Effective Marketing Strategies: Analyzing Case Studies for
School
Universitat Pompeu Fabra**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
BUSINESS 21139
Subject
Marketing
Date
Dec 12, 2024
Pages
5
Uploaded by ColonelSquidPerson714
Marketing IBE 2024-2025 SEMINAR 5, CASE STUDY: Out of your comfort zone II(Scheduled for November 18th (T2) and 22nd (T1)) PART 1 Write a two-page report on the exercise below: Select one “product”from the following categories (It must be a different category than the one you chose in part I): TV Channels, Small stores, Countries, Cities, NGOs, Political parties, Pop/Rock Stars, Bloggers, Celebrities. Based on the concepts learned on lectures, write a brief report answering the following questions: 1.Describe and analyze the most relevant marketing strategies*that have been implemented by the chosen product (old and recent ones). 2.Based on the situation of the product analyzed, recommend other strategies that could be implemented, explaining the objective pursued by each strategy * You can use any of the concepts studied along the course: segmentation and positioning strategies, strategies along the product life cycle, product-line strategies, distribution strategies, branding strategies, communication and promotional strategies,…Add an appendix with visuals if necessary. Groups will post the digital version in Aula global before the seminar session (one report per team). Additional assignment for Group 2 and 3: Group 2 and 3 will do a 30 minute presentation of their case study during the seminar session. Feel free to use webpage screenshots and spots to illustrate and complement the presentation of your case. A PDF version of the presentation should be also posted in Aula Global PART 2 For the second part of the session all the groups will discuss questions about the following article, so please read it before class
Is Wet TP All Dried Up? --- How One Toilet Paper Product Wiped Out After Its Launch; Problems With a Portable PottyBy Emily Nelson 1,288 words 15 April 2002 The Wall Street Journal J B1 English (Copyright (c) 2002, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) LAST YEAR, Kimberly-Clark Corp., maker of Kleenex and Scott tissues, announced "the most significant category innovation since toilet paper first appeared in roll form in 1890." All major television networks, newspapers -- even Jay Leno -- covered the news. The company predicted $150 million in sales its first year. The much ballyhooed product was Cottonelle Fresh Rollwipes, a roll of moist wipes in a plastic dispenser that clips onto a regular toilet-paper holder. The company's hope was that Rollwipes would spur Americans to spend more on lowly toilet paper because they would use a wet wipe along with their regular tissue. To skeptics, Kimberly-Clark waved its research showing that 63% of adults were already in the habit of wetting toilet paper or using a wipe. Ultimately the company spent more than $100 million to develop the roll and dispenser, which it guards with more than 30 patents. The payoff: Today, its big invention is still confined to a regional market. Executives say sales are so small they aren't financially material. Part of the problem lies with marketing mistakes. Kimberly-Clark, hobbled by a product few can discuss without blushing, never covered basics such as showing consumers what the product does in its advertising and promotions. For instance, Rollwipes advertising agency WPP Group's J. Walter Thompson aimed to create a fun image, with shots of people, from behind, splashing in the water. The ads, which cost $35 million, carried the slogan, "sometimes wetter is better." A print ad was an extreme close-up of a sumo wrestler's behind. Analysts quickly criticized the ads for not clearly explaining the product -- or helping create demand. The company says it recently added more explanatory print ads.
