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7/30/2019 Marketing Plan Final (1)
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 1
Introduction
Marlboro cigarette is a brand owned by the Altria Group in USA and by Philip Morris
International outside USA. The brand emerged at England in 1847 and targeted women. Later in
1920, it emerged in US markets targeting predominantly female smokers. During 1950‟s it
targeted the health conscious people by introducing filtered cigarette and also started targeting
men. The brand is famous for its advertisements like „Marlboro man‟, slogans like „Mild as May‟
and for sponsoring various motor-sports events. During 1972 it became one of the most popular
brands in the world (Marlboro Cigarettes). In 2012, Marlboro brand was ranked 53 amongst the
top 500 global firms of the world with a brand value of $15,171 million and an enterprise value
of $180,739 million (Marlboro, 2011).
Executive Summary
The company plans to launch a new reformed cigarette in the markets of Singapore where
they already enjoy a market share of 50%. The product will be called „Marlboro Switch‟. This
cigarette will contain less harmful ingredients which will reduce odor and smoke. It will give a
distinct experience to smokers by providing them three distinct flavors. Along with this it will
give the smokers leisure of enjoying two flavors in one cigarette by pressing a switch and
changing the flavor. The product will be sold in an attractive and convenient packaging which
will have a slot for keeping the lighter. It will give the consumers luxury of carrying the lighter
along with the packaging thereby making the product unique, stylish and have less harmful
effects.
The company wants to release this product by the year end and gain a competitive edge
over their competitors. The product will not be overpriced but will be competitive with other
brands. By providing less harmful cigarette it will target the health conscious people and thereby
tend to increase its market share by 10% by 2015.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 2
Industry Analysis
This analysis was done to understand the company‟s position in the industry with respect
to other existing industries in its sector. The analysis was conducted by using the Porter‟s five
forces framework.
Threat of Substitute Products:
In Singapore market our closest competitors like Dunhill and Winston have „Switch‟
available with only one flavor Ice-blast and Menthol respectively. Our company has decided to
come up with three distinct flavors which are not available in any other brand. Du nhill‟s Switch
cigarette has a higher cost than our product and is limited to one flavor. Winston brand provides
„Switch‟ with also one flavor at slightly lesser cost . However, both these brands are more
harmful than our cigarettes. So in our product consumers get more variety of flavors at
reasonable cost along with a lighter slot in the packaging. It also has less harmful contents, thus,
making it is superior to other products in the market. All these factors will make the consumers
to stick with our product and not switch to other brands. Therefore the threat of substitutes for
our product is low and so market will be more attractive and profit oriented.
Threat of New Entrants:
Singapore markets have strong brands available in the markets like Dunhill (BAT) which
has 30% market share and Japan Tobacco international (Winston) which has 20% market share.In spite of the strong brands certain smaller brands have gained entry like 235 by Natuzzi
Trading Pte Ltd, which can pose a threat to us (Euromonitor, 2011). The presence of strong
brands will make it not easy for any new company to enter the market but will definitely hamper
their growth because it will not be easy for smaller companies to gain brand awareness due to
existing loyalty for major brands. Government regulations of Singapore are another significant
factor because it has banned advertisements, promotion and sponsorship. By implementation of
Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act new entrants will find it very difficult to
compete with the strong brands (tobaccocontrollaws, 2011). Hence, the threat of new entrants
posing problems is low. Therefore our new product will not face any obstacles from new entry as
Marlboro is well established and has loyalty from Singaporeans.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 3
Bargaining Power of Suppliers:
Cigarette is composed of many
small elements and so requires
different suppliers. Products
required to produce cigarettes
can easily be substituted like
cigarette papers and adhesives.
As the products are not much highly distributed it‟s easy to switch suppliers based on cost.
“Land devoted to tobacco cultivation in Singapore dwindled over the years from 365
hectares in 1970 to nil today. Its leaf imports increased from 5688 metric tons in 1970 to 11 288
metric tons in 2000. Singapore‟s cigarette exports have increased from 1550 million sticks in
1970 to 27 562 million sticks in 2000, indicating Singapore‟s role as a cigarette processing,
production, and export center for the Asia Pacific region” (tobaccocontrol.bmj, 2004). So we can
conclude that bargaining power of Suppliers is less as there are plenty of suppliers worldwide
and can easily be switched.
