Population International Services
Case Study
(G11) 3373Z
Population Services International
Critical marketing problem: Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency which concluded an agreement with the government of Bangladesh to carry out the Social Marketing Project (SMP). With the objective of population control, PSI introduced two birth control products: Raja brand condoms and Maya brand oral contraceptives. A similar marketing strategy was used to promote both products. Raja’s sales increased tremendously but Maya’s sales declined over a period of time. Although Maya is selling at a cheaper price, other competitors’ brands such as Ovastat and Ovral with a higher price are more successful in the market. As profit margin earned by the retailers and wholesalers was low for Maya compared to other similar products, they did not promote Maya sales well, preferring to focus their resources on other brands. Image of Maya deteriorated as people developed bad perceptions about the pill. Due to its low price, people associate it as an inferior drug and opt for other brands. Even professional doctors and rural medical practitioners (RMPs) shared the same sentiment and advised patients not to use it.
Analysis: Based on the culture and attitudes of Bangladesh people, a large majority of people lived in villages and the literacy rate was only 27% among males and 12% among females, which results in lower birth control awareness. Compounding on this issue, Bangladesh did not have a system of social security or state pensions for its elderly and due to epidemics and natural calamities such as monsoons and floods, families want to have more sons as future security. As a not-for-profit company, PSI faces the issue of lack of funds for implementing new strategy. More importantly, PSI consists of only a small team of 6 people on its staff including managerial personnel. Although PSI has the responsibility for devising and implementing strategies, they have no control over the project
(G11) 3373Z
Population Services International
Critical marketing problem: Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency which concluded an agreement with the government of Bangladesh to carry out the Social Marketing Project (SMP). With the objective of population control, PSI introduced two birth control products: Raja brand condoms and Maya brand oral contraceptives. A similar marketing strategy was used to promote both products. Raja’s sales increased tremendously but Maya’s sales declined over a period of time. Although Maya is selling at a cheaper price, other competitors’ brands such as Ovastat and Ovral with a higher price are more successful in the market. As profit margin earned by the retailers and wholesalers was low for Maya compared to other similar products, they did not promote Maya sales well, preferring to focus their resources on other brands. Image of Maya deteriorated as people developed bad perceptions about the pill. Due to its low price, people associate it as an inferior drug and opt for other brands. Even professional doctors and rural medical practitioners (RMPs) shared the same sentiment and advised patients not to use it.
Analysis: Based on the culture and attitudes of Bangladesh people, a large majority of people lived in villages and the literacy rate was only 27% among males and 12% among females, which results in lower birth control awareness. Compounding on this issue, Bangladesh did not have a system of social security or state pensions for its elderly and due to epidemics and natural calamities such as monsoons and floods, families want to have more sons as future security. As a not-for-profit company, PSI faces the issue of lack of funds for implementing new strategy. More importantly, PSI consists of only a small team of 6 people on its staff including managerial personnel. Although PSI has the responsibility for devising and implementing strategies, they have no control over the project