Marketing Mix 4P's for VEEN

Product

Essentially no changes to the product will be made. Since the quality is optimum, we will not change anything about the actual water. The unique design of the bottle reflects the Finnish origin. To promote global brand recognition, we will not change the appearance of the bottle. VEEN’s local distributor will be responsible for reporting needed changes to the label regarding local requirements such as language. 

VEEN can perfectly complements food, wine, tea and whiskey. In 2010, Fine Magazine selected it as the best water with wine. The reason is found in the extremely low mineral content in VEEN water. For the same reason, chefs and restaurateurs recommend it as the most preferred water to accompany fine food. Hotels also use VEEN to brew fine harvest teas resulting in the enhancement of the drinking experience. VEEN has been associated with smoothness and near to zero mineral content; features that whiskey connoisseurs appreciate and desire when they accompany their drink with water or soda.

In order to explore the nature of the product further and to be able to improve it, we analyzed the three levels of a product as they are defined by Kotler. The first level is the core product which is the intangible benefit provided by the product. In other words, it is what makes the product valuable to consumers. The core of VEEN can be identified as the social beverage for quenching thirst while at the same time enhancing lifestyle statements. The next level is the actual product. The actual product is connected with the tangible and physical benefits of the product and involves branding strategies, adding features and generally any action that can differentiate the product from the competitors. For VEEN, the bottle design, the quality of the water (UNESCO statement about the purity), complementation with wine, food, tea and whiskey, and the country of origin are some of the elements of the second level. The third level is the augmented product and it consists of the non-tangible benefits that the brand can offer and can add value when someone purchases it. Exclusivity to five star hotels, distinctive restaurants and nightclubs, and brand recognition globally are aspects that VEEN seeks in the markets it operates.

Price

The price of the product will remain the same. VEEN is already working with tight margins so lowering the price is not an option. Since the distributors have high margins and purchasing the glass bottles is expensive, there is not much room left for VEEN's margins. This means that VEEN must set a high price for their water products, 30-40 percent more expensive than the leading premium product. The price also helps VEEN to be identified as a luxury product. After conducting a survey of Saudi Arabians, we found that customers there are not willing to pay a higher price. The price could be set to be 5-8 € for 330 ml bottles and 15 € for 660 ml bottles.

Place

VEEN Waters should concentrate on the capital city Riyadh and the second largest city Jeddah. These cities are most densely populated and also have several high-end restaurants and hotels. Therefore, the cities have a large pool of potential customers for VEEN.

Distributing the product to the hotels and restaurants in these cities is to be done by using a distributor that has experience in the market. Waterbar, Armada and Multi Brand are all operating in the region and one of them could be an option for VEEN to use. Waterbar was established in UAE in 2009 and is specialized in distributing solely fine premium waters. Even though it was incepted in UAE, it has operations in all GCC countries and thus it could be an option for Veen to use in entering Saudi Arabian markets. However, Waterbar already carries Tasmanian Rain and Iskilde, which can be seen as competitors for Veen.

Armada, incepted in 1988, is headquartered in Dubai and is a supplier of premium foods and waters mainly to the HORECA sector. It has wider activities compared to Waterbar since it carries other products in addition to waters. The main luxury water that it distributes is Evian, which is one of the biggest MNC competitors for VEEN Waters.

The third option is Multi Brand, which was established in 2006 and has head offices in Riyadh and local offices in Jeddah and Dammam as well. It specializes in supplying high quality food and non-food products across Saudi Arabia. It has four sales departments of which the HORECA sector focuses on distributing products to hotels, restaurants, and Saudi Airlines, for instance. They also provide specialized research if the customer desires additional information on the market, and naturally have local experience of the market. Out of the three options, it would seem most reasonable to suggest that Veen would choose Multi Brand as their distributor in Saudi Arabia. Since it is present in the two major cities of the country and it is not distributing the main competitors’ water brands, VEEN Waters could consider Multi Brand as a viable alternative for getting their product into the market.

Promotion

VEEN Waters should continue the practice of using popular events to promote their product and create greater brand awareness. After analyzing the results of the survey, we found that exhibitions, sports, and religious events are most popular among the people in Saudi Arabia.

The company could also offer the product to the first class clients of the airline companies operating flight routes to Saudi Arabia. In order to achieve higher brand recognition, VEEN Waters should also collaborate with the best hotels, restaurants, and café lounges.  For example, VEEN Waters could hire Finnish artists to draw paintings about the story of VEEN Waters, and  then distribute those paintings to the restaurants or hotels where VEEN Waters has been mainly promoted. VEEN Waters could also participate in catering the events within the royal family to receive free publicity.

They should also be present in hotel exhibitions such as the Hotel Show Saudi Arabia and SAUDI HORECA 2013 where they can introduce their product and get publicity. This kind of exhibition also provides a business-friendly environment in order to obtain more local contacts with the hotel chains and restaurants. Using wedding planners to promote the product could prove to be useful as well. If the wedding planners choose the product for the occasions, VEEN can boost its recognition.

From our survey, we learned that there are Saudi Arabians who are not aware of the purity of Finnish water or even that VEEN originates from Finland. Since VEEN does not use traditional paid advertising channels, perhaps the best way to communicate with end customers is through the bottle itself. We could add "World's purest arctic water" or "From the pure arctic springs of Finland" to the label since currently it does not include any information about its origin or purity. Since we must already change the Saudi Arabian label to the local language, Arabic, it should not involve increased costs to add this phrase.

Even though the access to internet is around 30 percent in Saudi Arabia, the potential customer group would probably have much wider access to internet. Therefore, VEEN Waters can still use social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to promote their product.