Analysis of C Seasons Footwear Company

Analysis of C Seasons Footwear Company Introduction For the business world today, the aim of every company is to invest in an environment that is economically safe with the aim of working towards making profit, make maximum returns on investment and to kept the interest of the companys shareholders in mind and also to have the interest of customers in mind in order to gain competitive advantage by working on core competency of the organisation. The company is in the athletic footwear industry called C SEASONS. The company used a differentiated strategy for the sale of its sports footwear. This is going into the footwear market in a different way from other footwear making companies in order to have a competitive advantage over other athletic footwear industry. C Seasons Footwear Company has been in the footwear industry for the last five years supplying the best footwear to four different regions namely, North America, Europe Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The BSG Online simulation was based on twelve industries that were into athletic footwear located in four regions (North America, Europe Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. It started with twelve companies and to compete with other company and make necessary decisions and design and implement a strategy that will provide a longterm return for shareholders over the next five years. The report will focus on company 25 (C SEASONS). According to Johnson, et al (2009) a differentiation strategy seeks to provide products or services that offer benefits that are different from those of competitors and that are widely valued by buyers. p.153. The aims and objectives of the BSG online simulation are: Becoming the market leader in the footwear making industry. To have a good shareholder returns. To have a high net profit at the end of the game simulation. Various report, tables and graphs would be used to help decision making processes. The table below shows the strengths and weaknesses for C Seasons on both the internet segment and wholesale segment of the business for the five years. Simulation Result. Year 1. In order to be the market leader, we decided that in year 1 we would be making a 1% charitable contribution, by doing this it would help reduce the tax payable by the company at the end of each financial year. The company would also be involved in workforce diversity programs. The company also decided that at the end of the year we would have certain percentage of our unsold stock on clearance sales. For the North American market clearance would be 25%, Europe Africa would be 25%, Asia Pacific would be 50% and 50% for Latin America. The company also had strengths in all regions in the models offered, rebate offers and advertisement. Some weakness were also identified such as the style and quality, delivery time and the wholesale price. At he end of the first year the company had an image rating of 66 and a credit rating of A. The net profit margin in the first year was 14.1% while return on equity was 22.8%. The current ratio in the first year was 2.74 while the asset turnover was 0. 93. Year 2 In year two the strengths of the company in the regions were the models offered and the rebate offers. The inventory clearance was left as the first year which the company believed would attract more customers. The weaknesses in year two were style and quality, wholesale price offered to retailers, the delivery time, celebrity appeal and free shipping. Return on equity in year two was 23.4% while the net profit margin was 16.4%. This was a 3.1% rise from the first year which points out that the company was selling well. Asset turnover in the second year was 0.93 while the current ratio was 4.11%. Year 3 In year three the strengths of the company in the three regions were the free shipping offered, rebate offers, celebrity appeal and the models offered. The return on equity in year three was 19.7%. Net profit margin 16.9%. Asset turnover was 0.57 while the current ratio was 5.37%. The company had some weaknesses in the third year of business delivery time, retail outlet, and advertising were the setback for the company. Year 4 In year four the company decided to pay shareholders, a sum of $0.50/share is to be paid to each shareholder per the number of share(s) they hold in the company. Shareholders were paid dividend as a sign of goodwill and also to show value for the money they have and would invest in the company. The company showed some strengths during the trading year such as the models offered, the free shipping offered, rebate offers and good advertising. The company also had some weaknesses in some of the regions such as the style and quality, retail outlet and the delivery time. The return on equity for year four as 10.3%. Net profit margin for the year was 10.5%, the reason for this was the dividend paid to shareholders during the year. The asset turnover for the year was 0.76 while the current ratio for the company was 7.32%. Year 5 In year five the current ratio for the company was 8.21% while the operating profit margin was 25.7% and net profit margin was 17%. In the fifth the company had some weaknesses such as wholesale price, style and quality and the retail outlet. The strengths during year five were free shipping offered, the good advertisement made, the delivery time, the rebate time offered and the celebrity appeal the business had. The asset turnover for year five was 0.72. Strategic Thinking a.) Strategic Analysis The basis strategy used in the simulation was a differentiation strategy â€Å"this seeks to provide products or services benefits that are different from those of competitors and that are widely valued by buyers† (Johnson et al, 2006) pg 153. C Seasons offered a good quality product and started with a slightly lower price for a quality product that it was producing. C Seasons used the PESTEL framework to analyse its external environment. â€Å"The PESTEL framework categorises environmental influences into six main types; political, economical, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors† Johnson et al (2006) pg 25. The aims was to achieve competitive advantage by offering better product or services at a reasonable price or enhancing margins slightly higher. Although, Seasons product may be identical, but possible to differentiate on the basis of the following Quality product Reasonable price