Integrated Marketing Communication Plan for Refresh Company - Case Study Example

Running head: Integrated Marketing Communication Plan Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date of Submission: Table of Contents Executive Summary …………………………………………………………3 1.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………………4-5 2.0. Target Market…………………………………………………………..5-6 3.0. SWOT Analysis………………………………………………………..6-9 4.0. Communication Objectives…………………………………………….9-10 5.0. Marketing and promotional communication tools……………………..10-13 6.0 Findings/Discussions………………………………………………………14-15 6.0. Conclusions……………………………………………………………….15 7.0. Recommendations……………………………………………………......15-16 8.0. References………………………………………………………………….17 Executive Summary This integrated marketing communication plan explains in details the launch of a new product by Glimmers limited a soft drink company based in Australia known as “Refresh” a new fresh fruit juice made from organically grown apples. The new product thus Refresh apple fruit juice is unique in a manner that it an organic juice made from apples which are crushed and repackaged within 24 hours. Moreover, the juice is healthy since it has no additives or preservatives. Refresh apple juice is Glimmers limited company is a soft drink company which stores as well as sells a range of soft drinks as well as other carbonated drinks. With the company’s mission in mind “to serve the customer’s with highly nutritious and delicious healthy drinks”, Glimmers intends to launch this product primarily to take advantage of the growing consumer demands for fresh fruit juices. This marketing communication plan therefore comprehensively covers introduction target market, communication objectives and promotional tools. In addition, it explains in details how the product will be introduced to the market with the help of various promotional displays, advertisement as well as various forms of advertisements and distribution of free samples to the general public and financial institutions. The marketing communication plan examines in details the Australian fruit juice market through the use of SWOT analysis. In order to penetrate deeper into the market, the study uses both primary and secondary research with the main focus of the survey on the competitors and the customers’ tastes and preferences. The marketing communication plan too outlines findings, conclusions and recommendations. 1.0 Introduction Glimmers Limited Company is one of the leading companies in Australia dealing in avariety of soft drinks as well as carbonated drinks. This Glimmers Limited Company was established in the year 1999 and it has been in the industry of soft and carbonated drinks for a period eleven years. The current market size for fruit juice in Australia has doubled over the years with estimated sales of $19.7 billion dollars per year hence it is quiet evident that this market contributes to approximately 20% of the total gross domestic product (Matthew, 2005).The Australian fresh fruit juice market has been experiencing rapid and continuous growth rates of between 20%-40% a year as a result of increased consumer demand (Krishna, 2005).The current growth rates are perceived to a larger extend being attributed by the current increases in product demand as well as shifts in consumer trends. In early 1990’s most people used soft drinks such as colas but today the value of soft drink industry has decreased sufficiently as well as other carbonated soft drinks with a large percentage proportion of consumers opting for healthier alternatives in the functional drink segment such as energy drinks, smoothies, milk , fresh fruit juice, juice drinks and sport drinks. The current trends in the market has seen many companies shape up their business towards new product development which do not have any negative health impacts to consumers (Matthew, 2005).Due to the current trends and increased demand for healthier products in the market, Glimmers Limited Company intends to take this advantage by launching a new product in the market which is fresh fruit juice made from organically grown apples known as “Refresh”. The launch of this new product is a result of increased consumer demand for fresh fruit juice (Krishna, 2005) hence the company’s functional market is expected to show a rapid and sustained growth in the future years due to consumer shifts to healthier and more sophisticated products. 2.0. Target Market The primary target market for our new product Refresh apple fruit juice (Ready to Drink) will be established within the Fresh Fruit juice category. The target market will comprise of college students, University students, Professionals from diverse areas, Diabetic patients, overweight individuals and young adults. In relation to the segment needs the product primarily will cater for consumers physiological needs which comprises of health issues as well as nutritional value. In addition, it will cater for consumers social needs which comprises of; perception of a social and fun drink with a sense of belonging within peer consumer groups. Glimmers limited new product thus Refresh apple fruit juice targets all consumers of soft drinks as well as consumers who have health related issues. Since the company is based in Sydney, then the marketing campaign for the new product will launch will concentrate within the city of Sydney and its surroundings. Once this has been established, Glimmers Limited will then launch its new product to other cities and provinces all over Australia. With increased health issues related to Carbonated drinks which have gases and sugar which have side effects to individuals with health issues especially overweight and those suffering from diabetes , well educated individuals desire to have a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their family. According to a research conducted by Matthew, (2005) on overall consumer shifts, he indicated that over the last years there has been a growing interest for healthier and beneficial products for the body. His studies indicates that 70% of the consumers who take soft drinks today prefer fruit juice over the carbonated drinks (Matthew,2005).This has increased demand for healthy alternative drinks to soft drinks as well as increased demand for fruit juices hence it is anticipated that company’s sales will grow over time. 3.0. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is described as a strategic planning method which is used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in business (Sherry, 2009). Strengths Weaknesses Management Experienced as well as supportive when it comes to introduction of new and innovative products to the marketplace. Management experience has insignificant role to play when it comes to product introduction and sometimes it may not help as far as certain products are concerned like the company’s new product. What matters is the techniques involved when launching the new product Product introduction The company already has effective stride in the new markets. Given the mere fact that the company currently has a strong customer base of approximately 5000, this will act as a strong foundation for Glimmers as far as the new product is concerned since the current customers will be the first consumers to purchase the product before Glimmers can reach out to other consumers in the target market. The new product thus Refresh apple fruit juice is unique in a manner that it an organic juice made from apples which are crushed and repackaged within 24 hours as well as it has no additives or preservatives The company mostly relies on soft and carbonated drinks and this may affect the ability and willingness to launch the new product given the competitive nature of fruit juice market in Australia Marketing Glimmers Limited has been in the business of soft drinks for a period of eleven years hence it has established a strong collaboration with vendors. For the products to reach consumers more easily and on time and more conveniently, Glimmers Limited company has established strong marketing and distribution channels through the vendors who distribute the products to the consumers This has contributed to its growth and high profits of approximately three million dollars on yearly basis The existing distribution and marketing may not be appropriate for the new product as they are best known for soft drinks and other carbonated drinks not fresh fruit juice Personnel The company currently has Enthusiastic and innovative staff which assures product commitment and enhancement Since the company has many product lines it relies upon line extensions. With many product lines key personnel maybe reassigned Product positioning and differentiation The company will use continuous efforts primarily to maintain market leadership position through product differentiation as way of attracting more customers and winning over other competitors This may fail due to the competitive nature of the fruit market in Australia Opportunities Threats Competition The company has an already established strong market network for the new fresh fruit juice as well as distribution channels over its competitors due to its product uniqueness Since the company has been in the soft drink market for almost eleven years it has Good Knowledge of local market which will help the marketing in gaining tremendous growth as far as its new product is concerned There is strong competition from other fresh fruit juice dealers who already have a strong network of consumers and have established their business over the years Entrance into strong fruit established businesses maybe hard for Glimmers Limited company. This will contribute to less market share which may affect its operations Economy The Australian economy has been growing tremendously creating more opportunities for fruit juice businesses With the current economic growth and increased consumer demand for fresh fruit juice in Australia, many business players may opt for this business in the future eroding the market as well as affecting the product price. Once many business players ventures into a business it creates a situation where supply is more than demand. This in the end affects the prices which later on affects the expected business profits Legal/Regulatory Free trade no restrictions Health restrictions related to the new product may affect the operations of the business to a greater extend 4.0. Communication Objectives Communication is always perceived as one of the vital areas of any organizational success. Since the company is launching a new product in the fresh fruit juice category it is necessary that the communication objectives be tailored towards the target audience. Studies show that consumers usually respond in terms of a hierarchy and this normally involves initial awareness of a product to eventual consumer awareness ( Tuckwell, 2010). The first objective for this marketing communication plan is creating brand awareness. This objective is intended to create as well as stimulate interest among the target consumers. Additionally, it is meant to inform the consumers about the new product being offered by Glimmers Limited Company and where to find it. The company intends to create awareness of 100% within the market as well as target audience. The second objective is to inspire the consumers to view Refresh apple juice in a new and more vibrant light. This objective primarily is concerned with persuading the consumers to buy the new product. The goal of this objective is to convince our customers that our new product will provide best value to all the