Courage has paid off
Sports drinks Coca-Cola launched the thirst quencher Powerade in Switzerland in March and, thanks to clever sales strategies, has overtaken Isostar and Gatorade.
Sports drinks Coca-Cola launched the thirst quencher Powerade in Switzerland in March and, thanks to clever sales strategies, has overtaken Isostar and Gatorade.
Even competitors have to grudgingly admit this: With Powerade, the US multinational from Atlanta has made a brilliant market entry. Coca-Cola immediately captured 39.7 percent of product group sales and catapulted itself to first place in the Swiss market for liquid sports drinks in just seven months. Gatorade, the market leader in 2002, is now in third place with a market share of just 20.6 percent, while Isostar is in second place behind Powerade with 25.1 percent. If Coca-Cola's statements are to be believed, even the US multinational did not expect this result. "We are surprised by the scale of the success," says Jürg Dinner, media spokesman for Coca-Cola Switzerland. However, the marketing strategists made sensible calculations when the drink was launched on the market in February. After all, only five million liters of the isotonic thirst quencher were sold in 2002. A mere pittance compared to the four billion liters that Swiss beverage manufacturers sell on the market. Admittedly, the summer heat probably gave the new product an additional boost.
Splashing out instead of spilling the beans
But from zero to number one in just eight months? Market researchers are hardly surprised by Coca-Cola's success. "The launch of Powerade was cleverly timed and executed in an exemplary manner," they agree. The fact that Coca-Cola knew exactly what it was doing is also proven by the statement from Nicolas Brabeck Letmathe, the manager responsible for Innovations & New Beverages at Coca-Cola: "We had a clear picture of what the product should look like, who it should appeal to and where we wanted to go with Powerade. We implemented all of this consistently," he explains the recipe for success, citing the impressive advertising campaign as proof: 2,400 billboards were covered with Powerade posters, numerous advertisements were placed in trade journals, several promotions were initiated with retail partners - such as Coop - and new sales channels were opened - such as Ochsner Sport.
Coca-Cola Switzerland sought out suitable sports stores and fitness centers for its latest product. These were approached by ten teams, each consisting of a customer advisor and a sports student. And they were successful. A large
Number of gyms and sports stores agreed. Since March 2003, small refrigerators have been placed in various fitness centers and sporting goods stores. "The campaign in the new sales channels has met with a positive response," says Dinner. Dinner does not want to reveal how high the proportion of sales from these target group-specific appliances is compared to Powerade's total sales. The costs of the advertising campaign, which was created in London and adapted for the local market by an internal Coca-Cola marketing team, are also being kept under wraps. The fact remains, even without the bare figures: Coca-Cola's brash entry into the sports drinks market has paid off.
However, the competition also benefited from the marketing power of the Americans. Arnold Furtwaengler, Head of Marketing and Sales at Isostar, even recorded double-digit growth rates for his drink "since Powerade entered the market in all areas". Nevertheless, he emphasizes: "Of course we take Power-ade seriously." He cannot be accused of having stood idly by and watched the offensive from Atlanta. "We completely relaunched Isostar in 2002, brought new bottles onto the market, redeveloped our formula for the drinks and entered into a TV sponsorship with the Sat1 football show 'Ran'," he says.
No unloved competition
The Bern-based food group Wander, which owns Isostar, sees Powerade's market presence as an opportunity rather than a real threat. "A new competitor always stimulates business," Furtwaengler is convinced. Especially if it expands the market, as has just happened with Powerade. According to reliable sources, this beverage sector grew by over 25 percent in the current year. In addition, Isostar has "positioned itself as a sports nutrition expert in the market", Furtwaengler emphasizes. And sales of the thirst quencher only account for 33% of total sales in the Isostar product range. "Because Powerade is more in the lifestyle soft drinks segment, there is still enough room for us," says Furtwaengler confidently.
However, the new competition from the Coca-Cola Group is likely to cause the US drinks manufacturer Gatorade more headaches. "The two are pretty much on the same wave and are also likely to be targeting the same audience: young, active people, but also sports enthusiasts who want to keep fit and maintain an active lifestyle," says one market researcher, analyzing the positioning strategies of the two producers. No one at Chicago-based Gatorade, which was founded in Florida in the 1960s, wanted to comment on the new competition.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola is continuing to work on its success strategy. The drinks manufacturer does not yet want to reveal what this strategy will look like in the future. One thing is already clear: with the success of the launch
Coca-Cola will not be satisfied for a long time yet.
Powerade's TriumphThe Powerade brand has been on the market in the USA since 1992.
It came to Europe in October 2001 and was launched in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Ireland.
Powerade is now the leading sports drink in Europe.
Powerade has been available in Switzerland since March 2003 and can be purchased at
petrol stations, take-aways, kiosks, drinks vending machines and in all
major retail chains, with the exception of Migros and Denner. The drink is available in the 500ml PET bottle in three
Flavor variants: Mountain Blast (berry flavor), Orange and Citrus. According to Coca-Cola, Mountain Blast is the most popular of all three flavors. (af)
Target group-oriented distribution: Coca-Cola launched Powerade in fitness centers and sports stores.
