Ch.6 - Market Segmentation, Positioning, and the Value of Proposition

Homework Answers

Sunshine Meals Inc. is a company that sells breakfast foods such as cereals, pancake mixes, and the like. The company conducts a study to segment its consumers. It finds that segment A consists of a small group of individuals who purchase four boxes of the brand’s cereal every week. In contrast, the average user consumes one box every week. Sunshine targets segment A by providing them with samples of other Sunshine products with the purchase of one box. Segment B consists of a large number of college students and individuals who have recently begun living on their own and require readymade mixes as their breakfast solution. Sunshine targets these consumers by providing more variety with pancake and waffle mixes. Segment C consists of consumers who are not consistent buyers; targeting these consumers could prove a loss for the company.

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Segment C consumers are more likely to be:

Variety seekers.

Sunshine Meals Inc. is a company that sells breakfast foods such as cereals, pancake mixes, and the like. The company conducts a study to segment its consumers. It finds that segment A consists of a small group of individuals who purchase four boxes of the brand’s cereal every week. In contrast, the average user consumes one box every week. Sunshine targets segment A by providing them with samples of other Sunshine products with the purchase of one box. Segment B consists of a large number of college students and individuals who have recently begun living on their own and require readymade mixes as their breakfast solution. Sunshine targets these consumers by providing more variety with pancake and waffle mixes. Segment C consists of consumers who are not consistent buyers; targeting these consumers could prove a loss for the company.

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The consumers of segment A can be classified as:

Heavy users.

Sunshine Meals Inc. is a company that sells breakfast foods such as cereals, pancake mixes, and the like. The company conducts a study to segment its consumers. It finds that segment A consists of a small group of individuals who purchase four boxes of the brand’s cereal every week. In contrast, the average user consumes one box every week. Sunshine targets segment A by providing them with samples of other Sunshine products with the purchase of one box. Segment B consists of a large number of college students and individuals who have recently begun living on their own and require readymade mixes as their breakfast solution. Sunshine targets these consumers by providing more variety with pancake and waffle mixes. Segment C consists of consumers who are not consistent buyers; targeting these consumers could prove a loss for the company.

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If Sunshine Meals Inc. begins producing a range of sugar-free marmalades to target a small segment of health-conscious consumers who would be willing to pay a premium price for products appropriate for their diets, this would be an example of:

Niche marketing.

Segment selection centers on what the members of the segment want as related to:

If the organization can provide it.

Which of the following is an emotional benefit that a family restaurant might include in its value proposition?

Families can spend quality time together.

Folgers coffee created an ad campaign aimed at millennials, as they are the next generation of coffee-drinkers at home. This campaign is an example of:

Point-of-entry marketing.

What is the basis of a positioning strategy?

It has to be both distinctive and simple.

Leesan Books is a publisher of both fiction and nonfiction titles for the popular reading market. The company has a goal to increase revenue by 5% annually and has not met that goal for the last two years. Therefore, a work group has been assembled to come up with ideas on how to increase sales. They are asked to consider all options--increasing share in existing markets, exploring new markets, and so on. They were not tasked with developing full-advertising campaigns, just asking relevant questions and coming up with ideas that may be pursued, either by this team or others.

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The team feels that it would be useful to understand why consumers purchase books. If they can understand that motivation, then they should be able to capitalize on it. What type of information are they seeking?

Psychographic.

Leesan Books is a publisher of both fiction and nonfiction titles for the popular reading market. The company has a goal to increase revenue by 5% annually and has not met that goal for the last two years. Therefore, a work group has been assembled to come up with ideas on how to increase sales. They are asked to consider all options--increasing share in existing markets, exploring new markets, and so on. They were not tasked with developing full-advertising campaigns, just asking relevant questions and coming up with ideas that may be pursued, either by this team or others.

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One idea the team had to encourage newlyweds to begin building their own libraries. The goal of this proposal is to target what market segment?

Emergent consumers.

Leesan Books is a publisher of both fiction and nonfiction titles for the popular reading market. The company has a goal to increase revenue by 5% annually and has not met that goal for the last two years. Therefore, a work group has been assembled to come up with ideas on how to increase sales. They are asked to consider all options--increasing share in existing markets, exploring new markets, and so on. They were not tasked with developing full-advertising campaigns, just asking relevant questions and coming up with ideas that may be pursued, either by this team or others.

