Tag Archives: product positioning

by | Thursday, July 25, 2024 · 7:29 am

Chew on this – Declining Gum Sales

Do you chew gum? The odds are that you probably used to chew gum, but have fallen out of the habit. One reason for the sales decline – Covid-19 lockdowns hit our snacking sales and impulse buys at stores. Gum is one of those products that people tend to pick up at check-out at the last minute. Closed stores equals no sales.

According to research firm Euromonitor, the pandemic hit gum sales hard – global gum sales fell from $19.5 billion in 2019, to $16.1 billion in 2020, and are still low at $19.7 billion. But a new $50 million ad campaign from Mars Wrigley hopes to increase gum sales with a new approach. The campaign will run in 70 countries, with a heavy investment in Europe.

Previously, chewing gums were positioned along the lines of fresh breath and long-lasting taste. But now Mars is taking a new approach – that gum can help with mental wellness by quieting the ‘mouth in your mind’. In other words – a stress reliever. Indeed, some research has shown that chewing gum can help with focus and stress. But will linking gum to wellness work?

Ask me when I’m done chewing.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students about their gum-chewing habits.
  2. List all the gum brands on the board that students can recall.
  3. Why has chewing gum fallen out of favor?
  4. Where is chewing gum in the product life cycle?
  5. Show new ads: https://www.youtube.com/@ExtraOfficialUK
  6. What are student opinions about the ad?
  7. View Mars Wrigley website: https://esp.mars.com/en/made-by-mars/mars-wrigley?language_content_entity=en
  8. Review key aspects of developing a product positioning map, including determining the axis labels for positioning.
  9. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a positioning map for chewing gum. How can gum be re-positioned?

Source:  Deighton, K. (12 June 2024). Gum sales peaked in 2011. Can Mars Wrigley get people chewing again? Wall Street Journal; Mahdawi, A. (14 March 2024). Stressed out? Get chewing. The Guardian.

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by | Thursday, June 27, 2024 · 7:43 am

Raising a Fur Baby isn’t Cheap

We love our pets. We truly do. They’re furry and soft and show their love for their people (except for cats). But the costs to keep them healthy is increasing. Between veterinarian bills, food, insurance, toys and more, the costs just seem to build. One of the largest recurring costs is food. Over the last three years, pet food prices have increased more than 23%. That’s a big part of the monthly consumer budget and spending.

Last year, Americans spent more than $64 billion on pet food alone! And this year’s spending is expected to grow by another 4%. More than 40% of pet owners also want their pets to eat healthy.

As a result of the price increases, more consumers are searching for bargain brands instead of big brand labels when shopping for pet food. Savvy companies such as Post Consumer Brands and General Mills have purchased different pet food companies over the years to gain products at different price points.

According to research by CashNetUSA, the most expensive country for feeding dogs is Japan at $2,056 annually, while in the U.S. feeding a dog is roughly $865/year (still pretty expensive).

In the U.S., the average dog owner will spend more than $28,800 over the pet’s lifetime. The most expensive state for pet costs is California (at $35,452/lifetime) versus Oklahoma as the least expensive (at $24,855). No wonder consumers are searching for lower-cost options!

According to a survey of 1,000 dog owners nationwide, 91% of people have experienced some degree of financial stress related to the cost of pet care. Roughly 66% of people state they have cut back on personal spending in response the increased costs.

How much do you spend on food for your fur baby?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who has a pet? How much do they spend on pet food each month?
  2. Show the chart of global expenses for feeding a dog: https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-market/news/15662748/study-reveals-the-cost-to-feed-your-dog-in-every-country
  3. Show the chart of dog expenses in each U.S. state: https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/pet-insurance/cost-of-owning-a-dog-study/
  4. Show results from survey of 1,000 dog owners: https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/pet-insurance/cost-of-pet-ownership-2023/
  5. Review key aspects of developing a product positioning map, including determining the axis labels for positioning.
  6. Review pet food brands. What products are competitors?
  7. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a positioning map for one of the pet food brands.
  8. Next, for their team’s brand, have each team select three different tactics. For each tactic, explain why it was selected and how it will be used.

Source:  Cleaver, L. (24 January 2024). Study reveals the cost to feed your dog in every country. PetfoodIndustry.com; Gollub, H. and Lobb, J. (21 February 2024). Survey: 91% of dog owners have experiences financial stress over the cost of pet ownership. USA Today;  Johnson, B. (23 May 2024). Costs keep rising to feed the fur babies. Minneapolis Star Tribune; Wallace A. (22 March 2023). Price hikes are double whammy for pet owners who are crushed by inflation. CNN Business.

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by | Wednesday, May 29, 2024 · 10:48 am

Evaluating Competitive Products

According to research from Harvard Business School, nearly 30,000 new products are introduced each year, and yet from that number, roughly 95% fail. Wow. That’s a lot of products trying to get consumers’ attention and gain their trust. And, that’s a lot of marketing expertise working to launch products that consumers truly want and need.

One way to make sure a product has an edge is to conduct research to compare and analyze competing products. Of course this is best done in a testing and evaluation stage, but no matter the stage, the importance of a positive review can’t be understated.

Research shows that consumers are strongly influenced by reviews – either from current users or independent testers. Positive reviews are likely to influence sales and build trust. But even negative reviews have something to offer marketers as these can identify problem areas that need to be quickly rectified.

There are many product testing reviewers out there, including work done by Consumer Reports, J.D. Power, Good Housekeeping, and Wirecutter (part of the New York Times). According to Wirecutter, they test and review thousands of products to save consumers the time and stress of shopping – whether it’s for gifts or personal use.

A valuable tool used for testing – the humble spreadsheet to measure strengths and weaknesses of products. Good gets colored green, mediocre is colored yellow, and failing attribute gets colored red.

Try it out and test a group of products. What should marketing say about it?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: How much do they depend on product reviews? From friends? From other sources?
  2. View Wirecutter’s website: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/
  3. Here’s an example of recent evaluation for coffee pods: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-nespresso-pods/
  4. Show videos: https://www.youtube.com/@wirecutter
  5. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a product line or service that college students might purchase. The product should be something with complexity and impact, not a commodity. (See https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/ for examples.)
  6. For each product line, have teams develop a list of attributes important to consumers. The list should have a minimum of five attributes or more. There should also be at least five competing products to compare.
  7. Each team should develop their own spreadsheet and testing protocol.
  8. Now, have the teams analyze the products accordingly.
  9. How should this information be communicated to consumers?

Source: Airhart, E. (7 November 2023). Wirecutter’s secret to making great picks: Obsessive spreadsheeting. New York Times; Wirecutter. (30 April 2024). The best Nespresso pods you can buy at the grocery store. New York Times.

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