IMC Report - Bulla Icecream PDF

Preview

Summary

Download IMC Report - Bulla Icecream PDF

Description

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

Briefing Document

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

Background to the Organisation and its Products The Australian Business Register lists Regal Cream Products Pty Ltd as a private company, trading as Bulla Dairy Foods (Bulla) (Current ABN details 2012). Operating out of factories located in Colac and Mulgrave and a large new headquarters and distribution centre in Derrimut, the company has annual retail sales of $300 million, exports to 30 countries (Gray 2010) and employs approximately 450 staff (Bulla Dairy Foods Makes Complex Payroll Smooth as Cream with Kronos® Workforce Timekeeper 2012).

History Bulla Cream Co. was founded by Thomas Sloan in 1910 who later entered into a partnership with his brother-in-law Hugh Anderson and Hugh’s brother, Jack (History of Bulla Dairy Foods 2012). Descendants of the original families still remain active in the company to this day, with all six board members descended from the three original men (Gray 2010).

The company began as a business focusing on pasteurisation of milk and cream and in 1922 began the first of its expansions of manufacturing facilities in Colac, purchasing Colac Ice Works and Regal Cream Products. It is evident from the historical accounts of the company that Bulla has kept pace with consumer trends, distributing their products through milk bars in the 1930s and expanding into supermarkets in the 1950s (History of Bulla Dairy Foods 2012). Over time, Bulla developed a broader range of innovative products, allowing it to establish itself as one of Australia’s leading dairy brands, including competing on par with a number of product categories against multinational food companies (Euromonitor International 2011, p. 7).

1

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

Key Products The Bulla chilled range includes cream, sour cream, yogurts, cottage cheese, and crème fraîche (Chilled Range 2010). Their frozen range includes ice cream tubs, ice cream sticks, ice cream cups, frozen yogurt (Frozen 2010). In addition to these products, Bulla also produces the Cadbury ice cream tub range and frozen Boost products for the Australian market (Euromonitor International 2011, p. 3; Frozen 2010). For the purposes of this report, we are concentrating solely on Bulla branded products.

In the Australian domestic market in 2010, Bulla registered a strong performance in the take home ice cream category, achieving a 21 per cent value share which was attributed to Creamy Classics tubs and multi-packs (Euromonitor International 2011, p. 3). Given the broad number of products, and taking into account existing activities to promote the majority of these products, as well as opportunities for growth in the domestic market, we recommend focusing on the Bulla take home ice cream tubs as the key product.

Ice Cream Tubs The variety of ice cream tubs involves the Real Dairy Ice Cream range and the premium Creamy Classics range. Real Dairy Ice Cream range which includes tub sizes of between 2 and 10 litres and come in a range of flavours including vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla chocolate chip, neapolitan, and light. The Bulla Food Service website (Flip Top Vanilla - 2 Litre 2012) highlights the following product features for the Real Dairy Ice Cream range as follows: Real Dairy Ice Cream made with fresh milk and cream Easy open Flip Top lid (for the 2 litre varieties) Really creamy texture and taste Australian made and Australian owned Australian family favourite (for the 5 litre varieties) For the light option the product features include (98% Fat Free Vanilla Ice Cream – 2 litres 2010): Light 98% fat free vanilla ice cream Low GI 2

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

25% less added sugar Easy open flip top lid

The Creamy Classics are only available in the 2 litre tub, with flavours including Vanilla, Cookies and Cream, Rich Choc Chip, Mint Choc Chip, Caramel Toffee Crunch, Choc Vanilla Swirl, Boysenberry (Creamy Classics 2010). The Bulla Dairy Food Service website (Creamy Classics Vanilla – 2 litres 2010) highlights the following product features for the Creamy Classics range as follows: Made with fresh full cream dairy milk Range of delicious flavours Premium Quality Ice Cream Australian Made and Australian Owned

Real Dairy Ice Cream Vanilla Flip Top Lid Tub (Flip Top Vanilla - 2 Litre 2012)

3

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

Communications Evaluation Bulla outsource marketing and advertising to The Bridge Consulting Group and Grey’s Agency Melbourne, and through this, employ a relatively small range of channels to promote their products (Our Credentials 2012). Television advertisements for Splits Ice Creams, Frozen Yogurt and their plain ice cream tubs have been created by The Bridge Agency. One of their well known advertisements was for their original take home tub range, aiming to highlight the packaging innovation of a flip top lid for the tub (Ausbuy1 2009).

