Mountain Dew - Research Paper Example

Second, the company's flagship advertising campaign, "Do the Dew," is now in its eighth year. In that period, competitors have had ample time to copy many of the once-distinctive elements of the marketing strategy and erode the freshness, as well as the impact, of the primary campaign and any pool-outs. This analysis will present these issues using a SWOT approach to focus on the significant issues of the case. Analysis. The managers responsible for marketing the Mountain Dew brand are in a difficult place; they are not dealing with a new product entry, but are responsible for maintaining the brand's place at the top.

The brand's advantages include the very things that have made them successful so far, but they still face several challenges. Even though their brand health indicators remain strong, the brand is almost certain to lose market share without some proactive and effective changes. As shown in the SWOT analysis in Table 1, the brand enjoys some key strengths and good opportunities, but the Mountain Dew product is not without its weaknesses, and it is exposed to some potentially serious threats if management can't tune its position and get sales back on track.

Table 1StrengthsWeaknessesOpportunitiesThreatsBrand RecognitionImage SaturationRe-engage primary marketNon-Carbonated ProductsCorporate ResourcesLoss of Niche BrandingEnhance BrandHealth AdvocacyMarketing Commitment--Super Bowl Ads--The market has a strong recognition of this brand, and the marketing efforts have been successful in making product perception match market trends. That success, however, is now creating difficulty as the market is trending away from the very image the brand has been building for the past eight years.

Further, the competition has co-opted many elements of the image and the market is virtually saturated with alternative sports, music, and young faces. Additionally, the traditional cola market is eroding as it looses market share to non-carbonated, alternative beverages. The idea of having a "kick" which is derived from sugar and caffeine successfully played to the cool generation, but the counterculture demographic is more likely to see those compounds as unhealthy. Nevertheless, products like Red Bull show that there is still a strong market for such products.

The corporate resources that a company like PepsiCo can bring to bear on the marketing are certainly a strength; but just because a company can speak broadly doesn't free it from needing to have something significant to say. As the product begins to loose its distinctive niche branding to better-positioned offerings, management has the opportunity to recapture its core constituency and enhance the brand; but the new creative is going to have to move beyond skateboards and rock music. The marketing commitment shown by PepsiCo, particularly the prohibitively expensive Super Bowl ads, is both a key strength and opportunity.

The message those strategies deliver, however, is the main thing.Alternatives. Management has three fundamental