Introduction
Analyzing a product’s marketing strategy reveals how a company chooses to use its resources to capture the attention of the public. This report was commissioned by the Business and Economics teacher as an assignment that will influence the final grade on the subject. The purpose of discussing the marketing strategy of an existing product, Bulla Creamy Classic Ice Cream, is to discover how the company approaches this sphere of operations.
This will allow for a better understanding of which strategies brands implement in order to stay competitive in the market and ensuring that customers buy their products. The main areas that will be looked at in the report include product strategy, target market, positioning strategy, price strategy, promotion strategy, and place strategy. Internet resources will serve as the primary means for compiling the report.
Marketing Strategy
In this report, Bulla Creamy Classic Ice Cream will serve as the focus product for the analysis. The ice cream is an essential part of Bulla’s brand and has been on the market for decades, which points to its solid reputation. It is sold in one and two-liter tubs as well as in packs to allow customers to have a wider choice. Flavors of Creamy Classic ice cream include Classic Cheesecake, Mint Choc Chip, Vanilla, Double Choc Fudge, Frozen Custard toffee Caramel, Frozen Custard Rich Cholocalte, Frozen Custard Classic, Vanilla and Boysenberry, Hazelnut, Cookies and Cream, and Choc Chip. Bulla ice cream is available at grocery stores as well as ice cream trucks in some areas. The core product in Bulla’s case is offering a pleasantly tasting dessert.
The actual product is ice cream sold in brown plastic tubs with the brand’s logo and an image of the dessert itself. The augmented product includes promotional deals and various competitions that the brand conducts for advertisement. Bulla is considered Australia’s most popular ice cream brand (AFN Staff Writers 2014). Therefore, despite being on the market for almost a century, the product is still at the stage of growth through the company’s introduction of new flavors, increased profitability, and rising pressure from competitors on the market. Throughout the years, there have been some changes in the packaging of Bulla Creamy Classics ice cream.
Now, the ice cream is sold in brown tubs of two- and one-liter volumes. When it comes to portioned ice cream, such as sandwiches, they are sold in brown carton boxes. Key features of the packaging include the brand’s logo, the ‘Creamy Classics’ name, the specification of the flavor, and an image of a bowl with three scoops of ice cream in a particular flavor. Also, the packaging has “proudly Australian made and owned” written on it to show clients that the product is reliable and produced locally.
Target Market
The target market of Bulla Creamy Classics encompasses a wide demographic of customers because there are usually not many limitations when it comes to targeting dessert to potential consumers. Bulla targets adults predominantly due to the simple packaging and interesting flavors. However, customers with families and children are not excluded from the targeting because ice cream can be eaten by anyone regardless of age or other demographic characteristics. The need of the target audience is to enjoy a tasty dessert that they buy for a reasonable price. Although the price strategy will be discussed later in the report, it should be mentioned that the prices that the company set for Creamy Classics have both lower- and middle-class consumers in mind.
The size of the target market is expected to shift throughout the year because ice cream can be complicated to market in colder months. Therefore, Bulla has to focus its marketing efforts on ensuring that target consumers remain interested in the product year-round. In addition, the company recognizes how important it is to encourage children to get interested in the product because they can often enable their parents to try a new product. Thus, in its advertisements, Bulla often uses a child actor to keep the younger audience interested. Overall, Creamy Classics has a wide target audience that is not limited by age, gender, and even social class. The brand created an inclusive product that anyone could enjoy.
Positioning Strategy
The market for ice cream is extremely large, with brands coming up with new flavors and options to cater to a wide audience. Thus, the key aspects by which customers can differentiate between ice cream brands and variations are price and quality. It is important to mention that when quality is high, customers are more likely to pay more for the product. Competition for Bulla in the Australian market comes from brands such as Connoisseur, Halo Top, Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s, as well as Woolworths’ own ice cream.
The positioning of the brand is linked to set itself apart from the competition: “Bulla, loved and trusted by Australians for over 100 years, making delicious real dairy products for five generations” (Bulla Dairy SWOT analysis, USP & competitors n.d., para. 1). The positioning map that shows Bulla’s ice cream place on the market against competitors is presented below (Figure 1).
