IMC plan for Nike’s

EnergyX

Submitted To:
Dr. Jayesh Patel Submitted By:
Vasant Patel - 18044311055
Yash Patel - 18044311057
Apoorva Prajapati - 18044311059
Bharti Rajpurohit - 18044311067
 EnergyX

Opportunity

Nike is the sportswear company operating throughout the world. It is the #1 brand in the
sporting goods industry & 14th most valuable brand in the world. The company offers various
products of sportswear targeting the sports segment except the sport drink.

The Concept:

We plan to launch a new sport drink of Nike named “EnergyX” in the Indian Market. As
there are only two major players in the market, we plan to achieve 10 % of the market share.
Pricing & positioning of the product will be premium as the other products of the Nike.
Having the great brand name & unique benefits, we will surely ride the wave of success.
Strategic Advantages:
EnergyX would be marketed based on the following grounds:
 High potential of growth of sport drink in India.
 Besides being very tasty, EnergyX is also nutritious, has less calories & completely
sugar free·
 There are only 2 players in the market, so there is an opportunity to rise as a major
leader in the market

We aspire to reach to young & young adult target audience with the major focus on athletic
and health conscious people.

Circulation:

EnergyX will be available at all the distribution channels of the Nike along with the other
products. This will be competitive edge due to Nike’s large distribution & strong customer
base.
Marketing and Strategic Alliances:
In order to reach out and to the consumers, various efforts would be undertaken. A strategic
combination of electronic, print and outdoor media will be used. In the initial period after the
launch, product would be seeing in movies through cinema advertising. Television
commercials are used throughout the year distributed evenly over the sport & some other
channels. Regular placement of ads in magazines and papers like Times of India & other
regional will help us reach out to a larger audience. To have a consistence web presence for
the first year has been decided upon. The outdoor advertising will also be used as a
promotion tool to launch the product.
Situation Analysis
External environment analysis

Legal & Political Factors:

 Sustainability of policy
 Beverage Institute for health & wellness - FDA (Food and Drug Administration) this
is where the company has to pass that their product is safe for consumption.
 Health concerns of governments:
 Implementation of restrictive laws
 Consumer laws, safety standards
 More and more governments have concerns about the impact of the products on
health.
Economic Factors:
 Purchasing power
 Increasing demand of sport drinks
 Relatively high price of energy drinks, comparing to traditional beverage
 Increasing demand for alternative beverage
Social Factors
 Health concerns of consumers
 Fashionable dimension of sport drinks
 Positive attitude towards sport drinks
 Age of the population of India
 Rapidly increasing trend of physical fitness
 Various taste & preferences of consumers
Technological Factors
 Internet & Social media
 Technological development in production & distribution
Market Analysis
The Indian soft drink market might continue its "robust growth trajectory" as annual per-
capita bottle consumption is expected to reach around 84 by 2021, according to a report by
PepsiCo India's bottling partner Varun Beverages. This data shows the potential opportunity
in Indian market.

Source:
//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68950836.cms?from=mdr&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_m
edium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

The concept of sports drinks is relatively new to Indian consumers, but with the gradual
increase in its awareness and availability, the sports drinks industry has witnessed a high
growth rate, in terms of both value and volume.

PepsiCo Inc. is one of the key players in the sports drinks market, with a considerable
consumer base in the country. The company’s strong position can be attributed to its flagship
brand, Gatorade, which is now used interchangeably with sports drinks in India, owing to its
first-mover advantage. Overall, the Indian sports drink market provides lucrative
opportunities for potential players, driven by new product innovations and emerging fitness
trends.
Major Trends

 Sports drink are widely available and are preferred among the athletes as they contain
water and electrolytes like sodium and potassium which needs replenishment when
the body loses water and electrolytes after a heavy workout or sports activity.
 Growing health awareness including the importance of hydration in the human body
is one of the major drivers driving the growth of the global sports drink market.

Brand Image of Nike

Today Nike is the paradigm of sports and fitness innovation with total revenues approaching
$39.1 billion. Nike International Appeal built for the comfort and protection during high
intensity outdoor workouts.

Nike’s mission statement is:

“To bring an inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world”

Nike is one of the brands which are taken as the high profile example of an organization
which cares more about their brand image. Nike spends nearly billions dollars of money each
year to promote its brand image.

Nike is one of the tremendous sportswear companies in the world which is operating in six
continents. It is one of the top sports footwear brand with 47% of Market share. In UK Nike
has employed more than 800 team members. Now the Nike store in London became a tourist

attraction. Nike describes the store as “3D experience of the brand” to be the leading sports
retail experience in the world.

