I have chosen to improve the packaging (the product factor of the marketing mix) because I believe that it is inadequate in quality and it is the area that could give Milo that competitive edge. Also if I’m going to promote it in the UK through advertisements and promotional activity it appearance should be at its optimum.
Here are the things on my agenda for discussion:
- Improve the Packaging of Milo
- Improving the Case of Milo
- The Distribution of Milo
- Pricing Milo
- Promotion for Milo’s target market
Improving the design cover of Milo
I am going to improve the design on the cover of Milo because it is dull, antiquated and ugly. I believe this to be true because eight out of the ten people I asked on my response sheet rated the packaging at 4 (average) out of 10. Its appearance obviously does not excite or grab their attention or else they would’ve graded it higher. I didn’t find this response a revelation because Nestle have virtually used the same design for Milo since its launch in 1933. Another reason is simply because my primary research identifies it as a weakness. Primary research is any information that is original and is obtained outside an organisation. It is obtained by research conducted by or on behalf of an organisation. My SWOT analysis identifies it as a weakness; “Packaging (design of tin + labelling)”. Eliminating this weakness would turn it into a strength for Milo. This could be achieved by changing the original design for Milo, which is a tin into a more flexible material like a zip packet (pouches). My Competitor Audit identifies this as a disadvantage compared to competitors; Lucozade – buy in different sizes, bottles, cans, pouches, etc. This would benefit Milo extremely because then the appearance of Milo would be more appealing and attractive to customers, thus adding value to promotion. Maintaining an attractive, pleasing on the eye product would work well with promotion because promotion is about raising customer awareness and anticipation about a person or thing. So when promotion is carried out using advertisements on TV, bill boards, internet websites, magazines, etc, consumers will enjoy the visual aspects of the product being promoted, which would build curiosity between consumers and may influence consumer’s decision in buying the product. One aspect I have decided not to change is the colour that covers the whole of the tin of Milo, which is green. This is because green is its intrinsic colour; its bio colour. It’s a colour of nature (grass) and life. Also according to theory green is said to be the most memorable colour. A good reason not to change the colour of Milo is because its distinguishes it from other energy and nutrition drinks; e.g. Lucozade – colour red, Nesquick – colour yellow and blue, Ovaltine – colour orange and purple. Another reason why I want to improve the packaging of Milo is because of competition. Competitors like Lucozade and Nesquick have attractive, up-to-date easy on the eye and stylish packaging characteristics, which makes Milo look out of date. My SWOT analysis identifies this as a threat; “Competitors have diversity in packaging (bottles, pouches, cans, etc)”. This is a disadvantage to Milo because customers don’t have much difficulty when choosing to buy similar products to Milo. They could easily choose the more attractive sensuous packaging of Nesquick rather than the less appealing dull packaging of Milo. This is evident because Nesquick have a combination of bright colours; yellow, red, blue, etc. Also they have a variety of sizes and packaging covers. Whereas Milo only has one type of packaging cover and one dominant colour; this is green. Therefore improving the appearance would add value to Milo.
Improving the case of Milo
I am going to change the current case of Milo. One of the reasons why is because it’s hard to open. I learned during my survey that in order for you to get a drink out of a tin of Milo you need a spoon and then after you’ve opened it, you need to open the silver foil covering the top. Milo was given a 5 (average) out of ten for its ease of making on my survey response sheet. It is evident that from my response sheet Milo is quite hard to use compared to other energy nutrition drinks. For example, Ovaltine was given a 7 (average) for its ease of making and galaxy was given too a 7 (average) for its ease of making. You’ve got to work hard with Milo’s casing to get a drink; this is a huge disadvantage to Milo. For example, currently Milo is not being sold at gymnasiums. This is simply because Milo is not a ready-move drink. If someone at the gym decides to take a couple of minutes break and decides to get a drink, it’s arrant that they would most likely prefer a bottle of Lucozade rather than Milo. This is because Lucozade is a ready-move drink; you don’t have to boil milk or add any think to it; therefore accessibility is quick and effective. Which would you choose if you wanted a quick drink? Milo where you would have to wait four minutes or Lucozade which is instant access. I think it’s obvious that you would prefer Lucozade. This is because you can access it immediately and you can easily open (unscrew lid) it to drink at will. I plan to make Milo into syrup in a bottle to mix. This would be better for Milo because it would be much easier to use like Ribena or Robinsons. This would benefit its accessibility and make Milo more eligible for sale, in more places, e.g. gym, leisure centres, etc. Therefore changing Milo’s case into a more accessible (ready-move) easy to use case would benefit Milo immensely. In addition to this after I change the current case of Milo, I’m going to introduce different sizes of it. This is because my Competitive Audit has identified this as a disadvantage to Milo; Lucozade – buy in different sizes, Nesquick – buy in different sizes. Currently Milo is produced in quantities at 400g only. Rivals such as Nesquick, produce their product in many different sizes; e.g. 80OZ, 15OZ, 30OZ, 56OZ, etc. Introducing different sizes will not only benefit Milo against competitors but it will also benefit Milo commercially to consumers. All different types of consumers will be reached and their needs too. For example a customer may only need 200g of Milo, which, should be about half price compared to the original price for 400g. If Milo produced 200g of Milo the customer would be saving money; hence adding value to the product (Milo).
