2. • A 70-year old, privately held family business
• Produces pork sausage products,
predominantly fresh sausage
• Generated $1.5 billion revenue in 2005
What is Saxonville Sausage Company?
3. • The new product marketing director at
Saxonville Sausage Company
Who is Ann Banks?
4. • Plan and launch a new Italian sausage
brand in order to meet the profit objectives
of Saxonville
What is her job?
5. • Steve Sears- manager of Saxonville
• Laura Bishop- director of market research at
Saxonville
• Team ‘Project Score’ comprising of colleagues
from R&D, sales and marketing, and graphic
and design departments
Who will be helping her?
6. • Saxonville produces 3 branded products:
1. Bratwurst
2. Breakfast sausage
3. Italian sausage Vivio
The Current Situation
8. • Distribution is regional
• Bratwurst and breakfast sausage had very
little distribution in stores in the
Northeastern markets
The Current Situation
9. • Growth situation:
The Current Situation
BRATWURST
• Flat sales
• 0% volume
increase
BREAKFAST
SAUSAGE
• Underperformi
ng
• Double-digit
revenue
decline
VIVIO
• Matched level of
nationwide
category growth
• 9% annually in
2004, 15% in
2005
12. An Italian sausage product could be introduced
by Saxonville to fire up its sales and reach the
profit objectives
13. How Vivio made its mark?
In 2002, in the Northeast, brats wasn’t very famous. An Italian
product, thus, could have fit in.
Vivio was then introduced . An Italian name was given to indulge
the customers as Saxonville was German-seeming.
Price was kept comparable to regional Italian sausages and
required trade support was given.
14. 1. By indicating ‘authentic Italian heritage’ (the
case of Vivio)
2. By emphasizing ‘freshly and locally made’
products
How was a brand positioned?
15. • How to position the new brand?
• Extend Saxonville’s line or introduce a new
brand?
• What core values do the customers seek?
• Which potential territory to target?
• What should be the product attributes?
The Questions!
16. To understand a rising product opportunity and
introduce a new brand to generate profits
• Market research conducted via focus groups
• Study focus groups
• Understand the illustration of research design
variables
Why study this case?
17. Apply the concepts of brand positioning
• How should a new brand be positioned
• How to decide on brand extension
• How to ensure that other product lines under
the existing brand are not cannibalized
Why study this case?
18. Demonstrating how the attributes of a new
product should be decided
• Core values that the customers seek
• Graphics and design of the product
• Sales and marketing
Why study this case?
19. • Vivio was supported only through base trade
spending
• It was making distribution gains, but there was
a need to stay competitive
• Management was just skeptical of positioning
The need for market research
24. • Because of the ‘home-grown heritage’
• To ensure fresh products, as national brands
principally sold frozen products
Why not a national Italian sausage brand?
27. Initiation:
• 4 highly interactive “mini” pilot groups out of
a Pennsylvania research facility were formed
with 4-6 users per group-men and women
aged 25-50
• It was to get an idea of what values do
customers expect from an Italian sausage to
deliver
Step I
28. Forming of the focus groups:
• Liz Keller, a top brand consultant, and a
marketing research professional were
introduced.
• Participants of focus groups were recruited
based on A&U data
• Groups had to be manageable economically
feasible
Step I
29. Objectives:
• To understand current customer behaviors
and unmet needs
• To get a clear idea of product benefits and
attributes
• To know the core values and role of the
product
Step I
30. Finally, 103 women were selected out of 437
cold-called female heads-of-household, as
females were the best source of insights
• Focus group sessions were conducted
with all these women
Step I
32. Consumers’ behaviors revealed:
• Three consumer groups existed:
1. Heavy users- purchased at least once a
week during fall and winter.
2. Medium users
3. Light users- purchased at least once
every six weeks
Step II
33. • Italian sausage was considered a great ‘meal-
maker’
• It was a meal everyone enjoyed
• The Vivio brand was seen to be of
exceptionally high quality by all the users alike
Step II
34. On the brand name issue:
• Respondents preferred an Italian name. Vivio
ranked 7th out of 20 names.
Step II
35. • ‘Saxonville Italian Sausage’ received a lot of
votes irrespective of other product usage
Step II
36. • In bratwurst-dominant areas, however, its
‘German-seeming’ heritage ranked it poor
Step II
39. Clearly…
Italian sausage was the perfect ‘meal-solution’
for its trade off time and skills required to
prepare a meal.
Step II
40. 6 distinct potential territories revealed from
the focus groups to position the brand:
1. Family connection
2. Clever cooking
3. Confidence
4. Appreciation
5. Quick and easy
6. Tradition
Step II
41. Conclusions:
• ‘Dinner dilemmas’ were figured out
• The most important need had to be
finalized
• Accordingly, products’ core values were to be
decided
Step II
43. A ‘brand ladder’ diagram was listed and
which value is at the top was to be decided
• All ideas related to a woman doing a job as a
great mother and homemaker
Step III
44. Four mock concepts were introduced:
1. Family connection
2. Love
3. Balanced
4. Creative cooking
Respondents had to prioritize their 3 favorites
Step III
56. From the purchase intent scores,
% that would definitely buy the product:
Family connection Clever cooking
23 41
The Analysis
57. Mindset dealt with while making the purchase:
Family Connection Clever Cooking
Bringing all the family The female is seen
members together while to be indulged in
having the meal cooking good for the
family
The Analysis
58. As the female herself is the main figure who’s
to make the purchase,
Giving her cooking an appreciating touch is
more likely to prevail- a great homemaker
The Analysis
59. What do perceptual maps suggest:
Clever cooking, with little skills required, scores
high on ‘family-pleasing’ axis as well
It is both easy to do and connecting the family
The Analysis
63. • Saxonville enjoys a great brand reputation
• Vivio was ranked 7th among Italian names
Saxonville was ‘the family company’- it
reflected great value
The Analysis
64. • “Saxonville Italian Usage” received a lot
of votes irrespective of its other product usage
• Anything from Saxonville was assumed to
offer great quality
The Analysis
65. • The bratwurst-distributed areas might not
accept it, BUT…
With proper advertising and creation of
core values, it could be used to strengthen
the brand even more
The Analysis
66. • The focus groups suggested that the product
lines were not going to interfere and they had
nothing to do with each other
This feared away CANNIBALIZATION
The Analysis
73. • Different forms may be produced to fulfill
various needs
• Fresh herbs can be inserted in the sausage to
give it a ‘fresh’ feel without impacting the
taste
• Different flavor to keep it exciting
R&D
74. • Use of background pictures, fresh ingredients
depiction, the Italian flag
Graphics
75. • Temporary Merchandising Display units that
carry recipe cards, great cooking-with-sausage
graphics
• Refrigerated display units placed in the
produce and dry grocery sections
• Celebrity recipes- women might love that
Sales
76. Ann Banks and her team did a great job.
She is surely up to impress the managing team
of Saxonville..
Isn’t she?
Take Aways from the case
77. Credits
Slides created by: Kumar Ankur, as part of an
internship done under the guidance of
Prof. Sameer Mathur
(www.IIMInternship.com)