Product & Brand Management V2

Product & Brand Management V2

Assignment A (Answer any 3 questions)

  1. Discuss the scope of product management in marketing environment?
  2. Discuss the aggregated market factors, their impact on category attractiveness and give aspecific source for where you’d get the information for each of them.
  3. Market potential is the techniques to know the exact capability of market. Explain how weestimate market potential.
  4. What is the difference between skimming and penetration strategy?
  5. What is product life cycle? What are its characteristics?
  6. Explain the concept of Brand Extendability.
  7. How a brand makes an image in the mind of customer? Give a suitable example.
  8. What is the difference between brand awareness and brand loyalty?

 

Case study

 

Case Study: Lipton and Kai Shii

 

Competitors in the iced-tea market

 

Unilever Bestfoods, USA and Shin Shii, Taiwan are competitors in the rapidly growing icedteamarket with their brands Lipton (in alliance with Pepsi) and Kai Shii respectively.Unilever has also introduced an instant hot-tea can by the name of Brooke Bond’s PG Tips.Kai Shii is about to be launched in the US market. The following study evaluates variousmarket segmentation strategies, potential consumer target segments, and factors to forecastdemand that were used or could have been used by these two companies. The main referencefor this report was Chapter 3 of the textbook ‘Principles of Marketing’ by Kotler et al.

The main results of the analysis are as follows:

Both companies’ SWOT analysis reveals that they are dominant and successful intheir home markets.

Kai Shii would require a great amount of effort to market itself and bridge thecultural divide and varying tastes and perceptions between Taiwanese and Americanconsumers.

Behavioural (seeking convenience, health conscious), demographic (age groups) andgeographic factors largely influence the market segmentation.

Pricing amongst competitors in the same product category plays a vital role

compared to pricing amongst for example, carbonated soft drinks etc.

Future demand for the iced tea market or any other segment is based on the growthrate of current market segment bases such as age, income and nationality.

Both companies require different approaches to their marketing strategies. The following arethe recommendations:

Lipton and Pepsi should expand their market reach across other segments to ward offemerging competitors and increase product visibility.

Lipton iced teas should be made available in various packaging sizes and prices.

Brooke Bond’s ready-to-drink hot tea cans should capitalise on the parent company’sobjective of increased customer convenience and the advantage of having developed aunique technology. Thus, it can be priced higher.

Shin Shii’s entry into the American market should focus on selecting a distributorbased on mutual trust and initially conducting trials and pilot schemes in cinemas,fun-fairs etc. to gauge general consumer response.

Shin Shii should change the name of its product to suit the American market and sellat lower prices than Lipton unless it feels that Kai Shii’s demand is based on or isincreasing due to its unique flavour or product quality.

  1. INTRODUCTION

The following report focuses on the growing canned iced-tea beverage market, with anemphasis on the Western market. This development led to opportunities for UnileverBestfoods, USA (herein referred to as ‘Unilever’) and Shin Shii, Taiwan to exploit themfurther through efficient marketing with their brands Lipton and Kai Shii respectively. Astudy was conducted to evaluate effective strategies for market segmentation and identifysuitable and potentialmarkets for iced-tea manufacturers to enter. In addition, factors thatcould be used to forecast future demand were described.

The main aims and objectives of this study are outlined as follows:

1) Understand what kind of markets drive a high demand for iced tea and the reasonsbehind them.

2) Recommend market coverage strategies and market entry strategies for Unilever andShin Shii respectively.

3) Recommend brand-positioning strategies for Lipton and Kai Shii and an alternativehot ready to drink tea beverage by Unilever.

Background: The Unilever Group is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast-movingconsumer goods. Their Lipton brand is a leader in the US market, besides having asignificant global presence. They have also developed a ready to drink hot canned tea productunder the name of Brook Bond’s PG Tips (herein referred to as Brooke Bond). Shin Shii is asmall company based in Taiwan, and already successful with its oolong iced tea beveragesdrink in Taiwan. It now wants to target the Western markets.

Assumptions:

1) The market for iced-teas has not undergone any permanent steep changes

either on the demand side or supply side, whether positive or negative.

2) However, it is a steadily growing market with a long way to go before saturation.

3) Lipton’s iced tea and Kai Shii’s oolong iced tea are fundamentally very close or similarand fall under the same product category.

4) ‘Western’ markets refer to the North American market.

