Running head: STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN; ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 1 Strategic Marketing Plan; Environmental Analysis Kevin D. Pierce MKT/593- Product Design and Development Steven Wynne October 8, 2018 STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN; ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 2 The Product In this analysis I am going to look at Pamper diapers. Pampers is an American baby product which are marketed by Procter and Gamble. It was introduced in the year 1961 after the P&G researcher Victor Millis disliked changing the cloth diapers of new-born grandchildren. It offers different kinds of diapers which vary in sizes, four kinds of toilet training pants, four kinds of diaper wipes and swim pants. Main Features of Pampers Diapers Pampers baby diapers have several features which I will briefly describe below. They are products can be said to be designed with babies in mind as they try to be very effective in making sure every pampers diaper meets its objective. The product in question is made from soft and breathable material. The material allows for easy movement as the baby plays and sleeps each day. Their diapers are layered which allow for liquid movement away from the baby to an absorbent core. The liquid is locked away and the baby stays dry and comfortable. The core has a super-absorbent gel which absorbs the wetness. Major Benefits Received By Using Pampers Diapers Everybody understands the importance of baby diapers to the well-being of a baby. It is common to see a baby feeding most of its time but not talking or asking for a washroom. This must be countered and prevent us from having a lot of laundry at the end of the day. However, we have very many diaper brands but why pampers? What are its benefits? Pampers diaper is a very good option when it comes to protecting your babies' skin since that is its top priority. Babies usually have problems during the hot summer in the month of December as they sweat a lot hence they are more prone to nappy rash. The diapers' cotton-like softness helps care for a baby's skin and development. When using Pampers diapers, you are guaranteed STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN; ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 3 of hours of dryness for your baby. Using the wetness indicator, one can know when your baby needs a diaper change. Current Branding Strategies I believe marketers can learn one or two things from pampers branding strategies. Pampers is one of the most trusted brands by mothers according to a study done by a market research firm known as Millward Brown. In this discussion, I will highlight three branding elements implemented by Pampers. The first element is ‘consumer is bosses. P&G invests up to 2billion in research so that brands like pampers can understand their consumers well. 1800 mums travel with their babies to Germany where P&G headquarters are located to test the pampers products including diapers and share with over 200 researchers. The second element must do with their consumer understanding which leads to a best in class market segmentation with a strong knowledge of each segment. An example is the "My new-born baby from 0-6 months which needs a very soft diaper with Pampers Swaddlers. Lastly, element of branding is the worldwide communication centred on loving our babies. The connection targets majorly first-time mums as they tend to be stressed and will surely buy the most expensive diaper. Once they have Pampers diapers as their first diaper, they rarely change to other brands hence remain loyal. Pricing Strategy Since pampers is a multinational product, it has different pricing systems in different countries may be due to factors such as the difference in tax. Taking an example in India, an extra-large premium care pant style pampers goes for around Rs. 659. 34 for the final users. It would go for less at the distribution level since there is always a need to make a profit. Pampers mainly focuses on, Non-Pricing Competition pricing strategy. They consider factors such as STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN; ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 4 quality, packaging and delivery hence different from its competitors. These quality factors prevent its consumers from considering the pricing factor as they are assured of quality products. Nonetheless, competitors' price is kept in mind to avoid overpricing. Target Market and Demographics This is obvious as they would target parents with new-born babies though they also target parents with kids in general. Pampers try to take advantage of the fact that every new parent strives to be the best parent. Due to brand loyalty, these new parents might end up using Pampers diapers forever hence growth in Pampers diapers' market. Pampers now serves 25 million babies in more than 100countries making it the biggest brand in P&G and the fastest growing. In China from the year 2009-2014 sales of Pampers diapers increased from 10billion to 30 billion, while the capita GDP grew from 30000 to 40000 yuan. From these, we see a positive and somewhat motivating reaction from the market to this product. These parents are willing to invest and more for the sake of their kids. Distribution Plan P&G prefer the distribution of their products through e-commerce that is online selling. This is because of several factors like reduction of the intermediate link which allows for faster feedback directly to the manufacturer hence quicker response. E-commerce is very efficient in aiming the target consumer hence more sales, and this also helps in making their consumer market grow fast and more significant. Competition, Market Share and Product Attributes Their biggest competitor in the diaper market right now is the Japanese multinational Unicaharm's Mamy Poko. In less than ten years it has eaten into the market share of both Huggies and Pampers diapers. In October 2013, P&G's and Kimberley Clarke's market share was 56% and 18% while Unicharm stood at18%. Fifteen months later this changed as STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN; ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 5 Unicharm’s market share grew to 32% while P&G’s and Kimberley Clarkes dropped by 14% and 1% respectively. The competition is quite stiff hence but pampers diapers do have some product attributes which help them cope with the game. The most important quality of this product is the brand's name which a vast population is very much loyal to. Secondly, their self-adsorbent diapers do well in the market as it is quite innovative of them and undoubtedly a good product given its core function. Strengths and Weaknesses Pampers diapers have a brand name well known all over the world. This brings about a certain extent of loyalty. Their quality products also enhance their profit-making capabilities. They use online distribution hence reach out more directly to its targeted consumers. Though they have some great strengths, their weakness comes in whereby their products are expensive enabling companies who can produce cheaper products sell them to those who cannot afford pampers products and eat into the market share. Financial Analysis Pampers diapers are very important to Proctor and Gamble company. The diaper franchise brings in revenue of around $9 billion in annual revenue. In the U.S it holds the most significant market share of 44%. Pampers diapers are targeting India and China as they contain the greatest infant populations which are 55 million and 40 million respectively Devoting around $1.9billion for research in these areas. With India's society it is possible to support a market penetration of 10-12 per cent. Factors Affecting The Product Some parents perceive the whole idea about diapers as unclean. The rationale behind it is that they cannot bear the fact that a cloth holding faeces and urine is wrapped around their STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN; ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 6 babies' genital regions. In some countries like China, parents think of throwaway products as a waste of money and would rather split their babies' pants. The thought of throwaway nappies prevents parents who are environment conscious deter away from buying these products. STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN; ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 7 References Van Hoof, G., Weisbrod, A., & Kruse, B. (2014). Assessment of progressive product innovation on key environmental indicators: Pampers® Baby Wipes from 2007–2013. Sustainability, 6(8), 5129-5142. Ng, S. (2014). P&G to shed more than half its brands: Company to focus on 70 to 80 products, including Tide and Pampers. The Wall Street Journal. Fraser, C. (2016). Presenting Statistical Analysis Results to Management. In Business Statistics for Competitive Advantage with Excel 2016 (pp. 187-205). Springer, Cham.
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