Advertising and Marketing: Lucozade (Soft-Drink)

Advertising and Marketing History: Lucozade (Soft Drink)

Launched in 1927 as a glucose-laden drink, Lucozade was originally aimed towards individuals recovering from illness.
The brand underwent a significant repositioning in the 1980s, shifting its image from medicinal aid to energy drink for athletes and moving into the mainstream soft drink market.
In 2013, Lucozade, along with Ribena, was sold to Suntory, a Japanese beverage company, marking a significant shift in the brand’s ownership.

Brand and Marketing Strategy

Lucozade’s marketing strategy has focused on positioning the drink as an energising performance enhancer, associating it with athleticism and fitness.
Various campaigns such as “Lucozade Sport vs Water” and “The Energy To Do You” have been used to promote its benefits over water and inspire consumers to unlock their potential.
Celebrity endorsements have been central to their strategy, with famous athletes like Michael Owen, Anthony Joshua and Gareth Bale featuring in advertisements.

Audience and Consumer Behavior

The target audience for Lucozade has evolved from sick individuals to physically active individuals and athletes, largely a younger demographic.
The brand’s change in strategy has also seen it appeal to a more gender-neutral audience, breaking away from the common stereotype that energy drinks are predominantly for males.
The shift in brand image from medical to sports drink influenced consumer behaviour by altering the context in which the drink is consumed, thus widening its market.

Advertising Techniques and Aesthetics

Lucozade ads often feature fast-paced action and sporty imagery, underscoring the brand’s association with energy, performance and vitality.
Ads often play on the concept of transformation, showing how consuming Lucozade boosts energy levels or enhances sports performance.
Powerful and emotive language is used in advertising to instil a sense of ambition and achievement in consumers.

Channels of Promotion

Traditional channels like TV, print ads in newspapers and billboards have always been a large part of Lucozade’s promotion strategy.
The brand has also adopted digital channels, with active social media profiles on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Lucozade has sponsored high-profile sporting events, such as the London Marathon, using these opportunities to promote their brand to a larger, captive audience.

Critiques and Controversies

Lucozade faced backlash when they altered their recipe in 2017 to reduce the sugar content, receiving complaints from diasbetic consumers who were reliant on the original formulation.
In the face of rising obesity levels, the brand’s positioning as a health and sports beverage has been criticised, considering the sugar content in some of its products.
The brand has also faced criticism for the environmental impact of their plastic waste, prompting them to launch a recycling campaign.