Bulla’s other ice cream brand, Creamy Classics, comes in both tubs and sticks with both forming part of the lucrative take home ice cream market (Euromonitor International 2011, p. 3). A 2010 advertisement utilised both products side by side, taking advantage of cross promotional opportunities, potentially increasing the likelihood of consumers purchasing both products by highlighting the respective product features within the Creamy Classics range (australiaads 2010). In 2011, Grey Melbourne won the digital account for Bulla and are now responsible for digital strategy and communications of the company (Capel 2011). The agency has been hired to lead Bulla in a new direction in advertising, leveraging social media and interactive applications. The latest campaign for Splits Ice Cream Sticks highlights this push, with The Bridge creating the campaign ‘Enjoy every splits second,’ and Grey’s creating the ‘Summer Games’ application (app), to be used by parents, and children aged 5-12 on smart phones. The app features indoor and outdoor games that are determined by the weather in a user’s particular area (Bulla Splits Summer Games Application 2012).

The most recent campaign from Bulla was launched in February 2012, promoting the extension product of the take home multi-pack ice cream stick variety Crunch (Bulla creates characters for each day of the week 2012). These two 15 second television ads highlight seven flavours in seven days (as part of the multi-pack) and were designed to appeal to the individual by humorously showing ice cream lovers matching their ice cream to their world (7 Flavours. 7 Days. You Figure It Out. 2012). The ad itself shows the product features - easily stored at home in the freezer, the

4

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

flavoured ice cream, covered in a milk chocolate layer, with crunchy pieces sprinkled on the chocolate (Bulladairyable 2012).

After controversy surrounding 2Day Fm’s Radio Kyle and Jackie O Show, and Kyle Sandilands offensive comments, Bulla withdrew their ads, subsequently issuing a statement saying the comments by Kyle Sandilands conflicted with the values of ‘trust and teamwork, communication, growth and family life,’ (Kennedy 2012) the company prides itself on.

According to Val Morgan Cinema Network, Bulla has converted some of their 2D ads into 3D ads, suitable for preview before 3D films (3D Advertising 2011), indicating the company has begun to utilise this different platform, which accounts for only 2% in the food industry. (Long 2011, p. 28)

In terms of their use of social media, there is a Bulla Dairy Foods Facebook page, however the company does not actively use this or any of the fan pages (Bulla Dairy Foods 2012). Regal Cream have 11 twitter profiles for a variety of Bulla products, however most have no followers and no tweets have been made from any account (Regal Cream@BullaDairyFoods 2012). There is potential for Bulla to better harness these social media platforms .

Bulla products are also part of promotional campaigns for major supermarkets, including online and catalogues (Ice Cream 2012).

5

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

Current Market Situation Competitors According to the IBISWorld Report on ice cream manufacturing in Australia, Bulla competes in the market with 58 other companies, including Unilever Australia (Holdings) Pty Ltd (Unilever) and Nestle Australia Ltd (Nestle) (Lyons 2011, p. 4). Nestle and Unilever respectively hold 37.5 and 27 per cent of the market share compared to Bulla, who accounts for 5 per cent of the market (Lyons 2011, p. 4). This report notes that both “Nestle and Unilever are extremely well-entrenched in the domestic market and their brands command enviable levels of loyalty” (Lyons 2011, p. 5). The three companies broadly offer a range of comparable products, however, for the purposes of this brief, we will be focusing ice cream tub lines (described below). Nestle’s product offering under the Peters ice cream brand includes Original (Vanilla, Chocopolitan, Triple Treat and Neapolitan), Light & Creamy (French Vanilla, Choc Caramel & Vanilla Swirl, Choc Vanilla Swirl, Raspberry Ripple and Classic Vanilla), No Sugar Added (Vanilla) and Lactose Free (Classic Vanilla) (Ice Cream 2012).

Unilever’s product offering under the Streets Blue Ribbon ice cream brand includes Vanilla 2L, Classic Chocolate, 3 in 1 flavour varieties (Coffee Lovers, Peppermint Cream, Triple Chocolate, Caramel & Honeycomb Crunch and Fruit Basket), Hokey Pokey, Goody Drops, Choc Banana Chip, Light Vanilla 2L, Light Cookies and Cream and Light Neapolitan Twist. (Streets Blue Ribbon 2011).

Despite subtle differences in flavours, in reality, there is very little difference between the ice cream tub product features of Bulla and its main competitors, as well as little variation in product price and availability (supermarkets). We would therefore describe Bulla ice cream tubs as a low involvement product (Pickton et al. 2012, p 80).

Recent trends of Coles and Woolworths introducing their own private labels may also see changes in market share, noting that both of these major supermarkets sell

6

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

comparable ice cream products under their respective private labels. According to a report by AdNews, these “private labels are likely to increase in popularity “as consumers become more willing to trial different, cheaper products” (Long 2011, p. 26).

External Factors Impacting on the Industry There are also various external factors that are currently impacting the industry. In brief, these include competition from other dairy companies and their products, in particular frozen yogurt as a healthy alternative to ice cream, the current economic climate which is reducing disposable incomes in Australian households and the impact of the increases in the price of sugar and milk (Lyons 2011, p. 5).

