Extra Brand of Wrigley Company Limited - Case Study Example

CSA Project Report- Wrigley Extra Brand Outline I. Product overview II. Extra’s Threats in the UAE Market III. Pestle Analysis IV. Political and Legal Environment V. Economic Environment VI. Socio-Cultural Environment VII. Technological Environment VIII. Marketing Strategy IX. Target Market X. Positioning XI. Price XII. Promotion XIII. Promotion Strategy XIV. Conclusion Product overview Wrigley Company limited is a subsidiary of Mars Incorporated since 2008 and is the home of great brands. Mars Incorporated is a conglomerate with 5 business segments which include, Pet care, chocolate, Wrigley, food, drink and symbioscience. Having been founded over 100 years ago, the company has continued to bring smiles to the faces of many people across the globe. Wrigley is the world leader in confectionery, gum, hard and chewy gums, candies and lollipops. With her headquarters at Chicago Illinois, Wrigley has an associate working force of over 17,000 with presence in over 40 countries while her products are being distributed in over 180 countries. This is a hallmark of a true global brand. Mars Incorporated on the other hand has her headquarters in McLean Virginia and has slightly over 77,000 Associate employees. To this end Mars incorporated is among the top global employers in terms of workforce and even in quality work environment. Wrigley is the producer of major world brands consisting of Extra®, Orbit®, Double mint® and the 5TM Chewing Gums. In their confectionery line, they boast of Orbits® such as Skittles®, Starbust®, Altoids® and Life Savers® and together these brands indeed create simple pleasure to their consumers all around the world. Wrigley has steadily expanded having started operations from Canada, and USA to capture a global lead in confectionery, chewing and other areas where their products exist. Wrigley prides itself in innovation and utilizing science and technology to improve on their services and products. At their innovation centre they are engaged in research and development that has allowed innovations to permeate through all the principles of their business. This research is however going to concentrate on the Extra brand which is the number one contributor of revenue for the company (Haymarket, 2012). Extra’s Threats in the UAE Market Wrigley was among the very early fast moving consumer goods company world wide to introduce the application of high intensity sweeteners in their product. Due to the mounting pressures from health reports about the association between obesity and sugar content of the foods consumed, the food manufactures had to find away to maintaining their customers by offering alternative sources of sweetness rather than sucrose which is a high calorie carbohydrate. It is this search that led to the launch of sugar free Extra brand. The innovation ensured that the products maintained the desirable flavor over a long duration of chewing. It is also on the footsteps of this innovation that Wrigley introduced two great product lines as brand extensions: the peppermint and Spearmint. Within five years after its launch into the market, the Extra brand evolved as the number 1 sugar free gum in the US and across the globe. The desire to capture the needs of her clients while attracting new ones whatever their market segment has been a key marketing strategy for Wrigley. Between 1988 and 2007, Wrigley introduced new flavours to the Extra brand. The new introductions were the Cinnamon, Winter Fresh, in 1888. This was followed by introduction and promotion of Classic bubble in 1999 and Polar Ice one year later. In 2005, the extension of Cool Green apple was introduced and this was followed by Cool water Melon and Super mint by 2007. It was in this same year that the Orbit®, Extra® and Ecliose® brands were awarded seal of approval by the American Dental Association for their ability to fight cavity, strengthen the teeth, and reduce harmful plague acids. In the 2008, the extra fruit sensation with sublime characteristics was unveiled. These brands were especially released with the ability to retain flavor over long periods. Other extensions were Island coolers, Berry Paradise, sweet watermelon and Strawberry banana which were marketed to different segments and regions. Wrigley is however facing a myriad challenges from her operations in UAE. The most important challenge Wrigley is facing in UAE is the growing competition from Perfetti van Melle (Robinson, 2004). Marketing analysis: PESTLE PESTLE stands for - Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, Environmental analysis tool. It is a very useful generic tool for companies in analyzing the external factors that may have a significant effect on the operations of the organization. In particular, it is very useful in helping companies to decide their direction of growth and other important decisions based on what is happening in these facets. Creating well recognized and globally acclaimed brands require patience tact and a sound marketing strategy which is an area where Wrigley has perfected her act. Over the years Wrigley has combined the aspects of customer need, provision of pleasure and different geographical and climatic themes to create, sustain and retain powerful