Friday, March 5, 2010

Saxonville Sausage Company Case

For my marketing class, we had to analyze a Harvard Business Case Study on the Saxonville Sausage
Company Case (sorry, you have to pay for the whole thing).

Anyway, the assignment was as follows:

Every Student:

1. Read the case carefully.

2. Analyze the case.

3. Prepare written answers to the questions for the case (listed below) and submit them by the
due date. Title this document file as follows: your name and case name. (e.g. NameSSC.doc).
The word document should include your answer to each question and should not exceed the
specified word limit per answer.

Individual Case Questions

1. Which of the four positioning concepts in exhibit 8 do you recommend for Saxonville
Sausage and why? (200 word maximum)

2. Using the format shown in the lecture material on positioning, what would the full
positioning statement be for your recommended concept? (150 word maximum)

3. Which brand name do you recommend and why? (100 word maximum)

Basically, Saxonville has had one toe in the water with its line of Italian sausage line and wants to
create a new brand for it and position it to a new market. Here is what I came up with.

1. Which of the four positioning concepts in exhibit 8 do you recommend for Saxonville Sausage
and why? (200 word maximum)

Saxonville Sausage should use the “Clever Cooking” positioning concept. As the case points out, both
this position and “Family Connection” came out of qualitative and quantitative testing as viable
options. But, as Banks points out there is a good chance the respondents’ familiarity with exiting
brands’ “authentic Italian heritage” may have biased their opinion toward Family Connection.

Furthermore, this position threatens to cannibalize Saxonville’s other products and could fail to
differentiate itself from other brands. Clever cooking seems to be the most versatile, lasting and
distinctive. At the same time, this position is easier to communicate than the Family Connection
position. Finally, in the purchase intent study, almost twice as many respondents said they definitely
would buy the product based on the Clever Cooking position than the Family Connection position.
We know that there is a higher correlation between definitely would buy and probably would buy
(which is where Family Connection excelled).
2. Using the format shown in the lecture material on positioning, what would the full positioning
statement be for your recommended concept? (150 word maximum)

To the family chiefs who like to cook something special and creative for their families, Vivio is the
finishing ingredient that will make your meals masterpieces because it compliments your meals
better than any competitor. Each variety of Vivio comes with “family approved” one-dish recipes for
a wholesome real meal in minutes.

With Vivio, you never run out of ideas for dishes your whole family will love.

3. Which brand name do you recommend and why? (100 word maximum)

I would stick with Vivio. I just don’t see any reason to change it. While Vivio hasn’t been a huge
success to date, the brand was just “lobbed out there” as the case says. Changing it gains you really
nothing because not too many people are even aware of it, and doing so may confuse or alienate the
few loyal customers the brand actually has.

