Pillsbury Case analysis

Case Questions

1.

What are the challenges that Ivan Gullien faces?

2. What are consumer insights? What types of business challenges can benefit from consumer

insights? How are consumer insights obtained?

3.Given the key learnings from usage and attitude study, what are the corresponding implications

for what actions the team should take?

4.Why did Guillen and his team conduct the in-home and discovery workshops?

5.Develop perceptual maps for potential targets(users, lapsed users, and potential users). What

are the implications from these maps?

6.What actions should Guillen and his team take?

WAC of Pillsbury cookie challenge

The marketing manager of Pillsbury refrigerated baked goods (RBG) at General Mills Canada Corporation has to develop and present such marketing strategy to the senior leadership that will boost the performance of his category because:

 His category has not been performing well for the last two years.

 There has been a constant sale without any growth between 2004 and 2006.

 Penetration ratio has been at low levels during the last five years.

 Refrigerated cookie had always been the most profitable product line of his category with 62 % of total RBG sales and 75 % of the total profit but the cookie performance has been constant at only one percent growth rate during the last three years and the penetration ratio has also declined during these three years.

Management problem conversion to research problem:

The marketing manager Guillen contemplates the possible reasons of decline in cookie sales. He thought that consumer insights might have changed about taste, advertising, and current brand messaging of the Pills bury.

Research problem:

Guillen wants to see the difference between consumer markets of Canada and that of United States so that he can design his marketing strategy according to it to boost the sales as well as profit of his category.

Findings Interpretation Implications

None of previous marketing initiatives achieved 5% to 7%

Marketing initiatives was not effective because it had not been designed according to the consumer insights.

They should design marketing initiative after having the results of exploratory and confirmatory research.

Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookies

Although the more profitable product line with 65 % of total sales and 75% of total profit for the last few years, the growth has been constant at 1% and penetration ratio has also declined.

The product line was fulfilling the need of busy mothers but now their insights might have changed.

Modify the marketing mix after knowing the change in consumer insights.

Usage and attitude study results

Scratch baking is dominant in Canada while refrigerated dough is dominant is US.

Scratch baking is convenient for Canadian mothers while refrigerated dough for US mothers.

RBG marketing strategy should target Canadian mothers with scratch baking.

Convenience and taste are top in Canada and in US

Cookies are convenient for Canadian and US mothers and have pleasant taste

RBG should maintain and improve the convenience and taste of cookies.

Canadian kids like more than that of US do.

Canadian kids find fun in cookies RBG should target kids in their advertisement in Canada.

Canadian mothers are much concern about the quality

Canadian mothers are more quality conscious than that of US

RBG should demonstrate the good quality image.

Lapsed users agree that RBG cookies are convenient.

Lapsed users accept the convenience and easiness of cookies

Lapsed users can be converted into users by knowing the reason leaving RBS cookies and then keep in mind during designing the marketing strategy.

In-Home Immersion and discovery workshops Practical ingenuity:

Mothers want that cookie which is simple, rapid, realistic, inexpensive and pleasurable to the children

Mothers select cookies on the basis of their simplicity, practicality, and likeness to their children.

While designing a marketing strategy, keep in mind the desired criteria of mothers for selecting a cookie

Mothers enjoy baking Baking is pleasurable for mothers because they think that they are making their children happy by baking in kitchen

RBG should give demonstrations to their target customers by doing baking at superstore or supermarket in which mothers bake and enjoy the baking. It should be reflected in their advertisement as well.

Children participate in baking and eating the cookies

Baking as easy as children can help their mothers with enthusiasm

RBG should demonstrate the simplicity of baking in its marketing strategy.

Brand champions are devoted mothers to their children while lapsed users are less conscious.

Lapsed users are less conscious about product decisions because they do not have much awareness

RBG’s marketing strategy should target lapsed users to educate them to make them devoted mothers and much conscious. Pillsbury products are preferred

on readymade food.

Mothers believe that Pillsbury represent the true generosity and hospitality.

Although Pillsbury requires some effort as compare to readymade food, but it does not show the true color of generosity. This should be reflected in marketing strategy.

Cookie dough purchases were impulsive.

Mothers like to bake cookie dough.

The product distribution should be well planned and displayed clearly in stores so that mothers as well as children approach them easily.

There is no sign that Canadian others are price conscious.

They are much concern about other attributes rather than price.

They should increase the brand image rather than decrease price.

Possible marketing strategies

Product:

 Develop such solution which is simple realistic, and rapid to the mothers and inexpensive and lovely to the children.

Pricing:

 They should not decrease price at all even in occasions because the target mothers are not price conscious. The cookies should be competitive price rather than least price.

