Marketing Plan on Coco Pops Kellogs in Australia - Research Proposal Example

?Marketing Plan on Kellogg’s Executive Summary Kellogg’s is a leading cereal manufacturing company whose sole emphasis is to capture the cereal market industry and also retain its existing market share and goodwill through execution of effective marketing strategies. The company has been offered several awards for delivering excellent performance and high quality products like the “Top 50 Company for Diversity from Diversity Inc and “100 Best Places to Work” from Computer World (Kellogg’s, 2013e). Although, the brand has been successful in marketing cereals of varied flavors the company earns majority of its revenue from its core product which is the plain flavored cereal. The author of the study has not only developed a marketing plan to cater to the needs and requirements of the customers but also will help the company to maintain its profitability. Finally, the study will conclude with the evaluation of its existing marketing plan. The author of the study has focused on developing a marketing plan for Kellogg’s which not only focuses on providing healthy food to customers but also lay emphasis on the environment. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Situational Analysis 4 Competitor Analysis 6 Customer Analysis 6 Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats Analysis 7 Marketing Objectives 9 Marketing Mix: Kellogg’s 7P 10 Budget 12 Implementation of Milestones 15 Evaluation 16 Conclusion 17 Introduction: Kellogg’s Marketing Plan Kellogg’s is a multinational food corporation, which specializes in manufacturing cereal and other convenience food like crackers, pastries, toaster, cereal bars, waffles and other vegetarian foods ( Kellogg’s, 2013g). The brand includes regular cornflakes, frosted flakes, Special K, Rice Krispies, Coco Pops, Pringles, Nutri Grain and Pop ( Kellogg’s, 2013h). The vision of the company is to offer customers healthy and tasty snacks, which cater to their needs and also suit their taste buds (Kellogg’s, 2013h). One of the main objectives of the company is to promote healthy food for the betterment of the society and community (Kellogg’s, 2013h). Kellogg’s cereal is manufactured in more than 20 countries and is marketed in more than 180 countries of the world (Kellogg’s, 2013b). The main objective of the study would be to develop a marketing plan for Kellogg’s, in order to penetrate in Australian markets for providing children and adults a healthy meal without compromising the nutritional benefits. Finally, the study will deal with all the components of the marketing plan required for introducing a cereal into the market. The chosen market for the study is Australia because of its alarming rate of obesity and other diseases, which has become a growing concern for the Australian government. Situational Analysis The situational analysis would be conducted through PESTLE analysis, which is instrumental for understanding the external factors that have the potentiality of affecting Kellogg’s. Political The corporate tax rate in Australia is 30 percent which is higher than most of the developed countries. The high tax rate implemented by the government is to recover from the present economic slowdown. The existing cereal industries in Australia are struggling to maintain its profitability. Economic: Although, there is an economic slowdown in Australia which has affected most of the industries to a large extent, the cereal industries have been performing quite well. Social: The Australian people are very health conscious and prefer cereal over other breakfast food because of its nutritional content and healthy ingredients. The social life of the Australian common people is very active and they prefer breakfast food like cereals which provides zeal and healthiness. Technological: Technology plays an important role in the cereal industry because apart from the manufacturing of cereal the packaging process is totally dependent on technology. Packaging process needs to be effective to ensure the freshness of the product and retain the heath ingredient of the product. Legal: The Australian cereal manufacturing companies have to adhere with the legal guidelines of the Food Inspection Agency. The cereal needs to be infused with additional nutritional elements like thiamine, riboflavin, folic acid and other elements proposed in Food and the Drug and Regulation Act. Environmental: Most of the cereal manufacturing industries in Australia have adopted social responsibility for the betterment of the environment. The environment protection measures would involve implementation of advanced environment friendly technology that help in understanding the market dynamics and also is compatible with the environment. Competitor Analysis The Australian cereal market is one of the profitable markets in world; Australian consumers are third highest consumers of ready to eat breakfast cereals in the world. The Australian breakfast cereal supports the Australian economy which is worth $1.2 billion (ABCMF, 2013). Thus, in a market of profitable business there are various manufacturing companies who are making satisfactory profits from this business. There have been various leading companies giving tough competition to Kellogg’s like Carman Fine Foods, Freedom Foods, Nestle Australia and Popina foods. Among the competitors Nestle, Australia is one of the biggest competitors of Kellogg’s, which has also a predominant share in the market. Nestle earns majority of profits from the Fitness and Choco Minis brand, which is targeted for the health conscious customers in Australia. Thus, it is observed that the Australian cereal market witnesses monopolistic competition. Customer Analysis Due to the increasing alarming rate in obesity and other health disease the Australian common people have become health conscious. Breakfast is regarded as the most important meal of the day for Australian consumers because it provides zeal to them which helps them in enhancing their efficiency. The Australian cereal industry not only supports the Australian economy and at present moment it is worth $1.2 billion (ABCMF, 2013). The Australian adults eat breakfast cereal almost every day and they help in accelerating the average consumption of breakfast cereal which is fruitful for the entire cereal industry. The customer consumption of cereal is almost 68 percent for women compared to a 55 percent of men (ABCMF, 2013). Unlike the American, the Australian common people prefer eating breakfast of their choice from the table hence, the consumption of cereal piles up. Australian customers are loyal in the sense because 63percent of the common people have the same type of cereal. Being health conscious, the Australian customers prefer nutritious cereal at affordable prices (ABCMF, 2013). Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats Analysis This section will help in determining the strength, weakness, opportunity and threats faced by an organization. It is an assessment technique, which would help in determining the effectiveness of Kellogg’s. Strength Weakness It is one of the leading cereal manufacturing companies of the world already earning a majority share in the cereal industry in most of the countries (Shirani, 2009) The company is aware of its social responsibility and lays special emphasis on the advanced technology which produces environment friendly packaging system (Kellogg’s, 2013b). Apart from its core product the company lays emphasis on the manufacturing of the Special K, which is targeted for the healthy conscious customers (Kellogg’s, 2013c). The company implemented a global energy management program which promotes energy conservation, manage energy usage and develops energy saving opportunity by including alternatives like renewable energy and fuel. The management for the product focused on packaging efficiency by serving products which are fresh for consumption process (Harzing & Noorderhaven, 2000). The awareness of the new brands of Kellogg’s is declining with the emergence of several novice companies (Kellogg’s, 2013e). Consumers are interested in other products which are healthy and promote inner health wellness. Opportunity Threat There has been increasing growth of the healthy non consumer product Internet advertising has proved to be a boon for Kellogg’s as it has helped in facilitating communication between consumers and the marketer (Kellogg’s, 2013d). There has been emergence of various innovative cereal and non cereal products from the competitors, which have promoted healthiness (Kellogg’s, 2013f). The government of varied nations have increased their food and regulations Marketing Objectives The marketing objectives help in defining what is required for accomplishing through marketing activities. The SMART objectives would helps in determining the short, medium and long terms goals of the organization. Specific: Kellogg’s tries to maintain the authenticity of the product by focussing on the packaging of the product. It introduced GDA food labelling in its packaging which provides information about the nutritional ingredients of the products (Cai, 2000). Measurable: Cultural Variations in different countries have allowed the company to modify it marketing strategy and adapt as per the changing marketing environment of the developed and developing countries. The different marketing strategies help in quantifying the results in a certain way. Attainable: The design of the product is done in such a way that the content for the product remain fresh for a longer duration and the nutritional requirements of the product remain intact. Relevant: The Company does not differentiate while promoting its brand and offers varied promotional offers for a wide customer range. Presently, the company is offering nail polish, health magazines and toys as free products for different products Time Bound: Although, the company has focussed on manufacturing environment friendly products. The timely manufacturing of cereal in all the countries would not only entail the freshness of the product but would also help in developing effective marketing strategy. Marketing Mix: Kellogg’s 7P It is observed that most of US multinational corporations utilize the standardization marketing mix rather than the adopted one. Small and medium enterprises utilize the adopted marketing mix because it serves the purpose of the guide for the organizations to adapt to the changing marketing environment. a) Product: Uniqueness of the product signifies that the product is dependent on firm and time specific factors. It also signifies that the company alters the core value of the product sometimes with the changing marketing environment (Birnik & Bowman, 2007). Apart from offering cereal in plain and other flavours, the company also offers food products like raisin bran, frosted toaster pastries, flatbreads etc (Kellogg’s, 2013a). The main objective of Kellogg’s is to offer customers a unique breakfast food range. a. Price: The price range of Kellogg’s varies from product to product but the cereals are moderately priced for the affordability of the customers. However, the prices range of certain food products like cookies, oatmeal, pastries are high priced for the additional flavouring content put in it. Standardized approach is used for pricing the plain flavoured cereal because unlike the other food products like oatmeal, pastries and cereal of varied flavours additional content is not utilized for manufacturing the plain flavoured cereal (Narotama, n.d.). b. Place: The availability of the cereal is easy and high. The brands of Kellogg’s are readily available in supermarkets, retail outlets, schools, colleges, hotels and flights (Santamaria and Ni, 2008).The company uses higher degree of standardization for direct market entry modes like franchising and licensing in developing countries (Arnold, 2003).However, Kellogg’s uses the adopted approach in marketing and distributing the products in the local markets for reducing the effect of local competitive intensity (Larimo and Kontkanen, 2008). c. Promotion: The brand is promoted through the common promotional strategies like radio, billboards, magazine, television etc. Information regarding the products is offered through the official website. The company follows the standardized promotional strategies to promote its brands aggressively like providing the customers different promotional options through sweepstakes, mail, Facebook, mail in offer. d. Physical Evidence: Although, Kellogg’s is a product and not a service, the physical element does not play crucial role in promoting the product. However, the packaging of the product is given high priority and it is ensured that the product is available in colourful boxes to attract the customers. The availability of the product in