2. Objectives: 1) Balance investment with opportunity 2) Grow to $1-2 million market segment in 3-7 year time frame Facts: $102K market segment currently Strong Vermont followers Challenges: The Chessters is in the declining phase of the PLC and is only distributed in the Chittenden county area of VT. The Chessters has strong loyal followers in VT, but needs to expand market presence into New England and Mid-Atlantic areas.
3. Outline A. Brand image B. Consumers to target C. How to induce trial to create repeat and loyal consumers D. Distribution channels E. Recommendation for order of steps
5. Chessters Positioning Two Main Marketing Attributes: Made in Vermont-(State Specific Advantage) Frozen Custard- (Firm Specific Advantage)
6. Ice Cream Exercise Directions: Think about going into a grocery store or convenience location. You walk to the freezer chest to select the type of ice cream sandwich you’re going to buy. When you click on the next slide what is the first product you look at…..
7.
8. Answer Toll House Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich Why: Yellow is the fast color processed by the brain
9. Packing Colors Black: symbol of quality & status—high class expensive goods Red: stimulates feeling of arousal and appetite—pituitary gland sends out signals that make the heart beat faster, blood pressure increase, and muscles tense---all physiologic changes that can lead to a purchase
10. Green: associated with environment friendly or light/healthy—for example: Healthy Choice, decaffeinated tea, and Hershey’s reduced-fat sweet escapes White: white by itself suggests reduced calorie Yellow: fastest color the brain can process—very common color appearing in the grocery store—Cheerios, Domino Sugar, and Hellmann’s mayonnaise
11. Orange: indicates affordability and suggest I’m easy and affordable—Arm & Hammer, Burger King, and Stouffer’s frozen entrees Brown: indicates being roasted or bake Blue: usually not used as food packaging color because people want the color to reflect generally what is inside. Exceptions are children who are looking for packaging to be fun, example: Kool-Aid
12. Packaging Shape Packaging shape is the hottest tactic in differentiating brands. For example, ice cream containers use to be “brick-like”. Now they’re “more hand-friendly, sensuous” ---round, oval, trapezoidal, because ice cream is an indulgence product it should have an indulgent look and feel.
13. Packaging for each location Grocery Stores—Family Packs Convenience Locations--Single College eateries & events--Single Quick Service Restaurants--Single
14. Packaging Evaluation VIEW MODEL Visibility: The ability to attract attention at the point of purchase. Information: Product usage instructions, claimed benefits, slogans, and supplementary information printed on the package. Emotional Appeal: The ability of a package to evoke a desired feeling or mood. Workability: How the package functions rather than how it communicates (e.g., protects product, environmentally friendly, fits on shelf, etc.)
15. Biggy Iggy & Chewy Louie Visibility: The Biggy Iggy & Chewy Louie packaging is visible in convenience & college locations compared to the Chessters. The large color print and solid background packaging makes it stick out. Also, the Biggy Iggy is visibility larger than the Chessters, which in American culture appeals to consumers. The mere size of the product compared to the Chessters makes the product more visually seen. Information: The packaging clearly states what type of ice cream sandwich it is, and claims to be made in Vermont. Emotional Appeal: The packaging is able to evoke a desired feeling for the product through having clear packaging that allows the consumer to clearly identify what they will consume. Also, using yellow in the name of the product allows the brain to process it faster. Workability: The Biggy Iggy packaging is functional.
16. Bigger Seen Better Consumers often go for the larger size of a product at the supermarket. In the American culture bigger is seen as better and cheaper on a per-ounce basis. In addition, a larger container is thought to last longer.
17. Visibility: The 600IB gorillas usage of colors in their packaging is weak . The colors used don’t stick out in the freezer case next to the competitors. Information: The 600IB gorillas visibly display on the front of package that it is all natural and no trans fat. Emotional Appeal: The emotional appeal of the 600IB gorilla is low because of the usage of colors and not clearly being able to see the product to elicit feelings oftrial. Workability: The 600IB gorillas packaging is functional.
