Marketing Plan Assignment 2nd Sample

Marketing Plan Assignment Sample

Executive Summary

Skipping Rocks Lab is the company formed in 2017 by certain researchers. The company developed a biodegradable packaging material which is edible also. They named it ‘Ooho’ and is currently planning it launch it in Australia. The major competitor of the company in Australia is Ecoware. The company targets the people from the age group of 10-65 years. For reaching out to target customers and promoting the product, the company is making use of social media and digital marketing. At present, the company is aiming to increase its sales up to 8% by the end of 2019 and also aiming to become the leader in its domain. For that purpose, the marketing mix has been developed and a budget of $23000 has been set for the same.

1. Introduction

Marketing is one of the operations that is a basic necessity of an organisation selling products and services. In order to launch a new product, the company requires to prepare a marketing plan. In this report, a focus on the product launch of Ooho is laid down. The Skipping Rocks Lab is planning to market its product i.e., ‘Ooho’ which is a unique and innovative flexible packaging made up of plants and seaweed. The packaging is biodegradable and eatable at the same time. In addition to this, it can be degraded within 4 to 6 weeks. Company is trying to project it as an ideal packaging for “on the go consumptions." The report comprises a marketing plan that discusses situational analysis, consumer analysis, marketing objectives, marketing mix, and a total budget of the total marketing operations. In the situational analysis, PESTLE, SWOT, and competitor analysis are done. Furthermore, the strategies to measure the effectiveness of the campaign are also outlined.

2. Situational Analysis

The situational analysis would help in understanding the factors and variables of the market and business environment. It would also help in discovering the potential threats and opportunities for the firm (Pyo, 2015). This comprises PESTLE, SWOT, and Competitor Analysis that are illustrated below:-

2.1.PESTLE Analysis

Skipping Rocks Lab is a start-up that invented ‘Ooho' and is currently looking to launch the product in the Australian market in 2019. However, while doing so, it has to consider all the political, economic, technological, social, legal, and environmental factors. These are explained below:-

• Political factor:The current political environment in Australia is very much concern about the use of single-use plastic in the country. The government is promoting all such activities and products that reduces or replaces the use of plastic and polybags. Hence, Notpla will have support from the government agencies (Sarti, Darnall, &Testa, 2018).
• Economic factor:Current economy of Australia is stable and FDI policies are benefiting the start-up culture. Government subsidies and FDI may help the company to keep the price of the product a bit reasonable. In addition to this, people are aware of the side-effects of using plastics. Therefore, they would use Ooho in place of other non-biodegradable products, if Ooho is available at a reasonable price.
• Social factor:As all the people in the cities of Australia are educated (nearly 99%), people are well-learned about the consequences of plastics and other packaging products. Hence, the shift in the current trend from plastic to other degradable material would favour the sales of Ooho in Australia. Education and awareness among people are two supporting attributes of society for the company (Da Silva &Mazzon, 2016).
• Technological Factor:Australian economy is majorly driven by technological advancement. Hence, there are a plenty of factors related to technology in the country that would increase the sales of Ooho. It may also result in the development of other products by the company that would eliminate plastic.
• Environmental Factor:Being a producer of an environmentally friendly product, the company won't face major hindrance in launching the product. However, it is required to follow the set environmental standards for the production of products and disposal of the waste (Lee, et.al, 2013).
• Legal Factor:There are certain rules and legislations that are required to be followed by all the companies and start-ups in the country. These include the Corporation Act, health and safety law, equality law, women's safety, and much more.

2.2.SWOT Analysis

There are many key features of Ooho that are either its strengths or weaknesses. In addition to this, there are many opportunities for the product in Australia and a global environment along with some threats. That is discussed here.

2.3.Competitors Analysis

Competitor analysis is an important aspect of business marketing as it helps the company to understand its competitors and their strategy (Da Silva &Mazzon, 2016). In Australia, the competitors of Skipping Rocks Lab include WorldCentric, Papelyco, Be Green Packaging, Ecoware, and Tipa. Among them, Ecoware is the major concern for the company and its newly invented product. This is because it is one of those organisation that is Carbon neutral. This means it meets all of its energy demand by making use of clean energy. Ecoware is older than Skipping Rocks Lab and hence, has a high reputation and market share. With the help of clean energy, the products of Ecoware have 80 percent lesser carbon footprint than any of its competitors. Skipping Rocks Lab has to compete majorly with Ecoware as it offers more products that are eco-friendly and bio-degradable in the market. Also, it offers 25% of its profits for the development of society. Hence, it has a higher brand image in the market. The only characteristics that make Ooho different from Ecoware’s product are that Ooho is edible packaging product.

