Marketing 741 – Mountain Dew Case Study
Kenan-Flagler Business School NAMEMarketing 741 SECTION Executive Summary I recommend that Mountain Dew selects the Cheetah and Bohemian Rhapsody ads as the two scored the highest on the 4 criteria.Case AnalysisDeveloping Criteria for Communications Assessment The first dimension of criteria on which we should judge the advertisements is the appeal to target audiences. Mountain Dew wants to appeal to a younger audience, particularly teen males, as well as those in the 20-39 range (Exhibit 7). It is important for the company to create an ad that those in that range can identify with so that new teenage customers are brought in and those that are a bit older will continue to value the product. The second dimension of criteria is the theme of excitement. Mountain Dew has had success conveying the idea that drinking their product is an exhilarating experience and wants to continue with that theme. It’s important for the company to display to young people that the product is fun and hip. With the rising popularity of extreme sports and lifestyles, it is a smart idea to continue to appeal to those who participate or find it entertaining. The third dimension is the potential to expand the customer base. According the Exhibit 4, nearly every city with a strong ethnic population had low to mid BDI’s. Mountain Dew has also put out ads intended to appeal to African Americans but were unsuccessful. I think it’s important for an ad to appeal to a diverse audience within the teen to 39 age range to build a larger customer base in the areas where there is low to mid BDI’s. I think it’s also important to use an ad that could potentially reach audiences that are 40 and up, while still focusing on the teen to 39.
The last dimension is the predictability of the ad. Extreme sports were starting to become overexposed in advertisements so the company should find new ways to show that the product is exciting. Mountain Dew has to either move away from the extreme sports or present it differently than in the past. A commercial with young people skateboarding with rap or rock music playing in the background may trigger a consumer to instantly to think Mountain Dew. The new ad should have the viewer guessing while still maintaining the theme of excitement and fun. Advertising AssessmentLabor of Love Labor of Love scored a 2 in the category of appealing to the target audience. Teens and those in their early to late twenties may not be able to identify well with the commercial as many have not had kids yet. The theme of excitement scored as 3 as there is a little bit of shock value and humor to it. It displays that those that drink Mountain Dew are calm under pressure and can handle extreme situations such as this one. The potential to expand customer base scored a 4 as it may appeal to different age ranges. Those that are 40 and up may be able to identify with the commercial as more people have had kids by that point. Younger audiences may be drawn to the ad as it incorporates a bit of childish humor. The predictability scored a 5 as it strayed away from the typical extreme sports theme. I think most wouldn’t think of Mountain Dew when a commercial starts out dramatically in a hospital room.