Global brand Broad market Unique value Niche market Product differentiation is another strategy for gaining a market foothold, and to be successful, product differentiation must be valued by target customers. It must be protected by products, make duplication by rivals difficult or impossible Today, most successful and powerful companies grew out of business model that were elegant, compelling in their logic and powerful in economic potential as some variation of the value chain that support business. b.) Mission And Vision â€Å"A mission is a general expression of the overall purpose of the organisation, which, ideally, is in line with the values and expectations of major stakeholders and concerned with the scope and boundaries of the organisation† Johnson, et al (2006) pg 9. â€Å"A vision can also be described as desired future of the organisation. It is an aspiration around which a strategist might seek to focus the attention and energies of members of the organisation† Johnson, et al (2006) pg 9. Therefore, the mission of C Seasons will be to become ‘the major player in the market and the vision is ‘to produce the best footwear that are worn and cherished the world over by both children and adult. External Environment External environment examines opportunities and threats that exit in the environment. Both opportunities and threats exist independently of the firm (Adkins, March 2008). See appendices. Internal Environment The internal environments are those that the company can set up strategies for and make sure that the decisions are the right one for the company. See appendices. Value Chain Value chain analysis also highlights the mechanisms through which developing countries and their procedures have upgraded their activities and linked to producers and consumers in the global economy, or may do so in the future in a manner that can lead to a sustainable income growth. The results of this type of analysis should indicate the way to policy challenges confronting the private and public agents operating in or promoting the chain (Kaplinsky,2000). The VRIO framework was the foundation for internal analysis in order to lead to sustainable competitive advantage a resource or capability should be valuable, rare, imitable and organised. Decision Making And Personal Learning C Seasons decided not to take a bank loan in the first year of business, the reason for this was to see if the company could sustain itself without a loan or overdraft. At the end of year one the company had a total sales of $267,140m with a net profit of $37,666m. In year four the business decided to issue dividends to shareholders, a $0.50 was to be aid to each shareholders per the number of shares they hold. The reason for the dividend been paid to shareholders was as a result of increase in the businesses market share and profit. The reason why the net profit in year four was low was as a result of the exchange rate at the time which went up to $21,764m compared to $6,756m in year three. The company had problems with its style and quality during the first two years of business and were able to sort it out by year three. In order to generate net income on our investment, we signed a celebrity to endorse our product and also wear the footwear during shows and also placed some adversitment on TV and billboards. We tried to create a new concept with good features in order to meet customers aspiration at this period our firm started making sales. In all, this exercise have exposed me to know how business can be done in real life and make necessary strategic decision that will make the business more viable to operate. These also allowed me to have an in depth understanding of business practice and ability to have a longterm vision and generate positive customer and shareholder expectation. I was also able to know how to use the accounting ratios in calculating for businesses. Conclusion To gain return on investment, strategic decisions must be made in accordance with the set objectives, the report focused on developing strategic decisions which helped in comparing the simulation to a real life business. An important skill derived will monitor numerical information and analysing these statistics in order to forecast the future and successfully survive in the business. The various experienced gained during the cause of the simulation game and comparison of other group result to improve the firms decision making were utilised this included taking risks to ensure that the firm performance in the market is high. Charts and financial ratios were analysed during the course of the simulation exercise to complete the tasks, this helped the decision making process. Making use of resources and information that is available. Recommendations C Seasons is clearly the top of its industry, but no company is invulnerable. Seasons has several avenues of improvement. If they want to continue to build upon their lead and maintain their status in the industry, they need to take a hard look at their mission and define it in SMART terms. The ability to reach some of their target customers in such a fashion could be a huge marketing advantage. Seasons reputation will be more positive and if they can gain back customers lost due to negative publicity. People already associate Seasons with quality retail products. It would be even better to feel good about buying their product and not feel as if people are being exploited every time they purchase a Seasons product. Appendices The Summary of Internal and External Analysis Swot The SWOT summarizes the key issues from business environment and the strategies capability useful as a basis against which to generate strategic options and assess future courses of option(Harvard Business Essentials,2005). Its helps to generate strategic alternatives from a situation analysis, and can be applicable to either corporate level or business unit level and do appears in marketing plans The internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of information, much of which may not be highly relevant. The SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as strengths or weaknesses and the external situational factors as opportunities or threats. The following diagram shows how a SWOT analysis fits into a strategic situation analysis. SWOT Profile The internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of information, much of which may not be highly relevant. The SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as strengths or weaknesses and the external situational factors as opportunities or threats. In summary, the interaction of the internal and external analysis will result to SWOT important. e.g, the strengths can be leveraged to pursue opportunities and to avoid threats, and managers can be alerted to weaknesses that might need to be overcome in order to successfully pursue opportunities. Strengths In a SWOT analysis, the capabilities that enable Seasons company to perform wellcapabilities that needs to be leveraged. The company has introduced many innovative products giving it a competitive edge. Its global reach provides it an opportunity to tap growing global footwear market. The companys consistent innovations have enabled it to remain competitive and maintain market share Weaknesses In a SWOT analysis, the characteristics that prohibit Seasons company or unit from performing well and need to be addressed. The seasons company falls behind in brand awareness compared to its competitors because of lacking celebrity endorsements. The company faces intense competition from global players such as other competitors. Opportunities In SWOT analysis, the trends, forces, events, and ideas that Seasons company or unit can capitalize on. The global footwear market has shown positive growth in recent years. The North Americas and EU markets are expected to grow at CAGR of 4.3% and 3.2%, respectively, to reach values of $93.2 billion and $60 billion in 2010. The Asia Pacific region is set to grow more strongly in the 20052010 period, recording a CAGR of 4.7%. a positive outlook for the global footwear market would boost the revenue growth of the company. Threats In a SWOT analysis, the possible events or forces that Seasons company or unit must plan for or mitigate. The principal materials used in manufacturing footwear products are natural and synthetic rubber, plastic compounds, foam cushioning materials, nylon, leather, canvas, and polyurethane films used. As a result of rising oil prices, the prices of synthetic rubber and plastic based products has increased. Rising oil prices will further increase the prices for petroleum based products. Increasing raw material costs would increase the companys production costs and may affect its profitability. SWOT Analysis Limitations The classification of some factors as strengths or weaknesses, or as opportunities or threats was somewhat arbitrary. For example, a particular company culture can be either strength or a weakness. A technological change can be a either a threat or opportunity. But, the most important was that firms awareness of them and its development of a strategic plan to use them to its advantage. Competitive Environment The prospects for longterm industry wide growth in footwear sales are excellent. Athletic shoes have become the footwear of choice for children and teenagers, except for dressy occasions. Increased adult concerns regarding physical fitness are boosting adult purchases for use in exercise and recreational activities. Distribution Channels The ultimate customers for athletic footwear, of course, are the people who wear the shoes. But athletic footwear manufacturers have all refrained from integrating forward into retailing and making direct sales to the final user. Customer demand for athletic footwear is diverse in terms of price, quality, and types of models. There are customers who are satisfied with no frills budgetpriced shoes and there are customers who are quite willing to pay premium prices for topoftheline quality, multiple features, and fashionable styling. Wholesale Selling Price The higher your companys wholesale price to retailers, the higher the prices that retailer will charge customers. Consumers are quite knowledgeable about the prices of different brands, and many do comparison shopping on price before setting upon a brand to purchase. The Number Of Retail Outlets Retail outlets are essential in accessing the consumer market. The more retail outlets a company has carrying its brand of shoes, the more market exposure a manufacturer has and the easier it is for consumers to purchase the brand. Celebrity Endorsements Footwear companies can contract with celebrity sports figure to endorse their footwear brand and appear in company ads. Celebrity endorsements, along with the impressions and perceptions people gain from watching a companys media ads over time, combine to define how strong a brand image a company enjoys in the minds of athletic footwear buyers. Customer Rebates Manufacturers who give rebates provide retailers with rebate coupons to give buyers at the time of purchase. To obtain the rebate a customer must fill out the coupon and mail it to the manufacturers distribution warehouse, along with the receipt of purchase. The VRIO framework was used to evaluate how capable Seasons Value A resource is valuable if it helps the company to meet an external threat or exploit an opportunity. If a resource helps to bring about any one of these four things then its valuable Quality Service Seasons offer a quality service, and the good does whats designed for exceptionally well. Innovation Process innovation can influence efficiency rather than having a direct effect, because the company can have at least temporary monopoly on new product. Rare Seasons brand name is valuable but most of its competitors ,also have widely recognised brand names as well, making it not that rare. The Seasonls brand may be most recognised, but makes it more valuable not more rare. Uniqueness Its a prime locations, design, and intellectual property. Inimitability The inimitable resource are often result of historical, ambiguous or social complex causes. Intangible resources or capabilities like corporate culture or reputation are very hard to imitate and so inimitable e.g Seasons marketing strategy leads to distribution, partnership programme leads to customer relation management. Organised A resource is organised if the firm was able to actualise it. If analysis does turn up a valuable, rare and imitable resource that Seasons was not taking advantage of, then recommendations. Porters Five Forces The essence of formulating competitive strategy, writes scholar porter was relating a company to its environment. Every companys environment includes with customers, competitors, suppliers and regulators etc, and has impact on its profit potential (Harvard Business Essentials,2005). Both current and potential customer, each requirements for product quality, features and utility. Changes in the external environment may be related to competitors, suppliers, partners, customers, sociochanges, economic environment etc. The external analysis was use to examine opportunities and threats which do exists in the environment, and both opportunities and threat exists independently of the firm. The opportunities were favourable conditions in the environment, which produce the results for an organisation if agreed. But, the threats were conditions or barriers that may prevent the firms from reaching its objectives. Power Of Buyers The bargaining power of buyers was very high, as Seasons continue to market their products and differentiate their brands against competitors, so as to increase sales and market share. With the use of internet marketing, helps the company to improve accessibility and intimacy among users. It helps the brand entity plays its role in purchasing behaviour, strong identity will gives customers trusts and loyalty. Some of the online customers are sensitive to price and switching cost for the buyer was low. Power Of Suppliers The threats of bargaining power of Suppliers was very low, many suppliers in this industry, little differentiation among suppliers and makes it nonexistence. The suppliers dependent on the firm in order to survive can switch between suppliers quickly and cheaply due to geographical locations, cheap labours on various regions. In this industry, raw materials were abundantly present (Leather, rubber, cotton) etc, will help the seasons to standardise their input procedure especially to material used, labours, suppliers, services and logistics in some of the regions. Threats Of Substitutes The buyers propensity to substitute was very low. Consumers are not likely to substitute due to the performance specification of the product. e.g, a basketball player would not wear boots to play basketball. Therefore, there are no real substitutes for athletic footwear. Consumer substitutes for athletic footwear products are low because there are little alternatives to switch, some substitutes for athlete footwear could be boots, sandals, dress shoes or bear feet. Barriers To Entry Threats of entry was very low in the sense that, seasons is able to control their costs to retain performance advantage over emerging competitors in the industry. The capital injection into web site development is high and must be updated frequently with new promotions and added features to attract online shoppers. There are many proprietary product differences in the industry therefore brand identity has an immediate competitive advantage. The online footwear industry is highly abundant with hundreds on online merchants. Switching cost is low for the consumer, and may occur frequently depending on consumer preference and other factors affecting consumer, and may occur decision, (i.e. price sensitive consumers). Selling footwear online is highly competitive; however, barriers to enter into this ecommerce industry are quite low. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors The rivalry among existing competitors in the footwear industry was very high. Most individuals in North America have access to high speed internet and online purchasing has become the new trend for the twenty first century. Almost every large firm has a web site, and most of these web sites contain virtual stores which provide convenience to consumers. Competition is fierce in the footwear industry and those who dominate or lead the market do so with high capital expenditures, aggressive sales and marketing strategies, and strong brand identity. Pestle Analysis Political Analysis Political environment vary widely between countries and can alter rapidly. Government can of course create significant opportunities for organisations. It is important, however, to determine the level of political risk before entering a country (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 218. Examples are the political stability of the country, tax policies, etc. Economic Analysis key comparators in deciding entry are levels of gross domestic product and disposable income which help in estimating the potential size of the market. However, companies must also be aware of the stability of a countrys currency which mat affect its income stream (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 218. Examples inflation rate, interest rates, labour costs, etc. Social Analysis Social factor will clearly be important, for example the availability of well trained workforce or the size of demographic market segments old or young relevant to the strategy (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 218. Examples are income distribution, consumer behaviour, living standard. Legal Analysis Countries vary widely in their legal regime, determining the extent to which businesses can enforce contracts, protect intellectual property or avoid corruption. (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 219. Another external factor that C Seasons faced was other competitor, this was difficult because we new that other industries would have access to our details and would see what we were doing and try to target our business. The edge our industry had was that we spent more on advertising and reducing our delivery time to two weeks. Internal Environment Technology Capabilities All the industry under the simulation game has got one thing in common and that it we are all making athletic footwear. We all want to make the best footwear and so we would make sure that we use the best and very latest technology to produce the best footwear for the athlete or for the public that would wear them. Distribution This is how the footwear is distributed to the wholesalers and private customers. C Seasons was able to reduce delivery time from four weeks to two weeks which helped sales. Purchase Decision Purchase decision is what will determine the product a customer will purchase or buy, this would in turn reflect in the decision to be made by the company. In all cases, before customer makes a decision to purchase a particular product they would compare prices of the product with the value they hope to enjoy from such product. C Seasons was able to enhance the purchase decisions of its customers by making their footwear a high quality with good styling.

