...Phong Trinh IBM 421 Professor Assumma June 11, 2015 Kingsford Charcoal Case Study Analysis Executive Summary In this case study, we will be analyzing the current position of how well Kingsford is within the marketplace and determine which of the issues are plausible causes in its drop in revenue. We will be creating a comprehensive strategy as well as a marketing plan to evaluate and adjust the matter at hand. First we will begin with identifying the issues and implementing a method to reemphasize the importance of marketing in the business. The goal is to create a marketing plan that will add value to Kingsford’s market share, sales, and profitability. It is evident that Kingsford is a superior product to its competitors such as Royal Oak, but the company faces losing market share to gas grilling because it is a more convenient alternative to cooking. Since Kingsford has already been an established brand, it can effectively market its brand awareness with an increase in media advertising which is a probable reason why the company did not reach its highest potential. The company needs to correspond to the increasing use of outdoor grilling in the USA which is now a great opportunity for the company to start a marketing strategy and establishing a greater brand recognition. The biggest challenge will be how well the company can gear people’s interest towards charcoal grilling away from gas grilling yet at the same time capture more market share from Royal Oak as well. Throughout...
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...Erica Frank Kingsford Charcoal Problem Statement Kingsford Charcoal as a brand needs to reevaluate its marketing strategy in order to rekindle consumer interest in charcoal grilling to combat increase in gas grilling trends because charcoal is in the mature stage of the product life cycle and there is little growth within the industry. Performance Objectives Kingsford’s objectives are to maintain a 1-3% growth in sales and maintain market share. Kingsford is a cash cow in Clorox’s portfolio; therefore, it needs to maintain profits to support other brands and investments. Strength Kingsford Charcoal represents one of the largest product groups within Clorox’s portfolio, which means that it has the resources to spend on marketing the product. Represents approximately 9 percent of Clorox’s revenues and substantially higher percentage of its net income, indicating that it is essential for Kingsford to maintain its position within the charcoal market. (page 3) Clorox sales team has years of experience working with key accounts, which gives the company an advantage in terms of building strategic relationships with retailers and wholesalers. (page 4) Constancy in marketing and sales actions over time and consistency in message communicated to sales team and marketing, channel members, and final consumer. This has helped Kingsford not only create and sustain brand awareness, but also grow the business. (page 4) Lab tests proved that Kingsford’s product is superior to Royal...
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...Kingsford Charcoal case Kingsford Background and Problem Overview Kingsford, an all-American brand, is the prominent manufacturer of charcoal in the United States. The overall charcoal industry has enjoyed a consistent growth for almost 20 years. However, since the summer of 2000, the overall growth in the charcoal category has suffered from a clear decline; the charcoal category growth has declined from 4 % from 1998 to 1999 to 2 % from 1999 to 2000. Several factors have contributed to that, they are summarized below: * Gas grilling, which represents a new competitor to the overall charcoal category, came into play with a massive media expenditure communicating the value of cleanness, convenience, short cooking time, and high control over cooking temperature. * Kingsford failed to fully exploit the opportunity to distinguish itself from gas grilling. It has significantly cut down the advertising budget since 1988 while relying heavily on sales efforts. * Unlike Kingsford, which kept its price almost constant over the years, other competitors in the charcoal industry such as Royal Oak and private label brands have increased their prices and cut back on promotion funding at retailers which results in a decline in the overall category growth due to the shift of new customers getting into grilling who negatively responded to the charcoal price increase. * Unlike previously mentioned factors that can be controlled, weather patterns during the year 2000 showed a significant...
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...Kingsford Charcoal ande Kunal P kunalpande@hotmail.com Prof-‐ Bob Carroll MKM805ms The Charcoal category has seen a loss of 2% from 4% between 1998 -‐2000, this can affect Clorox’s business growth if Kingsford sales and revenue takes a hit. • The unanticipated weather conditions in the United States added to the softening of Sales in charcoal category between 1998-2000. • The Convenience of using a gas grill increased causing consumers shifting from charcoal grilling to Gas grilling • Kingsford curtailed its advertising budget excessively from $6m in 1997 to $1m in 2000 • Promotional activities were cut back which were one of the key drivers of Kingsford’s Sales. Kingsford market share leveraged from the increase in prices from royal oak and private label Year 1999 2000 Kinsgford 54.2 57.7 Private label 33.3 33.9 Private label 13.7 7.1 Kingsford is a brand with superior quality compared to royal oak and private label and is proven in lab tests. ...
