PEPSI BLUE ……REFRESHING INDIA!!! PROJECT BY: PUJA GUHA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The project has been successful due to the support

and guidance of our batch co-coordinator Sir Subha

Sundar Mustafi who is also one of the faculties of

THE NIS ACADEMY. He helped me to understand

the scope of the project, and made this project

successful. I am also very grateful to all the peoples

who helped me directly and indirectly associated

with my project work. Last but not the least, the

senior students of THE NIS ACADEMY helps me

most.

OBJECTIVES

To understand Pepsi Blue as a brand and its effectiveness in creating brand awareness amongst customers.

To understand the marketing strategy currently deployed by Pepsi Blue in India.

To gain a measure of the competition existing in the same segment as Pepsi Blue.

To reposition Pepsi Blue in order to strengthen, diversify and build on market share and customer loyalty in India.

INTRODUCTION

Pepsi is the third largest brand in the country in terms of consumer spends. Pepsi is a carbonated beverage that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in retail stores, restaurants, cinemas and from vending machines. The drink was first made in the 1890s by pharmacist Caleb Braham in New Bern, North Carolina. The brand was

trademarked on June 16, 1903. There have been many Pepsi variants produced over the years since 1898, including Diet Pepsi, Crystal Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Pepsi Max, Pepsi Free, Pepsi AM, Pepsi Samba, Pepsi Blue, Pepsi Gold, Pepsi Holiday Spice, Pepsi Jazz etc.

HISTORY OF PEPSI BLUE

PepsiCo brought out a berry-flavored soft drink by the name Pepsi Blue in mid 2002. It was discontinued in the US and Canada in 2004 but some countries still continue selling it. They created the berry flavor after testing tastes of over a hundred other flavors over a nine month long span to compete with rival Coca Cola’s Vanilla Coke. A lot of drinkers said that the flavor o the Pepsi Blue was identical to cotton candy with an aftertaste of berries. Some said it tasted like raspberry and some said it was blueberries but

Pepsi preferred to call it just “berry” and it tasted much sweeter and more syrupy than ordinary cola. The color of the drink came from Blue 1, a very controversial coloring that had been banned in many countries.

Pepsi Blue contains Carbonated water, High fructose corn syrup and/or Sugar, Citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, Phosphoric acid, Potassium citrate, Potassium benzoate and Potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness), Caffeine, Gum Arabic, Ascorbic acid and Calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor), blue 1, red 40. It also contains 25 mg of caffeine.

PURPOSE TO LAUNCH

The move to make a brightly-colored version of the flagship Pepsi brand was boosted by 2001's introduction of Mountain Dew Code Red, which had bumped PepsiCo's Mountain Dew division sales up 6%

It was launched to compete with Coca –cola’s Vanilla Coke

The Indian Cricket Team was having a successful run after the 2003 Cricket World Cup. The color of their

jersey was blue & therefore PepsiCo attempted with Pepsi Blue to support the team and its mega fan club

MARKETING MIX-4p’s

PRODUCT:-

Pepsi came up with its new product called the Pepsi blue. A cool, refreshing drink aiming at attaining the market.Pepsi Blue is a berry-flavored soft drink produced by PepsiCo. It was launched in mid-2002 and discontinued in the United States in 2004, although it remains available in some other countries. Its berry flavor was the result of taste-testing over 100 flavors over a 9-month period. Designed to compete with Coca-Cola's Vanilla Coke, it is considered by some to be the company's second equivalent of New Coke, after the much maligned Crystal Pepsi. This drink with its unique composition has all the requisite constituents to appeal to the market and sweep away the masses from the other players operating in the market. It serves as a revenue booster for the Pepsi cola and is a very strong asset for the company and it has all the capabilities for making it big in the consumer market of refreshments.

Price:-

It was made available in 300 ml returnable glass bottles

Priced at Rs 8 500 ml PET bottles, at Rs 15 Non-returnable, 250-ml Pepsi bottles, priced at Rs 12

each

Place:-Pepsi was very efficient in trying to accomplish the pre-launch activities. However the Pepsi blue was not a success because of a distribution system that was not very efficient. Unlike the distribution system that has made Pepsi very acceptable with the consumers, Pepsi blue failed to adopt such a distribution channel. The customers were highly dissatisfied with the availability of Pepsi blue and this was one of the strongest reasons for the product to have not done well in the market.

Pepsi Blue was released in the following countries:-

1. India2. Mexico3. Panama4. Colombia5. Costa6. Rica7. Australia8. New Zealand9. Jamaica10. Canada

PROMOTION:-

Although heavily promoted by PepsiCo (including advertisements by the pop singer Britney Spears and the bands Sev and Papa Roach, as well as in the movies The Italian Job and Garfield: The Movie), it is widely seen as a commercial flop as sales remained low. Even with the failure of Pepsi Blue, PepsiCo still managed to post double-digit growth. Also, multiple groups claim to be "bringing back" Pepsi Blue,

But are so far unsuccessful.[1] Pepsi has since denied any plans to bring back Pepsi Blue.