Limitations:

The main reference (Kotler et al text, 2001) is slightly outdated, that may thusfail to include changes in the company’s profile or business portfolio. For example, Lipton’salliance with Pepsi may no longer exist. Also, relatively lesser information could be obtainedabout Shin Shii, as it is still a very obscure and less known company internationally.Theoretical Framework and Methodology: The analysis of this case study is based on the

marketing theories of:

  1. I) Strategic Planning with SWOT analysis
  2. II) Marketing Planning

Both theories are described in the marketing textbook by Kotler et al and each contain severalother components that would be defined and discussed. Some additional research was alsocarried out, especially pertaining to demand forecasting. Non-numerical data was largelysufficient to support or be used for recommending marketing strategies except when marketshare had to be discussed.

Report structure:

The report began with an executive summary and a brief introduction. Itwill be followed by an analysis and interpretation of the case and a short conclusion. It willend with a set of recommendations, links for further study, references and an appendix.

  1. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Strategic Planning: The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market is highly volatile andtrends in market demand or supply oscillate frequently. In such circumstances, companiesentering this market must be clear of their objectives and purpose to ensure sustainability. Forexample, Unilever wants to “meet everyday needs of people everywhere…and to respondcreatively and competitively with branded products and services which raise the quality oflife.” Once these are laid out, it is essential to do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses,opportunities and threats) analysis for the company before attempting to plan marketingstrategies and evaluating in detail factors such as brand positioning.

 

Marketing Planning: The first step in marketing planning is to determine what kind of factorsor bases are to be used to segment the market. Segmentation includes dividing buyers intodistinct groups, each with different needs, characteristics or behaviour, who might requireseparate products or marketing mixes. The iced-tea market also has several groups orsegments where consumers perceive or buy a product in a similar way in each of thesesegments. Their bases can be classified as follows:

  1. I) Behavioural- consumers seeking convenient and hassle free refreshments.
  2. II) Demographic- age groups.

III) Geographic- urban centres, city suburbs, villages and towns or all mentioned.

Price cannot be considered a major factor influencing buyer perception as canned iced-teasare more or less equally priced with similar products such as soft drinks or iced coffee.However, pricing amongst competitors in the same product category plays a vital role.The next step involves targeting specific segments with potential for the company in whichthe company has a differential advantage over its competitors. The choice of market segmentsshould enable the company to generate the greatest customer value and sustain it over time.The choice of segments also varies according to its size and the resources it has. For example,Shin Shii, with lesser resources might want to target a few segments initially in contrast toUnilever that would want to cover a bigger market by targeting several segments.However, Shin Shii, in its domestic Taiwanese market was an exception because it had to useaggressive advertising methods to create a totally new market for oolong iced-tea, which wasvirtually non-existent. In such a case, it targeted all age groups, even the tradition bound oldergeneration who were very much used to drinking hot tea and were least likely to give up thishabit. It’s selling point of Kai Shii drinkers being a ‘new breed of people’ in a ‘new world’along with it’s natural ingredients and health benefits appealed to everyone, including theelderly who tend to be more health conscious in the Far East. The concept of being uniqueand different appealed to the younger generation, while the therapeutic benefits of iced-teaattracted the stressed middle- aged working class besides providing them with theconvenience of a canned drink to complement their busy lifestyles. Other segments such asgeographical locations were also collectively considered although the level of penetrationmight not have been the same for rural markets.Unilever’s target segments for Lipton were broadly based on similar factors as far as thehealth benefits of iced tea are concerned. However, it could further narrow down to focus onathletes and industry workers involved in large amounts of physical activity and mentalexhaustion. Geographically, most of America’s population are in urban centres or towns thatare well connected. Thus, it made sense for Lipton to not restrict itself to purely urban centresonly. However, busy cities like New York, Boston and Chicago hold great potential for theworking class to be the targeted consumers as Lipton iced teas could be a quick refreshmentbetween snacks or lunch.

For Unilever, it is essential to note that it would be unfeasible for it to modify its Lipton icedteasto serve different parts of the country, as America is largely a homogenous market withhardly any diverse tastes for beverages. Shin Shii, however, might want to modify Kai Shiioolong iced-teas to suit the tastes of the American consumer and also to counter competitionby claiming to be exclusive and better.

Forecasting Demand: Current demand for iced-tea in America is so huge, that it forms 80%of all tea consumed in America. It has become a uniquely American habit, despite having arelatively shorter history of participation in the tea trade. As the convenience of ready-todrinkiced teas lure new tea drinkers, a roll-over effect should occur in the demand for othertypes of more specialised teas, such as herbal iced-tea to increase. Several other factors canbe utilised to forecast the demand of iced teas or for any other market segment. Most of themlargely relate to the growth rate of current market segment bases such as age, income, andcertain nationality groups. Changes in lifestyle, or in the socio-economic condition areamongst the larger developments that might influence demand especially in the long run.

