Week 10 EOC: Benefits VS. Features

There are many products out in our world. Some are products that you need, others are products that we want. From the business perspective, one must solve the problem of introducing the product into the consumers hands, whether they fall in the 'wants' or 'needs' category. Food, we need food to survive, obviously it will be purchased because our well being depends on it, but ice cream? We do not need that, we want that. "Product concept

The idea that consumers will favor products that offer the most quality, performance, and features and that the organization should therefore devote its energy to making continuous product improvements."  Marketing: An Intro, Amrstrong/Kotler, page 10. The definition of product concept to seems very directional towards an item of 'want'. We must further improve our product if we want to continue to sell. 

"Selling concept,The idea that consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless it undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 11. Both concepts I believe go hand-in-hand. The concepts keep the emphasis on continuing to further improve our product through features, eye- catching features. In my opinion, regardless of your product, you must tie in the customers relationship to the product to something that will benefit them by using the product."Marketing myopia

The mistake of paying more attention to the specific products a company offers than to the benefits and experiences produced by these products." Marketing: An Intro. Amrstrong/Kotler, page 7.

With our ice cream, we will have to implement that feeling the emotion one gets when that delicious blend of flavors gets to you, we are selling enjoyment, not just mere ice cream. 

Week 9 EOC: Three Great Mission Statements

Out of all the classes mission statements, I chose the following three students that I believed to have the best mission statements. Will Rowley, Javier Garcia, Rom Alon
Javier's Mission statement is clear and to the point. I think anyone can read the mission statement and clearly see who they are trying to get their product out to. It was simple, and many consumers appreciate simplicity.
Will's statement was extremely detailed. He tells you exactly what he is doing, what his goal is and how he will achieve it. He explained both oriented, and market-oriented definitions in his description, and not many other people described their mission statement quite like Will did.
Rom's mission statement worked very well with his quotes he chose to integrate. The flow of his statement matched perfectly with the quotes and he also gives the consumer a small insight on the roots of how his company is ran. People enjoy seeing companies that include everyones opinion, and I think Rom is definitely on the correct path with his mission statement. In the text, Armstrong and Kotler say, “A mission statement is a statement of the organization’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. A clear mission statement acts as an “invisible hand” that guides people in the organization. “Kotler, Gary Armstrong and Philip. Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation. 10. According to the text, I believe that the three students listed above demonstrate exactly what a strong business mission statement should be.

Week 8 EOC: Creative Content

            I will present my product with a radio ad. 30 seconds of airtime should be sufficient to present the new product (Choco-Nachos) and explain a little about it as well. The Radio commercial will consist of a voice over done by myself and the 'theme' of the ad will revolve around the very last line of the voice over, 'Waint until you try it.' We have obtained the license to play the Nu Shooz song, "I Can't Wait" in the background as the voiceover is playing. The artist will also be a spokesman and have already projected tv ads with the artists after the first quarter. "Testimonial evidence or endorsement: This style features a highly believable or likable source endorsing the product. It could be ordinary people saying how much they like a given product." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 393.  This radio ad will be simple and cost effective. It will not require as much time to build upon therefore allowing us to distribute our product faster to the consumer. "Advertising can be very costly. Although some advertising forms, such as newspaper and radio advertising, can be done on smaller budgets, other forms, such as network TV advertising, require very large budgets. " Marketing: An Introduction. Armstrong/Kotler, Page 383.

Final Project: Implementation Evaluation Control

Throughout our whole business plan, we have presented many ideas. However, we can not just present the ideas and sit back and wait for them to develop on  their own. We have talked a lot about marketing, but not a whole lot about management. Marketing and Management go hand in hand. "Managing the marketing process requires the four marketing management functions —analysis, planning,implementation, and control. The company first develops companywide strategic plans and then translates them into marketing and other plans for each division, product, and brand." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 55. We have to first lay out the business plan and then of course follow through with it and execute. After the plan has  been executed, we will review the results and see where we can can advance or where we can improve. " Control consists of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities and taking corrective action where needed." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 55. Control is very important, if we are not able to analyze our results, and or improve our areas of opportunities, we will be unable to grow our business. If our goals and or business plan is not going the way we initially saw it, changes must be made to further grow the company. " Finally, management takes corrective action to close the gaps between its goals and its performance. This may require changing the action programs or even changing the goals." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 58.

