1) McVitie's has a large product range including their popular digestive biscuits. They have different varieties within the digestive range such as plain, chocolate, dark chocolate, and chocolate caramel. 2) McVitie's promotes their products through advertising, sales promotions including a rewards program called the VIP Club, and new packaging and marketing campaigns. 3) New products are developed by starting with original products and adding new flavors and combinations. They trial new products in limited areas before wider distribution.

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What is included in the product range?
McVitie’sare part of a large productrange ownedbyunited biscuits;otherpopularbrandsownedby
unitedbiscuitsare Jacobs, TwigletsandMcCoy’s. McVitie’s hasa large productrange but I’mgoing
to focuson the digestivesrange.There are differentdigestiveproductswithinthe range;the original
isjust a plainbasedbiscuit.The chocolate digestivesare the mostpopularasover71 millionpackets
of themare consumedeachyear.There are twootherproductswhichare dark chocolate and
caramel;there isanotherproductwhichcombinesbothof these twowhichisthe dark chocolate
caramel biscuits.
What is the promotional mix for the product?
McVitie’sare spending£3.5milliononanew marketingcampaignforthe new low fat brand;they
will be introducingnewpackagingforthe previouslyunsuccessful productswhichwill make wayfor
a newrange of products.McVitie’shasalsoaddedchancesto winprize draws,receive McVitie’s
relatedprizessuchasmugs andtins,and a possibilityof gaining anovernighthotel stayoriPodNano
if enoughpointsare collected.Thiswouldincrease the chancesof people buyingthe products
because theyenjoyhavingthe chance toreceive additional thingsforfree. McVitie’suse advertising
to promote theirlimitededitionitemssuchasthe caramel dark chocolate digestives,theydothisin
the form of TV ads,radio andmagazines.Theyalsouse salespromotionbyofferingthe reward
systemcalledthe VIPclub.
Howare new products developed?
The digestivesrange originally startedwiththe originalswhichwere plaingoldenbiscuits,theywere
thendevelopedtocreate anotherproductwhichwasthe same but witha chocolate top.The
chocolate digestivesbecamepopularandare currentlythe mostpopularproductsoldbyMcVitie’s
with71 millionpackersbeingsoldeachyear.McVitie’sthendecidedtodevelopthe productrange
by addinga newdarkchocolate digestive,thesewere notaspopularas the milkchocolate digestives
but were still popularcomparedtootherbrands.Afterthiscaramel digestivesweredevelopedand
soldand were popular,McVitie’shasrecentlydecidedtocombine the caramel anddarkdigestives
togetherwhichare limitededition,theseare fairly popular.Productshave alsodevelopedsuchas
the packaging,thishas changedsothat the primarytarget marketisattracted and theyhave
substitutedproductsforhealthierproductstokeepthe adultmarketsatisfied.McVitie’shave also
chose newpackagingforpreviousproductstorevive the salesof theirlow fatbrand.
Howare new products trialed?
The newproductsare trialed byallowingthe productstobe soldfor a shortamount of time ina
specificareaandseeinghowpopulartheyare,the products are usuallydisplayedaslimitedoffer
productsat firstto make customersthinkthattheyshouldtry the productbefore it’stoolate.This
has workedwiththe chocolate digestivebiscuitsastheyare now the mostpopularproductin the
productrange. Thiscan currentlybe seenwiththe limitedofferof darkcaramel chocolate digestives
althoughtheyhave beensellingforalmosta year.Aftera while if the limitedofferproductexcels
well enoughitisthensoldasa productthat will nothave a limited offeronanditwill be a standard