18. Visibility &Emotional Appeal: The Chessters in convenience store location next to competitors does not stand out. The color scheme doesn’t allow the product to stand out. The writing on the packaging is overwhelming and is very crowded detracting from the product. Consumers make choices with their stomachs and need simple pictures and words to be used to convey information about the product. Information: The Chessters product has two main marketable attributes that differentiate it from competitors. The way it is conveyed to consumers is not clear. It needs to be made clear that this product is made in Vermont and that it is made with custard not ice cream. Workability: The physical packaging allows for it to be clearly displayed. The functionality of the packaging is the same as all the competitors.
19. Recommendations for The Chessters Packaging 1. Wording on the front needs to be simplified to de-clutter the packaging 2. The two main marketing attributes need to be clearly identifiable: Made in Vermont & Frozen Custard 3. Rhino Foods needs to have a distinct font and color to clearly convey to consumers who the product is made by 4. Educate the consumers about frozen custard– there should be a blurb on the back about what frozen custard is, how it differs from ice cream, and why it makes the Chessters superior to competitors 5. Color scheme needs to be modified to give the product more visibility & emotional appeal. Suggestion: use a combination of green, yellow, & red 6. The shape of the packaging is the same as all the competitors. This could be a way to make the product more visible to consumers or make them feel that it is a superior product.
21. Consumers to target are in New England (ME,NH,MA,CT, RI) and Mid Atlantic States (NY, PA, NJ) because of the product being highly perishable without refrigeration. It is too costly to ship west of the Mississippi. Also, Vermont has a strong tourism industry that is dependent on tourist within a drive. This allows Rhino to create a trial in Vermont at a lower-cost then having to target people in these two regions.
22. C. HOW TO INDUCE TRIAL AND CREATE REPEAT AND LOYAL CONSUMERS
23. Cabot Objective of Survey: was for Cabot to understand what works in converting those who visit Vermont into Cabot Tries, Repeaters, and Loyalists. Sample Size and Protocol: The study was conducted by using data from the VDTM on individuals requesting information on VT. Individuals received a mail survey or e-mail; results were collected and tabulated by UVM Senior Marketing Seminar. They sampled 1000 individuals by mail and 19,000 through e-mail. They had a 25% response rate: 250 direct mail and 4,750 e-mail. Demographics and facts of sample: The average age of respondents for mail and email is 50.7 and 49.8 respectively. The median overall household income bracket is in the $75,000 - $100,000 range. Respondents reported an average of 1.94 visits per year to the state. 87% of visitors spend the night. Visitors overall rating of Vermont on a 6 point scale was 5.41.
24. Travel Behavior Season of Visit -Fall 41.30% -Summer 35.90% -Winter 14.70% -Spring 8.10% Travel Companions Avg. # of Adults 1.88 Avg. # of Kids .50
32. Trial & Exposure of Cabot Table 5.8 looks at the different ways which Vermont visitors were exposed to and tried Cabot.
33. Reasons For Trial Table 5.9 looks at the various reasons that visitors tried Cabot cheese. The most common reason that respondents tried Cabot cheese was the fact that it is a Vermont product 23.7%.
34. Table 6.1 shows that exposure leads to more loyal and frequent buyers.
35. Table 6.2 shows those respondents who reported becoming more loyal Cabot consumers and who purchased more Cabot cheese after visiting Vermont and who also tried Cabot at various locations. These results reinforce those from table 6.1. Overall, more than half the respondents who tried Cabot cheese at the above locations claimed they were more loyal and purchased more after visiting Vermont.
36. Table 6.3 shows respondents who indicated they tried Cabot cheese for various reasons and became more loyal, purchasing more Cabot cheese after visiting Vermont. The fact that more than half the respondents who tried Cabot because of a free sample became more loyal and purchased more supports the findings of the previous 2 tables.
37. Conclusions • Overall, if a Vermont tourist is exposed to and tries Cabot cheese during their visit, they are more likely to become more loyal and purchase more Cabot cheese. • A positive visiting experience in Vermont affects loyalty to Cabot cheese. • Visitors to Vermont primarily come in the summer and fall months. Note: The tourism industry being mainly in summer and fall benefits Rhino because of the nature of the product being a seasonal dessert item.
