- Important things to consider in new product development and why is it necessary to evaluate the new product idea at each stage of development.
New product development is an important process requiring an understanding of the target market, identification of user needs and the product usage context. Consideration of such user-driven factors is what often makes or breaks a product launch especially for small and new businesses. Larger companies on the other hand have already established markets and thus their main consideration is the product’s desirability, feasibility and cost effectiveness (Kotler & Keller, 2009). The new product must therefore attract the consumer for them to purchase. Evaluation of the new product idea must be done at all product development stages to see how it fits with an organization’s strategic mission, vision and objectives.
- How a company can best promote consumer adoption of a new product and an example in B2C or B2B Market space.
Consumer adoption of a new product is a key issue to be considered by marketers. However consumers are always uncertain about adopting new products and therefore a company need to create awareness and educate users about the new product as well as arouse consumer interest through advertising and marketing campaigns. The consumers can then evaluate the product, try it out and if it works out for them, they can fully adopt the product and even become loyalty users.
Intel Corporation, a world renowned microchip producer, is a household name while consumers rarely buy a product directly from them. Despite the company being in a B2B Market Space where they sell chips mostly to computer manufacturers, the company has been adopting B2C marketing campaigns and successfully connected with consumers. The 20 year old campaign dubbed, “Intel Inside” is a good example of how the company has built a name for itself among consumers.
- Considerations when developing an advertising strategy for the promotion of a new product.
Promoting a new product requires fresh and innovative promotion techniques and ideas. In advertising a new product, there are various considerations to make and the main ones are identification of the target market and how to position your brand to set it apart from competitors. Other considerations are budget decisions for the advertising campaign and the type of strategy to use. A creative strategy will focus on unique positioning of the product by translating the brand positioning into a catchy message and creating an emotional and rational appeal to the consumer. Media decisions are also an important consideration after identifying the target market. Such decisions include how to reach out to most consumers in the target market and the frequency of advertising. A good balance or tradeoffs of the two make up a successful media campaign.
- Advertising Campaigns: Successes and failures:
Advertising basically involves creating a compelling message for your brand. Catchy slogans however, have been an all-time major determinant of how consumers view products and adopt them. A good example of a success story in advertising is Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan adopted in 1988, in the midst of financial difficulties faced by the company at the time. The slogan has since then been engraved in the mind of consumers who purchase athletic gear. The main reason why this slogan might have caught consumers’ attention is because the slogan itself is motivation enough to athletes who don Nike sports gear to do what they do best.
However, unsuccessful advertising campaigns still exist and one such was experienced by global fast food giant McDonald’s. The company has had a bout of successful advertising campaigns but failed once in an attempt to be edgy. The company created a few banner advertisements that resonated on sex. Their chosen slogan, “I’d Hit It” displayed next to the picture of a hamburger was shown all over the internet and that was more than enough to make people lose their appetites.
- Effectiveness of direct and interactive marketing and the best form to pursue for new product development:
Direct marketing is a form of marketing where the manufacturer eliminates intermediaries and is directly linked to the consumer. The most used direct marketing channel currently is the internet. This form of marketing is starting to be widely adopted by small and large companies alike. In terms of effectiveness, direct marketing can be used as a targeting tactic to identify your audience demographically and geographically. In addition, this form of marketing is highly cost effective since consumers get products directly from manufacturers, has faster consumer response times and it is easier to track sales.
Interactive marketing on the other hand is a form of marketing that reacts and adapts to changes in consumer prospects, their actions and changes in tastes or preferences. Interactive marketing is real time and is more effective than direct marketing when developing a new product since it enables the marketers to collect consumer feedback online, generate responses and evaluate successes. It is also easy to automate and a classic example of the use of interactive marketing is Amazon.com where customers post product preferences and get product selections to match their specifications.
PART TWO:
Develop a communications plan for your product launch, including both your domestic and international markets.
Increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases has led to a shift from curative to preventive health sustenance strategies. The increasing concern by consumers on the nutritional value of foods they consume is the motivation towards launching this new product. Market trends also depict that consumers now prefer products that promote healthy living.
Nestle, a global brand and one of the largest food manufacturers in the world has added innovative health products to meet the new market needs. The communications plan for the product launch will focus on the USA as the domestic market and international market since the country is experiencing a high prevalence of obesity cases in children and thus the need for intervention. Key areas to be addressed will include market needs and growth, the company’s SWOT analysis, competition, product differentiation, pricing and marketing strategies in both local and international markets. Environmental sustainability, socio-political and economic issues will also be examined.
Conclusion:
While Nestle continues to be a world leader in delivering quality food products, their shift on nutritional foods is a welcome opportunity for consumers to continue building their trust on the quality brand. The obesity prevalence still remains a looming health crisis to tackle and the expected product launch is expected to help alleviate this problem.
The international nutritional foods market for Nestle is also expected to grow as the firm works towards reducing the epidemic by promoting healthy eating behavior. Consumer awareness on the nutritional value of the foods they eat will also be crucial in determining whether the obesity problem will be solved since consumer habits are key determinants of market tendencies.
However, the general expectation from this product launch communications plan is that consumers will welcome the new products and there will be positive improvement in the reduction of obesity cases in the US.
Works Cited:
- 8 Of the Most Successful Ad Campaigns of All Time." 8 Of the Most Successful Ad Campaigns Of All Time. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1111/8-of-the-most-successful-ad-campaigns-of-all-time.aspx
- "Company Overview." Intel. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2013. http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/company-overview/company-overview.html
- Kotler, Philip, and Kevin L. Keller. Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.
