Ch. 12-Services and Nonprofit Organization Marketing

Fiji water is clearly a product not a service. The company continually stresses the quality of its product, no the quality of its service. However recently the company has offered a delivery service enabling the individuals or companies to order as frequent as they wish. When it comes down to water, Fiji water guarantees the quality of its water. The water will always taste the same, and be the product it is; the consumer will always feel that the product itself is reliable. When ordering the to have Fiji water delivered, one must:

1) Choose the appropriate size of the bottle.
2) Choose a monthly or one time delivery.-For monthly deliveries, Fiji water offers subscriptions for three, six, or twelve month subscriptions which provide the customer savings in the long run compared to buying the shipment one time.

Enabling the customer to choose their sizes of bottle, along with the frequency of their deliveries is a way of providing customization in order to respond accordingly to each customers individual needs.
Because of the way this process is set up, customers expect what they pay for instilling a sense of reliability upon Fiji Water. If signing up for a subscription, reliability will be even more important as the customer is paying for a monthly service to be carried out.

Ch. 11- Developing and Managing Products

The water is a market in which one cannot develop a new product. Water is water, however what Fiji water did was be the first company to introduce a form of "luxury water" by promoting its image of being untouched, and bottled at the source. Looking at the product life cycle of Fiji water, currently it is in its growth stage.  After being acquired by "The Wonderful Company" in 2004, the company has been in its growth stage. The company has been continually marketin the products spening more each year. The company launched its "Fiji Green Campaign" in 2009, followed by it's first ever Telivision campaign costing $30 million dollars. The company is established enough that production and distribution is a major aspect of the companies logistics. However the companies owners Lynda and Stewart Resnick have big plans for growth of the company, by using more marketing campaigns to further promote its "untouched" trademark.

Chapter 8-segmenting and targeting markets

Segmentation Scheme of Fiji Water:

1) Sustainability: In order for a company to introduce a new topic, it must have the customers to buy its' products. When Fiji water began in 1996, it already had a developed market of consumers: the market of those who buy water bottles. The only objective the company had was to make their water appear more appealing, which is exactly what they did because today Fiji water is known as this unique water brand.

2) Identifiability and measurability: When entering the bottled water industry, Fiji water had to know whether their target market was measurable based on its size, age, demographics etc. Knowing these
"measurements" of its target market, enable Fiji water to justify actually producing a product.

3)Accessibility: Fiji water's target market, is one that is easy to access and market to. Fiji water most powerful means of advertising is through social media and TV advertising campaigns, which provide a way of accessibility to its consumers.

4) Responsiveness: While all of Fiji Water bottle's look the same, their segmentation among the different websites across the world is very evident. Inspecting the website among an array of countries, Fiji water went to extreme efforts to solely diversify The United States website and the Japanese website. Although I cannot read one word on the Japanese website, it offers a completely different first impression as oppose to the U.S website. Fiji water U.S offers a website that makes the product appear as one that is associated with being healthy and getting fit. The home page portays the bottled water as the "I" in "FIT" along with the phrase "It's slim, trim, and ready for the gym. " The Japanese website offers a website that seems to be more directed towards convenience. Directly on the home page, the website offers the option to have the water directly shipped to ones door along with images of boxed Fiji water.

• United States Website
• Japanese website

Chapter 15- marketing communications

Fiji water never felt the need to provide any means of communication with its consumers until recently. In 2015 the company launched a $30 million dollar advertising campaign, in order to reinforce the brands integrity by promoting its "untouched" image. According to Vice President Clarence Chia Fiji water wanted to "re-introduce the brand more broadly to consumers,” he states that the “The ‘Untouched’ campaign beautifully tells our brand story and we are excited to share that message with the world.” Going from very little marketing communication to $30 million dollars worth of communication is clearly quite the leap. It was the companies first time including a TV ad for its product. All of this communication to its consumers is the form of advertising. The company is paying for the TV ads in order to provide a one-way communication to its consumers and potential consumers to advertise its "untouched" and "green" water. Chia's main goal of communication for this marketing campaign was to remind consumers that the water really does come from Fiji and the fact that it really is untouched. As seen in the above advertisement, they present the bottle in a contrasting way with gospel background music leaving the viewer with a positive association that the bottle is associated solely to earth.

