MCOMM621 SCSU Supreme Brand Marketing Communication Plan Paper Please write approximately 25 pages marketing communication paper about Supreme brand. It is

MCOMM621 SCSU Supreme Brand Marketing Communication Plan Paper Please write approximately 25 pages marketing communication paper about Supreme brand. It is not so tough as you will be able to find all the resources online. I also uploaded an example paper your help. There’s also a template attached for you. Running&head:&BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
Campaign Project
Blistex
Samantha Winget
St. Cloud State University
1&
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
2&
Marketing Communication Plan
I. Executive Summary
This document is a marketing communications plan for Blistex, Inc. for the lip care
industry. Blistex has been around for many years. Opened and still operated by the same family,
Blistex strives to have constant company growth and innovation. They are a leader in the lip care
industry worldwide. Over the years, Blistex has faced some challenges but has been able to
overcome all the market, global and industry trends. Although, Blistex has been able to
overcome these hurdles, there are still plenty of opportunities for them to flourish in.
This marketing communication plan will explore some of these difficulties and
opportunities, as well as take a look at a brief survey that was conducted in order to better
understand lip care consumers. Consumer demo and psychographics will then be compared to
create the best possible target markets for the Blistex advertising campaign. A market and
product analysis will be completed to better ascertain Blistex’s current and future positioning in
the lip care industry. A competitive analysis and internal overview of the company will create a
better picture of the lip care market. Finally, an advertising campaign will be discussed at great
lengths, in order to reposition Blistex into the lip care market, targeting every day users instead
of just medicated ones.
II. Situation Analysis
a. Company Analysis
i. Company History
Blistex was founded in 1947 as a small, family run company mainly in the United States.
The objectives of Blistex at that time were to create quality products, achieve consistent growth
and become an innovative leader in lip care. In 1967, Blistex created their research and
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
3&
development facilities, as well as their own manufacturing and corporate headquarters in Oak
Brook, Illinois. This allowed Blistex to have pinpoint control of every phase of their business
from formulation of products and testing to manufacturing and marketing. Consistent growth of
Blistex is powered by constant innovation of new products and improving existing ones. Blistex
has moved into worldwide lip and health care markets. As of today, Blistex traditions are carried
on by the third generation of the founding family and still believe in their original goals (About
Blistex, 2017).
ii. Company Culture/Mission
Blistex continues to focus on and believe in the company’s original goals of product
quality, growth, innovation and leadership. Stating, “Some things should never change” on their
official company website. Blistex believes that success begins with a brilliant workforce.
Channeling their creative energies through a continuing process that regardless of job title
provides employees the opportunity to contribute wholly to the organization’s success. Blistex
provides an environment that encourages involvement and respects the talents of the individual
while promoting a team concept. In order to meet their goal, Blistex looks to hire talented
individuals with a push to succeed and a desire to satisfy the customer (About Blistex, 2017).
iii. Company Problems/Challenges
One of Blistex’s main challenges it faces, is one that they take obvious pride in, tradition.
From the products to their management, tradition seems to be something this company struggles
with. After reviewing twenty-one employee reviews on glassdoor.com, over half of the reviews
had some complaint referring to the management style of Blistex. Management was discussed as
being feared and unapproachable and stuck in the old days. Another interesting thing found when
reading the reviews was the decision and innovation process within the company. Several
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
4&
reviews stated even some of the smallest decisions were made by one individual and employees
were not trusted to make them on their own and if any suggestions were made it was received
negatively by management or dismissed completely (Blistex Overview, 2017). This is a concern
as Blistex openly states two of their four goals are innovation and leadership (About Blistex,
2017).
The other challenge of traditionalism Blistex faces is with their products. Since, Blistex
has been around since 1947, it is important that they are constantly trying to update and improve
their products to meet the wants and needs of new generations. This includes the look and make
of their products. Again this would coincide with Blistex’s goals of quality, growth and
innovation.
iv. Industry/Category/Overall Market Trends
Blistex is a privately held company in the consumer goods industry. They are categorized
as having 201-500 employees (Blistex Overview, 2017). Blistex strives to provide their global
consumers with the finest health care products and are equivalently known for providing the best
lip care products anywhere (About Blistex, 2017). There are several market trends for the
consumer goods industry to keep in mind in 2017.