For local food manufacturers, the introduction of a price on carbon is also likely to increase the cost of production. Bulla recently joined other food manufacturers in speaking out about the Commonwealth “introducing a price on carbon, warning it would make local products less competitive” (Heffernan 2011). It is also noted that milk production in Victoria and Queensland have been impacted by the recent flooding (Lyons 2011, p. 6).

7

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

Target Audiences and Buying Situation Ice cream has ‘traditionally been considered a luxury or indulgence’ (Lyons 2011, p. 6), and despite growing public interest in healthier food options, ‘the premium or indulgent segment remains one of the fastest growing within the industry’ (Lyons 2011, p. 6). The majority of take home ice cream tubs are purchased directly at a supermarket (Lyons 2011, p. 12).

Given that ice cream is a low involvement product, with low differentiation between competing brands, it is unlikely that consumers would go through the full five steps of the purchase decision making process, instead, proceeding from need identification, completing a quick scan of internal information and then moving to the buying process (eliminating the need for evaluating alternatives) (Solomon et al. 2011, p. 109). It is also likely that most consumers have previous experience in purchasing ice cream. In this case, if the consumer had a positive experience with Bulla, they would be likely to evaluate the brand positively post-purchase (Solomon et al. 2011, p. 113). Despite ice cream purchases being low involvement and unlikely to include an extensive product evaluation through an individual’s reference group, in the case of female consumers, there might be some opportunity for reference groups to share information about Bulla products - in particular the low fat varieties.

Based on the product features described above and given what we understand as the motivation for purchasing ice cream, current limitations on disposable household income and a need for presenting healthier options to consumers, we have defined the following three target audiences in the table below. This summarises the three categories for customer responses to products, including differences in benefits sought, product involvement attitude and differences in lifestyles and psychographics (Widing et al. 2003, p. 422).

8

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

Table 1: Target Audience Products Demographic Target Audience 1 Active and health conscious women (Real Dairy Ice aged 25-40. Mid to Cream) high range income.

Values This consumer values good quality food and healthy alternatives.

Located in Capital cities/large regional centres.

Target Audience 2 (Premium: Creamy Classics)

Target Audience 3 (Real Dairy Ice Cream)

Low GI 25% less added sugar

Men with children aged 6-15.

This consumer prides himself on sharing the Located in Capital domestic duties, cities/large regional including grocery centres. shopping (30 per cent of men).

Families living in milk production regions (Victoria) [85 per cent of milk production occurs in Victoria (Victoria’s Dairy Industry – Summer 2011, 2011)

Attributes Sought Light 98% fat free vanilla ice cream

This consumer values good quality food at an affordable price for his family. Value supporting local supermarkets and milk producers – like to buy Australian made. Appreciate good quality food at an affordable price.

Really creamy texture and taste Made with fresh full cream dairy milk Premium quality ice cream Range of delicious flavours

Made with fresh full cream dairy milk Australian Made and Australian Owned Australian family favourite

9

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

Communication Issues The communication process involves a sender (Bulla), encoding a message to send through various media channels known as transmission devices, finally to be decoded by the receiver (target audience). However noise can distort or disrupt this message, for example, if a receiver is talking on the phone while a TV commercial is on or if they flip past the ad pages in a magazine. Feedback is also an important part of this process as it allows the sender to analyse how well consumers respond to the message being sent to them, and whether it is effective (Pickton et al. 2012, p 4-5). Bulla’s main website contains a general enquiry form which allows consumers to provide feedback or ask questions regarding sales, products, production, exports, product suggestions or assignments (Bulla Dairy Foods 2012).

In terms of receiving feedback, which is an essential aspect of improving business practices, it would be beneficial for Bulla to develop their social media sites as currently they are not being to their full potential. As well as using Facebook and Twitter for promoting competitions, products and keeping the company name front of mind for consumers, they can be used to build relationships with customers.

Television ads promoting Bulla’s ice cream tub brands currently appeal to females and those concerned with the quality of the product. In terms of the Real Dairy brand, nothing unique is identified, therefore when comparing it to other brands by Nestle and Unilever it is distinguished only by the innovation of its packaging, rather than the ice cream itself.

10

This is a briefing document to provide you with information as the basis for your assignment 2. It is not a perfect document and you should not blindly emulate it. Sharing the document or copying content for use in anything other than the assignment 2 constitutes academic misconduct.

SWOT analyses The following SWOT analysis tables explore the issues relating to each of the ice cream tub brands. Table 2: SWOT analysis, Real Dairy Ice Cream Strengths Weaknesses Bulla’s first, original brand of tub Nothing unique about the ice ice cream cream. It could be black and gold branded and it wouldn’t make a Cost effective difference. Versatile, can be for retail use (large tubs available) or home use. Flip top lid on tub Regular and light options Australian owned. Opport...