Investigate the Osmosis in Potato Rods in Various Concentrations of Sal

Investigate the Osmosis in Potato Rods in Various Concentrations of Salt Solutions Introduction: Osmosis is the movement of water molecules across a partially permeable membrane from a region of high water potential to a region of low water potential. It can be affected by several different variables including concentration of salt solutions. When a plant cell is put in pure water it will become turgid and it will not burst due to the presence of a cell wall and a large permanent vacuole and when it is put in a concentrated solution it will be plasmolysed, on the other hand when an animal cell is put in pure water it will burst due to the absence of the cell wall which is only present in the plant cell and if is plant cell is put in a concentrated solution it will shrink. What is the water potential? The water potential of a solution is a measure of whether it is likely to lose or gain water molecules from another solution. A dilute solution, with its high concentration of water molecules is said to have a higher water potential than a concentrated solution, because water will flow from the dilute solution to the concentrated solution (from a high water potential to a low water potential).: Pure water has the highest water potential because water molecules will flow from it to any other aqueous concentrated solution even if this solution is a highly dilute solution. Variables that affect the osmosis process in the potato rods: ÃÆ'ËÅ" Independent variables: The Difference in concentration of salt solutions: This will affect the osmosis in the plant cell as I will prepare five different concentrations of the salt solutions and they are: 0.0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0and this is how they are prepared: - For preparing the concentration of 0.0 I used pure water. - For preparing the concentration of 0.3: I measured 3 cm3 of the salt solution by using the syringe and poured it into the test tube that is labeled 0.3, then I measured 7 cm3 of water and poured it into the same test tube. - For preparing the concentration of 0.5: I measured 5 cm3 of the salt solution and poured it into the test tube that is labeled 0.5, then I measured 5 cm3 of water and poured it into the same test tube. - For preparing the concentration of 0.7: I measured 7 cm3 of the salt solution and poured it into the test tube that is labeled 0.7, then I measured 3 cm3 of water and... ... points on the graphs were plotted as accurately as possible practically. All my results supported my prediction I made and helped me to make a strong trend in the graph. Although, I might have got few anomalous results but that is to be expected, I may be have measured any substance which I am using wrong or not accurately. I repeated the experiment two times to get the accurate average results and to ensure that I had not made any mistakes and so as not to have any anomalous results in my experiment and there wouldn't be any chance for error to occurs. My results seem reliable as I am basing my results' reliability on a hypothesis and my own prediction. I repeated the same experiments using different concentration of the salt solution or change the temperature so as to help the rate of osmosis in the potato rod. Also for more accurate results, I could extend my coursework by testing the same brand of potatoes using different substances. By this I mean using a different thing instead of salt, i.e. sugar or maybe any fruit juice. Then I could find out whether osmosis occurs differently with different things diluted in the water. I could even use different vegetables and fruits.

Local Environmental Issues

The environmental problem that is significant in my city would be the water having chemicals in it that causes different parts of town to be on a boil water alert quite often. Due to industrial facilities, large amounts of toxic chemicals and other pollutants are being released into our water. This causes problems for the fish in the ocean and it contaminated our drinking water. This can also cause health problems for the persons consuming the water and even for those swimming in it. In order for a stop to be put to this, we need to have laws enforced in order to protect our rivers and beaches. The waterways are continually used for dumping grounds for toxic chemicals by polluters. This is causing a great health hazard that can be prevented if laws were put in place. There are several processing plants that contribute to the toxic chemicals being placed into the waterways. Industrial facilities also contribute to the chemicals polluting the water which is also linked to cancer that is being put into the St. John’s River. This problem is liable to cause birth defects or even fertility problems. Some of the chemicals discharged are lead, mercury, and dioxin. Not only do the toxins contaminate drinking water but it also contaminates the fish that we as people normally eat. There needs to be a law put in place that will not allow these pollutants to enter into our waterways with the probability of causing cancer or other health problems. There should be a reduction in the toxic chemicals discharged to safer alternatives. Permits should be issued with limits on the amount of toxins discharged by giving penalties and warning letters to those that don’t abide by it. Policies should be adopted that allow for water to be clean so that we as the people can be healthy.

