Final Project Creative Content

For my creative content I designed the packaging for my chocolates

Implementation Evaluation Control

Once the marketing plan for my product is in place, the next step is putting my plan into action. “Implementation is the process that turns a marketing plan into action assignments and ensures that these assignments are executed in a way that accomplishes the plan's objectives. Implementation activities may involve detailed job assignments, activity descriptions, time lines, budgets, and lots of communication” (28). If carried out correctly, a good marketing plan will become a successful business. The next step following implementation is to evaluate if your plan was effective. “Evaluation entails gauging the extent to which marketing objectives have been achieved during the specified time period. Four common reasons for failing to achieve a marketing objective are unrealistic marketing objectives, inappropriate marketing strategies in the plan, poor implementation, and changes in the environment after the objective was specified and the strategy was implemented” (28). Using evaluation you can decide whether your plan is successful or if you need to make changes to your plan.

Price

I believe that using a multichannel distribution will be successful for my company. The textbook describes both of my distribution channels as good markets for my product. “Online shopping accounted for more than $200 billion in sales in 2012, with sales expected to reach $327 billion by 2016.13 Interactive shopping tools and live chats substitute for the in-store interactions with salespeople and product trials that customers traditionally use to make purchase decisions. Shoppers can look at a much wider variety of products online because physical space restrictions do not exist. While shopping, customers can take their time deciding what to buy” (269). By selling my product on multi channels I will be able to sell more product allowing me to keep my price at a steady rate. “Retailing's ultimate goal is to sell products to consumers, and the right price is critical to ensure sales” (269). The price I would like to sell my product for is $8. I believe this price is reasonable for the quality and quantity of my product.  “Price is also a key element in a retail store's positioning strategy. Higher prices often indicate a level of quality and help reinforce the prestigious image of retailers, as they do for Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus” (269). Even though my product is affordable it is still high enough to represent a higher quality product.

Distribution

The distribution of my product is a selective distribution. “Selective distribution, is achieved by screening dealers and retailers to eliminate all but a few in any single area. Because only a few are chosen, the consumer must seek out the product” (250). My Product belongs on supermarket shelves but not in every supermarket. My customers do not shop at average grocery stores. My target market customers shop in specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Sprouts. These stores will carry my chocolates. I saw a similar product at Trader Joes for the holidays, the offer a “Chocolate Passport” which has several small chocolate bars from different countries for $9.99. This would not affect my sales because my product is unique but it shows that there is a market for this type of product at stores such as these for around the same price I will be selling at. Another channel I will use is an online store for anyone who doesn’t have access to my product. “Because channel preferences change throughout the different stages of the shopping cycle, many companies have begun employing multichannel marketing strategies, whereby customers are offered information, goods, services, and/or support through one or more synchronized channels. Recent studies have found that customers who use multiple channels when shopping are more engaged and spend more than those who do not” (254). 

Promotion

“Promotion includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Promotion's role in the marketing mix is to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets by informing, educating, persuading, and reminding them of the benefits of an organization or a product” (28). For my target market the best channels for advertising would be online ads, Pandora (music app) ads and Facebook ads. Facebook is mostly used by middle aged people so my target market would see the ads there and Pandora is used by both groups of my target market. These channels would be effective to get information about my product to consumers.

Product

Your product is your company. What you choose to sell is the start of your brand and your market.“The product includes not only the physical unit but also its package, warranty, after-sale service, brand name, company image, value, and many other factors. A Godiva chocolate has many product elements: the chocolate itself, a fancy gold wrapper, a customer satisfaction guarantee, and the prestige of the Godiva brand name. We buy things not only for what they do (benefits) but also for what they mean to us (status, quality, or reputation)” (27). My product, Aramata Premium Chocolates, will be made from high quality, ethically sourced chocolate from Peru and Tanzania and the best spices possible. Quality and ethicality are the most important things to me. The finely crafted chocolate bars which are infused with berries and spices will then be wrapped in foil and paper. The chocolates come six in a package (three of each flavor) and are placed in a brown environmentally friendly cardboard Kraft box with a clear recycled plastic lid and finally wrapped in a pretty ribbon. The nice looking packaging will convey a message of quality and will be appealing to the target market.

Target Market Strategy

The target market of your product is important because you need to identify your market to decipher how to sell your product.“Marketing strategy involves the activities of selecting and describing one or more target markets and developing and maintaining a marketing mix that will produce mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets” (26). The market for my product is quite limited to only two very specific groups. This is due to product and packaging design as well as the place I will be selling the product. “The target market strategy identifies the market segment or segments on which to focus. This process begins with a market opportunity analysis (MOA)—the description and estimation of the size and sales potential of market segments that are of interest to the firm and the assessment of key competitors in these market segments. After the firm describes the market segments, it may target one or more of them” (26). The target market for my product are trendy and environmentally conscious millennials and middle aged women.

