Branding Sweet Popcorn PDF

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Branding- Sweet Popcorn Sweet, decadent snacks such as cookies and chocolates are applied as some of the greatest snack creations to exists but as the snack industry has been subject to expansion, the introduction of mixing sweet and savoury together, in this case popcorn has proven to be a risk that has paid off. Even though the background of the creation is unclear, one brand in particular, Kettle Sweet Popcorn has been achieving this combination especially well hence why they are the current market leaders in this segment.

As the category manager for Woolworths, it is vital to consider the needs and demands of customers in this segment by exploring emerging brands in overseas markets such as Oreo Popcorn, Snickers Popcorn, Mrs Fields Nibblers Popcorn and Twix Popcorn. These are four brands considering being a competitor to Kettle Popcorn in order to obtain a share in this segment. By analysing the target market, the brand awareness and the quality of these four brands, one will be selected to be placed on Woolworths shelves alongside Kettle Popcorn.

The target market would be a combination of consumer from both sweet and salty market segment. The salty snack consumer can be seen as more easy going consumer with products such as popcorn being eaten in a causal semi-regular occurrence while the sweet snack consumer with snacks such as chocolate can be viewed as more premium as chocolate would be consumed as a treat as opposed to a regular occurrence (Armstrong et al. 2017). By merging the characteristics of both popcorn and sweet snacks, the target market will be consumer who enjoys quality snacks such as chocolates and cookies and who also consumes it on a regular basis. By guaranteeing both these criteria are fulfilled then it will successfully create value for the consumer. Now the next item to address is the desired target market for this product and how to best serve them using differentiation and positioning (Armstrong et al. 2017). For this product, the target market will vary late teens to mid 20s, mainly high school and university students, casual to part-time workers, living at home on a low-medium income basis. The reason for this market is that during these periods of their lives, they will be experiencing stressful situations such as HSC, exams and assignments and the sweet and salty product on offer will accommodate as a comfort food during these periods. As the target market will be affected by premium pricing, they will therefore seek for a mixture of quantity and quality with a lower cost. Out of the four brands offered, Twix Popcorn offers a reasonable price to quality ratio at 90c/100g. Twix is also a well-known chocolate product with an existing loyal consumer base which positioning the product will be easier to market towards consumers as well as guaranteeing value for quality. As having the exiting consumer base, the company will attain a stronger market position because of its knowledge of their consumer needs and the special status it acquires (Armstrong et al. 2017).

To combat the issue of brand awareness, adverting and marketing campaigns will have to be implemented to form a stronger market presence. Once a strong brand identity has been established, the product can then be priced in order for consumers to have an awareness of its real value then it can be distributed and made public to the target market through pricing strategies (Armstrong et al. 2017). It is vital that the product is adequately priced as overpricing will discourage customers from the new product whilst undercharging could possibly prevent the more loyal consumers in the target market from purchasing the product (Armstrong et al. 2017).

As this product is not the first of the sweet popcorn range, the product will be positioned in the same capacity as its competitor Kettle Sweet Popcorn in order to gain the attention of consumers in the targeted market. By positioning the brand alongside its competitors, within the consumer minds the brand can effectively reach its target market whilst offering a better, cheaper alternative. Due to this product being a hybrid between sweet and salty and of popcorn nature, it would be beneficial to introduce this product in Woolworth stores with movie cinemas located near them but also introducing it just before large periods of student holidays. The best time to realise the product would be June which would coincide with HSC Trials and first semester university exams or October which would be HSC period for high school students and end of second semester for university students. The release of the product is important due to Kettle already having a strong consumer base with existing knowledge of its product. In order for Twix Popcorn to compete and establish a market share alongside Kettle, it is suggested that the product be released in the weeks leading up to stressful schooling periods with online social media campaigns running in the previous months to ensure that the product is well positioned with the customer base.

In conclusion, the product best suited to compete against Kettle Sweet Popcorn is Twix Popcorn due to its already established market presence in the chocolate market, heighted advertising in that market and overall brand awareness but also its price offerings will be best to satisfy the needs of the desired target market. Reference: Armstrong, G, Adam, S, Denzie, S, Volkov, M & Kotler, P 2017, Principles of Marketing 7th edn, Pearson, Melbourne, Victoria....