�ݺ�ߣ

Brett
?Henderson
?

COMM
?636:
?Integrated
?Marketing
?Communications
?
?

Case
?Write
?up
?8.2
?
?

October
?2,
?2012
?

Statement
?of
?the
?problem
?

This
?case
?study
?focuses
?on
?a
?new
?entrepreneurial
?venture
?between
?two
?

friends
?Paul
?Fry
?and
?John
?Kirk.
?After
?researching
?the
?market
?of
?organic
?pet
?food,
?the
?

two
?friends
?from
?college,
?John
?a
?recent
?graduate
?of
?veterinary
?school,
?and
?Paul
?who
?

has
?a
?master��s
?degree
?in
?biology,
?decided
?to
?create
?their
?own
?organic
?pet
?food.
?They
?

will
?sell
?their
?organic
?pet
?food
?in
?the
?animal
?clinic
?that
?they
?own
?in
?Austin,
?Texas.
?

The
?problem
?that
?they
?are
?faced
?with
?now
?is
?marketing
?this
?new
?product
?on
?a
?

budget.
?With
?Healthy
?Gourmet
?food
?being
?a
?start
?up
?product,
?their
?budget
?for
?

advertising
?and
?marketing
?is
?very
?minimal.
?
?They
?are
?focusing
?on
?a
?two-?�\year
?plan
?

because
?of
?the
?budget
?limitations.
?This
?problem
?can
?have
?a
?huge
?effect
?on
?how
?well
?

the
?company
?does,
?if
?they
?don��t
?figure
?out
?the
?marketing
?future
?of
?the
?company
?it
?

can
?cause
?the
?product
?to
?fold.
?

List
?of
?critical
?factors
?

1. Focus
?group
?to
?gather
?information
?on
?how
?to
?market
?the
?product
?

2. Exploratory
?research
?to
?future
?understand
?the
?target
?market
?

3. Website
?and
?social
?media
?plans
?to
?be
?able
?to
?market
?the
?product
?

4. Advertisement
?plan
?to
?expose
?the
?product
?to
?the
?target
?market
?

5. Marketing
?materials
?to
?continue
?to
?keep
?the
?brand
?in
?the
?minds
?of
?the
?target
?

market
?

Definition
?and
?evaluation
?of
?alternatives
?

1. First
?thing
?I
?would
?do
?is
?form
?a
?focus
?group
?

a. Pro:
?A
?focus
?group
?would
?give
?let
?Paul
?and
?John
?get
?a
?feel
?on
?how
?the
?

potential
?buyers
?feel
?about
?their
?product.
?It
?would
?give
?them
?insight
?

on
?how
?they
?should
?move
?forward
?with
?developing
?and
?marketing
?the
?

pet
?food.
?This
?is
?very
?valuable
?insight
?to
?have,
?because
?with
?the
?

limitations
?on
?advertising
?budget
?they
?can��t
?afford
?to
?waste
?any
?of
?

their
?budget
?on
?something
?that
?won��t
?positively
?enhance
?their
?

product.
?

b. Con:
?This
?takes
?planning,
?manpower
?and
?time
?to
?conduct.
?They
?will
?

need
?to
?select
?a
?group
?of
?people
?that
?will
?give
?them
?good
?information
?

that
?they
?can
?convert
?to
?a
?marketing
?plan.
?They
?will
?need
?to
?spend
?

time
?at
?a
?location
?mediating
?the
?focus
?group.
?They
?will
?then
?take
?the
?

time
?to
?transcribe
?it
?and
?decided
?which
?way
?they
?are
?going
?to
?market
?

the
?product.
?

2. Based
?on
?the
?feedback
?of
?the
?focus
?group,
?they
?should
?do
?further
?research
?or
?

the
?purchase
?behaviors
?of
?a
?more
?general
?pet
?owner.
?They
?should
?conduct
?an
?

experiment
?where
?they
?let
?pet
?owners
?do
?a
?free
?trial
?&
?taste
?test.
?They
?should
?

distribute
?out
?sample
?size
?portions
?of
?their
?pet
?food
?to
?pet
?owners.
?Attached
?

to
?the
?sample,
?they
?should
?attach
?a
?mail
?in
?survey
?that
?will
?enter
?the
?

participant
?into
?a
?drawing
?for
?free
?organic
?pet
?food
?for
?a
?year.
?
?

a. Pro:
?This
?will
?give
?the
?potential
?customers
?a
?trial
?of
?the
?pet
?food.
?They
?

