be given the
primary importance because of the reason that the consumers do not understand all the
sciences related to the purification of water for example the customer might confusing in
understand the significance of small molecular cluster similarly in case of being a virus free
water, the common perception is that bacteria and virus are just same. These other values will
be communicated with other benefits but the primary focus is to be paid upon the functional
benefits i.e. “14 Step Natural Mineral Water”.
13.3 Customer Value Hierarchy
13.3.1 Core BenefitThe core benefit refers to the basic service or benefit that the consumer is purchasing. Core
benefit the customer is buying when purchasing Atlantis water is quenching the thirst. The
Economical ValuePsychological valueFunctional Value
core benefit is the basic need that is being satisfied by the product. So in Atlantis’ case it’s
the quenching the thirst.
13.3.2 Basic ProductThe basic product is the next level of benefit that a product provides after the core benefit.
The basic benefit Atlantis is offering is pure water which is free of bacteria, clean and safe to
drink.
13.3.3 Expected ProductExpected Product includes the set of characteristics and conditions that a consumer usually
expects when buying a product. The expected set of attributes in Atlantis are the packaging,
clean bottles and health.
13.3.4 Augmented ProductThe augmented product is that exceeds customers’ expectations. Atlantis provides extra
protection from viruses by its 14 step purification which is better than any other company
present in Pakistan.
13.3.5 Potential ProductPotential product is all the possible growth and transformation the product or offer might
undergo as time passes. Atlantis will strive to make purification even better during the course
of time.
Customer Value Hierarchy
Positioning Strategy
14 Positioning Strategy
14.1 Positioning Statement:
“To the health conscious, active and hardworking people who want to stay healthy and
water is essential part of life for them, Atlantis water is the only 14 step purified
Natural mineral water which is safe and healthy for drinking because it is virus free and
keeps the body hydrated unlike the competitors who are just bottled waters with
synthetic minerals and less steps of purification”.
From the analysis of the three value dimensions and positioning frame works is clear that the
Atlantis is to be positioned as the category leader by making its own category of Natural
mineral water and 14 steps of purification (dual positioning). These positioning strategies are
made to be communicated to the targeted customers in an effective way. The medium used
for the communication of positioning is promotion.
14.2 Positioning Frame Works
Positioning plays a very important role in the success of any brand. Positioning is the tool
through which the brand is positioned in the minds of the customers. It is actually derived
Broad Positioning
Operational ExcellenceCustomer IntimacyProduct Leadership
Single Benefit PositioningDual Benefit Positioning (Volvo)Triple Benefit Positioning (Aquafresh)
Positioning
Specific Positioning Value Positioning
More for MoreMore for the SameLess for Much LessMore for LessLess for More ???
Broad Positioning
Operational Excellence Customer Intimacy Product Leadership
from the research conducted for analyzing and gauging the needs and wants of the customers.
For the positioning of Atlantis the frameworks above will be used to determining the final
positioning and the total positioning statement. The positioning frameworks as shown above
are divided into 3 parts i.e. Broad Positioning, Specific positioning and value positioning. To
analyze how Atlantis can position its product different from other it is vital to go through
these frame works.
14.2.1 Broad Positioning:Broad positioning framework gives an idea of that either product should fall into which category i.e.
niche market, be a low-cost leader, or a product differentiator. The three broad positioning value disciplines are
as follows:
The brand that excels in one of these value disciplines and are above average in the other two
become successful.
Broad Positioning Value Discipline for Atlantis
14.2.1.1 Operational Excellence:To be successful in the FMCG industry where the products are fast moving, it is vital for
Atlantis to focus upon the operational excellence. The competitors’ analysis shows that the
most successful brand Nestle has excelled in operational excellence which has become the
major factor of its success. The distribution system of Nestle is so efficient that it makes it
very convenient for the consumers to access their water. After Nestle Kinley and Aquafina
the second and third players in the market have also had success because of their operational
excellence. The prices of these brands are always compatible with each other. Since the
differentiation in the quality of different brands is not easily possible it (questionnaire) is vital
to pay good attention towards the operational excellence.
How to Achieve Operational Excellence:
Atlantis needs to pay attention towards its distribution channel, bottle packaging and prices.
The distribution channel is the area which actually is deciding the success or kill of a bottled
water brand. Distribution channel can make sure that the Atlantis reaches its customers at
both personal and home usage level with convenience without creating any customer churn.
Secondly the packaging is noticed from the survey (questionnaire) plays an important role.
Although the survey shows that the customers are least interested in the packaging but
consider the scenario, a person goes to the shop asks for water and the retailer gives Atlantis
to the customer, but the customer notices some kind of a leakage from the cover or plastic of
the bottle. In this scenario first of all the first brand image of Atlantis is actually destroyed
and the consumer although was not interested in packaging and quality standards of
packaging will refrain from buying Atlantis again.
Packaging
Availability
Brand image
Taste
Price
Ingredients
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6.77
8.27
7.87
8.49
7.17
7.26
Rating
Similarly the survey from the home users of the bottled water shows that the customers are
conscious about the services that the company provides i.e. the in time delivery of the bottled
water, door step delivery and installation of the bottled water. To gauge the importance of
these services consider the scenario that a person has a party or some kind of gathering at
home, the person calls Atlantis for water delivery and the distributor does not reach in time
for delivering the water. In this scenario the customers normally take it very serious and get
even more serious when such a services lapse takes place in people. So here it is very
important to focus upon the services that are to be provided to the customers.
Operational Excellence for Atlantis:
Operational excellence is a major broad positioning value that Atlantis will undertake. Given
the capacity of production i.e. two hundred thousand liters per day. This capacity means for
example Atlantis can produce up to 400,000 bottles of 600ml per day. This capacity is huge
and can meet the demand of Rawalpindi and Islamabad easily. As identified availability is a
major factor, what Atlantis has to do is make a positive brand image of being the best natural
mineral water that has 14 steps of purification and devise a strong distribution strategy.
14.2.1.2 Customer Intimacy:Atlantis achieves the level of customer intimacy by offering the product in four different
packages i.e. 0.6 liter bottles, 1.5 liter bottles, 6liter and 19 liter bottles. 0.6 liter is mostly
consumed by a single person, 1.5 and 6liter normally for more than one person and 19 liter
for home usage. Apart from this the home deliveries services and on call delivery services are
required by the customers and offered by Atlantis. In this value dimension there is not much
room for differentiating from the competitors for the reason that all the services and packages
have already been offered in the market and even if an innovative service is launched it can
be imitated very easily. Hence in this value dimension though Atlantis water does not have
much room for innovation but it can easily offer this value above average.
14.2.1.3 Product leadership In this dimension the brand offers the product that is better in attributes and features
unmatchable by the competitors. Atlantis can also excel in this dimension. Atlantis offers
many leading edge features and attributes that add value to its product and can make it more
valuable in the eyes of the customers with respect to its level of quality, features and benefits.
This requires a positive brand image because customers value the brands who they perceive
to be valuable. In the category of bottled water a leading product will consist of better quality
water, bacteria free, well purified and hydrating etc.
Atlantis distinction from other brands
Following are some of the points that make Atlantis different and superior from other brands
of bottled water:
It is the only virus free water in Pakistan.
It has anti-oxidants which make it essential for body health.