The Distribution of Milo
Milo is very successful product, despite it poor promotional campaign, especially in countries like Nigeria, Congo, Asia, Kenya, etc. However, its success has not reached the UK because of its accessibility; as stated in my Competitive Audit, “Readily available in Asia but not in the UK and not readily available in shops”. This is a massive disadvantage for Milo because it prohibits Milo from achieving their main objective; to make profit. Also other competitor’s awareness (e.g. Lucozade, Nesquick, Ovaltine, etc) and availability in the UK is larger than Milo’s. My Competitive Audit identifies this as a disadvantage; “Milo currently no promotion in the UK”. I think that Milo as an energy drink could eliminate these disadvantages if Milo (as a product) was sold in sport venues (competitions) and leisure centre. This is because they contain a larger majority of Milo’s potential customers. For example, sporty people and people into fitness workouts. Milo is not just an energy drink but a nutritional health drink as well; hence forth it is eligible for these peoples use. A good reason why I think Milo should be distributed in leisure centres and sport venues is because summer is arriving. This has been indicated by my SWOT analysis as an opportunity; “Summers coming”. I am adamant that this is a good opportunity to get product awareness up because there are going to be more people involved in sport and participation in leisure activities. This to is stated as an opportunity on my SWOT analysis; “Increased awareness of health and fitness”. As a result if the fitness industry grows so shall the demand for energy drinks increase. A disadvantage for Milo is that the product is “Mainly supermarket distributed” as stated on my Competitive Audit. Thus the main market segments will be neglected, creating a hole in Milo’s profits. Therefore it is important that Milo take this opportunity because if Milo is sold at sports venues where its target market are, then product awareness will increase, which could lead to an increase in profits. Consequently a competitive edge will be obtained over competitors.
Pricing Milo
Due to my personal conviction and information attained from my primary research I think that the price charge for Milo is adequate and satisfactory. I believe this because my response sheet identifies it to be so. It is indicated on my response sheet that the cost for a single unit of Milo (400g) is £2.19. The cost of a single unit of Cadbury Bournvita (400g) is £1.97. The cost for a single unit of Milo is in-between the two costs for Cadbury Bournvita and Galaxy. This is good because it allows Milo to compare and contrast it self to competition and produce evaluations Milo’s cost compared to fierce rivals is, I believe perfect because it is not too high or too low. If Milo charged too high like Cadbury Bournvita Milo may loose customers and if the costs were charged too low like galaxy customers may think that the low price indicates lower quality and may feel that they are not getting value for money. I am adamant with the charged price for Milo and I would not change it at all. This is due to three factors, which are identified on my SWOT analysis:
- Value for money
- Unique selling point
- Big sales in other countries
I wouldn’t change the price change for Milo because customers perceive it as value for money. Value for money involves customer’s expectations of price and set standards that meet those expectations. For example, if a theme park increased its entrance price from £12.50 to £25.00, it is likely that repeat customers would feel cheated by the unexplained rise. Value for money is good for Milo because then consumers believe that they are getting a good quality product for their moneys worth; losing this could be detrimental to Milo. I think that the current cost for Milo is just right because if it were not Milo would not have been able to achieve their unique selling point. Achieving a unique selling point proves how well priced Milo is. More- over Milo has been very successful in other countries; as stated in my competitive audit “Readily available in Asia, Nigeria and Australia but not in the UK”. This is good for price because it proves that it is possible for Milo to attain the same success in the UK.
Promotion for Milo’s Target Market
I have decided to promote Milo to sporty leisure orientated people. This is because I’ve identified them through my SWOT analysis as the right people to talk to and convince that Milo is the right energy drink to use. With the summer coming and the fitness industry increasing in participants the most profitable customers will either be those involved in sport or those participating in leisure activities. How I identified these market segments is through these two statements; “Summer coming up” and “Increase fitness industry” as stated on my SWOT analysis.