Final Project: Price

Our product will come in an assortment of options for our consumers. Our in store Ben & Jerry's serving size and price will be established by Ben & Jerry, and the in grocery store price will be in turn decided by us. We will have two different options at the local grocery stores and natural food stores.  A base price of $5.95 will be set for a single serving 'make it yourself' kit  and there will also be a family size, 3-pack 'make it yourself' kit, base priced at $13.95. When people think of Ben & Jerry Ice Cream, they think about quality. Good tasting, naturally flavored quality ice cream, so their pricing and our pricing is of course going to reflect that. "Psychological pricing

Pricing that considers the psychology of prices and not simply the economics; the price is used to say something about the product." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 291. Besides using that specific type of price, we will also implement 'Market Penetration' pricing. As I have stated earlier, in our first week of product introduction, 108 Ben & Jerry locations will offer our new product at no charge, in an attempt to grab a firm hold of potential consumers. 

"Rather than setting a high initial price to skim off small but profitable market segments, some companies use market penetration pricing. They set a low initial price in order to penetrate the market quickly and deeply—to attract a large number of buyers quickly and win a large market share." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 286.

Final Project: Promotion

Promotional sales can and have to be looked at in every different way. We are not in the business of losing money but sometimes you have to just get your product out there. Regardless if you are selling music or food, if the product is good, the customers will come. If you own a restaurant in a city of 1 million people, and you have one location, as long as your food is great, and your service is exceptional, people will come, regardless of where you are located.
In the beginning, there will be 108 Ben & Jerry's store carrying our product nationally. As our promotional offer the first week of introduction, Ben & Jerry will offer 1 free serving of our product per person. "Several factors have contributed to the rapid growth of sales promotion, particularly in consumer markets. First, inside the company, product managers face greater pressures to increase their current sales, and promotion is viewed as an effective short-run sales tool." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 432. This promotion will only last for the first week to get the word out. The people that try the product will of course tell their family and friends, "Hey, this was great! Try it." or  "Hey, I don't think it's that great." But then again, America loves Ben & Jerry Ice cream and I personally do not think there is one flavor on their line of products that I would not devour in a second. People love Ben & Jerry Ice Cream so much that simply having our product in their stores tells customers, "This is Ben & Jerry, it has to be good." "In most co-branding situations, one company licenses another company’s well-known brand to use in combination with its own. Co-branding offers many advantages. Because each brand dominates in a different category, the combined brands create broader consumer appeal and greater brand equity. Co-branding also allows a company to expand its existing brand into a category it might otherwise have difficulty entering alone." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 234.

Final Project: Distribution

Distribution is a key component in any business plan. Of course in the beginning we plan on solely distributing through our partnership with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Co. but once our 3 year contract is over, it is just as possible that we will re sign with them or not sign. It depends on how our company stands at the current time. Like any company, we of course want to be profitable, and licensing our product to other companies is a great way to market our product on a global level. We will initially have Ben & Jerry exclusively with a joint-venture contract. "Joint venturing

Entering foreign markets by joining with foreign companies to produce or market a product or service." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 492.

              There are always other larger companies around the world that can help distribute and share your product to the world as well. We plan on licensing our product on a global level eventually. "Licensing is a simple way for a manufacturer to enter international marketing. The company enters into an agreement with a licensee in the foreign market. For a fee or royalty, the licensee buys the right to use the company’s manufacturing process, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other item of value. The company thus gains entry into the market at little risk; the licensee gains production expertise or a well-known product or name without having to start from scratch." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 492.

Final Project: Product

Creativity of the product is extremely important to our company, which is why we rolled with the 'nacho' idea. It is different, unique and overall fun."Product Features.

