Marketing Management: Marketing, Branding and Metrics of Chocolate Milky Essay

Summary: Introduction

The dynamics of the current business environment have continued to complicate how business operations are conducted throughout the world. Marketing strategies, which are part of the most significant component of any business, have consistently changed from one industry to the other, and sometimes introducing a new product is a marketing strategy in itself (Gunelius 2007). On the whole, variation in the marketing and sales processes calls for special attention to be accorded to the different strategies chosen for use in the sales and marketing, especially monitoring their scope of performance of new products (Thompson, 2003). Thompson (2003) agrees that the marketing function has been under insurmountable pressure to take the leading role for business returns, yet measures to track marketing strategies have been increasingly rendered limited by marketing metrics and measurements practices that portend some difficulty in arriving at choices or understanding their role.

This paper aims to explore a potential new product, Chocolate, in Northern Foods Company. For the sake of this paper, the chocolate brand is Chocolate Milky, which is a fast-moving consumer good (FMCG). With this product in a postmodern society, the paper aims to explore its likely performance in the market, brand measurement, arguments for its marketability and potential risks when it is launched among others. This product will be targeting United Kingdom residents.

Lifestyle Theory and Consumerism

Lifestyle Theory is arguably a widely recognized holistic approach in deciphering how a product like Chocolate Milky or service can reach potential consumers. This theory evaluates markets based on social sciences concerning (or in exclusivity from) other factors such as age, sex and race. This theory is, on the whole, premised upon the fact that, oftentimes, people who are socially similar and have the same attitude tend to consume the same way or things. For instance, in the developed world like the UK, where people have similar social attitudes consumption of new and trendy products seems fashionable. This will work well for Chocolate Milky as it targets the ‘’consumer society’’ of the entire United Kingdom. This is because the culture of consumerism takes a bigger toll in such places as the UK—where every person might want to taste the new Chocolate Milky in our case study (Thompson, 2003).

Indeed, it is increasingly clear that consumer in the modern world is exposed to several choices which come in several dimensions (Howgwill 1998). This is anchored on the fact that we live in a postmodern world and therefore the attempt at building a culture of consumers being the drivers of decisions and processes that manufacturers and distributors engage in society cannot be ignored (Philip, 2006). Thus branding and its measurement will take centre stage for Chocolate Milky. Arikan (2009) notes that one of the escalating habits nowadays is that with the arrival of convenience stores, people spend much of their shopping in supermarkets and sometimes the choice of goods is based on how popular a brand is and not its value. Therefore, branding will be seen to make Chocolate Milky more popular and a response to social market needs. According to Arikan (2009), on average in the UK, most people consume goods that have good brand names. Overall, the argument that consumer society is driven by choices as far as consumption of goods and services are concerned must be examined in several ways (Howgwill, 1998).

Buying Arguments for Chocolate Milky: Focus on Brand Tracking and Stimulus-Response Model

Janiszewski and Warlop (2003) observe that while many people have never realized it, branding strategies have roots in psychological models. One such model is the stimulus-response strategy. The basic assumption of this model is that living things are inactive receivers of outside stimuli, with the advertisement being one of those stimuli. Therefore, branding and another commercial advertisement in print and internet infomercials will be employed for Chocolate Milky. Stimulus-Response Model posits that speaking when the correct is put in place precedes the organism’s responsiveness security, same with the buying of a product (Gunelius, 2007). While Stimulus-Response has been ‘declared’, outdated in the social science circles, we nevertheless seem to naturally work within its principles (Arikan 2009,). Inherently, this model is anchored on the assumption that whenever a consumer is deciding to purchase an item, he/ she deliberately make that choice based on appeal (Philip, 2006).

While it is agreeable that intangible assets form the basis of organizations worth today, the brand is the greatest composition of those intangible assets (Arikan, 2009). It is therefore surprising that only a small percentage of firms have always been in a position to consistently evaluate the impact of their brand and monitor its measurement criteria. There is no contention of the fact that brands have always been regarded as assessors and the determining factors of choice in Business-to-Consumer (Arikan, 2009). On the other hand, however, there is the common notion that places great emphasis on other factors of consumer choices, and denies due consideration to ‘brand.’ This is where one notices the gap and misconceptions of the role of brands (Thompson, 2003). All these arguments mean that when Chocolate Milky is properly branded and hopefully measured, it will naturally hit the roof as corrections would be made in time.

The Risk of Market Launch of Chocolate Milky

For this new product, Chocolate Milky, the risk seems to be in the distribution model, when it is launched. According to Thompson (2003), distribution marketing models refer to the different channels that need to be employed in the business to identify the consumers and how best they could be reached and maintained. This model is best dealt with through thorough market research to identify the consumer needs and analyze the available competition in the market (Thompson, 2003). And herein, for Chocolate Milky, lies the potential risk. This has to do with the construction and integration of a marketing program that would deliver superior value. While marketing programs should always be integrated into the entire business operations to ensure that customers receive the greatest value possible for their products and services, for Chocolate Milky, the basis seems to be on branding and a belief in the consumerism of its target population which might flop. Yet, a detailed program on supporting the marketing efforts, efforts to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the marketing process and ensuring that the best means of marketing are employed should all be enforced and not be ignored in the advent of competition (Howgwill, 1998). This marketing process entails ensuring that the marketing process is categorized into four major groups. The products and services, their prices, the place where the marketing would be done and the overall promotion process integrated to ensure that the customers get very superior value from the organization. Regardless, however, integrating a brand that is already existing with similar products can be a difficult task (Thompson, 2003).

References

1. Arikan, 2009, Multichannel; Marketing: Metrics and methods for on and offline success. New York, Wiley and Sons
2. Gunelius, S 2007, Content Marketing for Dummies, New York, Dummies
3. Howgwill, M 1998, Health Care Consumerism, the information explosion and branding: why it is better to be a cowboy than the cow, Managed Care Quarterly, 34 (2) 674-683
4. Janiszewski, C and Warlop, L 2003, The influence of Classical Conditioning Procedures on Subsequent Attention to the Conditioned Brand, Chicago Journals, 20 (2), 171-189
5. Philip, K 2006, Marketing Strategic Management, New York, Wiley and Son
6. Thompson, P 2003, Crafting and the Execution of Business Strategy, London, Sage