3. Customer Analysis

Skipping Rocks Lab is required to carry out customer analysis in order to determine the potential customers of the firm. In addition to this, it would help the company to record the purchasing habits of the customers (Pyo, 2015). In addition to this, Skipping Rocks Lab is required to understand customer behaviour through a thorough customer analysis process. This can be done by defining segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategy of the firm. These are explained below:-

4. Problem Statement

From a thorough study of all the macro-environmental factors, such as political, economic, social, and technological along with the competitors and customer analysis, it is clear that company would be facing many issues related to awareness among the targeted market. No doubt people in Australia are educated and well aware of the side-effects of using plastics, replacing something that they are using since their birth is not a cakewalk (McDonald, 2015). This might take years to change their habits. Lack of awareness is the major concern for the company at present In addition to this, the product is a bit expansive than the plastic. Company is concerned about the acceptance of the target customers. This is because people won't buy an expansive product when they are currently using a cheaper one. Hence, awareness drive is the need of the company (Mastorakis, et.al, 2014). Another issue is related to the distribution of the product. As the company was founded in 2017, it has a weak distribution network. In order to capture the market, it is required to first build an extensive network of distributors.

5. Marketing Objectives

Marketing objectives are the desired organisational goals that the company wants to achieve through its new product line. Point to be noted here is that all these goals are planned for a particular period (Salazar, et.al, 2019). Hence, they are required to be accomplished within that particular time. The marketing objectives for Skipping Rocks Lab are:-

• To become a leader in the packaging sector through its innovative biodegradable packaging product
• To increase the sales by 8% from the current figure by creating a nationwide awareness for the use of the eco-friendly product
• To maximise the brand value and profits of the company by the end of 2019

It is important to note that the marketing objectives should be developed considering the SMART principles (Vernuccio, &Ceccotti, 2015). All these goals are attainable, realistic, measurable, and considered time.Skipping Rocks Lab has set these marketing objectives with due considerations of the problem statement and situational analysis of the company. These objectives would address the issues and improve the current position of the company. Skipping Rocks Labcan work on achieving these targets in order to sustain in the Australian market (Langford, et.al, 2013).

6. Marketing Mix Strategy

In order to increase the presence in the market, the company is required to develop a marketing mix that address the current lacunas and issues in the marketing approaches. In addition to this, it is required to promote its brand and products in Australia. The 4Ps of marketing mix comprise product, price, place, and promotion (Whalen& Holloway, 2012).

• Product: It is required from the company to develop the product in a way that it is in the reach of all the target customers and make them aware too. Ooho is a revolutionary product that may reduce environmental degradation effectively. The packaging is edible as well. Therefore, consumers need not be worried about the disposal as well. The product is one of its kind and currently, does not have any substitute in the market. Hence, the company has the golden opportunity to increase its sales and market share (Whalen& Holloway, 2012).
• Price:As the product is new in the market, it is a bit costlier than other products, such as tetra-pack, plastic, etc. However, its benefits are way more than its disadvantages. The company has set the price of the product to be AUD 1for 3units of packaging which is 1.5 times the current products. However, this is eco-friendly and degradable packaging. Therefore, a 50% higher cost is justified.
• Place:At present, the company is targeting the Australian market, especially the food and beverage sector. The company is aiming at expanding its product portfolio in order to grab more market share. The products will be made available to the businesses and firms for which the order is required to be placed from the company's website (Morgan &Berthon, 2018).
• Promotion: For promoting and creating awareness among the mass, the company is aiming at using a wide range of promotional techniques. These include social media and digital marketing. In addition to this, the use of conferences, webinars, and awareness drives will also be encouraged by the company (Salazar, et.al, 2019).

7. Campaign Evaluation

The marketing campaign is required to be evaluated on a regular basis in order to know whether the goals would be achieved within a set time or not. If Ooho is not marketed well in the Australian market, then the company might not be able to grow in revenue as well in size (Londhe, 2014). Its sale won’t increase by 8% as per the set objectives. There are many ways for campaign evaluation:-

• Evaluating the "search" marketing performance using Google Analytics. It makes use of traffic and other data pertaining to the website of the company. The company can also measure "pay-per-click ads." This would help the company in tracking lead conversions (Langford, et.al, 2013).
• Measuring the effectiveness of social media marketing by counting the number of views on the blogs or post related to the product (Mastorakis, et.al 2014).