A product can be offered with varying features. A stripped-down model, one without any extras, is the starting point. The company can create higher-level models by adding more features. Features are a competitive tool for differentiating the company’s product from competitors’ products. Being the first producer to introduce a valued new feature is one of the most effective ways to compete." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 215. A key strategy that will help us stay afloat, especially in the first year of production is the creativity aspect of our product. For the future we already have ideas drawn up for holiday specific versions of the 'Choco-Nachos'. At first it will be the original style, and with success hopefully it will allow us to grow and implement our new creative ideas into future lines. Our internal ideas are already a core part of our development but we will accept all ideas from all sources, the more ideas the better. Sometimes it helps to have a third party look at something because without that external view, you could skip on details that did not catch your eye. "Companies can also obtain good new-product ideas from any of a number of external sources. For example, distributors and supplierscan contribute ideas. Distributors are close to the market and can pass along information about consumer problems and new-product possibilities." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 247.

Final Project: Target Market Strategy

In order to go after the specific market we must first see what section we fall into. For small income companies there is a specific category and market we she approach. For larger companies there is another unique way of targeting a market. "Companies need to consider many factors when choosing a market-targeting strategy. Which strategy is best depends on company resources. When the firm’s resources are limited, concentrated marketing makes the most sense." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 192. The definition of concentrated marketing is as follows, "Concentrated (niche) marketing-
A market-coverage strategy in which a firm goes after a large share of one or a few segments or niches." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 188. Since we are a company that is starting off fairly small, and slower in strictly radio only ads, concentrated marketing is where we begin. It can be highly profitable but also is a high risk strategy. Our company is prepared to take the risk due to deep rooted ties with some of the industry leaders. We are very confident in our product and plan on seeing this strategy through. 

Final Project: Situation or SWOT Analysis

Our goal, like any other company, is to build a potentially successful idea into a solid profitable company. In order to succeed we first must dive in our inner workings and see exactly what is either going to make us or break us. We have to evaluate our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential threats. "The goal of a SWOT analysis is to match the company strengths to attractive opportunities in the environment, while eliminating or overcoming the weaknesses and minimizing the threats." Armstrong/Kotler, Marketing: An Introduction, page 56.
Strengths- Our family owned company has hard working, creative individuals that drive our business. Everyones' mind is on the same page and we all work together to reach our ultimate goal. We are all one big family, and the fun working atmosphere we provide boosts morale and encourages happiness and well being.
Opportunities- A great opportunity we have already acquired, is the strong relationship we have with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Co. Ben & Jerry have established a world renowned company that everyone recognizes for their natural delicious, unique tastes. We will explore this  business partnership opportunity with them, as well as their contacts in the industry.
Weaknesses- Our weaknesses vary upon the situation, for example, starting out as a smaller family opened business we may not be able to meet high demand orders for products if sales begin boosting to the level. Our facilities and employees can only produce so much that if sales increase to the point of national multiple grocery store orders then we will have no choice but expand. Expanding is growing and that is great, however the time that it will take to assemble a new facility and hire the appropriate staff will greatly reduce even more out ability to ship our products.
Threats- Having an amazing company like Ben & Jerry's at our side definitely puts at ease. We believe with their reputation, our performance will surely continue to climb, however there are many other companies that have had similar products and are already in circulation at many grocery stores nationwide. Consumers may not pick up our product right away because of the already high number of
Similar products. This is where I believe our marketing and advertising division comes in play. As long as we can show our consumers our product in the right way, we believe we will have no problem firmly establishing ourselves with the rest of the strong competitors.
With this swot analysis, and marketing implementation strategies, we will be able to successfully market our product. "Planning good strategies is only a start toward successful marketing. A brilliant marketing strategy counts for little if the company fails to implement it properly." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 57.

