INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

Positioning Assignment
Brand ThumsUp

Submitted By: (Section-A) Aman Garg Avishek Tarun Lalit Malik Nishant Mishra Rahul Jain

Submitted To: Dr S R Singhvi (005) (011) (024) (036) (040)

Thums Up is a carbonated soft drink (PRODUCT CATEGORY) popular and largest selling brand in India, where it s bold, red thumbs up logo is common. It has a unique taste reminiscent of betel nut. It was introduced in 1977 to offset the expulsion of The Coca-Cola Company and other foreign companies from India. The brand was bought out by Coca-Cola in 1993 from Parle. SEGMENTATION
Market for Soft Drink has been segmented based on the combination of the four factors:

Demographic
1) Age The consumption pattern exhibited by the different age groups Age Group Consumption (%) 18-28 72 29-35 10 36-45 10 46+ 8 2) Gender- Out of the total consumption, Males account for 69% of the consumption for soft drink and 31% by females. 3) Income Major consumption of soft drinks is in the Section A/B/C of the Indian market as per the social economic classification data provided by IRS. India s total middle class population is 354 million growing at a rate of 5% per year. The monthly budget for a middle class family for soft drinks varies from Rs 500-1000.

Geographic
Rural areas contribute to 30% of the total consumption for soft drink market and 70% by urban areas. Region Market Share (%) North 24 East 18 West 32 South 26

Psychographic
Personality Creation of positive influence on consumer mindset through brand endorsements by various celebrities and product features like taste, flavor. Influencing Factors Effects (%) Brand Endorsement 35 Taste or Flavor 65

Behavioral
The different benefits that consumers seek from the consumption of the product Benefit Sought Percentage (%) Strong Taste 80 Refreshment 10 Thirst Quenching 10 Further, Carbonated Soft Drink market can be divided into Cola and Non-Cola. Cola constitute of around 60% of the total carbonated soft drinks market.

TARGET BASE FOR THUMS UP

Based on the above data, Thums Up because of its strong taste, an unique reminiscent betel nut taste, is targeted towards the niche segment consisting of young Indian males in the age group of 18- 30 years who are confident, adventurous, like thrill and macho image.

Male Daring, Adventu rous

Young Generation (1830 Years)

REASONS FOR THE TARGET BASE

Thumps Up has selected the following niche segments because of the following reasons: 1) AGE - The target has been the core cola drinking age group between 18 and 30 years of age. Given India s demographic, with 65 % of the population less than 35 years, provides a big incentive to target this consumer base in a big way. Another big advantage is the spending power of this young group. 2) GENDER - Male constitute 63.6% of the 15-64 years segment, as per current demographics and consumption is more as compared to female counterpart. The strong fizzy taste of the Thums Up connects well with the male characteristics like hard, strong, rough and confident. 3) ATTITUDE - The young segment s growing ambitions and success is connected through the brand s positioning that signifies victory, achievement and celebration and easily evident from the symbol of Thums Up and the tag line Taste the Thunder . Brand endorsement by celebrities like Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar has further strengthened that belief. 4) OCCASION - During get together parties, strong fizzy taste of the brand makes it suitable for mixing with rum and is a very common trend among the young generation. Celebrations- The brand positioning itself as a symbol of success, adventure and adrenaline makes it the favorite cola among the youth segment.

Some other Brands that this company (Coca Cola India) produces
Brands
Carbonated Soft Drinks Other Soft Drinks Mineral Water Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Limca Minute Maid Pulpy Orange, Maaza Kinley, Bonaqua

