UK snack bar Marketing communication plan

PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY 5 i. The Product 5 ii. Product Composition Justification 6 iii. The Brand 7 4. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS 8 i. REFERENCES 22 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The objective of this report was to develop a one-year marketing communications plan for the launch of a new energy bar throughout the UK market that will distinguish itself from other existing brands. The report also aims at implementing effective marketing strategies that would enhance the brand’s success in the entire market. The first section of the marketing plan provides a thorough situation analysis that not only provides the contextual framework of the product and marketing approach, but also an assessment of the internal and external environment factors that are responsible to the product’s survival in the market. Whereas the Porter’s five forces and the PESTEL frameworks will offer a basis for the analysis of the external environment, SWOT analysis will be used to examine the internal environmental factors.

Subsequently, in addition to meeting the set objectives, an effective marketing campaign will increase the customer base; enhance customer loyalty, thus assisting the company to attain the highest position in the market. PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY i. The Product The UK snack bar market provides an underserved segment that is typical for the HS-5 product that Weetabix Co. intends to offer. Companies in the industry have for so long failed to cater for the busy, health sensible consumers between the ages of 25-44 who are major consumers of healthy foods, such as energy bars, organic products and granola bars. For example, the classic bars has flavours such as orange blast, café Mocha and wildberry while the trial bars come in carrot cake, oat Berry and coconut express flavours.

In anticipation of the media marketing strategy to launch the product into the market, the company emphasizes on packaging as an important element to make the product more appealing to customers (Budacia, 2008). The packaging of HS-5 will fulfil these goals: • Conform to the revised labelling and packaging standards • Visibly identify the HS-5 flavour on the packet in attempts to reduce confusion • Improve the product’s reliability by including the phrase “0% Trans Fat” to the nutritional section • Clearly providing a description of the product’s ingredients Figure 2: HS-5 Nutritional fact; Product Composition Justification iii. The Brand The new HS-5 energy bar is a sub-brand of Weetabix Co. Weetabix is a worldwide brand and had the second largest market share of snack bar in 2015 with approximately 8 percent.

With a high rate of disposable income, consumers will be willing to spend on the product although they will be price sensitive (Kolios and Read, 2013). The UK society is characterized by consumers who are increasingly becoming sensitive to environmental concerns and ethical considerations and have a preference of locally produced products by firms that are environmentally sensible. With the advancement in technology competitors pose a threat of demonstrating a strong capability of duplicating the firm’s products. There should be stern regulatory policies in relation to labelling food products, in addition to the ingredients used in the making of snack bars (Kolios and Read, 2013). ii. iii. SWOT Analysis Strengths • HS-5 B will be primarily produced with natural ingredients. • The product will compose of fructose, rather than sucrose or any other artificial additives hence more appealing to health-sensitive customers.

• HS-5 energy bar will contain Leutein and Lycopene, which are increasingly gaining publicity because of the ability to fight cancer as well as their antioxidant features • The production facility for the product will utilize state of the art production equipment. Thus, if it is appears that customers do not prefer some ingredients in HS-5, then the preparation of the energy bars can be modified rapidly. Opportunities • The energy bar market has been experiencing growth. The popularity of energy bars in UK has been increasing since the citizens are becoming busier. Thus, firms in the market have recognized this continued growth. • UK consumers are gradually shifting towards being health-sensitive. The current consumer trend reveals that consumers are more aware of nutritional benefits than before.

However, in the case of HS-5 energy bar, the target market for this marketing campaign comprises of health-conscious consumers with the following features (Moss et al. Features Details Gender Female and Male Age 25 – 44 Average cumulative disposable income (after tax) $29000. Lifestyle Health conscious, active, busy, urban, always on the go Recreational activities Jogging, working out, probable to have been on a diet in the past 1 year Education Some post-secondary Material possession Home owners, sedan, SUV and flat-screen television In essence, this market segment was identified to have a high probability of purchasing HS-5 energy bars since it consists of individuals who are both busy and active, thus requiring extra energy to achieve their daily activities. Interestingly, through an extensive qualitative market research, it was apparent that this category of consumers, especially women in this 25-44 years age demographic bracket often spends most of cash on convenience commodities like energy bars (Euromonitor International, 2014).

Furthermore, this market segment is also characterized by consumers who are conscious about health and are consistently seeking food commodities that contain a high level of nutrition content as well as natural ingredients (Kolios and Read, 2013). Additionally, it is obvious that the majority of energy bars are bought by residents in urban areas who indulge in various daily and recreational activities (Euromonitor International, 2014). Accordingly, this necessitates HS-5 to undertake its national campaign in six main city centres across UK, throughout a 1-year campaign, in order to sensitize the customers among its major target audience concerning the new product (Euromonitor International, 2014). THE CAMPAIGN i. Creative Strategy The main objective of the campaign will be to create public awareness about the new HS-5 energy bar, in addition to inducing the public to purchase and try the product.

Nevertheless, since the commodity involves low-involvement decisions of the customers, factors such as; the packaging design, sales promotion approaches as well as the strength of the campaign message will considerably influence the success of the campaign (Horska and Bielik, 2016). Finally, the campaign strategy will heavily rely on in-store signage and promotion using tactics like Point-of Purchase displays, coupons and shopping cart adverts. This approach would be effective for HS-5 since the core of its target customers is women who frequently visit grocery stores for shopping. The effectiveness of this advertising strategy owes to its ability to reach the consumer at the point of purchase and eventually influencing their purchase decisions (Deloitte's Media and Entertaiment Practice, 2014). SCHEDULE BUDGET FOR THE CAMPAIGN Advertising Shopping Cart Advertising Shopping cart rate (per 2 week program) $57 Number of stores used 60 Number of 2 week programs 2 Cost per 2 week program $3,420 Production costs $1,000 Total Shopping cart cost $7,840 In-Store Signage Number of POP displays 60 Production cost/display $40 Total signage costs $2,400 Online Advertising Website upgrade/newsletter addition $0 Total Advertising Costs $10,240 Total Promotional Cost $51,481 8.

POST CAMPAIGN EVALUATION It is important to measure the post-campaign evaluation consumer brand awareness and this can be done through quantitative primary research methods. A Marketing Strategy Analysis of a New Product Launch. Bhuiyan, N. A framework for successful new product development.  Journal of Industrial Engineering and management, 4(4), 746-770. Budacia, E. Horska, E. Bielik, P. Towards to the future success in the European markets: Highly innovative food products from Slovakia. In 98th Seminar, June 29-July 2, 2006, Chania, Crete, Greece (No. European Association of Agricultural Economists. Thorat, S. B. Kishor, S. B. Meghe, B.