Week 9 EOC: Social Media

I don't think my product would be advertised highly on social media. The main reason is because my product is for children. There are not that many children scrolling on social media. The small amount of social media exposure would be aimed towards parents. I would start a facebook for my product. I will post informative things on my product. There would be posts where I will post videos of how the product is made and videos of the commercials. I want the consumer to have a reason to look at my page. I want them to go on my page not just because they like the product or just because they were curious. I want them to go on my page because they want to see the new interesting things I post. I want them to enjoy going on my page cause they might learn something about how process in making vitamins or they might see a funny commercial that they want to watch again.
“Today's sophisticated consumer wants informative advertising and knowledgeable salespeople”(pg7)
I would also make a twitter account for my product. The tweets would be basically the same type of information that I would have on my Facebook. I would tweet videos that are interesting, informative and/or humorous to watch. Again, I want people to go on my page because they like the things I post and/or tweet. I want to gain a following just because of what I post on social media.
“It assumes that many consumers and business customers prefer to have an ongoing relationship with one organization rather than switch continually among providers in their search for value”(pg8)
I want my customers to not only be one time customers. I want to form a sort of relationship through social media. Because I keep posting new things, it will keep the customer interested and help them stay with my product. Not only can they watch and learn but their children can watch and learn. It can be a bonding experience for the parent and the child. When this happens, the customer thinks they are getting something out of my product.
“People who spend their money, time, and energy expect to receive benefits, not just goods and services”(pg10)

Week 8 EOC: Creative Content

For the creative content part of my marketing plan, I want to reinvent the way the average children's vitamin bottle looks like. Traditionally, the bottle looks like any other vitamin bottle, just a round bottle with a label. Its usually made more appealing to children by having a character on it such as a dinosaurs or characters from actual cartoons such as The Flintstones. I have a different approach for the overall look of the bottle. My idea is to make the bottle the shape of a chocolate bar. It's sort of an illusion. The bottle will have the 3D look of a chocolate bar but the top will come off revealing the chocolate flavored vitamins inside. One of the main reasons besides the fact that I want my product to stand out, is that I believe it will make it fun for the children taking the vitamins.
“The culture of the organization is to focus on delighting customers rather than on selling products”(pg8)
I believe that having this illusion of the bottle being a chocolate bar will kind of enhance the experience of taking vitamins. Not only will the taste make it seem like it is chocolate, the unique packaging makes it look like there's candy inside of the bottle. The child might see the vitamin as something that they would want to take everyday without their parents having to remind and/or force them. The child would look at the vitamin as a treat rather then something healthy.
“ Ideally, new uses for old products stimulate additional sales among existing customers while also bringing in new buyers.”(pg16)
Parents will be more obliged to buy my product because out of all the vitamins out there, this is the one that the children like the most. I also wanted to design a bottle that represents the product inside. Having the bottle be the shape of a chocolate bar in my opinion is more effective than just writing it on the label. The shape alone standing out will bring more attention to it because it looks so different. More people will stop and look at them for that reason.
“Focusing on customer wants and needs so that the organization can distinguish its product(s) from competitors' offerings”(Pg5)
I am focusing on the wants and needs of the child. What the child wants and/or likes and vise versa. I am focusing on the children because they are the ones that are eating this product. If they enjoy and really like the vitamins then nine times out of ten the parents will buy it. The parent's will buy the product that their child likes because at the end of the day they want them to take their vitamins.

Implenttion Evalutation Control

TBC

Marketing Mix: Price

The price of product will be about the same price as the other vitamins. I might try to make it less if it's possible. I think making it more expensive is going to stray the customers away from my product. I think what's going to keep my customers buying regardless of the price is the quality. Even though they are going to be low in price, doesn't mean that I'm going to have a poor quality of vitamin. I think that people value the vitamins more than the price. People will pay more for a product that they think is good quality. 

“Customers value goods and services that are of the quality they expect and that are sold at prices they are willing to pay”(pg6)

The normal price for a regular children's vitamin would be about$4-$8. I am going to try to match that price. I don't want to make it too expensive because I feel like parents aren't going to buy it. Families in this economy don't have a lot of money. They do not want to pay extra money one a product when they can get it for cheaper. I don’t know if it would be a smart idea to make the product less than all the competition. Especially in the smaller states, if it’s not selling then I wont make a lot of profit.  In the states that are more populated, I would increase the price. I want to increase it because I think those people would buy the product even though the price is raised. Also because things in cities such as New York and Los Angeles are expensive. So the people that live there are already used to paying a certain amount of money for their products. To them it won’t be expensive. 

