Distribution

"The company also added direct-to-consumer distribution channels, including its own retail stores, Web site, and toll-free call center."  Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 45. My company will definitely have a toll free call center and customer's needs line for customer satisfaction, complaints and suggestions. We will have a factory in Ireland, because that is where we will get our potatoes. There will not be an actual store, we will only sell to bars and grocers. There will be a website to visit for job inquiries, surveys, company information and FAQs. "The production concept holds that consumers will favor products that are available and highly affordable. Therefore, management should focus on improving production and distribution efficiency." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 10. My factory will be based out of Ireland, so my target customers will be able to have quick access to my snack. However, I wouldn't want them to associate the word "quick" too much with my brand. I want the customer to know everything is made fresh in the factory and that there is no chemicals in my snack. My customer will know that my bag of "tayto" chips are worth $5.00, and 50cent more than other brands because we offer quality.  

Objectives

"Each company must find the game plan for long-run survival and growth that makes the most sense given its specific situation, opportunities, objectives, and resources. This is the focus of strategic planning—the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization’s goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities."Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 39. The objectives for my company are to create a product of delicious quality and value that people can build friendships and a lifetime with. I want to instill quality, value and trust over fast, cheap and easy. I want my customers to believe that with ever bag I produce, it was all made with love and care.
Another objective for the company is to make sure that the team of employees are all happy and able to work as a team. With a happy team, comes happy customers. Without the team, nothing is possible.
My company will need to differentiate itself from the competition and leading brands. We will need to figure out how to set ourselves apart from them, not just by taste, but by identity as well. My company will need to build a complete brand and identity.
"...within individual business units, marketing designs strategies for reaching the unit’s objectives. Once the unit’s objectives are set, marketing’s task is to help carry them out profitably. " Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 46.

SWOT Anaylsis

SWOT Analysis " Managing the marketing function begins with a complete analysis of the company’s situation. The marketer should conduct a SWOT analysis, by which it evaluates the company’s overall strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T)." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 54.Every company should be evaluated using SWOT Analysis. SWOT Analysis broken down, is described as;
 "Strengths include internal capabilities, resources, positive situational factors that may help the company to serve its customers and achieve its objectives. Weaknesses include internal limitations and negative situational factors that may interfere with the company’s performance. Opportunities are favorable factors or trends in the external environment that the company may be able to exploit to its advantage. And threats are unfavorable external factors or trends that may present challenges to performance." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 54. The strengths that my company possesses are ; the product itself will automatically sell because the customer is already familiar with the type of product. My product is priced well and has a good concept (gourmet chips) that will keep customers buying more. The weakness my company may face is loyalty to other brands. customers may not buy my product because they are loyal to brands that they grew up eating. The opportunities my company has access to Ireland is most famous for their potatoes and potatoes is also their number source of food, so they will be comfortable with my product. Ireland is also known for their bars and drinking, so it is a good place for me to target my bar snack towards. Threats that my company will face are mostly just the competition. These brands have been out longer than my company has and they have more resources and have a more established relationship with the customers.

Product

My product is packaged Potato farls. The potato farl dish (for a family serving)consist of 4 potatoes peeled and halved, 1 pinch of salt, 1/4 cup of all purpose flour, and 1 table spoon of melted butter. Being that the potato farl is popular in home, I decided to make my non - perishable bar food item something that my target audience is already comfortable with; potatoes, but packaged. My potato chips, or "taytos", as the Irish calls them, are flavored with cheese, sour cream and chives. These toppings are very popular on baked potatoes all over the world, so most people can already imagine what the flavor will taste like. My snack will be packaged like a normal bag of potato chips. With the chives included, I will consider my snack to be considered more of a gourmet snack, cooked with all natural ingredients. That is why my snack will be priced at $5.00. Customers won't mind paying for it because of the value and quality of the snack.

Promotion

"Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it." Marketing: An Introduction, page 54. The promotion that I'm going to use to push my product is deals for a smaller bag. A normal sized bag served at a bar will be $5.00. A big bag of my snack is big enough to share between two people. However, I will sell smaller bags for half the price, $2.50. There will be other types of discounts to persuade customers to buy my product. These kind of sales will get the customer excited about buying my product."Many companies follow the selling concept, which holds that consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless it undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort." Marketing: An Introduction, page 10. I will have commercials and billboards to promote my product. By doing this, I can get customers motivated about buying my product. .