Promotion:

 They can target those mothers who are busy with their families and conscious about the practicality, easiness, and quality of the cookies but not the price.

 They can also target those mothers who are much conscious about their hospitality.

 The brand message can be “mothers’ simple choice for their children”

 They can install billboards in the dense populated areas of mother between 30s-40s and near to all supermarkets.

 They can show mothers enjoying baking in their kitchen in their advertisement.

 The display of the cookies should be approachable and prominent in the supermarkets so that they can easily get and purchase cookies because their purchases are impulsive most of the time. Therefore, the cookies can be displayed at the receptions of supermarkets.

 An image of mother baking in her kitchen can be printed on packaging of cookies.

 They can install point of sale displays in supermarkets and in residential areas.

 Mothers awareness campaign can be conducted door to door or in shopping centers or supermarkets.

Action # 02

 Develop such solution which is simple realistic, and rapid to the mothers and inexpensive and lovely to the children.

Pricing:

 They should not decrease price at all even in occasions because the target mothers are not price conscious. The cookies should be competitive price rather than least price.

Promotion mix:

 They can target those working mothers who want to give their children good cookies in short time despite being busy in their professional life.

 The brand message can be “professional’s choice for children”.

 They can install bill boards near to offices.

 They can install point of displays outside the office buildings.

 Mothers’ awareness campaign can be conducted in offices which should be started from their own offices.

Distribution mix:

 Supply cookies in all gas stations and tuck shops.

Action # 03

As children were the purchase drivers in Canada, therefore they can be target as well.

Product mix:

 Develop such solution which is simple realistic, and rapid to the mothers and inexpensive and lovely to the children.

Pricing:

 They should not decrease price at all even in occasions because the target mothers are not price conscious. The cookies should be competitive price rather than least price.

Promotion mix:

 They can target those fun loving children who like to bake with their mothers in kitchen. Therefore, they can persuade their mother to buy cookies.

 The brand message can be “Cookies for fun lover children”.

 They can install point of sale displays outside the school.

 School children awareness campaign can be conducted.

 Billboards near to schools can be installed.

Distribution mix:

 Supply cookies in all the shops, superstores and mini stores in residential areas.

 An image of a fun loving child can be printed on the packaging.

Evaluation of Research Methodology

GMCC conducts many types of consumer research according to the information needed: 1. Product trials with employees

2. Focus group 3. Concept tests 4. Evaluators 5. Creative testing 6. Packaging tests

The consumer insights manager for RBG contemplated many aspects and decided to apply usage and attitude study (focus groups) on cookie consumers.

Usage and attitude studies are consumer studies that observe the strengths, weaknesses, use, traits,

and purchase pattern of a product. In these studies, consumers are asked many questions about the brand image of a product which help to understand the consumer insights and develop a profile for product user. After having this information and analyzing it, marketing strategy is developed to improve the product performance.

The usage and attitude studies were conducted in order to find out the difference between the Canadian markets and US markets so that it could be found out the reason of constant growth in Canada despite targeted growth in US with the same marketing strategy.

The market research company MarketTools was hired by RBG team to conduct the usage and attitude studies. MarketTools “used screeners” to differentiate users of cookies as

 Users, who had been the purchasers of refrigerated cookie dough for last 12 months

 Lapsed users, who had been purchasers of refrigerated cookie dough over 12 months ago

 Non-users, who have never been purchasers of refrigerated cookie dough

Screener is a tool to identify users, lapsed users, and non-users by asking a set of scripted questions. The

research conducted by RBG is a focus group research in which populations sample is mothers of age 30s-40s busy with their families. It is a simple random sampling also known as probability sample and convenient sampling which is the best sampling method in which you can measure error and every item from the frame has a known probability of occurrence.

Research Analysis

 This case clearly illustrates the research problem because the RBG wants to see the difference between the Canadian and US mothers’ likes, dislikes, buying pattern, and perception about the cookie.

 In this research the hypothesis is stated and tested clearly which is:  H0: The consumer demographics and families structure were not similar  H1: The consumer demographics and families structure were similar.

 Although GMCC uses many types of research but it used usage and studies method because it gives the consumer insights which is required by the management of the company to develop a marketing strategy which will optimize their growth rate and penetration rate in Canadian target consumers.

 All conceptual definitions are steady with the theoretical frame work.

 The research problem and/or the hypothesis naturally flow from the frame work i.e. they wanted to see the difference between Canadian markets and US markets.

 Research findings support the hypothesis and framework and are interpreted within the context of the framework as Guillen wanted to know how he could increase the purchase frequency and/or market penetration of cookies? What consumers should be targeted? What should be the brand message? How could they communicate their brand message to motivate them and increase their sales volume?