Research Outline

SodaStream

Goals

To understand the market landscape for SodaStream.

Early Findings

  • SodaStream has several national TV ads available on iSpot.tv.
  • Their most recent, largest ad was during the 2020 Superbowl, where they partnered with Bill Nye to spoof finding water on Mars. As with most of SodaStream's ads, the message is that consumers can reduce their environmental impact by not buying bottled water.
  • For example, in 2018, they ran a video with singing turtles to highlight the harm single-use plastic has on marine animals. SodaStream used the campaign to launch www.FightPlastic.com
  • Most of SodaStream's ads partner with celebrities.
  • Moat lists over 600 creatives from SodaStream. Some are retailer-specific, holiday-focused, launching a new color or highlighting sales. Those that aren't convey the same environmental message as its video and print ads.
  • The other main message is when the brand partners with celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels and purports that its products can help consumers "quit soda", thus emphasizing the health benefits of sparkling water.
  • SodaStream also advertises its flavorings, especially its new 0 calorie fruit essence drops, obviously designed to mimic market leaders like La Croix.
  • The brand also uses social media advertising. On Facebook, it has around 71 active ads. They range from customer testimonials, coupon codes and generally showcasing the product. These ads, generally, are not following the main marketing message of environmental impact, though they do carry the tagline "healthy alternative to sugary drinks". This suggests SodaStream's social media marketing is more targeted towards health-focused consumers rather than environmentally-conscious consumers.

Summary of Early Findings

  • SodaStream's chief messages are that of environmental and health impact. Their larger campaigns generally use celebrities to convey the harm in single-use plastics or to demonstrate that SodaStream is a healthier alternative to soda.
  • The company also markets more limited aspects such as coupons/sales, new colors or new add-ons (like flavorings), though these are generally confined to social media and digital rather than its large national campaigns.