Bargaining Power of Buyers:
Cigarette smoking causes addiction and this habit is not easy to give up. Although there
are substitutes available in the market like nicotine patches, they are expensive. Also buyers
don‟t find alternatives more attractive. Research suggests there is a link between cigarette
addictions and brands (Roshdi, 2003). Consumers do not change their brand easily and cannot
stay without it for long. Change in brands means change in taste. This often leads to irritation in
the throat. However, customers shall not face this problem as we, Marlboro, use the same
tobacco in all our cigarettes. Thus, they are addicted to our brand as they purchase regularly,
thereby, having less bargaining power.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 4
Competitive Rivalry:
Singapore tobacco industry
comprises of three main competitors
like Dunhill (BAT) which has 30%
market share and Japan Tobacco
international (Winston) which has
20% market share.
Fig: Major competitors of tobacco industry in Singapore.
In this industry there is not much of product differentiation. Decision of competitors has a
direct impact on others. If a competitor decreases it price to gain more market share other players
in the industry need to decrease their price too. Industry growth is on the slower side too due to
regulations and consumer switching costs are low. These factors make this industry highly
competitive.
Market Characteristics
PEST: Political, Economic, Social and Technological.
Political/Legal:
Singapore is very stable nation in terms of political activities. It enjoys a remarkably
open, corruption free environment and stable prices. Government created Tobacco Regulation
Unit to curb smoking among Singaporeans (www.hsa.gov.sg, 2012). Singapore has come up
with a notion of „Tobacco free Singapore” (tobaccofreesingapore, 2012).
Economy:
Singapore is ranked 1st in ease of doing business.
http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/singapore/?page=full
Per-capita income is also growing fast which shows that people are becoming richer. And they
have more money to spend on other things like smoking. “Tobacco taxes were raised in 2005
from $293 to $352 for every 1,000 cigarettes imported. This raised the price of a pack of smokes
50%
30%
20%
Market Share
Marlboro
BAT
Japan Tobacco
International
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 5
to the current average of $12, making Singapore one of the world‟s most expensive places to
light up” (Hui, 2011).
Social:
Singapore is an eastern country who still follows the traditional family values but the
younger generation has started to adopt western cultures and values. Nowadays many youngsters
get addicted to smoking which is not fit for them and society. Passive smokers also get affected.
Smoking leads to dangerous diseases and causes environmental pollution. Steps like banning
advertisements, fining retailers for selling to minors and scary pictures on packaging has come
up.
Technology:
In this industry manufacturing costs are high and depends on scheduling, planning
processes for maximum gain. Therefore automating these processes has helped the industry.
Quality of improved filters and printing technology on labeling has improved.
Customer Analysis:
The main reason for people taking up smoking is because of stress. They feel smoking is
a way to relieve their stress. The age group of 18 and above is more vulnerable to smoking
cigarettes.
According to survey conducted by National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S.
National Library of Medicine (NCBI), 23% of the participants either quit, re-started, adopted or
experimented with smoking over 10 years. Living in a rural or remote area and lower educational
attainment were associated with continued smoking. (NCBI, 2009)
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 6
Competitor Analysis
Winston
It is Japan tobacco international company's key growth power and its sales in
growing worldwide with a growth rate of 13.8%. Currently Winston is at 3 rd
position in Singapore with a market share of 20%.
Winston‟s cigarettes are cheaper in comparison to Marlboro. Price strategy is
the main strategy of the company to fetch more customers and market share.
Dunhill
Although Dunhill is world‟s 9th biggest cigarette brand but it has strong
presence in Singapore market with 30% market share and grabbing 2 nd
position.
Dunhill for the customer launched new and innovative products for the
customers. That is the reason its sales is growing in Singapore and young
consumers like this brand.