Case Studies on Kelloggs and Nestle Products - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2515 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/09/14 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? - Kellogg’s Special K ® – Setting the (Cereal) Bar Higher Once upon a time, the cereal category was simple, but over the last decade, food manufacturers have created a host of innovative new entrants to the category – and no brand has done it better than the Kellogg Company with their Special K line. In 2006, BusinessWeek. com writer and marketing pundit, David Kiley, predicted that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Kellogg will run up against what every ambitious consumer marketer eventually faces: a case of brand extension greed. †Ã‚  But four years later, that prediction hasn’t materialized. Kellogg has sustained healthy success, generating nearly $13 billion in 2009 sales, by continuing to introduce low calorie cereal and snack options. Most of the products in the Special K line build on the famous â€Å"Special K diet† and provide versatile weight management solutions that are marketed toward a largely female consumer segment. Special K has even crossed aisles to energy/performance foods and frozen meals. But the two most recent launches, Special K  Low-Fat Granola Cereal  and Special K  Fruit Crisps, seek to continue the trend of cereal category dominance. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Case Studies on Kelloggs and Nestle Products" essay for you Create order For the new launch, Special K used a heavy dose of social media outreach. In addition to leveraging a huge  Facebook  fan base of over 34,000, free samples of the  Fruit Crispswere provided to ‘mommy bloggers’  to create awareness, generate buzz, promote product trial and engage consumers. They also posted coupons for  Facebook  fans to try the new product. In addition, during January, the all important New Year’s Resolution month, Kellogg reached out to thousands of Special K lovers and brand advocates, and positioned the Low-Fat Granola Cereal as a New Year’s resolution tip on their Web site and Facebook page. Complementing the social media strategy, Kellogg issued a press release (New Year, New Food: Kellogg ® Introduces Two New Ways to Recharge Your Resolution With Special K ®), followed by television  commercials. The Kellogg Company seems to find creative ways to align their brand with the lifestyles and everyday challenges of their target customers. The Victory Projectincludes a Web site tracking the journey of 12 women in three U. S. cities who shared the common goal of losing weight before one of the biggest moments in their lives, such as 29 year-old Rebecca’s fitness test for her police exam. The Victory Project Web site offers tools, tips, articles, discussions, and video profiles of these women succeeding at implementing a new, healthy lifestyle. There’s no question that Kellogg has set the cereal bar higher by establishing new products at regular intervals under the Special K weight management brand. Now, they have created a new innovation with the flatter and flakier  Fruit Crisps. It will be interesting to track the success of these ‘newbies’ in Kellogg’s arsenal of products: Will the  Fruit Crisps  cannibalize existing cereal bar sales? Will the low fat granola do likewise? More importantly, how long can Kellogg’s Special K brand continue to grow before competitors steal market share or the category becomes saturated? I guess we’ll just wait and see while we watch our weight with Special K. - KELLOGGS SPECIAL K SETS WOMEN UP WITH VIRTUAL DIET BUDDY * by:  Melita Kuburas * December 23, 2009 ShareThis Fitness centres may be empty now, but they will be packed come January the indoor air thick with earnestness of weight-loss resolutions (and, hopefully, sweat). According to an Ipsos Reid survey for Kelloggs Special K cereal, 56% of women aged 25 to 49 resolve to lose weight. However, four in 10 dont make it past the first week, and just 11% attend to their goals all year long. To help these Canadians stay on track with their health and fitness goals all year long, MSN. ca and Kelloggs have luanched the Victory Project, a year-long campaign with media by Starcom MediaVest Group to promote the health benefits of Special K, and the health and wellness content on MSN. ca. Kelloggs AOR is Leo Burnett. The campaign revolves around an MSN-built microsite based on the insights of the Ipsos survey, which found that women felt they could achieve their goals more successfully if they had encouragement. The site is meant to serve as a full-on lifestyle guide for women, providing them with advice on fashion, fitness, nutrition and beauty, starting mid-January. It will also feature a discussion board where visitors can share their weight-loss management stories and find a buddy with whom to vent about triumphs and obstacles. The site is being cross-promoted with MSNs Better Body Guide site, which will contain Victory Project content and drive traffic to the Kelloggs site (and vice versa). Other media elements to the campaign include keyword search and a television campaign that launched this weekend. The whole idea is for [consumers] to bring out the best in each other, help each other through the tough times and celebrate each others victories, says Johanne Trudeau, director, nutrition marketing, Kellogg