Consumers are connected more then ever now, being able to shop on and offline, it is
important to keep shopping trips as pleasurable as possible while still keeping up with the pace
of consumers. It is important to understand how consumers want to shop and designing shopping
experiences around these connected consumers is critical in moving forward. Also, products
have made a global shift in services that look to help consumers live healthier and smarter
lifestyles. Nowadays consumers are invested emotionally and intellectually with products. With
the Internet in full swing, it is easy for consumers to review products and opinions prior to
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
5&
making any purchases. This makes it important for an organization to demonstrate how their
products can allow the consumer live a more viable life (Carboni, 2017).
On top of these trends, customization is becoming a big deal for consumers and shows to
work if used properly. It is important for an organization to appeal to a large market, but they
also need to be able to connect with each individual of that market. This can be a difficult task to
achieve. According to Brian Carboni (2017), brands that offer personalized experiences have a
fifty percent higher loyalty rate. To keep up with hasty changes of consumer trends, supply
chains will need to be swift and malleable in order to deliver innovation that meets high bar
quality, but also moves quickly enough to in order to keep costs down. Brands will need to
hasten their own innovation to defend both self-space and premium costs.
Another trend to bear in mind is globalization and regulatory. In order to seek topline
sales, organizations feel the pressure to materialize in several markets around the globe.
However, this can pose more challenges for a company then anything. Each region usually has
extremely different regulations for products. These regulations can range from ingredients used
to make a product to claims made on packaging. Also, you face the difficulties of having to adapt
a product to cultural differences, which also requires different marketing strategies for each
region as well (Carboni, 2017).
The last market trend to be discussed is sustainability. Consumers care about
sustainability and are even willing to spend a little more on products to obtain it. It is believed
that one specific area this will affect is packaging. Brands will have to invest in innovative
packaging options to give consumers the types of materials and convenience they are looking for
(Carboni, 2017).
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
6&
v. Company Opportunities
Environmental consulting is a great opportunity for Blistex to invest in. It would work
great with their current green initiatives program they have enacted since 2008. Three major
green initiative that Blistex currently employ are: packaging sustainability; equipment, facilities,
and processes; and greener lifestyles (Green Initiatives, 2017). If Blistex sought out
environmental consulting, they could improve their current efforts and possibly even create some
new ones.
The biggest opportunities for Blistex are to increase sales. This could be done in a
number of ways. The best chance Blistex has to do so is by having current users continue to use
the brand and finding new users. By having current users continue to use the brand it will be
easier to convince a consumer to buy something they are already using. Reminding users that
they are making the right decision by purchasing their brand can do this. This is also one of the
cheapest ways to work on building and maintaining customer relationship management. Finding
new users can be done by looking at what competitors have done successfully or what has
worked for the organization in the past (Dahl, 2012). Blistex has already done this by following
the EOS brand’s design, when Blistex introduced Ultra Moisturized Bliss Flip to appeal to the
millennial generation of consumers. Identifying where business is going to come from is one of
the most important aspects of a company’s opportunities. This will be further discussed in the
consumer analysis below.
b. Consumer Analysis
I created a short survey through SurveyMonkey.com to distribute to individuals about
Blistex. The survey aimed to see how these individuals feel about Blistex products, if they use
them and why. Also, the survey asked for their age and gender to see if there is any correlation to
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
7&
the motivation and demographics of the lip balm users. I posted the link on my Facebook wall
and took the results from those recipients (SurveyMonkey, 2017).
i. Primary Research
1. Objectives
The objectives of this consumer analysis were to see if people currently use Blistex. Why
or why not? Also to see what motivates them when purchasing lip balms and how likely they are
to use Blistex in the future. These questions were asked in hopes to gain knowledge of the
purchasing mind of a typical lip balm consumer and gauge what ages should be targeted in the
future.