20 quotes

20 quotes 1)"A mission statement is a statement of the organization’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. A clear mission statement acts as an “invisible hand” that guides people in the organization." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 39. 2)"Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 40. 3)"Marketing implementation is the process that turns marketing plans into marketing actions in order to accomplish strategic marketing objectives. Whereas marketing planning addresses the what and why of marketing activities, implementation addresses the who, where, when, and how." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 57. 4)"For effective implementation and control, the marketing plan should define how progress toward objectives will be measured." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page MP2. 5)"Marketers need to understand the marketplace and customer needs and wants". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 31 6)"Marketers design a customer-driven marketing strategy with the goal of getting, keeping, and growing target customers....building profitable customer relationships and creating customer delight". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 31. 7)"Customers are interested in more than just the price; they are interested in the total costs of obtaining, using, and disposing of a product. Customers want the product and service to be as conveniently available as possible. Finally, they want two-way communication ". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 54. 8)"Price is the amount of money customers must pay to obtain the product". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 53. 9)The marketing mix consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product. The many possibilities can be collected into four groups of variables known as “the four Ps”: product, price, place, and promotion. Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 53. 10)"Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it." Marketing: An Introduction, page 54. 11)"Many companies follow the selling concept, which holds that consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless it undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort." Marketing: An Introduction, page 10. 12) "...The company also added direct-to-consumer distribution channels, including its own retail stores, Web site, and toll-free call center." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 45 13)The production concept holds that consumers will favor products that are available and highly affordable. Therefore, management should focus on improving production and distribution efficiency." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 10. 14))"The company also added direct-to-consumer distribution channels, including its own retail stores, Web site, and toll-free call center." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 45. 15)"...three major pricing strategies—customer value-based, cost-based, and competition-based pricing—and at other factors that affect pricing decisions." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 272. 16)" Price decisions must be coordinated with product design, distribution, and promotion decisions to form a consistent and effective integrated marketing program." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 281. 17)"Each company must find the game plan for long-run survival and growth that makes the most sense given its specific situation, opportunities, objectives, and resources. This is the focus of strategic planning—the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization’s goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities."Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 39. 18)"...within individual business units, marketing designs strategies for reaching the unit’s objectives. Once the unit’s objectives are set, marketing’s task is to help carry them out profitably."Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 46. 19"Managing the marketing function begins with a complete analysis of the company’s situation. The marketer should conduct a SWOT analysis, by which it evaluates the company’s overall strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T)." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 54. 20"Strengths include internal capabilities, resources, positive situational factors that may help the company to serve its customers and achieve its objectives. Weaknesses include internal limitations and negative situational factors that may interfere with the company’s performance. Opportunities are favorable factors or trends in the external environment that the company may be able to exploit to its advantage. And threats are unfavorable external factors or trends that may present challenges to performance." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 54.

Price

$5.00 "Price is the amount of money customers must pay to obtain the product". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 53. My competitors will be first the Brand "Tayto" with seems to be as big in Ireland as Frito Lays is big in America. They have several different flavors to choose from like cheese and onion, salt and vinegar and prawn cocktail. There are also other brands like Keogh's and Jackson Honest who also carry the flavor cheese % onion and sea salt. Besides the actual potato chips, my other competitors will be the "chip" fries companies. Smith's Scampi Fries, Boulder Canyon, Snikkidy Baked Fries, and Andy Capp's Fries are the top companies. These companies all have been around for a long time and have earned the top spots as Ireland's favorite snacks. It will be hard for my company to compete with that. All these brand are averaging in price around $3.29 - $5.00. I will price my chips/taytos at $5.00 because they are gourmet, however, I don't want to price too much higher then the leading brands. "Customers are interested in more than just the price; they are interested in the total costs of obtaining, using, and disposing of a product. Customers want the product and service to be as conveniently available as possible. Finally, they want two-way communication ". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 54. My product will be made in Ireland because they are rich in potatoes and it is something that they specialize in.

Target Market Strategy

The target market for my snack is Ireland. My target customer is the average Irish man who frequents the bars. He may not have a wife who cooks for him so he will want something tasty and satisfying to his big appetite to hold him over with the liquor he consumes. "Marketers need to understand the marketplace and customer needs and wants". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 31. On the other hand, he may have a wife, but probably doesn't want to go home for various reasons, but he's indeed hungry. Potato farls is something that you usually need to cook at home or buy hot, and that's what makes my company so special because it's farls "in the now". "Marketers design a customer-driven marketing strategy with the goal of getting, keeping, and growing target customers....building profitable customer relationships and creating customer delight". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 31. My snack will appeal to these men because they are thicker, fluffier, fulfilling to the appetite, and is more of a gourmet style. This will suffice their appetite at the bar and will go great with their beer.

