MARKETING EXCELLENCE Given today's increasingly hectic lifestyles, precooked meals and processed ingredients are becoming the norm for Canadian families to use in preparing their daily meals. However, these foods are not without their drawbacks and health concerns. For example, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that processed meat leads to a significantly higher risk of developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. To address the health concerns asso- ciated with processed food, Toronto-based Maple Leaf Foods introduced a new line of healthy deli meats called Natural Selections, made without preservatives or artificial ingredients. MAPLE LEAF FOODS: NATURAL SELECTIONS A study by Maple Leaf found that 58 percent of consum- ers couldn't even pronounce the ingredients in the foods they bought regularly. In order to enable consumers to make healthy choices, a large part of the marketing effort for Natural Selections has been focused on "simple ingredients you can actually pronounce." Deli meat isn't the only place where Maple Leaf is making its mark on the family meal. The bakery division has introduced new, healthy lines of bread, and the company has also launched a line of complete, healthy meals for the family on the go. Maple Leaf's goal is realize the benefits from being an innovator in a product to drive these new product lines into the mainstream, and category. By anticipating the needs of its customers and responding to them effectively, Maple Leaf has made sig- nificant progress in its image recovery, which may generate considerable rewards in the long run. QUESTIONS 1. Use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to discuss the types of need that Maple Leaf addressed with its introduc- tion of the Natural Selections line. Maple Leaf Foods had a difficult year in 2008. A lis- teriosis outbreak stemming from contamination at a meat processing plant brought the company considerable nega- tive publicity, resulting in damages over $50 million. In an attempt to regain consumer confidence in its products, Maple Leaf responded to consumers' health concerns with the introduction of the Natural Selections line. 3. From your understanding of the elaboration likelihood model, discuss how the consumer's level of involve- ment while shopping for groceries would affect the importance they give to the ingredients or nutritional information provided on food packaging. 2. At which stage(s) of the buying-decision process are consumers most likely to pay attention to the ingredi- ents in the foods they buy? Sources: "You Are What You Eat... But Only 38 Per Cent of Canadians Know What's in Their Food," Canada Newswire, May 26, 2010; Nicole Baute, "Processed Meat Rich in Heart Risk, Study Finds," Toronto Star, May 18, 2010, p. 2; Eric Lam, "Maple Leaf Five-Year Plan Aims for 75% Boost in Profit Margin; Food Processing Company Building Two Plants, Trimming Product Line by 60%, " Edmonton (viewed February 14, 2011). Journal, October 7, 2010; Maple Leaf Foods website, www.mapleleaf.ca MARKETING EXCELLENCE Founded in 2000, Canada's Clearly Contacts Inc. quickly took the eye-care market by storm, becoming the world's largest online retailer of vision-care products in just ten years. Building successful operations in Canada, Clearly Contacts repeated this success abroad, expanding into the United States, Europe, Australia, and much of Asia. A knack for identifying profitable market segments and a bold strategy to enter those markets constitute the recipe behind Clearly Contacts' rapid growth. Founder and CEO Roger Hardy came up with the idea for an online optical store when he realized he could offer customers an alternative to the large markups optical stores were charging. He set out to create a more affordable and efficient way for consumers to purchase vision care, through an online environment. Offering users quality contact lenses and accessories at lower prices with a 30-day money-back guarantee, his company was able to capture a sizeable seg- ment of online buyers. Originally selling only contact lenses, Hardy listened to the voice of his customers who told him they wanted eyeglasses as well. The idea was attractive, considering the eyeglass market in the United States alone was worth about US$35 billion, ten times the size of the contact lens market. CLEARLY CONTACTS that communicates an upcoming day where consumers in that particular area can order a free pair of glasses. In December 2010, the company gave away free prescription glasses to the first 10 000 customers who lived in and around New York and "liked" the company's Facebook page. Giving away free glasses has proven a successful viral marketing strategy that attracts new visitors to the website and helps create awareness among potential customers in a new geo- graphic area. Entering new markets has not been done without care- ful consideration of regional differences. Each nation has its own dedicated website and brand-for example, Clearly Contacts in Canada, Coastal Contacts in the United States, and LensWay in the United Kingdom. Each country's website has a unique design and product offering suited to the country. With a customer base of nearly 3 million customers, the company hopes to become the market leader in all 150 countries it currently serves. This revolutionary company has grown to over 350 employees with sales revenues over $150 million in 2010. With successful segmentation and tar- geting strategies in place, this Canadian company is well- positioned to become the world's leading vision-care retailer. The question that loomed was whether the company could compete with traditional eye-care retailers in the prescrip- tion eyeglass market. Offering lower prices, free shipping, and a money-back guarantee; bundling contact lenses and eyeglasses; offering a wide assortment of brands; and giv- ing customers the ability to shop 24/7 gave the company adequate differentiation from brick-and-mortar competitors. In 2008, Clearly started retailing eyeglasses on the website and to Hardy's surprise, the demand was much larger than anticipated over 500 pairs of eyeglasses were shipped in one day. Fast forward a few years, and the company now regularly ships over 3000 pairs of eyeglasses each day, with some days seeing sales as high as 5000 pairs. Targeting the right groups of consumers has allowed Clearly Contacts to attract a loyal following of over 2 million customers worldwide. In order to break into a new geo- graphical segment, the company has used a viral campaign QUESTIONS 1. What are the different ways in which Clearly Contacts can segment the vision-care market? 2:/ By offering a wide assortment of products, is Clearly Contacts behaving like a mass marketer? Justify your answer. 3./What are some possible niche segments in the vision-care market that the company could consider serving? Sources: "Coastal Contacts Breaks Another Record with Online Eyeglasses and Prepares to Grow Again," Canada Newswire, January 21, 2011; Roger Hardy, "Sandbox Solutions, Profit, 27, no. 2 (May 2008): 27: Coastal Contacts Inc.. "2010 Annual Report," December 15, 2010: Coastal Contacts Facebook page, www. facebook.com/CoastalContacts.com; Coastal Contacts website, www.coastalcontacts. com; Clearly Contacts website, www.clearlycontacts.ca; LensWay website, www. lensway.co.uk (all viewed March 5, 2011).