Introducing a New Brand into the English Canadian Market

Competitor Brands Price/Quality Positioning Graph

Your group’s task is to introduce a new brand into the English Canadian market, basing it on the product category (must be widely available in supermarket or drugstore) you have selected. To do this, you must address each of the following:

1. Competitor Brands Price/Quality Positioning Graph

Identify 5 brands that compete in the product category you have selected (note: a different flavour or fragrance is NOT a different brand). Obtain pricing information and package size information for all five brands, preferably from the same Canadian source, for example walmart.ca.

Convert all prices to a price per 100 grams or price per litre, or whatever makes sense so that you can compare prices on the same scale, i.e. you don’t want to compare the price of a 500 ml bottle of shampoo to a 600 ml bottle of shampoo, so divide by the number of millilitres to get the price/ml and multiply by 100 for price/100 mls. For a product like gum or teabags, use price/unit, i.e. per stick or per teabag.

Now, go to the same site and obtain the average rating of the reviews given to each the 5 brands by consumers, e.g. 4.7 out of 5 stars, etc. Ensure this average is based on at least 25 consumer reviews. If there are fewer than 25 reviews, find an avg quality rating for the same brand on the U.S. site or go to online product review sites like goodguide.com or beautypedia.com (for cosmetics) or amazon.

Using the data for the 5 brands, create a “data table” as per the example below. For source of data, the table should include the full url link and be sure to also include it in your bibliography. If you used two sources, one for the price and a different one for the quality rating, put both in the table.

Now, using Excel’s Scattergram function, create a Price/Quality graph, with Quality (avg rating) on the x axis and price/100ml or price/100 gm or price/unit should be on the y axis. Place the 5 brands on the graph, and place the brand’s name right next to its intersection point (this way you don’t need to use colour). Title your graph and your axes.

You will return to this graph later on in this assignment, at which point you will add your new brand to it.

Identifying Competitor Brands

2. Target Market Identification, Positioning Statement and Brand Name

A.  Identify a NEW Target Market 

Select a new target market for your new brand and describe it by answering the following questions:

a. What are the demographics of your new target market? (e.g. gender, age, family stage, etc.)

b. What are your target market’s psychographics? (e.g. what are their activities, interests & opinions?)

c. Which benefits is your new target market seeking from your brand? (e.g. in a food product, do they care about taste? Calories? Carb content? Gluten? Packaging?)

d. Why did you choose this particular target market?

Create a one-page collage of images illustrating a “Day in the Life” of your target market, with the images illustrating the demographics and psychographics of your target market. Note that “A day in the life” is not 10 headshots of people who will use your product. It focuses on their lifestyle, i.e. what they do in a day, although the pics should reflect the appropriate demographics as well. Be sure to cite image sources in your Bibliography.

B. Develop a Positioning Statement

a. Using the exact format provided on page 265 of your textbook, develop a positioning statement for your new brand.

C. Select a New Brand Name 

b. Select a name for your brand that follows the name selection guidelines on page 330 of your textbook and briefly discuss how the brand name you’ve selected follow these criteria.

c. Research the legal availability of your brand name by doing a trademark search for the new brand name on the web site of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). Take a screen shot showing the name search and that your chosen name is available and include it in this section of your final report.

3.  4P Marketing Strategy for your New Brand

A. Product Strategy: Do some research about the ingredients used in brands that are in your product category and the benefits they provide. Decide on which features you would like your new brand to have, keeping in mind your target market and your positioning statement. Describe in detail a minimum of five product features of your new brand, then summarize these in a table, aligning them to their specific related benefits. Ensure you have researched the benefits and provide an in-text citation, e.g. if your face cream has retinol, and it is known to reduce wrinkles, then cite where you learned this. Remember to include features that address the notion of the “augmented” product, e.g. packaging, warranty where it is warranted.

Pricing Information and Package Size

Table headings:

Below your features/benefits table, provide an explanation of how your product is different and better than what the competition offers.

B. Pricing Strategy: Revisit the Price/Quality graph you created earlier and examine it for gaps where a new brand might position itself. Consider your target market and your positioning statement and decide on the ideal quality rating and “final” price (FP) for your new brand and plot it on the same Price/Quality graph you created in the first section of your report.