It is the only natural mineral water in Pakistan. All the other brands are bottled water.
It has a smaller molecular cluster that is efficiently absorbed in the body and helps
hydrate well.
It has a pleasant and light taste which refreshes the body.
It is the only 14 step purification system. The maximum used in the industry is 7 or 8
step whereas Atlantis water passes through 14 steps of purification.
The distinctions mentioned above cannot be found in other bottled water brands not even in
Nestle. This is a clear indication that Atlantis is a leading edge product with high quality
features and benefits. To take advantage of this leading edge features it is vital to aware the
customers about the presence of Atlantis and educate the importance of different benefits
offered by Atlantis water.
14.2.2 Specific PositioningNestle:Nestle no doubt is a market leader with major market share. The type of specific
positioning that Nestle is following is dual benefit positioning claiming itself to be “healthy
and safe” i.e. the quality appeal and describes itself as a category leader i.e. Pakistan favorite
water.
Kinley: Kinley uses the emotional appeal by comparing the purity of water with the family
relationships claiming the purity i.e. quality appeal.
Aquafina: Aquafina came into the market claiming the 7 step purification of water i.e. They
are using the Quality positioning strategy. Kinley does this by making fun ads showing
children explaining the different steps of purification i.e. educating the customers.
Local brands: some local brands have not positioned or promoted their brands with high
intensity but their pricing strategy shows that they are focused upon the economical appeal
i.e. single benefit positioning.
The specific positioning strategies discussed above are of the brands promoting themselves
through ATL and BTL activities with major market share. The reason for discussing these
brands only is that Atlantis needs to come up to the level of these three brands.
14.2.2.1Specific Positioning for Atlantis:A brief analysis of competitors specific positioning strategies gives the idea that most of the
brands are claiming the same attributes i.e. purity, quality, and functional benefits. For a
brand like Atlantis which is entering into a highly competitive industry it is vital to
differentiate in claims and positioning attributes. For a brand which enters in a competitive
and crowded industry it is better to make a new category and become a category leader.
Being a category leader will not be an enough claim since it can be imitated by the industry
giants. So Atlantis should go for the dual benefit positioning. The dual benefits that Atlantis
should claim are as follows:
Category Positioning: The only natural mineral water of Pakistan.
Competitive Positioning:14 step purification.
Why category and competitive positioning
The reasons for choosing these two positioning frame works are as follows:
Category Positioning: According to the “Law of Category” it is easier to get into the mind
of the customer by making a new category and becoming the first one to enter rather than
striving for convincing the customers about the superiority of the product in an existing
category. The category of bottled water is filled with number of players no matter what they
sell all of them are called the category leaders. In this regard if Atlantis enters the market with
the same old claims, there is nothing different Atlantis is doing to attract the potential
customers. So it is vital for Atlantis to utilize its ability of producing Natural mineral water
and claim to be the only natural mineral water in Pakistan.
(Reference: The 22 immutable laws of marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trott)
Competitive Positioning: competitive positioning helps the brand to claim the better quality,
features or benefits of the product as compared to other products. Aquafina designed a
campaign of 7 steps of purification and after words Nestle claims to have an 8 step
purification system. The competitive positioning in this scenario will attract the ears, mind
and heart of the customers that now there is a brand that offers 14 steps of purification way
ahead of others. So the competitive positioning can also play a vital role.
Chapter 6: Marketing Mix and Branding
15 Product StrategyAtlantis water offers the only natural water available in Pakistan. Atlantis is offering in an
competitive industry where there are numerous other local and international brands already
operating in the market. The product that Atlantis offers is similar in satisfying the need and
the purpose with better and added features that help fulfill all the requirements, needs and
wants of the customers. Atlantis water offers the bottled water for the people of Islamabad
and Rawalpindi to serve the people with clean, pure and natural minerals that are very
essential for the body hydration. The various bottle packaging available for the customers are
as follows:
15.1 Packages:
The different bottle sizes available can be divided into two broad categories i.e. personal or
group consumption and home usage. Following are the different bottle sizes available for the
consumption:
Pet bottles for personal and group consumption:
600ml pet bottle 1liter pet bottle 6 liter
Product Strategy Pricing StrategyPlacement StrategyPromotional StrategyPackaging Strategy
These bottles are available for the consumers for single person consumption(600ml) and
group consumption (1.5liter and 6liter). These bottles are purchased from the retail outlets.
Office and Family Sized Bottles
19 liters bottled waterThese bottles serve the purpose of using water at home for the family consumption where the
consumption is very high and families only consume mineral water.
15.2 Services:
Special services are available for ordering and utilizing the package of 19liter. These services
are as follows:
Free door-to-door service with regular intervals where the already consumed
bottle is returned to the distributor and new bottles are purchased.
An innovative service of providing water on call within the 90 minutes of
order placing i.e. the customers gets the bottles of water on call within 90
minutes.
15.3 Added Features of Atlantis:
Atlantis Water is actually the 1st virus free water in Pakistan. All the other bottle water
brands are just bacteria free. In order to remove all the bacteria from water, it needs to be
boiled and at 99 degrees all the bacteria is eliminated. However the virus still remains in the
water molecules. For the removal of virus the water needs to be heated at 135 degrees
Celsius, but on the other hand the boiling point of water is just 100 degrees.
So Atlantis is the only brand that uses the technology that cleans all the viruses from the
water without turning it into vapors. Atlantis water is NASA patent from the United States of
America for the provision of pure and healthy drinking water to the citizens of Pakistan.
Moreover Atlantis has employed very advanced refining and purification technology which
makes the water pass through fourteen stages of purification whereas on the other hand
normally other bottle water brands at maximum pass through 7 or 8 stages. This water is
utilized by the Astronauts of NASA because of its brilliant hydration formula and the use of
nano-technology, which makes it easier for the Astronauts to consume and hydrate.
Healthy Product: Atlantis water provides the people with natural minerals unlike other
brands that extract the minerals from the water and hence reduce its effectiveness in health. In
the process of killing bacteria the oxygen is taken out of water and after removal of bacteria
oxygen along with all natural minerals is also added back to the water. It provides perfect
health to the consumers, as these natural minerals are required by the body on daily basis to
maintain good health which means that it is very important for bones and muscles of the
human body.
Hydration: Atlantis water utilizes NANO-technology, which enables it to have a very small
molecular cluster. The size of molecular cluster is one third less than the normal cluster,
which is utilized by other brands. Having small molecular cluster size actually helps the
human body to efficiently absorb the particles inside and that is how it hydrates the body
efficiently as well.
Enviro-Shielding: The NASA technology utilized in the product makes it secure when it comes against the environment. The enviro-shield technology enhances the life of the product. In case the Atlantis water is left in contact with the environment it will last for a long period of time that is 6 months compared to normal 3 months.
Optimal Oxygen Level: As mentioned before after killing bacteria, the oxygen along with
all other natural minerals is added back in to the water which is very essential for the
metabolism of the human body. This reaction actually provides energy to the human body,
which is required basically to do everything from moving to thinking and growing.
Pleasant and Light Taste: There is absolutely no chemical added in Atlantis water and
because of that during the consumption you are not able to sense any metallic or chemical
taste that will avoid you from drinking it. More over after consumption your body will feel
completely refreshed as well.
