Application paper concepts and frameworks

Red Bull Energy Candy was created on the basis of energizing the consumer whenever they need an energy boost. Aside the stated functionality of the product, the candy is also made with chocolate and provides gustative delight for the buyer.

The market for energy products has been growing at rapid rates throughout the past years, revealing new products such as vitamin tablets that can be sold without doctor's prescription, energizing drinks, tablets or bars. Red Bull is a leader in the field of energizing drinks and, as a response to the growth of this industry, they ought to consider the production of Red Bull energy candies. Before launching such an endeavor however, it is compulsory to assess the target market, the marketing mix and the environment, including the competition.

Target Market

The Red Bull candies are addressed to a wide palette of consumers, generally obeying the same rules as other energy and caffeine-based products. In this line of thoughts, the main audience of the Red Bull energy candy is formed from individuals who are practicing sports or participating in competitions (Price, p.29). Also, the primary target market will be formed from high professionals who are under a lot of stress and have to complete several work responsibilities in reduced amounts of time. These two categories of consumers, high professionals and sports practitioners, will be the ones to generate the highest and most sustainable revenues.

However, the marketing campaigns will also be addressed to less loyal consumers of energy products, but which could use the items in special occasions, such as important events or long drives, where they must remain alert at all times. They will compound a secondary market, which will generate lower levels of profitability, but which will be worth investing in.

Both types of audiences will be stimulated to purchase through the functionality of the product, but also from other complementary needs it satisfies, such as the desire for a sweet taste. They will base their buying decision on the quality of the product, its ability to deliver the promised benefits and the price. Energy products are generally sold at prices twice or more that non-energy products (Oxoby, p.126).

4. Marketing Mix

The next step in the analysis of the Red Bull energy candy is the look through the lenses of the 4 P's pf marketing:

Product

the candy would be made from chocolate and inside the chocolate bar there would be Red Bull energizer a sale would consist of a box of 15 candies that would be packed in small boxes with the insignia of the manufacturer and the traditional white, blue and red colors the main functionality is that of revitalizing the consumer by giving him an energy boost the candy will also offer satisfaction as the chocolate used in making it is delicious the energizing drink in the candy contains caffeine and taurine, substances known for their ability to energize and detoxify the organism (Oxoby, p.127)

Price

the Red Bull energy candy will have its price set through the variable pricing strategy, which says that it will be based on negotiations between parties and on the costs incurred in its manufacturing and selling and that modifications will occur when these incurred costs change (Stafford, Allen and Clow, p.68)

the proposed price per candy pack is of $9.99

corporate and individual buyers will be offered a 5% discount upon their purchase of quantities larger that 100 packs;

Place

the Red Bull energy candy will be available for consumers in a wide variety of locations, including supermarket chains, street kiosks, club houses, swimming pools and so on contracts will be signed with a wide variety of intermediaries, the most prominent ones being the intermediaries already used to distribute the Red Bull energy drinks new contracts will also be signed with distributors of sweets products so that the new energy candy are available in those stores as well the logistics costs will be covered by the manufacturer and the distributor as specified in the individual contracts warehousing will be ensured by Red Bull GmbH and the company is flexible in terms of orders in the meaning that it agrees to store products for a future order until the client is ready to pick up his order

Promotion

the most important specification in terms of promotional strategies is that the company should follow in the same agenda as their previous promotional campaigns which revolved around animated characters developing wings after having consumed the Red Bull products -- the strategy was extremely welcomed by the audience advertisements would be simultaneously aired on various media channels, including television, radio, street banners and fliers online promotions will also occur through the company's website at http://www.redbull.com / as well as through advertisements on other popular websites media coverage of the new Red Bull product will be featured during business news and within specialized journals and magazines

5. PEST Analysis

The PEST analysis looks at forces in the macroenvironment that could either stimulate or impede the success of the new Red Bull Candy. Such an analysis is compulsory in a rapidly changing environment that determines the triumphs and failures of each organization.

