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Table of Contents
Part I: Marketing Background………………………………….3
Our Product Background……………………………………….3
Who are our competitors?............................................................3
General Audience………………………………………………4
Vita Coco Marketing Objectives……………………………….4
How will these objectives be communicated?.............................5
Part II: Strategic Planning Process……………………………...5
Our Target Market………………………………………………5
What influences our target market’s purchasing decisions?........6
Vita Coco’s Message……………………………………...........6
Communication Objectives…………………………..…………8
Our Media Options…………………………………...…………8
Part III: Finalizing and Implementing IMC Campaign….…….11
Touchpoints………………………………………..…………..11
IMC Planning Worksheet………………………….…………..13
Creative Brief………………………………………………….14
Media Budget Allocation……………………..……………….15
Vita Coco Print Ad…………………………………………….16
References……………………………………………………..17
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Part I: Marketing Background
Our Product Background
Vita Coco was created in 2003 when Michael Kirban had realized the interest in the
American market for functional beverages. He had met a woman and had learned of the
greatness of coconut water that is popular in Brazil. Vita Coco has not only carved a new
market in the non-carbonated beverage business and redefined the alternative sports
beverage category, but it has also become one of the fastest growing lifestyle beverages
in North America.
Vita Coco’s popularity only continues to increase. It is now available in over
60,000 retail stores nationally and is becoming one of the hottest beverage brands in the
world, with a cult-like following. The purpose for this campaign is to introduce Vita
Coco to those who may not already be a customer but are familiar with the brand.
Who Are Our Competitors?
While coconut water has been around for centuries, it’s recent popularity among
athletes and trendy consumers alike, there are now several brands available on the shelves
for customers to choose from. The two main competitors of Vita Coco is Zico, and
O.N.E. Coconut Water. Zico, founded by Mark Rompolla in 2004, is the second largest
coconut water U.S brand. It is now owned by Coca-Cola, and in 2014, the company
doubled it’s sales and became an $87 million dollar business. PepsiCo owns O.N.E. and
is the third largest coconut water brand in the United States. O.N.E. has grown over
1,100% since its introduction to Whole Foods market by Brazilian entrepreneur Rodrigo
Velso in 2006. There are about one hundred different brands available to consumers but
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in terms of sales popularity, these two are in the same range of Vita Coco. There are also
over 250 companies that have beverages with some form of coconut water in them.
Another important aspect of marketing a newer beverage such as coconut water is letting
our target audience know why they should purchase Vita Coco instead of bottled water.
There are many health benefits that the juice in coconuts has to offer that water simply
does not.
General Audience
The general audience of Vita Coco is anyone between the age of 17 and 65. The
consumers in our general audience enjoy outdoor activities and while they may be health
conscious, they may not display this in their purchasing decisions. Once they do their
research on a new product and hear from their friends about it, they will then make their
decisions to purchase. Everyone drinks water and needs to stay hydrated, it is a matter of
everyone learning the health benefits that coconut water has over bottled water and
making that purchase.
Vita Coco Marketing Objectives
The marketing objectives of this IMC campaign is to reach new consumers that
are familiar with the brand but have not yet tried Vita Coco’s coconut water. Having a
clearly identified marketing objective will help Vita Coco achieve their goals in this IMC
plan. While there will be a specific target market for this campaign, we still want to
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appeal to a variety of consumer segments. The consumer base will learn the high
nutritional value that Vita Coco has to offer that other beverages don’t.
How Will These Objectives Be Communicated?
The best way to communicate these objectives to our target audience is through
use of television commercials, billboard advertisements, and magazine print ads.
In Vita Coco’s IMC plan, there will also be in store events to allow potential
customers to sample the product as well as give them an incentive to purchase it.
Part II: Strategic Planning Process
Our Target Market
The target market for Vita Coco is adults between the ages of 22-40 that live
in populated cities. They have families of their own and understand the importance
of keeping a healthy and active lifestyle. The income bracket is between $50,000-
$125,000 annually. They are more affluent and while some may be in the beginning
stages of their career, they are on a successful path. In their spare time, they like to
attend yoga classes and spin classes to help keep themselves in shape. They work
full time jobs and love to go hiking on the weekends and take their families to local
events and fairs. The cars that they drive consist of Volkswagons, Subarus, or Jeeps.
Their children are still young, primarily between the ages of 2-15 years old. They
don’t listen to the radio as much, but in the car they will listen to Pandora or stream
their music from their smartphones. In their spare time, they enjoy watching
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primetime shows such as Big Bang Theory, Scandal, Nashville, and NCIS. They will
also watch Discovery, HGTV, and NatGeo.