Product/Service Offering
Our new "Marlboro Switch" contains less tar and nicotine, than other competitors. This
will greatly reduce the odor and smoke emission. It has three different flavors. Through the
"switch", switch cigarette taste into clove, cinnamon or ice blast. These flavors from natural
extract composition. Available in Full flavor (Black) and Lights (Silver)(7 mg Tar, 0.6 mgNicotine). All those above reasons make us have the leading position in Singapore market, and
have more opportunity to expand the market share. Singapore consumers have a high level
education, like new things and new products. Our new concept Marlboro switch will be widely
accepted by Singapore market.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 7
SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
The main strength of Marlboro is that it has strong roots in Singapore and enjoys the
status of market leader. Singaporeans show a brand loyalty towards Marlboro and making it a
leader in cigarette industry with 50% of the market share. Marlboro‟s main aim is to give unique
products to the customers. That‟s why innovations are the main focus area for the company since
its inception in Singapore.
Weaknesses:
Singaporeans haven‟t tried or tested such types of cigarettes so company doesn‟t have the
real idea how successful its products will be. Company wants to sell its new „Marlboro Switch‟
at the almost same price as of the existing price of its cigarettes. So it‟ll have to spend moremoney on these innovations and can‟t make huge profits in the initial launch of these cigarettes.
Opportunities:
Smoking industry has a continuous growth in Singapore. As surveys show, young
Singaporeans are getting more addicted to cigarettes. So company has lots of opportunities to
increase its sales and get growth in its market share. Our new product is different from existing
products and less harmful. So it will have great demand among people of all age groups.
Threats:
Government is making rules stricter against smokers. Not showing any cigarette ads on
TV, radio, newspaper make people unaware of new products. Singapore government is
promoting “Tobacco free Singapore” and raising high taxes on cigarettes in order to discourage
smoking. Packaging must have scary and horrible picture to make people aware of harmful
effects of smoking and encouraging them to quit it.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 8
Marketing Research and Information
Exploring Opportunity:
A research was conducted to know if the product suits the market. Other competitor
brands had similar product which were doing well. Our targeted markets were using these
products and so we had to offer a better product to them.
Identifying needs and wants:
The stressful population of Singapore often adopts smoking. Singaporeans are health
conscious so launching cigarettes which were less harmful, provided flavors and convenience.
Methods Used:
Various websites, newspapers and journals were explored to understand the market. Also
qualitative research was done by interviewing potential customers.
Marketing Strategy:
Vision
To become the best-selling innovative brand in Singapore‟s tobacco industry by
providing cigarettes which are less harmful and dangerous to the consumers and the
environment.
Mission
Our mission is to launch „Marlboro Switch‟ in Singapore market with less harmful effects
combined with convenient packaging and innovative flavors thereby bringing a smile on
consumers face. With this launch we will increase our brand awareness amongst our target
groups and hence increase our market share by 10% in 2015.
Marketing Objectives:
The main objective will be to increase market share by 4% in the first year of launch.
Another important factor was to make younger generation aware of product benefits and
convenience.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 9
To implement the objective of 4% and 10% market share in first year and 2015 respectively
we need to achieve
Targeting our product to younger generation by promotional strategies and retain 90% of
our existing customers and attract 15% new customers by October 2013.
Collaborating with our existing and finding new retailers for selling our product before
launching our product on 1st
November 2012.
To make our product visible at maximum places by 28 th February 2013 and attract
people due to its stylish packaging and the option of cigarette slot. By this strategy we
target to reach breakeven point in just three months of launch.
Financial Objectives:
Revenues:
The company intends to sell 12,000 packets of cigarette by October 2013 and gain revenues of
SGD 138,000.
Costs:
The selling cost of one packet of cigarette will be SGD 11.50. This price will be inclusive
of manufacturing costs and taxes imposed by government.
Advertising:
As cigarette advertising is banned there won‟t be much funds allocated for it. However
funds of SGD 50,000 will be needed to collaborate with new retail outlets to make product
visible. Also we will target the Malaysian channels for advertising which will be around SGD
10000.
Profit:
The company in order to achieve more market share will try to reduce the price to SGD11.20 after five months of launch. Government taxes imposed on industry during the coming
times will also impact the cost of cigarette packs. Depending on the success of product in first
five months company will increase the cost to SGD 11.80 to gain more profit.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 10
Target Market
Our target market will be young Singaporeans
aged 18 to 29, both, men and women. The results
show that the number of youngsters taking up
smoking has increased from 12.3% in 2004 to
16.3% in 2010 – this represents a 33% increase in
just six years. (Tobacco Free Singapore, 2011)
We need to target this particular group as this
shall make them loyal to our brand at a very
young age. This shall make most of them
loyal to our cigarettes throughout
their lifetime. As we are launching a
superior cigarette with less harmful
ingredients we will be targeting the health
conscious people of Singapore. Company will also target young professionals who lead a
stressful life and as a result, are adopting smoking.