consumers compared to that of the competitors. Encouraging the consumers to take action is the third objective for this marketing communication plan. Primarily this objective is meant to encourage the consumers in the target market to purchase our new product. This objective will help Glimmers Limited to stay visible to the customers since the more they are reminded of the new product existence, the higher the chances of them buying the new product. The other important objective for this marketing communication plan is to create a positive consumer attitude towards our new refresh apple juice. Increasing markets share and sales is the last objective for this marketing communication plan. This will be done through brand recognition hence this objective will endeavor to associate our new product with the customers needs. Different advertisements will be used for various groups and this primarily will help the company in successful launching the new product in the market. 5.0. Marketing and promotional communication tools In marketing promotional tools are used in normally circumstances by different organizations to pull customers to buy a certain product (Philip & Armstrong, 2001). This tool has been proved more efficient and effective especially when launching a new product primarily to attract new and more potential customers (Russell & Taylor, 2004).It is always important that an organization evaluates the funds available for marketing process as well as the expected return before selecting any marketing product promotional tool. Since Glimmers Limited Company is launching a new product as a way of creating awareness among various customers in relation to the new “Refresh apple fruit Juice” various promotional tools and tactics will be used. The first promotional tool will be Advertising which is a marketing tool usually used when a particular company is launching a new product in the market. It is therefore important that product advertisements should contain a message which actually focuses on key benefits of the product which are in precise important to the prospective buyers (Philip & Armstrong, 2001). To attract more customers’ Glimmers Limited Company will design its advertisements in a manner that the messages contained in them have a strong appeal to the target consumers. Various Advertising mediums will be used and they will comprise of; Internet marketing This will be online marketing which targets part of the target audience thus professionals, college, university students and young adults. In order to reach the target market social media networks such as facebook, yahoo, twitter and LinkedIn will be used since most of these groups spends a lot of time online. Glimmers Limited will set up special facebook, twitter and LinkedIn sites that will allow all the internet users to receive special promotional information related to our new refresh apple juice. Glimmers Limited will use Twitter account to post immediate information about the new product as well as sales to the target audience. Since many of our target consumers use the internet more frequently, information about our new product will reach them more quickly. The message that will be posted on these social networks will be precise, clear, concise and informative as well as easy to read. This will ensure that the target group reads the message and understands on what Glimmers Limited is offering. Print This will be used by Glimmers Limited Company primarily as way of achieving brand recognition objective. Advertising in print media will be used by Glimmers Limited primarily to inform the consumers about the product launch as well as build interest among them. Glimmers Limited will print different newspapers, magazines and brochures containing information about the new refresh apple juice. The company will create message templates which will help the target group develop interest in the new product. Glimmers Company will choose specific places in magazines and newspapers in which it will print on weekly basis the company’s new product offering together with company’s logo and name. This primarily is meant to make the consumers more familiar with the product as well as associate the company new product with their own needs. Television and Radio Glimmers Limited will use the Television and Radio to communicate information about the product and service offerings. Since the target audience comprises of different groups of individuals, Glimmers Limited will work in hand with television and radio networks to determine which television and radio channels suits each of the target market audience. Advertising through the television and radio will help Glimmers Limited Company to raise awareness about the new product among the consumers. Mobile advertising Mobile advertisement involves communicating with consumers through mobile phones. Glimmers Limited will use several mobile marketing communication techniques to reach particular target groups. In the current information era young teenagers, college and university students today use their mobile phones to carry out most of their educational activities as well as accessing the internet. Glimmers will use targeted SMS ads which will be send as text messages and they will contain information about the new product and where it can be found as well as available information on product discounts. Glimmers Limited will create mobile website through which consumers will be able to access new product information via their own mobile phones. To make it easier for the consumers to access new product information more easily, the company will develop mobile applications which will enable consumers to easily download product information Coffee cup advertising This form of advertising is common in Australia hence Glimmers Limited will