The soda company made a name for itself with unique labels that feature a variety of customer-submitted photographs and bottle caps with personalized customer messages. Jones Soda developed an intimate relationship with its customers by employing a customer-focused approach. It evolved into a customer-focused company, with flavor ideas, packaging, and messaging coming directly from its customers (Jones Soda Co, n.d.). It continues to uphold its reputation as a fun brand through better brand awareness or brand affinity with the customers.
Jones Soda’s target market during the first few years was the young, hip counter-culture demographic. Its creative ideas for creating soft drinks with names like Fufu Berry and Perspiration appealed to the young population. The business owners also surmised that a small percentage of the soda market was made up of consumers who were dissatisfied mainly with the Coca-Cola brands everyone drinks automatically (Doering, 2021). As a result, the company decided to focus on rebels who resisted conformity and defied the norms.
The company’s initial marketing approach involved word of mouth and free product giveaways to young people. Jones Soda adopted a direct consumer relationship with the customers, such as shops and bakeries. Due to competition, the company had to lower its prices regardless of expenditure on promotions. However, due to massive advertising spending, the low-price marketing strategy dwindled its progress. Another marketing strategy was online marketing through its website, allowing customers to give suggestions.
The conditions leading to Jones Soda’s decision to expand were the penetration of the national market. The company had to extend its distribution strategy and infrastructure to match the new competition at the national level. However, the economic crunch in 2007, characterized by high competition and high prices, forced the company to change its marketing mix (Doering, 2021). The company started to pack its beverages in cans instead of bottles. It further enhanced the visual appearance of its products and customer engagement, increasing sales revenues.
Jones Soda decided to adjust its prices to meet consumer needs, in addition to increasing customer involvement and improving visual appearance. Instead of spending more on promotions, the new competitive prices considered other competing beverage companies. It entailed offering discounts to customers who made large purchases or during special events. However, packaging its beverages in cans did not give Jones Soda a competitive advantage over industry giants such as Coke and Pepsi. The company returned to its roots to save its future, focusing on bottled beverages and its loyal customer base.
For years, using user-supplied images on bottle labels in company advertising was a novel idea. The resulting word of mouth was also effective because Jones Soda knew its target market, and they loved the products. However, when it came time to enter the national market, the company made a huge miscalculation. The company believed that appealing to the mainstream market was the only way to sell in large quantities, while the key to its success was maintaining its core brand identity. Putting their traditional bottle-only sodas in 12-packs alongside Coke and Pepsi was the company’s undoing. Jones Soda should focus on new products that cater to specific market segments to give it room to grow.
Jones Soda has expanded its product line to include canned beverages. As of March 2022, the company planned to launch a line of cannabis-infused sodas, syrups, and gummies under the Mary Jones brand (Lucas, 2022). The initial plan was to unveil the Mary Jones in California and then expand to other states where marijuana is legal. Jones Soda has continued to diversify and target specific market segments.
References
Doering, C. (2021). Once a trendy beverage, Jones Soda fights to convince skeptics it can ‘win again’. FoodDrive. Web.
Jones Soda Co. (n.d.). About Us. Jones Soda. Web.
Lucas, A. (2022). Jones Soda unveils cannabis-infused sodas, syrups and gummies under new Mary Jones brand. CNBC. Web.