Sprite Company: Brand History

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Appealing Aspects of the Brand
How the World Upholds the Brand
How the Brand has been useful to my Identity and how I Connect with Others
Summary and Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

This autobiographical reflection paper depicts Sprite as a successful brand that appeals to my identity and personality. The brand is a product of the Coca Cola Company. Since the early 1960s, the Atlanta-based company has marketed it as a popular lime-based drink to the youth (Coca Cola South Africa 1). The Sprite brand was originally German, but its introduction to the United States marked its global/regional success (Coca Cola South Africa 1).

Indeed, it has been the most successful lemon-lime beverage drink since the late 1980s (Irwin 1). This paper explores its different product aspects that appeal to me. Similarly, it explores how the world communicates the brand and how it is useful for my identity and interpersonal connections. This analysis paves the way for discussing how the world upholds the brand and the possibilities of expanding it. These analyses outline the key segments of this paper.

Appealing Aspects of the Brand

Many aspects of the Sprite brand appeal to me. The refreshing taste of the product, its color, and its bottle shape stand out as attractive qualities that appeal to my understanding of a versatile and youthful brand. The product’s refreshing taste also clears my mind and creates a distinct identity that allows me to express my individuality. The dimple-styled bottle used to package the product is also attractive to me because it is unique and differs from other products (such a Coke, Fanta, and the likes) in this category. The lean packaging modes of the product (in 500ml and 330 ml bottles) also increase the brand’s value because it makes the drink affordable to young people.

Besides its aesthetic value, Sprite is edgy and has a distinct slogan (“Obey your thirst”) that resonates with the youth (Coca Cola South Africa 1). Its close alignment with the youth also creates value for me because I find it is easy to express myself by purchasing or consuming the product. The slogan, “Obey your thirst,” which emerged in the early 1990s, also became popular within my social circles and increased the brand’s “personal” appeal. I still find this slogan trendy and edgy.

Sprite also appeals to my love for Hip Hop music by communicating different aspects of the culture in its brand identity. For example, it promotes graffiti culture, sports, and “deejaying” as key tenets of its brand identity (Rosenberg 5). All these attributes are part of the Hip Hop culture. The brand also represents other aspects of the movement, such as photography, fashion, and design (Rosenberg 5). In the same regard, the brand represents a subtle sense of freedom that only the youth could understand.

This theme appears in the brand’s “cool” and “refreshing” identity. These attributes prove that Sprite understands the complexity of being a young person and is able to communicate the same attributes in its marketing campaigns. Comprehensively, these characteristics outline Sprite’s unique brand attributes that appeal to me.

How the World Upholds the Brand

The Sprite brand has (mainly) thrived through sports commercials. Since the 1980s, marketers have used this strategy to exploit its mass-market appeal among the youth (Coca Cola South Africa 1). This is why many young people associate Sprite with sports (mainly basketball). Furthermore, Sprite’s marketing campaigns feature prominent and amateur sports personalities and sponsor popular sports events, such as basketball’s “Slam Dunk” events (Coca Cola South Africa 1; Rosenberg 5).

This brilliant market strategy explains why the brand is among the top three most popular brands in America (Irwin 1). Apple and Hershey’s are other popular brands that compete with this product in this category (Irwin 1). Part of Sprite’s success stems from the communication of an attitude that the youth want to identify with – “coolness.” Furthermore, the brand communicates “honesty” as an auxiliary brand attribute. This communication appears through its slogan, “Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. Obey your thirst.” This slogan easily appeals to my demographic because young people dislike patronizing marketing campaigns (Rosenberg 5).

Therefore, in a world where brands strive to manipulate audiences, Sprite’s creative slogan appears authentic and real. Besides sports marketing, the Sprite brand has also thrived through social media campaigns because it targets young people who are tech-savvy. In this regard, the brand has a strong market presence on many social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. For example, Sprite’s fan page on Facebook has a huge following. Its Twitter following is equally massive.

How the Brand has been useful to my Identity and how I Connect with Others

Brands should be more than mere products; they should communicate a subtle message that most customers identify with (Irwin 1-3). Sprite does that. As explained in this paper, it is more than a beverage product to me as it symbolizes my youth and aspirations. By associating with the brand, I feel part of a versatile demographic that is adventurous and not shy to express its identity. Furthermore, since I love sports and I am an active player, I can easily connect with my teammates through the brand. For example, when sharing a bottle of sprite after a game, we could share our experiences and views about the sport. This platform helps us to bond and improve our skills.

Moreover, since Sprite associates with legendary sports personalities, it gives us a benchmark of what (and who) we could become if we work hard. Therefore, the brand motivates us to become better people. Lastly, the Sprite brand appeals to my identity as a person who is true to himself because it communicates “sincerity” as an admirable attribute. This message emerges when communicating one’s feelings.

Therefore, it taps into my dislike for dishonesty and my admiration for “real talk.” The Sprite brand upholds these attributes. Indeed, it teaches people how to show true feelings and confidence when expressing them. Again, the successful marketing slogan “Obey your thirst” communicates these attributes. Moreover, Rosenberg agrees with this view by saying, “Brand Sprite is all about having a refreshingly honest and irreverent perspective on Life” (5). Many researchers have explored the above attributes of the Sprite brand (Rosenberg 5). They agree that they complement its emotional branding strategy (Rosenberg 5). This strategy makes it easy for the brand to develop an emotional connection with the customers.

Summary and Conclusion

This paper shows that Sprite has purposefully marketed itself as a youth brand. Its sports connection and attitudinal appeal make it easy for young people to connect with it. However, many people, who resonate with the brand, are mainly lovers of sports and teenagers. There is more opportunity for the brand to market itself further within this demographic by appealing to young people with a different interest (besides sports).

For example, if Coca Cola markets itself to partygoers, it could benefit from increased sales of young people who do not take alcoholic drinks (especially when they go clubbing). This strategy would appeal to Sprite’s primary demographic (young people), but still, exploit other unexplored segments of this demographic market.

Works Cited

Coca Cola South Africa. Obey You. 2015. Web.

Irwin, Tanya. Apple, Hershey’s, Sprite Top Youth Brands. 2011. Web.

Rosenberg, Tina. Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World, New York, NY: Icon Books, 2011. Print.

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