Thursday 24 November 2011

Task 2

The communication is very effective for TNS Global because it has descriptive information that informs readers about the company.  The website includes links and different types of research of their main objectives. The information given is detailed about what they offer and the background of the company.
The types of communications used on the TNS global website are blogs, which can be created by a viewer of the website if they want to. They also have video links and images. These videos show strategies of selling and traditional tradeand how they function. There is a link that allows watchers to contact the company and direct them to their local home office. With names and addresses, you can get through to the different departments. There are brochures and case studies that customers and the general public can download.
The positives of using this type of communication are that there is a varied amount of ways that people can view and interact with the information. All the information is given on one page, which is easy to find and easy to use. Users of the site can search for what they need. This saves time when searching for information about TNS Global.
the drawbacks of using this type of communication are that the website can crash or be hacked without anti-virus systems. When wanting to update the website with new media and information, it takes time and money to employ staff to update it. People need to be employed to monitor emails and phone calls and this also costs TNS Global money.
TNS Global could improve their communication in the future by using more links to media sources, like videos and interactive means. By having a better structure and organising the site more, they could advertise the company with television and magazine adverts. This could bring in more page views and more customers.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Corporate Communication

The media used for to publicise my online blog were video, flyer and newsletter. This showed off my blog well and appealed to the target market. These methods are effective and efficient to use when advertising my blog. The target market of this blog is to new starters of the Stormtrooper company. The reasons why I chose to use a flyer, email newsletter and a video is because they are an efficient and cheap way to publicise the blog.

The flyer advertises more important information, but not overly amounts of writing. It is a short, sharp method of catching the viewers’ attention. The flyer introduces the companies Kellogg’s and Diesel and the URL to view the site.  The email newsletter is more detailed but with pictures and striking colours to engage the viewer. The email newsletter includes information about me and the company, Stormtrooper. It also has an overview of what the blog involves and where to visit the blog.
The video is a short advert that publicises the blog in a way that makes the audience want to visit the website and expand their knowledge on market research in action. It introduces me and what the blog displays. The video has audio and images to entice the viewer and also advertises the website address to view the blog.
Other options that I could of used to publicise my blog would be radio adverts, TV adverts, magazine articles and billboards. The reason why I did not use these sources of media is because they are expensive and more time consuming.



Thursday 17 November 2011

Task 2

Kellogg’s target consumers because they are the people who are using (eating) the product and therefore they are the critics. For the Brain Food, the parents are the customers who buy the product. The consumer, the teenager or young adults are who the product is aimed at. By using market segmentation, Kellogg’s can accurately see what their target market is, and aim their product to them, with flavours and packaging. A real life example of this would be either the Rice Krispies advert or Coco Pops because the advert is aimed at the children with characters and animations, when in reality, the parents need to know about these adverts to go and buy the product for the consumer, the children.

Marketing Plan for Kellogg's

Marketing Plan for Kellogg’s

By Sian Brookman & Lewis Willoughby

Executive Summary

This marketing plan is a one year strategy to introduce Boost Bites into the Kellogg’s brand. The plan describes the company analysis and what the goals are by next year, for example, the marketing mix and the SWOT analysis.

The Challenge

The product created for Kellogg’s is ‘Boost Bites’, which is a small pack of wholegrain bites with a layer of chocolate. These bites of energy keep the college student motivated throughout the day.

Situation Analysis

In 1876, William Keith Kellogg produced the breakfast cereal, ‘Corn Flakes’. The philosophy of Kellogg’s was to introduce a healthy cereal, which improved the consumer’s diet. This built up the reputation of the company and now is the most successful cereal manufacturer in the world.

Company Analysis

The goal for the brain food of Kellogg’s, ‘Boost Bites’ is to be the most recognised cereal brand in the UK market. The focus of Boost Bites is to be a healthy, energy releasing cereal bites. The advantages and strengths of this product are that it is a healthy breakfast snack, which is a brain food that can increase concentration levels in the classroom. It is also a light, travel sized product that can be eaten on the go, as well as in the household. A weakness of this product would be that it doesn’t appeal to every target market. This is because some people do not consider snacks as a healthy option, and prefer a more substantial breakfast to start off the day.

Customer Analysis

From market research and focus groups, the number of customers/consumers can be found. The target audience are between the ages of 17 – 21. This means that it decreases the amount of customers that this product attracts. The type of customers that this energy snack appeals to would be the sporty type that likes a high energy release, with a healthy diet. Boost Bites targets male consumers, with little time for sit down meals. This product is not highly priced, which means teenagers and young adults can grab and go, without paying great amounts of money. The brand Kellogg’s is known over the UK, which means customers and consumers are willing to go out of their way to try and experience new products within the brand. The reputation of Kellogg’s is widely known because of the quality of every product. As a new, healthy brain food snack, customers are more likely to want to try out the new item. The decision process for Kellogg’s Boost would be that parents would buy this product, as a customer, for their teen children to consume. Parents can purchase these as a breakfast meal or as a snack for throughout the day. The concentration of customer base would be around schools, colleges and universities. This is because the products target market is for teens and young adults. If this product was based around nurseries or primary schools, there would be a decrease in the sales of the product.

