Uncle Tobys New Cereal Brand: IMC Plan - Coursework Example

LA TROBE Melbourne, Australia Bendigo Campus BACHELOR OF BUSINESS (Human Resource Management) 26th INTAKE Marketing Communication (MKT3MCO) Uncle Toby’s New Cereal Brand: Integrated Marketing Communications Plan (IMC) Campaign Report PRESENTED TO: COURSE LECTURER PREPARED BY: Jean Yeo Student ID Number 15429884 Statement of Authorship   I certify that the attached material is my original work. No other persons work has been used without due acknowledgement. Except where I have clearly stated that I have used some of these materials elsewhere, it has not been presented by me for examination in any other course or subject at this or any other institution. I understood that the work submitted may be reproduced and/or communicated for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. ______________________ Jean Yeo Table of contents Company Overview 4 Environmental Factors 4 New Product Communication Marketing Strategy 4 Unique Selling Proposition 4 Target Market 5 Marketing Objectives 5 Communication Objectives 6 Message Tactic 6 Execution Strategies 7 TV Advertising 7 Print Advertising 8 Radio Advertising 9 Outdoor Media 9 Cinema Advertising 10 Internet/Interactive Media 10 Public Relations 11 Sales Promotions 12 Budget Determination 12 Evaluating the Results 13 Summary & Conclusion 13 References 14 1.0 Company Overview Uncle Tobys has become one of the most trusted names in Australia, and is one of the Australian market leaders in the Nutritious snacks products. It also remains at the top of the Breakfast cereals ladder. It is committed to making healthy eating enjoyable and easy. Furthermore, Uncle Tobys active sports sponsorship, particularly to swimming, has made it one of Australia’s top sports sponsors (“Company Info”, 2008). A well respected Australian company, Uncle Tobys employ more than 900 employees, and holds production facility in Wahgunyah, Victoria.The recent acquisition of Nestlé Australia of Uncle Tobys has given the brand the opportunity to expand and reach wider market through Nestlé’s sales and distribution strengths. Uncle Tobys roster of products include nutritious snacks, breakfast cereals and instant soups. “Breakfast cereals account for more than 40% of Uncle Tobys sales (“Nestle Grows Cereals,” 2007).” 1.11 Environmental Factors There is a growing breakfast cereals market in Australia. “The market is worth £486m (being one of the top 3 dry grocery segments), growing by 2.6% in 2005. An average consumer now buys breakfast cereals more than 18 times a year and spends around £3 each time. Over 80% of the market value is held by 3 manufacturers – Kellogg’s (42.2%), Uncle Tobys (19.8%) and Sanitarium (18.3%), with top brands in terms of value being Sanitarium Weet-Bix, Kellogg’s Nutri Grain and Uncle Tobys Plus range (“Consumer Trends,” 2006).” Aside from this, there’s a lucrative market for breakfast cereals targeted to children as “more than a third of children do not have breakfast every day, according to a recent survey by the Dally Telegraph. There is therefore much work to be done in promoting breakfast cereals to the younger generation (“Reaching out to children,” 2008).” 2.0 NEW PRODUCT COMMUNICATION STRATEGY 2.1 Unique Selling Proposition The new cereal product produced by Uncle Tobys is a breakfast cereal with a defined competitive positioning based on the cereal’s nutritional content and comparative taste appeal. 2.11 Target Market No matter the age, children are heavy media consumers, spending an average of two hours a day in front of a television (“New Study”, 2003). Children are becoming more sophisticated viewers in this high-tech age and, as a result, are playing larger roles in family purchasing choices. Collectively, children influence $500 billion in spending annually on fast food, junk food, toys and other products (Crowe, 1997). Furthermore, upscale families with young children have one clear spending agenda: The little ones rule. But beyond this point, it is important to note that although children have influence in their parent’s decision in the buying avenue, parents are ultimately the decision makers and they have the buying power in the family. This is why, it’s important for Uncle Tobys to market the cereals not just to the children but to the parents as well. Considering the competitive positioning of the brand, it’s wise to market it to young parents who are basically both protective of their little ones when it comes to health, but also want to please their children with tasty meals, but with less effort on their part, given today’s working parent’s hectic schedule. Being so, the brand will target young families with children. 