Now, write a paragraph recommending either a skimming, penetration or premium pricing strategy for your new brand (refer to p. 368-369 of you text) and provide a rationale for why you have chosen this pricing approach.

If you chose either a skimming or penetration pricing strategy, go back to your graph and add your new brand to it a second time, this time plotting it at its “introductory” price (IP), which, depending on your pricing strategy, will be either higher or lower than your final price. Whichever pricing strategy you select, be sure to address how you will achieve it in the section where you discuss your promotion strategy. For example, if your introductory price is lower, which promotion tool will you use to accomplish this?

C. Distribution Strategy: Where will your target market obtain your product? Do some research to identify retailers that would have a particular interest in carrying your new brand and/or that are particularly attractive to your target market, i.e. it is where they shop. Now answer the following:

i. Which three Canadian brick-and-mortar retailers would you like to see carry your product?

ii. Why did you choose these particular brick-and-mortar retailers? Be specific, i.e. how many stores do they have in Canada? Who do they appeal to? Why does your product fit there? Etc.

iii. Which three online retailers would you like to see carry your product?

iv. Why did you choose these particular online retailers? Again, be specific.

NOTE: your brick-and-mortar and online retailers MUST be different from one another, i.e. you cannot choose Walmart stores and walmart.ca. Also, if you want higher marks on this section, don’t just focus on mass merchandisers. Suggest specialty retailers that would be an ideal fit to distribute your product.

D. Promotion Strategy:

a. Thinking about your new brand and how you wish to communicate its introduction to your target market, select one or two promotional objectives from Table 13-1 on pg 478 of your text. Explain WHY you think these objectives are appropriate for the promotional/advertising activities that will support your new brand’s introduction to the market.

Average Quality Ratings

b. Now, answer the question “What is the key message you are trying to share with your target audience? A key message is a general statement that a company would use to “brief” or communicate with its advertising agency about the type of message it wants to communicate to its target market, i.e. we want to project a message that our brand of facial cleanser is made from organic ingredients, is in environmentally friendly packaging, and is ideal for the busy Millennial.

c. Now, pretend that you are the ad agency and create a “tagline” or slogan for your brand that captures your product’s benefits and is appropriate for your identified target market, i.e. “A cleanser that is more than skin deep”

d. Recommend a Promotional Mix that you think will meet the promotional objective you selected above, and provide a rationale for your choices. Your promotional mix must include a minimum of three different tools chosen from Advertising (specify broadcast, print, radio, etc.), Personal Selling, Sales Promotion, Public Relations, and Direct/Digital Marketing (refer to p. 474-476 of your text for details).

e. For each tool you select, explain in detail the advantages of using that tool, then discuss exactly how you would use it.

For example, if you are doing a magazine ad, explain why you chose to have magazine advertising, which specific magazines you will advertise in and why you made those choices.

For example, if you are choosing to have a TV ad, what are the advantages of selecting this particular medium for your product? Where (which channel) and when (which program) will your ads air and why did you select this approach? I will be looking specifically for evidence that you have taken your target market into account when making your choices.

If you are choosing digital marketing, discuss the specific advantages of using it, i.e. how you plan to use the interactivity of social media to your advantage. Note that it is not enough to say “we will have ads on Youtube” – that is not a digital marketing strategy. You will need to talk about why you are choosing a particular form of social media, which social media influencers (either celebrity or micro-influencers) will help to spread your message and why you selected them, how you will encourage engagement by the consumer, etc.

If you are choosing public relations, at a minimum, you should suggest having a product launch event, preferably connected to a charitable for not-for-profit organization. Discuss the type of launch event you have planned, the celebrity or micro-influencer that will be present, to which organization donations will be directed, and the “whys” behind your choices.

The goal of integrated marketing communications is to ensure each tool in the promotional mix supports the other tools being used and that the messaging is consistent. Explain how the different tools in your promotional mix work together to achieve your promotional objective, e.g. does your advertising support your sales promotion? If so, how? Is your digital marketing strategy integrated with your public relations strategy. If so, in what way? And so forth