Terry Barker interview
Countless men and women claim to have read Sun Tzu's Art of War, a badge of honor to impress friends and ward off enemies. But only a small percentage of readers actually understood and absorbed the essence of the work, and thus inspired enough to extend Sun Tzu's philosophy beyond book form. One example is our very own inspiration to create Sonshi.com.
Another example comes from Terry Barker, President and CEO of Sun Tzu Corporation, maker of Sun Tzu Energy Drink. For many people, a drink is not merely a drink. It's a lifestyle. It signals who they want to be. It tells the world who they are. Ultimately, it reflects their way of life.
An experienced consumer products marketer, Mr. Barker plans to instill Sun Tzu's way of life in a beautifully packaged beverage to catch the eye of any strategist. Do you throw away a book when you're done reading it? No. Neither will you throw away a Sun Tzu Energy Drink container after you finish one. Yes, it's that cool.
Sun Tzu Energy Drink competes against some of the biggest names in the energy beverage business, all backed by mega-corporations: Red Bull, Monster, SoBe, and Full Throttle. Will his new product have a chance? If Terry Barker continues to follow the lessons of Sun Tzu -- the source of his inspiration -- he will be eating their lunches within a few years (but not drinking their drinks).
Previous to creating and developing drinks in the United States, Mr. Barker built US food product brands in Europe, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. To find out more about the businessman behind the product and how it all got started, read on.
Sonshi.com: When was the first time you heard about Sun Tzu? What was it about the Art of War you like?
Barker: I came across The Art of War rather by accident a number of years ago. I was in a bookstore, looking for some Christmas presents and my eyes fell on it kind of casually. I’m pretty sure I had heard of the book before then, but this time there was something in the name that caught my eye and made me look again. The ‘art’ of war. War had always seemed to be defined very narrowly for me. Fighting, death, destruction—a thing between nations and its people. It had never occurred to me that war could be a form of art.
I took a copy from the shelf and began reading the treatises right there in the store, and it was as though everything I believed about business and personal strategy was being reiterated to me through the text. Much more eloquently than I could express, of course! And so, after sitting on the carpet of a major bookstore for nearly an hour, reading the treatises, I purchased two of the three remaining copies on the shelf to give to my business partner.
I guess you could say that right there, in the middle of a crowded bookstore, the initial concept for Sun Tzu Energy Drink was born.
Sonshi.com: Energy drinks are among the fastest growing areas in the beverage industry. Sun Tzu Energy Drink is the new product on the busy block. Please share with our readers further how the idea for Sun Tzu Energy Drink came about.
Barker: The idea for Sun Tzu Energy Drink takes its roots in the image of its great namesake, the Chinese philosopher/general Sun Tzu. The origin of our drink is, quite simply, the experience we had when we read his great treatises—it is transcendent.
Sun Tzu’s writings include a great deal of advice about the attainment and conservation of energy, and of its many beneficial uses in warfare. Taken a step in a contemporary direction, it may be said that what all people have in common is a relationship with adversity. From our jobs to our associations with friends and relatives, choices and decisions that require our thought and attention. Even the cellular makeup of our bodies emulates this common bond, with our struggle against illness and aging, and the constant yearning to attain a harmonious balance.
We all encounter these types of adversity on a daily basis, some that emulate the strategy of war, and others that are truly combative situations. Unfortunately, we are largely unaware of the power we have to affect these situations. How we deal with these situations affects every other sphere of our life, especially our consciousness and well-being. Without a plan, or philosophy to center us, and motivate us, taking on these challenges can be intimidating.
It was only natural, then, for us to use our experience in the beverage category to shape a product in that image, and fuse it with the philosophy that we not only believe in, but that actually works.
Think of it in these terms: Sun Tzu Energy Drink is the tangible product, the palatable form, which gives shape and substance to the teachings and beliefs of Sun Tzu the philosopher, and his teachings. Truthfully, Sun Tzu Energy Drink is as much an idea, a way of life, as it is a drink that delivers sustained energy with unmatched flavor.
Sonshi.com: The first thing we noticed about Sun Tzu Energy Drink is the art on the can. Wow. The design is beautiful and would probably make us regret throwing the empty can away. Is this intentional on your part?
Barker: By all means, save the can! We know people who buy Sun Tzu Energy Drink and create displays and artwork out of the empty cans. It is a quite flattering thing to hear. Thank you for the compliments.
The Manga artwork on the Sun Tzu Energy Drink can is just a small sample of our marketing support package, which adorns every product and marketing tool we create. We thought that in order to distinguish ourselves from the other products in such a large and diverse category it would be important to be credible, and in order to attain credibility we knew we had to be as authentic as possible, especially to the foundation of our product.
