24 March 2010

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Implementation, Evaluation & Control

IMPLEMENTATION OF MARKETING GOALS:

In order to foster growth and sustainability, Dark Currant must continually research the market, which is described as, “people or organizations with needs or wants and with the ability and the willingness to buy.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 97) As the target market grows older, Dark Currant must focus on different generational characteristics. Dark Currant will need to continue its research into men’s fragrances prior to the launch date and into the product’s maturity. Dark Currant will need to be willing to reformat certain goals as the market dictates.

As a start-up company, Dark Currant will need to work hard to make sure business runs smoothly in production and distribution of the fragrance. We cannot afford to have any deliveries show up incorrectly. Managers will need to keep a close eye on operations to ensure success.
Dark Currant has put together an advisory committee of experienced professionals, including marketing managers, operations managers and brand managers. We are committed to being a resource for company personnel during this time. Dark Currant will hold regular bi-meetings via the Internet with resources such as Go-to Meeting. Each manager will be equipped with materials such as, a brand manual, operations manual among others.

IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE:

Dark Currant will be ready for distribution by October 2010. At this time our television and magazine ads will be circulating in anticipation for the release of the product in December of 2010. The following year, mid to late 2011, Dark Currant plans for a 3% hold on the market. Dark Currant will continue growth on into 2012.

Marketing Mix

PRODUCT:

Dark Currant is a fragrance consisting of scents such as plum and black currant with cherry blossom and wood notes. This fragrance comes in a glass bottle with a purple plastic top. The packaging will be a small box for the fragrance alone and a larger box will hold the gift sets including lotion, the perfume in a 1.7oz bottle as well as a miniature 0.4oz purse-sized bottle for on-the-go application.

PLACE:

Dark Currant is to be sold in department stores across the country such as Macy’s, Nordstrom, JC Penny, and the like. “A department store carries a wide variety of shopping and specialty goods, including apparel, cosmetics, housewares, electronics, and sometimes furniture.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 195) Dark Currant will travel mainly by truck or air when necessary. We will use shipping agents such as UPS to transport finished products from the factory to the specific stores or their main distribution centers.

PROMOTION:

“Most promotional strategies use several ingredients—which may include advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling—to reach a target market.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 211) Dark Currant will need to really start with a “bang” so-to-speak. Dark Currant needs to build a reputation that will compete with the likes of DKNY, Givenchy, and other competitors. Dark Currant has beautifully designed packaging as, packaging can ”influence consumer perceptions of quality and/or prestige. And packaging has a measurable effect on sales.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 140) Dark Currant will also have an eye-catching display set up wherever it is sold. These displays will have sample bottles on display for customers to test out. “Sampling allows the customer to try a product risk free. Sampling can increase retail sales by as much as 40%...” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 249) Dark Currant will run ads in Cosmo, InStyle, Vogue, and other popular magazines that have a similar target market. Dark Currant will run a national television ad to make sure our name gets the exposure necessary.

PRICE:

“To earn a profit, managers must choose a price that is not too high or too low, a price that equals the perceived value to target consumers.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 261) Dark Currant is priced competitively at $58 for a 1.7oz bottle. Gift sets will be sold for $70, which include the 1.7oz perfume, a bottle of lotion and small 0.4oz “on-the-go” bottle for a women to carry in her purse.

Marketing Strategy


Target Market Strategy:

“A target market is a defined group that managers feel is most likely to buy a firm’s product.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 32) Dark Currant will be targeting mainly middle-class women ages 25 – 35. The interesting thing about this age group is that it actually spans the Generation X as well as Generation Y groups. This may bring some challenges when marketing to this group, as we will need to consider the characteristics of both generational market segments. We will respond to the lifestyles of both generations to better focus our advertising and marketing efforts. “Personality and self-concept are reflected in lifestyle. A lifestyle is a mode of living, as identified by a person’s activities, interests, and opinions.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 63) Soon Dark Currant will release its version for men, increasing our target market substantially.

Before Dark Currant can reach the hands of the target consumer, we must reach out to the target resellers who will carry our product. “The reseller market includes retail and wholesale businesses that buy finished goods and resell them for a profit.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 97) These resellers include department stores such as Macy’s, Nordstrom, JC Penny, etc. Dark Currant will also target many online retailers such as Amazon.com, Sephora.com and Perfume.com.

SWOT Analysis

Dark Currant has a product differentiation competitive advantage that will be discussed in the “strengths” section. This is sure to facilitate a long-term competitive advantage and ensure greater growth and profitability.

STRENGTHS:

Dark Currant fills a void in the fragrance industry bringing a unique blend of ingredients not seen in its competitors.

Dark Currant’s packaging is unique and will encourage sales and will stand out among the competition.

Dark Currant is competitively priced to gain the needed revenue and status among the industry.