Marketing Communication
The target segment of Thums Up is young and masculine. The campaigns used by Thums Up are very dare devilish, interactive and energetic. The market of carbonated soft drinks in India is mature. Most consumers know about the products available in the market and the penetration of the product category is very high. So, the marketing communication is focused on Liking (feeling good about the product), Preference (giving a preference over other similar products) and Conviction (believing that the product is best suited for them and their personality) instead of focusing on product awareness. The brand is positioned as a manly drink, drawing on its strong taste qualities and the depiction of an adult drink has appealed to the young consumers. Grow up to Thums Up was a successful campaign launched on this theme. Similarly, other campaigns from Thums Up build on the strength of its cola and build associations as a macho drink. 1) Ad showing the Thums Up man riding through the desert in search of a cantina that sells Thums Up rather than drink another cola. 2) Thumps guy performing daredevil stunts just to retrieve his drink from a girl shows the love and passion for Thums Up These concepts stick in the minds of many Indians and caught the imagination of youngsters who want to be seen as men. Brand endorsements by action celebrities like Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan has further strengthened its concept and helped Thums Up in pushing up its brand image. They are using the same tagline Taste The Thunder and message has been localized for different regions to gain further appeal, for example hiring of regional superstars Rajneekant, Mahesh Babu and Cheeranjivi to endorse the brand in the southern part of the country. Rural Marketing 1. Tagline is changed to Thoofani Thanda for the rural areas. 2. The focus on 3 A s (Affordability, Availabilty, Acceptibilty). Parent company of Thums Up , Coca Cola is third largest advertiser of India and latest advertisement of Thums Up is the most expensive ever in Indian TV history (Rs. 4.5 Crores).

Communication channels and tools used by Thums Up

y TV and Movie theatre commercials This is the tool on which the brand focuses most. It addresses maximum number of current and future consumers; it gets the maximum part of communication budget and the biggest celebrity support. Hoardings and billboards The line Taste the Thunder is striking enough to be well suited to be used in large Billboards. Special visuals and the tagline are used for leaving a lasting impression on the lookers. Print Media News papers and Magazines are used for the segment that is relatively older in age. Also, these are used for publishing the events and small campaigns organized by the product like rallies and music shows. Scholarship Thums Up gives Mahesh Babu Thums Up Merit scholarship in Andhra Pradesh which is also the biggest consumer of the drink. Last year, this scholarship was given to 190 children.

Jalsa This was launched in year 2007 and now it is one the premier advertisement program for the product in rural areas of states Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, U.P. and Bihar. A person just need to buy a bottle of Thums Up to be invited for the program which includes performances by local artists. Digital Initiatives Thums Up comes up innovative schemes to leverage the popularity of digital media like mobile phones (both GSM/CDMA), internet, amongst soft drink consumers nationally. One example of it was Thums Up Thunder Wheels , which gave the consumer a chance to win a motorbike every hour for 45 days. According to Anand Singh, Director Marketing, Coca Cola, This initiative is aimed for adding excitement, refreshment and fun into the lives of its consumers .

Above techniques and tools have served very well for Thums Up . They are successfully able to retain their consumers and maintain an emotional bond with them.

Packaging of Thums Up
Packaging is seen as a reflection of the quality of the product in Indian Market. Moreover the company is required to change the packaging of their brand from time to time to remove the monotony and attract the consumer. Thums Up is available in following packing Price (in Rs) 8 12 23 39/60 25 18-50 Availability Rural Urban & Rural Urban & Rural Urban & Rural Urban MovieTheatre, Restaurants

200ml Glass Bottle 300ml Glass Bottle 500ml PET Bottle 1.25L/2.0L Bottle 330ml Tin Can Fountain

200ml was mainly targeted in rural areas where the individual income and consumption is less and thus people would we willing to pay less amount for less quantity. 300ml glass bottle was targeted for both in rural and urban areas. Later came the tin can which was more stylish and handy as it dint not require any security as in the case of glass bottles. Tin can was price almost to double of that of glass bottle for 330 ml. This was mainly consumed by the rich people. Later came the 1.0L,1.5L plastic bottle for family consumption. They were of great advantage as it did not require any security and the average cost was less, hence it attracted a lot of people. After a while plastic pet bottles of 500ml was introduced. It targeted individual and small group of 2-3 people. It had less average cost, more hygienic (as glass bottles were refilled) and more handy. Also it helped the soft drink manufacture in saving a manpower involved in collecting empty bottles. PET bottle segment is approximately 12% of the total market and is replacing the glass bottle.

Brand Positioning for Thums Up

If we take a look at the broader perspective, Thums Up is competing with not only other soft drinks but also with other well established Indian beverages. We can see this in the table below:Segment 2005 2006 2007 Tea 6.6% 6.4% 6.5% Milk 10.6% 10.8% 11.1% Coffee 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% Cola soft drinks 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% Beer 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% Fruit beverages 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% Others 82.3% 82.8 81.8% *Others include water (tap and bottled), vegetable and fruit juices, powdered drinks.

Now after having a look at the picture of whole Beverage market of India let s see the core competing of thumps up which is within the Carbonated Soft Drink.