What Influences Our Target Markets Purchasing Decisions
The target audience has a habitual pattern when it comes to their purchasing
decisions. They are heavily influenced by their parents purchasing decisions and the
products that they used when they were growing up, however with the health
industry booming, they are becoming more interested in trendy products on the
market. They communicate often with their close friends and neighbors about the
products that they prefer and dislike in casual conversation, but these brands stick
in their minds when they are out shopping. They also look to community influencers
that help to market these products. They are very aware of endorsements that
celebrities they like partner with and while they may sometimes be skeptical, if
someone they know has tried the product, they most likely will as well.
Vita Coco’s Message
To gain the attention of the target market for Vita Coco, it is very important to keep
the messages relatable to the viewers while still allowing the message to be delivered
efficiently. Since the target market is relatively young in their 20’s to early 40’s, as
consumers they do not listen to the radio, however they do travel to work and home often
so billboards would be a great traditional media option. The message that we are trying to
spread to the consumer is the tagline “#TheNewHydration” This tagline will be
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implemented throughout the campaign. With heavy use of hashtags on social media, this
is the best way for the customer to share the hashtag with their friends and family when
they purchase their Vita Coco. The hashtag will ultimately be the message across all
forms of media. This includes billboards, Magazine advertisements, Television
commercials, and across all forms of new media.
With an interest in the outdoors, the target market will respond well to the tagline
because regardless of age, they want to stay healthy. The goal of Vita Coco is to interest
the adults to purchase the beverage for their home and everyone in their family. A very
important part of the IMC message is to keep the message relatable. This will allow the
consumers to feel that they have a connection to the brand. It will also allow them to
believe that they need Vita Coco in their household and it can be a healthy beverage to
add into their daily lives and possibly replace other beverages such as Gatorade and
sodas.
When the message is seen across different platforms whether it be outdoors, or on
their computer screen, the tagline itself gives the consumer a chance to learn about the
product. Since Vita Coco is relatively new to the market, we want to create an interest so
that we can give everyone a chance to learn about the beverage and how it can be very
beneficial to their health. Vita Coco will be seen as the new water, with more minerals
and nutrients that the body needs for hydration. The goal for the IMC message is when
people see the hashtag “#TheNewHydration”, Vita Coco will immediately come to mind.
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Communication Objectives
Our number one communication objective is creating awareness about Vita Coco.
We want our target audience to want to go out and purchase Vita Coco because of all
of the health benefits that it has to offer. It is a nutritional beverage that hydrates
the body and can easily replace their other beverages that they drink daily. While
introducing the brand, in our message we also want to impart knowledge. Our
hashtag “#TheNewHydration” is letting our potential customers know that not only
is coconut water delicious, it’s also great for anyone that exercises and needs to
rehydrate themselves after a workout. We want our image within this campaign to
remain positive and upbeat. We will do this by advertising during our target
audiences most watched primetime spots and include print ads in their favorite
magazines.
Our Media Options
There will be use of traditional advertising as well as new media in our IMC plan.
Our younger demographic will be marketed more with social media while the older
half of our demographic will be target with the use of traditional media such as
television and magazines.
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Traditional Advertising:
The decision to use the mentioned traditional advertising methods is based on
the target market we are reaching for Vita Coco. The younger demographic spends
time watching television with their younger children and leisurely enjoys reading
magazines on the weekends or on their lunch breaks at work. Radio advertisements
are a bit outdated for Vita Coco’s target market and choose to listen to Pandora or
other streaming music options. Vita Coco will stream 30-second commercial spots
during the most watched primetime shows that our audience is interested in. These
shows include Big Bang Theory, Scandal, and NCIS. There will be full-page print ads
for Vita Coco in magazines such as SHAPE, Elle, InStyle, and US Weekly. These ads
will begin in Fall of 2015 and continue monthly until June 2016 for this IMC
campaign.
Promotion
o Magazine coupon inserts
o In-store events
The demographic for Vita Coco enjoys reading magazines so with coupon
inserts in place with our print ads, this gives the potential customer base that is
familiar with Vita Coco an incentive to go to their local supermarket to try the
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product. These coupons will offer dollar off incentives when the product is
purchased.
Collaborating with stores that sell the product will not only bring sales for the
beverage, but also for the store. We will set up small sample stations at stores like
Target, Ralphs Market, and Costco to name a few. These are markets and stores that
the target market for Vita Coco shops at often for themselves and their families. This
is a way for potential customers to try the product and become familiar with it.
New Media
o Facebook
o Twitter
o Instagram
The new media approach will heavily rely on social media sites and apps. The
reason for this is that the target market for Vita Coco tend to be heavy users of these
apps. This is how they stay in touch with their friends, spread news, and find events.
