Marketing Research Process And Strategies: A Case Study On Red Bull In Australia

a) Outline and implement the marketing research process and identify a range of methods of acquiring, using and storing data

b) Critically evaluate the relation of marketing process with the resources of an organisation and client needs with regards to the creation of value for the organisation

Objectives:

• To enhance a clear understanding of the importance of marketing in modern business and to and provide a grasp of effective contemporary marketing practices;
• Provide a theoretical overview of marketing theory and practical application of innovative marketing strategies;
• Build research methods relating to samples and inferences particularly in relation to market research data collection and analysis. How the assessment fits into the subject/course:

Marketing in the 21st Century has drastically evolved and is a critical component of business administration. The design of Marketing plans is integral to business organisation and the assessment for this subject aims to provide students with group and individual work to apply effective marketing strategies.

Linkages between Assessments 1 and 2: Assessment 1 requires students to create a case study and review marketing plans. Assessment 2 requires students to devise a marketing plan of products or services offered by their own organisation and to consider how the marketing plan will add value to their organisation.

As a research task students will create a case study of a social enterprise and evaluate its marketing plan. Students will work in groups to explore how the social enterprise developed its market and engaged market appeal. The development of the case study must incorporate the following elements:

Identify and analyse the market for a particular service of product;

• Explain and justify how the social enterprise was developed and for what market.
• Analyse the importance of creativity and initiative undertaken to develop a competitive social enterprise;
• Critically assess and evaluate the Marketing Plan;
• Evaluate impacts such as financial, social and political issue which may impact on marketing plan;
• Demonstrate commercial awareness of product/service provision
• Identify and compare relevant market trends and analyse the implications of market and environmental trends
• Apply the 4 P’s strategies and explain feasibility ensuring consistency with analysis of the market as well as providing recommendation for strategy

Criteria

• Identification and Analysis of Market
• Application of knowledge to practise
• Knowledge and skills demonstrating creativity and initiative
• Assessment of Marketing Plan
• Team Work skills Learning Outcomes
• Outline and implement the marketing research process and identify a range of methods of acquiring, using and storing data.
• Critically evaluate the relationship of marketing process with the resources of an organisation and client needs with regards to the creation of value for the organisation

Importance of marketing in modern business

The marketing technique is stated as an effective way of managing supply and production of products and services to the customers in an effective manner. The report is presented considering the case study of business organization Red Bull in Australia. The marketing not only involves delivery of products and services to customers but also design the products in such a manner, so that those are acceptable by the consumers and furthermore facilitate the transfer of ownership between the sellers and buyers. The marketing is useful for maintaining the living standard of community as well as manage supply of products and services of Red Bull to the customers at reasonable prices, which the customers will be able to afford (Armstrong et al. 2014).

The analysis of market for the products of Red Bull is done along with the ways by which social enterprise has been done. The importance of initiatives for developing competitive social enterprise and impacts created by financial, social and political issues on marketing plan are also illustrated here. The commercial awareness of product and service provision, identification of market and environmental trends and application of 4P strategies are done for implementing the most effective strategies of marketing in business.

The marketing approach is useful for Red Bull to transfer, exchange and move the products and services from one place to another, i.e., deliver the products and services to the end users in an effective manner. The products and services offered by Red Bull are delivered through different types of intermediaries such as the wholesalers and retailers. Thus, it can be termed as an effective method for both the product manufacturers and producers and consumers (Babin and Zikmund 2015). The marketing also helps in making people aware of the brand products and identify their specific needs and requirements. There are three types of people within the community such as the rich, middle and poor people. Red Bull, Australia has focused mainly on the young generation customers and people who want to stay healthy and energized (Bañez 2012).  

With the advancement in technology and communication, the latest marketing methods and techniques have helped in achieving a good level of living standard and allowed the company to ensure large-scale production and availability of products and services at a reasonable cost. Thus, it could be understood that marketing has revolutionized and modernized the living standards of people in modern times. The most important functions of marketing are selling, buying, transport of goods and services, warehousing, management of risks and standardization of those products (Boone and Kurtz 2013). Marketing by Red Bull incurs large numbers of human resources and so it provides employment for a number of individuals.

Marketing also acts as a source of income and revenue generation, generates new ideas and concepts, which can be utilized for making good decisions in business and accomplish the desired outcomes of business with ease. With the help of various marketing techniques, the company has also managed to improve its production and fulfilled the needs and requirements of clients, thereby creating a strong and stable economy too. The less company puts stress on the functions of marketing, the weaker the economic growth will be (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2013).

