What future marketing plans do you have?
For the future we would like to continue building the Kelloggs brand as a health conscious product aimed at helping people look after their bodies while being able to enjoy tasty products that the whole family can enjoy. As a business we have set up many events and initiatives such as the breakfast club and the Special K plan to make sure people are consuming a healthy balanced diet.
Marketing for Tomorrow
We then were lucky enough to also talk to the manager of marketing at Thorpe Park; Jess Wallace. Thorpe Park has grown during its 32 year existence to become one of the biggest theme parks in the UK and now even offers package holidays for customers to stay within close proximity to the theme park to compete with the likes of Alton Towers. We will be asking Jess what kind of marketing techniques and decisions are made and find out the reasons for the choices.
What marketing objectives does Thorpe Park currently have?
At Thorpe Park we are currently looking to develop new products and improve existing products that we have at our theme park, this is to enable customers to see change each time customers come and visit us so that they feel that they are getting value for their money and so that they feel their first experience is going to be just as thrilling as their next.
Do you feel this is going to be successful in fuelling the growth of Thorpe Park?
I do feel that I will be successful in fuelling our growth as any business that seeks to improve their product or add to it should be successful in achieving what they want to do. At Thorpe Park adding and improving the latest rides will enable us to attract more people to come and try the rides out.
Are there any other strategies that Thorpe Park would consider to be important?
I think branding is very important for us, not because we are struggling to survive but because of the fact that we are not open all year round, so it’s important that the public know when we are going to be reopening and the new things they should expect to see if and when they do return to us.
How are you responding to meet the ever changing needs of your customers?
I feel that we are responding to meet the ever changing needs of our customers by adding and changing our services to make them relevant for today’s generation, for example our Saw ride that we added was a big hit because of the films that were behind it. Also the fact that we realise people all over the country may want to come and enjoy themselves here so that’s why there we have developed special packages that enables families to stay in nearby hotels so they can enjoy the theme park and its surroundings for longer periods of time.
What future marketing plans do you have?
Well with some of the biggest rides currently in Europe and in only one location, a possible future plan for us could be to expand and possibly open a few more location throughout Europe but for now it’s all about making sure that customers are satisfied with the service being provided at our current location in the UK.
Marketing for Tomorrow
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Marketing for Tomorrow
Marketing for Tomorrow
In this article I’m going to be evaluating the effectiveness of the use of the marketing techniques used at Kelloggs, I’m also going to look at the strengths and weaknesses of their approach to marketing.
Kelloggs are an established business and is the world leader in producer of cereal and convenience foods. They have been operating since 1906 and have their 2008 sales at a worth of $13 billion so therefore there is no immediate alarms for them to look towards survival strategies and so their marketing techniques are concentrated towards growth and finding ways for the company to increase their turnover.
Marketing techniques that Kelloggs use include:
- Brand Extension/development – Kelloggs have been extremely successful in this it can be seen through the Crunchy Nut brand that was first introduced in 1980 and with sales of £68 million it was decided in 2003 that there would be an extension of this product. It was named Crunchy Nut Clusters and was available in two varieties Milk Chocolate Curls and Honey and Nut it allowed the brand to reach a wider audience and now the extension is worth £21 million in annual sales. A possible weakness could be that some customers could feel mislead as they may not feel that the new product is worthy of being under the name of Crunchy Nut for example because of they may not feel it has the same quality taste. Others may not feel the need to purchase the product as they may feel that it’s the ‘same’ product just under a different as there are too many variations.
- Brand Building- Kelloggs brand building adverts have been very memorable as they emphasise the greatness of the product and what it can do for us as the consumer. For example to celebrate the work of Kelloggs founder Will Keith Kellogg, Kelloggs decided to produce an advert that told the story of the famous signature behind the brand and the running commentary that comes with it states, ‘ “So if it’s not Kellogg’s on the box, well, it won’t be Kellogg’s in the box”. This helps towards achieving a greater market share as they are stating that even though many have imitated their products Kelloggs are the only cereal based company that really know how to get it right. A weakness to this could be that many just feel as if they are paying for the brand and not the product.
- Diversification – Kelloggs have been quite successful in the diversification of their products and different services that they offer, for example originally they only offered standard cornflakes but as they have grown they have managed to meet the demands of customers no matter what age they may, be and they often set out the target audience for their products through their advertisements. A weakness or a danger of being Kelloggs trying to be too diverse could be them trying to guess or take their customers’ needs for granted by expecting them to automatically enjoy their products.
Kelloggs have shifted in their marketing and production of products as the market has shifted and is ever changing to meet the demands of customers, as they are influenced heavily to become healthier. This is evident in Kelloggs as they first started off by making quality breakfast cereals, then ventured into the snack end of the business, and now concentrate on making sure that both these snacks and cereals are healthy, so they can offer an extra incentive for customers to purchase the product.
