Vitamin Water

Introduction

This is an article about how Mr. Bikoff and his vitaminwater have evolved into a product that is able to get shelved with the juggernauts of the non-alcoholic beverage industry such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola. The name of J. Darius Bikoff's company is called Glaceau and Glaceau has been on the verge, if not already started rivaling Pepsi and Coke. Bikoff believes that his company is not just another beverage and that it has somewhat of a different focus as opposed to Coke and Pepsi. When people think of Coke and Pepsi they think of refreshment before anything else. When people hear vitamins and water in one drink, hence the name vitaminwater, it gives off a sense of healthiness and that is just what Bikoff is trying to do. He is using Glaceau to gear his drinks to people that are looking for that healthy lifestyle. With people more conscious now about their weight and with all the different fad diets that go around Bikoff might have done just the right thing to hit it big with his new beverages. With Bikoff targeting those searching for that healthier lifestyle he may just have the right ingredients that he needs to compete with Coke and Pepsi.

The article doesn't just focus on vitaminwater and the Glaceau products, it describes the marketing strategies of Mr. Bikoff. With hundreds of different beverages available it's not so simple to get into the competition. Bikoff's personality and the way he goes about marketing has created a "boom" and that is essential for Bikoff. For Bikoff it isn't enough to just believe in his product, in some ways he "lives" his product. He brings almost what some would call a diehard aura to his product. The amount of passion he brings is evident in his personality and may just be something that the other huge beverage companies don't have. His passion about his product is considered one of the main reasons that he was able to get so many retailers in New York to stock their shelves with vitaminwater. With all his passion and ability to push his products into different retailers it's no wonder why Glaceau is expanding big time.

Terms and Concepts

Some key terms that are touched on in the article are brand loyalty, marketing mix, and target market. The brand loyalty has to do with consistently choosing one brand over another. For vitaminwater many people are not just single time customers, but instead people that buy cases and buy them often. Glaceau uses a unique marketing mix which is explained in more detail later in this write up. It includes the four P's which are place, price, promotion, and product. The last term is target market and that is defined as the group of people that, in this case Mr. Bikoff, are most likely to purchase the product. In the case of vitaminwater the target market is most likely middle class individuals who prefer a healthier lifestyle.

Relating to the book

The marketing mix is discussed in detail in chapter 1, pages 14-15. On these pages the marketing mix and the four P's are discussed and gives an example of Godiva Chocolate. Brand Loyalty is discussed on page 272 and it describes how most people are not specifically price buyers but a lot of the time "brand" buyers.

II. Environment

I believe that there are two "environments" that stick out and are relevant to this article. The two environments are competition and social change. Other environments may work but these are the two that the article mostly focuses on. Starting with competition it is easy to see how Glaceau faces fierce competition just as almost every other company in any type of marketing situation. Not only does Glaceau face