MG412 Principles Of Marketing Case Study

Introduction - Pringles vs. Popchips: Target Market & Marketing Mix Analysis

Pringles is a famous brand of chips founded in 1968 by Proctor & Gamble that is made from potatoes and is owned by Kellogg’s (Pringles overview, 2023). Popchips are popped snack chips founded in 2007 by Patrick Turpin that are made by putting pressure and heating on raw food materials. The shape and packaging style of Pringles make it unique from other chips, and Popchips are considered healthier chips because they are made with heat and pressure rather than frying. According to the research study, market share of Pringles is 13 %, market size of 30,000 employees, and net sales accounts for 15.3 billion us dollars. The aim of this report is to find the target audiences for both the brands Pringles and Popchips, and compare the marketing mix i.e. product, place, price and promotion of brands to know the effectiveness of the brands. The report focuses on conducting a comparative analysis of brands to find their values and competitive positioning in the market.

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Segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP)

The STP refers to segmentation, targeting and positioning. It is the best marketing strategy used by organizations for analyzing market dynamics and reaching the target audience. Segmentation means dividing a large group of people in the market into small or specific groups or segments based on their characteristics (Kongstad and Giacalone, 2020). Targeting implies for the selection of a specific group from the market and focusing on serving them. Further, positioning focuses on creating a brand reputation or image in the mind of targeted customer’s from the selected market group (Amira and Fitriasari, 2021).

Segmentation- The segmentation factor includes characteristics of groups’ people such as their demographics, behavior or attitude, psychographics and geographic locations. Pringles selects their target customers for chips based on the similar needs of specific groups. Popchips focuses on health-conscious target groups based on age, income and gender factors.

Targeting- The targeting process involves deep research of selected divided groups to find the best group with similar tastes and preferences for companies so they can make efforts and invest resources to fulfil their needs. Pringles focuses on customers who want different flavors and unique snack-eating experiences like ready-to-eat and preserved chips. Popchips focuses on health-conscious customers who want low-fat and calories in snacks.

Positioning- Positioning focuses on differentiating the company from its competitors by creating a brand image in customers' minds. Pringles has iconic tube packaging, various flavors and different chip shapes, which gives a unique identity to them in the market. Popchips has established its image as a healthier snack in the market (Vinuales, et. al, 2019). They focus on serving healthier food to customers without any compromise in taste and flavors.

Findings

Comparison of target markets

Product

Levitt’s model helps in analyzing the Pringles and Popchips brand's shape, packaging style and scheme etc. and the Aaker’s brand personality framework to find the personality traits of both brands.

Levitt’s model for pringles

Levitt’s model for Popchips

Aaker’s brand personality framework for pringles and popchips

The difference between both brands is that Pringles focus on innovation, fun and enjoyable experiences, while Popchips focus on health. Wellness, natural approach. The different approaches they choose for selling their chips in the market, show their strategies and approaches to achieve profitability and growth (Arora, et. al, 2021).

Price

The prices of both brands can be determined by the following factors such as production and manufacturing cost, brand positioning, consumer behavior, operations efficiency and promotional tasks. The different pricing of brands shows how companies position themselves in the market and how they compete with other competitors with their existing pricing approach. Pringles has higher prices than Popchips snacks, they adopt a premium pricing strategy in the market and position them as a high-quality brand. On the other side, Popchips have a traditional and modern approach to making chips and focus on healthier customers.

Place

The Pringles are available in every store location including grocery stores, convenience stores, supermarkets and online stores. It is a mass-market product that has maximized distribution outlets. The company’s strategy focus is on providing the easy availability of chips to customers. The presence of business in various destinations creates value for the brand and makes it popular sack in the market.

Popchips has fewer stores as compared to Pringles store's availability. They are found in health stores, grocery stores, online shops and snack shops (Popchips background, 2023). They have fewer distribution channels and come in a luxury brand. The company’s focus is on health-conscious customers. The presence of the business is on selected market locations encourages them to focus on the quality and health of customers.