should
?have
?faith
?in
?their
?product
?that
?if
?they
?can
?get
?it
?into
?a
?

household
?than
?the
?pet
?owner
?would
?choose
?it
?next
?time
?they
?went
?to
?

buy
?food.
?The
?raffle
?will
?show
?the
?participants
?that
?their
?participation
?

is
?serious
?to
?the
?company
?and
?the
?potential
?customers
?would
?love
?the
?

chance
?to
?get
?free
?pet
?food
?for
?a
?year.
?

b. Con:
?This
?type
?of
?experiment
?will
?take
?more
?time
?to
?conduct.
?They
?will
?

have
?to
?perfect
?the
?survey
?to
?get
?correct
?information.
?They
?will
?have
?

to
?pay
?close
?attention
?to
?each
?survey
?returned
?and
?throw
?out
?the
?

surveys
?that
?they
?can
?tell
?didn��t
?have
?honest
?answers.
?Another
?

complication
?will
?be
?finding
?a
?sample
?size
?large
?enough
?to
?distribute
?

the
?sample/survey��s.
?
?

3. The
?next
?step
?I
?would
?take
?is
?to
?build
?the
?website
?and
?social
?media
?plan.
?
?

a. Pro:
?Having
?a
?fully
?functional
?website
?will
?give
?potential
?new
?

customers
?a
?way
?to
?get
?more
?information
?about
?the
?product.
?They
?will
?

also
?be
?able
?to
?sell
?their
?product
?via
?Internet
?and
?not
?only
?have
?to
?rely
?

on
?selling
?it
?in
?house.
?They
?should
?also
?create
?a
?social
?media
?plan
?to
?

get
?their
?name
?out
?in
?the
?world.
?They
?should
?create
?a
?Facebook
?fan
?

page,
?which
?will
?allow
?their
?customers
?to
?interact
?with
?them.
?They
?

will
?also
?be
?able
?to
?create
?polls
?in
?which
?they
?can
?test
?their
?target
?

market
?on
?different
?products.
?They
?should
?also
?create
?a
?Twitter
?to
?

post
?coupons
?and
?specials
?and
?also
?create
?a
?platform
?to
?interact
?with
?

clients.
?
?

b. Con:
?According
?to
?the
?book,
?the
?website
?will
?cost
?$40,000
?to
?create.
?

That
?is
?a
?large
?chunk
?of
?the
?budget
?spent
?just
?on
?the
?website.
?They
?are
?

only
?able
?to
?spend
?$100,000
?over
?two
?years
?so
?that
?puts
?a
?huge
?crunch
?

on
?them.
?That
?will
?leave
?less
?money
?to
?create
?a
?marketing
?plan.
?They
?

will
?need
?to
?put
?in
?the
?work
?on
?the
?social
?media;
?this
?will
?take
?time
?

away
?from
?development,
?sales
?and
?time
?in
?the
?shop.
?If
?they
?choose
?to
?

hire
?someone
?to
?run
?their
?social
?media
?and
?marketing,
?which
?will
?save
?

them
?time
?but
?cost
?them
?more
?money
?from
?their
?set
?budget.
?
?

4. They
?have
?a
?pretty
?solid
?advertisement
?plan
?in
?place.
?They
?will
?use
?radio
?ads
?

to
?spread
?their
?product
?and
?raise
?awareness.
?Each
?30-?�\second
?radio
?ad
?will
?

cost
?$250.
?They
?opted
?to
?do
?four
?commercials
?a
?week
?for
?the
?first
?six
?months,
?

and
?then
?two
?per
?week
?to
?maintain
?awareness.
?I
?would
?also
?ad
?the
?spread
?in
?

the
?Austin
?Monthly
?publication.
?
?

a. Pro:
?The
?radio
?spots
?will
?raise
?tons
?of
?awareness
?to
?a
?mass
?audience.
?

This
?will
?get
?their
?brand
?out
?in
?the
?open
?and
?it
?will
?drive
?people
?to
?

their
?website
?or
?clinic.
?This
?is
?a
?pretty
?inexpensive
?way
?to
?advertise
?

and
?build
?brand
?awareness.
?A
?creative
?ad
?spread
?in
?a
?general
?Austin
?

magazine
?will
?draw
?customers
?to
?the
?site
?as
?well.
?The
?initial
?process
?

this
?advertising
?plan
?should
?be
?to
?build
?up
?a
?brand.
?These
?are
?two
?

ways
?that
?work
?in
?an
?inexpensive
?efficient
?way.
?

b. Cons:
?It
?will
?be
?hard
?to
?gauge
?how
?efficient
?this
?type
?of
?advertisement
?

really
?is.
?If
?they
?are
?combining
?this
?with
?other
?types
?of
?marketing
?they
?

won��t
?really
?be
?able
?to
?know
?which
?one
?works
?more
?efficiently.
?It
?still
?

costs
?quite
?a
?bit
?of
?the
?budget
?for
?the
?radio
?ads.
?The
?publication
?ad
?has
?

potential
?to
?go
?unseen
?if
?it
?doesn��t
?reach
?the
?correct
?target
?audience
?

because
?of
?generality
?of
?it.
?
?

