Marketing Essay Help: Implementation and Monitoring of Marketing Activities
Marketing Essay Review:
In order substantiate the given questions we will make use of a hypothetical situation. The given scenario will be analysed in view of the hypothetical situation so presented. The hypothetical situation so presented has been so chosen which is pertinent to the product category and the brand chosen. The scenario has also been chosen so as to impact at least two of the four elements of marketing mix .We select a hypothetical scenario in which Carlton launches a milder version of draught beer with a lower price point called Carlton Light Draught Beer(Carlton Draught). The product is launched with an advertising campaign in the form of an smart phone app called FOOTY(Draught Pick) keeping specially the Euro Cup in mind. The questions below are answered keeping that perspective.
Ans 1) The overall objectives for the entire campaign that has to be monitored can be put down as The lighter beer version has been introduced in a category where there are no players present. It is specifically targeted at the college going crowd and thus the lower price point. Keeping this in perspective we discuss the overall brand objectives(Future Brands)
Sales Volume:-We expect the sales volumes to pick up and increase by atleast 20% ( of the entire market size ) in the first quarter. The assumption being that the Euro season being on sales will piggy back on the festivities of that season and there are hardly any players in this category thus the optimistic expectation of 20% in that product category.
Brand Share:-The brand share is optimistically expected to touch 40% for the entire product category. The share of the mind(SOM) is expected to rise based on the FOOTY campaign .The FOOTY campaign specifically targeted at the college going public, engages the participant through competitions based on day to day games . Every day contest winners are declared ,and the name of the winners are flashed across through the app. Thus the campaign is expected to gain SOM(Share of Mind) through this viral campaign. Banner ads across social networking are also being used to aid to that viral campaign.
Profitability:-The brand being a completely new entrant doesn’t hold much expectation to the company to contribute to profit. However on an optimistic note if it contributed just 2% of the entire profits of the company it would mean the brand has started on a positive note.
Brand Loyalty : The brand loyalty for the new launch is expected to piggyback on the FOOTY campaign. Even a loyal set of consumers of 1 mn would be a good footing for the brand to start on.
We now analyse the important objectives based on the elements of Marketing Mix
Product Objectives:-
Positioning:-The new launch is planned to position Carlton Draught Light Beer as a youthful brand .Looking into the entire category there is hardly any youthful brand present thus the present attempt to position as a Youthful brand of beer(W3 Schools)
Packaging & Labelling:-The bottle shape has remained the same.The labelling has been changed to a vibrant florescence based orange to give a youngish look to the brand.
Quality: The quality has been kept same as per the standards of Carlton Draught Beer standards.
Formulation: The formulation has been such so as to make the new version lighter in taste.
Price Objectives
Profit Margin: The profit margin which is in fact the NET RATE(MRP-Discounts-Margins-Ad expenses) is the measure of profit in our case .The profit margin is expected to be marginal in this case.
Relative to Competition: The new brand has been priced at a slightly lower price point with respect to competition
Credit Terms: The company will not extend any credit to the distributors and retailers to keep up with the brand’s premium image
Promotion Objectives:
Advertising:The ad campaign which rides on the FOOTY ap campaign is primarily aimed to create Image(Youthful) and Impact (Sustained) on the minds of the consumer
Publicity & PR: The entire publicity and PR stint is based on the FOOTY campaign .
Ans 2)The overall objectives are to be monitored over a period of 1 year to help arrive at any conclusive result. However to get an initial picture we can use a time frame of 3 months as well
Overall Measures:
Sales Volume :The sales volume can be measured from a secondary perspective that is the volume billed from the distributors to the retailers and also from the offtake perspective that is the actual litres of beer sold from the retailers
The external measure of the sales volume can be based upon syndicated market research data or through a panel of retail outlets specifically chosen for the purpose.
Sales Value: The sales value can be measured on the same lines as sales volume .However care should be taken that value should be measured in terms of Net Rate rather than in terms of MRP
Profitability: The profitability will be measured on the basis of Gross Contribution from the product line.
Margins: The margins are to be analysed in terms of territory or areas catered. Areas where competition is well entrenched is to have higher margin to support the trade however areas where it enjoys market leadership should have higher margins to compensate.
Brand Share: The brand share measures can be monitored and measured through syndicated research carried out by external agencies. It is a very important parameter and should be tracked on a monthly basis.
Product Measures:
Brand Image: The image of a youthful brand that is an integral part of youthful exuberance is what needs to be monitored(Brand-Image). The brand image has to be measured on a quarterly basis following strategic decisions in terms of money to be spent on FOOTY campaign can be monitored.
Brand Positioning: The brand has been positioned as a youthful brand through the FOOTY campaign. Metaphorical studies or laddering techniques can be used to understand the positioning efficacy of the campaign
Price Measures: The efficacy of the pricing strategy can be measured on the following metrices
Price Perception: The perception that the new brand along with the FOOTY campaign is to convey that is actually a low priced brand and thus a brand for young college goers
Actual –in store pricing: This is to measure how the brand fares in comparison to the competition placed in the stores.
Promotion Measures: The promotional strategy has to be measured on the following parameters
Level of recall: The level of recall is an excellent measure of the efficacy of the FOOTY campaign .Higher the recall ,higher is the brand connect.
Impact of Message: The impact of the message is to be measured on a the ad lines created , and the messages delivered
Executional Impact :It is a very parameter which goes on to show whether the message has been well delivered and the strategy behind the FOOTY campaign is well appreciated by the general audience.
Ans 3)Every good marketing campaign needs to be regularly monitored and a set of proper reporting mechanisms to be established to undertake the activity. Looking into the strategy involved a time line needs to set up to assess the success of the campaign as well as that of the brand.In this campaign we suggest a time line of weekly reporting be established.Weekly reporting would ensure that the signals from the market are quickly picked up and analysed to further the strategy. The reporting mechanism is to be such that the brand manager and the head of trade marketing should be apprised about the movement of the product. This is help them understand where to channelize the ad spends.The head of trade marketing to decide the territories where the money is to be spent and the brand manager the channels involved. The reporting format should include the following details:
1)Sale per unit of ad spend:-This will help to understand where and why the sales have been effected by ad spend. The given metric has to be analysed on a territory basis .This is turn will help the trade marketing manager to better understand the regions of poor or good performance
2)Consumer Offers: The efficacy of the consumer(Ipsos) offers also should be looked into closely. Each unit of money spent has to be analysed and the result obtained measured.
3)Market Share: The market share has to be analysed in terms of volume and share of mind. This is a very important parameter as all the metrics are engineered to help the growth of market share. This can be tracked through syndicated research or by specially allowing a market research agency to work on this project.
4)Gross Contribution :The gross contribution(Venture Line) helps us to understand the profitability of the brand. Aim of the new brand is to achieve higher gross contribution which would be perfectly in line with its aspiration to settle as a market leader in its own category.
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