Marketing Plan
Please see the attachments.
Winning USP Examples
The following are 6 powerful USPs that alleviate the “pain” experienced by the consumers in their industries..
Example #1 – Package Shipping Industry
Pain – I have to get this package delivered quick!
USP – “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.” (Federal Express)
Example #2 – Food Industry
Pain – The kids are starving, but Mom and Dad are too tired to cook!
USP – “Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it’s free.” (Dominos Pizza)
(This USP is worth $1 BILLION to Dominos Pizza)
Example #3 – Real Estate Industry
Pain – People want to sell their house fast without loosing money on the deal.
USP – “Our 20 Step Marketing System Will Sell Your House In Less Than 45 Days At Full Market Value”
Example #4 – Dental Industry
Pain – Many people don’t like to go to the dentist because of the pain and long wait.
USP – “We guarantee that you will have a comfortable experience and never have to wait more than 15 minutes” or you will receive a free exam.”
Example #5 – Cold Medicine Industry
Pain – You are sick, feel terrible, and can’t sleep.
USP – “The nighttime, coughing, achy, sniffling, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine.” (Nyquil)
Example #6 – Jewelry Industry
Pain – The market hates paying huge 300% mark-ups for jewelry.
USP – “Don’t pay 300% markups to a traditional jeweler for inferior diamonds! We guarantee that your loose diamond will appraise for at least 200% of the purchase price, or we’ll buy it back.”
How To Develop Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Your USP is the very essence of what you are offering.
Your USP needs to be so compelling that it can be used as a headline that sells your product or service. Therefore, since you want to optimize all your marketing materials for maximum results, create it before anything else (such as advertisements and marketing copy).
Print this article and jot down your ideas to construct a “Unique Selling Proposition” (USP) for your business. Follow this easy 7-step process:
Step 1: Use Your Biggest Benefits:
Clearly describe the 3 biggest benefits of owning your product or service. Let me be blunt. Your prospect doesn’t care if you offer the best quality, service, or price. You have to explain exactly WHY that is important to them. Think in terms of what your business does for your customer and the end-result they desire from a product or service like yours. So, what are the 3 biggest benefits you offer? Write them down on a piece of paper…
1.
2.
3.
Step 2: Be Unique:
The key here is to be unique. Basically, your USP separates you from the competition, sets up a “buying criteria” that illustrates your company is the most logical choice, and makes your product or service the “gotta have” item. (Not your competitor’s.)
Write your USP so it creates desire and urgency. Your USP can be stated in your product itself, in your offer, or in your guarantee:
· PRODUCT: “A unique baseball swing that will instantly force you to hit like a pro.”
· OFFER: “You can learn this simple technique that makes you hit like a pro in just 10 minutes of batting practice.”
· GUARANTEE:
“If you don’t hit like a pro baseball player the first time you use this new swing, we’ll refund your money.”
Write your ideas on paper now…
Step 3: Solve An Industry “Pain Point” Or “Performance Gap”:
Identify which needs are going unfulfilled within either your industry or your local market. The need or “gap” that exists between the current situation and the desired objectives is sometimes termed a “performance gap”. Many businesses that base their USP on industry performance gaps are successful.
For example, Dominos Pizza used the “Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it’s free” USP to become wildly successful. This worked because of the need or “gap” in the market – After a long day at work Mom and Dad are too tired to cook. But the kids are starving and don’t want to wait an hour! They want pizza NOW. Call Domino’s.
So, what are the most frustrating things your customer experiences when working with you or your industry in general? Alleviate that “PAIN” in your USP and make sure you deliver on your promises. Write your ideas on paper now…
Step 4: Be Specific And Offer Proof:
Consumers are skeptical of advertising claims companies make. So alleviate their skepticism by being specific and offering proof when possible. Write your ideas on paper now…
Step 5: Condense Into One Clear And Concise Sentence:
The most powerful USPs are so perfectly written, you cannot change or move even a single word. Each word earns you money by selling your product or service. After you get your USP written, your advertising and marketing copy will practically write itself!
Now take all the details about your product/service/offer from the steps above and sculpt them into one clear and concise sentence with compelling salesmanship fused into every single word. Write your ideas on paper now…
Step 6: Integrate Your USP Into ALL Marketing Materials:
Variations of your USP will be included in the ALL your marketing materials such as your…
· Advertising and sales copy headlines;
· Business cards, brochures, flyers, & signs;
· Your “elevator pitch”, phone, and sales scripts;
· Letterhead, letters, & postcards;
· Website & Internet marketing.
Step 7: Deliver On Your USP’s Promise
Be bold when developing your USP but be careful to ensure that you can deliver. Your USP should have promises and guarantees that capture your audience’s attention and compels them to respond to you. Having a strong USP can make your business a big success, or a big failure if you don’t deliver on it thereby ruining your reputation. In the beginning, it was a challenge for Federal Express to absolutely, positively deliver overnight, but they developed the system that allowed them to deliver the promise consistently.