The features mentioned above indicate clear distinction of Atlantis against other products
available in the market in terms of the quality of water. Atlantis just needs to utilize these
advantages with effective communication and giving the exposure to the customers.
16 Pricing StrategyPricing is the most important part in the marketing mix. It is the only part in the marketing
mix which takes consideration about the revenue. There are various ways to set up pricing of
the product.
For building pricing strategy it is important to evaluate sequence of factors which eventually
devisee the pricing strategy of the product. For bottle prices it is important to understand
following factors:
Pricing Objectives
Cost
Competition
[Marketing Strategy Plant, Implementation and Control By SubhasC.Jain- Indian Edition]
16.1 Pricing Objective
As Atlantis water is new in the competitive market of twin cities so to attract the
collaborators towards the distribution Atlantis needs to go incentives to the collaborator
especially to the retailer. As they are distributing bottle through their own set up so major
objective is to gain market share by giving incentives to retailer to promote and place their
bottle on shelves.
16.2 Cost
Following are the cost which company incurring on different bottles depending on the size:
Bottle Size Cost600ml Rs. 8.1- 1301.5 liter Rs. 13.4-140-306 liter Rs. 44-55-6519 liter Rs 69 100 125
Source: Figure 15
As company is doing their distribution themselves so distribution and profit will be added in these costs. Following are the Price at which company gave the bottles to retailers. This is known as Mark-up Chain.
PriceH
ighLow
Quality
Low
High
Bottle Size Cost Retailer Buying Price600ml Rs. 8.1 Rs. 10.8 (Pack of 12)1.5 liter Rs. 13.4 Rs. 23.3 (Pack of 6)6 liter Rs. 44 Rs. 5519 liter Rs 69 Rs.100
16.3 Competition
To estimate the price of the bottles it is important to analyze the pricing of the competitors in
the market. There is a great difference between the international and local brands. Prices of
the international brands are relatively high.
[Source: Robert A Garda, “Industry Pricing: Strategy vs. Tactics”]
16.4 Price Strategy Matrix
Price Strategy Matrix
Atlantis is using penetration pricing Strategy for entering the market. So In it Atlantis will
offer low prices the international brand and higher then local brand to penetrate and gain
market share.
So for that two major aspects will be kept while device price for the consumer:
Retailer Profit As company want to give incentive more to the retailer to penetrate
Low Price to Consumer: So that company can gain market share at the start.
16.5 Prices List for Customer
Prices List for CustomerBottle Size Pack Retailer Buying Price Retail Price
600ml 12 bottle Pack Rs. 10.8 Rs. 201.5 liter 6 bottle Pack Rs. 23.3 Rs. 306 liter Single Bottle Rs. 55 Rs. 6519 liter Single Bottle Rs.100 Rs. 125
16.6 Price Flexibility:
At the current situation Atlantis is offering very high profit margin to retailer e.g. in 600ml
bottle they are gain around Rs. 9.8. That is very high as compare to the competitors. if we
look at the international Brand like Nestle Pure life offer only Rs. 2.64 in 500ml and Rs 5.1 in
1.5 liter bottle. The major reason for providing such large margin is due to the distribution
cost exemption, as Atlantis is doing their own distribution. [Figure 15]
17 Placement Strategy
17.1 Placement
As commercialization of Atlantis water is going to be conducted in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. So the placement would be in the retail outlets, convenience stores and Super Markets that are present in these two cities.
17.2 Departmental Stores
Atlantis has to place its bottle waters in departmental stores specially the 600ml and 1.5L
bottles that do not come into the home usage category. For this reason Atlantis has to make
sure that it covers the stores such as the likes of MACRO and COSMO. Moreover stores like
Shaheen and D-Watson, Atlantis must consider them for placement as majority of FMCG
products are available there and they are also renowned for providing high quality products.
So Atlantis has to make sure to cover such Departmental stores that the probability of
customer not finding Atlantis in them is very low.
17.3 Specialist Stores
Atlantis also has to focus its placement on Specialist Stores such as the likes of Pharmacies
and Bakeries. There are a number of bakeries and chemist stores in the twin cities. The main
ones where the customers visit often are Rahat bakers, United, Nirala Sweets etc. Moreover
when it comes chemists, Waheed Chemists, Khattak Chemist and Al-Noor Chemist etc. So it
is important for Atlantis to be present in such bakeries and pharmacies as the traffic of the
customers in such places is high.
17.4 Super Store
The only Super Store present in the twin cities is right in the middle that is METRO. METRO
being an international brand quickly became very famous among the people. They have got a
massive customer base and daily there is a lot of traffic especially on weekends for bulk
buying. Again being a renowned international brand people believe that everything that is
provided inside is of high quality. People purchase things of all kinds e.g clothing, home
décor, electronics and eating stuff etc and here Atlantis can target its home usage customers.
Atlantis has to place 600ml, 1.5L as well as 6L bottle in METRO as well.
18 Distribution StrategyThe survey results and analysis give a clear picture of the importance of the efficient effective
distribution channel. Distribution channel plays a vital role in maintaining the convenience
for the customer to access the product. Since the nature of the product offered by Atlantis is
FMCG, which means that it is frequently consumed product it is essential to make it available
at every possible place in market. The success of the major brand Nestle is due to the
availability and brand image factor.
18.1 Opportunity for Atlantis in distribution
The research about the competitors i.e. Aquafina, Kinley and local brands, Atlantis can utilize
an opportunity. The major players like Aquafina and Kinley although are very successful
brands but they do not have full focus upon their water brands. Coca cola and Pepsi have
their major focus upon their soda drinks and secondary focus upon the water brands. The
local brands such as Nector, Sparklets ,and Springly etc only focus upon niche market
distributing their products in very limited areas. Atlantis in this scenario can capitalize upon
this opportunity by paying attention at its distribution channels. If Atlantis is able to increase
the availability in the market and is able to aware the customer about its features and vitality
it can easily gain a larger market share as compared to the local brands and can give a tough
competition to the brands like Aquafina and Kinley.
18.2 Distribution channels
The distribution channels adopted by the competitors vary according to the needs and
requirements of the product. Nestle has developed a very strong distribution system and it has
a good level of demand in the market. So for a brand to distribute a product in the market
through indirect distribution channel the distributors ask for the margins that are higher as
compared to Nestle, Aquafina and Kinley. It is true in the case of the retailers as well, they
ask for higher profit margin because of the reason that a new brand in its initial stages of
launch is a slow moving product due to low level of brand awareness among the customers.
So at the initial stages of the product launch the circulating profit is to be kept higher than the
competitors, which means low profit and no guaranteed increased sales
18.3 Kotler’sFour Steps of Designing the Channel System
18.3.1 Identifying Customers Desired Service Output LevelBefore choosing the number of intermediaries and distribution channel it is essential to
understand the factors that customer’s value in desired services output level. Following are
some criteria’s that explain the level of services required from Atlantis:
Lot size: the lot size purchasing can be identified at different levels. Since Atlantis sell the
water in four different sizes, the needs of the customers vary according to the level of
consumption. At personal level the customer will tends to buy one or two 0.6 liter bottle for
quenching a temporary thirst. For group consumption the purchase decision tends towards
buying a 1.5 or 6liter bottle depending upon the size of group. For home consumption the
customers require an efficient customer service of door-to-door delivery of 19liter bottles.
