Words: 1294
Memorandum To:Kudler Fine Foods ??? Management Team From: Date: [ 12/17/2011 ] Re:IMC Plan Confidential Integrated Marketing Communications Plan This plan aims to ensure that Kudler Fine Foods’ (KFF) marketing plan is consistent with the demographic data and psychographic data that have been researched by the company in the past. This memo will go into detail about how to create a marketing plan that is consistent through the various media used in their marketing strategy and why it is important in terms of demographic and psychographic data collected.
This plan’s goal will be to ensure effective branding across all platforms of advertising media and to provide successful branding within the targeted consumer market. The Data Demographic data will be extremely useful in the development of a new marketing strategy. The data may include sex, gender, age, income or race as well as a ton of other data that can be gleaned from a certain population. It will be important to research these attributes because in order to create the correct marketing strategy, a company must have a certain target consumer base on which to found its plan.
This foundation will be the starting point: what age group will be targeted? What sex are we targeting our product or service to? What is their income on a yearly basis and will they be able to afford our product or service? What are their priorities when it comes to food and food-related services? These are all important questions to keep in mind when making development decisions. The demographic marketing decisions for KFF are an important part of this plan, as with any companies marketing strategy. Because of the clientele that will potentially buy the products sold, I believe that a selective advertising campaign should be implemented.
KFF’s target market should be upper-middle class, which, According to Hawkins, Mothersbaugh, and Best??(2007) “occupying the upper part of the middle socioeconomic range in a society. ” This range of potential consumers will have enough disposable income to make the decision not go to the local grocery store. The potential consumer will also have discerning tastes regarding food and its quality and will respond to a campaign designed around high-end goods. It is possible to construct a marketing plan devoid of gender-related matter, but my opinion is that KFF should focus its strategy more toward women, avoiding the exclusion of men.
Psychographic data because of its less-than-substantial qualities is difficult to produce, but when put into practice, it will have a great impact on the profits of an organization. While demographic data deals with actual facts about a person or a group of people, psychographics deals with the intangible values and opinions of people. In my determination, KFF will have to conduct a survey of a cross-section of a population and determine the overall values, morals, beliefs, and opinions of that cross-section in order to tailor its marketing strategy toward that psychographic.
The psychographic data of the consumer we are trying to reach should include values. This consumer should appreciate a truthful marketing campaign as well as an ethical take on business practices. It is possible that consumer can be pleased about the fact that an average woman started the business from scratch. This possible consumer should believe in benefiting from gourmet ingredients as well as believe in the entrepreneurial spirit that built the company. Geographically KFF should stay within a reasonable distance but not too clustered around one area.
It seems as though the company has done well so far by opening stores in California (University of Phoenix, 2003), so, were KFF to open more stores, to spread out the stores within a hundred-mile radius around the central-most store would make sense. To distribute the advertising in and around the central area would be a smart move, considering most of the already-generated consumers are from this area. The Plan Because of these facts (demographic, psychographic, and geographic), I believe that KFF’s marketing plan should include the following ideas and executions:
The visual production of the commercials will be targeted to upper-middle class women with discerning taste and an appreciation for ethical, well-made products. This might include the presentation of a housewife, Kathy (the founder would be good), or a visual display of the products and their locations. These commercials should underline the high quality of the goods and the “gourmet” factor and well as the fact that the company was started by one woman. The radio spot should outline the gourmet aspect of the product as well, and should have a classy instrumental song in the background.
The copy should be about the foods and beverages offered and why the company was founded. I believe that this will draw in the potential consumers effectively. The advertising campaign should use the media of television, radio, and magazines/newspapers. On television, the commercial should be placed on networks geared toward homemaking and cooking in particular. Local networks should also be targeted to gain the geographic segment that is needed. Radio spots should take place during the morning, when most people are commuting or taking children to school to target fathers and mothers especially.
Magazine ads will be placed in local magazines targeted toward homemakers as well as anything domestically oriented. This will ensure the ad reaches the target market (upper-middle class women). Regional newspapers will carry the ads in black and white featuring a look at the various foods that are offered by the company. I feel that this would draw in potential customers because if they get a visual of what they can purchase, they might be more likely to look into it. Finally, I feel that KFF might want to look into marketing its wine and spirits separately.
This will have the potential to bring in a new clientele that might not have previously been interested in what they had thought the company had to offer. Radio spots should feature various wine selections and the types of alcohol offered as well as explaining what services are offered; for example, “While we are proud of our wide selection, we certainly don’t want our customers to be intimidated, so each of our stores has a Wine Steward who will be more than happy to assist customers in making heir selection. We also hold monthly wine appreciation classes so customers can learn the nuances of our wines,” (2003). This copy is directly drawn from KFF’s strategic plan. The wine-based marketing broadens the range of individuals that KFF can target its advertising toward. This demographic might include upper class men, wine aficionados, or barkeeps looking for specialized wine. It will increase the base from which KFF gets its revenue as well as broadens awareness of the company.
This will also position KFF in two industries: wine and spirits as well as gourmet food products. Ultimately, I believe that if KFF were to implement this integrated marketing communications plan, the company’s profits would increase at an increased rate as well as see a larger clientele market developed. The goal of this plan is to raise awareness of the company in a unified manner, fusing all types of media to create one image for the company. That is the ultimate goal of this plan, and branding creates power for the company that nothing else will.
Reference Hawkins, D. I. , Mothersbaugh, D. L. , & Best, R. J. (2007). Consumer Behavior:Building Marketing Strategy (10th ed. ). New York City, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. University of Phoenix. (2010). Kudler Fine Foods [Multimedia]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, MKT435 – Consumer Behavior website. University of Phoenix. (2003). Kudler Fine Foods 2003 Strategic Plan [Multimedia]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, MKT435 – Consumer Behavior website.