The context analysis of Ribena, its issues and objectives for future development
‘In 1938, the Ribena product was born, taking its name from the Latin word for blackcurrants: Ribes Nigrum’ (online; www.ribena.co.uk). Since then changed a lot; new competitors has entered the market, demands has changed because of the lifestyle and economy changes that occurred within last 70 years, however Ribena still managed to have a very strong position within cordials and squashes industry. The purpose of this assignment is to understand the market and marketing communication aspects which have influence on a brand image, and this could be achieved through context analysis. This form of analysis provides a deep examination around customer, business, internal and external factors that are affecting the company, which are going to be used to form objectives for the business. 1. Customer context
Altough Ribena provides a range of different drink the key consumers of this brand are families mainly, 72% of this people associated cordials with family-friendly (Mintel 2012). Other customers who are buying cordials and squashes are ‘woman’s, 25-34 year olds, C1s’, as well as people with healthy lifestyle and still growing market in age group of 65+. It is essential to segment customers correctly, as it is crucial part to choose the right communication method and to identify new target markets (Pickton & Broderick 2001)
The awareness of the brand itself is at medium level, measured in 12% of the market share and second place in the most powerful brands within this industry, but not first which indicates they are lacking some factors ( Mintel 2012) High awareness reduces costs of advertising and promotion. It is also very useful to build a strong relationship and loyalty. Ribena is trying to increase their awareness by investing money in new Advertising, figure 1.1 indicates the amount company has spent in 2011.
The perception toward cordials and squashes is reflected in figure 1.2 and it’s explaining the brand image of Ribena in more details. It is family friendly, with a great value for money that will satisfy everyone when they are thirsty. It is a low risk product due to it product life cycle and price, however only ‘ 29% of users agree that branded squash tastes better than own-label squash’, which might be the reason why the sales volume have decreased since 2011 by 6.8% (Mintel 2012) .

Current market and trends within the soft drink industry are affecting customer’s attitudes; there is a huge push on healthy lifestyle at the moment that is definitely affecting how they perceive Ribena. Families perceived cordials and squashes as unhealthy (Mintel 2008) however this has changed since Ribena and others has changed their product to be without added sugar or added artificial.
With great awareness and good communication method, the perceived risk on making decision will be reduced (Fill 2009) .The more information and help is available to customer it is more likely they will be willing to buy the product. Although Ribena is not doing anything at the moment to build a loyalty, they could consider loyalty cards or returns within 30 days of purchasing if the customer expresses dissatisfaction with the product (Fill 2009) The same author in his book describes loyalty as ‘instrumental in reducing risk when launching new products’ . Family, friends and the word of mouth reputation plays a crucial role in decision making process too. Although Ribena is a low risk product with a low involvement due to its low price and day to day usage, the company still has to develop factors mentioned above to reduce the risk in decision making process in order to increase their awareness and sales volume 2. Business context
Effective marketing strategy is essential to create successful and positive communication with buyer. Ribena has spent this year £6million on their Ribena Plus campaign (www.campaignlive.co.uk) . In 2011 year GSK,