Social Listening on the product Izze

     Earlier this week I did some social listening on the drink brand Izze.

Izze is a popular sparkling juice brand that is a healthier alternative to sugary soda. They bring a fun and delicious spin to the basic, watered down sparkling drinks that we are used to. Their goal is to bring flavor and joy to your taste buds and to boost your time with your family and friends. When looking on Izze’s social media platforms, their website, and various articles written about them, I found that most of their reviews were really positive. Most people were saying that they found Izze drinks to be a great alternative to soda and other sugary drinks. Most reviewers love that it is only 90 calories and that there are so many different flavors that all taste great. 

Even though most of the reviews were positive, I did see a few that were negative. Most one star reviews had similar issues with these drinks saying that they either tasted bad or were overpriced.

          I chose to write on Izze because I recently tried this sparkling juice brand for the first time and I really enjoyed it. These drinks are definitely more expensive than your average soda or sparkling water but I personally think that it’s worth it. I find flavored sparkling water to be too bland and I think Izze drinks are a healthier substitute for pop. I think it being 90 calories is a bonus and I enjoy not being able to taste that there is no added sugars.
          Since I have never seen an advertisement for Izze, I decided to do some research and see what kind of marketing they have done. On their website, they mention that they use Interest-based advertising (otherwise known as online behavioral advertising) as one of their main forms of ad service. This type of advertising will show you ads for their brand after you leave their website, which encourages the viewer to revisit or make a purchase. It will also show you their ads and promotions based on your web searches and browsing habits. This way of marketing sounds a little unnerving and stalker-like at first but if you look at other brands and websites you will be amazed to see that they are all using the same advertising scheme. The main marketing challenge that Izze will face is trying to differentiate themselves from other drinks. There are many other similar drinks on the market, and Izze needs to make sure that their customers and potential buyers know that their drinks are different and better than their competitors’. This is a difficult feat due to the massive drink industry and the plethora of carbonated drinks already on the market.
         When viewing Izze’s social media profiles (Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook), I saw they posted the same pictures on each platform and that they were responding to most comments and questions their customers had for them. As a customer, I really liked seeing them responding to the questions asked and it made me feel like they cared about our questions and that their costumers to be happy with their product. One thing I disliked about their responses was that they were almost all exactly the same.

 The viewer could easily see that it was a computer responding to them and not an actual person which made it less personal. As a viewer/critic, I thought that them responding to so many comments could made the brand look less professional and smaller than it really is. If I was the brand manager, I would designate one platform (probably twitter) as the platform that replies to customers and I would have a real person responding. This way, they can respond to questions but still look professional to their potential customers and casual viewers. The main thing I learned from my research is that social media and how you present your business or brand on social media platforms shows a lot about your company and how it sees itself. Social media and listening to your customers is a big part of making your business grow and dominate.

Rebel Whopper Advertisements Banned by ASA

Earlier this week I read an article about how Burger King's Rebel Whopper was banned for misleading vegans and vegetarians. The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) forced Burger King to take down their advertisements of their new plant-based whopper in January. The ad was banned because it stated “100% Whopper. No Beef” and had a stamp on the ad that said “Powered by The Vegetarian Butcher.” but in small print informed the viewer that “*Product is cooked alongside meat products”.

                                  

Not only was the Rebel Whopper cooked next to meat products but the mayonnaise used on the product was egg based. Burger King stepped out and claimed that the ads showed that the Rebel Whopper may not be acceptable to vegans or vegetarians due to it being cooked alongside their meat products. In the end, the ASA ruled that the advertisements were misleading to vegans and vegetarians and banned them from advertising again in the same way.

I chose to read this article because I was feeling discouraged and tired of reading about Covid-19 and thought that the title sounded interesting. This new product launch for Burger King was designed to show their customers that they can produce healthier food items and that they are able to make whoppers aimed towards people with certain food restrictions or specific diets. Burger King was told to take down their ads because it was seen as misleading by the ASA and consumers who had seen the ads. Their marketing approach and their product would have been unique and new a few months prior but unfortunately for them, many other fast food companies and businesses in the food industry had already gone vegan/vegetarian with some of their products. For example, McDonald's had released in early January of 2019 their first ever vegetarian happy meal featuring a spicy veggie wrap and Red Robins introduced their plant-based Impossible Whopper in April of 2019.

A few things that the marketing team should have looked at and took into consideration would have been to design their ad in a less deceiving, misleading way. They could have made the disclaimer bigger or decided to designate a small grill specifically for their meatless products. I understand that their advertisement was misleading but I don’t think there’s much they could have done to make their ad better without changing the layout of their businesses or spending a lot of money. I personally think that their marketing technique made sense and I thought that there was not much that they could have done to make the product they were launching much better. With many other businesses doing something similar, I think Burger King probably felt like they had to come out with a vegan or vegetarian food item to gain costumers in a whole new demographic. Overall, this article showed me that it’s hard to please every type of customer and it’s good to look for small details and mistakes in your advertisements before releasing them to the public.  

About Me

Hey Everyone,

My name is Mady Mitchell, I am 18 years old, and this is my first school year at Linn

Benton Community College. I am a business admin major and I have been really

enjoying what I have learned through my classes this year. I really want to go into real

estate and into renovating houses and renting them out. My parents own and rent a

few houses, which is how I realized that going into real estate can be a great long-term

investment. I enrolled in Principles of Marketing partly because I had to but I also find

marketing strategies and techniques to be really interesting. I'm excited to learn and

understand marketing strategies that businesses use and be able to recognize marketing

plans in my day to day life. Outside of school, I really like to hang out with my friends

and family. Whether that be being outside; hiking, fishing, watching sunsets, camping, or

playing tennis, or staying inside and playing card games, talking, painting, or watching

a movie. I love being around people I'm close with and I am always up for spending quality

time with the people I love.