Specific to the iced-tea market for example, a decrease in the proportion of working class dueto a rapidly ageing population might hinder demand in urban centres especially incommercial areas.Overall, however, the outlook for iced-tea beverages is still very much positive with instanttea becoming more important in certain markets. According to a study by Goradia (mentionedin ‘Commodity Supply Management by Producing Countries’), the global consumption ofliquid tea rose by 145% while that of tea leaves rose by only 92% between 1951 and 1970.Such rapid growth is expected to continue into the near future.

  1. CONCLUSION

As Lipton and Kai Shii both serve and cater to the same market, they use similar marketingstrategies but with different approaches to achieve their company’s objectives. Bothcompanies differ largely in size in terms of financial and human resource capital. This affectsthe way they implement their strategies. Lipton, being a global brand has a slight edge interms of expertise in the tastes and culture of its target group of consumers. It also has widerproduct range and technological superiority and is planning to launch a radical new product-Brooke Bond’s hot tea can. However, although Shin Shii would be a new player with KaiShii in the American market with no international experience, Unilever should be wary of itspast achievements of revolutionising a new type of product very successfully in theTaiwanese market. Despite successfully facing domestic competitors in the overcrowdediced-tea market, it might want to review its marketing policy to be better prepared to face asmall but unpredictable competitor. Both companies can look forward to competition in anencouraging and growing market with demand expected to rise steadily in the immediate longrun.

  1. RECOMMENDATIONS

The following lists the recommendations for Lipton and Pepsi with regard to:

  1. i) Market coverage strategy: As Lipton and Pepsi are already well established across severalsegments, they should use an undifferentiated marketing strategy spanning the entire market.As the number of competitors exploiting the demands of each segment increases, it isessential to remain clearly ahead in the consumer’s mind. This can be achieved by increasingvisibility across other segments such as tourist places. Pepsi’s wide distribution networkwhich already makes Pepsi cola widely available should give Lipton iced-teas the same levelof importance, and on the grounds of both Lipton’s and Pepsi’s reputation, demand fromretailers appropriate type of shelf space, for example at the eye level of the consumer. This isbecause iced-teas are increasingly becoming ‘impulse’ goods as their demand increases. Thisimplies that consumers postpone their decision making process until they are about to buy theproduct. In such cases, the first popular product they see that is neatly shelved would mostoften create a want for that product itself shutting out all other influential input.
  2. ii) Brand positioning of Lipton iced-teas: As more segments are targeted, the product shouldoffer greater flexibility and choice to cater to a wide range within each segment. For example,it could offer different types of packaging, and in different quantity (volume) with differentprices. This could give students amongst others an advantage in choosing the same product ata lower price on a regular basis.

iii) Brand positioning of Brooke Bond canned teas: Brooke Bond canned teas, boasting of arevolutionary new concept of ready to drink hot tea in a can, should position themselves asbeing a natural extension to the company’s policy of providing convenience and greaterchoice to the consumer. Being the first to develop and perhaps patent this technology, it couldcharge higher prices, as it is an upmarket product. However, as it requires the use of heatingcabinets, it cannot be widely accessible outdoors.It is essential to note that the two brands are marketed separately even though some of theirtarget groups of consumers may overlap, as many people are unaware that these brandsbelong to the same company, Unilever.

The following lists recommendations for Shin Shii with regard to:

  1. i) Market entry strategy: Shin Shii’s entry into the Western market with Kai Shii wouldrevolve largely around two major concerns. Firstly, the choice of a distribution network isimportant. It has to find similar partners who share and trust the company’s objectives, andcapabilities in delivering a quality product that will be successful. This is especially importantas stock returning without being sold burdens the distributor with extra costs and limit itsoperations elsewhere. Secondly, unlike Taiwan, where it was a market leader, in America, itshould not initially place its products on the shelf alongside Lipton as it will be simplyignored due to zero brand recognition. Shin Shii should instead target places like cinemas,amusement parks etc in pilot schemes where potential consumers are more likely to try outnew products. This would give it an indicator of the public response and as demand increases,an appropriate platform will emerge for Shin Shii to negotiate shelf-space with larger retailersto enable it to sell more widely in supermarket chains.
  2. ii) Brand positioning of Kai Shii: Before it enters the American market, it needs to rename itsproduct to allow the brand to be retained in an average American consumer’s mind. Thecultural gulf between Taiwan and America is too crucial to be ignored. Next, Kai Shii’s priceshould be lower than that of Lipton’s iced teas to provide an incentive for consumers to try analternate product at a lower price unless it is able to distinctively gauge a competitiveadvantage in product quality or a unique and thus popular taste liking amongst consumersduring trial periods. In that case, it may charge a premium on the grounds of superiority andpopularity. It may also directly attack Lipton’s flaws or old-fashioned image in its advertisingcampaigns. Increased revenue as a result of higher prices than that of its competitor couldensure the success and sustainability of these campaigns.

