2016 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

Before launching Sting, the energy drink market in Egypt was comprised chiefly of imported foreign brands that were sold at niche prices in niche locations to niche consumers and consumed on very niche occasions. In fact the entire energy market consisted of total sales of 6.6 million 8oz cans across a youth population of over 45 million. A combination of price, distribution and communication cornered energy drinks in the realm of nightlife and parties among well-off consumers, and in the role of sexual stimulant among the less educated. Although a swarm of smaller, lesser well-known brands could often be found in CSD fridges throughout upper scale grocery stores, the energy drink market was mainly dominated by one big name that had become synonymous with energy: Red Bull. With an extremely prudent, efficient and targeted media strategy, Red Bull’s annual media budget of $4,691,811 (Media Direction OMD) kept the brand hip, young and trendy but definitely alienating to the masses. When launching Sting, a new affordable energy drink created by PepsiCo into this extremely niche market, our biggest objective was not to convert current users of competitor brands, but rather to introduce new consumers to the world of energy drinks. Our objectives were as much behavioral as they were sales-focused. Energy drinks were going mass. Our first priority was to increase energy drink awareness among a much larger, more mainstream target audience, who were mostly unaware of the category at large. Our goal was to reach a minimum of 25% awareness level with a 30% trial conversion rate; a rate much higher than industry average. This meant awareness had to translate to a behavioral change. We needed people to not only know Sting but to actually want to try it. By allowing energy to become a mass category, we then aimed to grow the entire market and set our targets at double the existing market size of only 6.6 million 8oz cans in July 2014. By doubling the size of the entire energy drink market, we aimed to also become market leaders (over 50% market share).