And in another marketing flub, Kimberly-Clark didn't design Rollwipes in small trial sizes, which meant it couldn't pass out free samples. Instead, it had scheduled a van, outfitted with a mobile restroom and Rollwipes, to stop at public places in the Southeast in mid-September. Unfortunately, the road-trip got put on hold after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Another problem: Rollwipes, unlike other wipes in boxes, come in a contraption that is immediately visible in a bathroom -- another strike for people already bashful about buying the product. A starter kit, which costs $8.99, includes a beige plastic dispenser that clips onto the spindle of the regular toilet tissue but is about the size of two rolls on top of each other. "You do not want to have to ask someone to redecorate your bathroom," says Tom Vierhile, president of Marketing Intelligence Service Ltd., a Naples, N.Y., firm that tracks product introductions. At the core, though, the failure of Rollwipes to catch on shows how hard it is for marketers to invent -- or reinvent -- household staples. Consumers' closets already are stuffed full of laundry detergents, fabric softeners, special liquid soaps, even soap-coated wipes. Recent attempts to launch contraptions for home dry-cleaning and water-purifying have fallen flat. "It used to be easy. You had something that was new to the world, and your job as a marketer was to just make sure people got it," says Marco Marsan, a marketing consultant in Cincinnati who was hired in 1998 by Kimberly-Clark to review the design of an early Rollwipes prototype with consumers. Today, Mr. Marsan says, "companies are splitting hairs." Executives at Kimberly-Clark, Dallas, decline to discuss Rollwipes. In a conference call with investors last fall, Tom Falk, Kimberly-Clark's president and chief operating officer, said the market for the product is "going to grow slower than we thought." A Kimberly-Clark spokesman says, "There is still a strong feeling that the product will be successful." He adds, "initial sales had not met what we originally thought it might do. I don't think it's fair to portray it that we're disappointed with the product." In January 2001, Kimberly-Clark couldn't have been more optimistic. It touted its invention to major news outlets and held a conference call for analysts and investors. While some marketers prefer stealth or quiet product launches, Kimberly-Clark hoped that the hype would create demand from consumers and persuade retailers to make room on their shelves for Rollwipes. And despite the product's peculiar nature, analysts, weren't about to bet against Kimberly-Clark, known for coming up with odd-sounding products such as pull-on diapers and tissue in decorative boxes that outsold initial projections. Moreover, Americans consume a lot of moistened wipes in other forms, for everything from removing eye makeup to cleaning their desks at work. But the product wasn't ready to be shipped to stores for another six months. Kimberly-Clark
blames "a good part" of the delay on the late arrival of manufacturing equipment. By July, most shoppers had forgotten Rollwipes' 15 minutes of fame. "I know I've heard something about it. I can't recall if it was a commercial or a comedian making fun of it," says Rob Almond, who purchases paper goods as director of housekeeping services for Richfield Nursing Center, in Salem, Va., one of the markets where Rollwipes are available. Mr. Almond has never purchased Rollwipes. Joan Schneider, a Boston marketing consultant who studies product launches, also faults Kimberly-Clark for wasting money on heavy, national hype when the product was made available only in select Southern markets. Unexpected competition also hurt. Procter & Gamble Co., seeing the buzz generated by Kimberly-Clark's announcement, wanted a me-too product. Seven weeks later, P&G bought out John Marino, a small Boston inventor who had ginned up Moist Mates, a simpler version of baby wipes on a roll. P&G repackaged Moist Mates under the name Charmin Fresh Mates. P&G shipped Fresh Mates to the same test markets as Rollwipes and started TV advertising the same day. A P&G spokeswoman says P&G is happy with the product and declines to discuss any expansion plans for "competitive" reasons. Though it says Rollwipes isn't the reason, Kimberly-Clark is approaching the upcoming launch of its new Neat Sheet differently; Neat Sheet is a water-repellant blue tarp designed to replace the damp beach blankets parents hate. One difference is production. Kimberly-Clark invested heavily in Rollwipes manufacturing lines; the $7.99 Neat Sheet is being made by contractors. What's more, the company will announce the product publically, but only after it's available in stores, avoiding another mistake it made with Rollwipes. And the first magazine ad for the Neat Sheet clearly lists its uses, such as a "picnic spread" and "soccer game seating." Still, Neat Sheet may have its own marketing hurdles. Says Tom Wilson, Kimberly-Clark's vice president of new business development: "This is definitely a female-targeted product. Men don't necessarily understand this product."
A Panoply of Peculiar Products Some top U.S. new product innovations of 2001 chosen by Productscan Online PRODUCT COMPANY FEATURES Campbell's Soup to Sip Campbell Soup Sipping lid that Microwaveable Soup looks like a travel mugs' PJ Squares Peanut Butter & Jelly PJ Squares Peanut butter Slices and jelly is packaged like American cheese Slices Parkay Fun Squeeze ConAgra Foods Electric blue Colored Margarine and shocking pink margarine colors American Woman American Woman Mood swings Tri-Color 3-in-1 Cosmetics change color Nail Color color of nail Polish E-Moo Carbonated Mac Farms Sold in Orange Dairy-Based Sparkle and Beverage Bubble Blast Flavors Source: Marketing Intelligence Service Document j000000020020415dy4f00070