 

Q1: According to the given case give your comment on following statements Brand loyalty – “Consumers turn blind eye to bad brand values”

Q2:   Do PEST (Political, Economical. Social & Technological) analysis of the given case.

Q3: Focus on market entry strategy & Brand positioning strategy of both the competitors in Indian market .If you are Brand manager of Lipton give your opinion how to establish and increase its market share keeping in mind the Indian market.

MCQ’s

Question: 1

What is the name given to the brand which are lisenced by the manufacturers?

A: National Brand

B: Private Brand

C: Co-branding

D: Licensed brand

Question: 2

…………………refers to a brands objective (functional) attributes in relation to other brands.

A: Brand position

B:  Product position

C: Brand relationship

D: Both a and b

Question: 3

Close up, Doordarshan, Frooti, Babool, Fair and Lovely, Band aid and Ujala are the examples of………..

A: Descriptive Brand Name

B: Suggestive brand name

C: Free Standing brand name

D: None of the above

Question: 4

What is the process of extending an existing brand name to new forms, colors, sizes, ingredients, or flavors of an existing product category?

A: Line extension

B: Brand extension

C: Multibrands

D: New brand

Question: 5

From the consumers perspective the model segment non-user of the brand is divided into 4 groups based on the openness to try, among the following whoare the people whose prefrence lies in their current brand, although not strongly?

A: Strongly Unavailable

B: Weakly unavailable

C: Available

D: Ambivalent

Question: 6

The modern discipline of brand management is considered to have been started by which famous company?

A: Coca-Cola

B: Unilever

C: Procter & Gamble

D: Toyota

Question: 7

In ancient times the branding of animals was done in which country?

A: Egypt

B: U.S.A.

C: Zaire

D: Canada

Question: 8

Which of the following company was not in the Interbrand’s 2012 top 10 global brands list?

A: Samsung

B: Intel

C: Toyota

D: Procter & Gamble

Question: 9

Which companies entry into the Chinese market resulted in their brand being translated as ‘bite the wax tadpole’?

A: Pepsico

B: Apple

C: Coca-cola

D: Cadbury

Question: 10

What is the process in which the company tries to reduce the number of brands in the market?

A: Brand customizing

B: Brand rationalizing

C: Brand dropping

D: Brand Slashing

Question: 11

Which U.S. brand is not among the top 10 brands of Interbrand’s 2012 list?

A: GE

B: IBM

C: Microsoft

D: American Express

Question: 12

Which of the following is not among the 4 steps of brand building?

A: Brand identity

B: Brand response

C: Brand positioning

D: Brand relationship

Question: 13

From the manufacturer’s perspective the model segment user of the brand is divided into 4 groups based on the strenght of commitment, among the following who is more likely to switch the brands?

A: Average

B: Shallow

C: Convertible

D: Entrenched

Question: 14

What is the process of introducing the new product category with a new brand?

A: Line extension

B: Brand extension

C: Multibrands

D: New brand

Question: 15

What is the name given to the brand created and owned by a reseller of a product or service?

A: National Brand

B: Private Brand

C: Co-branding

D: Licensed brand

Question: 16

Nike has the distinctive “swoosh” logo, the “Just Do It” slogan, and the “Nike” name based on a mythological goddess. These items are called……….

A: brand equities

B: brand identities

C: brand resonance

D: brand elements

Question: 17

The purpose of the ……….. is to provide a current, comprehensive profile of how all the products and services sold by a company are marketed and branded.

A: brand audit

B: brand tracking study

C: brand inventory

D: brand analysis

Question: 18

A ……… typically employs quantitative measures to provide marketers with current information as to how their brands and marketing programs are performing on the basis of a number of key dimensions.

A: brand audit

B: brand tracking study

C: brand exploratory research

D: brand analysis

Question: 19

From the consumers perspective the model segment non-user of the brand is divided into 4 groups based on the openness to try, among the following who prefer other brands but have not switched yet?

