Targeting a specific audience has never been easy for any company; involving not only a thorough analysis of what the target audience can be hooked with, but also working on the development of the brand awareness and creating a positive legend which people can relate the product in question to.
Considering the recent promotional campaign which Mountain Dew together with Pepsi Co. developed for their recent product, one will be able to draw certain conclusion concerning the efficiency of the methods which the companies have used.
Because of the lack of focus on such segments of their target audience as the adults and the people of other cultures than the Latino and the African Americans, the beverage can possibly lose its popularity among the rest of the USA population.
Considering the promotional campaign which Mountain Dew has developed, one must admit that the company has gone into great lengths to attract new clientele.
Shifting the emphasis from the beverage qualities and the legend behind Mountain Dew, which used to concern any audience disregarding their national or cultural background, the company has started stressing the style of the beverage in the context of the Latin and African American culture, which might seem a touch unnatural.
To be honest, one has to admit that the idea of touching upon the issue of national and racial minorities brought into an advertisement is actually a very interesting approach.
Addressing not only the product marketing, but also several social issues, it captures the spirit of the today American society in a bottle, showing how diverse the latter is. Therefore, one of the greatest advantages of the campaign is its value in the light of the modern political correctness issue.
The campaign, however, also has its downsides, and, weirdly enough, some of these are merely the reverse side of the positive issues. To start with, the idea of focusing solely on the people of certain nationality does not seem politically correct enough.
Even though Stanford claims that “The initial ad mixes in snowboarders and a country singer to keep the brand’s mainstream hooked in” (Stanford 2012), there is a threat to lose the rest of the USA population, who will not be interested in the product any longer as soon as it is marketed as the drink created for certain national minorities.
In addition, the focus on the teen audience can result in losing the adult public, which could also contribute to the product popularity. Hence, it can be considered that, even though the promotional company which Mountain Dew and Pepsi Co. are following has its strong points, yet it is highly likely to backfire sooner or later.
Judging by the above-mentioned example, one can come to the conclusion that the design of an advertisement campaign should be more universal and appealing towards not only the target audience, but also the rest of the population. To demonstrate the efficiency of the latter technique, one should consider the strategy offered below.
For Mountain Dew to be more successful in its partnership with Pepsi Co. and appeal not only to the younger audience and the Latino and African Americans, but also to the rest of the population. For the given approach to work, it will be necessary to create the legend that will appeal to the people of any ethnicity and cultural background.
For example, the key idea can revolve around being successful and “cool,” without attributing the idea of “coolness” to any of the existing subcultures. One of the most successful advertisements which Mountain Dew has ever produced, the 2006 commercial, could point in the right direction (herdivineshadow, 2006, August 21).
Even though the commercial had a Black character as the lead, the focus of the legend was not the character’s culture, but the strength that the drink gives. Witty and fun, the commercial is a perfect example of how sensitive racial issue should be tackled.
Therefore, the commercial which Mountain Dew and Pepsi Co. could go with now should develop the legend that the drink should have. For example, focusing on being fresh and full of ideas after drinking Mountain Dew, or Mountain Dew helping one to focus, should be considered first.
Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that, no matter how hard the promotional campaign and try to attract new customers, it is essential to keep the old and loyal pones in their places.
Since the recent advertisement campaign was aimed at the audience other that the people who make the bulk of Mountain Dew fans, there is a considerable threat to lose even more devoted fans for the sake of attracting new public who may possibly dislike the beverage after all.
With such companies as Pepsi Co., the risks are quite low, however, since the drink already has a very long history and can hardly lose its key admirers even with a new promotional campaign; with such drinks as Mountain Dew, which are not as well-known among the USA population, the risks are higher.
Once shifting from one type of target audience to another, the managers of the marketing department must not forget to make sure that the
Reference List
Herdivineshadow (2006). Mountain Dew ad. Web.
Stanford, D. (2012). Mountain Dew wants some street cred. Bloomberg Businessweek. Web.