Although Saxonville Sausage have been profitable for over seventy years, I feel that the addition of
the Italian Sausage to their product line finally opened the gates to the north eastern markets for
The Saxonville Sausage Company. Lucrative northeast cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and
Boston have a large Italian-American demographic, and as a result the Italian Sausage is hot selling
product. While Bratwurst, and Breakfast Sausage are their number one and two products (in terms
of percentage of total sales), both have produced diminutive sales in north eastern stores. While the
Vivio line had been prosperous by then, there is still plenty of work to be done, and they must
demonstrate innovation and quality within their product and their strategy. There are numerous
companies that exclusively sell Italian Sausage to the northeast. Since Saxonville Sausage are
competing against consumer known companies for the same target market, a creative potential
positioning concept is vital. The first step into developing a strong food marketing campaign is
knowing your product, and determining what can be done to improve upon it. Saxonville Sausage
has to deal with plants, unions, shipping, packaging, and health regulations. Due to all these
constraints, competing is difficult for small companies. Managing the business that they already have
is a challenge, introducing a new product is pretty difficult. The size of Saxonville Sausage is an edge,
and that edge is Pre-Cooked Sausage.
Many of the Italian Sausage companies located throughout the northeast operate on one single
plant that can only produce the basic ground sausage link that you find next to the hamburgers at
the supermarket. In order for them to produce Pre-Cooked Sausages, they must have it done at an
external ...
Although we have been profitable for over seventy years, I feel that the addition of the Italian
Sausage to our product line will finally open the gates to the northeastern markets for The Saxonville
Sausage Company. Lucrative northeast cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston have a
large Italian-American demographic, and as a result the Italian Sausage is hot selling product. While
Bratwurst, and Breakfast Sausage are our number one and two products (in terms of percentage of
total sales), both have produced diminutive sales in northeastern stores. While the Vivio line has
been prosperous thus far, there is still plenty of work to be done, and we must demonstrate
innovation and quality within our product and ourselves. There are numerous companies that
exclusively sell Italian Sausage to the northeast. Since we are competing against consumer known
companies for the same target market, a creative potential positioning concept is vital.
The first step into developing a strong food marketing campaign is knowing your product, and
determining what can be done to improve upon it. As you know; sausage is a complex business. We
deal with plants, unions, shipping, packaging, and health regulations. Due to all these constraints, life
is difficult for small companies. Managing the business that they already have is a challenge,
introducing a new product is near impossible. I have just been hired by Saxonville, so I don’t know
exactly how many plants we have, but since the company has business nationally, and appraised
over 1.5 billion in Sales in 2005, I am willing to bet that we have invested in multiple sausage plants.
The size of our company can give us an edge, and that edge is Pre-Cooked Sausage.
Many of the Italian Sausage companies located throughout the northeast operate on one single
plant that can only produce the basic ground sausage link that you find next to the hamburgers at
the supermarket. In order for them to produce Pre-Cooked Sausages, they must have it done at an
external plant, and that can be very pricey. Usually these companies only offer the Pre-Cooked
Sausage at stadiums and outdoor carts. Since our company has the resources to produce the Pre-
Cooked Sausage internally, we can sell the pre-cooked product at supermarkets; something only a
handful of companies can afford to do.
If my notion holds true, and we can produce Pre-Cooked Sausage internally, then not only can we
get this unique product into a handful of northeastern supermarkets, but we can also appropriate
the business of competitors with stadium deals. Premio Sausage for example, is the only Italian
Sausage that can be purchased at every metropolitan stadium (Madison Square Garden, The
Meadowlands, Yankee Stadium, Nassau Coliseum, and Shea Stadium). This company has to
manufacture pre-cooked sausage internally as they only have one plant (located in Hawthorne, New
Jersey), which is dedicated to their ground products. If we can make this product for less than what
Premio spends to make their product, then we can sell the product to the stadiums at a cheaper
price, and reap the benefits. By focusing on the Pre-Cooked Italian Sausage sub-product we can
separate the Vivio name from the brands that northeastern consumers are used to.
Another way to successfully intensify the Vivio marketing campaign is to model a sense of family
connection with the sausage. When people think of Italian food, they think of large family portions,
and a comfy environment. Companies like The Olive Garden, Ragu, and Prego have had considerable
success using this technique. In the Italian Sausage-using Consumer Positioning Concept Voting
Analysis, fifty-four of the first place votes went to Family Connection. It is important that people look
at our sausage as a “social meal”. One way of accomplishing this could simply be an extensive
coupon investment, as studies show that the majority of people that clip coupons come from
families; especially housewives. Coupons would increase exposure to our target market, as Vivio
would enter the homes of more families.
“Family Style Sausage” is an idea that would not only benefit the sense of family connection, but also
separate our brand from others. In food marketing, “Family Style” generally means large portions.
Wholesale Centers like Costco, and Sam’s Club are very fond of copious items, and they might be
willing to take the risk of putting a larger than average sausage on their shelves. While this idea may
not work well with people that simply cook a sausage, put it on an Italian roll, and eat it. It could
work well with people that cut up Italian Sausage and put it in various salads, and pasta dishes, as it
would be cheaper and more convenient than simply cooking two regular sized Sausages.
The “Family Style Sausage” not only represents Family Connection on the Customer Consumer
Positioning Concept, but also Clever Cooking. It is important for us to market Vivio as a food that can
be used in many different ways. There will always be a market for the prototypical Italian Sausage
Sandwiches; however we can create a new market for people who enjoy a variety of sausage
cuisines; such as Baked Ziti with Sausage, Sausage Crock Pots, and Sausage Frittata. Since there are
hundreds of recopies that require Italian Sausage, it would be wise to take a page from the
cracker/chip marketers, and put some recipes on the package that it is sold in.
It is important for the Research and Development department to come up with ideas that do not
insult the integrity of the consumers. Italian Sausages are different than Chicken Nuggets. Kid-
friendly shapes and different flavor varieties won’t work, as people are generally very particular
about Italian food. Most successful Italian food businesses market authenticity, and quality. If we let
Vivio become known as a “novelty” Italian Sausage, people will think the quality of our brand is not
up to par. It’s important to remember that the goal of Vivio is to open the doors to the northeast for
Saxonville. For Vivio to garner success in the northeast, they must appease to the large population of
Italian food lovers, and since we are not an Italian company it is even more important to for our
product to maintain legitimacy.
Although having a distinct product is important, advertising is what sells it. The best way to run a
successful advertising campaign around Italian Sausage is to allow the Italian Sausage to market
itself. Large, mouthwatering photos around cities, stadiums, and highly populated recreational spots
have been known to be effective. One way that we can both advertise and sell Sausages is with the
efficient use of Sausage carts/stands. Sausage carts give the consumers a sample, while serving as a
billboard at the same time. With my proposed increased of Pre-Cooked Sausage output, we would
have the ability to employ large amounts sausage carts. Another way, that we can successfully
advertise Vivio is with the use of radio. It is important that we influence the consumers into saying
“I’ll have a Vivio” instead of “I’ll have a Sausage. When listening to the radio, people are known to
repeat what they hear.
It will be a long and arduous process, but Vivio has the chance to be a very profitable product for
Saxonville, if we sell a quality product, and get the message out to our target market. Ross Perot
once said “Business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great
engineering, and providing tremendous service to customers. Although there are many Italian
Sausage Companies that got to the northeast before us, we can still make our mark if we stay within
ourselves, and market a unique and respectable product.
ANALYSIS OF PRODUCT MARKET
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS Stagnant growth rates for bratwurst and breakfast categories across all
sausage producers nationwide. Several years of solid growth rates for Italian sausage across all
producers nationwide. Grocers are finding that the predicted growth of specialty meat items can
help raise their profits, especially if armed with educational materials and product-specific
knowledge. There is becoming a need for point of contact personnel to understand the common
terminology such as “organic, natural, and naturally raised”.

