Week 10 EOC: What are the benefits vs the features

"marketing myopia—defining a business in terms of goods and services rather than in terms of the benefits customers seek." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-4). The benefits to my Pumpkinette product, is that they are not unhealthy for you. Pumpkinettes have a high source of iron. This is a benefit for everyone especially vegans, because vegans tend to have low sources of iron when they begin. They are also sweet and tasty without any preservatives and non GMO. So this is a one of kind treat that is sweet and delicious but also can be a health benefit. This allows the consumer to purchase a treat without having to feel guilty. Another benefit, to this product is that its manufactured in a bio degradable packaging. Pumpkinettes can be enjoyed by people of all ages."The product includes not only the physical unit but also its package, warranty, after-sale service, brand name, company image, value, and many other factors. A Godiva chocolate has many product elements: the chocolate itself, a fancy gold wrapper, a customer satisfaction guarantee, and the prestige of the Godiva brand name. We buy things not only for what they do (benefits) but also for what they mean to us (status, quality, or reputation)."(Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9a). You can eat these anywhere, and the packaging is easy to get rid of when finished eating. A feature to this product would be the visible attraction to the product. The color of the box, the color of the font, and the information labeled on the product are all strategically placed in order to make it marketable. The box is easy to carry, you can put it in your pocket, there easy to eat, you can eat them one by one, or grab a handful. "Traditionally, marketing-oriented multinational corporations have operated somewhat differently in each country. They use a strategy of providing different product features, packaging, advertising, and so on."(Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 5-2b). 

Week 9 EOC: Creative Content

My creative content, is chocolate covered pumpkin seeds. These will be called, Pumpkinettes. I'm going to create an advertisement ad, using Adobe Photo Shop. I'm also going to create an audio clip commercial about 20-40 seconds long. The commercial will have elements included in it that will appeal and grab potential consumers. If I decide to do the advertisement on Photo Shop I will specifically choose colors that I think will be marketable for this product. Font will be chosen according to what I think will fit within the theme of this product. This will be visually appealing enough for customers to want and grab the box. I want them to look at it and gain there interest and curiosity. I'm going to record the commercial my self in the recording studio using my voice. I will also add some sound FX and music (original content).

Price

"To earn a profit, managers must choose a price that is not too high or too low—a price that equals the perceived value to target consumers." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 20-1b)Each standard box of Pumpkinettes will be sold at $7.00 per box. This is an affordable price within the vegan food category. Not only that, but the average shopper in stores like Whole Foods make an average of $125,000 or more annually. For a box of healthy iron packed, chocolate covered vegan pumpkin seeds $7.00 is more then affordable. Vegans tend to run into iron deficiencies when they first began because their not used to finding alternatives."Price is an important competitive weapon and is very important to the organization because price multiplied by the number of units sold equals total revenue for the firm." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9d). This treat is not only sweet and tasty but can help the eager vegan sustain enough iron in there bodies through out the day. At $7.00 per box and low overhead cost, we can manufacture enough of these treats to provide at least 25% of Americas healthy consumers and generate $612,500,000 in total revenue on the first year after manufacturing plants are in place. "Price is what a buyer must give up in order to obtain a product. It is often the most flexible of the four Ps. The quickest element." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9d.

Promotion

Our packaging will be bio degradable and eco friendly. This here alone will be a promotional strategy, to build a relationship with our health conscious, eco friendly vegan friends. The name Pumpkinettes comes from the same concept as Raisenettes. The book states that "A good promotion strategy, like using a beloved cartoon character such as Sponge-Bob SquarePants to sell gummy snacks, can dramatically increase sales." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9c).  This will raise a sudden curiosity with potential consumers, because of the similarities in name. The box will be shaped in a square box filled with tasty chocolate covered pumpkin seeds."Promotion includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Promotions role in the marketing mix is to bring about mutual satisfying exchanges with target markets by information, educating, persuading and reminding them of the benefits of an organization or a product." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9c)You can punch a hole in the top of the box and easily pour a handful while on the go. According to www.infoscout.com the average income of shoppers who shop at Whole Foods is $125,000 and more annually.