brands all across the globe. Product innovation and research and development are the core activities that have driven this great growth in the branding and marketing strategy for Wrigley. They have equally employed massive promotional techniques through digital, electronic and later on the power of the World Wide Web to reach their target audience and clientele. One key segment that has been much focus for the Wrigley’s sales and marketing team is the youthful population. Political and legal Environment The legal landscape is very important consideration for Wrigley as they make important delivery of this important service. The political scenario has seen stability over the year’s in spite of the recent political upheavals in many of the Arab states. The youth is a unique target for the leisure products marketed by Wrigley because of their tendency to leave carefree lives and are also known to associate their sense of worth or achievement on the brands what they buy and use. The introduction of the 5 Evolution Brand extension of the Extra Brand was a strategy based on the urgent need by the company to recapture the dwindling consumer sales to the teen segment of their market (Gogoi, Crown, & Arndt, 2008). The Economic Environment The past few years have seen a slump in the economic performance of many countries due to the effects of global economic crisis. However, the market for extra Product is viable and requires the focus of every company’s marketing policy. The 5 Evolution has an array of flavours that covers from sour to sweet taste and the gum changes flavor on chewing. A unique feature of the promotional strategy for Wrigley was to portray this product as a product that created an opportunity for sharing and would easily be associated with certain occasions or functions. The strategy employed by Wrigley was to launch a massive and extensive marketing campaigns, with the riding slogan of ‘What is next Strapline’, promotions, fashion shows, art, gaming, and filming and play stations. These promotions targeted over 10 public universities across UK with massive sampling drives conducted to market the product Marketing. Socio-Economic Environment One great challenge facing marketers today is to blend the understanding of a product with the market environment which is more often a function of the socio-cultural practice of a place or market. Extra brand enjoys a prime position on the several brands marketed by Wrigley Company Ltd. A simple search on the Google search engine reveals Extra as one of the most well marketed and recognized brands not only in the US or UK , but also world over. Building of the Extra brand at Wrigley has been a concerted effort that has been carefully tended and executed through the many strategies that include massive promotions and brand extension. However from the year 2007, the company has reported a decline in the consumption of this product particularly among the youthful population and the teen (Grant & Jammine, 1988). Technological environment Rapid changes happening in the technological scene has been unprecedented. If anything leaders in this global marketing field require dedication and a keen ear to these changes. Wrigley in the UAE has to inculcate this in their plans to expand and roll up new products. The access to World Wide Web and other advances in information technology, provide opportunity for successful launch of new products in UAE by Wrigley. Market strategy The teen age is a tricky market to capture and retain since they can easily loose a brand loyalty just as it is easy for them to get into one. Many marketing gurus have used the theory of teen behavior to describe the youth purchasing patterns but even then there are always incidences when they go against expectations in terms of their buying behaviour and brand loyalty. Introduction of the strawberry flavor which is a much liked product and would help to augment the sales patterns recorded on the product. The focus of Wrigley must now be to provide the right brand, to the right consumer, at right occasion and time. The use TV to reach out to her customers is a prime strategy that Wrigley must employ. There advertisements must then be rolled out in as many stations as possible. Other methods include the point of chewing, snack out points and pushed sampling activities which are well targeted to the chosen clientele. To best capture the teen and youth market, the internet especially the social sites such as face book and 2 go are the key media channels to expand the sale of extra. Target market There exist a ripe market opportunity for teenagers’ with regard to the suggested Extra brand which is a strawberry flavoured addition. The market analysis will be conducted using the sample questionnaire. In the analysis the key issues to be looked at is on the basis of the new product development cycle. The first stage is idea generation where as many ideas as possible from the customers, workers, competitor prices or the general public are received without any due consideration to their viability. The second stage involves the idea screening where ideas are screened on the basis of technological, equipment, skills and knowledge visibility to help focus on one or the few that the company feels they are best placed to