1 while dinner sausage has become the fastest growing product within the national sausage
market, it is important to note that consumers view Italian sausage as an ingredient rather than a
dinner option. This attitude will need to be addressed in the promotional campaign.3 Industry
research increasingly shows the consumer’s demand of wholesome product to be on the rise. This
shift in consumer preferences will need to be addressed in the promotional campaign.2 No current
national producer of fresh product 29 current regional producers of fresh product

MAJOR CONSTRAINTS Italian sausage marketing potentially leads to cannibalism of other portfolio
products Capital intensive distribution network necessary for delivery of fresh product nationwide
Large number of regional producers necessitate flexible marketing in order to be competitive in all
markets
Tactical Marketing Plan: Launch of National Italian Sausage Brand
February 13, 2008
Page | 4

ANALYSIS OF EXTERNAL MARKET

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT While the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is forecasting the national
economy to expand by a rate of 2.5%, in line with the last two years growth numbers, they are quick
to point out that this figure is considered below the potential growth for the United States. We
should also expect to see volatile quarterly fluctuations, as well as slightly higher unemployment
figures when compared to last year. 5 While core inflation...
Saxonville Sausage Case Analysis

Running head: SAXONVILLE SAUSAGE CASE ANALYSIS

Saxonville Sausage Case Analysis

Paul Connolly, Dmitry Kolesnikov, Sergio Wilson
Creighton University
Marketing Management
MBA 761
Dr. Matt Seevers
March 25, 2009

Saxonville Sausage Case Analysis

Client’s Objective
      The objective of Saxonville Sausage Company is to achieve its profit objectives for the
next fiscal year. To meet this objective, they plan to launch its regional Italian sausage brand
nationally.   This strategy will allow Saxonville to increase market share in the only segment
that has experienced growth in recent fiscal years.
      In sales of sausage types produced and distributed by Saxonville nationally, bratwurst
has remained flat and breakfast sausage has experienced a continual decline in market
share. Nationwide these categories have remained flat across all sausage producers with
little or no short-term growth expected.   In contrast, the Italian sausage category showed
growth nationwide.   Saxonville's brand matched that performance.   With distribution
currently limited to only 16% of national supermarkets, future growth in this category is a
viable expectation.
Critical Issues
      Brand Identity & Positioning - Bluntly, the brand was developed and launched with little
if any marketing support or strategy.   In order to quickly achieve and sustain market
saturation to support next fiscal year’s objectives, this deficit needs to be addressed by
establishing a brand identity and effective product positioning.
      In developing the branding strategy, the goals are to develop a brand name and establish
a link between the brand and customer’s core values (Moore, 2007, p. 4).   In market
research for Saxonville’s brand label, respondents ranked the Vivio name seventh with
several other names receiving a more favourable response.   In markets where Saxonville
Bratwursts are distributed, respondents viewed the name Saxonville as “German-seeming.”
On a positive note, Saxonville has...
Marketing Plan: Saxonville Sausage Company

Marketing Plan: Saxonville Sausage Company

1. Business Overview
With the history of 70 years, Saxonville, the privately held family business is one company of
revenues of approximately $1.5 billion in 2005, the main products are the variety of predominately
fresh pork sausage consisted of branded products: bratwurst, breakfast sausage and an Italian
sausage named Vivio, which occupied 70%, 20%, 5% of Saxonville’s revenues respectively. Store
brand products accounted for the rest of 5% revenue. This marketing plan has been explicitly
designed to launch a national Italian sausage brand that Saxonville needed to bring to market in
order to achieve it profit objectives for the next fiscal year.
2. Market Overview
The heart of Saxonville’s business, bratwurst and breakfast products were sold throughout the
United States via both national and regional brokers and distributors, the products had very little
distribution in stores in the Northeastern markets. Meanwhile, both the bratwurst and breakfast
categories across all sausage producers has been flat (0% volume increase) nationwide since 2004,
and with little or no growth expected in the short term. However, the Italian sausage was the one
category showing growth across producers in the retail sausage market, having an annual increasing
rate of 9% in 2004 and 15% in 2005.

Some specific indexes and parameters of Saxonville are described as below:

 Stagnant growth rates for Saxonville’s bratwurst.
 Underperformance incurred for Saxonville’s breakfast sausage and resulted in a double-digit
revenue decline.
 Ranked sixth out of eight national breakfast sausage market.
 Vivio brand had matched that level of category growth; however, Vivio was available in only 16%
of the nation’s large supermarkets.

Saxonville needs a well-thought-out positioning marketing plan to move from also-ran position in
Italian sausage to national category leader and match up core values in the “hearts and minds” of
consumers...