Apart from these packages the customers who do not utilize the services of home delivery
package might visit departmental stores or super stores for buying the 1.5liter and 6liter
bottles in bulk for the home consumption. So it depends on the size and capacity of retail
outlet of keeping the desired volume or lot of Atlantis. This decision of retailer of keeping
larger volumes of water bottles is depended upon the demand of Atlantis water in the market
and the availability. The distributor or whole seller might not be convinced of buying huge
bulks of different packages to be distributed in different stores due to the lack of demand.
Waiting Time: the time for the delivery of the product at the required or prescribed time by
the customer is a very important task. For home level consumption the research shows that
after brand image the customers are very conscious about the in time delivery of the product
at home. Similarly filling the shelves of the retail outlets as soon as the product vanishes or is
sold as very vital since the availability is factor has been identified as one very important
factor. As Atlantis is offering a service of delivering the order from the customers within the
90 minutes of the order placement it is a high involvement decision to select a distributor
because of the risk of repute attached with the services.
Spatial Convenience: convenience is the factor that is required to be addressed. It is
essential to place the product in every area that makes it convenient for the customer to
purchase and consume. The reason for making this high availability and convenience is to
maintain the brand image in the minds of the customers by not giving them the room for even
trying any other brand when once the positive brand image of Atlantis is portrayed in the eyes
and minds of the customers.
Product Variety: the product comes into variety of packages i.e. in different bottle sizes but
the nature of the product i.e. water is such that not much room for innovation or variety can
be introduced. So when the customer seeks to buy water the only thing in mind is water and
not the variety in it.
Services Backup: the customers can call any time for the delivery of bottles at home in this
scenario the indirect distributor might not be efficient enough to delivery the product in the
prescribed time i.e. 90 minutes.
18.3.2 Establish objectives and constraintsThe objectives of the distribution strategy are to reach the targeted market by making the
availability of Atlantis prominent in the market. The first priority is to place the product in
selective retail stores and gradually after spreading the brand awareness the expansion at the
vast scale. The indirect channel selection requires an intermediary distributor responsible for
taking the inventory from the manufacturing area to the retail outlets. The strength of using
this indirect channel of distribution is that it takes the product to different locations or allotted
locations regularly and the risk is of sales is transferred to the distributors. The weakness in
using this channel is that the lapse in customer services i.e. the delivery time to the retail
outlets and door-to-door delivery might damage the reputation of the company. The
constraint in this indirect channel selection is that since the brand is new in the market with
low brand awareness the distributors will ask for big margins and it is true in the case of
retailers as well.
18.3.3 Identifying the major channel alternativesThere are distribution channels like Shan marketing, Margalla distributors and Abbasi traders
in Rawalpindi and Islamabad who are distributing the FMCG products. These distributors are
already distributing the major brands in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. These distribution
channels have long hands in different regions and are major and experienced distributors. For
a new brand to distribute into the market distributors ask for larger margin for its promotion.
This can be understood with the example that Nestle being the biggest fish in the market
offers the lowest margins to the distributors and the retailers as compared to Aquafina, Kinley
and other local brands. In this scenario hiring a distribution channel will shrink the profits.
18.4 Distribution strategy for Atlantis
The distribution strategy that Atlantis should follow initially is selective distribution strategy
with direct distribution to the selected retail shops like Dewatson, Macro, chemist shops,
Shaheen store, super star etc. the reason for choosing selective distribution and direct
distribution is that initially the main purpose is to create the brand awareness and brand
image in the minds of the customers. Initially if Atlantis goes for the intensive distribution it
will require an intermediary distributor, which will result in the shrinkage of profits and sole
reliability of sales on distributors. The selective distribution with promotions will help
develop a brand image and creating the brand image and demand of Atlantis in the market.
This will generate the demand of the indirect distributors for Atlantis distribution resulting in
less margins for distributors. After creating the brand image and demand of Atlantis in the
market Atlantis can go for intensive distribution strategy selecting the indirect distributors for
different areas or a sole distributor for the one particular region
18.5 Evaluating the Distribution Strategy
The selective distribution strategy will help Atlantis control the customer services quality and
the regular visits of the sales force to the retail outlets. The direct feedback from the retailers
will help improving the product and distribution. This distribution strategy will open the way
for doing the intensive distribution in the future when a strong image is portrayed in the
minds of the customers. This fact is also supported by Kotler that a new brand does not has to
worry about the intensive distribution in the early stages, an adequate market share and brand
image can be made easily.
(Reference Kotler book identifying Major Distribution Channels).
Conclusion
The conclusion is that Atlantis should go for selective distribution strategy by doing the direct
distribution in selective retail outlets and after making the brand image and brand awareness
it should go for intensive distribution focusing upon making the product available in every
possible retail outlet.
19 Promotional StrategyThe promotional strategy will exactly follow the described pattern of positioning described
above. The promotional activities will comprise of the ATL and BTL activities. ATL
activities will consists of Above the Line activities that use the medium of media and BTL
will consist of activities that do not require a medium. A combination of several integrated
marketing communication tools will be used to promote the brand by integrating all the ATL,
BTL and TTL activities.
The promotional strategy starts from the advertisement promotions. Advertisement
promotions can play a vital role in the success of Atlantis. Since no other brands other than
the International brands like Nestle, Aquafina and Kinley are using this medium of promotion
very effectively it can play a vital role in creating the brand awareness and becoming the
number fourth brand in the minds of the customers without even selling much. So the
advertisements medium of promotion can play an important role in the success of Atlantis.
19.1 Advertisement
The advertisement promotions will include the prime media ads i.e. radio and TV ads with
billboards’, broachers’, newspapers and magazine ads. These promotions at the introductory
stage of Atlantis will help spread the brand awareness among the customers the
advertisement strategy will focus upon two types of advertisements:
Pioneering advertisement
Competitive advertisement
The advertisements will consist of the combination of these two advertisement strategies. The
pioneering advertisement will tend to endorse the new category of Natural mineral water that
Atlantis is bringing inn and the competitive advertisement to compare it against the
functional benefits offered by the competitors i.e. 14 step purification. But this does not seem
that two separate campaigns will be conducted to spread this message among the customers,
actually both appeals will be made through same channel in one advert.
Since Atlantis is offering an FMCG product the model of advertisement that is likely to be
followed is ATR theory of advertisement. In ATR the customers gets aware of the product in
case of Atlantis gets aware of the functional benefits of the water, when visits the shop for
buying water sees Atlantis there and tries it. Then the reinforcement stage comes where
customer again buys the product if feels satisfied with product taste and quality.
