Why is recognising your brand competitors important when designing?
Recognising competitors is very important because it can help you to understand your competitive advantages and disadvantages relative to overs on the market. The other companies on the market at the moment that are classed as competitors are Pepsi, Oasis, Schweppes and 7up. By looking at these companies it would make it clear to you to see what the best stage going forward would be. This means by studying the competitors you are generating an understanding of their current and future plans. This therefore provides extra information to develop strategies that could create competitive advantages in the future. Finally, it would also help you figure out how competitors might respond to a new product.
Brand Competitors
The first brand competitor I have found is Pepsi, this company has been a challenger for the best soft drink beverage. As you can see I have found
an image of Pepsi's flavoured range. Looking at the
cans it is clear to see Pepsi haven't put much effort
into their design. Firstly, on some of the cans the
colours are clashing tremendously, looking at the
can on the left you can barely read what flavour it is.
The only information that can be clearly seen is the
splash of colour on the top of the cans. By looking at
this the flavour could be anything. Another feature
I found with these cans is the lack of ability to
change their design. I get that Pepsi need their logo
and typography on the can but the blue colour has
to go. When creating a flavoured drink you want the
flavour to be clear not be stuck with the bear minimal. By looking at these cans it is clear to me that I should not design my Fanta bottle in this way. I would need something that clearly marks what the flavour of the bottle is and also use colours that match, not use the colours
just because of the flavour that is being used.
The second brand competitor I have found is Red Bull, this company is one of the strongest growing energy drinks and is amongst the strongest
Fanta competitors in terms of brand valuation.
Looking at these cans it is clear to see what works
and what doesn't work. Due to the colours and bold
text they have used it is clear to see what flavour
each can is. This is something that I would need to
use for my own Fanta bottle. On the other hand due
to the gloss finish they have put on their cans it
sometimes makes it hard to read. This can be clearly
seen on the can on the right hand side. Using this
gloss finish makes the can look unreadable at points.
Using this gloss finish would not be something that
I would use on my own design. This is due to the
glare that is creates. Like I mentioned earlier the can on the right can hardly be read. Therefore this is something that I don't want to happen to my own bottle. I want the flavour to be clear in all angles and at any time of the day.
The third competitor I have found is Sprite, there are at least 20 variations of sprite. So by looking at Sprite I can get a clear understanding of
how they have designed their cans and also how they
have laid out their flavoured cans. Looking at this
limited edition Sprite can. It is obvious that they have
made sure they use colours that match one another.
This is an important feature that is need when I work
on my own Fanta bottle. As we have seen, Pepsi used
two colours that didn't match and look what happened.
Their text was hard to read and was unclear on the
flavour of the drink. Another feature that I like is that
they have made a flavour just for Christmas. To
accompany that flavour they have made a limited
edition can too. This could be another avenue I
adventure down. For example I could create a Fanta bottle that could be used to celebrate
a specific event. So as Halloween just passed I could create a Fanta bottle that suits that specific theme. This could include a Halloween themed bottle and also a Halloween flavoured Fanta drink.
The fourth and final brand competitor I have found is Gatorade. This drink is aimed at athletes and other main sports. The drink includes calories,
proteins and various other nutritional values. Looking
at the bottles it is clear to see what flavour each drink is
and also on the bottle it has small unique features.
These features include a lightning bolt on the top half
of the bottle. The designer might of added this in
because the drink is made for sporting people. Adding
unique features could be something that I can add to my
own bottle. For example if I was to use the orange
flavour I could add a little orange illustration to the
bottle. If I was to improve anything to this bottle I would
think about changing the colour of the lid. You could
change the colour to match the colour of the flavour.
This then adds an extra indication to users what flavour
the bottle is. Looking at the front of this bottle there is
some information regarding the content of the bottle.
Adding this to my own Fanta bottle is very vital. But
another vital step is adding this content with the correct colouring and also the correct placement. As the information is very important you would want to make sure it is bold and clear to the users. So including this information with bright colours could help provide the boldness of the information.
How do you plan to make your design more unique in comparison to your competitors?
After looking at all my competitors and what their advantages and disadvantages are it is clear to me the areas that I need to flourish in. Going back to Pepsi, looking at their can design it was clear to me that I had to make my colours match. I could use the Adobe colour wheel to help with that. Using colours that match will help the design flow and also help me achieve a high grade Fanta bottle. Using colours can make your design look much better overall but choosing the right colours is vital. Using colours can help me make my design unique and also help me fit the theme that I am going for. Looking back at the Gatorade bottle they had some features that I could add to my own design, but using their features wouldn't make my own design unique. So I have to really think outside the box. On most of the competitors logos there was no real change. As I am going to create my Fanta bottle around a specific theme I could add various little details to make the Fanta logo unique. For example, as my Fanta bottle is going to be Halloween themed I could add some misty clouds to the logo design. I know your probably wondering how adding clouds chlorates to the Fanta logo but because the Fanta logo is circular and we normally see a full moon on a Halloween night. I thought it would be only right to turn this logo into a spooky logo. By using clouds as an additional feature it enables me to add other features to the label. Overall this will make my design stand out from my competitors and also make my design overall unique. Finally, like I have mentioned above there are certain areas that I would not include in my own design. By not using these features it is helping me create my own design and not copy my competitors. By coming up with my own design and own features it is enabling me to let my creative side run wild, therefore letting me create something unique to me and Fanta.
Fanta Brand Prism
Physique-
Logo is very eye catching, clearly shows what is in the product. Orange colour shows what flavour the bottle is. Used their own typography for logo.
Relationship-
Coco-Cola is there main owner, Gives energy to those who drink it. Also refreshing and flavourful. Overall very friendly and promotes a strong drink.
Reflection-
Target audience aimed at youth and is a very trendy brand. Aimed at younger people who take part in sports and numerous other events.
Personality-
Bottle comes across as dynamic, those who drink are young, rebellious and free. Also, appeals to those who like the colour orange.
Culture-
Comes from an American culture. Made in Nazi Germany. Overall it is very vibrant and aimed at the younger generation.
Self Image-
Overall the brand comes across as cool and friendly. Anyone can drink it. Replenishes anyone's thirst.