Marketing Case Study: A Sweet Breakfast Memory that Connects with the Wrong Market
Please read the Management Case Study required documents first (located below picture), then write your analysis on A Sweet Breakfast Memory that Connects with the Wrong Market.
GEB2860_Case Study Marketing Rubric
A Sweet Breakfast Memory That Connects With the Wrong Market
1
Business Administration Capstone
Case Study Requirements w/ attached “Marketing” Rubric
A Sweet Breakfast Memory that Connects with the Wrong Market
Read the attached article attached as a PDF
The following is the REQUIRED format for your case study papers. While you will also be taking a series of objective tests, these course
projects are considered the most important (three case studies total 15% or 150 course points out of 1,000 course points) grades of the course.
The following are the minimum case study requirements:
Each case study MUST consist of at least four pages (no more than five).
Cover page (1pg), –5pt penalty will be deducted from the case study grade if any of the following information is not included from the
attached sample on page 2.
For your case study paper, include the following components in your finalized submittal in the following order and use them as
Section Headings (Using bold type) for formatting your submittal. (Use the italicized terms below as your section headings). Then write
your paper in complete sentences in third person voice using a narrative writing style.
NOTE: This is a written business case study. Therefore, proper spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc. are REQUIRED.
THIS IS NOT A SERIES OF TEXT OR TWITTER MESSAGES!
Content Pages
2-3pg w/ minimum of 750 words but no more than 1000 words of content
1. Provide an Abstract or Executive Summary of the case by summarizing your report – not the case itself. Must be clear and concise
and be at least one paragraph. NOTE: This will be the first page but last section written when preparing your case study. (5pts)
2. Identify the Statement of Immediate (obvious) Problem (s) (company’s issues) including the root cause of the immediate problem,
and the secondary problem(s) that may not be solved if-and-when the immediate problem is solved. (5pts)
3. Conduct/Describe the company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT Analysis) by explaining at least
three items for each element (10pts)
4. Describe how you would approach the Marketing Mix – 4P’s of Marketing (i.e. Product/Service, Place, Price, and Promotion) for the company.
(15pts)
5. Provide an Action Plan for this case including how to prevent a future similar occurrence. Must include what should be done (or
have been done), by whom, why it should be done and how it should be (or have been) done. Should include a contingency plan
should problems arise. (10pts)
Reference Page (per APA Format)
LOCATED ON A SEPARATE PAGE: Minimum of three (3 = grade of ‘C’) but no more than 5 QUALITY REFERENCES (5pts as part of the Grammar
grade). NOTE: This is your original analysis and solution. Therefore, a maximum of 20% of your case study submittal can be direct quotes or
paraphrasing another’s work. –1pt penalty for each percentage point above the 20% Unicheck Score. (5pts)
List all citations and/or references on the Reference Page in APA Format;
What to Reference: Information not commonly known such as facts, dates, quotes etc.;
Internet: Supply URL address including all appropriate extensions;
When in doubt— CITE. Use a REFERENCE meaning use proper use of “in-text citing” or citation(s) in-general;
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Valencia College – East Campus
Case Study
Case Study Title
By Student Name
Business Administration Capstone – GEB1860 CRN00000
Instructor: Professor Taiwan D. Huggins-Jordan
3
Rubric Marketing Case Study
Grading Requirements
Did Not Meet ReQs.
69% and below
Partially Met ReQs
70-79% C
Meets Minimum ReQs
80-89% B
Proficient
90-100% A
Cover Page
–5points
Did Not Include and/or
done not in accordance
with the sample shown on
Page 2 of this document.
N/A
N/A
N/A
Abstract/Executive Summary
and Summary of Immediate
(obvious) Problem(s)
10 points
Did not submit or minimally
describe the Company’s
Issue(s) and/or Problem(s)
that needed solving.
0-6pts
Partially described the
Company’s Issue(s) and/or
Problem(s) that needed
solving.
7pts
Satisfactorily described the
Company’s Issue(s) and/or
Problem(s) that needed
solving.
8pts
Proficiently described the
Company’s Issue(s) and/or
Problem(s) that needed
solving.
9-10pts
Conduct/Described the
Company’s SWOT Analysis
10 points
Did not submit or minimally
conducted and/or described
the Company’s SWOT
Analysis by Explaining at
least three items for each
element.
0-6pts
Partially conducted and/or
described the Company’s
SWOT Analysis by Explaining
at least three items for each
element.
7pts
Satisfactorily conducted
and/or described the
Company’s SWOT Analysis
by Explaining at least three
items for each element.
8pts
Proficiently conducted and/or
described the Company’s
SWOT Analysis by Explaining
at least three items for each
element.