WEAKNESSES:

Dark Currant is a new fragrance with no current customer base. It must start from the ground up, building its brand to be as trusted as its competitors.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Dark Currant can easily be translated to lotions, soaps, and other items to be sold as a package-deal or gift set.

Once the brand is established in the industry, Dark Currant can easily develop nighttime fragrances and other daytime fragrances to expand its product mix.

Also, once established Dark Currant could easily be sold internationally, opening up new opportunities for profitability. Dark Currant “must develop a global vision not only to recognize and react to international marketing opportunities but also to remain competitive at home.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 47)

THREATS:

Competitors could potentially come up with fragrances similar to Dark Currant thus cutting into Dark Currant’s revenue.

The current state of the US economy is still in a severe recession, which has the potential to effect profits.

“Pricing is always an important aspect of marketing, but it is especially crucial in times of inflation and recession. The firm that does not adjust to economic trends may lose ground that it can never make up.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 289)

Objectives

“Without objectives, there is no basis for measuring the success of marketing plan activities.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 18)

Objective 1: Dark Currant plans to finish production and be ready for retail distribution by October 2010.

Objective 2: By December 2010 Dark Currant plans to be on every shelf in every major department store such as Macy’s and Nordstrom.

Objective 3: By mid-2011 Dark Currant plans to hold 5% of the market share of fragrance sales.

Objective 4: To have over 90% customer satisfaction in our product and build strong customer value. “A stable base of loyal customers can help a firm grow and prosper.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 7)

Business Mission Statement

The mission of Dark Currant is to provide a fruity, more berry-inspired fragrance that seems to be missing in the marketplace. Dark Currant is committed to excel in customer service and satisfaction—from our sales counter to the scents we provide. We strive to form strong relationships with our customers through customer relationship management. “Customer relationship management is a company-wide business strategy designed to optimize profitability, revenue, and customer satisfaction by focusing on highly defined and precise customer groups.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 293) Dark Currant’s goal is to eventually expand its fragrance line into both men’s and women’s fragrances and be a fierce competitor in the fragrance industry. “New products are important to sustain growth, increase revenues and profits, and replace obsolete items.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 145) Dark Currant is committed to offering competitive prices and beautiful fragrances. Dark Currant was created to lift a woman’s spirit and make her feel beautiful. Fragrances have the power to change a person’s mood, attitude and presence. We are committed to creating innovative and inspiring fragrances.

Dark Currant believes that marketing research, which is the “process of planning, collecting, and analyzing data relevant to a marketing decision.” (Lamb/Hair/McDaniel, 114) is essential in planning for changes in the market, and continuing to see growth.

18 March 2010

Week 10 - Eoc Volkswagen

A few fun facts about Volkswagen

”The idea for the Beetle came from Adolph Hitler, who while in prison in 1924 following the unsuccessful putsch on the Federal German capital. Hitler conceived of an idea to solve Germany's unemployment problem, the Government would build special roads (autobahns) for motor vehicles. He would also mass-produce a car ( the peoples car, the Volkswagen ) which the average man in the street would be able to buy. Nine years later ( February 1933 ) the Nazi party swept to power, and at the very first cabinet meeting Hitler raised the issue of the special roads. Work began on these roads in September 1933. The Design's for the Volkswagen were not finalized until 1933 and the Volkswagen finally saw the light of day in 1939, unfortunately the Second World War ceased production of the Volkswagen

A Stuttgart based design company, owned and run by Ferdinand Porsche, in April 1934 was given the important task of designing this special car within 10 months. Hitler specified certain criteria the car must meet. The car must have a top speed of 62 mph, achieve 42 miles per gallon, must have an air-cooled engine (?) and be able to transport 2 adults and 3 children. And most importantly it should market at no more than £86. It was for the latter reason that Ferdinand Porsche decided on a rear engine car, the car was then known as the Type 60. He experimented with various engine designs; flat jour, vertical four cylinder, two cylinder but none of them proved adequate. In 1935 an Austrian engineer, who had been working for the company for less than a year, came up with a design for a flat four engine within two days of working on the project. After the accountants had checked it, it proved to be the most financially viable option. The same engine design has driven the Volkswagen Beetle for the last 60 years. Ferdinand Porsche had been working on various other cars for other manufacturers before the Volkswagen and incorporated some older designs within this new project. Other vehicle designs were utilized for this project, the backbone chassis and the idea of independent front and rear suspension came from on and the torsion bar front suspension patented by Porsche back in 1931.

The body styling dates back to 1931, to a car called the Wanderer which never reached production and the only prototype built was used by Ferdinand Porsche for his personal transport. Hitler also had plans for the styling of the Volkswagen, he is reputed to have said "It should look like a Beetle, you have to look to nature to find out what streamlining is.". Hence the name Beetle.

Over the years larger engines were fitted to Beetles and slightly interior and exterior specifications were available. Front headlights changed from sloping to upright. The basic 1200 Beetle with minimum headlining and single bladed bumpers going through the front valance which later changed to European bumpers going through the wings. The 1300 with increased headlining and European bumpers. The 1500 with front disc brakes.

