General Mills Canada Corporation Case Study

Executive Summary:

General Mills Canada Corporation (GMCC) is a subsidiary of a confectionary manufacturing firm. It is situated in Canada. According to the case, the marketing manager (Mr. Guillen) for one of their product lines is facing a tremendous challenge which is becoming an obstacle for the performance of the product in the Canadian market. The refrigerated baked goods division is facing low sales growth paired with low market penetration.

In order to improve on these figures of market penetration and growth, Mr. Guillen feels it is necessary to conduct quantitative and qualitative research and gain more understanding to the root causes of these issues. For the purpose of this task, an external research team is hired to work with

It is necessary for the supplier to fully integrate the 4P’s and thus influence the customer in their decision process when purchasing any good.

The pricing was acceptable to the customers in this instance. However, demand can be increased by offering some sort of discount or lower pricing methods for the customer. The Canadian market is very different from the U.S market and therefore the campaigns and promotions should be catered to target the Canadian market and not just simply replicate the American model. Advertising similarly needs to reflect what the Canadian customers can associate themselves with. The Canadian market dominantly bakes cookies from scratch as opposed to the American market having the largest market share for refrigerated baked goods. The company needs to take this information into account and tweak their advertisement campaigns to resonate with the feelings for the customers. GMCC should also be allocated proper budget to invest in the local product lines development in order to make the customers relate better to the brand. Moreover, the company should not rely on their brand image alone. GMCC needs to push their product out into the market and increase its availability in order for it to be available everywhere, thus guaranteeing a greater household penetration this

They need to use a mixed approach for increasing household penetration and well as putting in extra effort to increase the purchase frequency for Pillsbury Cookie Dough.

These results may be achieved through the following methods:

1. Offering price discounts and promotions

2. Increasing their product availability throughout the Canadian market

3. Increase marketing budget for the Canadian division

4. Rethink their advertising and cater it to the Canadian market reflecting on what the quantitate and qualitative research has deduced for