Benchmarking Case

Product launches are only as effective as the effort that is placed in making them effective. A good product can sit on a shelf with little fanfare if the marketing plan isn't properly executed. Part of the success of a marketing plan is the way the plan is communicated to all interested parties. In this paper, we will examine the factors involved in developing and managing an effective plan, review advertising and promotion of the product, evaluate technology and trends to help market the product, and compare marketing strategies that will assist in penetrating the domestic and international markets of the product. Let's begin by identifying the factors involved in developing and managing the product.

Finnegan's Confectionary Company, a small, Dublin-based candy company, is looking to penetrate the sub-Saharan African continent with its latest product. The Shillelagh, a dark chocolate bar, is poised to help Finnegan's with its foray into an international market. With the success of the 2010 world Cup, South Africa is a perfect target for this product as the demographic is young, hardworking, and entrepreneurial in spirit. A new candy bar launch will be successful if the planning in "marketing communication, such as public relations, and especially in advertising, is synonymous with research-based marketing" (Taylor and Francis, 2001). As market research shows, South Africa is one of the more developed countries on the continent but has not embraced technology as well as other emerging nations. For the product to launch successfully, the communications portion of the marketing plan needs to be concise, accurate, and provide outlets for effectively getting the message out to the masses. Besides market research, the product must also "convey the organization's position, messages, services and other products to various audiences" (Grombeski et al., 2007). What this means for Finnegan's is that in order to launch this product successfully, tying in the market research, identifying the niche audience, and working with the media available in South Africa will be paramount to the product's overall success.

References:

PLANNING, EVALUATING, AND CONTROLLING THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND PROGRAMME.

(2001). Marketing Communication (pp. 303-323). Taylor & Francis Ltd / Books. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Gombeski Jr., W. R., Taylor, J., Piccirilli, A., Cundiff, L., & Britt, J. (2007). Effectively Executing a Comprehensive

Marketing Communication Strategy. Health Marketing Quarterly, 24(3/4), 97-111.

doi:10.1080/07359680802119090