In Manila, Philippines, Pepsi Blue was sold for a limited time in late 2002 to commemorate the championship of the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP.

Pepsi Blue was promoted after New York Mets games during the summer of 2002, where the color blue was one of the symbolic colors of the ball club. Other promotions included handing out free bottles from a Pepsi Blue themed VW New Beetle at popular shopping centers around the country. Jolt makes a similar beverage called Jolt Blue CX2; a blue raspberry soda in a battery shaped metal can with a flavor often describe as like that of cotton candy. Mountain Dew Voltage also has a similar flavor {deemed the winner

or nicest tasting mountain dew by dew drinkers in the USA) {or date=August 2009}.

SWOT ANALYSISStrength*it has a very refreshing taste and serves to quench the thirst of the consumers very well.

*its packaging is very attractive

*the quality of the drink was good

*Pepsi blue comes from the blanket of Pepsi, which is a very strong brand in the beverage market. Thus the customers find a very strong connection with brand and there is a very strong sense of quality assurance that comes along with the product

*its very aggressive promotional efforts went a long way in creating an impact on the customers mind

Weaknesses * Sweet taste. People didn't like its sugary taste.

* People didn't like its blue color.

* Distribution channel wasn't good. So, it couldn't reach to the people easily.

* It didn't taste like normal Pepsi so people found it tough to connect with Pepsi blue.

Opportunities * The beverage industry has a huge market

* The drink like “Pepsi blue” can cater very efficiently to the young masses

* The young target forms the major part of the consumer market of the country*with the drinks prevalent in the market at this moment, the Pepsi blue can bring a much required change of taste and bring a new taste of refreshment.

Threats*There are so many strong competitors in the market.* Company should have used various measures to be able to stand in the market.

REASONS OF FAILURE

The taste of Pepsi Blue was like cotton candy with a berry and much more sugary and syrupy than regular cola

It was tinted using Blue 1, a highly controversial coloring agent banned in numerous countries at the time

Sugary taste was not accepted by the consumers.

REPOSITIONING OF PEPSI BLUE

STRAGIES USED:-

Pepsi Blue could come up with the different taste than berry flavor, i.e. strong fizzy cola to attract youth segment.

Advertisements focusing on repositioning of Pepsi blue which has eliminated the sugary taste factor.

The taste should be immediately change, since its competitors taking due advantage because of Pepsi’s sweeter taste.

Moreover, Pepsi should start creating its awareness about duplication of its products these days.

Revised marketing mix1) ProductThe Pepsi blue will have a navy blue color as contrasted to its previous light blur color which did not do well in the market. The taste of the beverage will also be balanced between a very fizzy and strong drink and sweet syrup, like it tasted the last time. The packaging of the product will

also be of a very improved quality. Pet bottles of 1.5 liters and 2 liters will be made available. Pepsi blue cans would be available.

Its containment would be of 600ml.pet bottles would also be available with 600 ml containment capacities. There would be a refreshing yet a strong taste in the drink that would give the masses a new choice and a new definition to beverage drinking.

Pepsi blue can

PEPSI BLUE 600 ML BOTTLES

2) PriceThe price of the Pepsi blue is kept at an affordable amount. The pricing amount should be carefully looked into properly before re-launching the product.

The pricing for the Pepsi blue will be as followed-* 1.5 liters bottle- Rs 45

* 2 litres bottles – Rs 50

* 600 ml PET bottles – Rs 15

*600 ml cans – Rs 20

The price of Pepsi blue has been kept at a certain amount that is easily approachable and attainable by the masses. Its ay par with the others in the market and it provides an impetus to the product to do better in the market.

3) Place

MANUFACTURER

DISTIBRUTOR

The distribution channel that will be employed in the re-positioning is going to very efficient and productive. The entire process starts with the manufacturer. The product then passes on from there to the distributor, wholesaler and finally the consumers. The main reason for the products failure in the previous time was the inefficient channel of distribution. However, this time the product will be delivered to the retail shops and outlets in a very adept manner so that the Pepsi blue is made available to the customers very easily and very conveniently.

4) Promotion

*TEAM INDIA

Pepsi Blue will use a very strong and extensive usage of the promotional process to create a connection of the product with the people of the country. There will be an extensive use of the game of cricket and the frenzy that surrounds it to promote the product. The people of India are very passionate about the game of cricket and the blue jersey symbolizing the Indian cricket team epitomizes the fervor of the game. There will be a strong Endeavour to create a

CUSTOMER

WHOLE SALER

RETAILER

sense of connection between the blue color of Pepsi and the color of the jersey of the Indian cricket team.

TEAM INDIA and THE COLOUR “BLUE”

BRAND AMBASSADORS OF PEPSI BLUE

Team India and the color blue and its

Connection with Pepsi blue

Launching activities:-

Pre launching activities : there are certain aspects that need to be looked into before launching the product. The television advertisements need to be aired at least 10 days in to the launch. A countdown should be inculpated in the advertisement which builds up to the day of launch of the product.

In addition to these efforts will also be made to see that the stocks reach the retailers, before the date of launch of the product.