To establish an effective promotional campaign I’m going to need good promotional activities that are able to:
- Create brand awareness of the product Milo
- Enable consumers to understand the characteristics of Milo
- Persuade them to buy the product Milo
For this reason I have chosen three forms of promotional activities, which reflect the points identified for achieving a successful promotional campaign:
- Advertisements
- Public relations
- Sponsorship
I choose advertisements as one of my promotional activities because of the benefits gained for its advantages and because it is one of the most common marketing communication techniques used today. Virtually every organisation that are profit making business use some form of advertisements. This aids my conviction as to why I’m using this promotional activity. The forms of advertising I’ve chosen to use are T.V ads and the Press. Television advertisements are good and are worth using because they have a tremendous influence on buyers decisions making processes. If the advertisement is well planned (targeted) it can reach huge audiences of potential customers. The greatest advantage of television advertising is that it can show products working. Added to this, the use of music, dialogue, personalities, colour, special effects and animation can help to create a stunning visual impact on a mass audience. Another advantage of television advertising is that it is backed up by teletext service that directs viewers to sources of further information. The single greatest disadvantage for television advertisements is the expense. A 30 second advertisement at peak time on one of the larger ITV stations such as Carlton currently costs around £50,000.
I choose to use the press as a form of advertising because British people are avid readers and buyers of newspapers. In the UK there are approximately 1,300 local and regional newspapers and 21 national dailies and Sunday newspapers. It is proven statistically that on average, over 27 million people read at least one national daily newspaper and 30 million read a national Sunday newspaper. This is good because then press can provide significant opportunities for Milo (as an organisation – Nestle) to communicate with existing or associated with advertising in newspapers. One of the advantages is that newspapers have specific readership profiles that can enable advertisements to target and position their promotional messages to specific groups. Another one of the advantages to advertising in newspapers is that National Press advertising are cheaper than other forms of mass media, such as television advertising and large national audiences can be reached. One other advantage is that advertising in newspaper is very flexible. Advertisements can be reread or even cut – out and kept for future use. The only disadvantage with using the Press is that the advertisements are static and cannot show products or services working.
Public Relation is the planned effort to establish and maintain goods will and mutual understanding between organisation and its public. The form of communication I choose to use is Press Releases. A Press Release is a statement written by an organisation describing a particular event, occasion or piece of interesting news which is sent to the media in the hope that editors will consider it of interest. I choose to use this form of communication because it reduces the chances of receiving negative feedback. For example if I used media inclusions, which featured Milo in a televised documenting about a particular area I could receive negative feedback and this would be bad for Public Relations. Apart from the fact that it is free, the main advantage of getting editorial coverage based on a Press Release rather than, say, advertising, is that people are likely to read it properly without thinking that it is trying to sell them something.
Sponsorship is a business arrangement whereby an organisation offers money or goods in kind to a sports organisation in return for promotional and publicity opportunities. Using this form of promotion is an advantage and adds to Milo. This is because it has tremendous influence on consumer’s decision, it is televised on T.V (not included in costs) and it is where Milo target market is. The only disadvantage with sponsorship is that it is expensive to use. It is vital that I achieve a successful promotion campaign in my first try. This is because (relating to my Competitive Audit and my SWOT analysis) very few people have heard of my product (Milo) therefore, I will need to promote the product to the correct people in the right areas. Failing to do so will result in loss in expenses for promotion.
I’m going to promote Milo in sporty competitions and areas such as leisure centres. This is because the market segments I’m aiming at will be situated around these areas. This would be a big advantage because Milo as an energy drink will be promoted in sport venues, banners, billboards, football grounds, cricket grounds and leisure centres; thus increasing product awareness. This would also be an advantage to Milo because as stated in my SWOT analysis “Sponsorship through sporting events” shows that Milo has an opportunity to expand. I would (again) like to promote the product Milo in the UK because it is stated in my SWOT analysis that “Promotion hasn’t been done in the UK” and as a result of this competitors should have a competitive edge over Milo. Also stated in my Competitive Audit “Currently no promotion in the UK” suggests that product awareness is minimal. The only promotion available to the UK on Milo is websites; “Websites promotion is available to the UK” as stated in my Competitive Audit. This may not help the sale of Milo as it does not state in my Competitive Audit. This may not help the sales of Milo as it does not state where people may be able to purchase the product. An opportunity that may save money for Milo is by using advertising methods from Australia as Milo have “Good sponsorship and adverts in Australia” as stated in the Competitive Audit. A disadvantage of this is that the UK population may prefer a different kind of promotion to those of Australia hence; if promotion is not done correctly competitors will gain a competitive edge over Milo.
