Question 1: How does SoBe's position on the market differ from that of conventional soft drinks? First of all, if we think about "conventional" soft drinks we immediately get the impression of drinks like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Red Bull. SoBe's position in the "soft drink" market, however, seems, at least at first, starkly different from that of the well-known soft drink industries. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, for example, are the leading companies in the soft drinks sector, far outpacing their competition. With a strategy of "always launching new" products that are actually not very differentiated, they try to reach many different target groups: the "size" itself makes them "main-stream". Strictly speaking, SoBe does everything it can to remain the opposite, precisely by being a market niche in an innovative and fast-growing segment with a special entrepreneurial culture. Its main competitors are actually companies based on a similar idea, namely "Snapple" and "Arizona", number two and three respectively in the "New Age" drinks market sub-segment in the United States. SoBe is in a very narrow, sensitive, competitive and rapidly growing segment of 'lifestyle' soft drinks, and therefore completely different from conventional mainstream-led soft drink producers. Question 2: What mechanisms and associations does SoBe use to position itself in the customer's mind? SoBe supports sampling and grassroots marketing, aimed at younger generations who visit extreme sports events, to attract the target group of extreme sports fanatics. Click on 'Team Lizard' on SoBe's interactive website and you will find the events and professionals they sponsor. Providing these events with refrigerators and the wildly popular, regular... middle of paper...nger'!) The acquisition won't hurt SoBe's performance as long as each company, the PepsiCo giant and the SoBe niche, stick to what they they can do better; SoBe must attract young people, Pepsi the masses. My experience shows that many acquisitions are made quietly; at a "hidden level". This should be very important in retaining SoBe's young customers. If SoBe's fickle target group doesn't even realize what happened, their loyalty will be given 100%. Sources: • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassroot • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki /SoBe• http://www.sobebev.com• http://www.beverage-digest .com/editorial/001030s.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonism• http://www .bevnet.com/bevblog/2008/02/pepsi-takes-shot-at-vitaminwater-calories /• http://money.cnn.com/2000/10/30/deals/sobe/index.htm• http: //www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/2004-02-04-entre-feb- one_x.htm