Ch. 16 Promotional Planning for Competitive Advantage

Burt's Bees most recent 'Güd' line focused on a newer niche of products, those heavily influenced by scent. As a change from what I have become used to in a Burt's Bees product it in interesting to see the brand position there focus slightly elsewhere to adhere to a new and younger target market. Burt's Bees wanted to target this consumer, women between the ages of 18 and 24 who are interested in products that are trendier, and have more mass appeal, than a beeswax lip balm. Lately it has been good to see through this process and others how many companies are using social media to boost sales promotion and create advantages for products.

An example is the Burt's Bees Güd line, whose FaceBook page had over 170,000 likes before its official launch, in conjunction and at the same time scratch and sniff ads for scented lotions and creams were launched in Allure and Lucky magazines. The use of street teams at nationwide universities also helped to bring exposure to the brands new line. The photos above show the unusual ads by Baldwin& that Burt's Bees used to promote its new fragrance focused line.

Ch. 10 Product Concepts

As mentioned before Burt's Bees is a personal care company, specifically it is part of an ever-growing niche industry of 'natural' personal care products. The items that Burt;s Bees offer range from, hand creams and body lotions, to face washes and lip balms. In recent years they have broadened and expanded product offerings to include, lip glosses shimmers and sun-screens.

People who routinely use Burt's Bees products and choose them specifically are buying specialty consumer products. In essence this means that potential customers are 1. purchasing a product that fits there individual and personal wants, and 2. is searching for extensively and reluctant to choose an alternative.

From its line of lip products there are two main categories to choose from. Lip Color and Lip care, further down these categories are divided into eight specific product offerings which gives the consumer a nice variety to choose from when deciding what they would like to use on there lips.

From its line of facial products again the varieties are many and vary based on the different needs and wants of customers, from those with sensitive skin, to others looking for specific ingredients and even those of want a little bit more radiance on there skin. 

It is also important to mention that since Burt's Bees is a company committed to the Greater Good there recycled post-consumer packaging plays a large role in its brand identity. They are a company that is focused on the environment, that understands the key role played by a company and the responsibility of reducing carbon footprints and working diligently towards sustainability. 

Below is an excerpt taken directly from the Burt's Bees website to illustrate the companies personal commit to providing environmentally friendly products through its packaging. Since it plays such a large role in a companies waste production, it is a defining characteristic of the company to put its best foot forward to reduce its level of waste. 

Our Packaging Innovations

As a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, we’re continuing to develop innovative sustainable packaging solutions for ourselves—and the industry. In addition to using the highest approved levels of Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) or Post Industrial Recycled (PIR) and recyclable materials whenever possible, here are a few of our other achievements:

• Our new lip balm and lip shimmer packaging labels are now shrink wrap free. In just one year this has eliminated 1800 miles of shrink wrap film that would have been sent to the landfill — enough to wrap the Statue of Liberty 100 times!


• We’ve trimmed the excess packaging from many of our products — some by 50 percent!


• We’ve also pioneered the introduction of TerraSkin™ Wraps, an environmentally friendly, treeless and bleach-free paper alternative we use to package most of our bar soaps. It has a lower absorption rate so we can use 20-30 percent less ink when printing. And because it’s stronger and water resistant, it makes for less waste.

Ch. 18 Sales Promotion & Personal Selling

In chapter 17 from last weeks blog post, I introduced Baldwin&, the advertising agency that Burt's Bees worked with on an award-winning ad campaign for its natural personal care products, The Natural Vs. campaign. Additionally while working with Baldwin&, Burt's Bees created an interactive advertisement in Minneapolis that was followed by sales promotions through the Burt's Bees Facebook page.

The ad was to promote a new line of products called Intensive Hydration. Made of up of thousands of small coupons of a woman's face that was dry and flaky. Throughout the day as people pulled off the coupons, the image changed to reveal a fresh face, with smooth skin that was intensely hydrated. This combined both advertising and sales promotion. From chapter 18 I learned that sales promotion directly supports advertising activities, and while they are very different aspects of marketing they work towards similar goals; to boost sales, establish and maintain brand image, promote customer loyalty, and stimulate repeat customers. In conjunction with this, a YouTube video was posted online and as the video ended it sent the consumer directly to the Burt's Bees Facebook page, where they could get coupons for this new product. The advertisement was only located in Minneapolis, but with the use of the video and Facebook, Burt's Bees and Baldwin& were able to reach a much broader audience nationwide. The use of the internet has huge potential to drive customer growth and in turn increase sales, by promoting new products, advertising on websites like Facebook, and using the tools of the internet to increase brand awareness. 

