The New Strategic Brand Management - Case Study Example

MARKETING CASE STUDY Relevant facts The marketing aspects for the pizza require the following facts in order to establish an effective marketing approach for the product. There is a significant decline in the room services operations within the hotel The customers are the holiday inn establishment have opted for different products other than the ones offered within the hotel. The product that has been launched to curb this market deficit has failed in the market. The organisation has adopted a marketing strategy that raises ethical issues regarding its application within the market. Ethical issues There are various marketing ethical issues concerning the method utilised by holiday inn in marketing their pizza. The company should adopt different marketing and advertising policies, which are devoid of any ethical concerns. The major ethical issues arising in this case include the following. Deceptive advertising This is the form of advertisement in which organisations present false information to customers in order to entice them to purchase certain products. Within some jurisdictions, this form of advertising has been illegalised by the law. The organisation has adopted this approach as the marketing strategy for the Pizza. The utilisation of deceptive advertising creates an ethical issue regarding the disclosure of information to the client. The clients are made to believe that the product they are using come from a different place than the hotel itself. Truth and personal ethics It is the obligation of the organisation to present true information to its clients for purposes of ensuring the customers know the truth. Since the customers have shown some preference of pizzas made from outside the hotel, selling them pizzas from other places that they don’t know could have the same resistance. The members of staff who will be delivering the pizzas will also face the challenge of some customers detecting them as it would be difficult for an external organisation to deliver a pizza inside a hotel room. This means that the customers will continue to purchase from other known establishments. The decision making team The decision making process regarding the adoption of the proposal being brought about by the food services manager requires the consideration of different aspects. It is essential to have a team of different individuals who will bring the various issues into the discussion for consideration before adopting the method to use. The team would comprise of the following individuals The general manager – this individual will act as the leader of the teams and present his views regarding the suggested method. He will stand-in for the organisation and presenting the interests of the organisation in considering various matters related to the suggestion. These could include the costs of adopting the suggested approach in marketing the product The food services manager – this is the person who has cropped up the idea and must be present in order to explain to the team why she considers the inclusion of this marketing strategy relatively necessary for the organisation. While the idea has been presented to the organisation as a concern for the food services department, increasing sales volume would affect the entire organisation. Operations manager – this individual would bring guidelines on how the operations can be undertaken in establishing a new brand of a product within the organisation. This would be in line with the space setting for the organisation Marketing manager – the person would be able to present insight into the marketing implications and a survey on the consumer demographics before making a decision on the best approach to implement the proposal Alternative approaches There are other approaches that can be utilised by the organisation to develop and market their product to the target populations. The adoption of the currently proposed approach involves a consideration of several ethical issues that arise from implementation of the strategy. The following methods would be viable alternatives for enhancing the sales of the product. Establishing a subsidiary This would involve setting up the Napoli Pizza subsidiary as an independent food outlet within the hotel. This would enable the organisation to market the brand independently to the customers without indicating any form of partnership existing between holiday inn and the pizza outlet. This outlet would operate autonomously and be able to sell products to other clients outside the hotel. Restriction The organisation can implement a restriction policy barring individuals residing within the hotel from bringing foodstuff into the hotel premises. This restriction would mean that the customers cannot order food outside the hotel and bring it into the hotel. The customers who desire to have pizza would, therefore, become obliged to purchase one within the establishment. Aggressive marketing The organisation can organise an aggressive form of marketing seeking to popularise the pizza made within the organisation to the general population other than the guests staying within the hotel. This would establish a well-known brand which people would be able to compare with the rest of the existing brands (Kotler & Keller, 2011). Such an approach would ensure that the products reach a wide market. The best action for solving the dilemma The best approach for solving the existing ethical dilemma would be establishing the brand as an independent outlet for the organisation. This would ensure that the profits gained are directed to the organisation and the organisation has widened its market coverage to include the pizza market. The independent outlet would also be able to sell to the outside market. The market coverage for the products would become extended and increased sales volumes can be realised. Through the development of an independent outlet, the ethical issues of presenting false information to clients and having same room service staff pretend to be different would be overcome completely. The outlet would be able to compete with the other outlets which have been considered as being a threat to the profitability of the room service. The proposed promotional strategies of branding the products can also be integrated into the new establishment to enhance the recognition of the brand (Kapferer, 2012). This would ensure that the existing ethical issues are eliminated and the profitability of the food service department maintained. References Kapferer, J.N. (2012). The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2011). Marketing Management (14th ed., p. 816). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.  Read More