Conclusion:
Using a powerful USP is the driving force that builds your business success. Build your USP and use it to optimize your marketing materials for maximum results.
| SWOT Analysis worksheet |
|
Strengths
What makes people buy from us? What makes people recommend us? What skills do we have and what are we especially good at? What can we do that nobody else can? What successes have we had recently, and why? |
Weaknesses What skills do we lack and what aren’t we good at? What do others do better than us? What failures have we had recently, and why? Why do people choose our competitors instead of us? Why do previously happy customers leave us? |
|
Opportunities
What new products/services could we offer? What new skills and capabilities could we acquire? How could we become unique? What new types of customers/markets/needs could we serve? What changes in the market could we exploit? What new ideas, techniques & technology could we use? |
Threats
What new ideas, techniques & technology could undermine us? What are our competitors doing that could damage us? Are there any legal, economic or political threats to us? Are our customers’ needs changing? What other changes in the market could damage us? Are there any other black clouds on the horizon? |
Notes
Customers don’t buy features (ie what a product is). They buy benefits (ie what the product does for them). Therefore in order to persuade people to buy your product, you must help them to understand those benefits – by, for example, stressing them in your sales and marketing systems and literature. And to do that you must first identify all the benefits your products and services provide – which is exactly what this simple tool is designed to help you to do.
Notes
Customers don’t buy features (ie what a product is). They buy benefits (ie what the product does for them). Therefore in order to persuade people to buy your product, you must help them to understand those benefits – by, for example, stressing them in your sales and marketing systems and literature. And to do that you must first identify all the benefits your products and services provide – which is exactly what this simple tool is designed to help you to do.
By April 25th, 2024 Neste MY Renewable Diesel will be the fuel
used by all 532 fire departments located in the Los Angeles,
Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura
Counties, distributed by IPC (USA), Inc.
5/1/2019 6/1/2019 7/1/2019 8/1/2019 9/1/2019 10/1/2019 11/1/2019 12/1/2019 1/1/2020 2/1/2020 3/1/2020 4/1/2020 Budget
Billboards $3,840,000.00
Public Transportation Ads $1,200,000.00
Pamphlets $60,000.00
Educational Events ******* $120,000.00
Earth Day Trade Shows** $100,000.00
Promotion $44,280.00
Fire Fighter 5K City Run **** $30,000.00
Total: $5,394,280.00
Budget $5,500,000.00
Billboards:
We will place billboard ads strategically in main routes to city and county offices in high traffic areas such as freeways. Given the geographical range of
the counties we are targeting, 40 billboards a month is what we require to adequately cover the region. The budget of $320k a month assumes an
average cost of $8k per billboard. Billboard advertising will help increase product awarness both among the community and city legislators. Brand
awareness will help us to achieve our SMART objectives by boosting our reputation and making legislators aware that we are an option for improving
sustainability practices.
Public Transportation Ads:
Public transportation is a potential user of Neste MY Renewable Diesel. By advertising our diesel on city buses, as well as bus stops, we will educate
the public about our product. Public awareness will lead to legislator awareness because of public desire to implement more sustainable practices. This
budget assumes an average rate of $1,000 per month, giving us 100 locations throughout our region each month.
Pamphlets:
Pamphlets will be sent to city offices, fire departments, and transportation departments. Direct mail will allow us to get our information directly into the
hands of the city legislators, and decision makers, while other marketing efforts will build awareness.
Educational Events
An edcational booth at transportation trade shows and science conventions. We will have burn demonstrations similar to our Earth Day demonstrations
to provide tangible evidence of the benefits of Neste MY Renewable Diesel.
Earth Day Events:
We will have a booth at city Earth Day Events. We will have information, and a prize giveaway, as well as a form for people to fill out to send to their
local representative about bringing Neste MY Renewable Diesel into their local fire department. We will have burn demonstrations comparing our fuel to
traditional diesel.
Promotion:
To promote our product, we will fuel one fleet in each county in our target market. The cities in each county will be entered into a drawing for the fuel.
This will provide an example of how well our product works in order to generate word of mouth advertising. We will fuel 5 fire departments, one in each
county each month. This will total 60 fire departments over the one year period.
Fueling the Future 5K:
A 5k run put on by Neste to educate the public and generate goodwill. Food and shirts will be provided to participants, and vendors will be invited. There
will be a $20 registration fee. 50% of the proceeds will be given to the local fire department. By investing in the community, Neste will elevate their
brand image, and make themselves more appealing to legislators. The shirts will have the phrase “Fueling the future 5K” across the front, as well as the
year (2020) and images of busses, fire engines, and other city and commercial vehicals. By including private transportation, Neste will begin to generate
awareness for their product for use by the general population.
S.M.A.R.T.
A very effective and simple method to create goals for and with your organization is called creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals/Objectives.
S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Tangible. Creating goals that meet these criteria, will enable your group to move forward faster, with a clear direction and time line.