Situation or SWOT Analysis

Knowing your market environment is key to a successful business.“Marketers must understand the current and potential environment in which the product or service will be marketed. A situation analysis is sometimes referred to as a SWOT analysis—that is, the firm should identify its internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and also examine external opportunities (O) and threats (T)” (22). Analyzing your market environment can be split up into groups to make it more organized. “When examining internal strengths and weaknesses, the marketing manager should focus on organizational resources such as production costs, marketing skills, financial resources, company or brand image, employee capabilities, and available technology”(22) For my company, it is important to source my ingredients ethically and environmentally safely. I realize that this will cost more than cutting corners and buying products that are essentially harvested by slave labor. Strengths of this will be that I have a quality product that is also morally sound and weaknesses of this could be that it will be more expensive to manufacture my product. “When examining external opportunities and threats, marketing managers must analyze aspects of the marketing environment. This process is called environmental scanning—the collection and interpretation of information about forces, events, and relationships in the external environment that may affect the future of the organization or the implementation of the marketing plan” (22). Opportunities for my company in this market include current chocolate trends which support my aromatic flavors and some threats include a smaller target market due to exotic flavors and the price range.

Objectives

 The textbook goes over some basic steps and tips for developing a successful objective.  For example, on page 26 the book lists some important rules to writing a good objective. “Managers should develop objectives that have a chance of being met. For example, it may be unrealistic for start-up firms or new products to command dominant market share, given other competitors in the marketplace”(26). Making sure your goals are attainable is important to the survival of the company. Another important rule is making sure you write an actual goal. “Managers need to be able to quantitatively measure whether or not an objective has been met…a specific number should be stated.” (26) Also make sure the goal has a deadline. You need to be on a time limit. The objective of Aramata Premium Chocolates is gain widespread popularity among chocolate consumers and to earn at $30 million in the first year.

Buisness Mission Statement

One could argue that the mission statement is the most important part of a marketing plan becase it is the basis of your company.in the textbook a mission statement is described as such,  “The foundation of any marketing plan is the firm's mission statement, which answers the question “What business are we in?” The way a firm defines its business mission profoundly affects the firm's long-run resource allocation, profitability, and survival. The mission statement is based on a careful analysis of benefits sought by present and potential customers and an analysis of existing and anticipated environmental conditions. The firm's mission statement establishes boundaries for all subsequent decisions, objectives, and strategies” (21). The textbook also gives instruction on how to create a strong mission statement that will hold up and support your business. “A mission statement should focus on the market or markets the organization is attempting to serve rather than on the good or service offered. Otherwise, a new technology may quickly make the good or service obsolete and the mission statement irrelevant to company functions” (21). After reading through the section of the textbook on the business mission statement, I was able to come up with my own mission statement for my own marketing plan.

The mission of Aramata Premium Chocolates is to create, manufacture and deliver quality chocolate to our customers while using superior chocolate and spices, sourced ethically and environmentally soundly. 

Week 7 EOC: Final Project Sales Pitch

Spices and aromatics in chocolates are a new trend which exposes many people to high end flavor profiles. Many high end chocolatiers are incorporating exotic and unusual spices into their confections. Aramatacha Chocolates will simply be another medium through which these profiles are delivered to adventurous consumers who are excited to be a part of current trends. The chocolate bar will come in six pieces and feature both dark and milk chocolate which, of course, will be fair trade chocolate. Three pieces will be a milk chocolate bar infused with rose water, orange zest and dried cranberry pieces. Rose water is a lovely floral flavor that will most likely be new to our customers. It will be accented by the citrus flavors of the orange zest and the tartness of the cranberry pieces. The other three pieces will be a dark chocolate bar with cardamom, dried blackberry pieces and orange zest. The cardamom is the star of this flavor with its warm, spicy and herbal flavor. The cardamom will be enhanced by the sweet blackberry pieces and the tangy orange zest will really bring the whole thing together. It is important that the quality of chocolate is excellent as well as the quality of spices. All ingredients will have to be sourced with fair trade companies as well. I want my product to be ethical as well as delicious. The bars will be larger than most specialty bars because I want customers to feel like they are getting their money’s worth. I feel that a fair and ideal price for the product would be $8. The overall price can be adjusted if sourcing fair trade ingredients turns out to be more expensive than originally anticipated. Essentially, I want to bring high profile flavors to people who will be willing to pay a little more than average specialty bars for a better quality product. Flavor and ethicality are my top priorities. 

