Marketing Plan
Throughout this course, you have learned about the elements of a marketing plan. This assignment will provide you with the opportunity to research the marketing methodology of an existing publicly traded company; using a publicly traded company will provide you with access to a greater amount of information to complete this assignment. As you research this company, apply the theoretical learning from this course.
Include the sections below in your marketing plan.
- Introduction: Include a brief introduction of the
- Competitive Analysis: Who are your company’s competitors, and how is each differentiated? Identify two or three strengths and two or three weaknesses of your company compared to a minimum of two of your company’s
- Marketing Strategies: What are the marketing strategies used by your company in the management of the global customer brand? Use the four Ps in your analysis, which are listed
- Product: Begin with a theoretical definition of a product. What is the product/service offering by your company? How did the development of these new products affect your company’s marketing strategy?
- Place: Begin with a theoretical definition of What are the distribution channels used by your company?
- Price: Begin with a theoretical definition of What is the pricing strategy used by your company?
- Promotion: Begin with a theoretical definition of promotion. What are the traditional and digital methods of marketing promotion used by your company? Explain a minimum of three traditional and three digital
- Competitive Advantage: Identify whether your company has a competitive advantage in each of the areas of the four Ps. Remember that your company could have a competitive advantage in one area and not in another. Include supporting
The submission must be in essay format and use subheadings. You need to include a minimum of five scholarly sources (no blogs, no Wikipedia), and three must be peer-reviewed sources. The submission must be a minimum of six pages in length, not counting the title page and references page. APA format is required.
Sample Answer
Unilever Marketing Plan
Unilever is a multinational corporation that specializes in consumer goods in more than 190 countries. Its headquarters are located in London, United Kingdom, and Rotterdam. It was formed by merging two companies, Margarine in the Netherlands and Lever Brother in the United Kingdom. The company owns more than 400 brands, and each brand achieves annual sales of more than I billion euros (Murphy & Murphy, 2018). Some of its raw materials include agricultural and forestry crops, such as black tea and oil palm. It also uses aluminum, steel, paper, plastic, and mixed-material laminates to manufacture its products. The company is focused on meeting people’s daily needs with top-quality products. Its flexible management structure and diverse products have allowed it to survive in a rapidly changing international market for over 100 years.
Competitive Analysis
Unilever has several competitors, which include Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, and Henkel. Nestle poses a significant competition to Unilever products. It is one of the largest food and beverages organizations in the world (“Unilever SWOT analysis- And competitors,” 2021). Unilever differentiates its product from those of Nestle through continuous rebranding and advertisement.
PepsiCo is a leading global food and beverage company with 22 brands in its product portfolio. It distributes its product in more than 200 countries and poses a major challenge to Unilever in the market. It mainly competes with Unilever under the snacks and beverage segment (“Unilever SWOT analysis- And competitors,” 2021). Unilever differentiates its product from PepsiCo through increased advertising, packaging, and rebranding, which allows it to capitalize on its products.
Johnson & Johnson Is one of Unilever’s competitors dealing with healthcare commodities worldwide. The company competes with Unilever in providing products that are rooted in science and endorsed by professionals. Both Johnson & Johnson provide skincare, beauty and skin health, and essential health products which compete in the market (“Unilever SWOT analysis- And competitors,” 2021). Unilever differentiates its products from Johnson & Johnson through rebranding, different ingredients, pricing, and advertising.
Henkel and Unilever compete in the provision of household cleaning brands. Unilever has differentiated itself from Henkel by consolidating its products, strengthening its portfolio (Thomas, 2017). Unilever has applied the distinction of products and brand as a marketing strategy to differentiate its products from Henkel. Unilever standardizes its products in a way that differentiates them from those of Henkel.
Strengths of Unilever
Unilever is a large global company that can manufacture and supply a wide variety of goods. It is present in more than 190 countries and thus assured that its products will sell (“Unilever SWOT analysis- And competitors,” 2021). In addition, it has more than 400 brands which makes it unique and hugely diversified in numerous markets. This expertise and a wide variety of products help the company to retain its market shares.
Unilever has a solid financial performance and strategies, with its revenue being over 52 Billion Euros. The different brands such as personal care and beauty brands, refreshments, and foods generate the largest revenue of the company (“Unilever SWOT analysis- And competitors,” 2021). In addition, the popularity of its product, together with promotions and discounts that Unilever provides, strengthen the company’s financial background.