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productin the productrange and will thenbe distributedonalargerscale.If the product doesnot
excel well enoughthenitnolongerissoldandthisiswhy McVitie’sstate thatitislimited;sothatif
the product isnot satisfactorycustomerswillnotbe angeredbyremovingthe productfromthe
range.
What are the product’s features and unique selling points?
The thingthat is unique aboutthe productsthatMcVitie’ssell isthatthe biscuitshave anice golden
taste to the base andthisis notin otherproductssuch as the cheapunbrandedalternatives.The
taste in cheaperproducts isnot the same and theyare usuallytoohard or theyjustfall apart too
easily.The packagingis alsounique asitisattractive and isin line withthe brandscolours,VIPclub
promotionsonthe packagingandthe clearlogo. Aswell asthisthe biscuitscanbe enjoyedaspart of
a healthydietaseverybiscuitonlycontain4gof fatso eatinga few will nothave a large effect.
Are there any associatedservices andbenefits related to the product?
McVitie’shave aVIPclubwhichallowspeople toaccumulate pointsgainedbypurchasingpacksfor
rewardsand prize drawentries.Eachpack redeemsupto5 pointsandwiththe double andtriple
sizedpacksevenmore pointscanbe redeemed.Thisservice endsinAugust2012. Some of the
rewardsinclude “50p off McVitie’sbiscuits”whichcosts15 pointsand“iPodNano 8GB” whichcosts
1000 points.Toget the iPodNano200 packswouldhave to be purchased. McVitie’salsohave a
departmentdedicatedtocustomerservices.
What is the importance ofthe price ofthe product, and what does this
communicate to consumers?
The pricingis importantbecause itgeneratesthe incomeforthe business.The income thatis
generated effectsthe share of the market the companyhas.Out of all of the partsof the marketing
mix,the price isthe onlypart that generatesthe profit.
Customersare affectedbythe pricingof the products,because if the pricesare too highitis possible
that customersthink the productistoo expensive whereasothercustomersmaythinktheyare
gettinggoodqualityforthe amountof cash theyspend.Itis likelywithahigherprice thatthe
productwon’tsell asmuch as if the price were lower.Customersfeel thatthe qualityof the product
needstoresemble the amountof moneybeingcharged soa higherprice meansbetterquality.
Howeverif the price islowthenthe customermaythinkthat theyare notgettinga goodquality
productand therefore maybuymore expensivecompetitorproductsbecause theyfeel the qualityis
betterbecause of the pricing.Chocolate digestivesinTesco,the TescoValue kindare 13.7p per 100g
whereasthe McVitie’sbrandare 43.8p per 100g, the reasonwhyMcVitie’sare more popularand
expensive isbecausethe customersfeel theyare gettingthe qualitythattheyrequire andtheymay
thinkthe TescoValue branddo nothave the unique taste andbenefitsMcVitie’shave.
Factors affecting price
The businessmay have specificfinancial goalssuchasneedingtomake acertainlevel of profit,this
wouldaffectthe price because theywouldneedtoworkoutwhichprice isgoingto sell well but

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make a profitlarge enoughtomake a difference.Atthe same time theyneedtomake sure that
customersdonot feel thattheyare payingtoo muchfor the product because thiswoulddrive them
away frompurchasingthe products.The businessmayalsohave a certainamountof salesthat they
wantto achieve sothe price wouldhave to be adjustedtomeetthis.Anotherthingthataffectsthe
price that the product issoldat is the price that itcosts to make the product,package it and sell it.
One of the biggestthingsaffectingthe price iscompetition.If there isacompanysuch as Cadbury’s,
a popularchocolate companysellingtheirownchocolate digestivesata similarprice thenMcVitie’s
may considerreducingtheirpricessothatcustomerswill choose theirproductsratherthan
Cadburys or theymay leave theirpriceshigherbecause customersrecognise themandthinkthe
price givesgoodquality.Finallythe demandforthe productswill affectthe price,if there are high
demandsthenthere maybe an opportunitytoincrease the price,althoughthe rate of people
purchasingmay fall there will stillbe ahighdemandandtheywill still make agoodprofit.
What pricing strategies are used for the product?
The product issoldusingpremiumpricing;thisisbecause theydonothave a verylarge amountof
competitionasthe large companiessellingsimilarproductsare notas well knownasMcVitie’s. This
meansthat McVitie’scansell theirproductshighwithoutmuchworry,evenCadbury’shastriedto
getinvolvedinthe competitionbutthe McVitie’sare still preferred. McVitie’s alsosell theirproducts
at certainprices,theyare usuallysoldat£1.75 for a 400g pack,thisprice endsina factor of 25 which
makesitstand outcomparedto otherproducts because itseemscheaperthan£2 and it ismore
than just1p cheaper.
Where is the product sold?
The product isnot solddirectlybyMcVitie’s insteaditissoldthroughretail storesaswell asonline
by foodretailers.The storesthatsell the productalsopromote the product.There isalsothe
advantage thatstore pricessuchas the costs of buildings,heating,andelectricitydonothave tobe
purchased.Thishelpsthe productbecause itissoldinmanyplacesrather thanjustone place;this
makesiteasierforcustomersto purchase it.
What is the packaging like?
On the frontof the packagingto the side itclearlyhasan image of one of the biscuitsbutit isunique
because itshowsthe biscuitcrumbledapart.If youcompare it to TescoValue digestives,the
packagingisa plainwhite colorwitha few linesof blue;thisisasappealingtothe customerandnot
attractive.Itclearlysayson the frontof the packagingthat it ispart of the digestivesrange,the logo
isclearlyseenandthe colorsusedare similartothose that are usedinadvertisements.The
packagingisdesigned tokeepthe biscuitsfreshandonthe frontthe nutritional informationis
shownsuchas the amountof sugars. Onthe packsthat have the VIPclub offer,itisshownclearlybig
and isobviousthatthere are rewardsavailable,thisisanotherreasonitis popular.Thisfitswiththe
restof the promotional mix because the packagingmakesitlookasif customersare gettingenough
value fortheirmoneyandtherefore theyare satisfiedwiththe productandhave achance to
redeemtheirpointsforrewards.