Segmentation:
We segment our cigarette market into three segments: Demographic, Psychographic and
Behavioral Segments.
Demographic:
The variables used are age, gender, income, social class and lifestyle.
Age:
Younger generation between ages of 18 and 29 go for style, luxury, health and
convenience.
Older age group will like it more because of health concerns.
Gender: Both Male and Female.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 11
Income:
Between 1000-3000 SGD
Above 3000 SGD
Psychographic:
The variables used are social class, personality and loyalty.
Social Class:
Middle Class
Upper Class
Personality:
People living a hectic lifestyle, health conscious people and people willing to try new
things.
Loyalty: Retaining our old customers and spending less time on potential customers.
Behavioral:
Occasions – Regular habits of smokers.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 12
Positioning:
By launching „Marlboro switch‟ we make sure that the consumers think about our brand
as the best brand in Singapore. To achieve this we have come out with our innovations which is
going to be our „blue ocean‟ strategy. Here in the graph we see the comparison between our
product and an average of other competitor‟s products.
Red Ocean Blue Ocean
Availability Price Size Flavor variety Packaging
Fig: Positioning of our Product against our competitors.
Marlboro
Other Competitors
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 13
Broad Overall Strategy:
The overall strategy will be to have our product available at plenty of retail
stores so that it‟s visible to public. Other strategy will be to retain the Marlboro
loyal customers and increase customer base by 15%. In the long term we tend to
minimize competition by launching innovative products.
Marketing Mix:
Product:
Marlboro comes up with a new type of cigarette „Marlboro Switch‟ which contains less
Tar and Nicotine, compared to other competitors. This will drastically reduce the odor and
smoke emitted.
It will be available in three distinct flavors. So these cigarettes will be very different from
others and will be of best qualities. The reason for it being called „switch‟ is that the flavor of the
cigarette switches to Clove, Cinnamon or Ice Blast when the capsule in filter is pressed by the
smoker. These flavors shall be made from natural extracts.
The cigarette packet shall have a slot to accommodate a lighter, thus, making it more
convenient to carry.
Place (distribution) Strategy & Customer Convenience:
Marlboro's strategy is to grow the new product out of Singapore. The recommended
distributors are very capable of facilitating sales. An exclusive distribution arrangement should
be negotiated on performance and sales.
Hotels/restaurants/bars were the leading distribution channel for cigarettes given the
contribution of sales by food courts. In addition, convenience stores were the second leading
distribution channel for cigarettes, as outlets such as 7-Eleven and Cheers can be found easily in
every neighborhood.
As our consumption group is 18 to 29 years, so our sales should be where youth frequent,
such as bar, night club, KTV, etc., retail shops, convenience stores, etc. Secondly, according to
the reality of Singapore, Singapore food courts will be targeted.
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 14
We should give full attention to the customer purchasing process of convenience so our
retailers are close to region choice, location choice and other factors, especially should consider
"consumer accessible". These factors, make easy access for customer to stores
Price:
„Marlboro Switch‟ will be priced between our two main competitors. When Dunhill and
Winston customers purchase our brand, they will pay less and more than their respective brands
and enjoy better flavors sold by us. The pricing has been shown below:
Brand Price (in SGD)
Dunhill 12.30
Marlboro Switch 11.00
Winston 10.50
When we maintain the same price for all our products, the customers can try our product
without thinking twice. Moreover, Dunhill customers will not look at „Marlboro Switch‟ as a
cheap brand, due our high brand equity.
Promotion:
Promotional strategy will be to advertise our new product in Malaysian television and
radio channels which are viewed in Singapore. By this way we can spread awareness of the
product. Other strategy is to advertise our product in Singaporean Grand Prix. This can be done
in Singapore as Marlboro has always been associated with racing. We will make our product
more visible to the potential customers by selling our product across multiple retail outlets like
Cheers etc. at the selling counters.
Financial:
There will be many marketing activities to launch the new product. So Budget financialoverview consists of sales forecast, expanse budget, break even analysis and the overall analysis
of the marketing plan. Marlboro‟s business activities are categorized on the basis of two years
data - current year and next year (the year after launching new product).