19.1.1 Strategic AppealsThe strategic appeals play a vital role in the effectiveness of any advertisement campaign for
the reason that these appeals are what attract the customers towards product or at least the
advertisement. Out of all the strategic appeals the appropriate and recommended appeals for
Atlantis are:
Rational Appeal Patriotic Appeal
Rationale Appeal:
The main strategy is to hit the rational part of the consumers mind for earning the maximum
share of consumers mind. Since the nature of the product is such that the survey shows that
low level of brand loyalty exists and people cannot easily differentiate, it is vital and an
opportunity for Atlantis to educate the customers about the added features and qualities of
Atlantis and how they are better than those of competitors. The challenge here is to grab the
maximum attention of the customers towards the adverts. As Kotler argues that people are
exposed to many adverts on daily basis but they do not really remember or pay attention to all
of them until or unless something different is done. In this case for example to educate the
customers small teasers or questions involving the customers as well can be used for e.g. “did
you know there is no natural mineral water in Pakistan?” These types of teasers can grab the
attention of the targeted customers. The reason for choosing rational appeal is that all the
brands out in the market are mainly focusing upon the emotional appeals. Consumers cannot
really differentiate among different brands so the emotional appeals have been used by most
of the competitors already. So to make a difference it is significant to target the rational mind
of the customer by educating them and providing them the information.
(Reference: Book selective Retention by Kotler, page 197)
Patriotic Appeal
Apart from the rational appeal a patriotic appeal should be used occasionally on the special days like 14 august, 6 September, 23 march etc. these kind of appeals portray the patriotic face of the brand and gives the sense of affiliation to the customers with their country.
19.1.2 A unique promotional strategy in water industry “Reference Group Appeal”This is a unique strategy designed for promoting the brand and its features using both ATL and BTL activities. The reference groups play a vital role in giving the advices to the people. These reference groups include
Celebrities Experts Common Man Employee Spokes Person Spokes Character
Out of the above mentioned reference group appeals, expert opinion can be used as a strategy. Many brands in have used the expert opinions in promoting their brands like Colgate, Medicam, and Safe guard. These brands used the doctors in their advertisements explaining the scientifically proven benefits of certain products. Atlantis in this regard can also take advantage of this appeal and differentiate in terms of promotional strategy as well.
Reference Group Appeal for Atlantis
The expert opinion of doctors will be used in this strategy for endorsing the brand. This
endorsement will not only focus upon the ATL activities but the BTL activities as well. The
doctors might promote the brand in TV adverts but the main purpose of using doctors’
opinion is in BTL activities. This strategy can easily be understood with the following
example a person visits the doctor and explains that he\she is infected with gastro or food
poisoning, the doctor asks the patient which water do you use, the patient if replies with the
name of some other brand or tap water the doctor explains the importance of using Atlantis
its features like 14 steps of purification, the real natural mineral water, the virus water etc. the
patient when hears it from the doctor will definitely believe in the quality of the water
provided by Atlantis and will only consume Atlantis in future as well.
Viral message: in the example above as the patient starts using the Atlantis on the advice of
the doctor he\she will spread the word of mouth about the quality of Atlantis water from one
person to another and will be known as doctors recommended water.
To accomplish this, Atlantis just needs to contact the pharmaceutical company decide the
sales margin and give clinical results of Atlantis water to the doctors.
Using the combination of ATL and BTL activities i.e. endorsing the brand using expert
opinion in advertisements and BTL activities will make the combination of TTL activities
which means the clearer picture of the product features and significance in the mind of the
customers.
19.2 Sales Promotions
Sales promotions can play a vital role in promoting the sales of the brand. As Atlantis is a
new brand coming in the market it is vital to motivate the retailers by giving them the
incentives. Since Atlantis initially is adopting the direct distribution strategy with selective
distribution, the only channel member thy need to motivate by giving the incentives are the
retailers. Retailers can be motivated in different ways following are the ways through which
Atlantis should be promoted in trade channel:
19.2.1 Price discount: In this package of trade promotions, the retailer will be given more margins as compared to
other major brands. This will encourage the retailer to promote the sales of Atlantis since
retailers margin is also tagged with the sales. The more the retailer sells greater the margin
the retailer gets.
19.2.2 Free Goods strategy:The free goods strategy will be used to fill the maximum shelve space in the retailers shop
with Atlantis. In this strategy the retailer will get some extra inventory with every purchase of
bottles by the retailer. This strategy will help promoting the brand as the retailer will be
interested in buying bulks of water bottles to get the free bottles and then the retailer will fill
the shelves of the retail out let with Atlantis, which ultimately will create the brand
awareness.
Every retailer will be given the choice for choosing one of the above-mentioned packages.
19.2.3 Branding in retail outlet:Special allowances, price discounts or free goods will be provided to the retailers if they
allow Atlantis to post their broachers, posters and other branding material in the retail outlet.
This will support the branding of Atlantis. This branding in retail outlets will help triggering
the customers towards buying Atlantis.
19.3 Promotion through the public relations:
The public relation promotional strategies can help Atlantis to come close to the customers
and get the place in their heart and mind. The public relation strategy will follow the model of
PENCIL and will use the selective tools of this model.
For the promotion of Atlantis the following tools and techniques will be used to improve and
capitalize upon public relations.
19.3.1 PublicationsPublications such as broachers, financial reports, and the magazines endorsing the brand and
consisting of the information regarding the functional benefits of Atlantis. The publication
strategy will help in educating the customers about the features and distinctions of Atlantis.
19.3.2 EventsSponsorships: the event sponsorships lately have become a very important part of the
promotional campaigns. Different brands sponsor sports, musical or other event to promote
their brand in the targeted audience. Atlantis should sponsor events like business plan
competitions, concerts, sports events and seminars for endorsing the brand. Through these
events Atlantis can also do the sampling among the targeted audience, which ultimately will
give the leverage of free trial to the customers.
19.3.3 Social Corporate ResponsibilityAtlantis plans to invest a lot in social corporate responsibility. The CEO of Atlantis water
“MrMohsinLodhi” plans to dedicate Rs.1 profit from the sale of every bottle. Apart from this
the education system and workshops for providing free education to the people deprived of it.
In this way Atlantis water is playing its role in the development of better Pakistani society.
Through public relations promotional campaigns the targeted audience can be catered in the
following way:
19.4 Personal Selling:
Personal selling skills and service is required in the category of home usage. The customers
require a good customer service in this area and in order to retain and gain the market share it
is vital to pay attention towards the personal selling techniques. The customer services
provided by Atlantis to their customer are as follows:
Free home delivery On call delivery Installation of bottles Taking the feedback and improving the services.
Unique promotional campaign:
According to the marketing gurus in an industry where there is low brand differentiation and
customers cannot differentiate among different brands the claim of functional benefit can be
endorsed by inviting the customers to the manufacturing plants so that they can come and see
the whole process and spread the viral message among other people. Since Atlantis is also
claiming functional benefits and introducing a new category it should go for a new
promotional campaign that has not yet been done by any other water brand. This campaign
involves an open invitation to the customers to visit the plant and see the 14 steps of
Sponsorship Category Transferred Values to Sponsor
SportsYoung people, health and psyche conscious for their health (age group 18-30)
Sophisticated, elite, health conscious people age group (30- 54)
Seminars
Concerts Young, fun loving people who like to hangout. Age group ?(18-30)
Admirable, concerned, caring, intelligent, explosive purpose fulfillingSocial Causes
purification with their eyes. This can be done by inviting the education trips and open
invitation to other people. This will help educating the customers about the features and
benefits of Atlantis water. Promotion does not make any one brand loyal; it is just responsible
for triggering Trial. The brand loyalty comes from brand bonding. Brand bonding is a
person’s attachment towards the product after usage, which makes the consumer brand loyal.