The advertisement should be able to make it clear to the masses that this new drink offers a new degree of refreshment. The new deep blue color of Pepsi blue and the new taste will save as a mode of variety for the customers.

Launching day activities: all the THREE brand ambassadors of Pepsi blue will be called in to launch the drink. An official launch of the drink will be launched a week before the ill launches in its second season.

There will also be a special attention given that day during the press release of the product to let the media now about the ingredients of the drink, its new colour, changed taste and its diet-conscious appeal.

QUESTIONNAIRE

(1)HAVE YOU TASTED PEPSI BLUE BEFORE? (a)YES (b) NO

(2)DO YOU LIKE THE COLOUR OF PEPSI BLUE? (a)YES (b) NO

(3)DID YOU LIKE THE PREVIOUS TASTE OF PEPSI BLUE? (a)YES (b) NO

(4)WHICH COLOUR WOULD YOU PREFER FOR PEPSI BLUE? (a)DEEP BLUE (b) LIGHT BLUE (c)BROWN (d) RED

(5)WHAT TATSE WOULD YOU PREFER? (a)SWEET (b) STRONG (c)SOUR (d) FIZZY

(6)WHO DOES U THINK SHOULD BE THE BRAND AMBASSADOR OF PEPSI BLUE? (a)SACHIN (b) SHAHRUKH KHAN (c)DHONI (d)RANVIR KAPOOR

(7)WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE DRINK? (a)PEPSI (b)COCA-COLA

(8)WHATS DID YOU LOOK FOR IN A BEVERAGE? (a)TASTE (b) REFRESHMENT (c)DIET CONSCIOUS

(9)WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET A DRINK THAT’S DEEP BLUE IN COLOUR? (a)YES (b) NO

(10)DID YOU LIKE THE PACKAGING OF PEPSI BLUE THE PREVIOUS TIME? (a)YES (b) NO

(11)WERE YOU HAPPY WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF THE PEPSI BLUE BOTTLE? (a)YES (b) NO

(12)ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE ALTERNATIVES OF BEVERAGES AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET NOW? (a)YES (b) NO

Pictorial representation of the data

(1) The pie chart showing the number of people who have tasted or not tasted Pepsi blue (yes-35%, no-75%)

yes

no

(2) The bar graph depicting the number of people who liked and disliked the previous colour of Pepsi blue (yes-25%, no-75%)

0

20

40

60

80

yes no

Series1

(3) The pyramid chart shows the percentage of people who liked or disliked the previous taste of Pepsi blue. (Liked-41%, disliked-59%)

yesno

S10

20

40

60

Series1

(4) The cylinder chart shows the percentage of people who have given their take on the color of Pepsi that they would like to taste (deep blue-50%, red-22%, brown-18%, light blue-10%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

1

deep blue

red

brown

light blue

(5) This diagram depicts the taste that the customers would like to have in Pepsi-blue (sweet-15%, strong-41%, sour-14%, fizzy-30%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

sweet strong sour fizzy

Series1

(6) This chart shows the choice of the people when it comes to choosing the brand ambassador for Pepsi blue (rangier kapoor-23%, ms dhoni-30%, sachin tendulkar-37%, abhinav bindra-10%)

Ran

vir

kapo

or

MS

Dho

ni

Sac

hin

Ten

dulk

ar

Abh

inav

Bin

dra

S10

10

20

30

40

Series1

(7) The chart depicts the brand that they prefer more (pepsi-53%, coke-47%)

44

46

48

50

52

54

pepsi coke

Series1

(8) The chart shows the traits that the customers look for in a beverage (taste-38%, refreshment-40%, diet conscious-22%)

taste

refreshment

diet-conscious

(9) This chart depicts the people’s response to the question whether they would accept a blue colored drink (yes-60%, no-40%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1

yes

no

(10) This chart shows whether the people were satisfied with the packaging of Pepsi blue the previous time (yes-72%, 28%)

yes

no

(11) The chart shows the customers satisfaction or dissatisfaction level with the availability of Pepsi blue the previous time (yes-24%, no-76%)

0

20

40

60

80

yes no

Series1

(12) This chart shows whether the customers are satisfied with the existing brands of beverage or not (yes-52%, no-48%)

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

no yes

Series1

DATA INTERPRETATION FROM THE CHARTS

*most of the people did not taste Pepsi blue the previous time

*they were dissatisfied with the previous color of Pepsi blue

*there was a strong sense of dissatisfaction among the people with the availability of Pepsi blue

*the people were not happy with the taste

*the people are open to a new drink to enter the beverage industry

*they were happy with the packaging of the bottles

*the survey even reveals that they would be most open to accepting a “deep blue coloured”drink

*the people have stated that they look for refreshment as the strongest asset in a soft drink

*the people gave their verdict that they prefer Pepsi to coke as a brand at the present moment

*they would want a drink that is stronger and more powerful. Sweet syrup is not what they are looking for

*the people have shown that they would be happier to have someone as a dhoni or a tendulkar than any film actor as the brand ambassador of Pepsi blue