Burt's Bees also offers an Outlet on its website. Other sites generally call this a sale, and while the Burt's Bees site features no sale section it does have an outlet page. Some of the most popular products like Burt's Bees lip balms are on the outlet page as well as natural care sets, including a line of pomegranate infused items, sets of lotions and creams, and even travel-size friendly products. This is another form of sales promotion. Repeat customers are able to try products that they love and new customers are offered products at a lower price that may in turn stimulate a new customer base and increase loyalty to the Burt's Bees brand. 

    

Ch. 17 Advertising and Public Relations

Burt's Bees, like other companies has to promote its product to consumers, they must successfully attempt to penetrate the market place, identifying the target market for the products they offer, while stimulating sales through advertising and public relations.

As mentioned in earlier posts, in recent years Burt's Bees launched the Natural Vs. campaign. It was widely successful in building and maintaining the brands image as one that is eco-friendly, works towards the graters good, and focuses on natural products. The natural product industry is an ever-growing one and produces millions of dollars in sales nationally and internationally as today's potential customer is more aware of its environment. and concerned with products that better our world environment.

Below are a few of the advertisement campaigns from Natural Vs.

                   

 

These series of advertisements are about the Burt's Bees product not the competitors, and like some other advertisements they do not compare brand to brand, they simply and boldly state the differences in ingredients. They focus on what makes Burts Bees different from other companies, without mention of competitors. The only comparison made is with the ingredients used in items within the same group i.e. lotions, creams, lip balms, and serums. The advertisements are persuasive with close ups of faces, lips, and bodies, using a clear distinction in why and how Burt's Bees products better fulfill the needs, of dry lips and skin.

The company also notably launched the Find Your Burt campaign, in honor of Burt, one of the co-founders of burt's Bees and a true environmentalist. Along with building a mini-site the company teamed up with advertising agency, Baldwin& to develop an interactive advertising experience devoted to environmental awareness and education. The campaign was inventive in its use of a combination of various types of media to convey one message. A website, promotional tee shirts, giveaways of products, and handkerchiefs with Burt's face on them and the company logo in there signature bright yellow. The campaign also included print and television ads to create a total package for brand awareness. After the launch and success of the 'Find Your Burt' campaign, the company which Burt's Bees teamed up with won the award for campaign of the year at the Ad Age Small Agency Awards. The mini-site that went along with the campaign was launched on Earth Day in celebration of its 40th year in existence.  

Ch. 15 Retailing

           

              For this weeks blog post I visited Saks Fifth Avenue in midtown. The specialty store is located at 611 5th Avenue and has being providing its customers with high end luxury goods since 1924. Saks is a high-end department store featuring women's and men's fashion, shoes, bridal wear, and jewelry. Although Saks looks and feels like a deptment sotre because of its size, the large amount of goods that it sells, and the various segments for shopping that it offers, within each department there are specialty items for customers and the feeling is one of being in a small boutique while being well cared for and attended to with a high level of customer service that the store offers.  Like other stores in the area offering high-end luxury goods, Saks competes most notably with Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, and Barney's New York, three stores which offer goods from the highest quality brands in fashion, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Prada to name a few. The store encompasses an entire city block and is located directly across from Rockefeller center, there are 10 levels ranging from high end brands like Gucci, to mid-level brans such as Marc Jacobs and Juicy Couture. Classic pieces are arranged together while contemporary styles are displayed separately in different sections of the store and on different floors entirely.

            The first thing I noticed as with most other department stores, is the massive size of the place, filled with perfume jewelry bags, ladies in black uniform selling perfumes, or giving customers directions for other parts of the store. There is a cafe inside of Saks, and a salon, providing customers with the flexibility to shop, eat and groom themselves all in one place. Everything is organized in a way to maximize the customers choices for purchase. As I walked through the first floor I passed by the booths of many brands, Chanel, Cartier, Gucci, Christian Dior. All of these options were at my fingertips, and I was literally spoiled for choice. The downside, however, if there is one, is perhaps that there too much choice, so many options that if you don't know exactly what you want, you may be overwhelmed by the endless possibilites to choose from.