Table 1: Total sales of the Marlboro Cigarettes:
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 15
Year Annual Sales
(in units)
Price Total Sales
Current 91,250,000 $11.50 $1049,375,000
Next 109,500,000 $11.50 $1259,250,000
(After launching New Product)
Table 2: Total Expenses:
Expense budget In Current Year In Nest Year
Production $300,000,000 $360,000,000
Distribution $200,000,000 $240,000,000
Marketing $100,000,000 $150,000,000
Total Expenses $600,000,000 $750,000,000
Here production cost includes the cost of all types of material like raw material (paper, adhesive,
filter, natural extracts for flavors etc.), work in progress and other types of expenses incurred by
the company for production.
Table 3: Break even analysis:
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 16
Break Even Analysis Current Year Next Year
Unit Break Even 60,000,000 70,000,000
Sales Break Even $600,000,000 $750,000,000
Table 4: Final Analysis:
Final Analysis In Current Year In Next Year
Total Sales and Marketing Expenses $60,000,000 $75,000,000
Percent of Sales 57.17 59.55
Gross Profit $449,375,000 $509,250,000
Thus, Increase in Profit: 13.32%
0
100000000
200000000
300000000
400000000
500000000
600000000
700000000
800000000
current year next year
unit break
even
Sales Break
Even
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Marketing Plan – ‘Marlboro Switch’ 17
Control Plan:
The purpose of „Marlboros Switch‟ marketing plan is to serve as a guide for the organization.
Specific measures will be taken throughout the initial years to ensure sustainability of „Marlboro
Switch‟. These are mentioned below:
1) Advertising:
i) Moreover, advertising/promotion of any cigarettes is banned in Singapore. Therefore,
our major advertising shall be in Malaysia, where most Singaporeans travel to. We
shall target major retail chains and display our products in most visible areas like
airports, because a lot of Singaporeans travel to Malaysia.
ii) We shall advertise our brand in Malaysian media like radio and TV channels, which
are broadcasted in Singapore.
iii) We shall launch the product in outlets like Cheers, Seven-Eleven, Fair Price, whereour other Marlboro products are already available.
2) ‘Pull’ Strategy:
i) Our endeavor shall be to make all three flavors a success. However, our approach
shall be different. We introduce one flavor only, but simultaneously advertise the
other two products as „Coming Soon‟.
3) Monitor Repeat Business and Customer Satisfaction:
i) We shall monitor the number of customers purchasing our product by giving a
„Privilege Card‟ when they purchase for the first time. Each time a customer buys any
of our flavors, he gets points on this card and he can later redeem these points to
receive benefits like discounts, free branded lighters, etc. This shall also help us to get
feedback from customers.
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Contingency Plan
Contingency plan is designed to protect the critical strategies of our plan from the associated
risks that we have identified in the "Threats" section. Contingency plan minimizes risk by
addressing the following issues:
1) Setup Monitoring Operations:
By monitoring operations the risks, difficulties and problems like unexpected costs in the
warehousing and distribution of goods and an entry into the closeout market by an already
existing wholesaler will be revealed more quickly.
Firstly, if our advertising plan cannot implement and obstacles appear, at this time we will
consider Personal selling, Promotional offers (for example: buy 1 get 1 free), Sales offers.
Secondly, if our new product cannot be accepted by customer and thus, cannot gain market
share more than competitors, then we need to get feedbacks from clients on the product toimprove it and do some surveys through online polls or even face to face interaction.
2) Define Alternative Plans of Action in advance:
The purpose of this plan is to solve the problems faster and better so that minimal time and
energy is spent on deciding what to do after the problem is recognized.
Firstly, Singapore government very strict with regards to control of cigarettes, which is the
greatest disruption of current activities and plans in all aspects of the marketing in cigarettes.
We have heavy restrictions on taxes, promotion and even packing. In this case, only through
the positive development of innovative products, strengthening consumer relationship and
pricing, we can achieve greater profit.
Secondly, if our costs of the plan are excessive, we will try to readjust and re-plan
production, marketing and other financial aspects.
Third, if any delay occurs and we have to postpone the launch of the product, we have to
maintain active vigilance on our competitors‟ move.