External Marketing Environment of Walkers Crisps - Case Study Example

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Interface that is online adapted makes it easy to interprets and share the data of the market. To any business strategy the purchasing habits and consumer attitudes are critical. Advertising campaigns and marketing strategy are the effective development foundation that provides reports for the marketing research. This paper deals with the analysis of the external marketing environment of weaker crisp. The implications will be identified and discussed of the three most important key issues arising. The three main categories that companies producing crisps and snacks fall in are Major players, Premium specialists and smaller brands. A Walker crisp is a UK company designed to make snacks of various kinds. It is the leading company. It has strengths and weakness even if it is the leading company. Brief explanations of the walker crisp on its foundation and how it became the leading company will be found in the paper. In the main body there will be explanations of some terms like marketing environment and its three categories which are micro-environment macro environment and internal environment. Findings, analysis and the key issues will be highlighted. When an individual is dealing with the market there are some issues that are considered and they include things like the potential markets and the consumers and the driving forces behind sales trends and the strengths and weaknesses in market. Walkers Crisps Walkers – these are the known crisps manufacturers in the United Kingdoms In the 1880s, the director R. E. Gerald helped the meat industry that was falling to come up with an alternative industry and that is how walker crisps began by a man known as Henry Walker. At the present time the owner of walker is Frito-lay (Andrews, 2004) the advert by Gary in 2000 was the 9th best commercial television of all time. The advertising standard authority is investigating the adverts featuring Gary Lineker about walker crisps due to the reduction of fat and salt levels. The authority said that the TV Commercial and poster viewers make unjustified claims on health regarding the new recipe for crisps. The TV commercial also featured that the saturated oils were reduced by 70%. According to Graham Cash Macgregor chairman, the reduced salt and saturated oil makes the walker crisps better. Cash challenges walkers by saying that 8% of the salt is contained in the crisps for adults. The advert of walker compares crisps with other popular food. The commitment of walker is to produce snacks and crisps of quality. The label by carbon trust is one of his examples. According to a new walker’s TV advert, 100% of the walkers crisps are made from British purely formed potatoes and they demonstrate the commitment of walker’s to produce quality and also to the industry of the farming. Gary explains that the weather of the British helps in the growth of British potatoes that makes the perfect good quality of walkers’ crisps and hence making of these quality crisps. Alongside the advertisement from the TV, the spending of the market has included advertising from outdoor and also practical demonstrations in UK at the events that are across and also giving hands on to consumers on how crisp are created up to the pack from spud. The saturation of walker crisps is reduced such that a bag contains a gram less of the saturated fat (Storry and Chiuds 2002). Walkers’ crisps are cooked in sun-seed oil to avoid saturation of the fat because it is one of the healthiest oil. The amount of salt in walker crisps is also reduced whereby a bag contains only 0.5g. The golden rule that makes walkers crisps to be unbeatable are: The finest potatoes to be harvested Adding in the flavorings Locking in the freshness with the special protective foil. With all this, walkers’ crisps are number one favorite. They are available in: 34.5g packs- This is a single serve 50g packs- meant for a big eat experience. 175g packs – these are for the people who are sharing occasions such as birthday. Analysis of external marketing environment The external factors that affect the market are analyzed as: Analysis of the customers: These are the motivations needs cold the segments of a customer. Market analysis; These includes the profitability cost structure, projected growth, overall size, trends key success factors and the distribution system. Environmental analysis; These are information needed areas, governmental, cultural, technological, demographic and scenarios. The goal of external analysis is to identify strategic uncertainties, trends threats and external opportunities. In the study of the external marketing environment, the important factors that are included are social change, customers and competition. The external environments reshape the targeted market. If the external environment is not understood, the future of the market cannot be planned well. In this regard organizations usually come up with a team mostly of specialists to evaluate and collect the environmental information and this process is known as environmental scanning. The Environmental data gathered is to identify the threats and the opportunities of the future markets. In the external environment competition is the most uncontrollable element. In the external environment, the factors within that are crucial to the managers who do the marketing are classified as economic demographic, social political and legal, technological and competitive. Social factors are the most difficult external marketing variables. They are mainly: values, lifestyles and attitudes. Business external environment according to Dankan (1972) says that, they are the outside factors of an organization in the organizations decision making. They depend on dynamo & complexity of the environment. One would like to know what marketing is. (Hischack, 2000) The marketing environment can be divided into the micro environment, macro environment and internal environment. Market environment are those factors described as specific while macro –environment deals with broad general trends of the business. External analysis is away of examining the threats and opportunities that exist in an environment. Threats are barriers that affect the smooth running of a market. Opportunities are the conditions that are favorable in the market. External environments may either pose a threat to planned or current activities by the opportunities the organizations create. The main concern for marketing as a strategic activity is to manage the relationship between the environment and its organization. Marketing involves the activities that a company is associated to which are the buying and selling of a service or a product. It can also include delivering products to people (Blair, 2001). Investopedia says that, the believe of many people is that they think marketing is just for sales and adventuring but to him he says that it entitles every other thing that a company does to maintain and acquire customers relationship with the company. Definition Crisps and snacks are defined as UK retail sales of snacks and crisps in the retail and grocery outlets. Crisps: include products that are made up of fried sliced of whose potato Snacks: This is any product which is made form: small pieces of wheat, rice, corn, potato or base