2. Methodology
I created a six-question survey on SurveyMonkey.com. The first question asked, “Do you
use Blistex products?” The respondent could answer “Yes,” “No,” or “Sometimes.” The second
question read, “How would you rate Blistex’s products compared to their competitors (ex. Burt’s
Bees, ChapStick, EOS, etc.)?” The respondents could answer “Excellent,” “Good,” “Fair,” or
“Unsatisfactory.” The third question was, “How likely are you to use Blistex products in the
future?” The respondents could answer “Very Likely,” “Somewhat Likely,” or “Not at all.” The
fourth question read, “When choosing a lip balm at the store, what drives your purchasing
motives?” They could answer from the following options, “Price,” “Look/Design of tube,”
“Scent,” “Other” (with a write in option). The last two questions were demographic questions.
The fifth question asked, “What’s your gender?” They could answer either “Male” or “Female.”
The last question asked, “What’s your age?” They could answer, “13-17,” “18-30,” “31-45,”
“46-65,” or “66+” (SurveyMonkey, 2017).
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
8&
I then posted on my Facebook wall the link to the survey asking everyone to take a few
moments to fill it out and thanked everyone in advance for his or her participation. I posted the
link to my Facebook page on two separate occasions. I left the survey open for 24 hours and took
the results of all respondents that had answered within that time frame. I then compared the
results from the questions on SurveyMonkey.com. The findings will be discussed in the section
below.
3. Findings
After leaving the survey open for twenty-four hours, I received fifty-seven responses. All
applicants successfully completed the survey 100%. The average amount of time they spent
filling out the survey was fifty seconds.
For question 1, “Do you use Blistex products?” 16 respondents answered, “Yes,” 23
responded “No,” and 18 responded “Sometimes.” For question 2, “How would you rate Blistex’s
products compared to their competitors (ex. Burt’s Bees, ChapStick, EOS, etc.)?” 6 respondents
answered “Excellent,” 24 respondents answered “Good,” 17 respondents answered “Fair,” and
10 respondents answered “Unsatisfactory.” Question 3 was, “How likely are you to use Blistex
products in the future?” 12 respondents answered “Very Likely,” 27 respondents answered
“Somewhat Likely,” and 18 respondents answered “Not at all.” Question 4 read, “When
Choosing a lip balm at the store, what drives your purchasing motives?” 19 respondents
answered “Price,” 3 respondents answered “Look/Design of tube,” 8 respondents answered
“Scent,” and 27 respondents answered “Other.” Question 4 offered a write in option if the
respondent selected “Other.” Several respondents filled in this space differently: reviews online,
allergies to alumina, color, historical use of the product, past experience with products,
ingredients, how it feels when applied, brand loyalty, recommended by other consumers,
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
9&
dependent on lip condition at the time of purchase, quality of products, or they don’t use lip
balm. The most common responses for the write in option were: ingredients, how it feels on, and
brand loyalty. Question 5 asked, “What’s your gender?” 4 respondents answered, “Male,” and 53
respondents answered “Female.” Lastly, question 6 asked, “What’s your age?” 0 respondents
answered “13-17,” 34 respondents answered “18-30,” 10 respondents answered “31-45,” 11
respondents answered “46-65,” and 2 respondents answered “66+.”
Of the 16 respondents that said they use Blistex products, 5 rated them “Excellent,” 8
rated them “Good,” 2 rated them “Fair,” and 1 rated them “Unsatisfactory.” Of the same 16
respondents, 11 said they were “Very Likely,” 4 “Somewhat Likely,” and 1 “Not at all” to use
Blistex’s products in the future. 5 of these respondents said they buy lip balm based on price, 1
on the look/design of tube, 2 on scent, and 8 replied other. Of the 8 other responses the most
common write in answer was the quality of the product, while the two outliers were color and
allergies to alumina. All 16 of these respondents were female. 11 respondents were 18-30, 2 were
31-45, 2 were 46-65, and 1 was 66+.
23 respondents reported to not using Blistex products. Of these 23 respondents, 7 claimed
Blistex products to be “Good,” 9 responded “Fair,” and 7 said “Unsatisfactory,” with none of
these respondents calling Blistex products “Excellent.” 8 of these respondents said they are
“Somewhat Likely,” while 15 responded “Not at all,” to use Blistex products in the future. Of
these respondents, 4-claimed “Price,” 2 “Look/Design of tube,” 2 “Scent,” and 15 “Other” in
what motivates them when purchasing lip balm at the store. Of the 15 respondents that selected
“Other,” ingredients, brand loyalty, and quality were listed as purchasing motivations the most. 3
of these respondents were male and 20 female. 13 of these respondents were 18-30, 7 were 3145, and 3 were 46-65.
