Executive Summary
The launch of a social media marketing campaign for Danone has been considered. Based on SWOT and PESTLE analyses, key competitive and external factors have been identified, which may influence the sustainability of this project. The proposed mission statement reflects the primary task of differentiation, which is planned for implementation.
The division of the development strategy into business, brand, and trust models is demonstrated. Danone’s primary stakeholders include consumers and partners. The plan is divided into steps, each with a corresponding time period. Using customer feedback and profit metrics can help identify the success of the considered marketing intervention.
Introduction
Danone, a well-known brand and manufacturer of dairy products, is chosen as the target organization to analyze in the context of a proposed marketing initiative. According to the marketing plan, launching a social media campaign is an initiative under consideration. The individual aspects of Danone’s market activity must be analyzed to carry out all procedures effectively. Based on the data obtained, all the nuances of the proposed intervention can be assessed, and the necessary implementation steps may be identified.
Competitive and Environmental Analyses
SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis is required to assess Danone’s competitive landscape. This algorithm incorporates evaluation criteria such as “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats” and identifies factors that affect market competition and business success (Ferrell, Hartline, and Hochstein, 2021, p. 39).
- Strengths. Brand loyalty, global business, and a large number of consumers.
- Weaknesses. Difficulty in controlling deliveries and cases of complaints.
- Opportunities. Expansion of the supply base and introduction of new product lines.
- Threats. Entry of competitors into the market and sanctions from the supervisory authorities.
PESTLE Analysis
PESTLE analysis is a tool for evaluating external factors that affect a business. This instrument, where each letter of the name corresponds to a specific criterion, enables the identification of different types of impacts to provide a comprehensive picture of external incentives and barriers (Dibb, Pride, and Ferrell, 2019).
- Political. Export and import agreements between countries.
- Economic. Competitors’ pricing policies.
- Social. Share of consumption of dairy products in different states.
- Technological. The technological base is involved in production.
- Legal. Reporting documentation and tax liabilities.
- Environmental. Regulations relating to production standards.
Goals and Objectives
A key goal of implementing the marketing plan is to expand the client base. Given the competitive and external factors mentioned earlier, Danone needs to strengthen its business because the production’s specific nature requires compliance with several conventions. Differentiating the target audience is one of the intended outcomes of the marketing initiative to launch a social media campaign. As Kotler et al. (2019) argue, such an objective is particularly relevant when a sales increase is planned, and categorizing the target audience into appropriate segments is a promising approach to achieve this. Therefore, the mission statement for this plan might be as follows: “To provide dairy lovers with fresh and tasty products to their taste.”
Development Strategy
Danone’s strategic development involves building a customer-centric approach based on global brand promotion. According to Armstrong, Kotler, and Opresnik (2019), this mechanism contributes to building loyalty and gaining a competitive advantage by effectively addressing customer needs promptly. In the case of Danone, the company’s development strategy can be divided into three key branches: business model, brand model, and trust model.
In each of these areas, the French corporation should adhere to the relevant rules to ensure the sustainable promotion of products in the global market. When planning the start of a marketing campaign in social media, Danone management needs to consider the features of all three models to realize the anticipated differentiation task and expand the customer base as much as possible. Figure 1 presents a division into three models, showing the corresponding activities.
Marketing Activities
The 4Ps technique can be utilized as a tool for evaluating the validity of the marketing plan in question. Armstrong, Kotler, and Opresnik (2019) consider this mechanism and define it as a strategy designed to evaluate relevant criteria that influence the success of marketing initiatives. In this analysis, variables such as price, product, place, and promotion are determined and assessed.
- Product. The company’s dairy products, specifically yogurts, are the target goods to promote. As distinctive characteristics, compliance with sanitary requirements and high palatability should be highlighted.
- Price. The price of the products in question is affordable for most markets. Although the cost may be slightly higher than some local brands, the manufacturer’s credibility is high due to its reliable market reputation.
- Place. Since the marketing initiative in question is planned to be launched on social media, the virtual environment, particularly accounts on popular social sites, is the main platform for promotion.
- Promotion. Partnering with other brands and securing advertising contracts with marketplaces can help promote Danone products and increase awareness of the brand’s product line.
Stakeholders
As intervention stakeholders, several interested parties can be identified. First, Danone itself is interested in starting a digital marketing campaign. The target market differentiation opportunity is the prospect of benefiting the corporation. In addition, according to Ferrell, Hartline, and Hochstein (2021), the opportunity to create a mental image in the target audience is a means to achieve a competitive advantage and stay ahead of market rivals.
Buyers are also interested parties because an opportunity to choose the best offers based on personal preferences and tastes allows them to get the desired product. Finally, partners and advertisers are also interested in the intervention. Including them in the marketing plan can benefit them since publishing promotional materials and providing sponsorship funds are initiatives that clearly pay off. All these stakeholders should be involved in developing the planned marketing plan.
Actions
In Table 1, the necessary work steps and outcomes of launching the marketing plan are presented, along with the timeline.
Table 1. Steps of the marketing plan
Measurements and Feedback Mechanisms
To evaluate the success of the marketing plan and determine the credibility of the steps taken, the appropriate assessment and feedback tools can be used:
- Sales figures. Specific metrics can be compared based on sales data before and after the marketing campaign.
- Communication impact. The effectiveness of the developed campaign can be evaluated based on feedback from the target audience (Armstrong, Kotler, and Opresnik, 2019). Polls on the same social media platforms can be a convenient analytical tool.
- Analysis of online activity. Assessing consumer activity on social media can serve as a method for evaluating the success of the marketing intervention (Kotler et al., 2019).
Conclusion
The reviewed marketing plan associated with launching the Danone advertising campaign on social media can be analyzed using appropriate techniques and tools. The goals and objectives of the intervention are presented, and the key directions of the development strategy are identified. The stakeholders are highlighted, and the necessary steps are described. The current mechanisms for measuring the success of the intervention are given, based on which the effectiveness of the work performed can be determined.
Reference List
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., and Opresnik, M. O. (2019). Marketing: an introduction. 14th edn. London: Pearson.
Dibb, S., Pride, W. M., and Ferrell, O. C. (2019). Marketing concepts and strategies. 8th edn. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Ferrell, O. C., Hartline, M., and Hochstein, B. W. (2021). Marketing strategy. 8th edn. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Kotler, P. et al. (2019). Marketing management. 4th edn. London: Pearson.