tackle. The next stage is the Technical viability stage. The management or new product development team goes through the details of pre-screened ideas to realize technical viability in terms of sourcing for raw material, skills and knowledge competence of the production team. Once the idea has passed this stage, then the process of creating prototype begins. This stage is refereed to as the prototyping stage. Positioning The next stage is market and financial viability where the product is considered in terms of target market, financial viability, potential profitability and general acceptance. If all these stages have been passed successfully, then the product is ready for launching. During the launch Wrigley has to put all her efforts in creating a lasting positive impression in the minds of her targeted customers. The best promotion strategies will use a combination of advertising and public relations to reach out to the target clientele (Tolba et al., 2011). The place of contact with customers has to ensure efficient and effective reach to the target clientele. Here Wrigley has to make use of market analysis tools to ensure they capture the target market’s unique needs. The aim of this tool is to list and to capture as accurately as possible the need of the customer including the segment and, targeted group that the product will be sold to. It is for this reason that the tool is focused on bringing out the factors that influence consumer behaviour with regard to what they buy, how do they buy and use it, and what need or needs does the product satisfy?. The consumer behaviour also needs to reveal, where when and in what form the consumers will enjoy the product the most. The marketing strategy will hence need to be totally customer driven adopting the three concepts of segmentation, targeting and positioning. The brand will be aimed at enhancing and supplying a created customer value and be able to communicate the same. Price Following the targeted market the price will be pegged at 10 US dollars for 15 count pieces in a pack of ten. The basis of this pricing is not to create an impression of this product as being expensive, but as affordable and with the ability to bring most youth together. The marketing strategy will, be aimed at creating along time customer value based on quality and affordability. Then the product shall be marketed through a mix of promotional strategies which includes advertisement and public relations. To reach a bigger population of the target clientele, direct online marketing is to be introduced in a bid to ensure convenience to the customers. The aim will be to build a direct customer relation not only with the product but also with the Brand. The proposed distribution will be through the regional offices and Wrigley companies operating all over the world (Internet centre for management and business Administration, 2010). Promotion strategy The new product will be a strawberry flavoured addition to the Wrigley brand with the intention to capture a new market segment while reclaiming the dwindling number youth customers. The product will be marketed and targeted to the teen and youth with the massage that it is not only healthy to use the new product as depicted by the slogan; ‘Eat, Drink, and Chew Strapline’, but also to provide an additional prestige and a sharing opportunity for them during their social gatherings and functions. Additionally, the health consciousness of the consumer today must be considered. Conclusion Wrigley Company Limited is a market leader in the production and sale of very many important brands world over. The most successful brands include Orbit Extra and Eclipse with a global following all across the continents. However, there surely exists a room for the introduction of a new product that can build on the strength of the Wrigley brand while targeting and leveraging on the potential youth and teenage consumers. In the development and promotion of the said product consideration must be given to the consumer behaviour including; preferences in terms of convenience and presentation. The strawberry flavoured product has the chance to capture the particular market segment and become a major revenue contributor to the Extra brand family for Wrigley (Tolba et al., 2011). References Gogoi, P., Crown, J., & Arndt, M. (2008). A Bittersweet Deal for Wrigley. BusinessWeek, 4083, 034-034. Grant, R.M., & Jammine, A.P. (1988). Performance Differences between the Wrigley/Rumelt Strategic Categories. Strategic Management Journal, 9(4), 333-346. Haymarket. (2012). Marketing: What is next. Wrigley's prepares major marketing pushes across Extra and 5Gum brands. Retrieved from http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/1108767/Wrigleys-prepares-major- marketing-pushes-across-Extra-5Gum-brands/ Internet centre for management and business Administration. (2010). QUICK MBA marketing. Retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/research/qdesign/ Robinson, D. (2004). Marketing Gum, Making Meanings: Wrigley in North America, 1890- 1930. Enterprise and Society, 5(1), 4-44. Tolba, A., Habib, A., Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2011). Principles of Marketing (Arab World Editions). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Read More