2.2.1 Specific Target Market 1. Young families with parents 24-35 years old, and children 6-12 years old. 2. Young parents who are increasingly health conscious, with growing interest in healthy breakfast alternatives for their families. 3. Working parents who enjoy great tasting breakfast meal but with less hassle to prepare. 4. Young families who thrive in the ideals of family time at breakfast time. 2.3 Marketing Objectives 1) Achieve a minimum 25% trial rate within the aggregate target market within the first 12 months of the launch. 2) Achieve a re-purchase cycle of not less than one month among a minimum of 50% of those who have trialled the product. 3) Achieve an average 1% market share of the category segment nationally within the first 12 months of launch. 2.4 Integrated Communication Objectives 1) To raise target market’s awareness of the new product. 2) To educate parents about the nutritional benefits of Uncle Tobys cereals and increase consumer’s familiarity and trust on the product’s health benefits thus, see the product as partner in good nutrition for children and adults alike. 3) To change current understanding, attitudes and perceptions of audience about breakfast cereals as junk food, and begin to see it as a nutritional food. 2.5 MESSAGE STRATEGIES - Message Design and Tactics The advent of the health consciousness has paved the way for cereal manufacturers to comply with the demand of the market particularly on healthy instant meals. Parents are becoming wary of the increasing child obesity rates and the unhealthy eating choices of their kids, so it’s important that breakfast cereals today offer “a health benefit which can create and sustain a genuine point of difference. Marketing health and nutritional benefits is still a new concept in most areas of the supermarket. The breakfast cereals category, however, is unlike any other because health was the driving reason behind its creation, back in the late nineteenth century, and health has long been the underpinning of most of the brands on the market today (“Gain an Insight,” 2007).” To make the benefits believable, the marketing communication plan has come up with strategic communication points and will use strategic marketing mixes to communicate those points. The tonality and personality of the message will be heavily based on the rising nutrition consciousness of the parents toward their children, as well as kid’s preference over great tasting foods. For the new product, the marketing plan needs to create strong attachment of the market to the product, the same attachment and attraction that Uncle Tobys’ older breakfast cereal brands have gained. The information that the new product want to convey to the parents is the health and nutrition benefits of Uncle Toby’s cereals, identified as follows: 100% natural ingredients (whole-wheat), fibre-enriched, contains vitamins and minerals, 90% less sugar, salt and fat while maintaining the good taste and flavours that Uncle Toby’s is known for. This message of good nutrition and good taste will be summarized in a simple yet cohesive brand slogan, “Tasty & Healthy! Families choose Uncle Toby’s.” This slogan will be part of all advertising materials and strategies for the brand. To jump-start the product launching, TV and outdoor ads will be aired and displayed a week before the launching, to create hype. Different campaigns will be implemented throughout the year. The first campaign will be in support of the product national roll-out and launching. This is the “Healthy Breakfast” campaign, which will be launched along with the product. The “Healthy Breakfast” campaign will focus on the importance of breakfast in a child’s day. This is the answer of Uncle Toby’s to the concern of many parents on their children missing out on breakfast. Campaign objectives 1. To raise brand awareness on the target market. 2. To raise awareness to kids about the importance of eating a healthy breakfast, thereby helping the parents connect to their kids. 3. To establish awareness brand’s health benefits to consumers. 4. To educate the target audience on the importance of healthy meal to growing children. 5. To aid families to choose Uncle Tobys brand over other competitors. 3.0 EXECUTION STRATEGIES - Integrated Communication Mix “For a new brand, it is generally important to create awareness of the brand quickly, and this requires more exposure to the advertising...This means that it makes sense usually – to launch with a relatively heavy campaign (White, 2000, p.133).” The Marketing Mix has been selected appropriately according to the most efficient mix in conveying the message of good health and in reaching the marketing, communications and advertising/ campaign objectives. These mixes involve primary media such as: TV commercials & program sponsorships, print advertising, and radio ads and tours. Secondary media involve the internet / interactive media, outdoor ads, public relations, and sales promotion. 