Identification and analysis of market

The marketing research process is implemented for determining the range of techniques used to collect, utilize and store data in an effective manner. The marketing enables to create product awareness among the customers and influences their buying behavior too. This makes more people purchase the products and services of Red Bull and there could be increase in sales and profit level for the company too. The segmentation, targeting and positioning of Red Bull determines the specific group of population, which the company wants to target for delivery of products and services (De Mooij 2013). The company has divided the population into various market segments for delivering their drinks based on the certain characteristics like the behaviors of consumers. Red Bull uses the mono-segment type of positioning for fulfilling the needs and preferences of the single customer. The company mainly targets the markets segments, which comprise of individuals with higher incomes and are aged between 16 to 40, as it could be seen from the demographics (De Vries, Gensler and Leeflang 2012).

Red Bull has a strong and loyal customer base and it has surpassed many of the beverage companies to become an established company in the recent times. The company has used the branding strategies properly for developing good relationships between the customers and brand and created a good marketing orientation for enhancing the experiences of customers and fulfilling their needs and requirements too. The market-oriented model is used by Red Bull for analyzing the process of building and gather vast experiences from the success. The first phase of the marketing orientation model is the initiation, which allows for implementation of changes by a group of stakeholders (Freeman et al. 2014). The stakeholders are responsible for the changes and embrace a good culture created by the top management. This creates a specific vision of the company and allows the company to fully commit itself to achieve the desired goals and objectives with ease and effectiveness.

The second phase of marketing orientation is the reconstitution which enables the company to remain transparent of the future plans and create efforts by turning those into value and reconnect with the market through the development of a collaborative strategy. This allows Red Bull to cope up with the changing business environment and furthermore add a high level of professionalism, thereby meeting up to the standards of the organization as well. The institutionalization means aligning the market oriented approaches into the culture and behaviors of organization for deriving best performances from the workers of the company and move towards the right direction for accomplishing the business aims and objectives (Hair Jr and Lukas 2014). The last stage is the maintenance phase, which needs connecting to the markets segments on a consistent manner and reminds the market of the culture. The employees are screened and monitored based on their performances for developing enhanced customer experience, ensure that the brand grows, and develop from time to time (Hair et al. 2012).

Media coverage, experiences of customers and feedbacks provided by them trough telephonic calls and emails are various methods used by the company to gather relevant data and information. This would help the company to identify the need and requirements of people of different market segments and furthermore allow for fulfilling those with ease and effectiveness. The data and information collected are later used for thorough analysis of company’s strengths, strategic position and preferences and demands of customers in the market. The data are stored in databases and any sort of unauthorized access is prevented as well (Hartley and Claycomb 2013).

There are various business organizations in Australia, which have managed to earn a profit that is sufficient for the business to get funded by the shareholders or investors. The company has provided products and services to the customers who are willing t pay a substantial amount of money for the energy drinks and other beverages that are offered. The company has also sold their relevant services to the customers, who have lower income, though generating good amount of revenue, while on the other hand, the services are provided at an affordable cost when compared to other suppliers (Hollensen 2015). The most important step for developing a social enterprise could be the funding or investments by shareholders, though might always not be possible through sales and investments.

The social value derived could be the health related benefits provided by the energy drink Red Bull, providing employment to many people within the company, etc. In order to develop and make a social enterprise survive within the competitive business environment, it is essential to enable proper help and support by the Government subsidiaries, charitable foundations and some companies, which have a high net worth value. All these sources can help the company to generate good amount of capital, which can be used for managing the fundraising activities and furthermore benefit the society through delivery of good quality products and services that can ensure good health and wellbeing of individuals too (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick 2012).

The marketing plan is prepared by identifying the various factors, which can create an impact on the business. In order to prepare a proper marketing plan, the marketing mix elements are also needed to be identified. Red Bull is one of the largest global beverage brands and it has mainly targeted the young generation customers, who are addicted to healthy drinks and other beverages. Red Bull is good for health and it energizes individuals, though due to the high price, it is often considered as a luxury drink (Kim and Ko 2012).

The economic factors include product innovation by Red Bull, which has maintained the stability and worth of the company within the beverages and health drink industry. The company has set up various stores all over the world and within the developed countries, the opportunities tend to increase with time. One of the threats could be the slowing down of economic growth in China.  The social factors are the values, beliefs, lifestyles and culture of the place where the company has been operating (McDonald and Wilson 2016). The young people nowadays prefer energy drink and so the culture creates better scopes for the beverage company. Nowadays, people are more concerned about their health and this could both be a threat as well as opportunity to ensure global reach by Red Bull. The individuals prefer taking energy drinks after few hours and that is why, there are more opportunities for the company to sustain. Thus the factors which can create a positive impact within the society due to the business functioning are referred to as the social factors (Mullin, Hardy and Sutton 2014).