Business mission statement

Mission Statement for my company "A mission statement is a statement of the organization’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. A clear mission statement acts as an “invisible hand” that guides people in the organization." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 39. "Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace". Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 40. The Mission for my company, FARLS O' BEYONT, is to serve a gourmet snack that can provide a sense of "home" through the taste, quality and freshness. My snack is here to satisfy a man who spends most of his time at his neighborhood bar watching sports and hanging out with friends. That is exactly what comes to mind, when I think of Ireland. Guys at a bar, having fun socializing and drinking. Whatever the reason this man spends most of his time at bars, he will have access to a snack that can suffice his appetite as he drinks his beer. My snack is meant to bring happiness and good flavor to the snack shelf at the bar. We don't just want you to give us your money, we want you to be happy that you spent your money.

WEEK 8 EOC The Adventure

The Adventure I was on my way to Paris for Fashion Week in my hot air balloon all the way from San Francisco, when in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a monstrous storm came about. The Thunder, lightning and big fat rain drops coming in from every direction, slapping me in the face, ruining my makeup, eyelashes, full length mink and suede thigh high boots. The water took me down where I fell into a ship full of dirty stinking pirates! Good thing my designer umbrella could turn into a Samurai sword. It was 35 of them vs me. We fought for 3 days and 3 nights until I started to battle the Captain, he lost control of the ship and we crashed into a rock. The ship shred into a hundred pieces. I climbed on top of some wood from the broken ship and was stranded at sea for five whole days. I was starving to death, as I fell asleep. I woke up on the shore of Ireland where I was hit in the face with the flavors of cheese, sour crème, and chives. I definitely missed Fashion Week.

Implementation Evaluation Control

"Marketing implementation is the process that turns marketing plans into marketing actions in order to accomplish strategic marketing objectives. Whereas marketing planning addresses the what and why of marketing activities, implementation addresses the who, where, when, and how." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page 57. What would happen if I really did this? Would people buy it ? Implementation is to actually carry out the plan. "For effective implementation and control, the marketing plan should define how progress toward objectives will be measured." Marketing: An Introduction by Armstrong/Kotler, page MP2. If I really created this snack, I believe people really would buy it. There is always plenty of room on shelves for different brands and flavors of packaged potato chips. My snack is marketed towards bars in Ireland. In Ireland, bars are always full. There might be married guys at the bar, hanging out with friends watching sports eating snacks and drinking. There also may be guys who are single at the bar wanting to have a snack and a drink. This guy might buy my snack and possibly share it with a possible new female friend. The flavor I chose is cheese, sour crème and chives, so couples can feel comfortable eating my snack because it won't make their breath smell as bad as the very popular garlic and onion flavors in Ireland. Also the potato chip/farl is the most popular bar snack in Ireland. There are more than a few brands that will be my snack competition, but none with my chosen flavor. Potatoes is the number one source of food in Ireland, so the customer would be very comfortable with my snack. Eating my snack will be just like eating a loaded baked potato.

week 10 EOC Road Map to Success

10 things I have to do for next week 1) catch up EOCs 2) read chapters 6-10 3) study for final exam 4) finish Phileas Fogg story (creative block) 5) finish 20 quotes 6) finish marketing plan blogs 7) tweet 4 more tweets (I'm at 46) 8) buy ingredients for my potato chips 9) print out label pictures and create packaging 10) come to class on time

EOC week 9 Creative content

Since I have been working on this final project, it has been very difficult for me. The project is not really something I am interested in. It is forcing my mind to work overtime in ways I never had to because my major comes naturally to me. This project has not been fun for me and I have been finding myself stuck for over a week. However, now that I get to be creative, in ways that I am good at, I think things are going to get better for me with this project. The way I am going to present my work is by actually making my snack. Cooking is something that I do very often, well and actually enjoy. I've never fried my own potatoes, but I have mastered homemade mashed potatoes and deep fried potatoes, so I know I can do it. To fry potato chips, I will first have to get all of my ingredients which are: whole potatoes, cooking oil, powdered cheese, powdered sour cream flavor and packaged chives. The potatoes will have to be cut in super thin slices, then they can be fried. After that, I can add the flavor. The package that I created on Adobe Photoshop for my potato farls, will be printed out and pasted on a sample bag that I will dress up and bring to class. There will also be a digital power point of pictures of the steps i took to accomplish my goal.