5. They
?have
?an
?idea
?on
?how
?they
?want
?to
?use
?some
?marketing
?materials
?to
?

drive
?revenue.
?They
?plan
?on
?sending
?mails
?to
?10,000
?households,
?four
?times
?a
?

year.
?I
?think
?the
?mailers
?should
?have
?coupons
?they
?can
?bring
?in
?to
?get
?5%
?off
?

of
?that
?purchase.
?This
?will
?give
?the
?clients
?a
?reason
?to
?come
?into
?the
?store,
?

and
?it
?will
?also
?give
?the
?company
?a
?way
?to
?track
?how
?many
?customers
?it
?

drives
?to
?the
?store.
?If
?they
?have
?a
?website
?store
?they
?can
?put
?a
?coupon
?code
?on
?

the
?flier
?and
?still
?track
?it
?that
?way.
?

a. Pros:
?This
?will
?reach
?a
?lot
?of
?households.
?The
?reason
?I
?choose
?this
?in
?

the
?5th
?position,
?even
?though
?I
?think
?it
?will
?be
?effective,
?is
?because
?I
?

want
?them
?to
?narrow
?down
?their
?target
?market.
?If
?they
?are
?able
?to
?

build
?a
?sample
?of
?households
?that
?would
?enjoy
?these
?coupons
?than
?

they
?won��t
?be
?blindly
?spend
?money
?on
?home��s
?that
?don��t
?have
?pets.
?
?

b. Cons:
?People
?sometimes
?don��t
?look
?at
?advertisements
?through
?the
?

mail;
?they
?just
?throw
?them
?away,
?which
?would
?be
?a
?waste
?of
?money.
?It
?

can
?be
?difficult
?to
?judge
?the
?impact
?it
?has
?on
?customers
?returning
?after
?

the
?initial
?buy
?with
?the
?coupon.
?
?

Conclusion
?

? In
?conclusion,
?I
?recommend
?John
?and
?Paul
?take
?a
?five
?step
?process
?in
?the
?

development
?of
?their
?marketing
?plan.
?The
?first
?step
?is
?setting
?up
?and
?conducting
?a
?

focus
?group
?to
?generate
?a
?starting
?point
?and
?how
?to
?market
?to
?that
?particular
?group
?

of
?potential
?clients.
?After
?the
?conclusion
?of
?the
?first
?step,
?take
?that
?information
?and
?

help
?generate
?a
?survey
?to
?distribute
?with
?a
?sample
?of
?their
?organic
?dog
?food.
?

Distribute
?these
?to
?pet
?owners
?that
?they
?are
?targeting
?as
?their
?target
?market.
?This
?is
?

the
?next
?step
?of
?the
?process,
?and
?to
?make
?sure
?the
?surveys
?are
?returned
?attach
?a
?

raffle
?for
?free
?organic
?pet
?food
?for
?a
?year.
?In
?step
?number
?three
?I
?recommended
?

creating
?the
?social
?media
?plan
?as
?well
?as
?making
?sure
?the
?website
?is
?created
?and
?

maintained.
?
?Step
?four
?is
?to
?create
?an
?advertising
?plan
?with
?radio
?spots
?and
?magazine
?

spreads,
?these
?would
?create
?a
?buzz
?about
?the
?company
?and
?start
?the
?branding
?

process.
?And
?the
?last
?step
?of
?the
?process
?is
?to
?create
?a
?marketing
?plan
?and
?system
?in
?

which
?to
?track
?flyers
?they
?send
?to
?households.
?I
?believe
?that
?with
?this
?five-?�\step
?

process
?Health
?Gourmet
?would
?become
?very
?successful.
?It
?will
?take
?a
?lot
?of
?time
?and
?

patience
?to
?make
?this
?company
?work
?but
?it
?has
?potential
?to
?be
?very
?wealth
?business
?

venture.
?
?

�ݺ�ߣ

Case study 2

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