SodaStream looks to change ‘unhealthy’ image with sparkling water push
SodaStream is hoping to address the health-related decline in flavoured soft drinks by repositioning its brand globally to focus on sparkling water, a category it believes is “far from fully tapped”.
The brand has launched a 10-week, £400,000 print and advertorial campaign with the headline “Fresh Sparkling Water, Always on Tap”.
The marketing push is the first phase of its repositioning to showcase the convenience of SodaStream and is part of a move to address consumers’ move towards health and wellness trends.
With roughly 360 million litres of bottles sparkling water consumed in the UK last year and the sparkling water market growing at 14% year on year according to the brand, SodaStream is confident it is targeting the right category.
SodaStream’s managing director Fiona Hope told Marketing Week: “60% of sparkling water drinkers don’t realise SodaStream can make sparkling water and only know it as a machine for making cola or juice.
While she said the brand has high awareness and is nostalgic for consumers due to its success in the 80s in the UK, she added: “It has a reasonably unhealthy and fizzy flavoured heritage, and we have an opportunity to reposition against the backdrop of sparkling water to make the brand more functional and youthful.”
The brand is pushing the environmental case for owning a SodaStream machine, which allows consumers to cut back on the use of plastic bottles.
However Hope said convenience is the key message, adding that the campaign is target at people who don’t want to carry heavy packs of bottled water.
SodaStream’s target consumer, who it calls “Alison”, is over 35, based in the south or south east, shops primarily at Waitrose or Sainsbury’s and is conscious of maintaining wellness, revealed Hope.
She said that “Alison” is interested in gardening, cinema, theatre and general health, areas that the brand is “actively looking into” for sponsorship opportunities.
Hope added that the print campaign is only the start of the turnaround for the brand, adding that this “could be a message that ends up on TV”.
“We’re going to ramp up the scale of our marketing,” she said. “Our focus is to get our media correct and our PR spot on.”