The technological factors comprise of the research and development activities undertaken by Red Bull, Australia and improvement in knowledge management system as well. Technological advancements help in increasing the automation processes’ efficiency and allow the company to expand its business operations all over the world with ease. The other technological factors are the various marketing techniques used by the company along with increase in production too (O’Brien 2012).

The legal factors ate rules and regulations related to the health and safety of products of Red Bull. The Government reforms, laws and regulations create an impact on business too during business expansion. Though the legal factors often create barriers in undertaking certain business activities, still it creates a better and organized business environment. The environmental factors include disposal of waste and ensure sustainability , Changes in climatic conditions can be threats, and so the company has prevented use of harmful substances so that the environment of kept safe and healthy for people to live in (Perreault Jr, Cannon and McCarthy 2013).

The political factors include Government support, rules and regulations implemented based on Governmental policies. The policies could be tax reforms, which can direct affect the company as well as create additional scopes and opportunities for the business to expand and ensure growth. The proper intra-governmental relationships are considered as major political factors, because it has managed to ensure good economic growth and allowed Red Bull to remain as one of the best energy drinks company in the whole world. The young people nowadays prefer energy drink and so the culture creates better scopes for the beverage company (Pomeranz, Munsell and Harris 2013). Nowadays, people are more concerned about their health and this could both be a threat as well as opportunity to ensure global reach by Red Bull.

This is followed by health consciousness, because of which the company has provided good quality energy drinks that are good for health of individuals. In order to manage business, finance is essential and the major sources of income could be the investments by shareholders, bank loans taken, etc. Due to lack of financial resources, the company might fail to live up to the expectations of customers and there could be reduction in sales and profit too (redbull.com 2017).

The commercial awareness of product and service provision means making the customers aware of the products and services delivered by Red Bull through proper marketing strategies. He commercial awareness is the actual capability of business to understand the various approaches by which the business can be successful through proper management of buying and selling of products to the customers in different markets segments (Rosenbloom 2012). In order to spread commercial awareness, it is important for Red Bull to develop initiatives for creating a presence in the market and promote the products through television advertisements, newspapers, online web sites, etc. There have been various music-licensing opportunities, endorsements and tour sponsorships, which have maximized the generation of revenue for the company (Rossi, Allenby and McCulloch 2012).

The company has collaborated with the major stakeholders across various departments including marketing, sales for supporting the major projects and ensures proper licensing negotiations. The customized partnership programs are developed with the utilization of commercial assets of Red Bull for aligning with the objectives of the organization and generate more revenue. The product placement opportunities are grabbed by promoting those on videos shown on television and internet along with negotiation of fees, contracts and managing deliverables (Terpstra, Foley and Sarathy 2012). A continuous focus on competitive market environment is essential for developing market skills and expertise and furthermore interprets the data for developing marketing campaigns and makes people aware of the products and services of Red Bull more easily. Keeping close eye on the market segments and recent trends within the market is essential for fulfilling the needs and requirements of customers in the market and ensure that they are kept safe, healthy and satisfied (Wilson et al. 2012).

One of the major effective brand awareness strategy could be the way of handling the branded freebies, which were offered at an event for the promotion of products of Red Bull. The video introduced by Red Bull named “Way back home” was an impressive one, which created a good branding approach for attracting more customers and influence their buying behaviors. The video was everyman themed and it was developed for engaging a wide group of audiences, though with the management of high production quality and ensure creation of value for the customers too (Armstrong et al. 2014). Red Bull has a tagline “Red Bull gives you wings”, which means that people having the energy drink can gain more stamina and become more energetic than before. The strategy implemented by Red Bull is thus quite effective for engaging the customers through sportsmanship, heroism and allowing the brand to ensure brand recognition and spread positive brand image among them through logo saturation. The brand recognition can help to gain loyal customers, who will buy the products and services of the company on a regular basis (Babin and Zikmund 2015).

The trends in the various market segments change from time to time and thus it is essential for the company to identify the recent trends and deliver its products and services accordingly. Nowadays, people have become more health conscious and they demand for good quality food items that can fulfill their needs and requirements with ease. The company has presented a large number of energy drinks such as the Monster, Rockstar, Amp and Full Throttle. The energy drinks are not only sold for their taste but for the image, which have been created by the company (Bañez 2012).