           There was no point during the whole experience at Saks that I did not feel assistance and a high level of customer service were far away. I talked about lipsticks and perfumes, things I wanted for myself, and was given advice, tips on makeup, and new products that brands were featuring for the spring and summer.

Ch. 6 Consumer Decision Making

Who will buy Burt's Bees? How will they make the final decision to purchase a Burt's Bees product? Will they first start with their own needs; dry skin, chapped lips or dull hair that needs a bit of life to it.

Chapter 6 sheds light on the motivating forces behind consumer purchasing decisions, and it is interesting to learn and begin to understand what processes occur when someone decides to buy a product. five key factors are involved in the decision making process - 1. Need recognition, 2. Information search, 3. Evaluation of alternatives, 4. Purchase, 5. Post-purchase behavior. These are all pretty straight forward, lending way to what a consumer wants or needs, how they find of about a product, whether through their own personal experiences or perhaps by the influence of others, an assessment of what other types of products in the same category are available in the market, the action of purchasing, and lastly a consumers reactions and feelings about that product after purchase.

Burt's Bees best selling product is there lip balm. It has been a staple of the Burt's Bees product lines for decades, and features a variety of lip balms all based with natural beeswax. Whether you want to nourish, replenishing or refresh your lips Burt's Bees makes a product that will fit your diverse needs.
The company, owned by Clorox, and accountable for over $5 billion in sales revenue last year, currently has more that 700 customer rating reviews of a single product; the Burt's Bees lip balm.


Additionally, potential consumers are influenced by cultural, social, individual and psychological factors and these are all a part of the steps taken when purchasing products.

Ch. 5 Developing a Global Vision

Entering the global marketplace for any company presents its set of challenges, obstacles, rewards and opportunities. Just like doing business domestically firms must use the knowledge and skill they implement into their marketing plans to move into international markets. From chapter 4 we remember and are familiar with the Four P’s. In the global marketplace it is the same, however now with new elements in place, are affected and are affected by a larger and more complicated environment. Where global business and the four p’s are concerned a few key factors differ from doing business in the firm’s home country.

A firm must decide if its best to alter a product before it enters the global marketplace, or perhaps after the experience of seeing how it has performed once in the marketplace. Sometimes products may need radical changes to enter and be better effective in new markets; products often fail because of cultural differences, price points, and advertising that does not meet to needs of the diverse consumer base of the international marketplace.    

As with domestic markets, managers must be inventive adaptable and forward thinking to help ensure the growth and success of the firm. New products from existing companies can be invented and packaging may be altered; cultural values and needs differ extremely through a variety of nations and this should also be considered; the price that products will be sold at and the value of a nations currency are all factors involved with going global.

In 2006 Burt’s Bees sales topped $250 million and currently the company has satellite offices in the U.K. Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Burt’s Bees sell their products to large stores like Target.com and smaller specialty boutiques in Europe and Asia. After the purchase by Clorox the company wanted to expand to new markets like China, but experts have agreed that entering into the Chinese marketplace clearly has a huge potential for growth but nevertheless presents its own challenges specific to the nation. The country is the No. 3 beauty care market in the world and is expected to rank at No. 1 with its ever-growing population and economic up-turn, providing an environment that is ripe for a large increase in sales revenue. The move into China would present high-level opportunities since the Chinese consumer it attracted to products that are natural and safe, additionally a market for lip care products is almost insubstantial, which is one of Burt’s Bees best selling products in the natural care market. In a report on Burt’s Bees move into China the VP of Global Marketing, Jim Geikie said, ‘there were lots of reasons to be excited.’ Yet the company initially found one major hurdle that struck far close to the core values of the company. None of Burt’s Bees products are tested on animals and this is something that the company stands firm on while upholding ‘The Greater Good,’ yet the Chinese government requires that all imports be animal tested. Burt’s Bees worked for two years to figure out a strategy that they were comfortable with to enter the Chinese marketplace; they worked with government agencies, local manufacturers, the use of Clorox government relations and experience, and finally figured out a way to be comfortable with the use of proper resources to work and sells products in China. 

Sources: Cosmetic Design, News Observer, Trifecta, Burt's Bees