Week 5 EOC: This Is What Has My Interest

There are three articles I have posted on my twitter account that particularly hold my interest. Since my focus is mostly directed towards costume design, I am always interested to learn about the costumes for film or stage productions or how these designs affect society.

The first article I chose to elaborate on is an article from Paste Magazine. The article features designs from the recently released video game Dishonored 2. The game designers wanted the characters and surroundings to look as realistic as possible while till achieving the edgy and mysterious aesthetic of the Dishonored world. The creators of the game felt so strongly about the quality of the game that they chose to hire renowned fashion designer Maya Hansen to work on the character and costume design for two of the main female leads. Hansen found it very interesting to be able to play a part in designing the entire characters from their personality and sense of style to the types of fabrics they would wear.

The second article I found interesting was an article from Vogue about the effect of the 1996 movie Space Jam on the fashion industry. The article explains that due to the popularity of Space Jam (the highest grossing basketball film of all time) Nike was able to attract new customers with the release of their Space Jam inspired shoe, the Hare Jordans.  These shoes were the first pair of Nike shoes released without the Nike logo on it. Instead, the Hare Jordans featured the Jumpman insignia.

The third article I wanted to feature is an article about the new Star Trek line from ThinkGeek and Her Universe fashion company. The line features skirts, dresses, blouses and jackets inspired by the Star Trek franchise which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. The line is officially licensed by CBS Consumer Products and uses many elements from the show including color schemes and even a fur coat inspired by the Tribbles, an animal from one of the more well known classic episodes.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/11/fashion-designer-maya-hansen-on-her-dishonored-2-d.html

http://www.vogue.com/13503252/space-jam-fashion-impact-20th-anniversary-bugs-bunny-michael-jordan/?mbid=social_onsite_twitter

http://www.space.com/34728-final-frontier-fashion-from-thinkgeek.html

Week 3 EOC: Demographics

I was born in 1994, at the end of the millennial generation. Millennials or generation Y are people who were born between 1979 and 1994. According to Marketing 9^th edition  Millennials spend more time surfing the Web and on social media than they do watching television. They also are the generation with the most knowledge of how to use modern technology. Although millennials use the internet as a primary source of media they still use and value traditional media such as listening to radio, watching television or reading newspapers. Most Millennials expect brands to be on social media. “Two-thirds say a brand being on social media shows it cares about their generation, and fifty-six percent think social media sites are a great way to find out what's new with brands they like”.  For younger Millennials, there is a market for online shopping. “Millennials who shop online for apparel rely mainly on price. They also look for positive brand reviews. They typically visit their primary apparel web site forty-two times a year and make seven purchases a year”. As a Millennial, I generally agree with what this textbook has observed about my generation. Often, I use online shopping as a way to view products before I go to the store to buy them, kind of like a catalog. I usually read online reviews before purchasing a product online or going to a restaurant. I also enjoy following brands and companies I like on social media websites so I can read news about the company or see their products without going to the store. I am generally pretty technologically savvy and if I don’t know how to do something I usually can figure it out or look it up on google. I would say the book’s description of Millennials as a demographic group is quite accurate.



Lamb, Hair, Mcdaniel, Principles of Marketing 9th Edition

Week 3 EOC: Making Money For Good

“I want you to know that I still haven’t quite recovered from that experience of domestic violence. I am trying, but my core trust… a sweet innocence has died”, expresses Jody R. Weiss in her open letter explaining the motives behind her business. Jody Weiss is the founder of Peacekeeper Cause-metics, a “for benefit” makeup company. The company strives to aid those who have suffered from physical or emotional domestic violence. As a survivor of emotional abuse, Jody uses her “righteous anger” to fuel her goals. Peacekeeper donates all of their proceeds before tax to various charities which help women and children escape toxic and unhealthy domestic situations or that help them cope with the effects of being abused. Jody’s overall goal is simple “Jody envisioned through this company, women and men learning deep respect for each other.  She envisioned no more patriarchy and no more matriarchy, but humanity finally emerging as truly equal”. She wants to use her company to create a healthy and peaceful environment where everyone is treated and valued equally. Jody tries to surround herself with positive energy as she describes in her letter “as a peace activist and a student of what real love looks like, I would rather find and hold the compassion for those wounded people and move on and be with men and women who lift me up”. In addition to donation the profits to charity, Jody wants to ensure that her employees are treated well. Her ideals and standards include using slavery-free labor, paying all employees fair living wages and using cruelty free products. Jody’s mission is clearly powerful and compelling as her company has raised $ 56,584.00.

http://iamapeacekeeper.com/