Red Bull consists of a good and powerful marketing force, which can influence the individuals to buy products and services of the company as well as encourage the individuals to throw a party, where the energy drinks can be offered. In order to handle the recent trends, the company has offered free energy drinks to individuals and influenced their buying behavior to. The production and global distribution of Red Bull require energy and is essential for creating an environmental impact as well (Boone and Kurtz 2013). The company is aware of the responsibilities towards the environment and trying to make necessary changes and improvements. For creating a good balance within the ecosystem and keep the environment safe and healthy from any harmful particles, Red Bull has managed to ensure that the carbon footprints are kept lower throughout the life cycle of the product.

The cans are recycled which consumes 95 percent less energy than it takes to produce a new product. The raw materials and natural resources are preserved by recycling procedures while the wall to wall production saves resources by transporting the product from one place to another through shorter distances. There is lesser emission of carbon dioxide, which creates better scopes for manufacturing and packaging of product than the glass bottles that are used for other drinks (De Mooij 2013). The ECO-Coolers are used for saving a lot of energy and manage the environmental trends properly.

The 4P strategies are applied for determining the products, prices, place where the products are available and promotional approaches, This will help in understanding whether the company will be able to sustain in the marketplace or not and the projects undertaken by the company are feasible or not. The products offered by Red Bull are non-carbonated energy rinks. It contains caffeine, taurine, vitamins, sucrose and glucose that can produce high amount of energy for the sports persons and workaholics (Freeman et al. 2014). The company targets the younger customers segment and has also served healthy energy drinks like sugar free Red Bull containing aspartame and acesulgame sucrose and glucose.

Red Bull is one the market leaders, which uses a proper pricing strategy by analyzing the prices of products, set by its competitors. Due to its enhanced brand name and image, the company offers products at premium prices and customers readily buy those, because of the good quality. The demand of products have increased and due its strong hold in the market, the company has been able to stay ahead of competitors like Cloud 9, Gatorade, Monster, etc. The energy drinks are bought in bulk, as it is much cheaper than buying it as a single can. Discounts are offered for buying products in bulk, though without compromising on the quality (Hair Jr and Lukas 2014). 

Red Bull is a large organization and it has managed its business operations all over the world. The products are available in supermarkets, convenient stores, retail companies bars, casinos, etc. It is much convenient for the customers to buy a Red Bull product nowadays, as it is available everywhere. The products are also available online and at bars, which allows people to have a refreshing flavor and taste to alcoholic beverage and make them stay late at night (Hair et al. 2012). 

The products are so popular that celebrity endorsements are done regularly and promotions are done through spreading of message “Red Bull gives you wings”. The company owing to a large customer base, organized lots of sports events and few of the major events include BMX, motocross, surfing, skating, Red Bull battle grounds, etc. It also hosts various music festivals, films, performances of celebrities and create awareness among the customers regarding the products and services. Therefore, these are the ways by which the company has managed its business operations and it can be understood that these are feasible enough to make the company sustain in the market place (Hollensen 2015).

• It is recommended to increase the wide range of products available for the company, because it can provide better scopes for the brand to personalize its relationship with the targeted markets segments.
• The company also must pursue a proper media strategy for attracting more customers and draw in the existing customers as well.
• As Red Bull uses Taurine, so there have been many criticisms all over and thus it is essential for the company to make people know about the benefits of taurine such as maintain youthful energy and free from any complications related to its consumption too.
• It is recommended for the company to advertise its products on television and newspapers, rather than just focusing on celebrity endorsements and events, in order to create more awareness among customers.

Conclusion

Red Bull is a popular and established business organization which offers non-carbonated energy drinks that can revitalize body and mind in an effective manner. Few of the marketing techniques used by the company are word of mouth promotions, event sponsorship, endorsements by celebrities and sports persons, advertisements of televisions, newspapers and internet, etc. The events that are held allow the company to market its products and services by hiring energetic young individuals to become brand managers and provide customers with good accessibility. There are various animations, which are refrained from the defining of a particular target market segment. Based on the positioning statement “Red Bull vitalizes body and mind”, which is derived from the tagline of Red Bull “Red Bull gives you wiings”. The assessment and evaluation of marketing plan was demonstrated along with the impact of financial, social and political issues on the marketing plan. The four principles including the product, price, place and promotion were assessed for determining whether the company’s products had been feasible enough or not for fulfilling the demand and preferences of customers in the market.

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