Marketing Environments

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorUniversity, Master's September 2001

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Companies within the Australian Soft Drink Industry recognize six major forces of the macroenvironment that affect their marketing plans: demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces. For a soft drink company to be a strong competitor in the marketing environment, it is imperative that they adhere to the major forces of the macroenvironment. In this case, changes in the cultural environment and demographic environment have had the most impact on the Australian soft drink industry.

THE DEMOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT Demography "Is the statistical study of human populations, including their size, distribution and growth"�. (Miller & Layton, 2000, p42) The demographic environment is an important interest to soft drink companies as it involves studying consumer's lifestyles and habits, which play an imperative role in their buying habits.

The soft drink industry in a way as we have an ageing population and as can be seen in day-to-day life many soft drink companies are promoting their products to the young.

In fact, studies show that "by 2051, retirees (those over 65) will account for 24 to 26 per cent of the population"�. (Miller & Layton, 2000, p42) The CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT This environment consists of institutions and other forces of society's basic values, perceptions, preferences and behaviors. (Kotler, 1998, p123) In the last 30 years, there has been a noticeable alteration of the attitudes and demands of consumers. Society in the last decade has shifted towards a healthier attitude towards food and drink. Consumers are now more educated on the nutritional content in their beverages than they were in the 1970's, and many prefer a quality drink, which is healthy, without the preservatives, fat or sugars.

Society's changing values are evident in the "˜diet' drink market which has "˜taken off' in the last decade.

Studies suggest that the soft drink industry is...