BROOKLYN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 1995--
Whoever noticed ``The more things change, the more they stay the same'' probably was more philosopher than marketing genius. Nonetheless, when it comes to summing up a successful strategy for moving consumer products in the mid-1990's, no one could have said it simpler or better.
Though once the answer to every marketing question seemed to be ``New and improve,'' today many brands are finding success by fitting their products into a more enduring framework. Marketers and manufacturers who have gotten that message have enjoyed some dramatic leaps in the marketplace. Perhaps the clearest case in point is Arizona Iced Tea.
As the producer of ready-to-drink tea products, Arizona is a player in one of the most competitive and toughest consumer categories of all: the beverage industry. Yet in a mere three years its products have rocketed Arizona to the number three position, close behind iced tea brands owned by Pepsi and Quaker Oats. For this achievement Arizona has become a phenomenon in the beverage business, described by beverage marketing analyst Michael Bellas as ``the real shooting star of the RTD category'' in an article written for industry bible Beverage World. One of the reasons for Arizona's success (in addition to product quality and competitive pricing) is the positioning of its products with romantic and lasting images that somehow transcend the daily grind of business.
Arizona packaging, for instance, is adorned with ancient Native American symbols and colors. The appeal of Arizona's product packaging is so strong, many customers even collect the cans as object d'art. Of course, the name of the Arizona brand and its products tie it to the American west, offering ``Southwest Style Sun Brewed Tea'' products and fruit drink ``Cowboy Cocktails.'' By doing so, Arizona has become much more than what is in its cans and bottles. Unlike Snapple or Lipton, Arizona delivers its customers a vveritable Westeern holiday.
Early in 1995 Arizona will take another step that shows the company remains in close touch with consumer sensibilities. It will unveil an innovative product that while new, is also steeped in tradition: Arizona Iced Tea With Ginseng . According to Arizona Chief Operating Officer Mike Schott, ginseng is a natural and mysterious substance that has been the subject of folk lore for centuries.
The combination of ginseng with tea originated in ancient China. The tenets of traditional Chinese medicine hold that ginseng is a tonic to increase strength, increase blood volume, promote life and appetite, quiet the spirit and give wisdom.
The product is being marketed in striking 20 oz. cobalt blue bottles with expensive gold highlighted neck and body labels. The label art depicts a Native American medicine man riding a buffalo: a Native American symbol of divine power. Most Native American tribes were familiar with ginseng and valued the plant highly.
``We selected a blue bottle for two reasons,'' Schott said. ``First, it makes an unmistakable statement of difference. Second, for centuries the color blue has been associated with mystery and healing -- especially in the orient.''
Arizona's Schott, an experienced and widely respected beverage industry executive, admits outright that many of the purported benefits of ginseng were news to him. ``But we have created a product that in addition to tasting good is thought provoking, too,'' Schott said. ``Whether or not people feel that it effects them in some sort of medicinal or mystical way...I wouldn't know.
``I'm trying to keep an open mind though,'' Schott said. ``After all, in nearly every culture on the earth ginseng continues to hold a position of power.''
Arizona's approach to product development and positioning reveals a solid understanding of a dynamic that the American consumer is responding to very strongly. It indicates that successfully marketing consumeer products in the mid-1990's requires more than a variety of good products. It requires tying the products to something lasting, something bigger than either the brand or category. For marketers like Arizona -- who have learned this lesson and apply it so well -- the opportunity is vast, and promises to remain so until more companies wise up and jump into the fray.
- SOURCE : Business Wire1995.01.09
|
Newsdesk