A juicy class project
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ORANGE JOURNALISM A juicy class project |
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Consumers may have never expected the day when Cocaine refers to a legal product, Kabbalah suggests something beyond Madonna’s mystic hobby and Steven Seagal’s Lightning Bolt hints at something other than a martial arts’ move from the actor’s latest film flop. But that day is today. Cocaine, Kabbalah and Steven Seagal’s Lightning Bolt are three of the latest brands of energy drinks to fill convenience store refrigerators around the nation. Youths seeking an extra spark to fuel late-night study sessions face a proliferation of energy drink choices, each brand arriving armed with promises of more energy and names that speak volumes. “I think it’s getting a little out of hand,” said Alexander Lopez, a kinesiology major at Precious Casaclang, a senior majoring in computer engineering, said she sips cans of Red Bull energy drink for a caffeinated boost when she needs to study for rigorous exams. “Lately, I have been drinking at least two a day,” Casaclang said. “I buy Red Bull because the rest don’t work for me.” Some energy drink consumers consider effectiveness, product size, cost and convenience when choosing between brands, said Isaac Lau, a senior computer engineering major. Lau said Rockstar is his favorite because its 16-ounce can, sold for $2.29, is a better value than Red Bull’s 8.3-ounce can, sold for $1.99. “They give you more for the price,” Lau said. Howard Combs, an SJSU marketing professor, said consumers are generally loyal to brands and tend to choose the energy drinks their peers buy. “They want something that will make them feel like part of the tribe,” Combs said. According to Combs, heavy segmentation defines today’s industry as energy drink companies target specific niches of consumers. “You figure out who your target audience is,” Combs said. “You pick that group, and then you figure out how you want to position this brand in the mind of that group so they perceive it to be the kind of brand that’s for them.” Energy drinks such as Hyphy Juice and Crunk!!! vie for primarily urban, African-American buyers with rap star endorsements and hip-hop images. Others, such as Diesel, NOS and Full Throttle, cater to males attracted to the fast-living, daredevil qualities that permeate the brands’ packaging and slogans. Many sugarless drink varieties, such as Tab Energy and Go Girl, are aimed at females concerned with caloric intake. Helen Shin, a senior nursing major, said she drinks Tab Energy, Red Bull Sugar Free or Diet Rockstar “because I’m a girl and we like low-calorie (drinks).” Shin said she is drawn to Tab Energy’s pink-can presentation and added that packaging is a big decision-maker when it comes to which energy drinks different genders choose. “Even in the hospital (where I work), we joke around, like, we’ve never seen a guy drink Tab,” Shin said while laughing. Lopez, a junior at SJSU, said he favors sugarless energy drinks such as Diet Turbo Tea, a pre-workout beverage manufactured by sports product specialists “I don’t want to get fat,” Lopez said. Steve Pai, a senior majoring in computer engineering, said he prefers Monster and Red Bull, but added that there is little difference in flavor among energy drinks. “I tried pretty much all of them,” Pai said, “and for the most part, they all taste like cough syrup.” Combs, a former chair of the SJSU marketing department, said most energy drinks contain the same ingredients “but people perceive them as different because the brands are positioned differently.” Despite the multitude of energy drink brands today, Red Bull, which sparked the industry explosion in the late 1980s, still controls an almost 60 percent share of the market, according to the BusinessWeek Web site. Combs said Red Bull’s marketing strategy and its ubiquitous slogan, “Red Bull gives you wings!” preserve the brand’s success over newer products that fade quickly. “They come and go,” Combs said, “but Red Bull has been the dominant player in the market globally, and they’ve done a lot right.” While energy drink companies compete for an increasingly segmented market of consumers, some students choose to ignore the industry altogether. Eric Toth, a senior civil engineering major, said he never buys energy drinks. “I already have too much energy as it is,” he said. Related Links: Back to Orange Journalism Home Page Orange Journalism: |
