Presented by:Seison Johnson, Melissa Nonlall, Ashley Rodeheffer

Originated in Phoenix, Arizona by Herb Bishop in 1938

In 1977, Brooks Products purchased Squirt from Bishop

In 1986, Squirt joined A&W brand which was purchased by Cadbury Schweppes PLC.

Responsibilities for marketing, manufacturing, and distribution of Squirt was assigned to Dr. Pepper/Seven Up (DPSU) in March 1995 when it was acquired by Cadbury.

Major competitors include: Coca Cola and Pepsi-Cola.

Target audience is adults, ages, 18-34.

It is a Caffeine-free, low-sodium carbonated soft drink

Best selling carbonated grapefruit soft drink brand in the U.S.

Marketed under Dr. Pepper/Seven Up Inc; the largest non-cola soft drink enterprise in North America and the third largest soft drink company in the United States.

Product line includes: Squirt (regular), Squirt diet, Ruby Red Squirt (regular), Ruby Red Squirt diet.

There are three major participants in the production and distribution; Concentrate producers, bottlers and retail outlets

Three companies command over 90 percent of carbonated soft drink sales in the U.S.

The main problem that DPSU faces in developing

Squirt’s advertising and promotion plan is its market targeting and product positioning.

In addressing this problem, the following issues need to be assessed: Re-positioning of Squirt Redefine the target audience Focus on Hispanic Consumers and Communities New Creative Strategy Advertising expenditures

Squirt targeted 18-4 4 year olds Squirt advertising emphasized the “hip, cool,

experimental nature” of the brand with the message “Beyond the ordinary refreshment-the great citrus taste is incredibly thirst quenching”

Ruby Red Squirt targeted to teens and young adults, ages 12-24 year olds and was positioned as a ”fruity bold way to refresh your thirst”

Ruby Red Squirt advertising focused on its bold taste and extraordinary refreshment with the message “Its fruity berry and citrus taste in incredibly exciting”

Both TV commercials (names “Mountain Bike “ and “Rollerblade”) portrayed Squirt and Ruby Red Squirt in action-oriented biking and skating settings

In 1995, the Advertising Agency, Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) was asked to revise Squirts current creative strategy, reasoning because it was thought that it was “a bit too intense to fit with the brand.”

Instead of sport situations, they migrated towards the “everyday, on-the-go experience s”

The emphasis on Squirts thirst-quenching benefit remained the same but was now portrayed in “spunky, lively, sociable, colorful, and music driven” advertising that depicted fun-loving, individualistic young adults

Target market was narrowed to 18-34 year olds Advertising copy described Squirt as ‘Fun relief when you’re dry”

with the tag line “Squirt your Thirst” Squirts positioning and creative execution were revisited in 1999

and again in 2000, following the introduction of Coco Cola’s Citra (a main competitor of Squirt) but no changes were made.

In June, 2001, Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) recommended a

new brand position for Squirt: Target multicultural, 18-24 year olds Emphasize Squirt’s “thirst-quenching” benefit

Formal positioning:“For young multicultural adults who thrive on the excitement and

spontaneity of living up to the max, Squirt citrus soda fuels your thirst for living

life loud, with an exhilarating taste that’s powerfully thirst-quenching!”

According to FCB, this position offers five benefits

Strengths: Largest brand loyalty among competitors Highest brand awareness among carbonated grapefruit soft drinks Best selling carbonated grapefruit soft drink Squirt is bottled and sold by 250 bottlers Is available in 83 percent of the U.S. bottler markets that represent 85

percent of the total soft drink volume in the United States

Weaknesses: Lower market share (14.7%) as compared to Coca-Cola (41.1) and Pepsi

(31.4) New York City metropolitan area does not have a squirt bottler distributor Not making changes to their positioning after Citra was introduced Not being competitive with advertising spending

Opportunities: In Mexico, Squirt is the eighth largest carbonated soft drink brand and the

second most popular brand in the grapefruit category Market targeting: Per capita consumption of soft drinks is higher among

Hispanics and African Americans than other racial and ethnic groups and among teens than adults. They also prefer flavored soft drinks.

Advertising: Use a variety of advertising medias to target this new segment

Taste and brand preferences are formed between 12 and 24

Threats: Coca Cola and Pepsi-Cola’s advertising and promotion expenditures are

greater than DPSU Colas are the dominant flavor in the U.S. carbonated soft drink industry,

accounting for about 60 percent of total retail sales in 2000. As of 2000, Coca Cola’s Citra is available in 95 percent of the U.S. bottler

market. Taste and brand preferences are formed between 12 and 24, Squirt

currently targets 18-34

Flavored soft drinks represent one quarter of carbonated soft drink sales

The average American consumes 849 eight ounce servings annually (2.3 servings per day)

Most Carbonated soft drinks in the U.S. are consumed by individuals, ages, 20-49

Teens and young adults are the primary audience for soft drink marketing since taste and brand preference are formed between 12 and 24 years of age.

Per capita consumption of soft drinks is higher among Hispanics and African Americans than any other racial or ethical group

About 25 percent of Americans are younger than 18 and one quarter of the U.S population is Hispanic and African American, and these groups tend to consume carbonated soft drinks.

According to the U.S. Census 2000, Hispanics population in the United States increased by 57.9 percent from 22.4 million in 1990 to 35.3 million in 2000, compared with an increase of 13.2 percent for the total U.S. population

Hispanics accounted for 12.4 percent of the U.S. population and African Americans accounted for 12.4 percent or 34.7 million

More than 75 percent of Hispanics live in the western and southern United States. More than half live in just two states California (11 million) and Texas (6.7 million)

Hispanics and African Americans tend to favor flavor carbonated soft drinks In 2000, 35 percent of Hispanics were under 18 years old (25.7% U.S.

population), median age of Hispanics was 25 years old (U.S. population 35.7 yrs old). Hispanics under 20 represent 58 percent of Los Angeles youth.