Source: Essays, UK. (November 2018). The Brand Image of Nike Marketing Essay. Retrieved from
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/the-brand-image-of-nike-marketing-essay.php?vref=1
Competitive Analysis

Gatorade

The Gatorade Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer of sports-themed beverage and

food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently
manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries.

The beverage was first developed in 1965 by a team of researchers led by Robert Cade.
Originally produced and marketed by Stokely-Van Camp, the Gatorade brand was purchased
by the Quaker Oats Company in 1983, which, in turn, was bought by PepsiCo in 2000. As of
now, Gatorade is PepsiCo’s 4th-largest brand on the basis of worldwide annual retail sales.

Powerade

Powerade is a sport drink created, manufactured and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company.
The launch of Powerade symbolised Coca-Cola India’s entry into the nascent category
of sports hydration. Powerade has been specially formulated with ION4 (Sodium,
Potassium, Magnesium and Calcium) to give that extra powerful push required during
a high-performance fitness activity or endurance sports. The beverage contains a good
balance of carbohydrates and electrolytes that enables quick fluid absorption and
retention, provides higher energy leading to enhanced performance and faster recovery
for athletes during an intense physical activity.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2018/03/13/how-coca-cola-owned-powerade-plans-to-add-power-to-its-
marketing-efforts/#7be8f0c473a9
SWOT Analysis

Strengths

 Sugar Free Weakness

 Energetic
 High on nutrition  High Price
 Brand equity
 Health conscious image
 Environmental friendly

Opportunities Threats

 High growth potential  Major competitors

 More Flavours are PepsiCo & Coca-
Cola
STP Analysis
Segmentation

Age Lifestyle Personality Benefits Occasions

14-25 Active & Sporty Energy boost Sport
athletic activities
26-40 Health Fitness Freak Weight loss Exercise
Conscious
More than 40 Brand Goal oriented & Hydration Tired & Low
obsession determined energy
lifestyle
Affluent Early adopters Healthy (Sugar Dehydrated
less)

Achievers Variety Seekers Nutrition

Target Audience

Demographics
Target Audience
Primary
Age 14-25 - 30.5% of total population (Census report)
Gender Male & Female
Population 31,48,26,880 (Census - 2011)
 Lifestyle & Personality
Primary
Active & athletic Youth sports enthusiasts who do sports regularly or more
than average.
Sporty Show great interests in sports, and are always striving for
great achievements.
Fitness Freak Gives physical fitness utmost priority
Health Conscious People who prioritise health

Behavioural
Occasions Youth sports athletes who are tired and want to hydrate &
energies themselves
Benefit Sought Energy Boost- to charge themselves up with a drink & want
nutrition
Usage Rate Medium to heavy usage.
User Status Regular users

Positioning
Slogan: “Fuel to be Fabulous”
Strategy:
Promotion:
 January 2020 to March: Start brand and product awareness program by using TV, radio
commercials, newspaper and magazine ads.
 Research studies and historical fact about sport drink are also very important consideration for
consumer interest.
Product:
 4 Flavours; Lemon, Orange, Mango & Litchi
 Metal bottle- 500 ml
 Launching : At opening Ceremony of IPL - 2020
Distribution:
 Use same distribution channel currently used by Nike.
Positioning
Features/benefits
Features: Combination of rich Nutrition
Benefit:
 Helps to reduce Fat
 Good for hydration
 Boost up the energy
 Keep blood vessels healthy
 Slow down cholesterol
 Good for cleansing system

Features: Brand Name: Nike - EnergyX

Benefit
 Advantage of brand equity of Nike
 Easy to remember product name for future buy
 Image is to drink for Fit & healthy life
 Name demonstrates the product performance
Features: Best Quality
Benefit
 Quality amount of heath minerals and good taste.
 Nutrition
 Sugarless
 Beneficial electrolytes
Features: Use of Metal

Benefit

 Zero use of plastic

 Environment friendly
 Good for health
Marketing Communication Objectives

EnergyX will be a new product category within the established brand. The marketing
objectives are to identify EnergyX as an exciting new product in the Nike product line. By
increasing brand awareness, we aim to positively influence purchase intent and hence brand
switching from competitors to Nike sport drink. Ultimately, the launch of EnergyX is to
increase brand loyalty among existing Nike consumers and acquire new customers.