3.1 TV ADVERTISING Television advertising is considered by many marketing experts as the main medium for any creative approach. Millions of people watch television everyday and it’s definitely one of the easiest ways to mass market and introduce Uncle Toby’s brand new product. One challenge to TV advertising is that people are put off with too many ads on TV, and there’s the tendency to switch channels during advertisements. This is why the strategy should not only introduce the new product but introduce it in a way that is creative, informative and TV show-integrated. The TV Ad strategies are as follows: 1. Create a TV commercial for Uncle Tobys new cereal brand and run it on purchased TV spots from different TV channels featuring children’s shows on daytime cable and local TV such as Walt Disney, Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon (usually from 8am-10am on Saturdays and Sundays and 3pm to 4pm on Mondays to Fridays when most children are home). The ads will run for 3 months. 2. Use product placement technique in sponsored TV programs targeted to young parents such as evening talk shows and other family-oriented shows. The talk shows like Oprah will feature Uncle Tobys new product in an episode about “Healthy Breakfast.” Meanwhile, the family-oriented TV shows will feature Uncle Tobys as a favorite “Healthy Breakfast” Meal. The sponsorship will run for one full episode of the shows only. 3. Create an infomercial about the many health benefits of eating breakfast to both adults and kids alike, integrating Uncle Tobys brand as a healthy breakfast meal. The infomercial will run for 3 months on sponsored TV talk shows, health & fitness shows, family-oriented shows and popular TV series. 3.2 PRINT ADVERTISING – Newspapers & Magazines “For the advertiser, the beauty of magazines is their specificity. They are read by specific and usually clearly defined audiences- defined by age, sex and/or common interests and enthusiasms. They cover, editorially, specific subjects – which maybe modern dance, or sexual relationships, home economics or vintage motorcycles – and so represent a specific marketplace for brand owners catering for these interests (White, 2000, p.177).” The Magazine Ad strategies are as follows: 1. Create 3 magazine ads for Uncle Tobys new cereal brand and place it on national and international ‘content’ magazines, with monthly publications, whose readerships are mostly parents or moms, and health and fitness enthusiasts. Magazines may be Reader’s Digest or Parenting and a popular health mag. The ads will be simultaneously printed and will run for 3 publication dates or a period of 3 months. 2. Create advertorials in newspapers and magazines. It will be printed and presented as an entire newspaper/magazine section focusing on children’s health, healthy breakfast meals and good parenting. 3.3 RADIO ADVERTISING “Radio has a different pattern of usage to TV, as it tends to dominate the early part of the day, especially pre-breakfast, breakfast and the journey to work (‘drive time’), though it also has a slight relative ‘blip’ between 4 and 5 p.m. (drive time, again) (White, 2000, p.198).” Also, many advertising bureaus visualize radio as closer to the listener than other media, and on a more human scale (White, 2000, p.198). The Radio Ad strategies are as follows: 1. Create a radio version of the TV infomercial. It will run for 3 months on sponsored radio talk shows, news shows and music shows on the following time slots: 3x a week every 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 5 p.m. 2. Start a localized (per major cities) “Healthy Breakfast Awareness Week” and tour local radio stations promoting healthy breakfast meals, and Uncle Tobys brand. 