Thums Up
Calories Carbohydrates (in 300ml) Price/Bottle Product Claims
120 30 12 Some drinks are only fun on the toungue and others also give a zing when they go in.

Coke
121.25 33.75 12 All foods and beverage can fit into healthy balanced diet when consumed in appropriate proportion Oct-45 Children, adults, younger generation and sports personality and celebrities Sweetened carbonated drink Various events such as cricket matches, movies, trade fairs, college fests etc. 8

Pepsi
150 34.5 12 We offer beverages that resorts to the customer s expectations and make it more enjoyable for them to lead healthier lives.

Sprite
140 38 12 Sprite is a transparent, lemonlime flavored, caffeine free soft drink

Age Group Target Consumer

13-30 Youth, Macho

Oct-45 People from younger generation, sports personalities and celebrities Sweetened carbonated drink Sports events, trade, fairs, college fests etc.

Oct-45 Children, adults, younger generation, cool people

BRAND POSITIONING SPONSORSHIP

Strong carbonated drink Races, Rallies, Cricket, Motorsports, Various Stunt events and Road Shows 16.6

lemon-lime flavored Sweetened carbonated drink Cricket,

Market Share (%)

Source: http://www.mofpi.nic.in

13

15.6

The positioning which Thums Up has aimed is unique and has entered in the market with a long term strategy. Thums Up has positioned itself in the beverages market as a brand made for macho young generation. Thums Up , is, known for strong, fizzy taste and its confident, mature, humorous and uniquely masculine attitude. This brand clearly seeks to separate the man from the boys. It has established itself for mature segment who are adventurous and are looking for achievements. Thums Up is an iconic brand and there has been consistency in its taste as well as positioning. The brand is trying to evolve from a 'rugged macho brand' to a brand with a wider appeal and, yet retain its masculine appeal. Coke's Sprite has quickly become the No. 2 brand in the country and is within striking distance of Thums Up . If the brand wants to retain its thunder, it needs a strategy to compete with not just colas, but other soft drink flavors in the market. Advertising is one of the key elements in building a brand personality. Thums Up uses 'user imagery strategy , contributing to brand personality & success. In fact, some of the brands have become cult brands in which brand personally played prominent role. The tagline Taste the thunder also goes well with the male youngsters between the age group of 18-30. This positioning has propelled Thums Up to be a leading carbonated soft drink and most trusted brand in India.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books Marketing Management By Rajan Saxena (Edition 3) Principles of Marketing Management By Philip Kotler Links http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/10/india-adds-fizz-to-coca-cola-numbers.htm http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/11/thums-ups-new-thunder.htm http://www.scribd.com/doc/28676196/Study-of-Soft-Drinks-in-India http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=211 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4109349.cms http://www.scribd.com/doc/14387167/Comparative-Study-on-Consumption-Patterns-of-Soft-Drinksand-Fruit-Juices http://mofpi.nic.in/ContentPage.aspx?CategoryId=548 http://www.slideshare.net/abhinavarya/cdocuments-and-settingsvfdesktopsbm-thums-up-3349203 http://www.scribd.com/doc/19495429/Project-Report-on-Soft-Drinks-Market-in-India http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/the-coca-cola-company-sprite-soda-canned-28869.htm http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/food/PepsiCo-to-launchlow-calorie-cola-within-a-month-to-take-on-market-leader-Thums-Up/articleshow/6080210.cms http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/articlelist/13352306.cms http://www.livemint.com/2008/11/30233732/It8217s-the-right-time-to-t.html http://www.financialexpress.com/news/real-brand-loyalty/175844/ http://www.naukrihub.com/india/fmcg/consumer-class/socio-economic/ http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/Revamping%20Rasna10.htm http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=211 http://rajeshaithal.blogspot.com/2009/01/thumps-up-no-1-cola-brand-in-india.html http://www.scribd.com/doc/28676196/Study-of-Soft-Drinks-in-India http://mofpi.nic.in/ContentPage.aspx?CategoryId=548 http://marketingpractice.blogspot.com/2006/02/thums-up-taste-thunder.html http://www.slideshare.net/guestbb69f0/soft-drink-industry-ppt http://www.scribd.com/doc/23675133/Changing-mindsets-in-Consumption-Pattern-of-SOFT-DRINK-inRural-Market

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