Political

In terms of political forces, it is notable that, for the time being, the United States is rather tormented by political instability. This is mostly due to the recent changing of the country's president and the development of new political approaches, but also as a direct result of the contemporaneous economic crisis which further generates political tensions. For now however, the political environment does not pose any specific threats or opportunities, aside the traditional laws of friendly competition, equal employment rights or other norms that regulate the activities of economic agents.

Economic

The economic background is relevant to the launching of the new Red Bull energy candy from at least three standpoints. First of all, the international economy is on the verge of collapse, meaning that the instability could negatively impact the company's endeavors. The second potential impact is obvious in a context in which millions of Americans lost their jobs. This includes some of the high professionals that had to put in long hours and were energy products consumers. Red Bull might be unable to rely on sales to these customers, and also on the sales from sporadic consumers, who might try to save every penny. On the other hand however, the pressure on the remaining employees is sky high. This means that, in order to be able to put in the extra hours and increase their efforts to a maximum to maintain their jobs, these employees could increase their consumption of Red Bull products, creating as such a new market for the energy candy. Finally, the third topic of interest in the economic context revolves around currency rates, which have been fluctuating in the recent past and are expected to remain volatile in the future. This means that the company will have to better regulate its international operations and will have to better protect itself against currency risk exchange.

Socio-cultural

Individuals feel incremental pressure in terms of the necessity to cope with more and more responsibilities, not just in the workplace, but also within the household and in their social lives. This means that increased demand for the Red Bull energy candy could be registered. On the other and, there is a growing focus on healthy eating habits, and the ingredients in the candy (chocolate, sugar, caffeine and taurine) might make it less appealing to those focusing on healthy eating.

Technological

The technological domain is relevant as it has developed various applications that can be used to increase operational efficiency and as such reduce costs. Also, the technological advancements are useful in promoting the Red Bull candy bar to wider audiences. The most recent and relevant example in this sense is given by the ability to develop online marketing campaigns.

6. Competition

As stated before, the energy product industry has significantly grown throughout the 1990s (Oxoby, p.126) and continues to grow these days. This basically materializes in increased competition for all products, including the new Red Bull energy candy. The most prominent competitors of the Red Bull GmbH company are Coca Cola, Gatorade and PepsiCo. Demand for energy products comes from consumer preferences and the success of the large players within the industry comes from their ability to generate economies of scale and implement the most adequate marketing strategies (Hoovers).

In terms of the new candy, competition could be encountered from items such as energy candy made by other organizations (such as the candy made by the Coca Cola Company), vitamin or energy tablets that can now be purchased with prescriptions from medical doctors, energy bars, which are manufactured by both small and large size entities. Some of these energy bars are also aimed to help with weigh control problems by giving the consumer a sense of satiety, meaning as such that they offer a complementary benefit over the Red Bull candies. Small size competitors are only threatening at a local level, but large size manufacturers of energy candy can pose more severe challenges. In this line of thoughts then, it is crucial for Red Bull to diversify its product offering from other items available on the market.

7. Managerial Implications

The managerial team at Red Bull GmbH has to supervise the entire process of manufacturing and selling of the new candies. In this order of ideas, they must first conduct a market analysis assessing the need and consumer perceptions relative to the introduction of a new energy candy. Given that the study reveals satisfactory results, the managers will carefully review the ingredients to be used in the making of the candy. Using natural ingredients will be a plus in the later development of a differentiation strategy. Once the product is manufactured, details such as packaging or the slogan will be addressed.

The next step is that of signing contracts with intermediaries that will be in charge of distributing the candy and representing the company's liaison to the final buyers. The intermediaries will be selected based on specific criteria, such as past performances in selling energy products, location of their stores in highly populated areas or previous relationships with the organization. The marketing campaign will then have to be developed. It should continue the ideas promoted with the energy drinks and should be simultaneously aired on multiple channels. Focus should be placed on differentiation techniques, such as the good taste or the natural and healthy features of the ingredients.