5.1 Marketing Objectives

― Achieve bottle-sales of EnergyX

 4,00,000 during the first 6 months of one year
 10,00,000 by the end of the year.
― Achieve market share of sport drinks market
 By 10% in the Indian sport Drinks Market
― Achieve net profit of EnergyX
 By at least 8% at the end of the year
― Achieve customer awareness of EnergyX
 70 % in the target market

Communication Objectives

The aim is to establish EnergyX as in unison with other products of Nike. And in doing so, it
is important to divert consumer attention and market share away from competitors. To
achieve this, we aim to increase awareness of this new product among existing Sport Drink
consumers by at least 70% through various IMC plans.

This will be done by solidifying the brand attitude, and communicating brand identity in
order to improve purchase intention. At least 15% of our target consumers will regard
EnergyX as the preferred alternative choice twelve months after product launch. Lastly, the
communication objectives aim to increase brand loyalty-measurable through an increase in
market share.

This will be achieved through the hierarchical effects of communication, beginning from
awareness to knowledge to liking to preference to conviction to purchase. Furthermore, it will
be aligned with the yearlong IMC plan, with the initial stages focusing on building awareness
and then working down the list.
 ― Generate awareness of EnergyX
 From 0% to 40% among Sport Drink consumers during the first 6 months of
one year;
 Increase to 70% among Sport Drink consumers by the end of the year.
― Improve knowledge of EnergyX among target audience
 By 60% by the end of the year
― Increase brand preference toward EnergyX
 Away from competitors by 10%.
 Increase brand loyalty by an overall of %15

Promotion Strategy

Cinema Advertising

Cinema Advertising is an effective form of communication as it visually communicates to

our audience. Even though cinema advertisements could be expensive, but it has the ability to
enable viewers to watch the advertisements with minimized distraction. In present days,
youths are more positively inclined towards cinema advertising as compared to traditional TV
advertising.

Due to the fact that our target audiences are sport athletes, thus training would inevitably
occupy most of their time in, thus coming in touch with television programmes would be a
rarity. Cinema Advertisement would be the ideal form of marketing communication because
chances of them visiting the cinemas and watching a movie would be of a higher chance as
compared to television programmes.

In collaboration with the cinemas such as Sathyam Cinemas, PVR & Inox, the block- bluster
movie package will be selected in which the company would be able to screen a 30 seconds
advertisement in upcoming movie hits. 3 block buster movies, specifically 83, Brhamastra &
Saina nehval, would be a major top seller in ticket box office, thus selecting to advertise in
these 3 movies prior to the start of the movie would bring about a greater level of awareness
to the youth.
Magazines

Magazines play a big part in advertising as they are concentrated directly towards our target
audiences. Generally, youth, young sport athletes, young adults and sports enthusiasts who
purchase the sport magazines will be attracted and curious about sport related articles. It has
the ability to present detailed information and excite readers with eye-catching visual
communication.

Focusing on informing and alerting the public on our new product in the first 3 months will
be our main priority in the first 3 months. Consecutively, 3 months of a 1 full page publicity
on our new product and upcoming launch event will be featured. Subsequently, alternate
months of a 1 page advertisement will be published to have constant reminder for our
audiences about the existence of the product, presence and influence.

Selectively; following two magazines have been chosen to be our main magazine advertising
as they have outstanding record sales and arguably, the most related magazine in line with
our product.

 Cricket Samrat - 1,00,000 circulation & 29,20,000 readership

 Golf plus - 40,000 circulation & 1,20,000 readership (High premium & Premium segment)

*Source - Media users research council - IRS

Newspaper advertising

It can target specific demographics that are traditionally more difficult to reach. Aim would
be to reach to target household. Focus would be providing information about the product and
launch of the product. Following newspapers are selected;

 Times of India: 7.6 million circulations

 Local language papers: State wise - Regional language newspapers
Posters and Billboards

On-Premise Business Signage

On-Premise Business Signage will be used to illustrate the advertisement. It will be mounted
onto buildings to be create a distinct image and allow the public to be aware of the new
product, this would in turn increase brand image and awareness. Banners, wall signs, portable
signs & inflatable signs will be used.

The banners and wall signs will be big so it will attract the attention of the public when they
walk past it. 3 different banners will be put up for about a year at the Nike stores.

Portable signs & inflatable signs will be used only at Nike & EnergyX sponsored events to
allow people to be exposed to and its new product.

Out-of-Home Advertising

Out-of-Home Advertising will also be used as it will be seen by consumers when they are
heading to a destination when they are out of their homes. These types of advertisements will
be placed at bus shelters, train stations and places where young sport enthusiasts would
congregate.

Hoarding will be placed before 2 months of the product launch. It will be at the sports arenas,
sport grounds - stadiums, gymnasiums, swimming complexes, Scape Youth Park and also in
various schools & collages around the year. Many young people will have a chance to come
into contact with it as they will usually go to those places to do sports.

