A New Health Drink Based Out of Fresh Juices - Assignment Example

A NEW HEALTH DRINK BASED OUT OF FRESH JUICES Section 2 Part B: Marketing Communications Plan and Campaign: (Application of theory) A. Situation I. Market Analysis Research studies reveal that the UK beverage industry’s rate of growth is 3 percent every year. The industry is growing rapidly because of the increasing consumer focus on healthy living. Fruit-shots contain adequate fruits that can replace a wholemeal. For instance, a bottle of Fruit-shots contains of at least one pound of fruits that is recommended for five servings. Thus, consumers have the opportunity of getting five servings of meals from one bottle of Fruit-shots. Most of the college students and young working professionals are very busy and rarely get the opportunity to grab a healthy meal. However, Fruit-shots allows consumers to get a healthy bottle of juice in the most convenient manner. The new trend towards healthy is responsible for the rapid growth of the beverage industry but other factors also influence consumer demand. Consumer purchasing power is among the factors that influence consumer demand in the beverages market. The recent global financial crisis eroded consumer purchasing power and a significant number of consumers reduced spending on consumer products. Fruit-shots offer consumers the opportunity to consume healthy meals at the most affordable prices. Research statistics reveal a growing demand for fresh juice from low income as well as middle income households. Another factor that influences the demand and supply of fresh juice is seasonal changes. There is a high demand for fresh juice during summer because of the warm weather conditions. The emergence of fruit and vegetable diseases has a negative impact on consumer attitudes towards the consumption of Fruit-shots. Finally, the low shelf life of fresh juice influences the quantity of Fruit-shots that consumers will be willing to purchase from retail outlets. II. Distinctive Competitive Advantages Strengths Strong brand recognition The product is 99 percent natural The product does not contain sugar or preservatives Significant market demand The product is highly desirable among consumers The product is highly differentiated from competition Excellent product positioning The product is environment friendly The production process is cost effective Energy drinks are highly fashionable Ability to engage customers in product development Weaknesses New presence in the market thus low consumer awareness in the market The product is highly perishable and requires storage in cold environments Low social media presence Heavy focus on promotional campaigns that are highly expensive Opportunities The emergence of the millennial demography that is health conscious The opportunity to expand product distribution Market development Product development Customer loyalty Effective management of customer relationships Threats Stiff competition from established products in the market Dissonance may interfere with purchasing behaviour The influence of customer referrals The outbreak of diseases may negatively affect demand and supply of fresh fruits Indirect competitors may start selling a similar drink III. Marketing Mix Effectiveness The operational purposes and overall goals of this marketing project are three-fold. First of all, this marketing project aims at assessing Fruit-shots’ current situations. Secondly, the marketing project identifies the company’s current market share and brand performance. Finally, the project summarizes the company’s decisions. The genesis of the marketing project involves an analysis of the company’s market size and brand profitability. The analysis yields information on the company’s market reach and performance of individual brands. Fruit-shots will prepare a line graph chart, which reveals that the company has recorded consistent growth in the last six quarters. The company has recorded gradual and consistent increase in market size since its inception in the market. Currently, the company has a market size of 42,000 customers. Fruit-shots will conduct three exercises to determine its current situation including financial performance, market performance, and marketing effectiveness. Consequently, the company measured its current situation in comparison to industry performance. The company recorded sterling results and decided to implement a balanced scorecard to ensure accountability and effectiveness in the marketing department. The main elements of the balanced scorecard include financial performance and cumulative marketing effectiveness. In the end, Fruit-shots will decide to modify its brand and initiate a new plan with responsibilities for its senior management. The primary responsibility for the company president will be overall leadership. Additionally, Fruit-shots will also select four vice presidents responsible for brand management, finance, advertising, and sales management. All these responsibilities will aim at attracting particular target markets. Fruit-shots will use different marketing tools to reach its target audience and even attract new customers. Thus, the product will rely on the use of the 4Ps of marketing including product, price, promotion, and place. 