Marketing Mix: Distirbution

My product is going to be sold in supermarkets and in Walmart. I am putting them there because that is where families shop the most. When it comes to distribution, I want it to be distributed all over the United States. I want to focus more on the most popular states such as New York City and California. I feel like because there is more people, there would be more sales than if I were to sell to very small states. I also want to distribute my product in larger populated states is because there are new people moving there every day. That gives me an opportunity for new sales.

“The best companies view new new customer attraction as the launching point for developing and enhancing a long term relationship”(pg8)

There are a couple of reasons why I only want to distribute in the United States and not ll around the world. The first reason is because chocolate tastes different every country you go. Each country has it's distinct flavor and It would be hard and expensive to try and manipulate all of them in my vitamins.
“A market-oriented organization carefully analyzes the market and divides it into groups of people who are fairly similar in terms of selected characteristics.”(pg10)

The second reason for only distributing in the United States is because not every country is as big on children's multivitamins like the US is. I don't want to try to market Americanized vitamins to a country that doesn't use those type of vitamins. There are some countries that don't use any type of vitamins at all, they prefer tea. It wold take a lot of time and  research to figure out what each country likes and doesn't like in terms of vitamins. It would also cost a lot to try and make my vitamins all the ways that every country likes it. 

“The culture of the organization is to focus on delighting customers rather than on selling products”(pg8)

Marketing MIx: Promotion

Because my product aimed at children, that is who I will promote to. I think having the children want to get it really bad is better than advertising to the parents. I say that because I feel like the parents will go out and buy it if the children really want it. There would be many ways that I would promote. The first would be adds in magazines. My special holiday flavors will have a page add in the holiday catalogs that certain store mail out. I feel like doing that, It'll be exciting for the parents that do read the magazine and would want to get the new flavors for their children.

"Ideally, new uses for old products stimulate additional sales among existing customers while also bringing in new buyers."(pg16)

The second would be promotion through television. Because my target market is children I will be putting commercials on the cartoon channels such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. I think that by having adds there the children will end up seeing it more. there are many children who watch TV everyday so they would be seeing it everyday. I would also put commercials on the regular channels for the parents to see. I won't have as many commercials because I feel like the parents aren't going to get excited like the children would. Also many people don't pay attention to commercials.

"Today's sophisticated consumer wants informative advertising and and knowledgeable sales people"(pg7)

The commercials for the regular channels and the ones for the children's channels are going to be very different. The commercials on the regular channels are going to be more based on health information. Parent's want to buy whatever is the healthiest for their children. So by putting the health information on the commercials, they will know that it is healthy and good for the child not only tasty. The commercials on the children's channels are going to be more entertaining. Children don't care about the nutrition facts. So if I base the commercial around that, most likely the child will not pay attention to the commercials. For that reason, I will make my commercials more focused on fun and the fact that it tastes like chocolate. It will also have loud music and bright colors throughout the commercials. Those are things that keep the child's attention. 

Marketing Mix: Product

My product is pretty simple. Children's vitamins are something that is used in everyday life. What makes my product stand out, however, is the look and the taste. My vitamins are designed to look and taste like real chocolate candy. What will really make my product stand out is the variations. My vitamins will not have only one flavor. There will be multiple flavors.
"A product development strategy entails the creation of new products for present markets"(pg17)
The flavors will come out over time. The first would be white chocolate flavored vitamins. Then there will be dark chocolate flavored. The rest will be based on seasons and holidays. For example, mint chocolate for St Patrick's Day and chocolate with peppermint for the Christmas season. I believe that this will keep my product exciting. Children and parent's would be excited to try new flavors and see what is coming next. Some flavors will be limited editions. I feel like this would make people want to buy them because they are only around for a limited time.
" Diversification is a strategy of increasing sales by introducing new products into new markets"(pg17)
I will constantly try new things so the customer has something to look forward to. For example, I would try to imitate a candy such as Reese's pieces and make my vitamins taste like peanut butter chocolate. I think that constantly changing the way my chocolate vitamins taste will help me keep my customers. I want my product to constantly try new flavors just likes Oreo's and pop-tarts do. Even though I will experiment with different flavors the original will always be on the shelf next to it. I want to keep the original because there re some people that don't like change. If I change the flavor and not have the original, I might lose those customers. That's something that I don't want to happen.
"Market development a marketing strategy that entails attracting new customers to existing products."(pg17)
I believe that by adding excitement with my new and limited flavors, I am attracting new customers. Some children don't like milk chocolate. By having multiple flavors I might have a kind of chocolate that they do like. Those customers might be drawn to my product because of the variety that it has. The main goal for my product is to make everyone happy. I want to be able to make something that all children will like and having multiple flavors will help me do so.