Distribution

"A strategic alliance, sometimes called a strategic partnership, is a cooperative agreement between business firms. Strategic alliances can take the form of licensing or distribution agreements, joint ventures, research and development consortia, and partnerships. They may be between manufacturers, manufacturers and customers, manufacturers and suppliers, and manufacturers and channel intermediaries." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 7-3a) Pumpkinettes will be sold in specialty stores, such as Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Sprouts. You can also find these delicious treats in markets such as Albertsons and Smiths, but merchandised in the healthy, non GMO, non preserved, vegan friendly food aisle. We want to build a partner relationship with these markets and keep the distribution exclusive until we see a higher demand. According to The Fundamentals of Marketing, "Place, or distribution, strategies are concerned with making products available when and where customers want them." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9b) They will be packaged in bio degradable, economy friendly boxes. It all ties into the vegan life style, and decreases overhead cost on packaging. The Manufacturing companies can be domestic based in the Illinois area. We chose this geographic area because this is where most of the pumpkins are farmed and grown at. This will also decrease our overhead cost by a substantial amount, due to short distances with importing and exporting. "Increased fuel and transportation costs associated with long-distance shipping, coupled with falling United States energy costs, have given impetus to inshoring, returning production jobs to the United States." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 5-1b). We can also create partnerships with the farmers by buying large amounts of pumpkin seeds from them. I'm sure there isn't a huge demand on such a product so they will be happy regardless to build a relationship with a company that can increase there sales. "A part of this P—place—is physical distribution, which involves all the business activities concerned with storing and transporting raw materials or finished products." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9b).

Product

"The product includes not only the physical unit, but also its package, warranty, after sale service brand name, company image, value, and many other factors." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9) The product is called, "Pumpkinettes". These are chocolate covered vegan friendly pumpkin seeds. They're manufactured and packaged in a form similar to Raisenettes. You can open up the lip of the box, poor some Pumpkinettes in your hand and eat them on the go. This is vegan friendly, non allergenic, non dairy, non preserved and non GMO. This does not have to be just dark chocolate. There are plenty vegan organic ingredients that can be used now to substitute the dairy product in standard chocolate sweets in the market. This will be packaged in Eco-friendly, bio degradable boxes. This all ties into the vegan friendly lifestyle. "The heart of the marketing mix, the starting point, is the product offering and product strategy" (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9a) I found a interesting fact from The Fundamentals of Marketing book. It states that, "A Nielsen study found that while eighty-three percent of consumers worldwide believe companies should have environmental programs, only twenty-two percent would pay more for an eco-friendly product." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 1-2d.

Marketing Mix

"The term marketing mix refers to a unique blend of product, place (distribution), promotion, and pricing strategies (often referred to as the four Ps) designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 2-9). Target market can be the ages between 18 and 50. Its a pretty broad age range, but the healthy eating lifestyle doesn't necessarily have a age limit. This can be a healthy vegan friendly (non GMO, non preservatives) treat, parents can pack in their child's lunch box on the way to school. This can also be a treat for young adults, who are vegan and want to eat a delicious sweet treat without feeling guilty. "This comparison of sales and market orientations is not meant to belittle the role of promotion, especially personal selling, in the marketing mix."(Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 1-3e). Not only will this treat be appealing to young children, adults and parents, but also for older adults that have certain health issues that prevent them from eating the typical sweet treats you find in general stores. This treat will have no preservatives, non GMO, and contains plenty of iron (pumpkin seeds).  They're non allergenic and dairy free. According to the book, "In contrast, market-oriented organizations recognize that promotion decisions are only one of four basic marketing mix decisions that must be made: product decisions, place (or distribution) decisions, promotion decisions, and pricing decisions." (Lamb, H.  Fundamentals of Marketing 9th Edition 1-3e).