use it to advertise the new Refresh apple juice. Glimmers Limited Company will print in capital letter on the coffee cups “THIS IS NOT A COFFEE ADVERTISMENT” primarily to attract consumers and viewer’s attention as far as the new product is concerned. The coffee cups bearing this message will be distributed to various offices and this medium of product offering targets working professionals who are one of the target groups. Marketing Collateral Marketing Collateral is another promotional tool that will be used and here Glimmers Company Limited will print brochures, newsletters, flyers and posters containing detailed information on the new product which will be distributed all over Sydney and its surroundings areas. Special offers too will act as promotional tool and here the new product will be offered at special discounts as way of attracting and retaining more customers due to the competitive nature of the market. 6.0 Findings/Discussions Glimmers Limited Company currently has approximately over 5,000 consumers all over Australia who currently consume its products thus soft drinks. Though, this is the case over the last three years the company’s sales for products thus soft and carbonated drinks has been on a declining margin with increased shifts in consumer consumption. Most of the company’s customers are opting for fresh fruit a juice which has been seen as the latest trend in the market as far as juice and soft drink market is concerned. The current Fresh fruit juice market in Australia is highly competitive as well as undifferentiated (Krishna, 2005). Carbonated beverages account for 23% of the market share while the fruit juice market accounts for 40% and the remaining percentage is shared among other drinks. Most companies therefore offer products which are shelf stable hence as a way of maintaining them for longer periods of time, additives and preservatives are usually added to prevent them from extreme heat. This is because fresh fruits are extremely expensive in Australia most of the companies prefer adding preservatives then preparing fresh fruit juices only (Krishna, 2005). Competition in this market is concentrated since the competitors are both functional as well as ambient. Though, this is the case there is a strong opportunity for business growth as far as this market is concerned. Majority of the juices found in the market are separated into two main categories thus vegetable juice and fruit juice. Studies shows done by Krishna (2009), indicate that there is increasing number of competitors in the fruit juice market in the recent years. Since there is strong competition as far as this market is concerned Glimmers limited Company will launch the new fresh fruit juice into the currently unnserved subset of the market thus (RTD “Ready-To-Drink” Refresh Apple Juice).Though, this market has not been explored in depth, competition is anticipated from other brands of fresh juice as well as other functional drinks hence necessary that various promotional as well as marketing tools be used as way of penetrating through the target segment. 7.0. Conclusions With increased health issues among consumers it is evident that they are moving towards health products which don’t have any health problems. Today the fruit juice market in Australia is doing tremendously well with many individuals venturing into the fresh fruit juice to meet the increasing consumer demands as well as take advantage of E- Commerce and high profits. Most of the fruit juices have been added preservatives hence they are found on shelf, but Glimmers Limited will venture into the market with a unique product thus refresh apple fruit juice which is an organic juice made from apples which are crushed and repackaged within 24 hours as well as has no preservatives or additives. This is perceived to be a great opportunity for Glimmers to explore the fruit juice market despite the stiff competition. 7.0. Recommendations This marketing communication plan recommends that Glimmers Limited Company should use print advertising, Internet marketing, radio and television, mobile and coffee cup advertising communication tools in order to achieve its corporate as well as marketing communication objectives. It is necessary that Glimmers Limited Company builds a close interaction with the media primarily as way of increasing product awareness to the public. This will help Glimmers achieve its goal of building product awareness and interest among the target audience. Implementation of an internal public relations strategy is important since it will help Glimmers Limited to promote itself via sales force through individual retailers. Internet advertising is more important since it will Glimmers establish an interactive nature with its consumers as well as reach a larger percentage of the target audience. Sales promotions too are important as they will help Glimmers Limited Company to increase their short sales hence necessary that it appropriately implemented. It is necessary that Glimmers Limited Company constantly evaluate the communication objectives to determine it has been achieved or not and if not necessary measures as well as steps be taken in relation to the objective. References Barton, W., A., & Wensley, R(2002). Handbook of marketing. Publisher: Sage, Chaston, I (2007).New Marketing Strategies: evolving flexible processes to fit market circumstances. Publisher: Sage Graham, H., John, S., A., & Nigel, P ., Nicoulaud, B (2008).Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning; 4th ed.Publisher: Prentice Hall John B, Sandra M & William W(2006). Advertising Principles and Practice, Pearson Prentice Hall Joseph, F & Parker, L (2002). Integrated branding: becoming brand-driven through company-wide action. 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