Authenticity is a rarity in this business, but we believe in what we do, and the majority of our confidence is derived from staying true to the philosophy of Sun Tzu and The Art of War. Actual artwork that matches the product type and image is very important to our success, and we believe that our can will cause people to stop and look, rather than scan past when it comes time for them to make an energy drink choice. We want our consumers to have the same serendipitous feeling about Sun Tzu Energy Drink that we had when we first encountered The Art of War.
Sonshi.com: We understand before Sun Tzu Energy Drink, you also marketed Krank2O, a caffeinated water beverage. From your research and experience, is your typical customer interested in health (herbs) or is he or she more interested in the boost (caffeine)?
Barker: Some of our consumers are the kinds who are interested in health, others are concerned with the energy boost, and still others buy it for the taste—and there are some who enjoy any combination of these attributes. With Sun Tzu Energy Drink we’ve concerned ourselves with the balance of all three of these attributes.
We understand that our consumers may have different motivations for buying our product, but we made sure that we created a product that will appeal to all of their diverse desires. As we said before, authenticity in the artwork and marketing of Sun Tzu Energy Drink is important. Well, the same holds true for the synthesis of the Sun Tzu Energy Drink formula. We have gone to great lengths to create a drink rich in vitamins, energy, and flavor, and we believe the results truly speak for themselves.
Sonshi.com: Is it fair to say some of your main competitors are Red Bull, Monster, and SoBe? How do you position yourself to grab market share from them? We noticed you have sponsored some major bands like Hoobastank and Sum 41.
Barker: It is fair to say that every energy drink that is not Sun Tzu Energy Drink is our competitor, regardless of its popularity or commercial success. But the main competitors, clearly, are those that you have identified. Market share is tricky in this category. You have local, regional, national, and international products, each with its own specific philosophy—some strong, others not so.
We intend to continue what we have started, which is maintaining a product of excellent quality, and supporting it with our marketing tools wherever it is available for purchase. Our associations with Hoobastank and Sum 41 are certainly beneficial to the marketing of Sun Tzu Energy Drink because they initiate exposure to a large arena of consumers. We are encouraged by the experience we have had at these events, and are eager to continue these types of associations in the future.
Sonshi.com: In your opinion, what is the difference between a good marketer and a great marketer?
Barker: There are probably a thousand different answers to this question, and you would probably receive a different one from each beverage in the energy drink category alone. We think it is best to let Sun Tzu the philosopher/general answer on our behalf:
“Therefore it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be in danger in a hundred engagements. One who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes be victorious, sometimes meet with defeat. One who knows neither the enemy nor himself will be defeated in every engagement.”
[End of interview]
Another example comes from Terry Barker, President and CEO of Sun Tzu Corporation, maker of Sun Tzu Energy Drink. For many people, a drink is not merely a drink. It's a lifestyle. It signals who they want to be. It tells the world who they are. Ultimately, it reflects their way of life.
An experienced consumer products marketer, Mr. Barker plans to instill Sun Tzu's way of life in a beautifully packaged beverage to catch the eye of any strategist. Do you throw away a book when you're done reading it? No. Neither will you throw away a Sun Tzu Energy Drink container after you finish one. Yes, it's that cool.
Sun Tzu Energy Drink competes against some of the biggest names in the energy beverage business, all backed by mega-corporations: Red Bull, Monster, SoBe, and Full Throttle. Will his new product have a chance? If Terry Barker continues to follow the lessons of Sun Tzu -- the source of his inspiration -- he will be eating their lunches within a few years (but not drinking their drinks).
Previous to creating and developing drinks in the United States, Mr. Barker built US food product brands in Europe, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. To find out more about the businessman behind the product and how it all got started, read on.
Sonshi.com: When was the first time you heard about Sun Tzu? What was it about the Art of War you like?
Barker: I came across The Art of War rather by accident a number of years ago. I was in a bookstore, looking for some Christmas presents and my eyes fell on it kind of casually. I’m pretty sure I had heard of the book before then, but this time there was something in the name that caught my eye and made me look again. The ‘art’ of war. War had always seemed to be defined very narrowly for me. Fighting, death, destruction—a thing between nations and its people. It had never occurred to me that war could be a form of art.
I took a copy from the shelf and began reading the treatises right there in the store, and it was as though everything I believed about business and personal strategy was being reiterated to me through the text. Much more eloquently than I could express, of course! And so, after sitting on the carpet of a major bookstore for nearly an hour, reading the treatises, I purchased two of the three remaining copies on the shelf to give to my business partner.
I guess you could say that right there, in the middle of a crowded bookstore, the initial concept for Sun Tzu Energy Drink was born.
Sonshi.com: Energy drinks are among the fastest growing areas in the beverage industry. Sun Tzu Energy Drink is the new product on the busy block. Please share with our readers further how the idea for Sun Tzu Energy Drink came about.