Specific – A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:
*Who: Who is involved?
*What: What do I want to accomplish?
*Where: Identify a location.
*When: Establish a time frame.
*Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
*Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.”
Measurable – Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as……How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?
Attainable – When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.
Realistic – To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.
Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.
Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. When your goal is tangible, or when you tie a tangible goal to an intangible goal, you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.
Intangible goals are your goals for the internal changes required to reach more tangible goals. They are the personality characteristics and the behavior patterns you must develop to pave the way to success in your career or for reaching some other long-term goal. Since intangible goals are vital for improving your effectiveness, give close attention to tangible ways for measuring them.
1) Describe your product or service in its competitive market.
BoxLunch company is a retail company that deals with a wide range of assortments. The
company offers a collection of merchandise from the perspective that every ten dollars spent on
the pop culture themed products, and other varieties allow the company to provide a meal on
behalf of local member food banks secured by feeding America (BoxLunch 2020). The main
products of BoxLunch company are food products, pop culture and assortments; the products are
100% officially licensed. Products are the physical offerings in the economy that can be touched,
seen, or felt while services are the non-physical offerings that are intangible. Instagram,
YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are mostly used as social media platforms. The distinctive
features a product or service has, defines its quality. Quality brings competitiveness among
competing brands as customers will always buy and use what they perceive to be of quality. The
company is celebrating four years of service to its customers. For the basis of this paper, only
products will be considered.
Various features determine the quality of a product. According to Hall (2012), there exist
eight key features for measuring the quality of a product, as discussed below. Performance
indicates how the products serve the intended purpose and how it meets the expected demand of
the customer. Reliability measures the consistency of the product in performing its intended use
normally in the absence of abnormalities. Durability indicates the product life, the length of time
the product will continue giving service before its breakdown. Conformance shows how the
product meets its design and operating features. Features outline the secondary characteristics
contained by a given product, for example, the availability of a torch and a radio on a mobile
phone (Hall, 2012). Serviceability indicates the competence, ease, and speed of repair of the
products in cases of default and may imply the availability of spare parts. Perceived quality
refers to customers’ judgments concerning a given product. Lastly, aesthetics refers to how a
product looks physically, sounds, tastes, or smells. The products of BoxLunch should be able to
fulfill these features to remain competitive in the market.
BoxLunch falls under the retail industry. The retail industry consists of chain stores,
departmental stores, supermarkets, door to door sellers, merchants, and shopkeepers. Retailers
are traders who buy their products from wholesalers in large quantities, break them down to
smaller quantities and resell them to individual customers (BoxLunch 2020). The assortments of
the Box Lunch company compete in this industry.
No debate can be handled concerning products without touching on health issues and
directions. Everyone now understands that products are the primary sources of dangerous
diseases such as cancer, especially food products. Health standards should be ensured when
dealing with products. Proper sanitation, packaging, and good hygiene should be observed in the
food industry to ensure that fewer customer complaints are observed and win a significant
market share for the product (Zoominfo 2020). Food establishment categories include
sandwiches such as Runza, Jreck Subs, among others. Another category is pop culture which
encompasses Hawkin’s Bazaar, Menkind, and Newbury comics. For other accessories, directions
of use by way of including the user manual should be provided to guide the users on the practical
use of the item.
Retail products are essential in day to day activities as some help in making the daily
operations run smoothly. It is thus, in this perspective, that the industry should observe much
care in ensuring that the firms in this sector gain a competitive advantage over their competitors.
Strategies should be adopted by competing firms to enable them to remain in business and win a
significant market share.
2) Identify your target audience.
If you’ve ever stepped foot into BoxLunch you’d probably be surprised to find out that it
actually has nothing to do with your lunch. That doesn’t mean you would leave empty handed,
after all, you might have sighted a Disney backpack that satisfied your childhood dreams or a
Pokémon pizza cutter you never knew even existed. While, the average consumer probably
wasn’t in search of these items either way. It might be because BoxLunch was intended to be a
store for grown-ups and not teens who are currently their main consumers.
BoxLunch is a retail store that sells apparel and accessories incorporated by pop-culture.
“Pop culture is manifested around the world through movies, music, television shows,
newspapers, satellite broadcasts, fast food and clothing, among other entertainment and
consumer goods” (Pop Culture). BoxLunch currently appeals to obsessed teens between the ages
of 10 – 21 years old. An audience that is impacted heavily by social media and live streaming
sites like Netflix who cater TV series, animated movies, etc. With a “58% of [whom] use it in the
USA” (McGrath) and “42% of streamers who are Gen X made up of 35-54 years old, with 39%
Millennials between 18-34 years old (Forbes)”. The high involvement teens have with pop-
culture makes it a target audience for a retailer like BoxLunch. Also, they know how to shop
online, which draws on experience oriented shopping. BoxLunch bets heavily on impulse buys.
They have list prices on the high end but tend to offer promotions like 20 to 30% off and earn
$15 coupons for every $30 in purchases which make impulse purchases more certain to happen.
