Skittles Marketing Plan

Skittles is a well-known, long-standing brand that has pleased consumers for generations. However, it is our contention that the name’s growth is stagnating, and needs to be revitalized based upon a core marketing goal: bring Skittles from simply a candy – something one consumes on a whim and forgets about – to a brand that engenders both value and feeling for consumers. With such a focus, the objective is to influence the seemingly minor consumer choice between confections in vending machines and on store shelves by linking a positive and pleasing emotion to the image of the brand. The intention is to achieve realistic, long-term financial goals, which will be controlled through measuring actual results against initial projections. The overall target for the marketing return on investment (ROI) is a minimum of 1.2% within two years. Furthermore, plans to expand the Skittles product line through seasonality and a joint venture with Absolut Vodka will pull in a wider variety of our target market. This addition will attract various ages and personalities from the target segment to the Skittles brand, and will ultimately grow the distribution and sales of Skittles. Product:
The marketing plan will affect the entire marketing mix, beginning with product. For consumers, the core value of Skittles is in its physical characteristics; they are colourful, relatively cheap, assist in improving focus, and help to control cravings for higher caloric options, like chocolate cake. Skittles is a non-chocolate confectionary usually sold to retailers in large boxes already containing individually-wrapped packages of Skittles weighing 55g, averaging 42 in every package. In 1979, the first Skittles were created in Britain; in 1982, the product was being manufactured in America. Seven years later, Tropical and Wild Berry Skittles were introduced with banana, kiwi and mango, as well as raspberry, wild cherry, and strawberry, respectively. The millennium brought the dawn of sour