Beetle manufacture ceased at Wolfsburg in July 1974 and the Golf commenced. Beetle manufacture continued at Emden until noon on January 19th 1978. Karmann continued manufacturing the convertible until January 10th 1980 when German production of the world's most popular car ceased.”

--http://www.lakelandvwclassic.com/new%20VW%20FUN%20FACTS.htm

Apparently Volkswagen was quite innovative in the advertising seen in this week’s episode of Mad Men. Their ad with the BeEtle pictured and the word “lemon” underneath was apparently the talk of the town. It did indeed get people talking about the car, which is the point I suppose.

Who would have thought that Hitler was so influential in car manufacturing…or that the bug was actually designed by Porsche! Crazy.

11 March 2010

Week 9 EOC - $10 McDonald's Burger

The way McDonald's could possibly sell a $10 burger is to create value. As our book states, "Value-based pricing, also called value pricing, is a pricing strategy that has grown out of the quality movement. Instead of figuring prices based on costs or competitors' prices, it starts with the customer...The basic assumption is that the firm is customer driven, seeking to understand the attributes customers want in the goods and services they buy and the value of that bundle of attributes to customers." (McDaniel, 283) We all know that McDonald's has always been concerned with the customer and their experience with their company. People will pay for what they think is a good value. If McDonald's were to come up with a burger that people believed to be worth $10, it would sell for that. Carl's Jr. sells a burger for $6, and McDonald's actually recently came out with their new burger that they charge around $7 for, which isn't that far away from $10. If premium ingredients are used, you will be able to set a premium price. Burger Bar right here in Las Vegas has a burger that they sell for $5000! And people actually buy it! So is it really so weird that McDonald's would be able to sell a burger for $10? No. "Customers determine the value of a product (not just its price) relative to the value of alternatives. In value-based pricing, therefore, the price of the product is set at a level that seems to the customer to be a good price compared with the prices of other options." (McDaniel, 283)

06 March 2010

EOC Week 8 - My USP compared to three others

Dark Currant

Dark Currant's unique blend of rich black currant and juicy plum with hints of cherry blossom and wood notes create a rich and sensual fragrance in a deep purple glass bottle. Dark Currant speaks to the movements of the soul and the changing currents of life. This indulgent fragrance instantly soothes and calms the mind.


Be Delicious

DKNY Be Delicious is 100% New York. This unique fragrance is fresh and full of possibilities for love, life, and adventure. A refreshing scent in an iconic apple-shaped bottle tempts you to take a bite out of life. A sophisticated blend of apples, exotic flowers and woods creates a fresh, juicy scent that can only be called delicious.

http://www.dkny.com/nshop/product.php?view=detail&productid=DY-2L7X-X9&startColor=No&page=viewall&section=womens&category=&groupName=fragrance


Very Irrisistable Givenchy

Givenchy is the story of an unforgettable encounter between Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn.
The Givenchy perfume house is paying tribute to its roots anchored in the world of fashion and cinema.

This unique mix of French elegance and American spontaneity, called the Givenchy "Twist", gave birth to Very Irrésistible Givenchy.

To be irresistible is not something you can choose: you just are!
It is uncalculated, a state of mind, a certain innocence, a very special smile, a twist, a certain "je-ne-sais-quoi". At Givenchy, it's a fragrance.

Very Irrésistible Givenchy evokes spontaneity, audacity and sensuality.
It marks the renewal of the brand and embodies its attachment to its history and its celebration of women.

http://www.parfumsgivenchy.com/fragrance/women_fragrances/very_irresistible_givenchy/spirit_2_25_37.html


Juicy Couture

Now everyone can have the charmed life, and scent, of a real live Juicy girl.

Top notes of mouthwatering watermelon, mandarin, and pink passion fruit combined with the sparkling freshness of bright marigold and green apple, enhanced by a splash of water hyacinth and crushed leaves.

Heart notes of couture tuberose absolute wrapped in wild rose with sophisticated princess lily and creamy tuberose.

Base notes of caramel créme brulée and vanilla meld with elegant precious woods and patchouli.

http://www.juicycouture.com/shoponline/fragrancebeauty/women/juicycouture/prod-1WV8


Dark Currant's USP sets itself apart from Be Delicious and Juicy Couture in the fragrances they each contain, where Givenchy doesn't say anything about the actual fragrance at all. They've taken a different approach--rather than focusing on what the fragrance smells like, they are counting on people buying into the lifestyle of Givenchy disregarding the actual sent of the product. The other USP's clearly spell out the type of fragrance and pursue buyers who are concerned with the actual fragrance they will be wearing throughout the day. DKNY is different in that it attempts to ride on the New York bandwagon, so-to-speak. The USP starts out selling the birthplace of Be Delicious rather than the actual fragrance. Dark Currant isn't riding on anyone's coat tails; it does not need to sell anything but itself.