Hispanics prefer shopping close to home and tend to patronize mom-and-pop grocery outlets, convenience stores, and bodegas

55.4 percent of Hispanics prefer to see and hear ads in Spanish, while 30.3 percent would chose English and 13.2 percent don’t have a preference. In youth Hispanics, ages 18-24 , 44 percent prefer hearing ads in English and 46 percent prefer Spanish

Hispanics don’t like “hard selling” approaches and prefer messages that are real and relevant to them; authenticity is important as is an emotional connection with the brand

      Hispanic Percent Hispanic of

Rank Place and State Population Total Population

1 New York, NY 2,160,554 27.0

2 Los Angeles, CA 1,719,073 46.5

3 Chicago, IL 753,644 26.0

4 Houston, TX 730,856 37.4

5 San Antonio, TX 671,394 58.7

6 Phoenix, AZ 449,972 34.1

7 El Paso, TX 431,875 76.6

8 Dallas, TX 422,587 35.6

9 San Diego, CA 310,752 25.4

10 San Jose, CA 269,989 30.2

As a carbonated grapefruit soft drink, Squirt competes As a carbonated grapefruit soft drink, Squirt competes directly directly

with Coca-Cola’s two carbonated grapefruit soft drink with Coca-Cola’s two carbonated grapefruit soft drink brands- brands-

Fresca and CitraFresca and Citra

1. Coca Cola’s Fresca 1. Coca Cola’s Fresca Introduced in the 1960’s. It is a caffeine free soft drink targeted at

adults, ages 30 and older. More recently used as a mixer In 1992, it was one of the fastest growing soft drinks in the U.S.

22. Coca Cola’s Citra. Coca Cola’s Citra Introduced in 1997 as a “sugared” counterpart to Fresca. No diet version, but is caffeine free. Targeted at teens and young adults.

Coca-Cola

Pepsi Cola

All brands contain caffeine All brands are sold in regular and diet, except Surge Mountain Dew is the largest selling citrus favored soft drink brand

in the U.S. … Surge was introduced in 1997 to attract consumers before they

became Mountain Dew drinkers… Mello Yellow and Sun Drop are popular in the South East U.S.

Case Volume Trend for major Carbonated Grapefruit and Citrus-Flavored Brands

in the United States: 1996-2000

Case volume (millions) by year

Company/ Brands 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Coca Cola

Fresca 28 26.2 25.9 25.5 24.1

Citra NA NA 21 26.2 15.6

Mellow Yellow 59 46.6 42.4 41.6 45.7

Surge NA 69 51.8 26.7 11.8

Pepsi-Cola

Mountain Dew 605.9 683.2 748.1 793 809.8

Regular 535.6 605.2 665.1 705 715.6

Diet 70.03 78 83 88 94.2

Dr Pepper/ 7up

Sundrop 19.7 20.1 20.4 20.1 20.2

Squirt/Ruby Red 55.8 55.7 54.8 56 54.6

Total case Volume 768.4 900.8 964.4 989.1 981.8

Estimated Media Advertising Spending for Major Carbonated Grapefruit and 

  Citrus-Flavored Brands in the United States: 1996-2000  

Estimated Media Advertising Expenditures ($000) by Year

Company/ Brands 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Coca Cola

Fresca 2,471.50 730.2 672.6 N.S N.S

Citra NA 1,119.10 6,711.60 10,100.40 98.40

Mellow Yellow 1,407.80 1,524.20 1,199.70 1,010.60 773.10

Surge NA 13,611 17,846.70 18,967.40 243.8

Pepsi-Cola

Mountain Dew

(Regular/ Diet) 28,991.30 33,951.10 40,104.30 37,074.30 50,384.60

Dr Pepper/ 7up

Sundrop 10.9 429.6 3 391.8 314.1

Squirt/Regular/Diet 3,485.10 1,657.60 955.8 601.5 390

Squirt/Ruby Red 1,807.60 537.2 N.S N.S N.S

Key NA=Not Available: N.S.= No Significant Expenditures

There are three different options for the market targeting

and positioning of Squirt that exist:

1. Continue the present market targeting and positioning strategy

2. Adopt the marketing and positioning recommendations made by FCB

3. Develop another market targeting and positioning strategy, which may or may not include elements of the current and recommended strategy

Mountain Dew

Young, cool, and hip

Squirt

Citra

Fresca

Sundrop

Mello Yellow

Surge

Refreshing Thirst-quenching

Not-so-young, cool, and hip

As a group, it is our recommendation that DPSU lean towards the third course of action. We actually feel that FCB’s market targeting and positioning recommendations are heading in the right direction but we chose the third course of action because we have decided to make slight changes to a few things.The following steps highlight the selected course of action with a few of our additions:1. Start focusing on 15-24 year olds 2. Adopt FCB ‘s recommended positioning statement3. Add a bottler in the New York metropolitan area to service the large

Hispanic and African American segments4. Initiate Spanish speaking/text advertising in Southern California and Texas5. In other largely populated Hispanic cities advertising will feature people of

Hispanic descent and customs but not necessarily in Spanish. 6. Increase all advertising expenditure and initiate a multicultural advertising

campaign throughout the whole United States by using actors of other races and ethnicities