From the marketing segmentation identified Bling would be looking at young high income owners who place a high importance on their external image. Along with targeting the these individuals, 5 star hotels and
The psychographic and behavioural segmentation bling would be looking at is a benefits
viewpoint (Kotler et al, 2009). The benefits class is the benefits the user perceives to
obtaining by using the product. The benefits from bling h2o are that of social status and
class by drinking bling users would be setting themselves apart.
According to research conducted by the Australian Bottled Water Institute (ABWI), bottled water is popular amongst people of a large range of demographics, but consists largely of young singles and couples, particularly females aged between 14 and 35. (Bottled Water Regulations and Safety 2004)
The bottled water industry is regulated as a packaged food product by Food Standards Australia New
Zealand (FSANZ) with high standards and due to legal nature of the standards in place, it must be met by all water bottlers without exception to ensure consistent safety, quality and taste. As well as being under strict regulation by the FSANZ, bottled water is subject to food laws and labelling requirements of the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) and is subject to recalls like all other food products. With much attention focused on the safety and security of the nation's food supply, the bottled water industry has elevated its efforts to provide consumers with a safe, high quality product. The numerous federal and state regulations and standards already in place, coupled with the bottled water industry’s use of enhanced learning systems help ensure the safety and security of our products. (Eardly 2004)
Demand for bottled water in Australia has slowed down extravagantly over the past few years with consumer demand for bottled water increasing by 20% in 2003 but dropping to a measly 2.8% growth in 2009 possibly due to the global financial crisis. In 2003 Australians gulped 520 million litres of water, with Mount Franklin and Pump leading the market accounting for 17% of the total bottled water market. Wood attributes this growth to fashion, trends, health consciousness, convenience and improvements in packaging. "Australians are now following world trends and drinking more water for a number of reasons. We’re now more health conscious than ever before.” (Ferre 2009)
Some ethical concerns regarding Bling h2o have been brought up concerning the damage to the environment in producing the glass bottled water (Owen 2006) and the recyclability of the Bling h2o bottle compared to other plastic bottled water such as Mount Franklins who's bottles are 100% recyclable, but the manufacturers assured the public that the bottle was recyclable but did not give a figure on how much of it is recyclable, not that it would be a concern because it is unlikely buyers of the Bling h2o bottle will recycle it, but instead, reuse it like normal water bottle. (Environment n.d)
Another issue is obviously the price of the bottle of water, to understand how expensive regular bottled water is, let's compare it with petrol. With the price of oil rising, we typically think of petrol as very expensive. On the other hand, some of us will barely blink an eye at picking up a few bottles of water from the same petrol station. A gallon of petrol costs around S3. If we assume a one litre bottle of water from the store costs about $2.50, a gallon of the same bottled water should cost about $10. Water, life's most necessary substance, costs about three times more than petrol when it comes in a plastic bottle. lf you wanted to fill up a car's 15-gallon tank with petrol, it would cost you about $45. lf you wanted to fill up that same 15-gallon tank with bottled water, it would cost you $150. And since Bling h2o is 20 times more expensive than normal bottled water, it would cost $3000 to fill up that same tank using Bling h2o bottled water (Fuller 2008). Bling h2o is marketed as a premium product and towards buyers who would like to have themselves perceived as being "Bling" are expected to pay a premium price for such a super-luxury consumer item and in the end, the decision is up to the buyer.
Bling h2o claims to be better tasting than other bottled waters because it's water is sourced in
Dandridge, Tennessee which has won a gold medal for best tasting at the Berkeley Springs
International Water Tasting Festival, but in a blind taste test in New York City put Bling H20 up against regular bottled water and Manhattan tap water. The reactions proved to be inconsistent and unpredictable -- most people proclaimed Manhattan tap water as the best-tasting, while Bling H20 was believed to be simple tap water. Although, different people do have their own desired taste for water and taste is a subjective matter which is hard to argue for and against a preferred taste. (Pretty Face n.d)
Reference List
Eardley M, 2004, Bottled Water drowns the competition, Ferret Australia's Manufacturing and
Industrial Directory, viewed April 1 2010 <http://www.ferret.com.au/n/Bottled-water-drowns-the-
competition-n690584>
Ferre, J 2009 'Bottled water industry under pressure but drinks growth to be robust ', AFN Thought
For Food, viewed April 1 2010, <http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2009/03/19/bottled-water-
industry-under-pressure-but-drinks-growth-to-be-robust.html>
Fuller, J 2008 'Would you pay $55 for bottled water?', How Stuff Works, viewed April 1 2010
<>
Owen, J 2006 'Bottled Water Isn't Healthier Than Tap’, National Geographic, viewed 1 April 2010,
<>
Saulwick, J 2009 'Times were good, but even better in Mosman’, Sydney Morning Herald, 18
December, p. 16
Wade, M 2007 'Double the dollars: Mosman tops list of high-salary earners', Sydney Morning Herald,
10 March, p. 23
Bottled Water Regulations and Safety, 2004, viewed April 1 2010
<http://www.bottledwater.org.au/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=ASP0003/ccms.r?Pageld=5002>
Environment n.d, viewed April 1 2010, <http://www.mountfranklinwater.com.au/thinkPositiveEnvironment.aspx>
Pretty Face n.d viewed April 1 2010 <http://www.blingh2o.com/>
