Searching for Distributors.

One of the main issues for the company will be to search the right distributor, who understands the idea and values of the drink but at the same time will be able to achieve needed sales volumes. To do that the company should search for local distributors, specialising in niche products, for instance sellers of rare alchohol beverages or snacks, not widely exported to Russia.

Organising marketing support of distributors

The Club Mate company has the similiar ways of expanding to new countries. It does it through export activities without high level of control, but provides guidelines for advertising and assistance with developing the marketing strategy.
We suppose this should be also the way to work in Russia. What Club Mate will do is provide materials for benchmarking of promotion activities, that were held in other countries and were successfull and also of persons responsible for them, so that they could share the expertise. However, due to the market entry model, the expences are on the distributor himself, so the exact planning, rising investments and developing contact with customers will be the responsibility of the distributor and will not be controlled by our company.

Promotion tactics: detailed view

Earlier we've discussed the ways of promotion of the Club Mate drink. Now we would like to point out some details, crucial for promotion activities.

Achieving focus on the target audience.

The main idea, that will be delivered from promotion activities would be " Fun healthy drink". It completely corresponds with our target audience, described below.

• 20-35
• Trendy, outgoing, cares about health
• Busy lifestyle
• Eager to try new products

The focus will be achieved through indoor and outdoor promotion in the places where our target audience spends its free time. The campaign will be very focused, since the suggested festivals and bars are mostly attended by members of our TA. Below you can find the detailed plan.

We have also recieved a question regarding the website of the company. The web site will be a part of promotion through SMM channel. It will be done in a similiar fashion as websites in other countries and will include basic information on ingredients, on coctails possible using Club Mate and on planned activities.

Implementation

It is essential to launch the product in the beginning of May (thick black line in the schedule). There are a few reasons for that:

• Late spring and summer is the period of much more active soft drinks consumption;
  
• It is also the period when people are most active during the night, thanks to night clubs,
  open beaches, etc. – and those are a big stake in our target audience;
  
• In the summer, there are a number of festivals going on in St. Petersburg – these are an
  important part of our marketing campaign.
  The following table is the detailed schedule of both the product launch and the marketing campaign. The thick line indicates active start of the product sales. 

Legend:

• M --- Marketing department’s responsibility;
  
• S --- Sales department’s responsibility;
  
• G --- General Management’s responsibility. 
  

Stage	Sep	Nov	Dec	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul
Market Analysis	M	M
Establishing legal entity in St. Petersburg, Russia		G	G
Staffing local office			G	G
Translating product contents, etc. To follow local laws				G
Negotiations with retailers			S	S	S
Looking for fitting bars/clubs			M	M
Signing contracts with bars, etc.				S	S
Starting importing (+Customs Clearance)				S	S
Billboards -- Negotiations with advertisers, printing					M	M
Billboards -- ‘Tease’						M
Billboards -- ‘Reveal’							M
Radio -- Negotiations			M	M
Radio -- Recording				M	M
Radio – On Air							M
App + Video – general cam- paign scenario			M	M
App + Video – video scenario				M
App + Video – shooting video					M
App + Video – creating app					M
App + Video – release						M
Coolers – creating look			M
Coolers - producing				M
Coolers – importing					M
Festivals -- Looking for fit- ting festivals, negotiations					M	M
Festivals – Supporting								M	M
Free Drinks stimulation							M	M	M