International Marketing

International Marketing:

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning for Bobble Water Bottles in German Market

International marketing

This is a Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) plan for Bobble Water Bottles as it expands in the German market.  STP marketing is strategic and its intention is to identify the most appropriate segment, target audience, and a means to position the product in such a way as to attain a large market share and generate profits (Botha, Strydom, & Bothma, 2006; Entman 1993).
Segmentation, Target audience, and Positioning (STP)

  1. Segmentation

Segmentation involves identifying all segments for the product; in this case the Bobble water bottles (Kotler & Keller 2006). Bobble bottle is unique in regards to its water filtration function and recyclability (waterbobble.com). Having started in the US, Bobble water bottles expanded into Australia, and now the company is targeting Germany. The label has won many recognition awards for its effort in environmental protection (Krieger 2010).

Segments for Bobble include geographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, behavioural segmentation and segmentation based on occasions and benefits.

The bottled water industry in Germany is highly fragmented with both domestic and international players present across the country, and all German towns are appropriate geographic segments for the product. In Germany, the off-trade volume sales of bottled water increased by 2 percent in 2011 (Euromonitor 2012) and there is potential for continual growth with a unique product such as Bobble.

The identified segment according to psychographics is that of people developing high consciousness to healthy products and willing to spend on products that are friendly to the environment (Arnold 2006; Lights 2012).

The identified segment according to behaviour entails people in the country observed to have a preference for consuming clean bottled water for its health beliefs (Lights, 2012).

The identified segment according to occasions entails the many sporting, tourism, and entertainment events held in Germany in which eco-friendly water bottles can be made a ‘must-have’ product (Gleick et al 2006).

  1. Target Audience

This section gives a description of consumers who are most likely to use the product (Entman 1993).
Demographics

Bobble water bottle is targeted for both men and women especially in urban dwelling areas where drinking-water is most likely to be purchased.

The age group 18 to 55 years who are mostly outdoors for work and, or social reasons are also the more likely to purchase Bobble water.

The young people age group 18-25 years are targeted through the sleek, colourful, packaging of the bottles.

Socio-economic groups from middle class and above are more likely to purchase Bobble water because of the fair cost per bottle.  However, if looking on the long-term, Bobble bottle is competitively cheap and can be considered by people from all backgrounds.

Employed and educated people are also more likely to be exposed on resourceful information concerning environmental protection and will make a good target market for this eco-friendly product.

Psychographics

Psychographics entails understanding the psychology that drives the purchasing attitudes of consumers (Davies & Harre 2007).

The consumers in the market segments are inclining towards more health and environmental-conscious behaviours in purchasing products. Bobble is targeted for this growing population because of its water infiltration function that takes out toxic compounds from the water, and a one-time purchase, hence minimizing littering of the environment with plastic bottles (Bartol et al., 2011).

  1. Geographics

Geographically, Bobble can be sold across all German towns, especially the urban areas, as there is a high usage of bottled water (Lights, 2012).
Positioning
            Positioning is important to ensure that the company puts Bobble water bottle as the right product, in the correct place, with competitive pricing, and promoted to the right segment (Davies & Harre 2007).

Bobble water bottle is a unique product and the only one of its kind in the German market, with its sleek, colourful, bottles and a size for everyone. Bobble water bottle has a portable, recyclable carbon filter that infiltrates chlorine and other contaminants for tap water. This provides not only a crisper, but a cleaner, and healthier, taste (Krieger 2010).  Bobble saves costs because at only USD 29, you can buy only one bottle that can be re-filled as many times as possible without worry on further spending. Save your money! Save your health! Save the environment!

 

 

List of References:

Arnold, E. 2006. Bottled water: Pouring resources down the drain. Washington, DC: Earth Policy Institute.

Bartol, D., Canney, J., Cunningham, J., Flaherty, S., & McNamee, L. 2011. “Marketing of bottled water: Business and ethical issues” Rivier Academic Journal, 7(1), 1-8.

Bobble Water webstite http://www.waterbobble.com

Botha, J., Strydom, J., & Bothma, C. 2006. Introduction to marketing. Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd.

Davies, B., & Harre, R. 2007. “Positioning: The discursive production of selves”, Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 20(1), pp. 43-63.

Entman, R. M. 1993. Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of

Communication 43, pp. 51-59.

Euromonitor International. (2012). Bottled water in Germany. Retrieved May 3, 2013, from http://www.euromonitor.com/bottled-water-in-germany/report

Gleick, P., Wolff, G., Cooley, H., Palaniappan, M., Samulon, A., Lee, E., Morrison, J., & Katz, D. 2006. The world’s water 2007-2007: The biennial report on freshwater resources. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Krieger, E. 2010. “Hydrate! Three great bottles for clean, fresh water on-the-go” RealSimple. Retrieved May 3, 2013 from http://simplystated.realsimple.com/2010/06/04/drink-up-three-new-water-bottles-to-have-on-hand/

Kotler, P., & Keller, K.,L. 2006. Marketing management: What is geographic segmentation? New York: Prentice Hall.

Lights, Z. (2012). “What’s the problem with plastic bottles”, OneGreenPlanet.Org. Retrieved May 3, 2013 from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/whats-the-problem-with-plastic-bottles/
 

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