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
10&
Unfortunately, only 4 of the 57 respondents were male. However, as this is a fairly
untouched part of the lip care market, I will review their responses from the survey. 3 of the male
respondents said they do not use Blistex products, but 1 said they do sometimes. 1 respondent
rated Blistex products “Good,” 1 “Fair, and 2 “Unsatisfactory.” All four males said they would
not use Blistex products in the future. When it comes to purchasing motives, 1 respondent stated,
“Price,” 1 “Scent,” and 2 chose “Other.” The written in responses for the male respondents who
chose “Other,” were: only natural, and online reviews. 2 of the males were 18-30, 1 was 31-45,
and the other 46-65.
The last review of the survey questions that will be compared is if the respondent selected
that they were “Very Likely” or “Somewhat Likely” to purchase Blistex products in the future to
their purchasing motives when buying lip balm at the store. 39 respondents said they were very
or somewhat likely to purchase Blistex products in the future. Currently, 15 of them use, 8 do not
use and 16 sometimes use Blistex products. Of these respondents, 6 rated Blistex products
“Excellent,” 20 “Good,” 13 “Fair,” and 0 “Unsatisfactory.” 12 respondents said they are “Very
Likely” and 27 “Somewhat Likely,” to use Blistex products in the future. 17 respondents said
“Price,” 2 “Look/Design of tub,” 7 “Scent,” and 13 “Other” were their purchasing motivation
when buying lip balm at the store. The top two fill in responses to the “Other,” for question 4
were results and quality. Other responses were: condition of lips at time of purchase,
recommendations, and allergies. All 39 respondents were female. 25 respondents were 18-30, 5
were 31-45, 7 were 46-65, and 2 66+ (SurveyMonkey, 2017).
Limitations of this survey are that it is very brief. In the future a much more detailed
survey, interview, or focus groups should be conducted. This would help narrow down the
findings even more than the survey at hand. Also, there was not a very broad demographic
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
11&
sample taken. Blistex is a global company and studies should be done separately in each country
as motivations and cultures will vary greatly. It would also be a good idea to interview or survey
more male consumers. This survey lacked gender diversity as well as geographical. Finally, the
survey was only distributed on my personal Facebook page. This can create biased results. In
future surveys or interviews a random sample should be generated to create more reliable and
unbiased findings.
ii. Consumer Demographics
1. Age, gender, income, education, regionality, usage, etc.
According to InfoScout (2015), Blistex’s average consumer is female with no children.
The age that spends the most on Blistex is either under twenty-four years old or between fortyfive to fifty-four years old. Caucasian was the most likely to buy Blistex. Individuals with a
college degree and with the income of $20k-40k, $80-100k, or $100k-125k are the current
average consumer of Blistex products. It is bought as a fill up or pantry-stocking item. Blistex is
commonly purchased in the beauty, dollar, or drug channels. Consumers often pay for Blistex
with cash and purchase it during the afternoon or evening mainly, the weekends have peak sales
for their products. Blistex is sold internationally (International, 2017).
iii. Consumer Psychographics
1. Personality & Motivations
Blistex is focused on providing global consumers with the optimum health care products
(About Blistex, 2017). Overall, their current positioning is focused on targeting middle aged to
older women. Mean are also encouraged to use Blistex products, but the focus is women. Blistex
seeks consumers who are focused on obtaining the best possible lip care. This tends to be the
main focus of Blistex products, being medicated (Calero et. al, n.d.).
BLISTEX&CAMPAIGN&PROJECT&&
&
12&
2. Wants/Needs/Problems/Interests
Blistex consumers often seek the products for medication needs versus everyday use. It
appears Blistex tends to lead towards people seeking more of an informative lip treatment then
not (Calero et. al, n.d.). Blistex seeks consumers who are in need of lip medication (About
Blistex,
2017).
However,
Blistex’s
current
positioning
in
women’s’
interests
are
undistinguishable. Blistex is currently working towards having more green …
Purchase answer to see full
attachment