MARKETING PLAN for Jones Soda
DESCRIPTION:
Being a small company has its advantages—except in the cutthroat world of soft drink
manufacturing. Behemoths like Coke and Pepsi have consistently had their way when it comes to
market share, buying up whatever else they cannot manage to create on their own.
Yet one small company, Jones Soda Company (JSC), has made a valiant effort to be that David
among Goliaths—albeit with varying levels of success. Started by Canadian ski instructor, Peter van
Stolk, JSC sold its first bottles to thirsty consumers in January 1996. JSC, however, was not sold
alongside Coke or Pepsi in convenience stores. Instead it was sold in skateboard shops and tattoo
parlours, to consumers looking for a drink that matched their lifestyle. Its unique style was evidenced
by its use of bottles that resembled classic beer bottles and by pricing higher than for regular soft
drinks.
The lifestyle that JSC attracted was that of younger consumers, from tweens to high school
graduates—in other words, those who revelled in the coolness of the unique and different and who
enjoyed alternatives, be they in sports or other pursuits. Jones Soda appealed to this segment by
flying under the radar, even asking its customers to help package the product. From the start, JSC
asked consumers to send in pictures of themselves. Some of these ended up on Jones Soda labels.
Van Stolk notes: “We allowed the labels to be discovered and that gave consumers a sense of
ownership. It makes it more relevant to them and provides an emotional connection.”
Without much money for marketing, Jones began an underground movement that utilized
salespeople in RVs instead of ads on TV. For nine months of the year, a Jones Soda RV travelled
around the United States visiting everywhere from small skate parks to large events like the Summer
X Games. The idea was pretty simple: show off the brand to the young kids and offer free drinks and
key chains. JSC also hired extreme pro athletes, from BMX riders to surfers, all of whom would be
seen at events wearing the Jones Soda logo. JSC’s connection to its target segment always seemed
more personal than what other drink manufacturers were doing, and loyal customers appreciated it.
Jones Soda has also tried to stay avantgarde with product development. It is well known for
bringing out uniquely flavoured drinks, usually in conjunction with holidays and other special events.
For Halloween a few years ago, JSC introduced a few new flavours, including Candy Corn and
Caramel Apple. This perhaps was not as much of a stretch as the holiday bundle of new flavours,
which included Broccoli Casserole, Turkey and Gravy, and Pecan Pie. These “new” flavours, which
more often than not were available for only a limited time, were used to generate curiosity among
consumers.
JSC has also experimented with brand extensions. Some have succeeded (Jones Soda Hard
Candy, MyJones bottle labelling, Jones Music); others not so much (lip balm, frozen popsicles). But
Jones has always looked for different angles from which to compete.
As time passed, JSC realized that it needed to find other ways to get out there and meet consumers.
Facetoface was nice, but it did not sell enough to keep Jones Soda in competition with the big
players. The bottom line was this: find a better distribution method to get more Jones Soda out to
more of the market.
Jones Soda launched a more aggressive attack on the market, and its products were soon available
from Starbucks, 7Eleven, and Barnes and Noble. Large soft drink distributors, including National
Beverage, now deliver Jones Soda by the truckload, not the RV.
One of the greatest coups in the growth strategy for Jones Soda was the Seattle Seahawks deal.
The Seahawks, who play in the National Football League (NFL), signed an exclusive rights deal with
JSC. This deal meant that only Jones Soda, not Coke or Pepsi, would be offered at the Seahawks
home games played at Qwest Field. In honour of signing the deal, JSC came out with a sports pack
that included flavours like “Dirt Soda” and “Natural Field Turf Soda.” Jones was finally going bigtime.
But going big did not necessarily mean big success. JSC has recently suffered some setbacks. A
Starbucks distribution deal fell through, and JSC’s initial attempt to distribute its product in cans to
WalMart was seen as a major failure. These failures led to quarterly losses, a struggling stock price,
and the resignation of van Stolk as CEO in late 2007.
Other outside factors have led to challenges for JSC. A lower U.S. dollar has meant that exporting to
other markets is becoming more expensive for the Seattlebased company. Luckily, JSC does have
some bottlers in Canada, so it has been able to take advantage of the trade policies on both sides of
the 49th Parallel.
Corn syrup, a common sweetener for soft drinks, has become more expensive due to high demand
for corn. This has prompted many bottlers to switch to cane sugar. Jones Soda recently changed to
sugar sweetening of its products; the hope is that sugar prices will remain stable. However, recent
consumer trends toward healthy living are a cause for concern for companies like JSC that sell
sugarbased products. Recent research showing a correlation between unhealthy diet choices
among young consumers and serious health problems, including diabetes, has generated a
consumer backlash against many consumer product companies.