Price Strategy
As was mentioned previously, Bulla established an effective pricing strategy that will allow the brand to capture the largest audience possible. Due to the wide popularity of Creamy Classics ice cream, it is possible for the company to maintain reasonable prices while ensuring a high quality of the product. According to the Woolworths website, now Bulla Creamy Classics costs AU$5, although, without the sales offer, it is usually AU$8 for a 2-liter pack (Bulla Creamy Classics ice cream vanilla 2l tub n.d.). The discounted price means that customers can buy ice cream for as low as AU$0.25 per 100g. If compared to competitors, Ben & Jerry’s sells their ice cream for AU$2.26 per 100g, while Connoisseur sells it for AU$1 per 100g (Connoisseur ice cream cookies and cream 1l tub n.d.).
It should be mentioned that the pricing strategy established by Bulla should not be changed. Occasional offers mean that customers get the same quality of the product for less. On the other hand, profits can be increased by setting a constant price without any sales, although it is possible that customers will be less accepting of higher prices.
Promotion Strategy
The key focus of Bulla’s promotional strategy is connecting to the target audience through showing that the brand is local and therefore can be trusted. As to the Creamy Classics range, ads try to make the product appealing to the audience by listing its beneficial qualities. For instance, such phrases as “all Bulla ice creams are made from fresh milk,” “they are really creamy,” “made for sharing with someone special” have been extensively used in past Bulla advertisements (Australiaads 2010). Advertisements predominantly include such means as TV and outside ads (posters, pamphlets, and so on). There has not been much effort to capture the online audience, which is a negative part of the promotion strategy.
As a brand that has existed in the market for a century, the main components of its ad placement program include coming up with the idea that will be appealing to customers, filming a television advertisement, and then paying channels to show the ad during commercial breaks. The nature of this type of advertisement is fairly traditional, which means that Bulla should extend its promotional efforts to use more advanced and modern methods of marketing its Creamy Classics ice cream. The landscape of modern advertising shifted significantly, and the Internet came to the forefront of brands’ efforts to attract new customers while maintaining support from already loyal clients.
Thus, the reach of current promotional efforts is lower than it could be because many people skip commercial breaks and pay less attention to billboards than even a decade ago. The impact of TV ads and other traditional means is not enough to maintain the brand’s reputation. In addition, it was found that “social media is influencing what ice cream Australians are choosing to buy” (Hogan 2018, para. 1). This points to the high need for Bulla to increase their efforts in using social media to promote Creamy Classics ice cream.
Place Strategy
Bulla Creamy Classics ice cream is predominantly sold through different retailers around Australia. This means that the likely marketing channels that the company uses include suppliers working with retailers and then selling ice cream to customers. This channel is the most convenient because the manufacturer does not have to deal with negotiations with retailers. The center of Bulla’s operations is located in Colac, Victoria’s Western District. For product distribution, between two to three hundred refrigerated trucks may be needed.
Bulla works with major retailers that have chains of stores such as 7-Eleven, Woolworths, and Coles, as well as independent companies such as United Convenience Buying Group and United Petroleum (Bulla food services n.d.). This points to the fact that indirect distribution is the main outlet for delivering Creamy Classics ice cream to the end customer. Also, Bulla’s Foodservices website states that the company encourages the cooperation between producers, wholesalers, and retailers for meeting the needs of consumers, which represents a vertical marketing system (VMS) (Vertical marketing system n.d.). Bulla’s VMS is of the contractual type.
The push system of inventory control is the most suitable in Bulla’s case because the company has to prepare for increased demand for inventory, for example, in warmer months. Pre-determined agreements are the main sources of information sharing targeted at optimizing the distribution system. Following the forecasts of demand for Creamy Classics, Bulla should negotiate future operations with its distributors and retailers to ensure that customers get the product in time and there are no shortages in stock.
Reference List
AFN Staff Writers 2014, Bulla Australia’s most popular ice cream brand, Roy Morgan Research. Web.
Australias 2010, Bulla icecream 2010 ad, online video. Web.
Bulla Creamy Classics ice cream vanilla 2l tub n.d. Web.
Bulla Dairy SWOT analysis, USP & competitors n.d. Web.
Bulla food services n.d. Web.
Connoisseur ice cream cookies and cream 1l tub n.d. Web.
Hogan, 2018, Social media is influencing ice cream eating habits. Web.
Vertical marketing system n.d. Web.