Strategic Marketing

Group O | Section B
 Situation Analysis
● During the start of simulation Team O was targeting HiEarners, Pros and Buffs.
○ On the analysis of consumer and brand survey we found that our Hit-rate and brand awareness were very
high among the high earners, professional and buffs thus we targeted them for maximising our market
share in those segments
○ We also invested in a R&D project for Pros for catering to customer needs in a better way and providing
them with better and more curated product as per their needs

● We also had major competition in the HiEarners, Buffs and Professionals customer segment from Team E and
Team U who were also targeting the same segments and were having comparable Hit rates

● Because of our aggressive expansion strategy we were having brand portfolio of 4 brands with limited(least)
advertisement budget which we allocated to all the brands uniformly which was not adequate thus resulted in
declining market shares for our firm.

● Because of lost market share in the Sonite market and limited budget, we discontinued less profitable brands
and brands with less market share in Sonite market and focus on R&D Vodite Market.

● We decided to make an entry in Vodite Market with brands focused on segments Followers and Adopters as they
were having better future prospects and better projected market shares
Long-Term Strategy
● Our initial strategy was to leverage STP to gain majority market share in all brands in the Sonite market,
which was based on leveraging the important characteristics of our products to cater to our target customer
needs

● As share price is the function of market share we focused more on increasing the market share by targeting 4
segments with our 4 brands portfolio. These measures included launching two new brands- SOLP and SOLD
and dividing our resources equally among the portfolio of 4 brands

● However, due to the underwhelming performance of these brands, we decided to readjust our long term
strategy in the 5th period to gradually shifting focus from the Sonite market to the Vodite market

● Thus, we decided to discontinue 3 out of 4 brands (SONO, SOLP and SOPO) in the Sonite market and
launched 2 brands (VOFU and VOAU) in the Vodite market for achieving more focused growth

● We decided to create two Vodite brands with comparably high base cost (to reduce initial R&D investment)
for Follower segment (highest market share in Vodite market in 6th period) and sell it at the optimal perceived
price to provide customer with better value at price thus gaining market share
 Table 1

Long-Term Strategy-Defense Period

Growth Rates(Vol Sold)

Sonite Vodite

2 7.1% -
Post our unsuccessful initial efforts to capture the sonite market,
we decided to focus on the emerging vodite market for the 3 18.3% -
following reasons:
4 10.4% 51%
● Impressive growth prospects for Vodite: 13.6% for
5 22.5% 50.5%
Innovators, 30% for Adopters, 158% for Followers,
Growth rate comparison in Table-1
● Lesser competition-Three Firms with Five Brands in
Total
● Off target positioning of brands presents an avenue for
E
us to enter (Fig-1)
C
● MacroEconomic Trend- Stable GNP growth rate and O
Inflation rate forecasted at 2% and 4% N
● Saturation in the Sonite Market- Market Share of 8% in
O
Period 5 with 11 brands
M

Y
Fig 1
EFFICACY
Course Correction
● Adjusting the strategy from aggressive expansion to Efficient Allocation of
resources

● High market share initially convinced us that we can dominate the market by
spreading our reach into other segments by targeted brands

● Thus, advertising expenditure was less on each brand (a 30% decline for
SOLD from period 1 to 2, similar effect on SONO) which led to a drastic
decline in market share

● Perceptual advertising to be a core pillar of the marketing strategy, something

that was ignored previously

● Using category growth forecasts and inventory levels to predict demand and
manufacturing accordingly (overproduction in periods 3 and 4, underproduction
in period 5)
If we were to play the simulation again…..
Period 1
● More focus on Segments with
better Hit rate and 100%
Targeting of those segments
along with pricing decisions.
● Budget Optimization by
allocating in
advertisement(Priority 1),
Market Research and Sales force
in accordance with shopping
habits
Period 2
● Evaluation of overall positioning
of the firm in this period and
Identifying segments which are
not targeted by any other firm
● Doing R&D and buying MRs in
that segment
● Repositioning of the existing
brand in accordance with the
perceptual map and brand map
Period 3
● Launching the product based
on the new R&D
● Repositioning of the existing
brands
● Introducing brands judiciously
as advertising for them would
be difficult then
● Starting a R&D in Vodite Market
with half or less amount as per
Query
If we were to play the simulation again…..(Cont.)
Period 4
● Repositioning and advertising of
the brands as per perceptual Map
● Dropping any brand with least hit
rate (or less purchase intention)
● Brand Cloning and positioning it as
per the segment targeted
● Completing R&D of Vodite
Period 5
● Launching a Brand in Vodite
Market
● Repositioning existing brands in
Sonite Market
● Evaluating Market share per
brands and Perceptual Map for
potential unexplored brand
● Aggressive Advertising in all the
segments for better impact
Period 6
● Repositioning all brands as per
evolving customer needs in
both Sonite and Vodite markets
● Aggressively advertising all the
brand
● If budget allows doing a R&D to
cater customer needs better
● Making informed use of our
distribution channels
 Learnings from the Simulation
● Performing better Situational Analysis:
There must always be a comprehensive analysis of the brand portfolio taking into account factors such as
market share, brand awareness and future growth potential based on market forecast and presence of
competitors in that segment

● Focused Segmentation and Targeting those segments with better Positioning of the Brands:
To succeed in game as well in real life focus should be at making and placing brands keeping customer
trends and behavioral evolution in centre of all of our Marketing strategies(R&D, Advertising, Salesforce)

● Optimal Budget Allocation:

It is important to try and grow the existing brands into market leaders in the targeted segments hence,
advertising budget becomes important as it is the one which generates demand which can even be catered
by optimal sales force

● Dynamically Anticipating the Competitor’s Moves and adjusting Firm’s Strategy in accordance:
We learned that if one cannot anticipate the competitor’s moves and their future plans then that can become
detrimental to the firm’s growth
 Our company at the end of Period 6
GOAL-

Sonite: To remain the market leader in the HiEarners segment with our product SOLD
Vodite: Launch two new brands VOAU and VOFU to target Early Adopters and Followers

● In period 6, We completed our R&D project for entering into the Vodite market. So, Make most
out of the new market, we decided to launch two new brands in the Vodite market. This time we
spent majority of our budget on advertisements to increase the perception and awareness levels
for our new brands

● In the Sonite market, due to less production, we missed out on potential sales for our brand
SOLD. So, we decided to increase our production levels keeping in mind the growth rate for the
category to cater to the sectoral demand

At the end of period 5, because of major shift in our strategy and investments in future, we were ranked
5th with a stock price index of 704.

At the end of period 6, based on our revised strategy we are hoping for better market share thus better
stock price
Thank you