Competencies
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competencies:
- Apply elements of the marketing mix to inform business decisions that support organizational objectives
- Determine appropriate marketing and communication distribution channels
- Explain how marketing decisions are made to target the consumer
Scenario
Chocolate Bliss started as a small, family-owned store in Seattle, Washington, in 1976. While once a boutique chocolatier selling handmade “secret family recipe” chocolate bonbons, now the company has a wider variety of product offerings, including boxed chocolate candies, chocolate baking products, and carob (chocolate alternative) candies and health bars. Chocolate Bliss products are sold online and in its stores to consumers and to other businesses, specifically grocery stores, throughout the Northwest.
The company has maintained its “secret family recipe” brand even as it has expanded its product offerings and now enjoys strong brand awareness in the states where it is sold.
The company’s primary competitors are:
- Ghirardelli Chocolate Company
- Chocolate Bliss’s higher-price range baking products, which are sold in grocery stores, compete directly with Ghirardelli.
- Chocolate Bliss also competes with Ghirardelli for its boxed chocolate candies, which are sold in its stores, in grocery stores, and online to consumers.
- Nestlé
- Chocolate Bliss’s mid-price range baking products, which are sold in grocery stores, compete directly with Nestlé.
- Rise Bar
- Chocolate Bliss competes with Rise Bar for its carob (chocolate alternative) products that are sold in its stores, in grocery stores, and online to consumers.
Chocolate Bliss is financially healthy and has plans to expand into the Midwestern United States. This expansion will include the launch of a new product.
You have been with the company for a few years and have been selected for the team that will develop a marketing plan for the new product launch. The executives at Chocolate Bliss will use the marketing plan to make decisions about how to best use the marketing budget to ensure a successful product launch, so you need to have sound research and reasoning to support your work that will contribute to developing a marketing plan. You also realize that the marketing plan is not just about a successful product launch; it is about building the Chocolate Bliss brand and positioning the company strongly against its competitors, especially regarding price point.