1. Price The prices of Fruit-shots reflect the lifestyle and affordability of its target market. Fruit-shots targets students in college and young working professionals. The common feature of the target market is that they like attending parties and consuming meals in restaurants. Thus, the prices of Fruit-shots must reflect the expenses of its target audience. Fruit-shots will use a market penetration strategy to reach its target audience. College students and young working professionals are highly price sensitive. Therefore, Fruit-shots will adopt a low price level while aiming at maximizing sales volume. However, the prices will vary depending on the size of the drink. Below is a summary of the price levels for the different volumes of Fruit-shots: Volume Price 10 oz. $ 2.49 15.2 oz. $ 3.49 32 oz. $ 4.49 64 oz. $ 8.99 The summary of the prices mentioned in the table above reflect the expenses of our target market. College students and young working professionals will enjoy fresh juice without shouldering a financial burden. Fruit-shots will offer its customers price discounts to retain loyal customers as well as attract new customers. For instance, the product will be offering the ‘Thirsty Weekend’ offer to its customers on weekends. Fruit-shots will also be offered along other products at a discount. Beverage companies and college bars are the primary drivers of Fruit-shots in the competitive beverage market. The discount offer will coincide with the company’s decision to use a bundle pricing strategy (). 2. Product Fruit-shots is a healthy natural beverage that is produced from fresh fruits. A bottle of Fruit-shots offers the consumer a myriad of vitamins that will promote their health. The product’s integrated marketing campaign aims at creating awareness among consumers about the amount of vitamins available in every bottle category. The value proposition is that consumers will consumer a fruit fortified non-alcoholic beverage at affordable prices. Fruit-shots offers a myriad of flavors from different fruits. Thus, the Fruit-shots brand promotes healthy living because it is highly affordable and contains essential vitamins for body growth. 3. Place The primary source of Fruit-shots are fruit farmers and its supply chain also involves bottling companies and distributors. The product is packaged in square bottles for the sake of maximizing on volume during shipment. The product’s downstream partners on the supply chain include distribution centers scattered across the United Kingdom. Fruit-shots will be available in retail shops as well as wholesale shops. However, most of the Fruit-shots will be available in campus restaurants and drinking joints because college students are the primary target market. 4. Promotion Fruit-shots will adopt a push strategy in its promotion campaigns. The rationale for using the push strategy is to create demand for Fruit-shots. The following promotional choices will promote the product’s market awareness: a) Public Relations Sponsoring events The best opportunity for Fruit-shots to create awareness of its existence in the market is to sponsor an athletic event. College students are very active and engage in various athletic activities. For instance, an athletic event can attract more than five thousand college students. Such activities create the opportunity for the public to get to know about Fruit-shots. The Fruit-shots company will donate sports gears with images of the product on these gears. The event sponsored by Fruit-shots will be dubbed “Get Fruit-shots.” The event will perfectly align with the objectives of the organization and will create a positive buzz around the product. The product will sponsor the athletic event by shouldering the cost of event management as well as entertainment. The Fruit-shots brand will dominate the displays during the event because it will be the main sponsor. Furthermore, brand ambassadors will be present during the event to promote the product through product samples. Press release Press releases are predominantly dry and boring. Fruit-shots will use press release to promote its existence but it will offer something new and exciting. The press release event will include various recipes of Fruit-shots and will focus on the fun side of using the product. Additionally, the release will address the health benefits of Fruit-shots as well as its effectiveness as the best alternative to alcohol. An effective press release is brief and to the point thus the press release for Fruit-shots will remain short and precise. b) Sales Promotions In-store sales promotion Retailers of Fruit-shots will run sales promotion campaigns at the end of every week on the product. For instance, Fruit-shots customers will receive a 25 percent discount every Saturday. Fruit-shots will partner with cereal manufacturers and offer discounts on customers. Customers who purchase more than two boxes of Weetabix will be offered a free bottle of Fruit-shots. c) Personal Selling The first step in promoting Fruit-shots will be ensuring availability of the product within the vicinity of the target audience. For instance, Fruit-shots will be supplied to college bars and student centers prior to the commencement of the integrated marketing promotion. Fruit-shots will attract new customers through the use of exciting retail advertisements in strategic locations within the target audiences. One of the initiatives of the personal selling plan will be the provision of Fruit-shots refrigerators to retailers at no cost. The product will also hire brand ambassadors who will offer free samples to interested customers. Fruit-shots aims at offering its retailers the opportunity to promote this amazing product by creating a mutually beneficial relationship with the relevant retailers. Fruit-shots will establish a sales team that will be responsible for creating a unique customer experience during product trials and service. d) Advertising Direct mail Fruit-shots will send direct mails to the target market including college students and young working professionals. The mails will contain information on the product including the ingredients and their health benefits. The mails will also contain attractive images of the product to convince customers. Commercial There will be a ‘Get Fruit-shots’ commercial series that will be aired in college and university premises. Additionally, the series will be aired on screens situated near office blocks. These commercials will be aired on a rotational basis to maximize the chances of attracting new customers. e) Interactive Internet Program Marketing research studies