3.4 OUTDOOR MEDIA ADVERTISING Outdoor advertising may be the last remaining true mass media player because the effect of saturation or fatigue is still very far off. Highways are not exactly, populated with billboards at all contact points. So if (one) travel by this stretch of road, theres only so much (one) can and will absorb in terms of outdoor messages. The medium is uncluttered enough to qualify itself as probably the last remaining mass media vehicle. So an outdoor sign strategically positioned along the way can do wonders in registering the kind of favourable impression an advertiser is looking for (“Power of Outdoor Advertising, 2001). Outdoor advertising strategies, like the TV ad, will mainly announce the new brand’s presence. These include: 1. Create billboard ads announcing the new Uncle Tobys brand. This will be located primarily on major highways, expressways or principal arterials leading to major store chains, and schools where families with young children frequently go to; and also leading to residential areas where majority of the population are young families. A billboard will also be placed on a conspicuous place inside premises of a major grocery or store chains. 2. Create mobile or transport ads that will support the billboard ads. Ads will be displayed on taxi cabs, buses and trains 24/7 for 3 months. 3. Create posters that will extend the TV campaign. Posters will be prominently displayed on groceries and prominent places inside major grocery chains. 3.5 CINEMA ADVERTISING “Regular cinema-goers represent a young, relatively well-off group of the kind that advertisers find it difficult to reach cost-effectively through TV. These typical cinema audience is 60 percent aged between 18 and 34, and 68 percent ABC1 (meaning, they belong to the managerial, administrative and professional employment classes) (White, 2000).” Cinema advertising strategies will support the TV and outdoor ads, making sure that the ads reach the target audience well enough for the market to be aware of the new brand and consider it for trial. The strategy is to run TV Ads on cinemas that show quality animated, family-oriented, romantic, and comedy movies, rated GP or PG. This will be for 3-month duration. 3.6 INTERNET / INTERACTIVE MEDIA The Internet has given companies the opportunity to reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. It is interactive in nature and is accessible for a majority of the internet-savvy population. As a medium it is visually rich, informative and convenient especially in today’s fast-paced world. The online marketing strategies for the brand are discussed below: 1. Improve website of Uncle Toby’s to include interactive meal planners, cereal recipes, and health and fitness nutrition page to be called “NUTRIZONE” where the market can find many health-related tips. 2. As part of the “Healthy Breakfast” campaign, a game targeted for children and adults, called “Breakfast Mania” will be launched. The interactive game can be played with single player or as a family (multiple players). The player/s have to register to play the game. Registration is code-based. The code can be found inside the box of Uncle Tobys new cereal, tying it with sales promotion. Prizes will be awarded to weekly to winners. 3. Create banner ads promoting Uncle Toby’s new brand and display the banner in the company website and in popular websites where children and young parents frequently go. 3.7 PUBLIC RELATIONS To direct the image of the brand as healthy breakfast alternative with good taste, and to be able to maintain it, public relations will play a big role. Strategies for PR include: 1. In the store: wellness evaluation for the family. A licensed nutritionist will be deployed in major grocery chains 3x a week for a free “Family Wellness Evaluation.” 2. In the school: The “Healthy Breakfast Awareness Week” will visit target (to be determined) private and public schools to talk about the importance of nutrition, especially of eating breakfast in attaining good scholastic records. A free wellness evaluation to students and faculty member will take place. Free Uncle Tobys cereals breakfast will be distributed for sampling. 3. Uncle Tobys will launch the “Kid Ambassadors for Good Health.” This is a localized marketing approach. Every major city (to be identified) will have “Kid Ambassadors.” This is a marketing strategy that will feature 5 children chosen according to good school performance, good health, active extracurricular activities, and natural talent. They will promote good health to other children through schools, radio and TV appearances during the “Healthy Breakfast Awareness Week.” 4. Uncle Tobys will retain its traditional way of marketing its products through sports sponsorships and will sponsor not only national athletes but will also give importance to local, yet promising athletes in major cities. Scouting for these local athletes will be part of the PR campaign. 5. Send weekly press releases to local newspapers, magazines about Uncle Tobys new brand and its health and nutrition benefits; about child nutrition, and child obesity; about the Uncle Tobys “Healthy Breakfast campaign and its local public relations initiatives. 