Consumer will only become brand loyal if he or she experiences or finds out that the promise
made by the brand is fulfilled. This is exactly the reason why we are using this promotional
technique to give the experience to the customers about the promised benefit of 14 steps
purification. (KOTLER, Page number 420, Building Brand Identity.
20 Branding Atlantis WaterBranding is the tool that has nothing to do with the quality or attributes of the customers. It is about making a separate identity for differentiating from other brands. According to Freud’s theory (Kotler page 195 psychological factors) when the customer examines the specific brand, he or she will not react not only to their stated capabilities but also other less conscious cues like shape, size, weight, material, color and brand name. This means that branding is something that gives the outer look of the product. If the customer does not like the outer look of the packaging and other factors the customer will feel reluctant in trying the brand.(Marketing manager 11th edition by Philip Kotler)
For an effective branding of Atlantis following are some important criteria’s that help making the brand look better and attractive:
Three Approaches of Understanding the Brand Meaning:
Word association: “what is the first word that comes in the mind of the customer with the name Atlantis?” The first thought or word that comes into the mind of the customer with name Atlantis is “14 step Natural mineral water”.
Personifying the brand: “what kind of a person comes into the mind when the name of Atlantis is mentioned?” A health conscious person looking for reliable product.
Brand essence: the brand essence includes the three “why” statements:
(Marketing manager 11th edition by Philip Kotler)
1. Why someone wants to buy Atlantis? The reason for buying Atlantis is that it is the only Natural mineral water passed through 14 steps of purification.
2. Why is it important that water is 14step purified and natural mineral water? The natural minerals provide better hydration and salts required by the body and 14 step purification processes cleans the water better.
3. Why are Natural mineral water and 14 steps of purification important? The natural minerals are very vital for the hydration and contains salts that are required by the body on daily basis a 14 step purification process removes all the impurities from the water, makes it virus free and creates an enviro- shield.
4. Why should all these things be available in water?: they are essential and important for healthy life and avoids the rebirth water born diseases
Following are some Branding models to be followed in branding:
Brand Decision Process
Figure 1 Brand Decision Process
Figure 2 Kapfer's Brand Identity
Figure 3 Kapferer's Brand Mapping Model
Figure 4 Long term Values and Ultimate Goal
21 Packaging StrategyPackaging and labeling of the product play an important role; it’s not just appearance of the
product. Actually it is the product’s shape and packaging which defines the brand identity,
which creates an image of the brand in the mind of the customer and also plays an important
role in buying decision process. For bottled water almost all the local brands have the same
bottle style, where as international Brands like Nestle Pure Life, Kinley and Aquafina have
unique bottle shape which actually gives identity in the mind of the consumer about the bottle
shape and Brand.
As this point sales are not the main factor for Atlantis, they actually have to create a brand
image in the consumer mind for that it is important to create an identity in the consumer
mind. For that bottle shape can play an important role. Atlantis has to introduce a new shape
which will create a differentiation from other bottled water brands.
One other most important factor which drives to introduce new bottle shape is that, Atlantis is
introducing a new category in the bottle water industry so differentiation in bottle shape is
important factor.
Marketing research shows that Consumer does not rate packaging very high as shown [Exbit
rating]. This does not mean that packaging is not important factor and can be ignored.
Retailer survey depicts the importance of packaging; in which retailer mentions about the
bottle leakage problem, cap problem and carton packaging problem.
21.1 Packaging Level
There are normally three levels of packaging of a product. In bottle water industry there are
two levels involved.
Primary Level of Packaging
Secondary Level of Packaging
Primary Level Packaging
Secondary Level Packaging
21.1.1 Primary Level PackagingThis level includes bottle and its cap. As our retailer survey mentions that there were some
packaging problems which caused leakage. So bottle cap quality needs to be improved with
unique shape of the bottle. Cap and bottle should have brand name embossed as well.
21.1.2 Secondary Level PackagingThis level includes carton packaging which incase of bottle water is for 600ml and 1.5 liter
bottle Pack of 12 bottles and 6 bottles respectively. According to retailer survey, carton
packaging should be strong so it is not vulnerable. This will not create problems for the
retailer in handling the package and will also be able to place it easily.
21.2 Labeling
Labeling is important part of the packaging. It may contain only the brand logo or just simply
the product name with design but actually labeling gives a unique image about the brand.
Even if the product is of highest benefit to the consumer but if the labeling is not attractive or
unique then it might not make the consumer buy or create an image about that particular
brand or product in mind.
Label
Labeling position
There are two positions at which labels can be placed. Middle portion of the bottle where
normally companies place their brand name with information about the product and other
position is on then cap sealing.
Atlantis can use these labels position not only to mention their brand and product details. But
also they can use the middle portion in which they can educate consumer about the benefit as
well as unique qualities of the Atlantis water.
Over all new bottle shape and improved version of labeling is needed to gain an identity in
the consumers’ mind about the brand that will eventually gain share of heart in the long term.
Chapter 7: Recommendations and Roll out
Strategy
22 First Year Implementation PlanThe first year plan after the launching of any brand plays a very important role in the success of the brand. Following are some recommendations for the marketing campaign of Atlantis in the first year.
The main aim in the first year should be to develop brand awareness and brand image.
Atlantis has to follow steady marketing campaign through ATL, BTL and TTL
activities. The marketing plan devised should be followed strictly and according to the
plan.
Selective distribution strategy should be used initially and after creating the brand
awareness intensive distribution strategy can be followed.
Atlantis should come in with an aggressive promotional campaign to surprise the
competitors.
Once the brand awareness is created it is important to follow intensive distribution to
ensure maximum availability of Atlantis.
Atlantis should strictly follow its positioning strategy and should not change the
positioning which might result in the loss of credibility.
Educating the customers can play an important role, so unique promotional strategies
devised above should be followed.
The packaging of the product should be different from local and international brands
with unique style and best practices in services should be followed.
Proper trainings should be given to the sales team and the channel members because
for the customers the sales team and channel members are the company or company
representatives.
Chapter 8: Questionnaire Results
23 Questionnaire Result and Analysis
23.1 Sample Questionnaire
Questionnaire SurveyPlease fill with responsibility! Your accurate feedback will help us greatly in our research.
Age: Residential Area / Town: Gender: M \ F
Please fill the questions 1-7 according to your experiences at personal level. E.g. when you go out and buy 1.5 liter or 0.5 liter bottled water.
1. What is your monthly income (approx.)?
a) Below 5000b) 5000-10,000c) 10000-20,000d) 20,000-30,000e) 30,000-40,000f) 40,000-50,000g) 50,000-60,000h) Above 60,0002. Which brand of mineral water do you prefer for drinking?
a) Nestleb) Aquafinac) Kinleyd) Sparklete) Qurshif) Sufig) Other: _______________________ 3. Is this brand always your “key choice” for consumption?
a) Yes, only this brandb) Generally, I buy any brand that is available
4. If you do not find your preferred brand in one shop, are you willing to purchase some other brand? (Choose one option from “a” or “b”, and then specify your agreement extent).
a. Yes, I will purchase some other brand
b. No, I will continue my search in other nearby shops
5. If you do not find your preferred brand in your Local Market (i.e. neighborhood),are you willing to purchase some other brand? (Choose one option from “a” or “b”, and then specify your agreement extent).
a. Yes, I will purchase some other brand
b. No, I will continue my search in another market
6. What do you think is the major difference between the brand you use and other brands?
a. Convenient / attractive packagingb. Good availabilityc. Tasted. Brand imagee. Pricef. Water composition / ingredients (minerals etc.)g. There is no difference7. What factors are important for you while buying mineral water brand? Please
rate the following criteria according to their level of importance for you.
a. Packaging 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10b. Availability 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 c. Brand image 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 d. Taste 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10e. Price 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10f. Ingredients 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Not Important
Very Important
AgreeStrongly Agree
Strongly Agree Agree
AgreeStrongly Agree
Strongly Agree Agree
Please fill the questions 8-10 according to you preferences for home usage. e.g. buying 6 liter or 12 liter dispenser bottled water for home and family use.