Final Project: Objectives

Objectives are an extremely crucial part of the companies development. We plan on  following the poromotional outline to grow our business. "The most logical budget-setting method is the objective-and-task method, whereby the company sets its promotion budget based on what it wants to accomplish with promotion. This budgeting method entails (1) defining specific promotion objectives, (2) determining the tasks needed to achieve these objectives, and (3) estimating the costs of performing these tasks." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page, 389. We start by taking over the radio commercial world. We will begin by doing radio commercials only for the first quarter. Radio is by far the lowest expense in advertising media. " In addition, advertising can be very costly. Although some advertising forms, such as newspaper and radio advertising, can be done on smaller budgets, other forms, such as network TV advertising, require very large budgets." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, page 383. After our first quarter, and recording our sales, we can then project future quarters. At that time of projection, we will then roll into the Tv advertising media. By end of the first quarter, sales will be expected to be above expectations, and thus be able to provide the necessary investment for the Tv ads. "For companies that want to reach a mass audience, TV is the place to be.

Beyond its reach, large-scale advertising says something positive about the seller’s size, popularity, and success." Marketing: An Intro, Armstrong/Kotler, Page 383.

Tv would introduce our product to the largest amount of people at once. Tv ads will run from quarters 2 through 4 and that would be year 1 of our advertising objective. Once year 1 is in the books, the next projected forecast will have to be accessed.

Final Project: Business Mission Statement

A mission statement can be defined as followed, "A statement of the organization’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment." Armstrong/Kotler, Marketing: An Introduction, page R21.

This should be very simple and directly to the point. However, some companies may have a very vague statement, and do not allow the consumer to properly connect with the product, in the way it was intended to. "Few leaders actually get the point of forging a mission with real grit and meaning. [Mission statements] have largely devolved into fat-headed jargon. Almost no one can figure out what they mean." Armstrong/Kotler, Marketing: An Introduction, page 40.

Choco-Nachos Mission Statement: "We give families the opportunity to taste a delicious blend of natural flavors that everyone and anyone from all ages can enjoy. "


-This mission statement is aimed toward the families. Dinner time is family time, and our consumers are generally the families that sit down nightly for dinner together. After dinner, dessert is always on everyones mind. Our unique product is a healthy and natural alternative to traditional desserts.

Creative Presentation Idea

Monday, February 27, 2012

Creative Presentation Idea

Choco-Nachos

            I will present my product with a radio ad. 30 seconds of airtime should be sufficient to present the new product (Choco-Nachos) and explain a little about it as well. I will make the product at home, and photograph it in its final form. The photograph will be the still background image for the radio ad with soothing music and a voiceover introducing the product. The voice over will be written by me, and will be recorded at my friends’ home studio. The music will be written and performed by myself as well. After the voiceover is recorded, I will upload it to YouTube and embed the video to the final project blog post.  

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

                 Picture a basket of waffle cone, chocolate dipped chips, smothered in chocolate sauce, topped with vanilla ice cream, and a salty caramel swirl. The Choco-Nachos kit, putting it together is half the fun.

When you eat ice cream, in a waffle cone, that last few bites of that cone are simply amazing. The mixture of the flavors that you experience in that last moment is perfect. Waffle cone, with melted ice cream, and usually chocolate to line the inner wall of the waffle cone. So why not have a tasty snack that is simply that? The Choco-Nachos kit brings everything you need to make your own ‘Choco-Nachos’ at home.  A quarter pound of waffle chips, already pre-dipped in chocolate, Chocolate sauce, two scoops of vanilla ice cream, and a package of salty caramel.

‘Choco-Nachos’ has partnered with long time ice cream makers, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream. Ben & Jerry’s will be releasing the kit at your local grocery, convenient, and natural foods store. A single serving kit will cost you $5.95, and the family 3 serving pack is priced at $13.95.

Whether  it’s for a BBQ treat at the park, watching the big game with friends, or simply relaxing at home and putting on a nice movie, Choco-Nachos will suit any occasion. 

Week 6 EOC: Me X 3

My phone is something that is always with me. Rain or shine, this device has brought the world to every man and woman in the planet. If you need anything, anything at all, this device has your back. Information, prices, contacts, photos, videos, and music, you have it all in the palm of your hand. Once you have it, you wont want anything else. 

