Conclusions

Having collected all my data and research I have come to several conclusions about my product and how to successfully market it. These conclusions will be vital, as they will enable me to gather a clearer picture of the correct ways to achieve my aims. I will state the details of my product and how I shall market it, examining the marketing mix; the four Ps (Product, Price, Promotion and Place). Basically I will endeavour to use all the results from the research, both primary and secondary to make decisions on the details of my product and how to market it.

Product

I will integrate the most popular elements of each potato snack design in order to achieve an accomplished, successful finished product. Therefore, the details of my final product are largely based around the results and analysis of my consumer survey. The product name may seem like a basic thing to research, but this is in fact often the most crucial detail, as people often judge a product by its name. If people are going to be talking about the product (as the most successful form of advertising is by word of mouth) then the name needs to be memorable, suitable and appealing to any possible consumers. I have decided to choose the product name Loop-da-Loops, based on my third design of crisp at the beginning, as this was the most popular name, and indeed the most popular product overall. This means much of the product design and the aesthetics of the product are based around Loop-da-Loops, for example the product shape is a Loop, with one half yellow and one half orange (with food colouring based on flavouring at the factory). The product flavour is curry spice, with the different halves of each loop a mixture of strong spice. I think these aspects of my final product will make the product appealing and also unique, so as my product will stand out from other similar products on the market. These considerations were taken into account with the results of the consumer survey which stated that although Loop-da-Loops were by far the most popular product, certain aspects should be changed, such as the change I have made in the flavour, from spring onion to curry spice. The original packaging design was the most popular in the consumer, and I have made minor adjustments to the design as I feel it looks even more appealing now. I feel the mix of the colours is attractive and appealing and that the style of writing is clever, with the colour scheme adding to the effect of the words Loop-da-Loops. I also feel that as I am aiming for a target market of young people, as well as children, the light-humoured slogan-“they’ll drive your insides loopy!!” will be an effective and appealing aspect of the packaging. The packaging will be foil-packaging, which is the larger bag at 50g. This will also affect pricing. So I think this product will be successful because of the appealing flavouring, packaging along with successful marketing, clever shape of crisp which ties in with the product name and packaging and most of all, it is just the kind of product I can easily picture on the shelves of my local supermarket or newsagents.

Price

Price is a crucial factor when considering my final product, and indeed in the sale of any product. When it comes down to it, consumerism is based around money and getting value for money. Price is nearly always considered when a product is purchased and is often the deciding factor. Products are bought or not bought depending largely on price. The main consumers are looking for in price is a reasonable price. For example, consumers are not going to pay £5.00 for a packet of crisps they can buy for 50p at other shops. As crisp snacks are ...

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Price

Crisps are readily available, a low order good, and this should be reflected in pricing

I have chosen the price of 40p, as although the average desired price from the consumer survey for a 50g bag was 44p, I feel that this is an awkward amount of money and rather than rounding to 40p, I will start out with a lower price as this product needs to develop a market, and should do so with a low price originally to attract this market. This pricing is arguably market-led, but I have a long-term goal that I can use penetrative pricing so if a large section of the market is reached then I can raise the price up to 10p to increase profit margins. I was able to use ideas from both my primary research, the consumer survey, along with secondary research, my business studies textbook in order to finally decide how to price my product.

Promotion

The advertising mediums I have decided to use are billboard advertising and radio advertising. I made this decision mainly based on the expensive pricing that advertising on TV costs. It is unrealistic to expect a firm such as mine just starting up to have the available amount of capital in order to fund this. I also think the blend of visual advertising (billboards) along with the aural advertising (radio) will be very successful in making the public aware of my product. I think that it is important to get that primetime slot on the radio when all the young people are listening on their way to work/school. I also think a suitable time to advertise would be on the return journey, 4pm-6pm, to hit the mothers visiting the supermarkets in order to buy crisps for school lunches, for example. The radio will state the name of the product, along with the slogan and a witty advertisement that will entice listeners to buy the product, and perhaps most importantly, to imprint the name of the product in their minds, familiarise the public with our product. And if people ask: “Yes, we know Loop-da-Loops, but what do they look like?” then they only have to notice the billboard advertising. The billboard advertising will also familiarise people with the slogan, as well as obviously the product name and appearance. Once again such advertisements should be memorable, and panels should be placed at places where there is a lot of traffic. The scenario hopefully will arise when consumers will be looking at our billboards and listening to our advertisement on Cool FM! The research that helped me draw to the conclusions was largely based on feedback from UTV, Cool FM and the ASA and the spreadsheets. I also considered the implications of the consumer survey on advertising.

Place

Place is also an integral factor when considering how to market my corn snack. I will need to establish a chain of production, with primary, secondary and tertiary connections all crucial. I will need to secure the premises to manufacture the product, as well as a primary resource that actually grow the corn, for example a farm. This farm will most likely be abroad, as labour is cheaper abroad, so production costs are produced. From statistics comparing British arable farming with Central American arable farming I was able to find out that more corn and better quality corn is often produced abroad, so my product can meet the quality of other products released by competitors. From the secondary sector we will need a factory, where the manufacturing, flavouring and packaging will be taken care of. The product will then be distributed in vans and lorries (which can also be a method of promotion) to the tertiary side of the chain of production. I will mainly distribute to supermarkets and newsagents, as these were the most popular places to buy crisps according to my consumer survey. I will start off selling the product in these locations, before in the future looking for expansion into cinemas, restaurants, ice-cream parlours, pubs or basically anywhere other crisp snacks are available.

I will establish a chain of production, from primary to secondary to tertiary stages