8. Budget Allocation

The budgets would guide the company to spend its funds relevantly on the provided promotional channel (Bramorski, 2013). The total budget of the company for marketing purposes is AU$23000.

9. Conclusion

From the marketing plan report, it is pretty much clear that the organisation needs to work on creating awareness among the targeted market. From the situational analysis, it is cleared that the company should make use of its resources. Through SWOT analysis, the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation can be determined and likely dangers to the company can also be known. Furthermore, using PESTEL, the macro environment of the company's market in Australia was explored. It was revealed that the Australian government is stable and technologically driven. It shows concerned for the environment. Through competitor analysis, it was revealed that Ecoware is the main competitor of the company and is currently holds the power. The marketing objectives were set based on the SMART principles. Based on the objectives, a marketing plan was formed and a budget of $23000 was set, accordingly.

References

• Advice for Crafting a Communications, Marketing Plan. (2016).  Nonprofit Communications Report,  14(1), 6. DOI: 10.1002/npcr.30315
• Bramorski, T. (2013). Using mathematical programming for marketing plan optimization.  Journal of Business Case Studies,  9(1), 23-33.https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.cqu.edu.au/3827B9378924C53PQ?accountid=10016
• Da Silva, E., &Mazzon, J. (2016). Developing a Social Marketing Plan for Health Promotion. International Journal of Public Administration,  39(8), 577-586. DOI: 10.1080/01900692.2015.1023447
• Langford, Rebecca, &Panter-Brick, Catherine. (2013). A health equity critique of social marketing: Where interventions have impact but insufficient reach.  Social Science & Medicine,  83, 133. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.cqu.edu.au/science?_ob=GatewayURL&_origin=SFX&_method=citationSearch&_volkey=02779536%2383%23133&_version=1&md5=ec8e92e3e8b09ab198ea359873c923d2
• Lee, Kun Chang, Lee, Habin, Lee, Namho, & Lim, Jaehoon. (2013). An agent-based fuzzy cognitive map approach to the strategic marketing planning for industrial firms.  Industrial Marketing Management,  42(4), 552-563. DOI:  10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.03.007
• Londhe, B. R. (2014). Marketing mix for next generation marketing.  Procedia Economics and Finance,  11, 335-340.
• Mastorakis, G., Trihas, N., Mavromoustakis, C., Perakakis, E., &Kopanakis, I. (2014). A Cloud Computing Model for Efficient Marketing Planning in Tourism.  International Journal of Online Marketing (IJOM),  4(3), 14-30. DOI:  10.4018/ijom.2014070102
• McDonald, M. (2015). Organizing for marketing planning. In  Marketing Plans for Services  (pp. 307-345). Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons DOI:  10.1002/9781119207306.ch11
• Morgan, R. E., &Berthon, P. (2018). Market orientation, generative learning, innovation strategy and business performance inter‐relationships in bioscience firms.  Journal of Management Studies,  45(8), 1329-1353.
• Pyo, S. (2015). Integrating tourist market segmentation, targeting, and positioning using association rules.  Information Technology & Tourism,  15(3), 253-281. DOI: 10.1007/s40558-015-0029-9
• Salazar, G., Mills, M., &Veríssimo, D. (2019). Qualitative impact evaluation of a social marketing campaign for conservation.  Conservation Biology,  33(3), 634-644. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13218
• Sarti, Darnall, &Testa. (2018). Market segmentation of consumers based on their actual sustainability and health-related purchases.  Journal of Cleaner Production,  192, 270-280. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.04.188
• Slater, S. F., &Narver, J. C. (2012). Product-market strategy and performance: an analysis of the Miles and Snow strategy types.  European journal of marketing,  27(10), 33-51.
• Vernuccio, &Ceccotti. (2015). Strategic and organisational challenges in the integrated marketing communication paradigm shift: A holistic vision.  European Management Journal,  33(6), 438-449. DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2015.09.001
• Whalen, P., & Holloway, S. (2012). Effectual marketing planning for new ventures.  AMS Review,  2(1), 34-43. DOI:  10.1007/s13162-012-0026-5