38. D. Distribution Channels Con Quick Service Restaurants Grocery Stores W Rhino Foods W Convenience C W Colleges
40. Rhino should start small in their logistics into grocery stores-- then as trial and sales increase grow their distribution channels to include wholesales. It is tough getting products onto the shelf in a grocery store. Taking a slow and gradual expansion of distribution into grocery stores will allow Rhino to achieve sustainable and profitable growth. Complete Idea—all branding, packaging (multi pack or family size), and strategy should be finished Marketing—achievable marketing plan in place Sales History—evidence of product popularity in VT convenience stores Face—to—face—Rhino should go in person with samples to meet with supermarket managers Contract—obtain trial contract in supermarkets (usually 6 months)
43. Step 2: Wholesale distributors in NE & Mid-Atlantic Regions City Line Distributors : CT, RI, NY, & Mass. McLane Company Core-Mark Eby-Brown The H.T. Hackney CO. Acosta PMI C& S Wholesale Grocery Line GSC Enterprises Abraham & Sons Brozzutos--Steve Heggelke 203-250-5621
44. College Food Service Sodexo: UVM Robinson Hall, Redstone Campus (802) 656-4664 Sodexo College & University Headquarters 1-800-707-4060 X2000
45. Food Service: Sodexo is the leader in college food service. Vermont colleges provide a great resource to expose college students and staff from all over the country to Rhino products. When kids are in dining halls they use points on prepaid food cards—they don’t check prices of products. Colleges provide a place to expose college students from all over the region while being able to charge a premium price for their product. Sporting Events: Sporting events provide a great place to sell the Chesster. When people are at sporting events they indulge in unhealthy foods—hot dogs, soda, & popcorn. Health conscious students, staff, and visitors would be more willing to try the “Chessters”. Note: Vermont colleges consist of students mainly from the New England and Mid-Atlantic Region, which is the targeted population for Rhino’s “Chessters.”
65. Convenience Locations The Chessters are currently distributed throughout the Chittenden County Region in Vermont. Focus on a marketing plan & strategies that make the Chessters more apparent on shelf space. For example, change packaging shape so it stands out and update packaging (info, colors etc.) etc. Then continue outward expansion of the product out of Vermont into NE & Mid-Atlantic Region convenience locations.
66. Quick Service Restaurants QSR have been profitable even through the economic downturn because people are spending less money at restaurants and turning to dollar menus. QSR is a distribution channel to explore because people who are consuming fast-food don’t mind ordering indulgence items. Two QSR to explore setting up distribution channel with would be McDonald’s and Culver’s. McDonald’s in the NE region has their strong marketing campagn about carrying Neman's organic coffee. Culver’s is located in the Mid-Atlantic states where people know what frozen custard is. Culver’s currently carries and sells frozen custard; they even have an Oreo Frozen Custard Sandwich.
68. Step 1: Distinct color & font for Rhino A. Rhino needs to decide on a color & font that will be displayed on the Chessters packaging. By doing this, if in the future the product line expands, consumers will be able to recognize and realize this is a product made by Rhino.
69. Step 2: Media A. Rhino Foods should first update their website so that consumers have a place to go to that is easy to gather more information about the Chessters and who & what Rhino Foods does. B. Social Media- create a facebook page for the Chessters example: Easy fun way to communicate with consumers about where the Chessters are available while expanding distribution
70. Step 3: Re-design Chessters’ Packaging A. Color & Fonts B. Two Marketing Attributes made clear on front of package
71. Step 4: Create awareness, trial, & loyal customers through VT. tourism A. Free Samples: -College events -Fairs/ Famer markets -Rest areas B. Low-cost advertising in VT Web awareness: Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing, Dairy Marketing Inc. programs, vermontvacation.com, & Vermont.com Publications: Vermont Life magazine & free coupon books –(hotels, rest area, and Chamber of Commerce)
72. Step 5: Expand Distribution Channels A. Create strong marketing campaign for convenience stores to increase sales B. Grocery Stores: Meet face-to- face with grocery stores in the 8 most populated towns in VT and get trial contracts C. VT Colleges: Get Sodexho to distribution the Chessters Sodexo has previous indicated no interest in the Chessters- need to present to them a clear marketing plan that clearly outlines why Sodexo should carry the Chessters to obtain a 6 month trail contact D. QSR
73. Step 6: Cross Marketing with Vermont Food Companies Green Mountain Coffee—example: some type of coffee ice cream Ben n’ Jerry’s- example: Ben n’ Jerry’s listing Rhino as a cookie dough supplier Champlain Chocolates—example: Chocolate chips Cabot– example: Cheese ice cream
