Russian Standard Vodka - Evaluate Campaign Effectiveness

Assignment 1: Evaluate Campaign Effectiveness – BSBADV605B

Russian Standard Vodka ©Spark Advertising

RUSSIAN STANDARD VODKA

300ml Citrus RTD

Evaluate Campaign Effectiveness BSBADV605B

Assignment 1

Jaddan Bruhn Joe Brown Cedric Chai Sreyna Chao



Executive Summary

The premixed alcohol market is a broad category, with brand extensions and product varieties targeted at all segments of the Australian adult drinking population.

The Australian adult alcohol consuming population has been segmented according to behavioural and attitudinal characteristics, opinions and lifestyle, product consumption habits, and product purchase habits and influences.

While the research that has thus far taken place explores habits and attitudes towards traditional media consumption, the complex, broader, and technologically advanced attitude and media consumption habits specific to the age range of the target audience forming the focus of this campaign, and its impact on lifestyle factors, decision making and how it acts as an influencer across the peer range, have not been adequately investigated.

Through further market research structured to overcome these existing knowledge gaps, it is anticipated that a more thorough understanding of these aspects of the target audience will positively shape critical facets of the campaign message, how it is communicated, its mode of delivery, and how it can successfully achieve the desired campaign objectives.



Introduction

The subject of the campaign activity is the 300ml can and glass bottle vodka citrus mixed drink produced by Russian Standard Vodka. Differentiated from its competitors by its purity of ingredients and the integrity of its brand heritage, the company is wanting to broaden the overall appeal of the Russian Standard Vodka brand to attract a younger drinking audience by entering the ready to drink market (this product extension is a world first for the brand), whilst remaining true to its origins by ensuring the drink retains a crisp vodka taste.

Current research exists that captures the essence of the product’s target audience, media habits, attitude and behaviour, but more thorough investigation is required to increase the campaign’s effectiveness and ensure the campaign is strategically structured to fulfil the campaign objectives.

Target Audience Profile

The company had identified the intended age range for this campaign as 18 – 25, with existing product consumption splits reflecting a 60% female skew. From research undertaken by Roy Morgan Research in their report Psychographic Segmentation of Spirits / RTD / Liqueur Drinkers the target audience we anticipate reaching through our campaign is a segment most closely identified as “Tracey and Sam: The Thrill Seeker”.

The common attributes that link this psychographic segment include a core need for challenge; constantly seeking new experiences, excitement and the opportunity to take risks; seeing everyday as a potential source of new stimulation; enjoy spending time with friends but also indulging their own needs; and, they are born to shop. Their main focus in life is going out and engaging in fun and exciting times with friends.

This segment likes to go to the cinema at least once a month, whilst having a night out at least once a week (travelling mainly by public transport, then taxi, whilst out drinking), weekends are for friends, fun and new experiences, with Monday to Friday a stopgap until the following weekend. Holidays are spent experiencing the most of the fast‐pace and bright lights of the big city. Style, fashion and being noticed are incredibly important, as is sharing every aspect of life (opinions, likes, dislikes, thoughts, feelings, experiences, attitudes) through a constant connection to their smart phone; communicating, sharing and keeping up to date through profiles on two or more social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube, Skype, LastFM, SoundCloud and Tumblr. Long term planning / goals aren’t important, but getting the most fun / best experience out of the available cash on hand is critical.

This segment is a heavy consumer of ready‐to‐drink (RTDs) pre‐mixed spirits, and is currently the primary market.



Communication Strategy The implications of forming a campaign to communicate to this segment are implicit in the concurrent demands on the target audience’s time and attention, simultaneous media consumption habits, technological sophistication and developed methods of consuming media on a broader range of devices that sideline the impact of traditional media vehicles.

Whilst placements in traditional media may be necessary to launch the advertising campaign, and generate initial word of mouth interest, maintaining continued interest in the campaign, developing traction with the target audience and achieving the requisite reach and frequency targets will demand that innovative placements in areas more closely aligned with the target’s daily communication habits and propensity for shared experiences and fractured media consumption are disseminated and collocated to strategically coordinate and reinforce the campaign message, manifesting the communication’s call to action.

In maximising the relative worth of the budgeted media spend, harnessing and driving earned media is critical. The target audience seeks out material that can be shared, and what can be attributed to them as a ‘new discovery’, that possesses a desirable pass‐on value. For this to be effective, the creative must articulate the advertising communication in a succinct and novel manner, that delivers the campaign content interactively, audibly and visually, taking into consideration the concurrent activities being performed by the target audience when they are most likely to be exposed to the campaign message, where their primary focus of attention is most likely to be at designated timing points during the day, and the device (and accordingly the format) they are likely to be employing at that time of the day.

For the communication to cut‐through, it will be necessary to employ digital interruption techniques, consistent flighting of placements throughout the campaign period utilising copy indicative of personal benefit and increased gain from positive word of mouth, with the implicit opportunity to partake in the discovery of a new experience.

Additional devices to facilitate a desirable campaign outcome include the gamerization of the promotional idea and creative campaign concept, integration of social media platforms in driving engagement with the target audience, and providing the scope for the campaign content and materials to be interacted with and shared / passed on by the target in a positive and contributory format.

Primary Research Proposal

The published research exploring the market segment forming the focus of this campaign articulates the target’s alcohol buying behaviour and influences, basic leisure motivations, and broad product consumption occasion categories.



Existing product producer promotional and distribution arrangements, in additional to previous campaign activity, have focused on a luxury market interpretation of the research. This interpretation has not been effective in reaching the younger demographic required of the RTD product, nor has it been accommodating of the complex behavioural, media and communication practices of the designated age group.

For this campaign to accurately target the intended audience in the most efficient and cost effective manner, and overcome the gaps in existing research, additional consumer research will need to be undertaken.

Further primary research must establish:

Validity of existing contracted Russian Standard Vodka venues

Social media activity and influence in brand/product perception

Media impact in framing alcohol selection and drinking behaviour

Media, social and communication activity and smartphones

Attitudes towards smartphone apps

Influences impacting on and off premise RTD purchase

Attitudes towards competing vodka brands

For the impending campaign to successfully pierce the filter through which much of the existing broadcast messages aimed at the target audience are neutralised, key elements of their behaviour, influences and attitudes towards technology, alcohol, vodka, entertainment and peers must be more thoroughly understood and explored.

It is anticipated that this research can be effectively conducted via a quantitative survey distributed online via Survey Monkey, with approximately 40 respondents recruited from TAFE in a convenience sample representative of the target audience. Aspects of the proposed research requiring more thorough investigation, including detailed lifestyle and alcohol consumption habits, may be explored through qualitative research undertaken in a focus group with a convenience sample of approximately 20 participants, recruited from Tafe, representative of the campaign’s target audience.



Bibliography

Roy Morgan Research Brand Health Tracking Wave 2 and Position Concept Test (Australia) July 2010

Roy Morgan Research Psychographic Segmentation of Spirits / RTD / Liqueur Drinkers August 2008

Roy Morgan Research State of the Nation (Australia September 2010 Base: 18+) September 2010

Russian Standard Vodka Vodka Segment Share and Growth – Off‐Premise Market January 2011

The Nielsen Company 2010 Australian Online Consumer Report April 2011

Russian Standard Vodka - Evaluate Campaign Effectiveness

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