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

Every time one walks into a convenience store, they will find a selection of bottled water in the chill wall. The bottled water selection is there for the consumer to grab without little information search, also known as convenience products. Among this variety of bottled water convenience products is Fiji water. The company makes its product as available as any other bottled water in order to make profit goals. When an individual steps into a convenience store to purchase a bottle of water, they most likely haven't spent previous hours on what bottled water to buy. As a result, many individuals fall for Fiji waters marketing and prefer the look of the Fiji water bottle and pay the extra dollar or two. While Fiji Waters sales are currently at $150 million dollars a year in the $15 billion dollar domestic bottled water sales industry, their number is rapidly climbing. Fiji water is making a "luxury brand" out of a convenience product. It may seem ludicrious to do, but it is what people like. Individuals like being owning the newest smartphone, car, or clothing line. Although water may differ from these genre of products, it is the same concept. David Gilmour, the founder of Fiji water, knew what he was doing when he started up Fiji Water.

Chapter 17- Personal Sales and Sales Management

Throughout the selling process many key proponents are needed to create an effective sales approach. An example of the many important aspects of this process is simply knowing the industry that a salesperson/ sales force is participating in. The industries that fiji water participates in are The Water and Ice industry, The Non-alcoholic beverage industry, and the manufacturing sector. Fiji water has made a great effort to make its product differentiate greatly from its competitors. The company is the only bottled water company that claims its water is untouched and bottled at the source. The  company claims to manufacture its bottles in house at Fiji. However this is misleading because the company actually imports the raw materials for their bottles from China. Eliminating the opportunity to give the outsourced jobs to Fiji Natives. Once the raw materials are shipped in from China, Fiji makes the actual bottle in house- a bottle that is twice the weight of a normal bottle. The bottle is put into the production line which fills the bottles with water from the 17- mile long aquifer that the company almost has exclusive access to. After production the bottles could sit at the plant for months at a time allowing bacteria and high temperatures to spoil the water. The water is then shipped thousands of miles unrefrigerated via vessel, to countries around the world to be distributed to various stores. So we see here a process that outsources its raw materials to cut cost, uses an aquifer that the government cannot even access due to shortage of funds, and uses millions of tons in fossil fuels to import and export materials. However Fiji water is still able to maintain that green image in order to be set apart from its competitors and viewed as a more natural, higher- class water. This marketing of Fiji water’s image portrays the water as a green, and more healthy water as the company claims it is untouched during it’s manufacturing process. As a result of knowing the company's industry Fiji Water was able to focus on a trait that makes it unique. Over time the company has continually emphasized  this trait resulting in a product that. ear

As seen in the Image, Fiji water is the only industrial corporation that dominates the Fijian landscape demonstrating its power over the corrupt country and unrestricted access to the countries resources.  

s superior to its competitors.

Chapter 16- Advertising, Public Relations, and Sales Promotion

It's interesting to me when bottled water companies promote themselves as "green." Why? because bottled water accounts for 3 billion pounds of waste per year, takes 17 million barrels of oil to produce in the U.S alone to produce, and to end short handed: kills the environment. Only 1 in 5 water bottles are recycled. On that note, Fiji Water claims that it is a “green” bottled water company with slogans such as:  “Our Promise, Our Progress” or “Every drop is green.” This is a form of the companies advocacy advertising campaign. According to Is It Green: Fiji Water, Adrienne Jeffries states that Fiji water  plans to reduce its CO2 emissions by 25% over the next three years, convert to 50% renewable energy by 2010, and is pursuing recycling and reforestation programs on the island of Fiji. However Jeffries “grilled” the senior manager of sustainable growth for the company; the senior manager states how Fiji water is promoting green energy and all the basics that any company would say with a “green” title. However Jeffries had the Senior manager stumped as seen in the following interview questions:

Q: FIJI has one of the thickest, heaviest bottles among bottled water brands. After the 20% reduction in packaging, how will the bottle’s heft compare to other brands like Nestle and Poland Spring?

