The Future of Allround Brands
We have learned it is important to increase the advertising budgets proportionally every year. A large increase is not necessary because all of the products have been on the market for a while and it is more important to increase your sales force every year. As products get older, it is better to take money away from product displays and co-op advertising and put it into coupons. Allround is a more mature product. We have found that co-op advertising is a waste of money. Only about one percent of the sales population utilized co-op advertising. Trial sizes are only necessary early in the life of a product.
Despite the drop in stock price during periods 2, 3, and 4, the future of Allstar Brands is optimistic moving forward. The late reformulation of the Allround product line adding an expectorant demonstrated solid performance and the team will continue to monitor its progress. The Allstar Brands product is projected and trending to increase overall success going forward. Allround will continue to generate strong cash flow. It has been reported that there is a lack of consumer promotion for Allround and the team will continue to monitor this moving forward to maintain sales. The recent “Product Tampering” scare was handled effectively and did not have a significant impact on sales. Going forward we are optimistic because our retail sales grew by $224.8 million, or 6.7%.
Conclusion
Our PharmaSim marketing strategy, began with answering the question of “Where do we want to be?” This was an important part of the success of the marketing plan for Allstar Brands. Our primary brand for the marketing initiative was Allround Brand, which did not show the success that we initially planned. We had a great 2nd year/period that was followed by 3 bad years/periods that were the result of bad decisions. The next 3 years/periods we began to make better decisions that increased profits and stocks. Instead of increasing the company’s profitability and market share for the 8th year/period we fell a bit short. Our brand management team had the task of making decisions and managing resources for the key areas of advertising, sales force allocation, promotions, and pricing. Sticking to the initial strategy plan proved to be unsuccessful in the long run. Our execution only became successful towards the end because we began to focus on the company and the challenges that were presented within each period of the simulation.
References
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Appendix A
Initial Strategy Report
Formulating the marketing strategy, which answers the question of “Where do we want to be?” is an important undertaking that will aid to guarantee the success of the marketing plan for Allstar Brands. The primary brand targeted for the marketing initiative is the Allround Brand, which has shown great potential for increasing the company’s profitability and market share. From the case study, it is apparent that Allround has the highest ‘unaided awareness’ among consumers, with a 74.1% rating (PharmaSim Student Manual, 2006, p. 6). The major target segment will include consumers from the developed nations including the US and the EU as well as customers from emerging countries who depend on the over-the-counter cold medication. Because the global operations of the company have been hugely successful in EU countries, the Pharmaceuticals Division can leverage on this advantage to make more introductions of Allround among this segment of consumers, thereby increasing market share.
Similarly, diversifying into emerging markets will aid to tap new consumers, which is consistent with Allstar’s goal of expanding market share in increasing competitive environments. Noteworthy, the rapid economic growth in emerging countries such as those in the BRICs block have meant that consumers have higher purchasing and spending power. Hence, these are indeed lucrative markets for Allstar products. The drug also targets individuals from all racial background since they are all susceptible to developing colds and allergies. In addition, it targets customers from all income brackets because the OTC medications manufactured by Allstar including the Allround medication are considerably cost-effective. For instance, the recommended retail price for the brand is $5.29, which is relatively affordable to most consumers in the developed nations and in the emerging countries (PharmaSim Student Manual, 2006, p. 7). For the Allround Brand, the company will primarily target families in need of effective and quick relief from cold symptoms. This is because the remedy works on a 4-hour dosage and relieves the symptoms faster as compared to many similar products in the market.
In order to appeal to the needs of the targeted segments and enhance brand awareness, Allstar will embark on vibrant advertisement and promotional campaigns using both traditional mediums and new mediums such as internet/social media advertisement. Continued emphasis on research and development (R&D) is also an important component of the marketing strategy since it will ensure that the pharmaceutical company continues to develop superior products that have minimal side effects. Through this, the company will be able to create high brand awareness and shape consumer’s perceptions about the brand, a factor that will subsequently translate to increased market share (PharmaSim Student Manual, 2006, p. 11). Moreover, extensive R&D will ultimately help in addressing the consumers’ needs for improved product safety. Allstar Brands aspires to sell the OTC cold and allergy medications retail in grocery stores, drugstores and to mass merchandisers. By channel, the grocery stores have registered the highest consumer purchases; therefore, this will be the best channel to sell the products to the targeted consumers and segments. Cumulatively, an ingenious marketing strategy will aid to beat stiff competition from industry rivals such as B&B Health Care, Driscol Corporation, Curall Pharmaceuticals and Ethik Incorporated. See Appendix A for more information about Allstar.
Rationale
The primary segment that Allround aims to attract includes consumers from the developed nations including the US and the EU, and also consumers from emerging countries who depend on the over-the-counter cold medication. All customers segments will be closely watched and focused on and this includes young singles, young families, mature families, empty nesters, and the retired because there is a need for cold medication for people regardless of their phase of life or living situation (PharmaSim Student Manual, 2006, p. 13). It is also important to note that each customer will exhibit different buyer behavior in their decision on which brand of cold medicine to purchase. Some customers like the retired individuals may focus more on price since they live on a limited income, but young families may focus on the relief of symptoms as a factor in the decision making process since their children may have varied symptoms (PharmaSim Student Manual, 2006, p. 15).