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Industries (GGI)Industries (GGI)

Marketing PlanMarketing Plan

Profiling:• GGI is going to target the generation Y segment of the market

• The VALS (Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles) categorization can be used to profile this segment.

• Based on psychological attributes and resources, the VALS system identifies eight different consumer groups:

• Actualizers

• Fulfilleds

• Believers

• Achievers

• Strivers

• Experinecers

• Makers

• Strivers

Profiling:• To identify the target segment’s psychological attributes and resources for use

in profiling, GGI will conduct marketing research through focus groups.

• The following five questions will be asked:

• What are the values of the target audience? Do they value self-image and expression or functional and durable products? Are they status oriented or action oriented?

• What is their level of education?

• What are their income levels?

• How old are the members of the target segment?

• Where do they buy from?

Packaging:• GGI will adopt a differentiation strategy,

where the product will be marketed on the basis of high quality, exceptional service and unique styling.

• Branding will aim to reinforce this image and will be achieved in part through packaging.

• For that reason, the brown plain wrappers will be replaced by eco-friendly, highly functional and eye-catching packages.

Packaging:• Advantages of the new packaging strategy:

• It will enhance product visibility and attract new customers• It will help demonstrate GGI’s commitment to social

responsibility• It will help to reinforce the brand value

• Disadvantages of the new packaging strategy:

• It will result into extra costs• It’s design and implementation will consume a lot of time and

lead to lost productivity• No demonstrated return to costs or impact on ROI

Pricing:• Four pricing strategies can be adopted by GGI: premium,

economy, penetration, or skimming pricing strategies.

• GGI should adopt a premium pricing strategy because:

• It is the pricing strategy that best complements the firm’s differentiation, branding and packaging strategy

• Given GGI’s modest financial resources, it cannot sustain price wars that are likely to ensue from following an economy pricing strategy

• The strategy gives GGI the opportunity to get higher margins and profits

Placement:• GGI will follow a selective distribution strategy

• GGI will use the traditional distribution models (discount stores, specialty stores and home centers / hardware stores) since most of the houseware industry sales are made through these outlets

• The southern and western states of Texas and California, and cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco are some potential strategic locations for the outlets.

Partnership:• Cooperative marketing will be used since GGI

does not have an adequate budget to self-finance its marketing plan.

• Part of this will involve cooperative advertising, where the firm will tap into funds set aside by the manufacturer for marketing purposes

• GGI can also make use of joint purchases and logistics with other firms in the industry as a way of cutting costs.

Promotion:• GGI will make use of a pull rather than push

strategy.

• The main elements of the promotional mix that will be used will include advertising, sales promotion and public relations.

• Some common advertising channels that will be made use of are the internet, television, and newspapers.

Promotion:• These tie in with the attributes of generation Y

who show a high affinity for technology (internet advertising), are educated, and seek for independent sources of information.

• The firm will also tie its public relations campaigns to issues that members of the generation Y identify with such as environmental conscious activities and healthy lifestyles.

References:• Boone, L.E., and Kurtz, D.L. 1992. Contemporary Marketing. Dryden Press, 1992. ISBN: 0030540186, 9780030540189.

• Business Wire. 2005, May 16. Generation Y Drives Home Improvement Marketplace with Focus on Technology, Functionality, Style; Future Homeowners with Massive Purchasing Power Present Huge Opportunity. Retrieved on 9 Oct 2008 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_n13718856.

• Doyle, M. 1996. Packaging Strategy: Winning the Consumer. CRC Press. ISBN: 1566762987, 9781566762984.

• Hillstrom, K and Collier, H.L. 2002. "Cooperative Advertising." Encyclopedia of Small Business. Eds.  Vol. 1, 2 pp. 2 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. Apollo Library. 31 Oct. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.Gale Document Number : CX3404300136

• Marketing Teacher. 2000. Pricing Strategies. Retrieved on 29 Oct 2008 from http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_pricing.htm

• Morton, L.P. 1999. “Segmenting Publics by Lifestyle.” Public Relations Quarterly. Retrieved on Nov 3 2008 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5515/is_199910/ai_n21446065?tag=untagged

• Nickels, W.G., McHugh, J.M., and McHugh, S.M. 2002. Understanding Business. McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0072320540, 9780072320541

• Spingola, L., Trade Resources, Jiambalvo, J., and Kairos Business Partners. 2007. Business Guide to the United States’ Home & Housewares Market. Retrieved on Oct 22 2008 from http://www.housewares.org/pdf/usbizguide.pdf

• US Census Bureau. 2000. Women in the United States: March 2000 (PPL-121).Retrieved on 16 Oct 2008 from http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/ppl-121.html.

• West, T. 2008. Cooperative Marketing: What does it take? Is It for You? Retrieved on 30th Oct 2008 from http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/pdf/Cooperative_marketing.pdf.