Canada. Special K has always positioned itself as a womans ally in helping achieve and maintain weight-management goals, Trudeau says. But women dont often know where to start or how to stick to a plan, which is where the virtual realm comes in, she explains. The Victory Project also has downloadable meal plans available on SpecialK. ca. The Kellogg survey, conducted this fall with 2,714 adults, shows that 76% of women agree a meal plan would help them stay committed to their diets. Whether its a virtual diet buddy or your best friend, working alongside someone on resolutions can help keep you both motivated and make the journey more fun, says Trudeau. The campaign will run through 2010. Speical K Market Penetration Strategy Kellogs Special K advertising has taken a radical turn, moving away attacking head on with competitors and stealing market share, but trying to expand the market by targeting women who skip breakfast to stay slim. The bold new marketing strategy is a powerful step for Kelloggs which also helps to position the brand as a healthy alternative. When choosing how to advertise Special K, marketers had two options. They could try to increase trial of the product in order to steal market share support the ads with a pricing pull strategy (discounting) which tends to be a very short term strategy with short term results. Instead they tried the more difficult direction, expand the market and attract new customers with no existing brand loyalty. This has the potential to form longer lasting and more profitable relationships. The ads also brand the company as a healthy alternative. The additional benefit of the advertising is the positioning of the product as the healthy alternative. Many breakfast cereals are undermined because of sugar content concerns (amongst other ingredients). Special K are differentiating in the same way Wheat Bix did when they referenced 9 out of 10 nutritionist recommend Wheat Bix, moving into the growing market of health conscious consumers. Do not make this look like the one and only way to advertise your cereal, there are pitfalls and risks along the way. The ad needs to convert enough consumers to the brand to pay off the production and airing costs, there is every chance that the breakfast skipping segment is either too small or constrained by other reasons (e. lac of disposable income) to be able to make a purchase. Josh Strawczynskis Opinion: I think it is clever and worth a shot at doing, I think the creatives they designed were good and the message was clear. This being said, there is a lot of negative comments being posted on blogs and forums and realize that I am not representative of everyone. Kelloggs need to be careful not to build up negative brand equity, annoying people with your ads is worse than keeping you ad budget in the bank. Sam Berringers Opinion: My only comment on this matter is targeted at the forum banter that thinks this study was made up: Skipping breakfast has more implications than just mid-morning hunger pains. A new review, published in the Nutrition Bulletin verified that people who eat cereal for breakfast regularly tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) and are less likely to be overweight than those who do not eat cereal for breakfast regularly. Read more:  https://www. ciims. net/2008/11/speical-k-market-penetration-strategy. html #ixzz0zlL29UOi KELLOGGS SPECIAL K RED BALL KELLOGG SALES MARKETING CO. (UK) LTD Sector Foods Objectives Loyalty Techniques Self Liquidating Promotion Agency BLUE CHIP MARKETING INTERNATIONAL LTD Back Background * Special K is one of Kelloggs power brands with a target audience of AB shape conscious women aged 20-44. * Following consumer research the brand was shifting its position from health beauty to shape management. * As the most high profile brand within its sector it is premium priced and has many competitors offering health credentials at a lower cost. Objectives * To reinforce the shape management positioning and credentials for the brand * To offer added value to consumers via a powerful SLP offer. * To drive sales in the face of strong price competition. Strategy * To target current and lapsed Special K consumers within the shape conscious ABC1 20-44 year old female age group. * To identify the latest trend in shape management to hit the UK before it became mainstream, seize the territory and claim ownership for Special K. * To develop a related shape-management premium offer that would deliver real value to consumers. Summary * To target current and lapsed Special K consumers within the shape conscious ABC1 20-44 year old female age group. * To identify the latest trend in shape management to hit the UK before it became mainstream, seize he territory and claim ownership for Special K. * To develop a related shape-management premium offer that would deliver real value to consumers. Elements * Development of premium. * Lucy Knight contract. * Video production. * TV advertising. * Press advertising. * Design. * Print. * Posters. * POS. * Purchase of premiums. * Handling * Promotional website. * Fitness demonstrations. * In-store compet itions. * E-mail campaign. Techniques * Cause Related * Free Mechanics 1. PREMIUM * The offer was available in the UK and ROI. * Each promotional pack carried one Exercise Ball Video token and an application form. Consumers submitting two of these tokens and a cheque for ? 