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...KINGSFORD CHARCOAL ASSIGNMENT (10 Points) 1. The Kingsford Charcoal case takes place in July 2001. 2. Kingsford’s primary competitor is gas grills. Most people do not want or have the time to spend on getting charcoal ready for grilling; therefore, the concept of convenience, greater control over cooking temperature, shorter cooking times, and ease of clean-up makes the selling points for gas grilling. 3. The two ways for Kingsford to determine variables that segment the market, they are heavy Kingsford users and gas grill users. The “heavy” Kingsford users can be segmented into “Regular Exclusive”, “Instant Acceptor”, and “Instant Exclusive” (Exhibit 9). Gas grillers can be segmented into “own gas only grills” or “owns both”. 4. SWOT Analysis example for Kingsford would looks like: a. Strength: Established brand b. Weakness: Advertising budget c. Opportunity: Number of US grilling events have more than doubled since 1987 d. Threat: Increasing trend of gas grills shipments (Exhibit 5). 5. Use Exhibit #10 and compare the 4 scenarios below: a. The pricing scenario that resulted in the smallest reduction in dollar sales is the “Minimum (2.5%) Blue Bag Pricing Increase” (#2). b. The amount of the smallest decrease in dollar sales is $1,110. c. The pricing scenario that resulted in the greatest increase in profits is the “Total Line pricing (5%) Increase”. d. The amount of the greatest increase in profits is $1,870. 6. Kingsford...
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...Kingsford: To Grill or Not to Grill? That’s not even a question. While certainly not politically correct by modern standards, this photo-illustration reflects the pervasive presence grilling has held in the United States since the 1950s when the Weber Kettle Grill and increasing suburbanization made it a defacto standard of American living. Then again, our modern American stereotype would have a man holding tongs in one hand and a beer in another standing at the grill, which is also not only incorrect, but not fully reflective of modern grilling. But yes, that is a real Kingsford bag. (Photo Illustration by Sandy Kreps) Team 3 Marketing Case Analysis Executive Summary The Kingsford brand of charcoal has found success through favorable conditions in its market traditionally, however conditions are now less favorable. A reduction in the charcoal market is affecting Kingsford even though its charcoal market share has increased. The consumer shifting trend from charcoal to gas grilling is now the primary threat to Kingsford and the charcoal market, and to combat this an action plan includes tight control on pricing, new pro-charcoal advertizing campaigns, and increased partnership with retailers and distributes. Conditions appear favorable for resurgence for Kingsford through these strategies. Introduction Clorox is a well known and historic house-hold brand, known primarily for home cleaning products. Founded in 1913, the company initially serviced the business...
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...Enterprise Sustainability Web Portal Final Report IS 535 April 15, 2012 Contents Introduction 1 Purpose 1 Definition 1 Business problem 1 Solution 1 Business model 2 Audience 2 Milestone 1 2 Business challenges 3 Sustainability and CSR background 3 Business issues 4 Benefits to business 4 Initial approach 5 High-level solution 5 Milestone 2 5 Technology solutions 5 Business practice solutions 6 Web Portal construction 8 Milestone 3 8 Sustainable Supply Chain Management System 8 Conclusions and recommendations 10 Implementation plan 11 Project summary 11 References 12 Introduction Purpose The purpose of this project is to create a technology portal for business leaders, policy makers and public awareness groups to interact, discuss, share ideas, strategies, and progress being made toward corporate sustainability and social responsibility. Definition Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to a business methodology where companies are accountable for the economic, ecologic and social impact of their business processes, and endeavor to incorporate sustainable best practices with their business model as a means to...
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...SIXTH EDITION STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN ACTION Mary Coulter Missouri State University Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montréal Toronto Delhi Mexico City São Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo Editor in Chief: Stephanie Wall Senior Acquisitions Editor: April Cole Editorial Project Manager: Claudia Fernandes Director of Marketing: Maggie Moylan Senior Marketing Manager: Nikki Ayana Jones Marketing Assistant: Gianna Sandri Senior Managing Editor: Judy Leale Production Project Manager: Kelly Warsak Senior Operations Supervisor: Arnold Vila Operations Specialist: Cathleen Petersen Creative Director: Blair Brown Senior Art Director: Kenny Beck Text Designer: LCI Design Cover Designer: LCI Design Cover Art: Svetoslav Iliev/Shutterstock.com Permission Specialist: Brooks Hill-Whilton Media Project Manager, Production: Lisa Rinaldi Senior Media Project Manager, Editorial: Denise Vaughn Full-Service Project Management and Composition: Integra Printer/Binder: RRD/Willard Cover Printer: Lehigh-Phoenix Color Text Font: 10/12, Times LT Std Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within text. Copyright © 2013, 2010, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. All rights...
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