Lesson 3 - Week 9 / Culinarian Cookware: A case study in pricing and promotion strategy

Culinarian Cookware: A case study in pricing and promotion strategy
In 2004 the market was: 75% of its customers were 30 to 55 years of age, 8@5 women, 70% has household incomes over $75,000. Product performance and durability were regarded the most important  features in selecting cookware.
A 20% discount was available from April 1 to May 31, 187,000  (normal sales would have been) were sold during the promotion, 80% of households who already owned one of more Culinarian products, 70% said discount was very important in their purchase.
May 2005 20% promotion.

1. Was the previous promotion effective in achieving the goals specified in the case?  Most importantly was it profitable?

  Conclusion, higher sales than in 2003 for a big percentage

1. What aspects of the promotion worked best and which were less successful? 

Work  best: the one in spring 2004
Work less successful: CX1 promotion was not sucessful

1. Should Culinarian run a promotion prospectively?  Why or why not? Yes, because it helps to motivate new sales

Lesson 3 - Week 8 / Pricing/ Channels and IMC

Pricing/ Channels and IMC 

Pricing could be as a positioning strategy and I have noticed it in some supermarkets and apparel stores

1. Reflect on a firm or product you like which you believe is highly effective in bringing all the elements of the Mix together to create beautiful symphony for their consumers. Ann Taylor, they provide excellent quality products with high trained customer service
2. Who are the target audience for the company's market offerings? Professional women who like fashion and easy purchases
3. What are the tangible products the company offers?Ann Taylor offers classic styled suits, separates, dresses, shoes and accessories.
4. How does the company utilize price, and place to enhance the value of its offerings and why do you think there choice work well together? this is very good example where the positioned themselves as an exclusive clothes offering for professional women. They are a leader in their segment because they have a very recognized brand, their employees are well trained and dressed. Plus their stores are strategically located in places where professional women will go shopping or to eat.
5. Does the company have a unique approach to communications with their target audience?  How is the approach well suited to the other elements of their mix? Communication is thorough seasonal magazines to their credit card customers and coupon offerings. They offer other kind of products for other women with their outlet stores where products are different and more accessible in price.

Lesson 3- Week 7 / Colgate Palmolive Cleopatra Case - Individual case submittion

Colgate Palmolive Cleopatra Case- Individual case submittion

• Can products from one market be reliably moved to markets which appear to be similar?
• Is a "push" strategy for entry where the marketing is primarily conducted through the distribution network a necessary part of any CPG market entry?
• What type of research is appropriate for when entering a market?
• How can internal organizational structures influence company decisions about new product entries? 

Lesson 3- Week 6 / Product Development Management.

1. Consider various "products" you use.  Can you think of the various levels of this product?

Surface Pro computer, the Actual is the computer and the Core is the computer connectivity itself. The Augmented will be the service as a tablet, the windows store, USB port which allows me to connect any device to it and its portability.

Starbucks, the Core is Coffee; the Actual is a store to purchase coffee, hot chocolate and tea. The Augmented is the environment, tables, free internet, power outlets, and extra food available.

Panera bread, the Core is bread, the Actual is a small restaurant chain located in easy places to park. Augmented is the chimney, free internet, extra food options for lunch and dinner.

2. Products are tools (drill) that provide consumer benefits.  If the a better tool comes along that provides the same core benefit but is easier to get, cheaper, or more fun then the old tool will be obsolete.  Can you think of cases where products have become obsolete? 

GPS have become obsolete because phones now include a GPS or even cars now include it. I remember in 2006, I used to have a GPS which used to provide the position functionality and I used to connect it to the computer which had the maps then my husband and I were able to travel to different places by using this old way GPS. When the GPS with screen and maps had a more accessible price, we purchased it because it was easier than the old GPS. Currently, we use our phones in two different versions, his phone is able to download maps into the device then he does need internet connection when we are driving, my phone accesses Google maps with an internet connection and uses the internal GPS. At this point the GPS we purchased had become obsolete.

Picture cameras, in 1990’s cameras started to boom and I used to have a very cheap one, later on I purchased another camera which lasted for a couple of years however it was heavy. Around 2008, I purchased another simple camera which has been very useful for traveling and my husband has a semiprofessional camera. With the latest smartphones, my camera became obsolete because the phone takes good pictures and if we want excellent pictures we use my semiprofessional camera.

3. Considering the diagram of page 102 of your text how do you think product development has been affected by shorter product lifecycles?  Has technology affected product development? Product development has been affected because there are more technology tools to collect information about the customer needs. The following video shows a big example of how understanding why people buy products is the most important factor
4. https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action#t-6736