Group Write Up For Sweet Leaf Bath Co. Case Study

Group Members

Assignment 3
PROBLEM
With only $5,000 available for its advertising budget, what path with Sweet Leaf Bath Co. pursue in order to increase sales, realize profits and satisfy their future goals for the company? Therefore, the issue revolves around what type of advertising program will be cost effective and successful for Sweet Leaf Bath Co. to employ for its 2012 advertising campaign.

CRITICAL FACTORS

Demographic - The target group of consumers Sweet Leaf Bath Co. is seeking would be females age 25-50
Budget - With only $5,000 to use for advertising, Sweet Leaf Bath Co. must examine options that are very well priced. This can be very limiting.
Competitors – As Sweet Leaf Bath Co. is in the same market as Burt’s Bees, Tom’s of Maine, Hain Celestial, Tashodi, Delapointe, L’Herbier, Kynk Naturals and Earth to Body, they must make the most of every small opportunity to gain a foothold in the industry. These companies have a much more significant amount of money for advertising and are already highly established brands.
Profit Margin – As with any company, Sweet Leaf Bath Co. began their business to make money. In order to clear a profit after all expenses are paid, Sweet Leaf Bath Co. must keep its expenses as low as possible. Therefore, they have to select an advertising program that produces the most “bang for its buck” and maintain competitive pricing for their products.

ALTERNATIVES/SOLUTIONS

Online Branding
The most inexpensive, accessible and proven method Sweet Leaf Bath Co. can adopt would be through social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, and through Google Ad words. This combined online campaign would be targeted to the specific audience in question and would feature product information, data on why people should purchase these products, or “go green” and would direct customers to the website so they easily buy the products at their convenience.

Pros:

Very user friendly for the younger audience Sweet Leaf Bath Co. is attempting to reach
Could certainly boost to more store visits, hence more overall purchases.
The advertisements would be diverse and reach people outside of the target market that generate more interest in other groups.
Can be very cost effective for Sweet Leaf Bath Co. if the appropriate methods are employed.

Cons:

This program can be quite expensive if a CPM or CPC model is selected incorrectly.
It might be difficult to reach the older end of the target market online and this group typically has more disposable income to spend on these products.
Also, many companies are hiring social media managers to perform only these tasks. Would Sweet Leaf Bath Co. have an employee that would be able to conduct the campaign without losing productivity or requiring extra pay?

VENDOR SHOW PROMOTIONS

This option would require promotion of Sweet Leaf Bath Co.’s products at vendor shows and exclusively selected events. This type of system would aid Sweet Leaf Bath Co. in efforts to personally represent their company and their products directly to potential clients. It would establish a personal connection and forge immediate relationships.
Pros:

The personal contact is essential to developing a stronger relationship between the company and its consumers.

It provides a great opportunity to expand the product into new markets that might not have been discovered or thought of.
It allows distributors to promote themselves and forge connections with their personal production selections that could entice consumers to them as well as the products.

Cons:

Can be extremely expensive
Very time consuming
Vendor shows may require licensing, registration fees and the construction of a booth. There could be a lot of details that detract from overall success.

DISTRIBUTOR CONTRACT

A distributor is an independent agent or contractor that can enter an agreement to promote, provide and sell the product of another company. In Sweet Leaf Bath Co.’s situation, using independent contractors enables them to reach a varied audience while keeping prices down. This is advantageous as many major companies only have one distributer.
Pros:

Very cost effective way to advertise

Great opportunity to expand beyond Canadian borders
Allows for direct contact with store management, sales associates and customers as a noteworthy brand.
Cons:

Very expensive

The variety could hurt Sweet Leaf Bath Co. promote its product because they don’t have exclusive control over what types of activity the distributors would engage in.

GROUP SUGGESTION

Online Branding
Our group feels the best advertising choice Sweet Leaf Bath Co. can make for the 2012 advertising campaign in online branding. Currently, online marketing is the most cost effective way to reach a large audience. As Sweet Leaf Bath Co. is a new company competing an already established market with many rivals, using social media to get their message and products out there is the only way they can gain a foothold in the market while still managing to make a profit. Also, social media and Google Ad words is quite simple to use and would not be problematic for an in house employee to learn on their own. In addition, there is no down side. When Sweet Leaf Bath Co. begins to grow, they should still incorporate online branding. It is the wave of the future and the only means they really have to compete with only a $5,000 advertising budget.