This helps develop a positive chain of repeating consumerism.
“Pop culture is forever obsessed with a nostalgia pendulum that regularly resurfaces
things from 30 years ago” (Metzger, 2017). While much of what BoxLunch offers is bought by
teens, another target audience that would benefit would be 30 – 40 year olds. This middle age
group has a lot more in common with the store’s theme than expected. The concept of nostalgia
could help BoxLunch thrive when catering to this age group. As previously stated, they offer
collectibles from shows in the 80’s and 90’s which is something prominent to someone who was
a teen at the time and has more commonality with these shows. “It can be explained equally well
from the consumer side. After about 30 years, you’ve got a real market of people with disposable
income who are nostalgic for their childhoods”(Metzger). For example, an admired television
series in the 1990’s, Power Rangers, which included 6.9 million viewers holds a stronger
significance to a 30 year old who watched possibly on release day than a current 13 year old.
This makes sales to the 30 year old more likely to happen over the recent teen.
3) Collect your competitors’ advertising messages (2 primary competitors for proposed target
audience).
Frank & Son
The Frank and Son Collectible Show was founded in 1988 by collectors, Frank and Janet
Zamarripa. The company started within a 5,000 square foot warehouse space in the Frank & Son
Warehousing And Trucking Company. However in 1997, the Show gained success and
popularity and it became a stand alone warehouse that spanned the Show over 65,000 square
feet. Unlike many other stores who operate internet services for their products and customers,
Frank & Son exclusively runs on a walk in shopping. The warehouse offers space for more than
50 vendors to sell their various collections and entertaining toys that are available for everyone.
Due to how their company is running on a retail business strategy, the products and its price
ranges are very wide. Therefore, their target audience expands as well due to their wide
expansion of available service and products for consumers.
– This space contained the largest and best collection of Vendors.
– Carries the newest, hottest and rare collectibles.
– Known worldwide and continues to grow with the support of the Collectible
Industry, Customers and Vendors.
Frank & Son is operated
based on face-to-face
retail business where you
have to be at the location
in order to find out the
products and vendors’
information and
availability. Usually they
advertise their
warehouse location and
event time only.
Barnes & Noble
– “Nobody Knows Books Like We Do.”
This statement is Barnes & Noble’s advertising motto as well as the reminder of joy from a
bookstore where people consume media through digital. Barnes & Noble’s biggest challenge is
that “people are busy and don’t have the same amount of time they once had to read,” Tim
Mantel, Barnes & Noble’s chief merchandising officer told Campaign US. Its industry is
competing with the fast-changing world and the entertainment and information that are available
on a small screen. Rather than using the internet as a main source of service for consumers,
Barnes decided to remain traditional and offer a place for consumers to visit instead of
interacting online. Their campaign message for consumers to present the place where consumers
share similar passion to discover and expect to get a good shopping experience through
interaction with the products in the store. Most of Barnes’ product packages are already opened
for customers to enjoy interacting and visualizing them on the shelves. Barnes & Noble is where
you can find thoughtful gifts for someone you care about or even another amazing novel you can
spare time to enjoy in the store unlike most online services. Today, people rarely interact with
the actual products on the store shelves, instead they interact with the online reviews or rates to
decide whether the products are what they need or want, which is called the faceless algorhythm
shopping.
Visuals, contents, and the
messages of the
advertisements are all
correlated to Barnes and
Noble’s campaign, “Nobody
Knows Books Like We Do.”
The colors and pictures that
they used on the ads are easier
for consumers to recognize
the brand’s value and image.
– The nostalgia for adulthood and kidults.
– A place to sit down and read books.
– A place to find gifts and toys for everyone.
– There are not a lot of stores today where you can sit down and chill for a day doing
your own thing unless it’s a cafe or restaurant.
– Perfect place for young generations to shop for entertainment.
– Affordable prices
– Varieties of products
4) Describe and evaluate the competitors’ advertising messages – Chapter 6 (textbook).
Our competitors target the pop culture collectable genre as well as appeal to a diverse
target market. In evaluating our competitor’s advertising messages, we will address two brands
in this category. In addition, we will address the influence that COVID-19 has on the advertising
framework of our competitors as the drastic change in consumer accessibility is relevant in order
to analyze our competitor’s current strategy. In regards to pop culture merchandise the brands
Frank and Son and Barnes and Noble will be evaluated. Our evaluation will utilize the three
aspects of advertising design including our competitor’s message strategy, type of appeal used,
and their executional approaches.
