Snapple 2010 Annual Report Download - page 6

Q&A
DR PEPPER SNAPPLE GROUP 2010 ANNUAL REPORT
4
Jim Trebilcock and David Thomas:
BUILD OUR BRANDS
Jim Trebilcock was appointed executive vice president of Marketing in 2008
after holding numerous brand leadership positions during his two decades
with the company. David Thomas joined DPS in 2006 as senior vice president
of Research & Development and was promoted to executive vice president
earlier this year. In this Q&A, they discuss how innovation and
marketing join forces for great results.
How do Marketing and Research & Development work together at DPS?
JT: Developing consumer insights is key to building brands. It’s not enough to follow the consumer
trends that drive our categories; we have to understand firsthand consumers’ wants, needs and beliefs.
That’s how we differentiate both our products and our marketing.
DT: The research and development team connects science and technology with these insights to create a winning
total product offering. Insights drive us not only in developing products, but also in developing the scientific
capabilities we need to meet the commercial requirements of the company. We don’t want to have insights that
we cannot deliver against technically, and we don’t want to build technical capabilities where there’s no demand.
How do you put this knowledge into practice?
JT: Our innovation pipeline focuses on taste, convenience, health and wellness, and social responsibility.
We look at flavor and variety, functionality and benefits, caloric reduction, product labeling and portion control
to meet consumer demands in these key areas.
DT: Our goal is to create great-tasting products that consumers love, and we rely on our scientists to develop
products that beat the competition. To meet this objective, we use a variety of test methods both in the laboratory
and with consumers to get qualitative and quantitative measures of the full range of sensory attributes. We know
that scoring well against these metrics correlates to a great-tasting product, a competitive advantage in the
marketplace and repeat purchases by the consumer.
What are you doing to drive consumer awareness and purchases?
JT: Innovative products call for innovative marketing, which is why we keep investing in the marketplace to pull
consumers in. While other companies have pulled back on their investments, we have increased marketing spend
by 25 percent since 2008. But we’re not just spending more
— we’re spending smarter. Consumer insights have
as much of a role to play in brand activation as they do in the development of new products, which is why our
marketing efforts succeed in creating excitement and engagement with all of our stakeholders.
How do you measure success?
JT: We have consumer-preferred brands and the No. 1 or 2 share positions in most flavor categories. And still
we’re growing as we continue to build on those leadership positions. Our investments are driving increases in
both dollar and volume share, and our brand equity scores in key measures such as relevance and familiarity
are on the rise.
DT: Sustainable sales growth is, of course, our most important measure of success. In pursuit of that goal, our
products are sometimes recognized by our customers and peers in the industry. In addition to the Mott’s Medleys
award at InterBev, we won two other new product awards in 2010. CSP magazine named Crush Cherry its Retailer
Choice Best New CSD of the Year and Snapple Compassionberry Tea its Best New Ready-to-Drink Tea.