MKT500 DB4

Attached is the discussion board question document, a sample student response, and the scenario to answer the question by. I will attach the chapter 6 & 7 lecture notes shortly for further reference if necessary. I will attach a student's question in a few weeks for a response as well. Thank You

MKT500 Discussion Board 4 Question Core Market Offerings and Defining the Product 1) From the case study, take a position on whether Tropicana did or did not make a major mistake in changing its product packaging. Next, suggest the next two (2) steps that you believe Tropicana should take in its branding strategy in order to counteract the initial negative response to the new product packaging. Provide a rationale for your response and do not duplicate your classmates' responses. 2.) From the scenario, prioritize the attributes of Golds Reling's brand from the brand map presented in the scenario according to the attributes that you believe would be most important to the new tablet's target market. Provide support for your response. Sample Only: Student Response to Discussion Questions "Core Market Offerings and Defining the Product" Please respond to the following:From the case study, take a position on whether Tropicana did or did not make a major mistake in changing its product packaging. Next, suggest the next two (2) steps that you believe Tropicana should take in its branding strategy in order to counteract the initial negative response to the new product packaging. Provide a rationale for your response and do not duplicate your classmates' responses. I think that Tropicana did not make a major mistake in changing its product packaging. I think the problem was more so that they were not truly aware of how the consumer felt about the product. Neil Campbell was quoted as saying \"what we didn't get was the passion this very loyal small group of consumers has. That wasn't something that came out in the research\" (Berger & Kirk, 2011). This tells me that they did not do enough research when making the determination to change the packaging. To me I do not think their decision was based on egos. I do think that they saw their market share continuing to decrease and in order to rectify the situation they made a sound business decision with the data that they had. At this stage I would suggest that Tropicana go back to the drawing board on the new packaging and try to incorporate the old straw and orange back into the packaging but make other changes such as the lettering. Prior to releasing it though I would say to test the consumer approval of the new packaging by having consumer research done that lets a small group of consumers look at a few ideas and include that information when choosing the packaging. The second step I would suggest Tropicana do is to implement the same type of product packaging that Pepsi uses. Continue to make the old packaging in limited quantity and call it the throw back or retro packaging. Pepsi does this with the Pepsi coke products. They have the new can that is all blue with new lettering but sometimes you can still find the old lettering and logo on the throwback cans. This way the old packaging does not go away entirely and the customers that like it can buy that one while the new packaging might attract new consumers. These are my suggestions. From the scenario, prioritize the attributes of Golds Reling's brand from the brand map presented in the scenario according to the attributes that you believe would be most important to the new tablet's target market. Provide support for your response. I would prioritize Golds Reling's attributes for the new tablet's target market given in the scenario by Samantha on slide 7 and the reasoning behind each choice as follows: Urban: I choose this one first because this is the one selected in the meeting between Ed and Samantha as being the most beneficial. Because of that I thought it should be first. Hi Tech: This is next because with a tablet it is important that the technology is able to compete with the other tablets on the market so an emphasis should be placed on the technology since that is what the consumer will look for. High Quality: I think this is third because it goes hand in hand with hi tech. The quality of the product being sold is important to consumers and if we can get them to see that the Golds Reling's tablet is high quality they will be willing to pay a premium for the product. Easy-to-use: Tablets are a new type of technology and having technology that any consumer can use at any age will allow the market to be larger which will help boost sales and increase the profit margin. If consumers can't use the product easily they will be less inclined to purchase it or recommend it to others. Affordable: The affordability is important because the consumer will want to feel as if they are paying a reasonable price for the product. If the product is overly expensive the consumer may choose a less expensive competitor. Also some of the consumers may be in early twenties and using it for school. In these cases they may not be able to buy the most expensive product. So in order to not alienate them have a less expensive but still good quality model as well as one that they might want to upgrade to later that is more expensive. Fun: The tablet can be used for work or learning but it should also be able to be seen as a fun device. You want to play up the fact that certain apps or music can be played on it. This will also allow for there to be a larger market. Sophisticated: Finally it must be sophisticated. In that it is going to be for a large demographic and they are urban you would want a product that is sophisticated enough to be used by older more business minded individuals. It might even be a good idea to have the tablet come in a basic black or white and then offer customization with cases for the consumer who is more daring with color choices. In order to do this the cases should not be too expensive. Resources Berger, Karen A. & Collen P. Kirk. (2011). Tropicana: Social Media Teach Marketers A Branding Lesson. Retrieved on 2/5/2015 from http://x2.xanedu.com/course_packs/453396/article/a15navpoint-1. MKT 500 Week 4 Scenario: Branding Your Product Slide # Slide 1 Scene # Scene 1 Narration MKT500_4_1_Carl-1: Good morning, Ed and Samantha. [Ed, Samantha, Carl - Hallway] MKT500_4_1_Ed-1: Good morning, Carl. MKT500_4_1_Samantha-1: Good morning, Carl. MKT500_4_1_Carl-2: So, we have accomplished a lot during our previous meetings, and I believe that we are going to have a successful upcoming launch of the tablet computer. MKT500_4_1_Ed-2: You're right, Carl. We have come a long way in the past few weeks, and both Samantha and I feel confident that this will be a successful launch. MKT500_4_1_Carl-3: Excellent. Have you started thinking about the best strategy to brand our tablet? MKT500_4_1_Ed-3: Well, we did look at branding when we selected our target markets. MKT500_4_1_Carl-4: Have you accounted for a strategy to transition from our current brands to the new tablet brand? MKT500_4_1_Samantha-2: We have gathered some preliminary branding ideas, but we intend to investigate them further today. MKT500_4_1_Carl-5: Sounds good. I look forward to seeing your work later. Slide 2 Scene 2 [Ed, Samantha - Ed's Office] Ed and Samantha meet to discuss the branding strategy for the tablet launch. MKT500_4_2_Samantha-1: Ed, before we get into too many branding details for this specific launch, could we talk about the concept of branding strategy? Brand strategy is a part of the marketing management process that I struggled with a bit while I was in school. Ed: I have a short video here that we can watch. I think it will be helpful. Slide 3 What is Brand Strategy? http://youtu.be/H-RaxV2as8s Slide 4 Scene 2, cont. [Ed, Samantha - Ed's Office] MKT500_4_2_Samantha-2: Thanks, Ed. This video was great. A brand is so much more than just the logo we associate with the product. MKT500_4_2_Ed-1: Exactly. When we're thinking about how to brand our tablet, we need to intentionally and thoughtfully ensure that we are communicating a consistent message within the company as well as to our customers. As part of our branding strategy, we need to develop brand associations, which you may recall are the feelings, beliefs, and knowledge that customers have about a particular brand. Since this is a new product in our portfolio, we also need to discuss how we are going to implement our brand extensions. Then we can use Golds Reling's brand equity to leverage our good name in the electronics market in order to get customers to buy our new tablet. We can tackle this by creating a brand association map. MKT500_4_2_Samantha-3: I remember that brand association maps are similar to perceptual maps, like the one we created for Carl in our last meeting. MKT500_4_2_Ed-2: Right. The primary purpose of a brand association map is to illustrate a new (Displayed on screen) strategic overview of our brand's associations and to depict our brand's strategic meaning in a comprehensive visual presentation. (Brand map displayed on screen) As you can see by the Samsung brand map, the nodes in the network include elements, attributes, and abstract benefits about the brand. The links between the nodes indicate the connections. Some of the connecting lines are more prominent than others. The idea that the figure tries to convey is that customers store quite a lot of information about a brand in their memory, and when the brand name is activated, the brand associations - such as service, quality, or product reliability - are subsequently triggered. As for the practical implications, our strategic brand association map process provides us with a very clear, consumer-driven, strategic view of the associations our brand has and how those associations may, or may not, be serving to differentiate our brand. Additionally, the strategic brand association maps serve as an excellent diagnostic as to the overall health of our brand. It can also provide actionable insight for better understanding of strategic reasons why a particular brand may be underperforming against expectations. Furthermore, brand associations are one of the fundamental cornerstones of brand value. Brand associations serve to differentiate and create meaning for brands. Better understanding and managing a brand's associations are fundamental roles of brand managers. The brands map process illustrates a new way to give brand managers strategic, consumer-driven insight into their brand's associative network. MKT500_4_2_Samantha-4: I see! So when we are thinking about marketing the tablet, we need to have our customers relate to our brands by creating a brand personality. In other words, we should try to attribute personality traits such as \"seriousness\Marketing Management MKT 500 Products: Goods and Services Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: - Examine the different types of products in the marketing exchange process and create dynamic strategies for competing. Product in the Marketing Exchange Product - goods and services - first of the 4Ps - customer-company exchange Marketing Exchange - value and benefit to customer - consumer wants and desires Product in the Marketing Exchange (continued) Marketing Exchange - short-term purchase to long-term relationship - customer satisfaction and loyalty Types of Products Distinguish Categories - convenience, shopping, and specialty - marketing goal and activities Types of Products (continued) Low involvement vs. high involvement - channels of distribution - promotion Differences in Marketing Products and Services Tangibility - definition - attributes Search, Experience, and Credence - definitions - examples - categorizing goods and services Perishability Separation of production and consumption - definition - differences - nature of interaction - examples Variability Variability of Services - definition and example - self-service Check Your Understanding Product Definition and Competition Core Business vs. Value-Added Services - proportion of goods and services - difference between core business and value added services - consumer expectations and satisfaction Dynamic Strategies Core Business and Industry - effects of change - effects of competition - definition of core business - informative - recognize all competitors Product Lines - Breadth and Depth Product lines - larger portfolio considerations - width and depth - diversification and strategic approach importance Summary Role of a product in the marketing exchange process Convenience, shopping, and specialty Tangibility, perishability, and variability Core business and value-added services Product line breadth and depth Diversification and strategic approach to new product line development Marketing Management MKT 500 Brands Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: - Develop branding strategies for existing and new products. Brand Basics Definition and Purpose - inherent qualities, shape, and packaging Name - distinctive - conveys information Logo - creative, abstract, colors Business Benefits of Branding Consumer Benefits - convey information and consistent quality - reduce risk - make decision to purchase easier Business Benefits of Branding (continued) Company Benefits - create loyalty - customers willing to pay premium price - targeting and segmentation Brand Personalities Purpose - creates association with a specific product quality or expectation - different doesn't necessarily mean better Branding Strategies Different Approaches - umbrella brands: company name used on all products created and marketed - house of brands: individual brand names used on all products created and marketed - strengths and weaknesses Brand Extensions Definition - leverage brand name for purpose of selling new product(s) Types of Extensions - line extension: creation of \"related\" products for an already established product Brand Extensions (continued) - product category extension: offer product types in a \"different\" category Co-Branding - joint marketing venture between 2 companies involving symmetry Ingredient Branding - one brand dominates the other Check Your Understanding Global Brands Global Brands - 30% of revenue from foreign market - different brand names vs. single brand name - translation of brand name Store Brands - generic and unattractive - price sensitive consumers Brand Equity Measures of Brand Equity - Interbrand method - assets, customer survey data, price premium Summary Branding Basics Brand Personalities, Strategies, and Extensions