9. 99 (17. 80 Euro for ROI) received the premium within 28 days. * A cancellation facility allowed consumers to return the items within 7 days of receipt and claim a full refund. * The pack and instructions carried safety warnings relating to the unsuitability of the premium for people with certain medical conditions and for children under the age of 36 months. * The pack also warned that the premium should not be used as a flotation aid. Materials * Design. * Print. * Promotional packs. * Posters. * Exercise Balls and pumps. * Videos. Instruction leaflets. * POS. Results * Exercise balls became THE fitness trend of 2003 and are now standard in gyms and fitness clubs across the UK. * Over 100,000 consumer applica tions were received equating to a 1. 25% response (3 times the industry average). * 18,000 consumers participated in demonstrations and competitions in-store. * The campaign delivered high value with a premium worth ? 25 available for only ? 9. 99 + 2 tokens. * Time sales of Special K increased by over 1% during the promotional period. * In-store promotion delivered a sales uplift of 29% week on week. Nesquik Nestle NesQuik and Rare Medium Find Brand MarketingSuccess In Mini-Site Strategy; NesQuik Nestle NesQuik and Rare Medium (NASDAQ:RRRR) have developed an online strategy that successfully markets the NesQuik brand by providing value-added, brand-specific content to popular, childrens Web sites. The strategy involves the development of the portable NesQuik mini-site, which features games, puzzles and other interactive attractions designed to appeal to young audiences. Instead of residing at its own Web site, the mini-site is customized and exported to serve as an integrated addition to an established high-traffic site such as Disney. om. With the famous NesQuik Bunny featured in the mini-sites games, puzzles, printable coloring pages and screensavers, NesQuik is able to promote its brand on premier host sites, while the hosts benefit from the addition of new, compelling and interactive content that appeals to their target audience. The strategy has clearly paid off for NesQuik, the hos t sites and the sites visitors. Click rates on the NesQuik mini-site have been five times higher than the national average. We are very pleased with the results of this mini-site, said Robert Albritton, marketing associate for the NesQuik brand. It provides a perfect medium for us to go to where our consumers are and have them interact with the brand and the Bunny. The mini-site concept grew out of NesQuiks desire for a cost-efficient online strategy that would enhance its brand marketing efforts without requiring the resources involved in developing and managing its own high-performance site. The brand turned to Rare Medium, a leading provider of end-to-end Internet services that works with a number of other Nestle brands, to help define and implement its marketing strategy. Building on its existing relationship with Nestle and its expertise in developing and implementing Internet solutions, Rare Medium helped identify premier sites that could serve as hosts and ensure technical coordination between the mini-site and the host sites. NesQuik was searching for a less resource-intensive strategy that would still allow them to reach out to their target audience online, said Jon Yokogawa, vice president of marketing and media for Rare Medium. Building on the NesQuik vision, we jointly developed a solution that is working well for NesQuik, the host sites and the kids who clearly enjoy the fun activities that the mini-site provides. The mini-site remains with a single host site for several months, giving regular visitors to the site an opportunity to fully enjoy the NesQuik offering. The mini-site is then retooled to include new creative elements and moved to another host site, with the games and puzzles customized to fit the new environment. The NesQuik mini- site will remain on the Disney. com site until November 6th. About Rare Medium Group, Inc. Rare Medium invests in next generation Internet companies and provides end-to-end Internet Services. Rare Medium incubates, finances and manages private companies and also makes strategic investments in independently managed companies that it believes possess superior Internet-focused business models. Rare Mediums Internet Services include development and authoring of business plans and strategies; strategic, creative and technological consulting for Web initiatives; on-line brand development and management; development of content for broadband and wireless applications; and launch of on-line commerce trading exchanges. Rare Medium leverages its Internet Services expertise to increase the overall success of the companies in its investment portfolio. Rare Medium employs over 1100 people in more than 20 locations worldwide. For more information, visit https://www. raremedium. com. Except for historical matters contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that may affect Rare Medium Group Inc. , and its subsidiaries business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ are Rare Mediums limited operating history; competition; low barriers to entry; reliance on strategic relationships; rapid technological changes; inability to complete transactions on favorable terms and those risks discussed in the companys filings with the SEC.