My Bike is something I built myself from the ground up. The parts, the paint, the sweat, and the creativity is all there. It is absolutely amazing transforming an idea in your head into actual, physical reality. My bike is my main mode of transportation by choice. I choose to ride and I absolutely love it. When you ride your bike, you are in tune with your world, your environment, and i have that feeling everyday.

Headphones are just as important to me as my phone and bike. I use them on a daily basis to bring the sounds of music into myself when I am on the road. A pair of good quality headphones is all I need on a long ride. Up until recently, I have owned to same pair of headphones for about 4 years. Using them everyday at the gym, on the bike, and overall use, my headphones lasted me a very long time, and the time for some new ones has arrived. To some shopping for a pair of headphones is as easy as just grabbing them at the check out counter at walgreens, but for me, I know it will take me some time to choose the right pair that I will hopefully be a part of for the next few years. 

Week 5 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

The marketing world has changed drastically over our lives. The world changes, people change, so it just has to be expected that the way we connect with our customers change as well. In the article in our textbook, we read about how companies are more frequently using the ‘Brand Ambassador’ to spread the word about a specific service or product. In comparison with our Facebook article, along with our textbook article, both seem to have one common point, reaching out to customers by unique means, is an increasingly popular and useful method.

“Out of 2,000 or more online applicants, Sony picked only 25 brand ambassadors. The ambassadors were given a free camera and other equipment along with lessons on how to use them. They were then encouraged to show the camera to friends, associates, and anyone else who asked”. -Kotler, Gary Armstrong and Philip. Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation. 10. Companies such as Sony, have, and will hand out a product that they want to ‘push’ for free, and allow the word of mouth to spread like wildfire. People that love a product absolutely love to talk about it. They love to tell everyone what makes this product so great and why they could use one in their life. This is exactly what companies aim for and the result will more than likely be good. This method gives the information about the product to customer that could not have found out any other way. “More companies are trying to tap Facebook Inc.'s 750-million-plus user base to find new employees, In addition to posting jobs and videos of current employees on its’ Facebook page, the company has recruiters and other

employees find user groups and join discussions.”-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903885604576490763. Companies know that Facebook is one of the largest, if not the largest social media website. Everyone and everything is shared on Facebook and companies are slowly but surely diving more into this medium. It is a very easy and flexible way of instant communication and for the  most part is free. Companies enjoy being able to publish stories of their achievements for potential employees to see and research.

For now this is where we are, a forever changing place where we will never know what to expect, but I am sure we can all expect more and more non-traditional ways of reaching out to one another.The marketing world has changed drastically over our lives. The world changes, people change, so it just has to be expected that the way we connect with our customers change as well. In the article in our textbook, we read about how companies are more frequently using the ‘Brand Ambassador’ to spread the word about a specific service or product. In comparison with our Facebook article, along with our textbook article, both seem to have one common point, reaching out to customers by unique means, is an increasingly popular and useful method.

“Out of 2,000 or more online applicants, Sony picked only 25 brand ambassadors. The ambassadors were given a free camera and other equipment along with lessons on how to use them. They were then encouraged to show the camera to friends, associates, and anyone else who asked”. -Kotler, Gary Armstrong and Philip. Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation. 10. Companies such as Sony, have, and will hand out a product that they want to ‘push’ for free, and allow the word of mouth to spread like wildfire. People that love a product absolutely love to talk about it. They love to tell everyone what makes this product so great and why they could use one in their life. This is exactly what companies aim for and the result will more than likely be good. This method gives the information about the product to customer that could not have found out any other way. “More companies are trying to tap Facebook Inc.'s 750-million-plus user base to find new employees, In addition to posting jobs and videos of current employees on its’ Facebook page, the company has recruiters and other

employees find user groups and join discussions.” Companies know that Facebook is one of the largest, if not the largest social media website. Everyone and everything is shared on Facebook and companies are slowly but surely diving more into this medium. It is a very easy and flexible way of instant communication and for the  most part is free. Companies enjoy being able to publish stories of their achievements for potential employees to see and research.

For now this is where we are, a forever changing place where we will never know what to expect, but I am sure we can all expect more and more non-traditional ways of reaching out to one another.