Marketing report

a) External Trends

b) Implications: + and -

1) Socio-Cultural

a. The acceptance of LGBTQ+ community.

b. Alcohol consumption is still taboo in certain countries & religion such as Middle Eastern Countries, Pakistan et cetera.

Positive: -

This acceptance has given Smirnoff a new segment to target, curating a campaign specifically to market among the people of this community, "Color for the Future," with a product, "Smirnoff Pink lemonade." ("Smirnoff Pink Lemonade," 2022)

Negative: -

This might create difficulty penetrating these markets for the people who consume alcohol in these countries.

2) Environment

1. The global pandemic has led people to stay at home and keep social distancing due to the implication of lockdowns.

2. Companies are becoming sensitive about their surroundings and are practicing social responsibility.

Positive: -

1. Vodka is famous for making Cocktails, as people stay at home and restaurants and bars are closed. Smirnoff is encouraging people to buy their vodkas to make cocktails with the campaign "Created for Cocktails" while being in the comfort of their homes. (Crann, 2021)

2. Another campaign where Smirnoff is encouraging its buyers to stay connected to their loved ones while staying at home this campaign was launched in the USA, "Hangout from home for America." as shown in (Smirnoff - Hang out from home for America, 2020)

3. Smirnoff has implemented sustainable practices in manufacturing their products, thus creating awareness, and reducing waste. By doing this, they are marketing themselves as a brand that cares not just about making people happy but also about its surroundings. (Diageo, Jun 04th, 2013 – extracted on Feb 01st, 2022).

Negative: -

As many people, especially social drinkers, are unable to socialize. This has also led to a decline in alcohol consumption.

3) Regulatory

1. The new regulations in the United States Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) on formulations, labelling and advertising the Ready-To-Drink (RTD) for a public comment period of 90 days (about three months). ("Troubles ahead for Smirnoff Ice?", 2022)

2. Underage (below 21) drinking has created unwanted consequences and problems. ("New Study: Alcohol Ads Commonly Appeal to Minors - Movendi International", 2021)

Negative: -

As Smirnoff Ice comes under the RTD category of Smirnoff, this new regulation can affect the sales of Smirnoff Ice in the US. The product is marketed as Flavored Malt Beverage (FMB) which is popular among the youngster and reducing the alcohol content from 4.5% Alcohol by Volume (ABV) to 0.5% ABV, 0.5% ABV is considered as non-alcoholic and with such a low percentage of alcohol it will lose its popularity among its users.

Positive: -

1. If this regulation becomes, permanent Smirnoff Ice could be made famous among consumers below 21. As it is already popular among consumers above 21 in the US, it is another opportunity to experiment with packing and more different for the young consumers to attract.

2. It makes it more specific for the company to target and curate campaign advertisements accordingly—for example, displaying people in the commercials who are 21 and above.

Environmental Factors

Action Plans

1) Cultural

As the LGBTQ+ community has started getting accepted everywhere globally, the company already considers it a potential segment to target. The company must keep the loyalty of the existing consumers and must work on attracting new ones. Here are the following areas to consider for the consistency of the brand value it is creating for its consumers: -

Price: The pricing will be competitive to keep up with other companies who will also be curating a marketing strategy to attract this segment.

Promotion: A 12-month campaign will be conducted with the message of making everyone feel included irrespective of their gender, ethnicity and not specific to one. TV commercials, social media and Influencer marketing will be considered for the campaign, making new colorful recipes that might interest this segment.

Place: Sponsoring events of LGBTQ+ communities, Liquor stores, feature shows or movies.

Product: The Product should be appealing to the eyes and palette. Limited edition bottles for the "pride month" and a hero product will create for the campaign.

2) Environment

The global pandemic has restricted people from socializing and the restaurants and bars to shut their doors to prevent the spread of the virus. However, to still be consistent with sales of the products. Smirnoff could produce a new strategy to make the consumers buy their products even while at home.

Price: Competitive pricing strategy as this will be affecting all the other competitors, and all will be fighting to cost the best to suit the consumers.

Promotion: The campaign must promote staying at home and enjoying drinks with friends and family. Vodka is famous for making cocktails, so cocktail recipes using Smirnoff's Vodka could be popularized

.

Place: As many people stay at home, the best places to get noticed are social media platforms, TV commercials, and digital magazines.

Product: Vodka is famous for being used for cocktails, and many people miss going to the bar or do not have the tools to make one. Smirnoff could be diversified in making your cocktail or DIY (Do It Yourself) kits to sell, allowing people to enjoy their products without leaving their houses.

3) Regulatory

The implication of the new policy on RTDs (Ready to Drink) of reducing the alcohol content from 4.5% ABV to 0.5% ABV. This might lessen the popularity among adults but now could be made famous among a new segment: kids.

Price: As Smirnoff is a renowned brand, competitive pricing will always be suitable for its product to beat the competitors

Promotion: People from all age groups could be shown enjoying the new Flavored Malt Beverage, Smirnoff Ice. The campaign will now be "Created for everyone to enjoy"

Place: Now that the alcohol percentage is reduced, it could be sold in grocery stores vending machines where people of all ages. Also, it could be targeted outside the Us and to countries where alcohol consumption is little to no.

Product: New packaging, a label indicating the new alcohol content amount, packing could have been experimented with that will gain the interest of people of all age groups and new flavors will be introduced

4 P’s

Smirnoff

Absolut

Svedka

Skyy

Product

Smirnoff vodka and Smirnoff ice are the two products sold by the company, and they are sold in various flavours.

Absolut Vodka is producing or intends to produce to capture potential markets.

Svedka and Svedka flavours such as mango, pineapple, raspberry et cetera

Skyy vodka and flavoured vodka are the items produced by Skyy.

Price

Smirnoff is economically priced; that is one of the reasons it is the market leader in the vodka market.

Absolut Vodka's pricing approach in the various client categories it operates.

Svedka pricing is like other brands in the same market segment

Skyy is in a premium segment of the market.

Place

Smirnoff is sold at various convenience stores liquor stores, but they do not sell the product online. (Follow, 2015)

With the rise of online retail and the dominance of businesses like Amazon, Absolut Vodka's distribution mix has taken on a new dimension.

Svedka sells its products through its distribution channel with that it has a social presence.

Skyy sells its product in two locations: shopping marts, liquor stores, and restaurants and bars.

Promotion

Smirnoff usually promotes through TV commercials targeted ads on social media, and the company buys advertisement space in sports and concert venues

The introduction of social media and internet advertising has altered the landscape of Absolut Vodka's communication mix and strategy.

Svedka is promoting its product through traditional means of marketing along with it has social media where they launch different marketing campaigns.

Skyy endorses its products by social media; it also becomes the alcohol partner for various events like sports and music events.

Strengths

· Not being a gender-specific brand gives the company a large customer base

· Wide availability and distribution network

· Sold in over 130 countries

Weaknesses

· Intense competition from other brands

· Government rules and regulations make expansion difficult.

· Health and life hazards such as alcohol poisoning, liver damage, and drunk driving can cause deaths.

Opportunities

· Introducing new flavours

· Expansion into new markets

· Spirits are replacing beers as a drink preference.

Threats

· Alcohol abuse may lead to market contraction, leading to a smaller market cap of Smirnoff.

· Price wars with competitors such as absolute