Tzinga aaaah

When I was approached by Ankit Negi, an intern at Hector Beverages to do a review of their new product - Tzinga, I was in double minds. The marketeer in me appreciated this innovative style of promotion, get the bloggers to try the product and blog about it. Very low cost but effective means of buzz marketing. But it is also a big gamble. Bloggers by definition are opinionated. If they do not like your product, they will say so without mincing words.

 

So, I tried the samples he sent across. Launched just last month by a start up funded by venture capitalists, Tzinga is an energy drink taking on the biggie called Red Bull. Which is probably where it falters. The product comes in 3 flavours - Lemon Mint (a refreshing zingy drink perfect for summer afternoons shopping), Tropical Trip (an interesting combination of flavours, unfortunately none of them stand out) & Mango Strawberry (too sweet for my palette but again a great refresher). 

So lets do this the old fashioned marketing way - The 5 Ps.


The product is spot on. The drinks taste good. The flavours are innovative and yet not weird. Though, I did not feel particularly energized and I did miss the lack of fizz in the drink.


The price point of Rs.20 also works. It positions itself slightly above the Slice and cold drinks of the world and much much below Red Bull. 


Packaging is where the product needs to make a choice. The current pouch packaging may be eco friendly and great for carrying in your handbag, but its just not cool. Red Bull drinkers like the whole jazz of opening that slim can with a pop and taking a swig. The pouch on the other hand can be perceived as sissy to be seen sipping from and I can't imagine many men in their target group (18-25) wanting to be seen publicly sipping this. 


Promotion - Though they are employing interesting techniques like blogging for promotion, the positioning needs a serious look-at. The product shouldn't be pitted against Red Bull. The 'hipness' factor is missing. It should be positioned at ages 14-21 for high school and college students.


The distribution of the product perhaps can't compete with the gigantic tentacles of Coke and Pepsi but they have made an effort to get good shelf space in retail outlets like Big Bazaar. The visibility of the product is quite high here.If the positioning is changed to the above target group, visibility in school and college canteens and 'addas' is the best place to be seen at.