Competitor Analysis

Direct is a substitute of the product. This could be a Nestle cereal bar or Nature Valley bars. An indirect product can be any other product that a customer can buy with their money. This could be anything from pillows to a sandwich.

Climate

As a country we have a coalition government. This is the political and legal environment. A coalition is when two parties have joined together in the government. When having a coalition, it means that they both have different opinions, which they have to agree on. The economic environment has nearly hit a recession again. This means customers have less money to spend on luxuries. Social and cultural environments mean that less people are sitting at a table, eating together, as a family. People are now more likely to eat on-the-go, with snacks and fruit for energy. The technological environment has improved dramatically in the last few years. Developments in technology means that companies, including Kellogg’s, can now inform customers through text messages, email and Facebook advertisements.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths – The strengths of Kellogg’s Boost Bites are that is well priced for the quality of the product. The Unique Selling Point of the product is that it is a portable, lightweight product which is designed for people on the go. Another strength would be that it is easily reached, in local supermarkets and petrol stations. As it is a snack type product, they have an easy target market.

Weaknesses – The weaknesses of the Boost Bites would be that more people are needed to promote and sell the product. As a new product, not many people know information about it. This means customer service need to be trained within Kellogg’s to know what the product is and the qualities.

Opportunities – The opportunities of the product would be that it could be advertised and sold overseas. This is increasing the profit for Kellogg’s and increasing the amount of customers purchasing Boost Bites. In the future, this product could lead to new product development to attract more customers to the brand. Local competitors could have bad promoting of their products and therefore more people would be engaged with Kellogg’s.

Threats – In the winter, a non-heated snack could not sell as well as it could in the summer. By promoting Boost Bites, Kellogg’s could be distracted and pay less attention to the core business. Bad advertising and promoting could give the company a negative publicity. This could then mean that the reputation of the company could decrease and less sales would come into the business.

Market Segmentation

Primary Research

Our target markets are aged between 17 – 21 and are males. We will be targeting students that would probably be single and lives at home. He would have a car preferably a Citroën (Saxo 1.1). The student would be a games console user with a low income of about £6 – 8k a year. His favourite drink would be WKD. The guy would like playing and watching football and would have high disposable income and low commitments. Their favourite programmes would be match of the day, Inbetweeners and misfits. In their social time they would to go to the cinema perhaps go to pubs and clubs. They would have high spending items like Car Insurance, mobile phones and Clothes.

Secondary Research

The secondary markets for Boost Bites are males aged between 14 – 16 years old and are single. They would live at home and would play games consoles. Their income would be around £2k a year and their favourite drink would be coke and would have low disposable income. Parents control their purchasing.

Alternative Marketing Strategies

Alternative marketing strategies include texts, concerts, and festivals. An example from another company would be Orange Wednesdays. Sponsors are another example. They can be advertised at sporting events and concerts.

Selected Market Strategy

Our chosen marketing strategy is festivals. Advertising and promoting Boost Bites at these can target the teens and young adults to become engaged with the product and to purchase it in the future.

Marketing Mix

Product

The brand name is ‘Kellogg’s Boost Bites’ which advertises bites of wholegrain and chocolate that release energy.

Price

The price of ‘Boost Bites’ is £1.29 this is a reasonable price for a packet of cereal bites which is an easy on the go snack.

Distribution (Place)

The product will be distributed at supermarket, small shops (corner shops), petrol stations and small retailers that sell food and snacks.

Promotion

20% - posters

20% - leaflets

60% - Television Adverts

Short and Long-Term Projections

Short term projections are to sell as many of the product as possible to get the product known and for healthy numbers of sales. Long term projections are to be the top breakfast snack in the world.

Conclusion

To conclude, by the end of next year, Boost Bites will be a product in the local supermarkets and petrol stations. Our customer audience is parents that are buying for their young adult and teen children for a healthy snack to release energy throughout the college/university day. By focusing on our target market, we have produced this marketing plan based on them. We have included the marketing mix to help us show the product, price, distribution and promotion of the Boost Bites.

Kellogg’s Events Calendar

JANUARY -6 NATIONS RUGBY PROMOTING
FEBRUARY - SNACK MONTH PROMOTIONS
MARCH
APRIL - MARATHON PROMOTING AND ADVERTISING
MAY - ADVERTISING IN GREGGS MONTH
JUNE - GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL
JULY - SNACK MONTH PROMOTIONS
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCOTBER - SNACK MONTH PROMOTIONS
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER - CHRISTMAS MULTIPACK OFFERS