Frank and Son’s advertising messages utilizes a cognitive message strategy that
incorporates hyperbole, emotional appeal, and an informative executional framework. Within
their website, Frank and Son sells the idea that they are the consumers’ “ one stop shop for all
your collectible needs” (Home). This statement implores the use of hyperbole as the brand is
directly stating they are a shop for everyone’s collectible needs which is in some ways an
untestable claim due to the magnitude of the title. Given the nature of the brand, their use of
multiple vendors consisting of ordinary families selling within a large conventional warehouse
does add credibility to the idea, however it does not fully prove their claim, but rather support the
idea that the brand has an assortment of products not commonly available. This extends to their
appeal use as well. Utilizing emotional appeal, Frank and Son advertises items of nostalgia such
as “ Hot Wheels to Barbie Dolls… G.I. Joe’s to Hot Toys…” (Home). These collectables
specifically are derived from a bygone era that many adults have lived through and experience
via the merchandise that is being sold. Furthermore these characters that defined the consumer’s
childhood are used to correlate what the brand sells leading to creating and maintaining a bond
with the brand through brand loyalty. Frank and Son’s assortment of products are tied to
emotions of happiness and passion held by their consumers. In addition, this effect reflects
directly on the brand as they are now correlated with these positive emotions. Tying it all
together, Frank and Son uses an informative approach for their framework in order to meet the
high involvement required by their product category. On their website, the brand has digital
advertisements that advertise the location of grand openings of their store. Due to the nature of
the store being a warehouse of rotating vendors, the ads are informative stating the three days
they are open as well as the time and the address in a straightforward manner. Furthermore, they
operate on an in-person basis without an online option meaning consumers who wish to support
the brand must be willing to go out of their way to drive and walk around a slew of vendors that
rotate products that differ depending on what is sold that day.
Given the current global situation, the effect of COVID19 on Frank and Son is
devastating, however their advertising design still remains the same regardless of whether they
can still sell their products. On their homepage, the brand has addressed how they are moving
forward with business by closing their shops with “ the hope of reopening Wednesday, April 22”
(Home). In addition, the brand appeals to their relationship with the consumer by stating that
“We hope that when we reopen that you come back to support these families”(Home). The brand
is aware of their influence on the minds of their consumers and out of good faith bringing up the
fact that their vendors are families whose current source of income is obstructed due to COVID-
19. This appeals to their consumers’ communal relationship with these sellers and its inclusion
can be used to drum up more business when they reopen as they use brand loyalty to maintain
their consumers during a trying time for them.
Another competitor, Barnes and Noble communicates their advertising message by
incorporating a cognitive preemptive message that consists of an emotional appeal, and is
structured with an informative executional framework. In order to understand Branes and
Noble’s message strategy, their motto is key. According to their website, their motto is “ Nobody
Knows Books Like We Do” (Barnes and Noble). This statement can be seen as preemptive due
to the fact that an advantage is clearly being addressed, that being the company’s emphasis on
books as their main product. However due to the fast pace of online services, Barnes and Noble’s
campaign message also encompasses a more traditional outlook towards selling their products as
with books and the other products they sell. The brand focuses on making a physical experience
rather than an online one. This also extends to their advertisements. Using a specific palette of
colors and copy, the brand ties these visual elements with the image of their brand. For instance,
the ads stating “ Barnes and Noble The World’s Best Coffee Shop” (adsoftheworld) consist of
brown and white colors for the copy that are composed of miniature books spelling out the text.
Although Barnes and Noble is not a dedicated coffee shop, their visual elements on their ads
invoke the atmosphere of a cafe while also tying reading books physically as their consumers
enjoy something to drink or snack on. These ads specifically emphasized the importance of
physical interaction appealing to a consumer’s sense of attachment towards the company as the
brand gives them a space to enjoy their product. Furthermore, using this type of appeal allows
Barnes and Noble to retain customer loyalty by creating an identity for themselves that fosters
bonds with the brand. Barnes and Noble employs an informative approach when it comes to their
advertising design. Observing their website, consumers will see at the top of their homepage the
option for curbside pickup as a result of COVID-19’s affect on businesses. Although the brand
pushes for a physical experience, they opted to continue their business via online and pick up
deliveries. As a result, they can no longer have walk-ins or visits from consumers disrupting their
brand’s message, however because the brand was able to achieve a recognizable image and a
loyal consumer base, they will be able to adapt to the current situation until they can return to
their standard of normal.
5) Develop your own positioning strategy – Chapter 4 (textbook).
As previously stated in question #2, adults between the age of 30 to 40 have more in
common with BoxLunch than they think. Since there were many great things going on between
the 80s and 90s, the best approach for our positioning strategy would be to highlight the products
attributes and benefits. What this means is that we’ll focus more on marketing products based on
their “nostalgia” factor as well as their popularity to the customers. For example, Star Wars is
one of the few franchises that has been able to sustain popularity since it was first released in
1977. People who were born around the 80s and 90s were kids and teenagers when the newer
movies at the time were coming out, drawing them in with it’s fantastical sci-fi storyline. Over
the years, these kids and teenagers eventually grew to be middle aged adults, but Star Wars still
released movies which brought in newer kids and teenagers while still keeping their older fan
base. Since older fans have been following the franchise for decades, the nostalgia would have a
greater effect on them than the newer, younger fans.