ingredients which have been extruded, fried, cooked, and baked or roasted in other ways rather than frying. Marketing environments An organization is impacted and surrounded by the marketing environment. On marketing environment, the key perspectives are three namely; micro-environment, macro environment and internal environment. Micro environment This is an environment that directly influences the organization. It has customers and consumers, local stake-holders and suppliers who deal indirectly or directly. It is locally related and the relation between the driving force and firms is described by micro environment. Macro environment It includes all the factors that organize and influence but are not direct controlled. The Internal Environment These are all the factors in an organization that are internal. They are audited by markets, materials money, men and machinery. Marketers call the managing process of internal change the internal marketing. The three forms of marketing environment can be represented as follows. Internal marketers can be further explained by the challenges that they face and what they are doing to cure the problem.(Stone,2004) The issue of obesity affects the manufacturers of snacks and crisps. Another challenge is for schools restricting the kind of food to be taken. With this in mind manufacturers have reduced the fat and the salt for the consumption of crisps to be healthy. Due to the intake of crisps and other related snacks the rate of obesity in children and adults might rise. This is according to the DOH report. Strengths and weaknesses in the market Strengths The quality of healthier crisps has been intensified by reducing the amount of salt and fat. Excessive price reliance has been made by the limitation of the own label.(Cohen, 1999) Developments of the new product and innovation have helped in the record of good track. The packaging of crisps has been made lighter because it has included all the categories of consumers. Inexpensive and quick way of snacking between meals has been provided. Weaknesses Unhealthy competition by walkers is one of the biggest problems. Even if the fat and salt content is reduced, the reputation is still unhealthy. Competition still becomes high due to other snacks product sellers being in the market. The government has put obstacles on the way people eat healthy food so the targeted population of children is greatly affected. Crisps and snacks producing companies fall into three categories: Majority players The major targets by walker are children. Walker is one of the innovative companies with the manufacturer’s aims of producing quality products. The products range form walkers sensations baked, potatoes and cheese head crisp and lights. The launching of potato head was in January 2005 while walkers based was in summer 2006. The target category of walker head was men. Premium specialists These were the kettle chips. They were bought by a private equity investment. The overcall sales increased by 30% in 2006. This kettle kitchen premium emphasized regional and local ingredients in flavors (Jacobs and Scholliers, 2003). Their main area of involvement is hand cooking. Smaller brands Seabrook - broad ford – based has been running since 1940s and has been producing ships. The brand retains a storing support despite of the northern bias of distribution in December 2006, repacking of Seabrook was doneConway, 2004) The three major producers have strong brands and are in diversified large groups. In the recent years, the golden worker in demise is restructuring. The growth of smaller suppliers is expected. Market share The walker company has lost some share. The snack and crisps sector remains the leading with a own later which accounts 10% less of the market prices. In 2005, walker had a flagship scale of 7% oil fat deduced the sun-seed oil by 70% and the level of salt to 25%. The extra flavours and the new packaging made the range of the relish to increase to 20%. the growth of walker crisps by 3.7% in 2006 redressed the 7% fall that was experienced in 2005. The lawich of potato heads in 2005 boosted the walkers crisp. The beneficiaries of the main sectors or walkers was the premium hand cooked sector and the KPS McCoy’s. A business has to react and act on the happenings outside the office walls and the factory. The factors that make this business to act outside are termed as external factors. The competition degree is the main factor that affected most businesses. When an individual is dealing with the market there are some issues that are considered which include:- The potential markets and to whom you are selling your commodities to. The driving forces behind sales trends and the strengths and the weaknesses of the other competitors. The biggest challenge that is in the marketing action can be brought about by enforceable development that can make profits to be less. Marketers today are faced by many challenges due to their practices that are customary Issues in the market (Whited,2002) Strong criticism stifled out crisps and snacks due to the raising issues of obesity. Source of optimal is on was form premium products and this made the companies to recover despite the prognosis that was over stand Manufacturers have health with issues of criticism by improving the obesity crisis in the market by improvident the salt and saturated fats contents in the crisps and snacks Despite these challenges of demographic government is restricting the intake of crisps to children who are the target of the market. Mintel relevancies reports also includes these packs The attitude f chicken towards drink and food Inter-school snacking Media impact regarding drink an food Consumer attitudes and motivation Crisps fall under 3 main categories: Buyer of standard braided Buyer of own – labeled crisps Buyer of premium hand-cooked crisps. Women consume more crisps competed to men and especially those women who have families consumption of branded and own label crisps is among 20 - 24 year old. Multi – pack brought by 35 – 54 age group are 28% and the consumption of pop-com is driven by age. (Giles,2003) 30% of crisps purchases buy for their children’s and only 15% to buyers think that it not good for children to consume them. The only category with the high proportion of consumers in promoting children is the crisp with law fat. Bibliography Stone. M. and Maccall, J. International Strategic marketing: a (NJ European Perspective New York. Routledge. 2004 Blair, A and Hitchcock, D Environment and business London. Rutledge 2001 Giles, D. media psychology. Mahwah, NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 2003 Cohen, N. The Child hood snatchers: New Statesman. 128 (4460), 8 Nova. 1 1991. Whited,L. The worry Tower and Harry potter: perspectives on a Literary phenomenon Columbia M.O. University of Missouri Press 2002 Hischak, T, American Theatre: A chronicile of comedy and Drama, 1996 -2 000. New York Oxford University Press 2000. Storry, M. and Child, P. British cafeteria identities. London. Routledge 2002 Jacobs, M, and scholliers P. Eating out in Europe: Picnics, Government dining and snacks since the late Eighteenth sentry New York Bery 2003. Conway, K.chanteuse in the city: the realist singer in French film. Berkeley, CA. university of California press, 2004 Adrwes, D. Manchester united: a thematic study. New yolk. Routledge, 2004. Read More