reveal that social media is the largest media platform because of the overwhelming number of users. For instance, Facebook has more than one billion users and most of these users are aged between eighteen and thirty years. Social media offers Fruit-shots a platform to reach a wider audience of its target market. Fruit-shots will allocate resources towards establishing an integrated social media campaign on Facebook as well as Twitter. Fruit-shots will establish a Facebook page and a Twitter account through which it will share information about the product and collect information on consumer needs. f) Print Advertisement Pictures of Fruit-shots will be posted in strategic areas within the proximity of the target audiences. For instance, Fruit-shots advertisements will be posted on the discussion boards and billboards in cities across the United Kingdom. B. Objectives The companys research on outreach to the media provides numerous objectives. The objectives are time-specific and aim at enhancing the firms performance in the long-run and short-run. Among them are the following goals (long term goals and short term goals): a) Introduction of a new product in the market b) The program is to act as a reminder to potential customers of the presence of a new product in the market. c) The media plan is also meant to be a persuasion technique to lure potential customers into purchasing a new product d) To familiarize the public with the firm e) The media plan is also a competitive tool against the new products competitor in the market. There are set target sales on a daily basis business operations as well as the overall trading period. Expected profit margins have already been calculated in respect to the expected sales revenues at the end of the trading period (Percy, 2008, p. 56). Fruit-shots aims at becoming a world known business organization and its partnership with One-plus promises to yield great publicity for the organization. Additionally, the company believes that the partnership will attract the attention of members of the target customers in the market. The achievement of the organizational objectives which are profit maximization and providing world class customer service are the expected end results of the media plan. The firm has allocated $1000000 to the marketing department. The money is for investing in the media plan so as to ensure that all goes well, and the product reaches its intended audience on a timely basis (McCabe, 2010, p. 76). It is the central plan that the company hopes to pursue in its future endeavors. To emerge as the leading supplier of solar energy and appliances in Juba To control a market share of 80% by the end of five years To offer the most affordable products in the market To create a large presence in the market C. Strategy Fruit-shots’ target marketing campaign include college students and young working professionals who like attending parties and events. This is a large market that requires segmentation. The target market is health conscious and the community is highly concerned about healthy living. Thus, the current advertising plan will focus on creating awareness about the health benefits of consuming Fruit-shots. This product is suitable to consumers who have busy schedules and are committed to an active lifestyle. We expect that Fruit-shots will become the strongest brand in its juice category. Customers will be loyal to the product because of its uniqueness and health benefits. The advantages of Fruit-shots are the driving forces of the current marketing campaign and will assists in developing creative ideas in the long run. Consequently, the primary focus of the current advertising plan will be the natural juices and flavors that Fruit-shots will offer its consumers. It is obvious that the awareness levels for Fruit-shots are very low or even non-existent because this is a new product in the market. However, there is an opportunity for the drink to attract new customers because it meets the growing need for healthy drinks. The goal of the advertising campaign is to improve customer awareness from 1-25% and achieve a market share of 10 percent in the first year of introduction. Messages about Fruit-shots will be delivered through a myriad of media outlets including billboard advertisements, television, print and radio. D. Tactics I. Communication Tools II. Message III. Consistency IV. Resources/Budgets The business is expected to incur huge expenses in marketing the business and its new product. Marketing activities will involve: Advertising The company will erect approximately fifteen billboards at an estimated total cost of $40000. It is expected that approximately 0.2 million will view the billboards since they will be strategically positioned in places with very high human traffic. The billboards are very conspicuous making it probable that any person passing near it will have its view. Consumer promotion Since the product is new in the market, it is expected that consumer promotion will be an effective marketing activity in attracting new consumers. The company will offer a 20% price discount in the first three months of operations at an estimated cost of $ 10,000. Sales force expenses Fruit-shots will employ around 100 sales force employees to market Fruit-shots in Colleges and workplaces. The use of sales force is expected to yield close to 400 sales calls a week at an estimated cost of $ 13000 a month covering commission, salaries, wages and travelling expenses. Public relations Public relations will involve using unpaid media in promoting the new product. Newspapers are expected to monitor the installation of the power supply plant. Other Other marketing activities will include sponsorships where the business will partner with the government of Southern Sudan to sponsor energy projects in Juba. The company will selected customers and offer free installation of solar panels at free cost. It will cost around $50,000 to finance the sponsorship. E. Actions Implementation and Control Plan F. Control Despite preparing an integrated communications plan, the business expects that there will be a misunderstood perception about the qualities of Fruit-shots. Most of the consumers are accustomed to consuming inorganic products thus they will have the perception that it is impossible to offer fresh natural juice. The business will handle the situation by enlightening consumers about the production process and benefits of fresh juice. This will be emphasized through the use of marketing campaigns that highlight the contents of Fruit-shots (Hooley & Saunders 200). Changing economic conditions may affect consumer purchasing power hence affecting the buying patterns in the market. Inflation may result in an overall increase in prices of commodities. Consumers will have a priority of satisfying basic wants such as need for food, shelter and clothing. This will eventually result in a fall in the demand for Fruit-shots. Fruit-shots will address the challenge by offering flexible prices to consumers. It is expected that new businesses will enter the market for energy drinks from fresh juice. This will increase competition in the market and pose a potential threat to Fruit-shots. Fruit-shots will respond to the threat for increased competition through branding and securing copyrights for the exclusive supply of the Fruit-shots branded products. This will ensure customer loyalty for the product and Fruit-shots will retain its market share. Section 2 Part C: Creativity and Innovation Creative consideration A promotion on one of the radio stations is to award the first five caller of the station in the morning each day to receiver a bracelet and the smart watch. The idea is meant to promote the product as well as a meant to remind the customers of the product The firm has also gone to the extent of creating a working timeline for the whole project. It has been involved starting from the beginning to the end. The end of the project involves selling the product to the customers. Once employees complete each activity, they will fill the status column along with any comments that are necessary will be made. Scheduling pattern date Activity status 5/05 Finalize media plan 20/05 Finalize media list 30/05 Distribute calendar alerts to the selected media house 3/06 Distribute release of the new product 3/05 Event advisory-the firm will be launching the new product on this same date and will invite all news reporters from all media houses 10/06 Commence selling of the new product. Geographic spending The product promotion plan is in motion as the media house that will help us with the advertising has been selected. The geographic spend of the program will be as follows Marketing- $1000000 Sales-$1000000 Urban-$600000 Rural-$400000 The marketing department has been awarded most of the funds because as the product is still new in the market the initial stages will need more attention. The media house that was selected under the agreement will be airing the advertisement of our product on a daily basis program. The sales department has also been heavily funded to ensure that the product goes into the market ready to earn the firm revenues. Packaging of the product and transportation to where customers are will be done by the sales department. Urban region has been allocated extra funds as the target market is more populated in these areas. The funds allocated in the rural region are for ensuring that people in remote areas get the message about the new product. Reach and frequency The media house we agreed upon to choose is one of the leading houses in the country in the recent times. The media house has television channel that covers a geographical area of the whole country with its branches in almost all parts of the state. The media house also has a number of radio stations that are widespread all over the entire nation as well as a newspaper program that writes on a daily basis program (Chitty, 2011, p. 190). As it is a business product, the time for airing product news should come at the same time the station airs business news while in the newspaper it should be written in the business column. The product also has a fashion sense hence it will be run parallel to all youth programs of the station. The advertisement will be on air amidst the progress of influential youth programs. Monday During the 8a.m 12pm 6pm and 9 pm news Tuesday 8a.m 12pm 6pm and 9 pm news Wednesday 8am 12pm 6pm and 9pm news Thursday 8am 12pm 6pm 9pm Friday 8am 12pm 6pm 9pm Saturday 8am 12pm 6pm 9pm 10 pm Sunday 8am 12pm 6pm 9pm Section 2 Part D: Reflection Overall, the presentation was a good experience for various reasons. First, I had a planned agenda that I would cover separate parts, and it was wonderful to see myself adhering to the plan. I separated the assignment into three parts, and every member of the group was to come with ideas addressing the parts. I did extensive research on the topic and came with good ideas. It was an insightful experience to work on independent parts of the entire project. The task has sharpened my research skills as well as collaborative skills. It was amazing seeing independent members of the same group coming up with ideas and synchronizing them into a single presentation. I did extensive research on my assignment and was confident that I would meet the required standards. However, it was a bit difficult to connect the ideas of each member into a single presentation because we did independent research with minimal consultation. That is a gray area I would like to address in my future team presentations. References Chitty, W., 2011. Integrated marketing communication. 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(2001). An Analysis of the Strategies and of Hotels and Travel Agents in Hong Kong and Singapore. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 13(6): 293 Read More