Annelies Friedli
Even competitors have to grudgingly admit this: With Powerade, the US multinational from Atlanta has made a brilliant market entry. Coca-Cola immediately captured 39.7 percent of product group sales and catapulted itself to first place in the Swiss market for liquid sports drinks in just seven months. Gatorade, the market leader in 2002, is now in third place with a market share of just 20.6 percent, while Isostar is in second place behind Powerade with 25.1 percent. If Coca-Cola's statements are to be believed, even the US multinational did not expect this result. "We are surprised by the scale of the success," says Jürg Dinner, media spokesman for Coca-Cola Switzerland. However, the marketing strategists made sensible calculations when the drink was launched on the market in February. After all, only five million liters of the isotonic thirst quencher were sold in 2002. A mere pittance compared to the four billion liters that Swiss beverage manufacturers sell on the market. Admittedly, the summer heat probably gave the new product an additional boost.
Splashing out instead of spilling the beans
But from zero to number one in just eight months? Market researchers are hardly surprised by Coca-Cola's success. "The launch of Powerade was cleverly timed and executed in an exemplary manner," they agree. The fact that Coca-Cola knew exactly what it was doing is also proven by the statement from Nicolas Brabeck Letmathe, the manager responsible for Innovations & New Beverages at Coca-Cola: "We had a clear picture of what the product should look like, who it should appeal to and where we wanted to go with Powerade. We implemented all of this consistently," he explains the recipe for success, citing the impressive advertising campaign as proof: 2,400 billboards were covered with Powerade posters, numerous advertisements were placed in trade journals, several promotions were initiated with retail partners - such as Coop - and new sales channels were opened - such as Ochsner Sport.
Coca-Cola Switzerland sought out suitable sports stores and fitness centers for its latest product. These were approached by ten teams, each consisting of a customer advisor and a sports student. And they were successful. A large
Number of gyms and sports stores agreed. Since March 2003, small refrigerators have been placed in various fitness centers and sporting goods stores. "The campaign in the new sales channels has met with a positive response," says Dinner. Dinner does not want to reveal how high the proportion of sales from these target group-specific appliances is compared to Powerade's total sales. The costs of the advertising campaign, which was created in London and adapted for the local market by an internal Coca-Cola marketing team, are also being kept under wraps. The fact remains, even without the bare figures: Coca-Cola's brash entry into the sports drinks market has paid off.
However, the competition also benefited from the marketing power of the Americans. Arnold Furtwaengler, Head of Marketing and Sales at Isostar, even recorded double-digit growth rates for his drink "since Powerade entered the market in all areas". Nevertheless, he emphasizes: "Of course we take Power-ade seriously." He cannot be accused of having stood idly by and watched the offensive from Atlanta. "We completely relaunched Isostar in 2002, brought new bottles onto the market, redeveloped our formula for the drinks and entered into a TV sponsorship with the Sat1 football show 'Ran'," he says.
No unloved competition
The Bern-based food group Wander, which owns Isostar, sees Powerade's market presence as an opportunity rather than a real threat. "A new competitor always stimulates business," Furtwaengler is convinced. Especially if it expands the market, as has just happened with Powerade. According to reliable sources, this beverage sector grew by over 25 percent in the current year. In addition, Isostar has "positioned itself as a sports nutrition expert in the market", Furtwaengler emphasizes. And sales of the thirst quencher only account for 33% of total sales in the Isostar product range. "Because Powerade is more in the lifestyle soft drinks segment, there is still enough room for us," says Furtwaengler confidently.
However, the new competition from the Coca-Cola Group is likely to cause the US drinks manufacturer Gatorade more headaches. "The two are pretty much on the same wave and are also likely to be targeting the same audience: young, active people, but also sports enthusiasts who want to keep fit and maintain an active lifestyle," says one market researcher, analyzing the positioning strategies of the two producers. No one at Chicago-based Gatorade, which was founded in Florida in the 1960s, wanted to comment on the new competition.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola is continuing to work on its success strategy. The drinks manufacturer does not yet want to reveal what this strategy will look like in the future. One thing is already clear: with the success of the launch
Coca-Cola will not be satisfied for a long time yet.
Powerade's TriumphThe Powerade brand has been on the market in the USA since 1992.
It came to Europe in October 2001 and was launched in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Ireland.
Powerade is now the leading sports drink in Europe.
Powerade has been available in Switzerland since March 2003 and can be purchased at
petrol stations, take-aways, kiosks, drinks vending machines and in all
major retail chains, with the exception of Migros and Denner. The drink is available in the 500ml PET bottle in three
Flavor variants: Mountain Blast (berry flavor), Orange and Citrus. According to Coca-Cola, Mountain Blast is the most popular of all three flavors. (af)
Target group-oriented distribution: Coca-Cola launched Powerade in fitness centers and sports stores.
Annelies Friedli