6. Create an online database of website visitors and send them monthly e-newsletter about nutrition, parenting and brand promotions through emails. 3.8 SALES PROMOTIONS This will refer to consumer sales promotions to further strengthen physical positioning of the brand in the stores, as well as to entice buyers to try the new product. Promotion strategies are: 1. Distribute Cereal Sampler mini-pack to grocers and shoppers. 2. Free BREAKFAST MANIA game download from a code in the box. 3. Point-of-sale displays: Place an aisle interrupter on the cereals aisle Place a Glorifier or a small stage to featuring Uncle Toby’s brand near the grocery entrance. Place a NUTRITION FACT SHEET about Uncle Tobys new cereal brand on the shelf where the products are displayed. Place Uncle Toby’s cereals on POS/counters. 4.0 BUDGET DETERMINATION The over-all budget for this campaign is around US$5,000,000. Generally, 4% of the budget will be used to cover creative development research and implementation. Another 1% will go to evaluation of the campaign. The rest, which is 95% of the budget, will be used in implementing the campaign. Table 1.1 show the allocated budget per medium used. The allocation is based on mass coverage and frequency. The coverage is described in terms of the population that can see the ad or activities, so that national would refer to the national population exposed to the ad at any given time and local would mean to the ad exposure of local residents in the area where the ad is. All ads are implemented on a national scale. Frequency would mean the number of times a person is exposed to the ad be it in indirect or direct exposure. Table 1.1 Campaign Budget Allotments Medium Coverage Frequency Budget TV National Daily 25% Radio Local (per area) Daily 15% Print National Weekly for news papers & Monthly for magazines 20% Outdoor Local (per area) Daily for 3 months 15% Cinema National Movie-dependent 10% Internet National Daily 5% PR Local Weekly and Monthly 10% Sales Promotion Local Daily 5% 5.0 EVALUATING THE RESULTS The campaign will be evaluated after 3 months on the run. Another campaign will be implemented by then. Success will be determined through: broadcast verbiage, observation of special events, surveys after events, convenience or judgment sampling, tracking of website visitors and online ad clicks, and sales reports. 6.0 SUMMARY & CONCLUSION Uncle Tobys is a known brand. It owns almost 20% of the cereal market in Australia. Launching the new nutritious product line at a time where parents are concerned with their children’s unhealthy eating habits is already a plus factor for the product’s success. The demand is present and is going to go even higher. Another factor that is crucial in attaining brand’s success is the campaign. The campaign outlined here will serve as a bridge between the product and the consumers. As a bridge, the campaign aims to create awareness about the new product and entice consumer to try it through creative visuals, and fun sales promotions. The campaign will utilize tri-media ads and several proven-effective secondary media such as outdoor ads, cinema ads and the internet. With a huge market demand and a big campaign, Uncle Tobys new product can gain competitive advantage with the market that is increasingly becoming health-conscious. References 1. Company Info. 2008. March 10, 2008. 2. Consumer Trends. Home-Grown Cereals Authority Export Bulletin. 2006. March 12, 2008. 3. Gain an Insight into the Branding & Pricing Strategies used in the Breakfast Cereals Market.. Business Wire. 2007. March 11, 2008. 4. Nestlé grows cereals, snacks market share with Uncle Tobys acquisition. Asia Food Journal. 2007. March 10, 2008. 5. Power of outdoor advertising. New Straits Times. 04-01-2001. Edition: New Sunday Times; 2. Highbeam Research. Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan March 17, 2008. < http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-82592872.html> 6. Reaching out to children. The Grocer. 2008. Highbeam Research. Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. March 14, 2008. White, R. Advertising. Fourth Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Co – Singapore, 2000. 7. The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation. New Study Finds Children Age Zero to Six Spend As Much Time With TV, Computers and Video Games As Playing Outside. 2003. March 17, 2008. < http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia102803nr.cfm> 8. Crowe, B. Advertisers see big guys in little eyes. 1997. March 17, 2008. Highbeam Research. Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. < http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19634591.html> Read More