Free Custom «Strategic Marketing Plan» Essay Paper

1. Goals

1. To improve the health of the population through consumption of consumption of low-fat milk and whole-grain carbohydrate sources.
2. To improve on positive public health outcomes by changing behavioral characteristics associated with the consumption of high fat milk and refined carbohydrates.

2. Objectives

1. To increase the consumption of low-fat milk among all members of the population.
2. To increase the consumption of whole grain carbohydrate sources among members of the population.
3. To encourage the adoption of positive behavior change by discouraging consumption of high-fat milk and refined carbohydrates.

3. Selected audience(s)

Primary audiences consisted of middle age child bearing mothers having children between 2 and 12 years since mother purchase food for the family and children in these age drunk large amounts of milk (Turning Point, 2003). Other primary audience for the program included refined food and high-fat milk producers and packagers by virtue of the role they play in the production cycle. Secondary audiences consisted of school going children in elementary grades, high school teenagers, and post-teenage college and university students, middle age men between 25 – 35 years, post middle age men and women between 36- 55 years, and seniors in the age between ages 56 – 65 years. This primarily because this group is a major consumer of the products hence targeting them would have a positive impact.

Core strategy

Product

The benefits of low-fat milk will be elementally positioned as a tasty, attractive and competitively priced alternative to high-fat whole milk (Turning Point, 2003). On the other hand whole grain carbohydrates will be positioned as nutritional, satisfying, more energy giving, and competitively priced than refined carbohydrates. 

Price

Low-fat milk and whole grain carbohydrates were made available at comparatively low prices than their counterparts in order to encourage the target audience to buy them. This pricing strategy was elementally aimed at discouraging target consumers who form the bulk of the sales of whole milk and refined carbohydrates to buy these alternatives.

Place

Through qualitative research carried on the target audience groups it was established that the low-fat milk and whole grain carbohydrates would make more gains if they were positioned in more outlets than their counterparts, which were traditionally positioned primarily in retail outlet. Hence, the distribution framework consisted of critical whole sale points from which retailers get their supplies, establishment of more manufacturing units to cater for the clientele group, and retail centers for ease of access by the final consumer, which is the target audience. Some of the retail centers will effectively include school/college/university canteens, hospital canteens near post-natal/ante-natal units, supermarket, and small retail shops or snack bars.

Promotion

First, the interest groups or audiences will be effectively targeted in a hierarchical manner with an aim of impacting positive behavior change at critical stages. This is primarily because effective public health action ordinarily requires the organization of interest groups and not just assessing the problem and formulating a line of action (Novick and Morrow, 2007). Secondly, media campaigns will be conducted via television and radio shows carried in a co-hosting manner within the existing programs especially focusing on programs having more viewers and listeners. Thirdly, promotional events will established in elementary school, colleges, and university settings by featuring famous local artist groups and sports personalities to appeal to these groups. This will also comprehensively cater for entertainment perspectives. Lastly, feasible advocacy strategies will be used focusing on positive voting behaviors, direct lobbying, electioneering, grassroots lobbying, media advocacy, and internet usage (Galer-Unti, Tappe, & Lachenmayr, 2004).

It will be important to establish a branding strategy that clearly stipulates the core mission, reconciles internal against external perceptions, and actively prioritizes institutional goals (Novick and Morrow, 2007).

Partnerships

In order for the strategy to work, the process of synthesizing data into policy statements and extensive information dissemination to all members, this will include partnerships from allied organizations, dedicated units within the public domain, national organization networks, chapters, official members from medical societies, community groups and other relevant organizations (Christoffel, 2000).

Relevant Policy Formulation

It will be necessary to formulate policies necessitating the provision of incentives to food producers willing to change their production system to promote production of low-fat milk and whole grain carbohydrates. Moreover, policy initiatives will be required to stipulate better nutritional standards for vulnerable populations who may include children between 2 and 12 years, students in education institutional settings, and senior adults

Evaluation

Product

This will entail monitoring preferences of the different audience groups by matching consumption patterns for low-fat milk and whole grain carbohydrates against their counterparts. In order to achieve this, it will be necessary to conduct an field assay with an aim of collecting data on consumption.

Price

This will entail computing the different price variables for the low-fat milk and whole grain carbohydrates against their counterparts and matching this against the product consumption patterns. In essence, the more the consumption of the new products, this will reflect significant behavioral change.

Place

This will entail monitoring the frequencies of buying of products from the designated distribution outlets by both retailers (from whole sale points) and end users (from retail points). This will provide a sufficient assessment of the preferences of the product with regard to location.

Promotion

Evaluating advocacy activities will entail the establishment of a mechanism to measure registration of participants and voting mechanisms, effectiveness of the electioneering process with regard to relative contribution to the campaign, the impending relationships between staff and policy makers during direct lobbying, integration of the community members during grassroots lobbying, effectiveness of the media advocacy program, and monitoring feedback from number of users accessing internet resources (Galer-Unti, Tappe, & Lachenmayr, 2004).

Potential Factors Leading Audience to Oppose Marketing Goal

First, potential opposition will be experienced especially from high-fat milk and refined carbohydrates producers because of the effect of low profits for period of perception change and the high cost of changing the production processes. Secondly, opposition may come from elementary grade school goers and high school teenagers because of the fundamental role played by parents in nurturing behavioral factors associated with food consumption. Lastly, opposition may be experienced from post-teenage college and university students by virtue of the development of peer influence, individual attitudes, and educational perspectives towards consumption of low-fat milk and whole grain carbohydrates.

Strategies towards Encountering Opposition

First, for the elementally grade and high school goers this would entail the involvement of parents in the process. Secondly, for the high-fat milk producers this will entail formulation of policies encouraging significant incentives for high-fat milk and refined carbohydrates produces willing to change their production processes towards low-fat and whole grain carbohydrates. Lastly, for the post-teenage college and university students this will entail the involvement of institution educators and formation of long term participatory programs in the educational institutions.