A: FIJI declined to answer this question.

Q: How could a lighter weight bottle compromise the integrity and quality of the product, which is water? Is Fiji is keeping the bottle heftier than other brands for marketing reasons, for example because it sends a subconscious signal of quality to the consumer, or for whatever reason?

A: FIJI declined to answer this question.

Fiji water has not mentioned ANY process on the reduction of plastic used in its production of its bottles. As inferred by Jeffries, it is most likely to maintain the title of having a higher quality water bottle. If Fiji water was to create a water bottle with the same feel as a Arrowhead or Poland Springs bottle, it may reduce consumers consumption of the water. So the company can do more to reduce this 3 billion pounds of water bottle waste, by reducing the plastic in its bottles, or resorting to other materials as other companies have such as Boxed Water, or promoting reusable bottles. It’s an ongoing controversy that bottled water companies are promoting their image as green as a way of advocacy advertising, when they continue to manufacture bottled water.

Chapter 14 Marketing Channels and Retailing

When one thinks of a bottle water he or she never thinks of a bottled water being sold that has its own unique store to sell its bottled water. Recognizably, Fiji Water is mainly sold in convenience stores, supermarkets, and sometimes drugstores. When it comes down to where Fiji Water is sold, this concepts applies to all water bottles. Water bottles in general are sold in the previously listed locations because it is where most are most likely to buy a bottle of water. Convenience stores, supermarkets, and drugstores are the type of retailers that consumers expect to be a quick trip tpo for the most part. Consumers would not go to a Costco, Sam's Club, or a departments store simply for a bottle of water. Bottled water companies want to make their products easy to purchase for their consumers. Looking into Fiji water specifically, the company places its products in all the same places as all other bottled water brands. However, since the company strives to market itself as a “healthy” and “higher-level” water brand, Fiji water’s products are sold in places such as upscale hotels.

Chapter 6- Consumer Decision Making

When consumers are deciding about buying a bottle of Fiji water it's merely not the same as buying a house, or a car as there is a tremendous gap in the amount being spent. However when it comes down to water that is priced at more than five dollars a bottle, consumers consideration of value of price does come into play. When making a purchase of Fiji water consumers are considering the value of money, meaning how much money they are having to give up in order to purchase the water, and if the trade off is worth it. Most consumers end up buying the Fiji water even though they are able to receive free water from their fouscets at home. According to Business Insider Magazine, in 2012, Americans spent 11.8 billion dollars on water bottles. For something that we can get out of our tap at home, that's an astounding amount of money. This placed water at a cost of $1.22/ gallon. However this fact simply shows the amount of value Americans place on water bottles. We are willing to pay such a high amount for something that is offered for free within out society. When consumers purchase a bottle of water, they have a perceived value that the bottled water is of better quality, and can even makes us healthier. However the fact of the matter is water is water. During a test conducted by the Center for Nutrition Diet and Health, it was shown that among four categories: spring water, tap water, mineral water, and distilled water; tap water was the second most prefered taste at 32% while spring water was at 34%.

Chapter 4

When an individual thinks of Fiji water they associate the brand with one that is socially superior to tap water and merely all other bottled water brands. Fiji strategically places its products in order to appeal to a specific demographic of people. The product is shown on its Facebook page as being on the red carpet at the Emmy Awards and VMA's. In addition the water is shown as influencing healthy lifestyles. From this, Fiji waters target demography are the wealthy and those who wish to or already live a healthy lifestyle. Fiji water makes it their mission to place its water in the most media attended events in the world, which in turn appeals to those who crave this fame, and fortune that Fiji waters brand is associated with.