As for product benefit, the only benefits that customers could receive with products
through BoxLunch would be satisfaction of the product or service and the feeling of nostalgia.
To better support our positioning strategy, we would advertise and display our older products
rather than the newer ones that kids today are more familiar with. With regards to the perceptual
map, we recorded the projections of Boxlunch and its competitors based on the attributes such as
the recognition of selling old or new franchises and accessibility to retail for consumers. Based
on our map, our competitor Frank and Son are postitioned as being less accessible and catering
to older franchises due to the fact that the company runs on a rotating vendor system both in
location and products. Our other competitor, Branes and Noble is positioned as being between
old and new franchise recognition and more accessible means of service. Barnes and Noble for
the most part appeals to many eras of pop culture, but their products are targeted towards a
young teenage audience. In addition, Barnes and Noble’s online and curbside delivery provides
more options for consumers to purchase their products. As a result, this was considered the best
position to place them in. Boxlunch’s projected position on the perceptual map is listed as
recognizing older franchises and maintaining e-commerce as a means to deliver products. With
our original target audience, we focused on teens, but we plan to position ourselves as a company
focusing on the older 30-40 year old consumers who are attached to the older franchises they
grew up with in their childhood. The company Boxlunch originally For some people, seeing a
Power Rangers figurine on display or a poster of Michael Jordan in the movie Space Jam could
be enough to attract them into the BoxLunch. After not seeing or hearing something you used to
be so familiar with as a kid or teenager, it gives a nice feeling remembering all those things you
cherished when you were younger.
6) Develop a message strategy to support your positioning – Chapter 6 (textbook).
In developing our message strategy for the Boxlunch brand, we will analyze three
possible selections for each message strategy, appeal, and executional approach. After the
analysis we will decide on which three selections from each section will be used to create our
new message strategy for our new target audience. For our message strategies, we plan to take
into account using a cognitive unique selling proposition, affective comfort marketing, and a
conative approach. In this case, Boxlunch’s partnership with Feeding America states that, for
“every $10 = 1 meal” (Boxlunch). This statement lends itself to being a testable claim that
advocates feelings of good will from the brand to the eyes of the consumers. For this reason, a
cognitive unique selling proposition could be a good fit to add a factor of distinction in the
market. Given what was stated about our positioning strategy, an affective comfort marketing
strategy could appeal to the concept of resonance by focusing attention on the powerful use of
nostalgia as a strategy to connect with our new 30 to 40 year old target audience. Playing upon
our older audience’s positive memories with Boxlunch’s pop culture collectables could increase
the connection between the consumer and the Boxlunch brand. For a conative approach, we
could emphasize the loyalty program “Lunch Specials” (Boxlunch) currently offered to push for
sales. However, this approach assumes that consumers are already aware of the franchises we
sell. In terms of appeals, possible approaches include using humor, music, and emotions. Humor
as an approach has a tendency to cut through the clutter and enhance recall and for that reason,
being able to remember various intellectual properties aids our company in providing well
known pop culture that appeals to older consumers who grew up with the IPs. Music as a method
would act as a vehicle to correlate classical jingles with different pop culture franchises.
Emotional appeal would be a valuable asset to the brand due to the emphasis on brand loyalty
and attachment that comes with the products we sell. With regards to possible executional
frameworks, we could use animation, slice of life, or fantasy. Animation could be a good vehicle
to work with due to the medium of pop culture heavily being produced in an animated format
such as television. However, animation is an expensive medium to engage with so our company
should be wary of that. On the other hand, slice of life introduces a problem and a solution that
the brand is able to fulfill. In our case, it becomes a message that drives collectors and or fans to
buy pop culture collectibles. This potentially gives the consumers a situation to utilize our
products. Due to the nature of our products being derived from fantastical creations, fantasy as
an approach could illuminate the imaginative worlds and induce nostalgia as consumers see IPs
they fell in love with bringing back positive memories through tangible offerings.
From what we can gather, we should create a message strategy that follows an effective
comfort marketing approach that uses the vehicle of music for appeal tied together by a
fantastical executional framework. This combination in particular is best suited for our brand as
it aligns with our positioning strategy and makes use of the concept of nostalgia which is heavily
tied to the nature of our pop culture collectables. Comfort marketing appeals to consumer’s
attachment to various IPs in our culture and these feelings are for the majority tied to happy
moments that generally lead to acceptance and welcoming emotional responses. In order to best
enhance this message strategy, we will use music appeal by further driving positive emotions
through the vehicle of memorable songs and jingles that arouses attention and causes the
reflooding of memories to occur that are associated with the music. In order to take full
advantage of our message strategy, we will utilize fantasy to drive the nostalgic approach to its
maximum potential. In essence by promoting irrational, but immersive franchises at the forefront
of Boxlunch’s advertisements we can appeal to the emotional bonds created with the imaginative
worlds and characters that are brought into the limelight through our products.
7) Produce 3 examples of executions (e.g., print ads and commercials) in line with your
message strategy.