Majority of the hoardings will be posted lasting for 6 months to one year as rental for these
advertising locations may be relatively cheap and reasonable. Bigger hoardings at prime
locations in which rental prices may be slightly more expensive, the duration will be short, 1
to 3 months until the launch event is over.
Social Media

Objectives of using this medium is so that users can associate and be exposed to our product
and online advertisement, leading up to a continuous flow of information sharing through the
various sharing methods online to their circle of friends and bring about higher influences,
awareness and presence to the mass public, especially those in the youth and sports
segmentations.

In associating with creating buzz for the product, various social media will be used. Vehicles
such as Facebook, Twitter will serve as a crucial form of communication to the younger
generation, who are of a higher relevancy and also more tech savvy. Lucky Draw Contests
will also be held on Facebook to enhance awareness and to entice more users to know of the
products. “Liking” the EnergyX official Facebook Page and contest picture would give
Facebook users a chance to win Nike accessories in the lucky draw and 3 lucky winners
would be announced.

Through the Facebook page, an on-going “Invite Us” activity will be held in which students
can also write in to us via Facebook official Page or through the company website for our
EnergyX ambassadors to visit the schools, or events such as tertiary orientations, sports and
recreational events. This is in line with the objectives of maximising vitality for the youths.

For Twitter, it is a platform for updates of the event that are coming up and that in
comparison with Facebook, twitter status updates would relate instantly to the masses who
are twitter users. The benefits of twitter is that tweets can be retweeted thus creating a viral
communication among the young tweeters, spreading the message at a higher speed, which
would in turn spur the awareness of EnergyX and the launch events faster.

Event Sponsorship/ Product Launch

Product will be launched at the upcoming IPL - 2020 opening ceremony. And EnergyZ
would be the sport drink sponsor for the entire IPL.

We will be organising and sponsoring our event, The EnergyX Charity Run after one month
of the product launch. This would be to tie our brand to a meaningful athletic event, in which
a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the “Bharat ke Veer - Council for donation to
Indian soldiers”. This serves as a creating the positive attitude towards the product & brand
and will generate positive brand equity.
To further the continuity of awareness in the consumers’ mind, we will also be strongly
sponsoring various major events and sports leagues such as Pro Kabaddi, Indian super league.

EnergyX mascots will also be deployed on site at the event to conduct product sampling,
interactions and gathering feedbacks from the audiences. The mascots will be the ones
ensuring that the XYZ Presences are felt.

We will be tracking sales, web tracking, doing buzz and feedbacks to measure the success,
traffic flow, reach and frequency of our advertising effort. Measures of the public responses
to this event and their attitude towards it will also be conducted.

Athletes / Sportsmen Endorsement

The usage of endorsement is able to command a high volume of media attention as well as
creating a trust issue with our target audience. Consumers are able to relate and would be
more accepting of the endorsers’ position on an issue in comparison with an issue of their
own. Our audiences may also be able to identify themselves or aspires to take after the
endorsers’ attitude, behaviour, interest and preferences. Therefore in terms of selecting
endorsers, they need to be equipped with the right mindset and lifestyle which is in line with
what EnergyX is all about.

Endorsers will be seen in the television commercials, social media advertisements and print
ads. These endorsers will also be present throughout during our major events such as various
sports leagues and make the world marathon. Particularly, the endorsers are there to portray a
positive image of EnergyX in their daily lifestyle, communicating and interacting with the
audiences and having the presence of EnergyX felt.

Initially 2 endorsers (sport starts) have been scrutinised and selected to endorse The EnergyX,
mainly, Indian cricketer, Smriti Mandhana and Indian Kabaddi player - Rahul Chaudhary.
These 2 athletes had demonstrated and portrayed their lifestyles, activities and interests to be
in-line with the image of EnergyX. With the achievement from the sport athletes, it would
greatly enhance and portray the drink as a high energy and refreshing adrenaline as associated
with the tagline.
 Television:

Television advertisement has its own importance in the promotion of the product. It has
ability to target specific audiences and expand reach by encouraging further engagement on
social media.