9-10pts
1. Marketing Mix aka 4P’s of
Marketing (Product/Service,
Place, Price, and Promotion)
2. 15 points
3.
Did not submit or minimally
described How you would
approach the Marketing Mix
aka 4P’s (Product/Service,
Place, Price, Promotion) for
the company.
0-9pts
Partially described How you
would approach the Marketing
Mix aka 4P’s
(Product/Service, Place,
Price, Promotion) for the
company.
10-11pts
Satisfactorily described How
you would approach the
Marketing Mix aka 4P’s
(Product/Service, Place,
Price, Promotion) for the
company.
12-13pts
Proficiently described How
you would approach the
Marketing Mix aka 4P’s
(Product/Service, Place,
Price, Promotion) for the
company.
14-15pts
Action Plan
10 points
Did not submit or minimally
provided an Action Plan for
this case including How to
prevent a future similar
occurrence.
0-6pts
Partially provided an Action
Plan for this case including
How to prevent a future
similar occurrence.
7pts
Satisfactorily provided an
Action Plan for this case
including How to prevent a
future similar occurrence.
8pts
Proficiently provided an
Action Plan for this case
including How to prevent a
future similar occurrence.
9-10pts
Reference Page
5 points
Did not submit or minimally
annotate Citations (in-text or
otherwise) and/or Listed
References (on Reference
Page) correctly.
0-1pt
Partially annotate Citations
(in-text or otherwise) and/or
Listed References (on
Reference Page) correctly.
2-3pts
Satisfactorily annotate
Citations (in-text or otherwise)
and/or Listed References (on
Reference Page) correctly.
4pts
Proficiently annotate
Citations (in-text or otherwise)
and/or Listed References (on
Reference Page) correctly.
5pts
Grammar
Clarity, writing (third person
voice), mechanics, and
formatting requirements.
–1pt per error (after 2)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
___/50pts
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A Sweet Breakfast Memory That Connects
With the Wrong Market
By JOHN GROSSMANNNOV. 12, 2014
Christopher Pouy founded Cow Wow Cereal Milk to capitalize on a taste he loved as a child:
cereal-infused milk. Credit Annie Tritt for The New York Times.
COW WOW CEREAL MILK is a two-year-old company that makes milk in breakfast cereal
flavors. Founded by Christopher Pouy, a former advertising copywriter seeking to capitalize on a
childhood love, it is based in Los Angeles and employs 10. By putting a child-friendly cow on
the package and giving his flavors names like Fruity Trudy and Chocolate Chip Cathy, Mr. Pouy
branded his product for 5- to 12-year-olds.
THE CHALLENGE Targeting the right customers. Following unexpected publicity from media
outlets and promising sales on a college campus, Mr. Pouy found himself second-guessing his
audience — even though he knew that to sell to high schoolers and college students, he would
have to rethink his whole brand.
THE BACKGROUND Schooled in the advertising business at Secret Weapon Marketing, the
company that linked a pink bunny to Energizer batteries, Mr. Pouy, 38, worked at big ad
agencies and ran his own shop called Chicken Pox — “to spread ideas virally” — for more than
a decade. Then his enthusiasm dwindled. “I’d done the same kind of projects so long, I was no
longer getting the gratification,” he said. “I wanted to create something I had a stake in and
reignite the passion and excitement.”
Mr. Pouy asked himself: “What can I make that’s not already out there? What would I like?”
Those questions led him back to his childhood breakfast table, where the best part of his morning
cereal came when he put down his spoon, lifted the bowl to his lips and gulped the remaining
milk infused with the flavor of Froot Loops or Cocoa Puffs.
Why not give children a more exciting, vibrant range of flavored milk than the Neapolitan palate
of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry? Knowing he’d be selling to parents and wanting to “do it in
a responsible way,” Mr. Pouy insisted on 1 percent organic milk, no artificial flavors or colors,
and organic cocoa powder and cinnamon. With six grams of added cane sugar, each 8.5-ounce
serving had 150 calories. For packaging, he chose Tetra Paks that did not need refrigeration and
had a shelf life of up to a year.
With $175,000 of his own money, he made his first 9,000 cases in late 2012. A distributor landed
some of his milk in convenience stores and gas stations in Southern California, and Mr. Pouy got
Cow Wow into Legoland and the Los Angeles Zoo. Then, in April 2013, with the product still in
limited local distribution, Cow Wow went viral, much to Mr. Pouy’s surprise and joy — at least
initially.
http://cowwownow.com/
http://cowwownow.com/
http://www.secretweapon.net/
http://www.tetrapak.com/us
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Proclaiming that Cow Wow “tastes like heaven,” the late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel riffed on
the product for nearly a minute. “Just when the Twinkie dies, we come up with cereal-flavored
milk. I’ve never been prouder to be an American,” he said. In June 2013, Cosmopolitan
magazine displayed the Fruity Trudy package and hailed Cow Wow as the lead “fun item” in a
list of fun stuff. And in September 2013, BuzzFeed included Cow Wow in its list “27 Reasons
It’s the Greatest Time to Be Alive.”