Promotion

Both brands of potato chips use various communication channels to build their position of the brand in a competitive market. Pringles use TV channels to advertise their unique shape and flavored chips with a playful experience of eating. They use print media like newspapers to tell about their innovations to peoples. Social media helps them in creating content for their advertising and selling of chips. They have an online website where they show their different products at different prices (Yasa, et. al, 2020). Company promotes product placement and POS to encourage purchases. Pringles uses a unique packaging style and makes innovations in flavors. The company positioned them in the market as a fun-loving and affordable snack.

On the other hand, the popchips uses digital marketing platforms of social media to show the health-conscious image of a brand that uses natural ingredients in making chips. They also take help from the healthier influencers to encourage their product image with various customers. They participate in events to expand wellness among people and offer free sampling to customers to know the taste of chips. The company positioned itself in the market as a healthy and natural snack which it focuses on reducing fat and additional calories. The popchips encourage innovations in their processes and give a quote ‘better for you’ to attract health-aware customers

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Conclusion

In summary, the comparison of both brands was conducted on the basis of marketing mix and finding target audiences to know the effectiveness and strategies of each brand's Pringles and Popchips. The effectiveness of Pringles potato chips is high in quality, premium pricing, high positioning, and promotion as compared to Popchips. In addition to this, Popchips has a limited area for selling chips and their focus is on health-conscious and wellness customers. They use segmentation, target and positioning methods to analyze market dynamics and wisely select the target market. They use different models in this report to compare the strategies and performance of both brands.

Recommendations of pringles:

• They should make new innovations in their flavors of chips and adopt unique and sustainable packaging styles.
• They should invest in digital media and online campaigns to strengthen their brand image and relationship with partners.
• They can collaborate with other popular brands to expand their experiences and services.

Recommendations for Popchips:

• They should expand their distribution channels to reach a wide market of health based customers who want healthy food.
• They should invest in content marketing to educate the customers to aware them about their health and to show benefits of their chips.
• They should use sustainability practices in their operations and packaging to achieve more productivity and serve eco-friendly customers.

References

Books and Journals

• Amira, H. and Fitriasari, N., 2021. Are Segmenting, Targeting, and Positioning Necessary for Strategic Marketing?. Jurnal Kedokteran Brawijaya.
• Arora, N., Prashar, S., Tata, S.V. and Parsad, C., 2021. Measuring personality congruency effects on consumer brand intentions in celebrity-endorsed brands. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 38(3), pp.251-261.
• Kongstad, S. and Giacalone, D., 2020. Consumer perception of salt-reduced potato chips: Sensory strategies, effect of labeling and individual health orientation. Food Quality and Preference, 81, p.103856.
• Pettifor, H. and Wilson, C., 2020. Low carbon innovations for mobility, food, homes and energy: a synthesis of consumer attributes. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 130, p.109954.
• Pino, G., Amatulli, C., Peluso, A.M., Nataraajan, R. and Guido, G., 2019. Brand prominence and social status in luxury consumption: A comparison of emerging and mature markets. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 46, pp.163-172.
• Vinuales, G., Magnotta, S.R., Steffes, E. and Kulkarni, G., 2019. Description and evaluation of an innovative segmentation, targeting, and positioning activity using student perceived learning and actual student learning. Marketing Education Review, 29(1), pp.24-36.
• Yasa, N., Giantari, I.G.A.K., Setini, M. and Rahmayanti, P.J.M.S.L., 2020. The role of competitive advantage in mediating the effect of promotional strategy on marketing performance. Management Science Letters, 10(12), pp.2845-2848.
• Online
• Pringles overview. 2023. Online. Available Through. : < https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/history-of-pringles-origin-facts>
• Popchips background, 2023. Online. Available Through. : < https://www.snackhistory.com/popchips/>