ADiction Team: “Vikos Cola” Project
We are the ADiction Team (Giannikou Maria, Danopoulou Nefeli, Logothetis Giorgos, Malesi Lydia & Polydopoulou Kalliopi — Maria) and, during this semester, we were asked for our final project to select a brand in order to make the communication strategy and the creative brief in a more innovative way. So we chose the “Vikos Cola ‘’, a promising greek Cola that isn’t so well known as its competitors. The interesting thing about this brand is that its products consist of natural mineral water from Zagorochoria water sources.
This article will provide you information about our brainstorming, our creative brief and our final presentation, including the communication strategy.
Creative Brief
While considering the direction we wanted to move into with our creative brief, the only parameter we had in mind was the most predictable one: we needed to base every single one of our calculations and action plans on the brands past. We started by using categories to learn more and ask about the brand itself, so that we could construct a clear vision of what the brand has and hasn’t achieved yet, what they stand for, who they refer to and what their expectations are.
The end result consists of marketing plans, calculations about the target audience, the budget, estimations and approximations regarding the results in comparison to the clients’ expectations, all in an easily accessible and user friendly visual white board, that progresses in different colored post it notes in conjunction with the differentiated levels of analysis inside and outside of the company itself.
Find our miro board for the creative brief here
Communication Plan — Strategy
First of all our research was about Vikos Cola and we saw there was not a specific communication plan, such as social media presence so we decided
Moreover, we continue our project by planning our communication plan. It consists of three key factors such as: social media, outdoor activities and experiential part (call to action).
our vision
In order to start our project we researched the Vikos Cola brand and we realized that even though it is a well-known product it is not yet the most preferable one. For this very reason we decided to do our communication plan starting from our vision. Our vision focuses on the aim to create effective and innovative strategies to give prominence to Vikos Cola as one of the most upcoming brands in Greece.
In order to support our vision we set these objectives, which are stronger brand image, increase in sales, increase in clientele list and New PR.
Target group
Our first target group age range is between 18 and 25 and the second one focuses on individuals older than 25. We created two personas, Klelia who is 20 years old and Thomas who is 30 years old. Klelia is a medical student living in Athens. In her free time she enjoys reading books, going to the cinema and listening to music. Klelia does not drink alcohol and instead she wants to drink something made of mineral water such as Vikos Cola. Thomas is married and working as a computer engineer, living in Patras. He spends his free time with his family but also enjoys listening to music and doing sports. He is vegan and follows a specific diet so he want to make sure that his chosen refreshment contains zero calories, like the “Vikos Cola zero sugar”.
S.W.O.T. Analysis
In the S.W.O.T. analysis of “Vikos Cola”, a series of facts were considered in order to avoid misinterpretations or miscalculations in the marketing process that in the long run can contribute to failure of optimal results.
While analyzing the strengths of “Vikos Cola”, things like its unique proposition point (USP) were highly valued (the only cola made from bottled mineral water), while simultaneously its blank canvas of a reputation (no good OR bad reputation) provides the ideal foundation to build a good name brand and advertise the product.
The weaknesses of the brand all have some sort of connection to its relatively newly emerged in the field of cola and the fact that it seemingly has no PR or a long clientele list. Although currently these are considered weaknesses, one would say this is a “fresh start” with no bad PR or scandals that negatively paint the name of “Vikos Cola”, so it is easier to work on a neutral environment more so than a damaged one which needs to be repaired first.
Regarding opportunities, since Vikos Cola has strong competitors that have established their brand trust and reputation over the years in the market of cola, it probably would be best for them not to directly threaten the established competition, but try to promote their products (that truthfully seem to be healthier than other options in the current market) to a different target audience that prefers to stay somewhat healthy or mindful even when indulging in a sugary beverage. Once again, since the brand has not taken any serious and organized marketing actions before, their target audience has not been definitely set up to now, thus allowing for a slight change in direction.
Lastly, threats don’t seem to be such a big problem for this company since the only actual problem objectively is the lack of reviews, mouth-to-mouth spread of the brand, loyal clients that are strongly opinionated (or even better opinion leaders that will automatically and without charge promote “Vikos Cola”) and PR that provide a good amount of exposure to the brand and its products. These threats are considered minimal because they usually are the main reason companies seek out specialized marketing assistance and they also are some of the most basic and easy tasks for a marketer to complete (in comparison to damage control or brand renewal for example, that need a copious amount of effort and planning beforehand, without even having guaranteed the desired results).
USP
Our Unique Selling Proposition is that “Vikos Cola” is the only greek Cola made with natural mineral water.
Competitor Analysis
Competition is crucial to our business as it enables Viko’s brand to identify its unique traits that attract our customers. Without competition, not only would the brand lack motivation to perfect a product, but also innovation wouldn’t be attempted at any time.
As a business, Vikos is inclined to compete with other brands in the “Cola” industry in various aspects. Coca Cola for its originality and customer base, Pepsi Cola for its strong taste and flavors and Green Cola for its natural ingredients and because it’s a Greek firm, likewise Vikos.
In this way, there is a huge incentive for Vikos to perfect the formula of their drinks in order to attract more clients.
This is why we try our best to focus on the elements that will make our brand stand out from the others.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For our social media campaign we have decided to run a huge giveaway which will certainly bring a lot of popularity to our brand and will also increase its sales. The giveaway will be held on both Instagram and Facebook and the winners will be two, one of each platform. Whoever wins will have the opportunity to enjoy a 3-day trip to Metsovo, a heavenly greek village, and stay in a 5 star hotel. Winners will also get the chance to experience a guided tour of one of our main factories of Vikos, in Kalpakio. Each participant has to post a short video on Facebook or Instagram while enjoying a refreshing Vikos Cola, using the hashtag #VikosColaContest.
We truly believe that these kinds of activities are very beneficial for both our company and our consumers, as they help us gain popularity but also keep our customers satisfied.
Influencers
Experiential
For our experiential, we decided to take over the pride parade live concert, which takes place every year in Syntagma Square of Athens. “Vikos Cola” will be one of the Sponsors of the event, so on the event day there will be a “Vikos Cola” Truck, that is going to distribute mini bottles of “Vikos Cola” and a unique colorful pride bracelet, special for the occasion. This event is going to raise awareness between the brand and our target group by making “Vikos Cola” popular.
PRIDE X Vikos Cola
Outdoor
Regarding our outdoor activities, we thought at first to make outdoor posters in specific bus stops in Athens, Thessaloniki, Ioannina and Patras and metro stations in Athens. We also considered making outdoor posters for football fields like OAKA Stadium, but due to COVID-19 these are closed and our campaign would be meaningless.
Budget
In the final analysis, we split our budget (100.000€) between our social media campaigns, our outdoor activities and the influencers.
Professor: Betty Tsakarestou
Our Team: Mairi Giannikos, Nefeli Danopoulou, George Logothetis, Lydiamls, Kalliopi Polidoropoulou