Target Market Strategy

With my product being children's vitamins, my target market would be children. I will not target to small children only. I will market to kids up to the age of 13 because that is the typical age that parents stop giving them children's vitamins.
"A competitive advantage is a set of unique features of a company and it's products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to those of the competition."(pg23)
I think that what is going to make my product stand out to my target market is it's taste, looks, and design. All of the vitamins that are popular are pretty much the same. They are all some type of fruit flavored and some are gummy. The gummy taste similar to candy but not fully. And the hard vitamins tend to have a very grainy taste to them. My vitamins are different because it's going to taste just like candy. The vitamins will also look like pieces of candy so the child's mind would be tricked into thinking that they are eating a piece of candy. I think this will draw my target market, children, away from the other vitamins that are out there. Every kid likes candy. I also think that because it's so different from the other vitamins, parents would want to try it out just to see how the child will like it.
" A product/service differentiation competitive advantage exists when a firm provides something that is unique and valuable to buyers beyond simply offering a lower price than that of the competition"(pg24) 
Starting off I am only going to market the product in the United States. I will put my products in supermarkets and Walmarts all around he country, I am going to market my product in those places because I know that is where families shop the most. Every family has to go to the super market to buy groceries. There's a better chance that a family would stumble upon my products at a supermarket or Walmart rather than a store such as CVS or Walgreen's.
"A sustainable competition advantage is one that cannot be copied by the competition."(pg25)
The competition will try to mimic my brand by making their own version of chocolate flavored vitamins. They will do this to attempt to take back the consumers in our target market.I believe that even though the taste can be copied but they cannot copy the taste. I think the taste alone is what's going to keep the buyers in my target market coming back.

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS
The main strength for my company is it's uniqueness. There is no other children's vitamin bottle the is shaped the way that I want to shape my bottle. The bottle commonly used for children's vitamins is just a regular cylinder bottle.Making them chocolate flavor is also one of my strengths in my opinion. The most popular flavors for children's vitamins are fruit flavored. Even the gummy bears are fruit flavored. Making my vitamins chocolate flavored makes them stand out from the competition because it is not a flavor that is commonly used for children's vitamins.
WEAKNESSES
One of the main weaknesses in my business would be that there is only one flavor. Many popular children's vitamins have multiple fruit flavors such as cherry and grape. Some children like having different flavors because each time they have a vitamin it's different and it's kind of exciting because they get to guess what flavor they're going to get. There are some children who only like one flavor and will not eat any other flavor. I am not advertising to both of these children. My product being only one flavor, would appeal to the child that only likes that one flavor. That makes a whole group of children that I am losing because of that reason. Another weakness is that they only come in one form. Some children like the gummy vitamins opposed to the hard kind. With my product being the hard kind, that eliminates another group of children.
OPPORTUNITIES
One of the opportunities that my product has is the opportunity to grow.  If my product gains a lot of popularity, I will have the opportunity to expand into other flavors. Instead of just milk chocolate flavored vitamins, I could have other types of chocolate such as white chocolate or dark chocolate. I could even experiment with trying to make it taste like actual chocolate bars such as M&M's or Reese's Pieces
THREATS
The biggest threat I would have would be imitation. Other companies would begin making their own versions of chocolate flavored vitamins to compete with my company and my product. When that situation happens I would have to really focus on the taste. I would have to make the taste the best out of all the other vitamins. Most vitamins taste grainy and I would try to avoid that to make my product taste as much as possible to actual chocolate.

Objectives

The objectives of my company are pretty simple. The main objective of my company would be to help the health of a child. Vitamins are designed to keep you healthy. They are packed with nutrients that are good for the body. For children, vitamins help the children grow and helps them be strong. It also helps their little bodies fight against sicknesses.

“Focusing on customer wants and needs so that the organization can distinguish its product(s) from competitors' offerings”(Pg5)

Another objective is to make something that children can enjoy.  The whole flavor being chocolate is for the children’s enjoyment. I want children to enjoy what they’re eating. I also want to them to want to take the their vitamins. I don’t want children to look at taking vitamins in the morning as a chore. I want them to be happy about what they’re eating. I don’t believe that children really want something that’s healthy. Some children pair healthy with nasty. They assume that because something is healthy it is not going to taste for. A good example of that are vegetables. Many children think vegetables are “icky”. Because of that reason they don’t want to eat it regardless of how healthy they are.

Those are honestly the two main objectives for my company. I don’t only want to make something that is the same as all the other brads. I want to stand out.  Think the best way to stand out is by focusing o these two goals. I want to make something that is not only healthy, but tastes amazingly good.  I believe that these two factors will keep parents buying my product.  My company will work hard to make sure that these two objectives are always met.