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The task force has suggested a campaign that shows parents reading Leesan titles to their young children, with information explaining how this will prepare the children for success in school. This best reflects what type of segmentation?

Benefit.

A core idea that explains an objective or goal for a brand that will be relevant to the target audiences for a long period of time is known as the brand:

Platform.

Keds has been trying to turn around a long-term slide in its shoe business. For years, it had depended on its image as the women's no-frills summer shoe to keep sales moving. But over time, competition from Sam & Libby and Easy Spirit brands has been nipping at the heels of Keds. As part of its effort to revitalize the brand several years ago, Keds' advertising agency developed a campaign that focuses on the warm, close relationships between mothers and daughters. According to an issue of Brandweek magazine at the time, "The new ads really go for the heart." Copy on the first ad included the mother saying, "She was my first, I could never tell her how to dress," with the daughter saying, "She made me feel pretty even when I had braces."

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The copy for this campaign features moms and daughters commenting on their close relationships, and Brandweek magazine said that the new Keds ads "really go for the heart." This points to the campaign’s focus on:

Identifying emotional benefits.

Keds has been trying to turn around a long-term slide in its shoe business. For years, it had depended on its image as the women's no-frills summer shoe to keep sales moving. But over time, competition from Sam & Libby and Easy Spirit brands has been nipping at the heels of Keds. As part of its effort to revitalize the brand several years ago, Keds' advertising agency developed a campaign that focuses on the warm, close relationships between mothers and daughters. According to an issue of Brandweek magazine at the time, "The new ads really go for the heart." Copy on the first ad included the mother saying, "She was my first, I could never tell her how to dress," with the daughter saying, "She made me feel pretty even when I had braces."

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Instead of “mothers and daughters,” why didn’t Keds define its target segment simply as “women”?

This is poorly defined and provides no clear orientation or identity.

What is a downside to adopting a heavy-user-focused segmentation plan?

Heavy users may have different motivations for consuming the brand or different images of the brand than average or infrequent users have.

As a segment, variety seekers:

Need little encouragement to continue purchasing a brand.

A statement of emotional, self-expressive, or functional benefits that the brand provides is known as what?

Value proposition.

Which of the following is a functional benefit that a family restaurant might include in its value proposition?

Children can complete activity pages while waiting to be served.

An important apex in Thorson and Moore's strategic planning triangle entails:

Specifying of the brand’s value proposition.

When identifying brand opportunity, which question could be asked to determine relevance?

How can the consumer connect to the brand?

Why are systems such as PRIZM used by advertisers for segmentation?

Because they provide a thorough description of the segment.

The use of psychographics to focus on differences in the activities, interests, and opinions of consumers often lead to what type of segmentation?

Lifestyle.

A fast-food restaurant is attempting to position itself as the best choice when you're in a hurry because it serves customers within 100 seconds. Which of the following steps would violate the concept of internal consistency?

Adding a gourmet condiment station.

Which of the following forms the final apex of the strategic planning triangle proposed by Esther Thorson and Jeri Moore?

Selection of a mix of persuasion tools.

Which of the following is true of segment selection?

Marketers are inclined to invest resources in segments in which they expect significant growth.

The process of cutting a market into pieces and focusing on the piece or pieces that make the most sense is termed

Segmentation.

When identifying brand opportunity, which question could be asked to determine differentiation?

How can the brand stand out from the competition?

Which of the following involves the overlap of four factors: current relevance, credibility, a recognition of uniqueness, and the prospect of “stretch”?

Brand opportunity.

Terry just got a large raise and, even after allocating a certain amount for savings, has significantly more disposable income. Regarding product categories Terry hasn't purchased before, Terry would be identified with what group of consumers?

Emergent.

A firm hires an agency to persuade real estate professionals to use their finance services. In this case, the agency is specifically involved in:

Business-to-business marketing.

The McDonald’s team aligned its marketing mix in a design that would represent a particular identity, showcasing certain themes and value, and shaped to gain distinctive approval from parents. This demonstrates the process of ______.

Segmenting.