We would be aiming to advertise to our target by purchasing advertising spots during the
shows our intended targeted demographic is likely to be watching. As the product is targeted
to athletic & sport personalities, television programmes related to it would be appropriate
platform for advertising our product. By taking into all these things into consideration,
following channel and programmes are selected;

 Star Sports Channel

 Sub TV

OOT Entertainment Platforms:

 Hotstar
 Netflix

Marketing implementation schedule

4.2.1 Month wise
JAN FEB MARCH APR May JUNE JULY AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Print X X X X X X X
Television X X X X X
Social media X X X X X X X X X X X X
Cinema X X X
Sampling X X X X X

Print:
Aim of the print advertising is to create awareness. As the product is going to be launch in
March, therefore we will be creating about the product in the month of the February. And in
the month of launch of the product and more 2 months consecutively there will be
advertisement in order to get the space in the minds of consumers. And after that every
alternate month advertisement will be given for the reminder purpose.
Television:
The product will be launched at the opening of IPL & hence television commercial will be
run throughout the IPL season. And after that in the month of June & July during the Pro-
Kabaddi advertisement will run.
Social Media
For the social media only 6 seconds, small video advertisement will be prepared. And it has
the lowest cost & more number of users, we will be giving advertisement throughout the
year.
Cinema
Aim of cinema advertising is to make the target audience aware about the product. And in the
month of March, April & May 3 biggest films like 83, Brhmastra & Saina Nehwal would be
releasing. Therefore in that period we will be using cinema advertising.
Sampling
With the use of sampling we are aspiring to make consumers taste the product and it will be
carried out in the seasons of IPL & Pro-Kabaddi.
 Promotion Timing Chart

Media JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Magazines Cricket Smart X X X X X X

Golf Plus X X X X
TV Sport Programmes X X X X X

Dance & X X X X X
Programmes
Billboards Sport clubs & X X X X X X
arenas
Stadiums & X X X X
Grounds
Bus & Railway X X X X
stations

Collages & X X X
Schools
Web Hostar X X X X X X
Netflix X X X X X
Rational language X X X X X X
papers
Budget allocation

Media Cost

Print 65,00,000

T. V. 1,15,00,000

Sampling 30,00,000

Social media 55,20,000

Outdoor 31,80,000

Cinema advertising 25,00,000

Television Commercial for EnergyX

Video SFX
Scene 1 : Sound of audiences cheering up,
The scene opens with the stadium full of crowd & there commentators sounds, Sound of music
will Racing between racers
Scene 2: Sound of audiences cheering up,
The race got starts between players. commentators sounds, Sound of music

Scene 3: Sound of audiences cheering up,

All the players are running & competing with each
other closely.
Scene 4:
And one players starts running & gradually slowdowns
due to lack of hydration and some of the audience start
mocking the player
Scene 5:
In the next scene, someone from audience will give the
bottle of EnergyX to that player which he will catch
commentators sounds, Sound of music
Sound of audiences cheering up, Sound
of audiences hooting & mocking the
player, commentators sounds, Sound of
music
Sound of audiences cheering up,
commentators sounds, Sound of music
with ease. Here camera focus would be on the bottle of
EnergyX from the audience throws the bottle to player
catches the bottle
Scene 6: Sound of audiences cheering up,
And after having the EnergyX, player will start running commentators sounds, Sound of music,
superfast & will win the race! Sound of crackers
Scene 7: Very low voice of audience
Some girls will come to the player & will ask about the
reason of winning the race saying “how are you so
fabulous?” and he will show EnergyX and say this is
my “Fuel to be Fabulous!”

Evaluation and Control

We will be using several testing methods in order to determine awareness levels. Some
testing methods will be aligned with specific media vehicles. The measures used are
Recognition and Recall, Emotional Reaction and Sales Response.

Measures of Recognition and Recall

The testing procedure for Bruzzone Tests will be as follows. Participants ranging from across
different age groups will be invited to a movie screening in a theatre. Prior to the movie,
EnergyX cinema advertisements will be broadcasted along with other ads. After which, the
participants will be tested as to their levels of recall. A series of questions will test the level
of detail the participants remember about the ad. For example, “What colour was the product
in the EnergyX Ad?” etc. This manner of testing seeks to measure the impact of the ad
through analysis of brand recognition, and the ability to recall specific markers which the ad
seeks to communicate. Particular attention will be paid to the results garnered by those within
the target audience age group of 14 to 25.

Measures of Sales Response

Perhaps the ultimate test as to whether or not the assorted media vehicles are effective is
through measures of sales response. The sales data would be collected of the product &
would be compared with the targeted sales. In order to measure the sales response both the
data would be compared & differences would be identified.
In the midst of implementing the EnergyX IMC campaign, reviews and corrective actions
will be taken upon throughout the year to ensure continuity of the EnergyX and ensuring that
it will have a large sales volume. Reviews will be conducted monthly to observe if the sales
of EnergyX increases with the different types advertising strategy introduced.

Corrective actions will be done every 3 months if the sales of the product remain status quo
or decreases. Some examples of corrective actions would then be implemented such as trade
promotions including discounts and bonus packs at supermarkets.