8. Do you use mineral water at home for consumption?
a. Yesb. Noc. Occasionally9. If yes or occasionally in question above . What brand do you prefer for your
family and home usage? Please rank according to their level of preference for you. Rate from 1-7. 7 for least preferred and 1 for most preferred.
a. Nestleb. Aquafinac. Kinleyd. Sparklete. Sufif. Qurshig. Other: __________________
10. What are your preferences while buying mineral water bottle for home usage?
a. Brand
b. Low Price
c. Taste
d. Service (Door-Step Delivery)
e. Service (Installation)
f. Service (Timely Replenishment / In-time Delivery)
g. Other: _________________
Very Conscious Conscious Not Conscious Not at all Conscious
Here:7 Stands for Least Preferred1Stand for Most Preferred
Very Conscious Conscious Not Conscious Not at all Conscious
Very Conscious Conscious Not Conscious Not at all Conscious
Very Conscious Conscious Not Conscious Not at all Conscious
Very Conscious Conscious Not Conscious Not at all Conscious
Very Conscious Conscious Not Conscious Not at all Conscious
11. What are the factors that are important for you while buying mineral water for your home usage? Please rate the following criteria’s according to their level of importance for you.
a. In-time delivery 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10b. Installation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 c. Brand Image 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 d. Taste 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10e. Price 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
12. Have you ever heard about Atlantis Water?
a. Yes b. No13. What other alternate means of drinking water do you use at home?
a. Boiled Waterb. Filter water (Tap filter)c. Chlorine tabletsd. Tap water e. Other _________________14. What kind of services do you expect from a brand supplying water at your
home?
a. In-time Deliveryb. Installation of Bottlesc. On call / convenient order takingd. All of the abovee. Other _________________
Thank you for your feedback!
Not Important
Very Important
23.2 Result and Analysis
AgeDescription Frequency Percent %
18-23 91 30.324-29 74 24.730-35 34 11.336-41 24 8.042-47 26 8.748-53 37 12.354-59 7 2.360-65 7 2.3
Total 300 100%Table 1 Result Analysis Age
18-23 24-29 30-35 36-41 42-47 48-53 54-59 60-650
5
10
15
20
25
30
35 30.3
24.7
11.38 8.7
12.3
2.3 2.3
Age
Age in Years
Pers
enta
ge
Figure 5Result Analysis Age
GenderDescription Frequency Percent %
Female 136 45.3Male 164 54.7
Total 300 100%
45.3%54.7%
GenderFemale Male
Figure 6Result Analysis Gender
Residential AreaDescription Frequency Percent
Islamabad 149 49.7Rawalpindi 151 50.3
Total 300 100%
50.3%49.7%
Residential AreaIslamabad Rawalpindi
Figure 7Result Analysis Location
Out of 300 respondents there were 136 female and 164 male from both the cities. Total
respondent from Islamabad were 149 and rest of 151 were from Rawalpindi
Q2: Which brand of mineral water do you prefer for drinking?Description Frequency Percent
Nestle 205 68.3Aquafina 30 10.0Kinley 52 17.3
Sparklett 4 1.3Other 9 3.0
Total 300 100.0
Figure 8Result Analysis Income
Q1: ApproximateMonthly Income/Pocket Moneyin Rs.Description Frequency Percentbelow Rs.5,000 63 21.0Rs.5,000-10,000 54 18.0
Rs.10,000-20,000 42 14.0Rs.20,000-30,000 21 7.0Rs.30,000-40,000 36 12.0Rs.40,000-50,000 19 6.3Rs.50,000-60,000 15 5.0AboveRs. 60,000 50 16.7
Total 300 100.0
Nestle Aquafina Kinley Sparklet Qurshi Sufi Other0
10
20
30
40
50
60
7068.3
1017.3
1.3 0 03
Prefered Brand
Brand Names
Perce
ntag
e
Figure 9Result Analysis Preferred brand
Analysis:
Above figure shows that Nestle Pure Life was the most preferred brand with 68.3% followed by Kinley and Aquafina with 17.3 and 10% respectively. This shows that Nestle Pure Life have the largest percentage of Share of Heart for the consumers in the market of twin cities.
Q3: Is this brand always your “key choice” for consumption?Description Frequency Percent
Yes, only this brand 144 48.0Generally, I buy any brand that is available 156 52.0
Total 300 100.0
48%52%
Is this brand always your “key choice” for consumption?
Yes, only this brandGenerally, I buy any brand that is available
Figure 10 Key Choice of Consumption
Analysis:
The result shows that only 48% have brand loyalty but this cannot be taken as reference for brand loyalty as it was only referral to the choice of consumption of a particular brand. For this reason to identify the brand loyalty in case of bottled water Q4 and Q5 were placed to gain information from the respondent whether there is strong brand loyalty or weak brand loyalty.
Q4: If you do not find your preferred brand in one shop; are you willing to purchase some other brand?
Description Frequency PercentYes, I will purchase some other brand 226 75.3
No, I will continue my search in other nearby shops 74 24.7
Total 300 100.0
75.3
24.7
Yes, I will purchase some other brand No, I will continue my search in other nearby shops
Analysis:
The respond from the above mention question shows that brand loyalty is very low as around 75% responded that they would buy some other brand instead of buying their preferred brand. Only 25% respondents mention that they will continue their search to nearby shop for their preferred brand.
Yes, I will purchase some other brandDescription PercentStrongly Agree 38.7Agree 61.3
Total 100.0
No, I will continue my search in other nearby shopsDescription PercentStrongly Agree 68.6Agree 31.4
Total 100.0
Q5: If you do not find your preferred brand in your Local Market (i.e. neighborhood), are you willing to purchase some other brand?
Description Frequency PercentYes, I will purchase some other brand 257 85.7No, I will continue my search in another Market 43 14.3
Total 300 100.0
Yes, I will purchase some other brandDescription PercentStrongly Agree 42.0Agree 58.0
Total 100.0
Analysis
Respond depicts that only 14.3% have strong brand loyalty, as they are willing to go to next
market in search of their preferred brand.
85.7
14.3
Yes, I will purchase some other brand No, I will continue my search in another Market
No, I will continue my search in another MarketDescription PercentStrongly Agree 64.4Agree 35.6
Total 100.0
Q6:What do you think is the major difference between the brand you use and other brands?
