If you were to sit down and & examine a list of consumer insights on the subject of energy, sports and nutritional beverages it would be both long and contradictory. UK markets have evolved in these categories far faster than consumer understanding of the product and associated benefits within. This has lead to a consumer beverage landscape for such categories best described as a wilderness where, due to low levels of understanding from consumers, insight can at times be misleading and should therefore be handled with a great deal of care.

Having recently commented in The Grocer on Neuro:

http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/articles.aspx?page=articles&ID=208231

a functional beverage from the United States which soft-launched in Waitrose in the UK in January I was interested in a similar functional proposition from Crystal Light Pure Fitness by Kraft:

This represents a first journey into the fitness territory for Crystal Light who have added a fitness proposition to their long list of functional variants which includes energy, hydration, enhancement, fortification & skin essentials. The dry-mix format itself is not a familiar one outside of the ‘performance’ area of the category however the brand has credence here through the heritage of the core range. The hydration focused strap line of “water you body” highlights the necessity to educate the consumer target on the benefit however fails to communicate any benefit above and beyond drinking only water – a huge rival to the fitness beverage market.

One aspect of their strategy I find interesting is in retail where they are avoiding the crowded aisles now dominated by Zero Ranges from Powerade and Vitamin Water and other functional drinks brands in favor of alternative shelf space.

If the goal of such a launch is to increase penetration then putting any mythologies over the ingredients/reasons to believe aside (Truvia in this case) I would suggest that the in-store position might have the effect of cannibalizing their existing range rather than attracting new customers to the product. This is especially true if the US market has a similarly low level of consumer understanding as the one I’ve seen in the UK where ingredient are often misunderstood or serve simply as a check-list / safety net. That said penetration may not necessarily be the strategy supporting such a launch which could easily be focused on re-energizing a range in order to win back lapsed female consumers lost to a glut of new competition.

In this series of posts I aim to bring to light off-beat stories from the world of marketing.

In these times of economic austerity, the new Tory-Lib Dem coalition in the UK is beginning to calculate which policies they can afford to implement. And as they do, they may want to consider more affordable alternatives to their flagship proposals.

Take, for example, the Tory idea of tax breaks for married couples. Could stable marriages not be supported just as well by endorsing one of the many extraordinary, niche innovations from the off-beat world of marketing? I’m thinking, of course, of the Better Marriage Blanket: https://www.bettermarriageblanket.com/

The key as ever to successful niche innovation is answering a real unmet insight and then laddering your benefit to breaking point – in this case all the way from odour reduction to better married life. Scoff you may, but according to this article, the company behind it is unable to keep up with demand.

It’s a testament to the powers of basic marketing techniques and may well offer an innovative alternative to Tory policy. You heard it here first.

The first premium ‘functional’ bottled water for kids has launched in the US, hoping to offer a cool alternative to other soft drinks . With no sugar, colouring or calories, WAT-AAH! hopes its child-friendly branding and advertising will persuade children to move away from high-calorie, high-additive carbonates and juices.

The brand’s founder, Rose Cameron, claims: “The soda bubble is bust… Water is the true alternative to soda, but until now kids have found it boring and preachy. Not anymore. WAT-AAH!, 100% sugar free, ultra pure water, convinces kids that drinking water is far from boring! ”

WAT-AAH! launched earlier this month in New York with a grassroots viral and outdoor  campaign featuring the WAT-AAH! boy covering traditional fizzy drinks logos and ads with the brand’s posters. Meanwhile, a branded blog asks parents to ‘Take the Challenge’ and report whether their child went for a traditional soft drink or WAT-AAH!

While the product is always consistent, it’s packaged as four variants: Brain, Power, Body and Energy. It’s a clever approach, which plays on children’s love of variety and creates a sense of ‘amping up’ the relevant area. Stories are already being reported of children choosing ‘Body’ when heading to sports practice, or ‘Brain’ on school test days.

So the big question is: will it succeed? The brand is aiming for an irreverent, fun positioning with a note of naughtiness, which may strike a chord with younger kids.  It has the potential to prove popular with harassed parents desperate to wean their children off more mainstream soft drinks – but one wonders how many parents will be prepared to pay for something that’s always been available on tap (pun definitely intended).

Gut instinct says potential will be limited – after all, WAT-AAH’s media spend constitutes a drop in the bucket against market players such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, with their multi-million, star-studded campaigns. Having said that, its concept, advertising and most particularly its online strategy are clever, and could become playground currency.

As with all things kids, the magic formula is difficult if not impossible to predict. So we’ll be watching developments with interest…