8) Develop a media plan to support your advertising strategy.
BoxLunch is a company that retails a diverse amount of products. In regards to
alternative marketing, we have found that lifestyle marketing is appropriate for BoxLunch. Our
new target audience is composed of older 30 to 40 year olds that are not only considering the
functions of the products they purchase but more importantly, they are looking for products to
enrich their lives and remind them of the comfort provided to them from a by-gone era. Lifestyle
marketing advocates that enterprises should manage consumers’ lifestyles and cultivate their
consumption habits. When consumers’ needs are not yet manifested, they can tap into their inner
needs and be creative with the choices they make with their lifestyles. To produce suitable goods
and provide appropriate services, thereby creating demand and stimulating consumption,
Boxlunch would be able to cater to our new audience. BoxLunch’s presence on different social
media operations is a current and relevant strategy to attract more potential consumers. Social
media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and etc. increases the opportunity of being
able to engage with our audience. Consumers upload some information on a regular basis and
could essentially promote the brand through posting photos of the new products they buy which
in turn acts as free commercial advertising. In addition, their posts can also reflect the
convenience of online shopping in their company especially if a link is provided to where the
product was purchased.
Today, modern network communication technology, electronic products, and automated
production technology provide a good platform for implementing experiential marketing.
Modern computer network technology can also help consumers participate and the interactive
experience can be greatly improved. Providing personalized online customization services reflect
a new experience within the marketing landscape of none distance communication between
enterprises and customers. BoxLunch, as a result can also formulate experience prices, integrate
multiple sensory stimuli to create terminal experiences, and make full use of our line of various
pop culture collectables within this framework. In our case, by appealing to the powerful levels
of nostalgia inherent within our products, the resonance effect created enhances the positive
attitude towards our products. Furthermore, by association to the IPs we sell, our new target
audience’s mindset of the product is transferred to the brand. Additionally, Social network
marketing is a rapid development model that coincides with the actual needs of network users,
participation, sharing, and interaction. It represents the characteristics of internet users and is also
in line with the new trend of Internet marketing development. The relationship between
consumers is so close. Whether it’s a friend’s diary, a friend’s recommended video, an event
they’ve participated in, or making a new friend, people can immediately understand and follow
the development of their social group and share their honest feelings with them with an
opportunity to become an active consumer for the brand.
Only a marketing model that meets the needs of online users can help companies play a
greater role in online marketing. The online environment in which consumers participate
embraces convenience and acts as a vehicle for consumers to be heard. In addition, Lifestyles
and preferences are rapidly changing as new trends are brought up. After taking into account a
consumer’s degree of satisfaction with low-level life needs, the role of psychological factors
such as self-esteem, emotion, will, value can be analyzed. In the past, they have been restrained,
but are considered to greatly influence purchasing decisions. The differences in behavior are
becoming more and more prominent. Therefore, in understanding the lifestyle of consumers,
discovering market needs, producing products that meet the needs, and providing appropriate
services as a result has become a constant business decision. This approach in media selection is
therefore an important choice for achieving sustainable competitive advantage in our company.
9) Itemized Budget
Below is the projected marketing budget for BoxLunch. According to Arica, Corbaci, and
Aydin (2019), the budget allocated to promotion activities should be based on clearly pre-defined
marketing objectives. In this light, the following budget for BoxLunch is intended to help the
company gain a competitive edge over its competitors and increase the customer base. It also
puts into consideration the issue of COVID-19 outbreak, in which case the greatest budget
allocation was on promotion activities that do not involve going outdoors. The budget is
allocated for 1 years, totaling to $2,000,000 as highlighted below.
BoxLunch Marketing Budget 2020/2021
ITEM AMOUNT
Social Media Marketing (1 year) $133,000
– Content development
$5,000
– Promotional videos
$3,000
– Sponsored posts
$35,000
– Agency fees
$20,000
– Influencer
$70,000
Content Marketing (1 year) $136,000
– Influencer promotions
$70,000
– Sponsored posts
$20,000
– Landing pages’ improvement
$2,000
– Email management personnel
$36,000
– E-books (1 in every 6 months)
$6,000
– Downloads (Guides, Checklists, etc.)
$2,000
Search Engine Optimization (1 year) $30,000
– Research for keywords
$10,000
– Off-site SEO
$4,000
– On-page SEO
$4,000
– International SEO
$4,000
– Local SEO
$4,000
Paid Advertising (1 year) 1,013,200
– Social media ads
$350,000
Facebook
$150,000
LinkedIn
$30,000
Pinterest
$40,000
Instagram
$80,000
Twitter
$50,000
– Digital ads
$163,200
Display ads
$80,000
Paid search (PPC)
$60,000
Retargeting ads
$23,200
– Traditional ads
$500,000
Radio advertisement
$170,000
Television advertisement
$200,000
Advertisements on print media (newspapers, magazines, etc.)