A: Strongly Unavailable

B: Weakly unavailable

C: Available

D: Ambivalent

Question: 20

Which of the following is not among the 5 B’s of customer perspective?

A: Brand

B: Beauty

C: Belief

D: Backing

Question: 21

Which of the following is not among the 5 B’s of producer perspective?

A: Bridge

B: Briliant

C: Brave

D: Background

Question: 22

Which is not an example of Positioning by usage occasion and time of use?

A: Listerine – night time rinse

B: Nescafe – Great start to the morning

C: NIIT (Inspired……life begins at NIIT)

D: Domino’s (When families are having fun)

Question: 23

……….. Is measures the degree to which a brand is seen as different from others.

A: Relevance

B: Differentiation

C: Esteem

D: Knowledge

Question: 24

……….. measures the breadth of a brand’s appeal.

A: Relevance

B: Differentiation

C: Esteem

D: Knowledge

Question: 25

Burton, a maker of snowboards, is introducing a new snowboard called “The Dominator.” This snowboard will be associated and identified with top professional riders. What marketing strategy is Burton using?

A: building brand image

B: leveraging secondary association

C: positioning the product

D: targeting a submarket

Question: 26

A clothing marketer is planning to launch an existing brand name into a new product category. Which brand development strategy is being implemented?

A: rebranding

B: brand extension

C: line extension

D: private brand

Question: 27

A key element in a company’s relationship with consumers, a ________ represents consumers’ perceptions and feelings about a product and its performance.

A: product experience

B: product line

C: brand

D: product attribute

Question: 28

From the consumers perspective the model segment non-user of the brand is divided into 4 groups based on the openness to try, among the following who are as attractd to other brands as their current choice?

A: Strongly Unavailable

B: Weakly unavailable

C: Available

D: Ambivalent

Question: 29

All products marketed by Heinz carry the brand name ‘Heinz’. This is an example of ………….

A: individual names

B: blanket family names

C: separate family name for all products

D: none of the above

Question: 30

A ………. brand may be kept around despite dwindling sales because they still manage to hold on to a sufficient number of customers and maintain profitability with little or no marketing support.

A: flanker

B: cash cow

C: hound dog

D: question mark

Question: 31

Honda uses the company name to cover different products such as automobiles, motorcycles, snowblowers, and snowmobiles. This is an example of a ……….

A: sub-brand

B: parent brand

C: line extension

D: category extension

Question: 32

Nivea, a strong European brand, has expanded its scope from a skin-cream brand to a skin-care and personal-care brand through carefully designed and implemented brand extensions. This is an example of ………

A: brand valuation

B: brand management

C: brand enhancements

D: brand reinforcement

Question: 33

Advertising campaigns can help to create name recognition, brand knowledge, and maybe even some brand preference. However, brands are not maintained by advertising but by the ________.

A: market experience

B: brand experience

C: product mix

D: word-of-mouth elements

Question: 34

An increasing number of retailers and wholesalers have created their own ________, also called store brands.

A: unsought products

B: speciality products

C: private brands

D: Shopping products

Question: 35

Which of the following is an advantage offered by co-branding?

A: Manufacturers do not have to invest in creating their own brand names

B: Brand equity is stabilized

C: A company can expand its existing brand into a category it otherwise might have difficulty entering alone

D: Retailers have exclusive products that cannot be purchased from competitors

Question: 36

From the manufacturer’s perspective the model segment user of the brand is divided into 4 groups based on the strenght of commitment, among the following who are happy with their choice and will continue with it in the future?

A: Average

B: Shallow

C: Convertible

D: Entrenched

Question: 37

…………………includes all that is linked up in memory about the brand. It could be specific to attributes , features, benefits or looks of brand.

A: Brand attitude

B: Brand association

C: Brand relationship

D: Brand image

Question: 38

…………………..includes two visual signals of a brand – its character (e.g. Amul girl, Pillsbury doughboy) and its logo. Both are elements of brand identity.

A: Brand attitude

B: Brand symbol

C: Brand positioning

D: Brand image

Question: 39

.………………….can be thought of as a perceptual map of in which like products of the same company (say, toothpaste) are positioned very close to one another and compete more with one another than with brands of other companies.

A: Brand Comparison

B: Cannibalization

C: Positioning

D: Brand Associations

Question: 40

A marketer need to understand that some ‘general traits’ of a brand name are:

A: Easy to recognize

B: Easy to pronounce

C: Easy to memorize or recall

D: All of the above

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