Instagram will be the most important for the IMC plan because with the creation of
the hashtag “TheNewHydration”, this is will be to spark an interest among our
potential customers. This hashtag can be shared among their friends on Instagram
when they are posting selfies with their Vita Coco Water. We also have a goal for
Vita Coco’s Instagram account to have 500,000 followers by June 2016. New Media
also creates an advantage for WOM marketing. WOM marketing is very common
among the targeted demographic because these young families learn about what
their friends do for their families via conversation, or even social media. Facebook
and Twitter will also be involved and pages will be created for the brand. Our goal
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for Facebook is to have 250,000 likes during this IMC campaign and we hope to gain
500,000 followers on Twitter. This gives our future customer base an option to
write on our wall, ask questions, and just see what Vita Coco is all about.
Direct Marketing
o Coupons offered in magazine ads
o In- store sample offers
Our direct marketing approach will allow us to understand how many of our
potential customer base has been reached. The coupons placed in the Vita Coco
magazine ads will be tracked and the store that accept them will allow us to know
how well an incentive like this has worked for the customer. When it comes to the
In-store sample offers, this will allow us to know how many customers have
purchased Vita Coco after they have sampled it in their favorite stores.
Part III: Finalizing and Implementing IMC Campaign
Touchpoints
In this Vita Coco IMC plan, our goal is to create awareness amongst our brand
and gain a customer base that can in turn become brand loyal to Vita Coco in the
future. It is very important for us to leave a positive influence on each and every
person because these are the people who will go out and purchase our coconut
water. There are several other brands for them to choose from, so we will influence
them positively in a way to make them want to purchase Vita Coco. To understand
whether our IMC plan was successful, in June 2016, we will gather data from our
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vendors and we will be able to compare sales with the previous year. We will also be
able to see if our magazine coupon inserts were influential in making our customers
purchase decision.
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IMC Planning Worksheet
Communication Tasks
Touch Points
for decision
stages
Target
Audience
Communication
Objectives
Media Options
Create awareness
to potential
customers
People familiar
with Vita Coco
New Customers
Health benefits of
Vita Coco Coconut
water
TV Commercials
Print ads
In Store events
Billboards
Interest customers
to make an in store
purchase of Vita
Coco
People familiar
with Vita Coco
New Customers
Reinforce positive
brand attitude
Offer incentive
Customer Service
Social Media
WOM
Repeat Visit to
stores to purchase
Vita Coco
People familiar
with Vita Coco
New Customers
Create personal
relationships
Reward loyal
customers
Coupons
Social Media
WOM
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Creative Brief
Product: Vita Coco Job: IMC Date: 6-25-2015
Task Definition
Key Market Observations
Create brand awareness to potential customers who are familiar with Vita Coco and
create a positive brand attitude and give new customers an incentive.
Source of Business
Customers who are familiar with Vita Coco but do not drink Coconut Water.
Consumer Insight
Our customer base is very involved in social media as well as WOM and their friends
and family’s experiences.
Target Market
Adults between the ages of 22-45 who are into a healthy and active lifestyle.
Objectives and Strategy
Communication Objectives and Tasks
Build brand awareness and create a positive brand attitude. Influence customers to
purchase Vita Coco over competitors.
Brand Attitude Strategy
Create positive brand attitude by keeping consistent in Vita Coco media and
advertising.
Benefit Claim and Support
Vita Coco is the largest, well known brand that primarily sells coconut water.
Desired Consumer Response
Understand all the nutritional and health benefits that Vita Coco has to offer. Choose
to purchase coconut water instead of other athletic beverages or sodas.
Executional Elements
Creative Guidelines
Create a positive brand experience with a very upbeat, energetic vibe.
Requirements/Mandatory Content
It is required that each ad or commercial includes the hashtag
“#TheNewHydration”. Bright colors, blues and greens will be incorporated into each
segment of the IMC Plan.
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Media Budget Allocation
Communication Tasks
Build
Category
and brand
awareness
Create
category
need and
initial
brand
attitude
Provide
incentive
to
consider
Seek
positive
brand
purchase
intention
Act as
intention
Reinforce
decision
Primary
medium:
National TV
commercials
Secondary
media:
Magazines
Internet
Point of
Purchase
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Vita Coco Print Advertisements
Billboard Print Ad
National MagazineAd
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References
Why Coconut Water Is Now a $1 Billion Industry | TransferWise Blog." TransferWise
Blog. Web. 24 June 2015.
Percy, L. (2008). Strategic Integrated Marketing Communications (1st ed.).
Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Thomson, Julie R. "Coconut Water Sales Skyrocket Out Of Control." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Web. 25 June 2015.
Images taken from:
http://www.sinuousmag.com/2011/06/advertising-vita-coco-coconut-water-
snags-rihanna-for-new-ad-campaign/
https://media.licdn.com/media/p/1/000/206/2c7/33988df.png
http://www.a1amarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2015A1ATEARPAD-
VitaCoco-LR.jpg