$130,000
Public Relations (1 year) 54,800
– Press releases (1 in every three months)
$4,800
– Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sponsorships
50,000
Product Promotion 600,000
30% off deals (at the end of every month) 400,000
% 15 coupons for purchases exceeding $1000 200,000
Annual Budget Review (3 days) 33,000
– Sitting allowances for the committee
$10,000
– Venue fees
$15,000
– Others (e.g. refreshments)
$8,000
Grand Total 2,000,000
10) Works Cited Page- Part 1- Paper
Barnes & Noble | Ads of the World™. www.adsoftheworld.com/taxonomy/brand/barnes_noble.
Barnes & Noble. “Online Bookstore: Books, NOOK Ebooks, Music, Movies & Toys.” Barnes & Noble,
www.barnesandnoble.com/.
Boxlunch. (2020). BoxLunch Gifts | Get Some, Give Back. Boxlunch.com. Retrieved 16 March 2020,
from https://www.boxlunch.com.
Hall, J. (2012). The Unique Job Perks That Employees Love. Forbes. Retrieved 16 March 2020, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2012/11/28/the-unique-job-perks-that-employees-
love/#7896625c7eda.
“Home.” – Home, www.frankandsonshow.net/.
McGrath, Felim. “58% Of American Teens Watching Netflix.” GlobalWebIndex Blog, 5 Jan. 2018,
blog.globalwebindex.com/chart-of-the-day/58-of-american-teens-watching-netflix/.
Metzger, Patrick. “The Nostalgia Pendulum: A Rolling 30-Year Cycle of Pop Culture Trends.” The
Patterning, 21 Mar. 2017, thepatterning.com/2017/02/13/the-nostalgia-pendulum-a-rolling-30-year-cycle-
of-pop-culture-trends/.
“Pop Culture.” Globalization101, The Levin Institute – The State University of New York Authorship,
2018, www.globalization101.org/pop-culture/.
Zoominfo. (2020). Retrieved 16 March 2020, from https://www.zoominfo.com/c/boxlunch/105218692.
11) Works Cited Page- Part 2- Budget
Arica, R., Corbaci, A., & Aydin, B. (2019). An assessment of the marketing budget in the
tourism businesses. https://www.researchgate.net
12) Appendices
Competitor A:
Frank & Son is operated
based on face-to-face
retail business where you
have to be at the location
in order to find out the
products and vendors’
information and
availability. Usually they
advertise their
warehouse location and
event time only.
Competitor B:
Visuals, contents, and the
messages of the
advertisements are all
correlated to Barnes and
Noble’s campaign, “Nobody
Knows Books Like We Do.”
The colors and pictures that
they used on the ads are easier
for consumers to recognize
the brand’s value and image.
Perceptual Map:
Media Schedule:
Ads:
1. Please make sure to write 8 well written sentences per question, need one apa citation
a) Jamie Foxx just inked a big deal with Sony. Please write about what you took away from this article.
b) Tony Vinciquerra CEO and Chairman of the Board for Sony spoke at L’Attitude for Latinx. Please discuss your take away.
c) Front cover: It’s Bunny’s World Now: The Puerto Rican reggaetonero has come to dominate global pop on his on terms…authored by Carina del Valle Schorske. Your viewpoints.
2. S.W.O.T Analysis
When doing a S.W.O.T. Analysis, remember to do it from a customer’s perspective.
Also, keep in mind that Strengths and Weaknesses are controllable and Opportunities and Threats are uncontrollable. In addition, people do not like to read paragraphs. You need to use the bullet/support format. It is easier to read. And finally, the more detail and specifics, it allows us to create that competitive advantage.
3. SMART Objectives
When creating your S.M.A.R.T. Objectives, it appears that there will be 2 basic ones generated – one for awareness and the other for sales. Hence, it would read something like:
(1) Increase awareness by X%, within your identified group of people (target market), within the following area, within the next 12 months.
This entire objective is S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely). And then,
(2) Increase sales by X% , within your identified group of people, within the following area, within the next 12 months.
If done correctly, the S.M.A.R.T. Objectives allows us to maintain our focus , while assist in being able to evaluate our marketing performance. These objectives will become the critical steps in creating our tactics.
In Marketing we must continually think strategic, tactical and operational. This will assure that our actions lead to results that are beneficial for all involved.
4. Gantt Chart
It is basically a visual representation of your
media strategy/promotion plan
. Please make sure to review the posted Marketing Plan to get a better picture of it. The tasks of your promotional plan are on one axis and the
12 months
are on the other. Then you create a color bar of the months of which you will be doing the given promotional task(s). Then you create an additional column on the far right side that is for the total dollar amount to accomplish the given task. You will then total all of the amounts on the far right side bottom. This is the overall total to accomplish your promotional strategy. So, in looking at the Gantt Chart, you will have your 2 SMART Objectives on the top left had side, then 14 columns across the top (task, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, $ Total) Then on the down access the number of tasks needed in your Promotional Campaign to accomplish your identified SMART Objectives (One for awareness and the other one for sales).