Earlier in 2010, the Seattle Seahawks announced that they were dropping Jones Soda as a drink
partner. As well, American Airlines announced an end to its deal with Jones Soda, which had
provided soft drinks on the airline since 2008. The new partner for both the Seahawks and American
Airlines: Coke.
Despite these setbacks, JSC is moving forward with plans to go mainstream. Distributors are in line,
new product lines are being developed (Jones Natural, Jones Energy Drinks), and the company is
feeling confident about its future. Some, though, wonder whether the snowboarding and alternative
segment that Jones Soda first appealed to will be as excited about this new direction. With a new
WalMart deal making investors happy, does this constant attempt to achieve mainstream status
mean a break with this alternative segment?
To test out this move toward the mainstream, JSC is exploring potential markets. Given the
Canadian roots of Jones Soda, it should not be surprising that JSC achieved early success
distributing soft drinks in Western Canada. Now might be as good a time as any for the company to
return to its roots. Given what you know about the Canadian market, it is now up to you to lay out the
possibilities for Jones Soda making a big splash in Canada this fall. Use the following pages to lay
out your strategy. Help prevent Jones Soda from fizzing out.
Resources:
Jones Soda background: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/92/jonessoda.html
Van Stolk quote:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2005/id20051026_869180.htm
Jones Flavours: http://www.jonessoda.com/limited-editions.html
Jones Soda sugar cane: http://www.jonessoda.com/beverages/pure-cane-soda/12-pack-ofjones-pure-cane-cola-soda.html
Jones and Seahawks deal:
http://www.jonessoda.com/invest/pdf_documents/2007/seahawks.pdf
Jones Soda, Seattle Seahawks, and American Airlines split:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012259194_qwestsoda02.html
INSTRUCTIONS:
As a Marketing Manager of Jones Soda, develop a 1,500 word marketing campaign plan for the
Canadian market. This plan will be presented to the Executive Committee of the company. Click on
the following link to see the Marketing Plan Outline for the correct format that is used when
creating a Marketing plan.
Your plan must be strongly communicated, and demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of
the concepts learned in the course. Be creative in your work, and ensure that all your
recommendations are fully substantiated.
OUTLINE FOR THE MARKETING PLAN.
1. Organizational Overview
a. Name of Organization
b. Mission Statement – this tells people why the organization exists, it should be short and
memorable
2. The Opportunity — Describe the opportunity that this plan will address
3. Situation Analysis (SWOTT)
SWOTT Analysis. Strengths:
– List the internal strengths that we can call
on to be successful
Weakness:
– List the internal problems that will limit
success and must either be corrected or
neutralized
Opportunity:
– List those things external to the
organization that can contribute to the
success of the project
Threat:
– List the things that will threaten the success
of the project
Trends – List the trends that can have either a positive or negative impact on the plan
4. Marketing Research
a. Industry analysis – what is happening in the overall industry for this product/service
b. Consumer analysis – demographics, behaviors, geographic considerations
c. Competitive analysis – who are your potential competitors and their strengths and
weaknesses
d. Opportunity analysis -information to substantiate the opportunity you identified in section 2.
5. Differentiating and Positioning – how will your product/service be different that your
competitors and how will you position it compared to your competitors.
6. Target customers and marketing mix
a. Target customers
The demographics this plan will target, geographic area, age etc.
b. Product/Service – Type and features
c. Place
i. Channels of distribution
ii. Product location/availability
iii. Location of facilities ( if applicable)
d. Price
i. Pricing strategy is it profit oriented or sales oriented
ii. How does it compare to the competition,
iii. Suggested selling price
iv. The price quality relationship
e. Promotion
i. Personal selling
ii. Advertising
1. Direct mail
2. Internet
3. Telemarketing
4. Radio/television
5. Newspaper
iii. Sales Promotion
iv. Public relations
v. Web site and social media
7. Key success factors – what are those key factors that will contribute to the success or failure
of the plan
8. Goals and objectives –this section details short and long-range goals and objectives for this
enterprise.
Develop an overall goal and 2 short-term objectives
Short-term objectives should be specific and apply to the next year
These can be performance objectives
i. Number of customers
ii. Market Share
iii. Revenue
Or action objectives e.g. Place advertising in all local papers
9. Implementation plan
a. What are the 3 initiatives you will start in the month following the approval of the plan
10. Budget –Sales Forecast and planned expenditures for the first year
11. Control/monitor
a. Feedback mechanism to monitor progress
b. Evaluation process
12. References
NEED PROPER CITATION AND REFERENCES IN APA FORMAT.
