Sakol Beverage eyes top-three market spot for RC Cola brand
SAKOL BEVERAGE CO, the RC Cola bottler in Thailand, has rejuvenated the RC Cola brand through a first-time above-the-line advertising campaign with the ambitious goal of top-three market status.
As one of the American cola-fla-voured soft drink brands, RC believes the heritage brand needed to be rejuvenated to grab a greater slice of the cola soft-drink market in Thailand, said Chakrit Assawawasin, senior marketing consultant of Sakol Beverage.
Despite the economic uncertainty, the cola-flavoured soft-drink market grows between 7-9 per cent per year and RC Cola International is happy with its sales revenue in Thailand.
He said Sakol Beverage had also grown 7-9 per cent per annum, even though it may not have been as aggressive in marketing as other brands.
He said RC was a middle-of-the-pack player in the market, with the brands above and below it very active with their marketing for several years.
“The brand of RC is too flat, and it should be made more lively to communicate with consumers,” he said.
“RC Cola International agreed with us because Thailand is one of the strategic countries of RC Cola International, apart from the Philippines, which is the No 1 market in this region for RC.”
The company introduced its first TV advertisement on August 25 after conducting consumer research.
It found that many consumers became aware of the brand when they were students and the brand now resonates less with new-generation consumers, unlike people aged 25 to 35.
Chakrit said leading brands were popular among consumers aged 18 to 25 years, meaning there was an opportunity for RC to further penetrate the 25-35 age group.
New-generation consumers will also get to know the RC brand through advertisements, he added.
He said the company had to morph from a heritage brand into a value brand based on three factors.
First, RC is an American brand. Second, RC is a heritage brand like Pepsi and Coke and finally RC is one of three brands that originally contained caffeine from the kola nut and cocaine from coca leaves.
As a middle-row player, Chakrit said RC would use the original cola tactic to defeat follower brands, and would use the value for money tactic to compete with top brands.
RC might not have much of a chance beating the two market leaders but with this brand rejuvenation the company believes RC could be top four this year or next summer.
“The top three is not a difficult job if we can be top 4. But importantly, we have to know what we are and why we have to rejuvenate the brand and who our consumers are,” Chakrit said.
“This rejuvenation is the biggest investment for this company. There-fore, the growth of sales revenue should not be less than 20 per cent per year.”
Terdchay Kajornaroonkij, senior sales manager of the company, said a strong sales channel for RC Cola was mom-and-pop shops in Bangkok and nearby provinces, with Sakol Beverage covering over 50,000 merchants.
He said the company was expanding its merchant network to provinces in the North, the Northeast and the South.
It was increasing the number of its mobile units from 66 to 100 this year to supply products at new distribution channels such as modern trade venue, 7-Eleven convenience stores, convenience stores at gas stations and cash and carry Makro.
Yet, traditional trade remained the key channel for RC Cola, he said.
Terdchay said RC contributed more than 80 per cent to Sakol’s total sales revenue.
Chakrit added that RC Cola International had several brands that might be introduced in Thailand if RC Cola becomes a top-three brand.