Although this image may seem like an ordinary picture, Fiji Water Posted this image to their Facebook Page For a very Important reason. In the image there are three main components : The Emmy's sign in the background, the red carpet, and the fit and healthy woman holding the Fiji bottle. The image is appealing to those who crave a life of wealth and healthy living.

One of the key reasons why Fiji water is such a uniquely marketed product is because it is water:

a tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms, and best of all it's

the only resource within society that is free. It's a traditional lifestyle component, yet people still pay a ridiculous amount for bottled water such as Fiji water. But why do people buy Fiji water? Some responses may be "It taste's better" or "It's healthier for you." Water is water, it doesn't matter if the water is from the tap in your kitchen, bottled water has no additional nutritional value over the water from a kitchen tap. However since people continue to buy Fiji water for such a high price, it shows that their marketing is paying off even if water is a traditional lifestyle component.

Chapter 18

Over the years Fiji water has developed a consumer demographic that can be described an elite , wealthy and healthy group of consumers. Fiji water has taken this concept to the level of making those consumers feel as if they are part of an elite group. A key tool in creating this environment is Fiji waters use of social networking sites. Simply log on to Fiji Waters Facebook site and all the posts are related to wealth and how Fiji water improves living a healthy lifestyle. The Facebook page has posts from the recent Emmy awards, and New York Fashion week. Why would a bottled water company post such a thing? The common denominator is that in the post about the Emmy awards, Fiji water is being presented on the red carpet and the post on The New York Fashion week shows the designers of Marchesa's 2017 spring collection holding Fiji water. Fiji does this in order to portray its water as being the best of the best. The company wants consumers to see its brand being presented at the most socially recognized award ceremonies and events to further their brand credibility. The company wants its consumers to feel as if "You drink this water, you are part of this elite and healthy community." 

Fiji's Facebook page 

chapter 2

Strengths: From the dawn of its time Fuji water has been viewed as the luxury water bottle brand of the century. The companies main strength is this title of being a luxury water brand. Fiji water has simply marketed its unique volcanically sourced water as being of much higher quality that its competitors, and as a result the company is able to charge absurd amounts for something that simply is free. Since Fiji water has this connation with its brand of being higher quality water, it is able to keep the price of its products much higher than many other competitors, providing the company with great profit.

Weaknesses: Although Fiji water appears to be a clean and guilt free company, the company has gained a lot of criticism over its time. The company has been continually bashed for its over pricing of water. In addition it has been faced with the dilemma of searching form more environmentally friendly options regarding productionand the bottles of water themselves. In addition since the companies main source of revenue is based off of selling water, this in itself is a weakness. Since water is simply free tous consumers, Fiji water can only sell water at such a high price for so long until its consumers switch to an alternative that is lower in price.

External Opportunities: Fiji water is aware of its weaknesses. Because of this, the company has increased its advertising budget from six million to 10 million in 2008. This comes to show that in order to maintain the companies exlusive brand image, and compete directy with other water brands it must invest more in its marketing. In order to respond to the environmental isues that the company faces Fiji water has teamed up with non-profit organizations such as 1% for the planet to assure its market that they too are taking action.

Threats: The companies main threats are other water bottling companies in the industry. Companies such as Voss water, and starbuck's water Ethos are in competition with Fiji as they too are viewed as a luxury water brand.

chapter 1

Product: Fuji Water

Overview of Product: Fuji Water is a company that produces bottled water. According to Fijiwater.com, it claims to have the finest water in the world; and its water is available in the most finest hotels and restaurants of the world. What sets this water apart from other competing brands of bottled water is its source and process of being filtered. The water is claimed to come from a remote pacific island where it is filtered by volcanic rock, which gives it a "soft, smooth taste" (fijiwater.com).

Mission Statement:

FIJI Water was founded in 1996 out of the desire to share the earth’s finest water with the world.