It was great publicity. But there was one problem: the age of the viewers and readers. Mr. Pouy
said he quickly realized “these are not the people I’m trying to sell my product to.” That
disconnect nagged at him as he began talks with an investor, the owner of an incubator, who
would ultimately acquire a majority stake in Cow Wow and become a silent partner, leaving Mr.
Pouy as president.
By November 2013, still aimed at children, Cow Wow was being put on shelves in the first of
900 Kroger supermarkets. Because Mr. Pouy lacked the resources to offer discounts and
coupons, his milk was priced about 20 cents higher than flavored milks in Tetra Paks offered by
Organic Valley and Horizon Organic. His sales did not meet expectations. “I was groomed on
the more conceptual, marketing side of things, not on pricing or how to enter a market,” Mr.
Pouy said. “What I found out was, Mom is the most frugal shopper of them all, and price made
more of a difference than I thought it would.”
Our columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and his Times colleagues help you make sense of major
business and policy headlines — and the power-brokers who shape them.
Then in May his local distributor, who happened to serve Santa Monica College as well, got Cow
Wow into the school’s food court. Fifteen cases sold in the first week. The next week, Mr. Pouy
stood near his product and watched. “Pretending to be a teacher, I saw people taking all three
flavors,” including the new Cinny Minny, he said, “and that’s all they bought.”
THE OPTIONS Two days later, he met with his partner to discuss three possible paths:
■ Stay the course. Stick with young children, who are, by far, the biggest consumers of milk.
This option was appealing because high schoolers and college students are notoriously fickle.
What if Cow Wow was a fad? To pursue this option, Mr. Pouy’s next step would be to target
private and charter schools and expand national sales in Kroger and other grocery stores with a
marketing push to educate mothers about the benefits of flavored milk and alert children to Cow
Wow’s flavors. The expected cost: $100,000.
■ Change course. Follow the buzz and the sales and pitch the product to millennials. To pursue
this option, Mr. Pouy would rebrand, redesign, repackage and reformulate. He would try to hook
18- to 35-year-olds with hipper cows and a larger package with a resealable cap instead of a
straw. To cut costs, he would switch to a nonorganic formula, “since millennials are less
concerned about nutrition than mothers.” He would focus on selling to colleges and convenience
stores. Cost: $100,000.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/its-the-greatest-time-to-be-alive
http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/its-the-greatest-time-to-be-alive
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/charter_schools/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier
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■ Adopt a hybrid strategy. Try to market to both age groups simultaneously. To pursue this
option, Mr. Pouy would need to create two distinct marketing campaigns, one targeting mothers,
the other millennials. With little overlap, the cost would double to $200,000.
WHAT OTHERS SAY Seth Goldman, co-founder and chief executive of Honest Tea: “At 150
calories per 8.5 ounces — roughly 50 percent more calories than low-fat milk — this isn’t a
product that should be marketed to kids. Mr. Pouy is better off promoting his drink toward the
millennials that are already gravitating toward his drinks. He should invest in field marketing
efforts on campuses where students can enjoy the drinks as an occasional chance to reconnect
with their childhood.”
Kara Goldin, founder and chief executive of Hint, a brand of flavored water: “I recommend
focusing on a single target market. A cereal-flavored milk for the college market? I doubt it. But
if that is your market, move out of the Tetra boxes and into a wide-mouth resealable bottle. And
millennials young and old do care about ingredients, not just calories. And don’t settle for just
any space in the stores you get into. If moms are your market, be where moms will look in the
store. In the milk section is O.K., but how about in the cereal aisle? Or in the baby/kid food
section?”
Doug Hall, founder and chief executive of Eureka Ranch, a consulting firm that helps companies
create innovative products: “My advice is to stop being greedy. You have found a group of
people who love Cow Wow. Focus 100 percent of your energy on millennials. Our research has
found that presweetened cereals would have a hard time being introduced today. They exist only
because they are ‘grandfathered in’ through the memories of older people. Let millennials adopt
and own it. Then let diffusion of the innovation pull the product to the mass market.”
THE RESULTS Offer your thoughts on the You’re the Boss blog at nytimes.com/boss. Next
week, on the blog and on this page, we will provide an update on what Mr. Pouy decided to do.
https://www.honesttea.com/
https://www.drinkhint.com/home-alt#?offset=0&limit=27
http://www.eurekaranch.com/
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/