Barker: The idea for Sun Tzu Energy Drink takes its roots in the image of its great namesake, the Chinese philosopher/general Sun Tzu. The origin of our drink is, quite simply, the experience we had when we read his great treatises—it is transcendent.
Sun Tzu’s writings include a great deal of advice about the attainment and conservation of energy, and of its many beneficial uses in warfare. Taken a step in a contemporary direction, it may be said that what all people have in common is a relationship with adversity. From our jobs to our associations with friends and relatives, choices and decisions that require our thought and attention. Even the cellular makeup of our bodies emulates this common bond, with our struggle against illness and aging, and the constant yearning to attain a harmonious balance.
We all encounter these types of adversity on a daily basis, some that emulate the strategy of war, and others that are truly combative situations. Unfortunately, we are largely unaware of the power we have to affect these situations. How we deal with these situations affects every other sphere of our life, especially our consciousness and well-being. Without a plan, or philosophy to center us, and motivate us, taking on these challenges can be intimidating.
It was only natural, then, for us to use our experience in the beverage category to shape a product in that image, and fuse it with the philosophy that we not only believe in, but that actually works.
Think of it in these terms: Sun Tzu Energy Drink is the tangible product, the palatable form, which gives shape and substance to the teachings and beliefs of Sun Tzu the philosopher, and his teachings. Truthfully, Sun Tzu Energy Drink is as much an idea, a way of life, as it is a drink that delivers sustained energy with unmatched flavor.
Sonshi.com: The first thing we noticed about Sun Tzu Energy Drink is the art on the can. Wow. The design is beautiful and would probably make us regret throwing the empty can away. Is this intentional on your part?
Barker: By all means, save the can! We know people who buy Sun Tzu Energy Drink and create displays and artwork out of the empty cans. It is a quite flattering thing to hear. Thank you for the compliments.
The Manga artwork on the Sun Tzu Energy Drink can is just a small sample of our marketing support package, which adorns every product and marketing tool we create. We thought that in order to distinguish ourselves from the other products in such a large and diverse category it would be important to be credible, and in order to attain credibility we knew we had to be as authentic as possible, especially to the foundation of our product.
Authenticity is a rarity in this business, but we believe in what we do, and the majority of our confidence is derived from staying true to the philosophy of Sun Tzu and The Art of War. Actual artwork that matches the product type and image is very important to our success, and we believe that our can will cause people to stop and look, rather than scan past when it comes time for them to make an energy drink choice. We want our consumers to have the same serendipitous feeling about Sun Tzu Energy Drink that we had when we first encountered The Art of War.
Sonshi.com: We understand before Sun Tzu Energy Drink, you also marketed Krank2O, a caffeinated water beverage. From your research and experience, is your typical customer interested in health (herbs) or is he or she more interested in the boost (caffeine)?
Barker: Some of our consumers are the kinds who are interested in health, others are concerned with the energy boost, and still others buy it for the taste—and there are some who enjoy any combination of these attributes. With Sun Tzu Energy Drink we’ve concerned ourselves with the balance of all three of these attributes.
We understand that our consumers may have different motivations for buying our product, but we made sure that we created a product that will appeal to all of their diverse desires. As we said before, authenticity in the artwork and marketing of Sun Tzu Energy Drink is important. Well, the same holds true for the synthesis of the Sun Tzu Energy Drink formula. We have gone to great lengths to create a drink rich in vitamins, energy, and flavor, and we believe the results truly speak for themselves.
Sonshi.com: Is it fair to say some of your main competitors are Red Bull, Monster, and SoBe? How do you position yourself to grab market share from them? We noticed you have sponsored some major bands like Hoobastank and Sum 41.
Barker: It is fair to say that every energy drink that is not Sun Tzu Energy Drink is our competitor, regardless of its popularity or commercial success. But the main competitors, clearly, are those that you have identified. Market share is tricky in this category. You have local, regional, national, and international products, each with its own specific philosophy—some strong, others not so.
We intend to continue what we have started, which is maintaining a product of excellent quality, and supporting it with our marketing tools wherever it is available for purchase. Our associations with Hoobastank and Sum 41 are certainly beneficial to the marketing of Sun Tzu Energy Drink because they initiate exposure to a large arena of consumers. We are encouraged by the experience we have had at these events, and are eager to continue these types of associations in the future.
Sonshi.com: In your opinion, what is the difference between a good marketer and a great marketer?
Barker: There are probably a thousand different answers to this question, and you would probably receive a different one from each beverage in the energy drink category alone. We think it is best to let Sun Tzu the philosopher/general answer on our behalf:
“Therefore it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be in danger in a hundred engagements. One who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes be victorious, sometimes meet with defeat. One who knows neither the enemy nor himself will be defeated in every engagement.”
[End of interview]