Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix Marketing Essay

Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix Marketing Essay A product can be seen as what is offered to consumers as an end result after the manufacturing process to satisfy a want or need. A product is not only tangible but may be a service. The consumer product Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake Mix can be seen as a shopping product and is purchased when needed for example a birthday party. This product is seen as an easily made because it allows consumers to buy the cake mix already made and only requires four simple steps to complete the cake. This cake mix is 543 grams which serves 12 people so it may be convenient for small occasions. Betty Crocker cake mix is an Australian product made by Australian and imported ingredients and is distributed by General Mills. The ingredients that are used to make this cake mix is Sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil, cocoa, raising agents, dextrose, thickeners, wheat, starch, emulsifier, whey powder, salt and it contains wheat, soy and milk. There are many variety of flavours that are available that incl ude chocolate fudge vanilla, chocolate mud, devil food, chocolate swirl, vanilla, milk chocolate chunk and reduced fat chocolate fudge. The primary packaging that contains this product is a cardboard box that is 95% percent recycled and the colours used on it are mostly red and yellow which stood out from most of the other brands on the shelf. The cake mix before opened may be kept until a year and after making the cake can be stored up to three days or can kept in a freezer for three weeks. Betty Crocker offers other products within its product line such as cupcakes, brownies, cookies, shakers and muffins. Betty Crocker has many other products within its product mix as well such as fruit snacks, potatoes, salads, gold medal flour, cereal products and yogurt. The branding of Betty Crocker includes a symbol which is a red spoon that has the brand name Betty Crocker written in it. The red spoon is Betty Crockers guarantee of quality, great taste and convenience. This brand is trademar ked due to the  ® shown after the brand name Betty Crocker. The labeling of this product includes mostly everything that is required such as the registered trade mark, the size of the package, nutritional features, number of servings, instructions on how to make the cake, the expire date, and the name, address the phone number of the distributor. Price is known as the exchange value a consumer gives for a product. Betty Crocker uses promotional pricing such as price leaders to promote their product for example in Coles Betty Crocker cake mix original price is $4.99 and is discounted to $4.87, this pricing method is seen as an odd-even pricing method, were customers look at this price and think $4.99 this product is on sale and do not look at it as $5.00. Betty Crocker also uses special event pricing which they set their prices low when there is a special event for example on Mothers Day. Betty Crocker uses non-price competition even though there prices are discounted they are still higher than competing products around them such as White Wings who sell their products originally for $4.73 and discount it to $4 and Greens Who sell their products for $2. This can be seen as a benefit for Betty Crocker as they may be able to get more customer loyalty. Betty Crocker cake mix and similar companies that produce cake mixes can be see n as an oligopolistic market due to all of them cutting down prices to gain a competitive edge. For example the Betty Crocker cake mix at Coles is shown to be discounted along with all the other competing companies next to it such as White Wings. Demand Curve e.g. For most products, the quantity demanded goes up as the price goes down and goes down as the price goes up. Thus, there is an inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded. Place is simply the location of where a customer can find a product that they need. Marketers need to make sure that they provide the product they are selling to the right target market in the correct location. Betty Crocker cake mix can be found in general merchandise stores such as Coles, Woolworths and franklins. Betty Crocker cake mix in Coles is placed in the aisle were the cake mixes are and is found next to the flour and similar products such as White Wings. It is placed in the middle, top and bottom of the shelf; this makes it easier for customers to find what type of cake mix they want without moving up and down the aisle. Promotion is seen as the way a product is advertised to its target market. Betty Crocker promotes its product on their website. They offer sales promotion such as coupons that you can print out if you join their website which you can save $1.00 of any Betty Crocker purchase. If an order is placed online they also offer 10% discount for a party order. Their website also offers discounted items that are on special weekly if anything is ordered online. Most of Betty Crockers cake mixes also provide information on cupcakes on the box in order to promote their cupcakes. Their website offers information on what to make using their products on special occasions such as Valentines Day, Birthdays and Fathers Day. They also use stickers on their products that say Prices are down to grab attention the consumers attention. Competitive product advertising is also done for Betty Crocker though advertising their product on television. The most recent add for Betty Crocker was in 2009 on a chocolate cake mix, and was directed towards mothers and children. They showed that their product is made easily and even children can help their mothers into baking the cake. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Company Logo- The red spoon is well known and popular Marketed through a well known food processing company (General Mills). Many different products to choose from, they do not just specialise in one area Offer food range for all target markets such as children, parents and elderly and also offer a healthy range such as fruits and salads. Gluten free products for people who are health conscious Weakness Lowered prices Poor packaging for example the cake mix box cannot be sealed once opened Dependant on the US market Threats Competitors lowered prices Cake shops such as Michaels Patisserie who sell already made cakes Opportunity Milkshakes Ice-cream cakes Provide already made cakes than just cake mixes Introduction General Mills in a food processing industry. It makes products such as Baking Mixes, yogurts, snack foods, ice cream and cereals. They are known to market many well known brands, one of them including Betty Crocker.