ResponsesDescription Percentage
Convenient / attractive packaging 3.0Good Availability 23.3Taste 22.6Brand Image 28.3Price 5.7Water Composition/Ingredients 10.7There is no Difference 6.4
Total 100%
Convenient / attractive packa
ging
Good Availability
Taste
Brand Image Price
Water Compositi
on/Ingredients
There is no Difference
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
3
23.3 22.6
28.3
5.7
10.7
6.4
Pers
enta
ge
Figure 11 Major Brand Differences
Analysis:
This question was asked from the responded to gain information about the factors/attribute that make their preferred brand different from other brands.
Results show that Brand image, good availability and taste are the major factor, which distinguish brand from other brands. Keeping in mind the result from question 2; it can be express that Nestle brand image, good availability and taste are the major factor which makes it as the most preferred brand in the market of twin cities.
Q7:What factors are important for you while buying mineral water brand? Please rate the following criteria according to their level of importance for you.
Packaging
Availability
Brand image
Taste
Price
Ingredients
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6.77
8.27
7.87
8.49
7.17
7.26
Rating
Figure 12 Rating of Attributes
Analysis:
Result from the responded shows that Availability and Taste are most important factor, which was rated around 8.27 and 8.49 out of 10. These results also verify the validity of the question Q6 that top three major factors that distinguish the preferred brand are availability, taste and brand image.
Q8: Do you use mineral water at home for consumption?Description Frequency Percent
Yes 127 42.3No 89 29.7
Occasionally 84 28.0
Total 300 100.0
42.3
29.728
Yes No Occasionally
Figure 13 Home Consumption
Results show only 29.7% of responded use bottled water regular at home and around 28% percent of people use bottled water occasionally.
Q9: If yes or occasionally in question above. What brand do you prefer for your family and home usage? Please rank according to their level of preference for you. Rate from 1-7. 7 for least preferred and 1 for most preferred.
Neslte Aquafina Kinley Sparklet Sufi Qurshi Other0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1.35
2.44 2.58
4
55.4
6.24
Ranking
Figure 14 Brand Ranking
Results show that Nestle is again at top in the leading brand when it comes to home consumption. Nestle was rated number one in the leaders board followed by close rating between Kinley and Aquafina.
Q10: what are your preferences while buying mineral water bottle for home usage?
Q10a. BrandDescription Frequency Percent
Very Conscious 79 26.3Conscious 100 33.3Not Conscious 26 8.7Not at All Conscious 9 3.0No Home Usage 86 28.7
Total 300 100.0
Here:
1 Stand for Most Preferred
Q10b. Low PriceDescription Frequency Percent
Very Conscious 11 3.7Conscious 85 28.3Not Conscious 79 26.3Not at All Conscious 39 13.0No Home Usage 86 28.7
Total 300 100.0
Q10c. TasteDescription Frequency Percent
Very Conscious 122 40.7Conscious 61 20.3Not Conscious 20 6.7Not at All Conscious 11 3.7No Home Usage 86 28.7
Total 300 100.0
Q10d. Service(Door-Step Delivery)Description Frequency Percent
Very Conscious 81 27.0Conscious 87 29.0Not Conscious 33 11.0Not at All Conscious 13 4.3No Home Usage 86 28.7
Total 300 100.0
Q10e. Service(Installation)Description Frequency Percent
Very Conscious 68 22.7Conscious 90 30.0Not Conscious 36 12.0Not at All Conscious 20 6.7No Home Usage 86 28.7
Total 300 100.0
Q10f. Service(Timely Replenishment/In-time Delivery)Description Frequency Percent
Very Conscious 101 33.7Conscious 85 28.3Not Conscious 15 5.0Not at All Conscious 13 4.3No Home Usage 86 28.7
Total 300 100.0
Analysis:
For people using mineral water at home. Majority of them are conscious and very conscious as they want their families to utilize a quality product and good brand image depicts quality. For low price major part of the people are conscious as well as not conscious. This depicts that people are considerate about the price and some have no worries and they can compromise on price but not on quality. When it comes to taste then almost 41 percent said that they are very conscious and that is a high ratio.
In case of door service more than 50 percent of people are conscious and very conscious combined. Same goes for Installation as well as In-time delivery as well.
11Q: what are the factors that are important for you while buying mineral water for your home usage?
Intime Delivery
Installation
Brand image
Taste
Price
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
8.02
7.46
7.71
8.58
6.93
Rating
Figure 15 Rating of Attributes with respect to Home consumption
Analysis:
Result shows that Taste and In-time delivery are the most important factor which responded rated 8.58 and 8.02 respectively. Result also shows that for home consumption price is not considered a very vital aspect for home usage.
Q12: Have you ever heard about Atlantis Water?Description Frequency Percent
Yes 50 16.7No 250 83.3
Total 300 100.0
16.7
83.3
Yes No
Figure 16 Brand Awareness about Atlantis
Q 13: What other alternate means of drinking water do you use at home?Description Frequency Percent
Boiled Water 92 30.7Filter water (Tap filter) 146 48.7Chlorine tablets 9 3.0Tap water 36 12.0Other 17 5.7
Total 300 100.0
Boiled Water Filter water (Tap filter)
Chlorine tablets Tap water Other0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
30.7
48.7
3
12
5.7
Pers
enta
ge
Analysis:
Result shows that major alternative for bottled water is Filter water which is installed on tap.
And there are only 12 of people who use direct tap water. So there is a great opportunityto
make people realize that treated water from filter is not as safe as bottled water.
Q 14: What kind of services do you expect from a brand supplying water at your home?Description Frequency Percent
In-time Delivery 122 40.7Installation of Bottles 15 5.0On call / convenient order taking 63 21.0Other 24 8.0All of the Above 76 25.3
Total 300 100.0
In-tim
e Delivery
Installa
tion of Bottles
On call /
conve
nient ord
er takin
g
Other
All of t
he Above05
1015202530354045 40.7
5
21
8
25.3
Pers
enta
ge
Analysis
Result shows that in time delivery is the most important factor in home usage i.e. provision of
12 and 19 liters bottles.
24 Appendix
Figure 17
Figure 18
Figure 19 Retailer Price List
25 Reference
Source DescriptionBooks Marketing Research An Applied Orientation Fourth Edition by NareshK.Malhotra
Marketing manager 11th edition by Philip KotlerBook: Research Methods Knowledge BasebyWilliam M.K. TrochimMarketing Strategy Plant, Implementation and Control By SubhasC.Jain- Indian EditionRobert A Garda, “Industry Pricing: Strategy vs. TacticsSelective Retention by KotlerThe 22 immutable laws of marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trott
Research Documents
Market Research Report“Atlantis Water”, Aug30 2010; ThemissingP
Online Information
PCRW- http://www.pcrwr.gov.pk/Btl_wr_report/btl_wtr_rpt.htm-BCG Matrix’s
http://www.bcg.com/expertise_impact/industries/consumer_products/default.aspx)
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/sampnon.php(Online Book: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/competitor_analysis.htm)
(Online information about Disturbers http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?
itemId=1074451288&type=RESOURCES)
(http://pagespak.com/pakistan-yellow-pages-company-details.asp?id=161145)
Person Information
Mr. MohsinLhodi – CEO Atlantis WaterMrs.Rifat from Shan marketing ServicesShan Marketing Services- Director Syed WajihZaidiMargalla Water Company Distributor: Manager Sales & Distribution FarhanLatifNeslte Pakistan Ltd. Area Sales Manager- M. Imran Sharif