economic sizes like standardized boxes and sachets highlights the fact that standardized marketing mix element is used while developing the physical evidence of the product. e. Process: A smooth and efficient operational system in Kellogg’s ensures the high quality and mass production of breakfast cereals. The company has a large factory layout with strong mechanization process, which gives the management to produce in large batches and an opportunity for incremental growth in developing and developed countries. The company ensures a smooth mechanization process for its convenience and frozen foods to ensure prompt delivery to the retail outlets. The company invests a huge amount of revenue for its brand building and innovation activities which ensures the enhancement of brand value. f. People: The Company comprises 31000 employees worldwide, which help in the development of food products which have high nutritional content (Kellogg’s, 2013i). Employees are considered as valuable assets of the company, which contribute significantly to food innovation. The senior management of the company have created approximately seven employee groups known as HOLA (Kellogg Latino ERG), KMERG (Kellogg Multinational ERG), KPride &Allies, Kvets &Supporters, WOK (Women of Kellogg’s) and YP (Young Professionals). Budget Kellogg’s is already an established name in the Australian market hence the marketer would be preparing a budget schedule, which would be incorporating all the marketing elements required for further promotion of the brand. The budget would be allocated for the following activities. National Campaigns Regional Campaigns Promotion Through Children Events Advertising This would include promotion of the existing products and the new product through the official website, marketing campaigns and through children sports events organized in schools and sport stadium. This would require a total budget for $10000 Advertisement would include promotion through popular sports and children cartoon channels. It would include a budget of $75000 Advertisement through Magazines and Television Associating with Regional Events Care would be taken to advertise through local televisions stations and magazines. The total allocated budget would be $15000 This would be including the marketing managers in sports and entertainment events. Apart from promoting the products, a seminar would be arranged to discuss the ingredients extensively. ($85000) National Health Campaigns The organization of national health campaigns would include assessment of the current health situation of the people residing in the country. To encourage sport activities like swimming, cycling and football. ($90000) Implementation of Milestones Date Event 01/09/2013 to 10/10/2013 Preparation of schedule, discussing the schedule with the staff and then allocating the tasks to the assigned employees 10/10/2013 to 15/12/2013 Budget allocation of each and every event 15/12/2013 to 02/02/2014 Gathering funds, talking to associated event manager and then implementation of marketing tools. 01/02/2014 to 12/06/2014 12/06/2014 to 17/10/2014 Execution of marketing strategies and activities as per the schedule and checking whether they are implemented effectively. Thus, it is observed that the timetable prepared by the marketer has been for a time frame of over a year. This time frame was kept keeping the allocated budget by the finance department in mind. The marketing strategies will be executed as per the prepared schedule and it will be monitored whether the marketing activities are being executed as per the schedule or not. The marketing activities which failed to make an impact will be modified and executed once again. Evaluation After the marketing activities have been executed, it would be monitored whether these marketing activities have been successfully implemented or not. These would be checked through varied marketing techniques like digital marketing software, smart application in phones and the tradtitional marketing tolls like feedback form to evaluate the customer satisfaction. Tools Marketing Strategy Digital Marketing Software To calculate the success rate of execution of specific marketing activities like whether the advertisements have been shown in particular time slots, whether the marketing plans have been executed in the stipulated time period or not (Costa, Krutulyte & Grunert, 2006). RACE techniques The RACE techniques would enable the evaluation of business programs like advertising effects, impact of the organizing events etc. Conclusion Thus, it is observed that in spite of the economic slowdown companies like Kellogg’s are focused on manufacturing healthy products which adhere with National Heath Safety guidelines of each and every country and also are environment friendly. The Australian cereal market is already an established one with each company focused on deliver high quality product, which caters to the needs and requirements of the customers. Kellogg’s has been known for its brand power and personality worldwide, however, it has to develop marketing plans, which focus on reentering into the market further with the sole objective of retaining its market position (Final Word Count = 2524). References ABCMF. (2013). Fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.afgc.org.au/about-abcmf.html Arnold, D. (2003). 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Retrieved from http://www.harzing.com/download/cooeffect.pdf Kellogg’s. (2013a). Brand portfolio. Retrieved from http://www.kelloggcompany.com/en_US/brandportfolio.html Kellogg’s. (2013b). About Kellogg company. Retrieved from http://www.kelloggcompany.com/en_US/about-kellogg-company.html Kellogg’s. (2013c). A foundation for the future. Retrieved from http://www.kelloggcompany.com/en_US/our-heritage.html Kellogg’s. (2013d). Our commitment to diversity. Retrieved from http://www.kelloggcompany.com/en_US/about-diversity.html Kellogg’s. (2013e). Kellogg company recognition. Retrieved from http://www.kelloggcompany.com/en_US/awards-and-recognition.html Kellogg’s. (2013f). Our values. [online] Retrieved from http://www.kelloggcompany.com/en_US/our-values.html > [Accessed 03 July 2013]. Kellogg’s. (2013g). Our commitment to nutrition education Retrieved from http://www.kelloggcompany.com/en_US/our-commitment-to-nutrition-education.html Kellogg’s. (2013h). Our brands. 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