Kayem Foods, Inc
Executive Summary
Problem/Issues
Matt Monkiewicz, director of marketing for Kayem Foods, Inc., is challenged with a decision pertaining to a small but fast growing product, Al Fresco chicken sausage. The product has become a brand leader in its market niche, and means on how to promote the product is in question. A “buzz” marketing campaign was recently used, and while the company did increase in sales, there is no way to directly calculate the effect the campaign had on the product. Mr. Monkiewicz would like to continue to use the “buzz” marketing approach, but supermarket executives and food distributers are unwilling to increase buying and support for the brand. They do not believe that this small marketing campaign is solid enough to increase buyer recognition and increase sales. Customers have remarked that the product is hard to find in stores, and some cannot find it entirely and have to visit other locations.
Analysis
The sausage market, while growing, has several competitors who dominate the market. Al Fresco chicken sausage has become the number one brand in its market niche, but buyer power is high due to the low price and similarity of the product. Kayem Foods Inc has primarily sold through supermarkets and other retail food stores in the Northeast. In the last two years, it had made a concerted effort to obtain distribution in the Midwest and the Southeast.
Kayem has two different communication needs. First, they need to convince retailers that their product has a stable top of the market demand, and that current pricing creates a large profit potential. This objective can be achieved by devoting money to print advertisements in food magazines, and by allocating money to trade advertisements which depict the success the company has currently seen with the Al Fresco product
Monkiewicz used Al Fresco’s high recent sales increases to secure an $185,000 advertising budget for FY 2006. His perceived marketing options include spending
Problem/Issues
Matt Monkiewicz, director of marketing for Kayem Foods, Inc., is challenged with a decision pertaining to a small but fast growing product, Al Fresco chicken sausage. The product has become a brand leader in its market niche, and means on how to promote the product is in question. A “buzz” marketing campaign was recently used, and while the company did increase in sales, there is no way to directly calculate the effect the campaign had on the product. Mr. Monkiewicz would like to continue to use the “buzz” marketing approach, but supermarket executives and food distributers are unwilling to increase buying and support for the brand. They do not believe that this small marketing campaign is solid enough to increase buyer recognition and increase sales. Customers have remarked that the product is hard to find in stores, and some cannot find it entirely and have to visit other locations.
Analysis
The sausage market, while growing, has several competitors who dominate the market. Al Fresco chicken sausage has become the number one brand in its market niche, but buyer power is high due to the low price and similarity of the product. Kayem Foods Inc has primarily sold through supermarkets and other retail food stores in the Northeast. In the last two years, it had made a concerted effort to obtain distribution in the Midwest and the Southeast.
Kayem has two different communication needs. First, they need to convince retailers that their product has a stable top of the market demand, and that current pricing creates a large profit potential. This objective can be achieved by devoting money to print advertisements in food magazines, and by allocating money to trade advertisements which depict the success the company has currently seen with the Al Fresco product
Monkiewicz used Al Fresco’s high recent sales increases to secure an $185,000 advertising budget for FY 2006. His perceived marketing options include spending