Problem 1: Caninantics is a startup company whose newest invention is its product "Sallone's Universal Dog Food Dispenser." Consider the following questions related to developing a comprehensive marketing plan for Sallone's.
1. Discuss what brand elements would be most useful for differentiating your company's brand from competing brands.
2. In a sentence or two, what is the appropriate positioning for your company's product?
3. What factors will you use to determine your company's strategic group, and what competitive strategy would be most effective as your company introduces this new project?
4. Describe how your company will address the five product levels: core benefit, basic product, expected product, augmented product, and potential product.
5. Discuss the primary pricing objective for your company. What are some of the implications of your pricing decisions?
6. Explain what type of packaging and labeling you will use to support your brand image.Be sure that your ideas support your product and decisions you have made in the past.
Problem 2: Consider the following companies and answer two related questions to each.
A) Disney
1. What does Disney do best to connect with its core consumers?
2. What are the risks and benefits of expanding the Disney brand in new ways?
B) Louis Vuitton
1. How does an exclusive brand such as LV grow and stay fresh while retaining its cachet?
2. Is the counterfeiting of LV always a negative? Are there any circumstances where it can be seen as having some positive aspects?
C) Ritz-Carlton
1. How does The Ritz-Carlton match up to competitive hotels? What are the key differences?
2. Discuss the importance of the "wow stories" in customer service for a luxury hotel like The Ritz-Carlton?