Initial Strategy Paper

Initial Strategy Paper

Initial Strategy Paper

Business Definition
As a successful firm, we strive to commit to a strategy that is well thought out and
perfectly executed. We believed that a sound strategy is the most important aspect of the
decision-making process and overall success for our firms organization. We have a long term
vision as a firm that values the input of every member, utilizes references when making
decisions, analyzing available data, defining segments, creating competitive advantages in the
marketplace. Ultimately, this paper outlines our roadmap, which illustrates where and how our
firm chooses to execute and compete in highly competitive, ever-changing environment of
pharmaceuticals.
As an organization, we have decided to focus on marketing to young families. Taking
into consideration that the All-Star brand already held great customer awareness and satisfaction,
we concluded that we needed to tap into a new segment for additional profits. Focusing on older
customers brought on challenges outside of our control. An older consumer is more likely set in
their ways and may be harder to penetrate with new products or ideas. The older customer
probably had an established shopping pattern that would be extremely challenging to adjust or
change as well. We confidently believe that if we help young families jump on board with
additional products we offered, not only would this be new profits for the company today, but
may be even greater lifetime profits, potentially including generations to come.
Younger customers are more tech savvy and like to research information. There are
literally millions of people that search Google to try to figure out what ails them based on their
current symptoms. We believe we can utilize technology to communicate effectively with these
young families, building a dialogue for meeting our customers where they are at and meet their

Initial Strategy Paper

real needs. This segment of customers is very attractive to our organization since technology is
often the gap between an older customer and new customers.
The All-Star brand is known for helping alleviate common cold symptoms, but we
wanted to focus on specific needs. We decided to focus on nasal congestion, coughing, chest
congestion, and Pain relief. Marketing to young families, while utilizing technology to improve
communication, offers a personal touch and real solutions as to how we as an organization care,
and help alleviate these most prevalent symptoms of the common cold. We believe our marketing
strategy will be successful and bring immense profits.
Competitive advantage
The competitive advantage for our product relies initially on the product itself. As an
organization, we want to assure our customers that the development team for our product, put the
necessary hours into constructing a product that is the industry leader in OTC cold and allergy
medication. The formula for the ingredients is essential in this process by making sure our
product has the right mix of ingredients that target the four basic symptoms, listed earlier, for
colds and allergy. Secondly, the next advantage we would like to exert is in our marketing
management of our product. With the desire to target younger families, it is essential that our
brand management team have a solid understanding of our target market and a strong reliability
in consumer perception of our product.
Our goal is to create a product that has a 4-hour duration of positively affecting the
symptoms of nasal congestion, coughing, chest congestion, and Pain relief. With the emphasis
and greater consideration on healthier lifestyles, we aim to have a very limited amount of side
effects to our medication. With this being said, from a brand marketing perspective, we want to

Initial Strategy Paper

utilize the survey data to find out how our target market makes purchase decisions and target our
marketing to create stronger brand awareness, improve brand satisfaction and be the valued and
featured product of our target audience. Technology will become an essential tool for this data
collection. All-Star, currently has high brand awareness, so our desire is to survey the market in
hopes of increasing this strong existing customer base. Our advantage here will be in advertising
of our product, which will stimulate the consumer to acknowledge the benefit of our product and
focus on our benefits, confirming that our product in the top choice in the OTC market. This will
continue to stimulate brand awareness and trigger repurchase of All-Star products.
Lastly, our desire is to be priced competitively amongst the other strong players in the
OTC cold and allergy medication market. Pricing and value are very important to our target
market so making sure we are priced accordingly and available for purchase in the right retailers
is essential for the success of our organization. In order to maintain a strong visual presence in
the retail sector, we need to make sure our sales force is actively engaged in building strong
relationships with current and future retailers that appeal to our target market. With younger
more connected brand assistants we aim to make this our reality.
Performance Objectives
The objectives of Allstar Brands Corporation is generating sales, developing strong
relationships with customers and knowing the medications and conditions they treat. We would
also like to be able to effectively close business deals and win repeat business. Allstar Brands'
Allround product is a market leader in the over-the-counter (OTC) cold and allergy remedy
market. In the past 3 years, the increase of the competitive nature of the OTC cold remedy
market, industry has seen several product introductions as well as major increases in promotional
and advertising expenditures. Allrounds major management concern, is this competitive activity

Initial Strategy Paper

will lead to declining market share and profitability for Allrounds products. The brand has lost
one full share point in the last year.
Allstar management goals are to be the leader in both profitability and market share in
OTC cold medication. Although Allstar Brands competes with four other firms in the OTC cold
and allergy market, Allstar brands allround Sales are about 355 million dollars, which is the
highest sales amount on the market. Our first goal is to develop a new brand option may include
ingredients currently available by prescription only, that will offer Allstar Brands competitive
advantages in the OTC market, and another goal is the reformulation or line extension options
for our existing products to maintain long-term profitability and market share in an increasingly
competitive and changing environment.
Second goal is to increase our Brand awareness. Increasing brand awareness will results
in increasing retention ratio, which who have tried the brand who now purchase it most often.
The consumer survey results on Allround and 10 other Brands shows that Allround have 74.1
percent of the market awareness, and 46.3 percent retention ratio. The study show a signal of
future problem for Allround, because the market purchase consumers are better educated and
informed than ever, and they have the tools to verify companys products and seek out better
alternatives.
Third goal is to increase our sales force in particular the direct sale force. Sales forces are
critical to the success of a brand in the OTC cold and allergy market. The studies show that
Allround is not receiving the best placement in all channels, even though Allround generating
higher volume than any other OTC medication. Increasing direct sales force will improve and
maintain a better relationship with retailers and presents the benefits and the value of our

Initial Strategy Paper

reformulated products or the new products to motivate the channel partners participation, which
result in an increase of the market share presence for Allround.
Key Success Factors and Strategic Assumptions
All Star Brands is an Industry Leader when it comes to Over the Counter (OTC) cold
and the allergy remedy market. The Allround brand is their most profitable product line;
however, new products have competed well in the market place and have caused Allround to lose
a full market share point in the last year.
While Allstar Brands enjoys a large percentage of the market share, it only produces one
line in the OTC cold remedy market. The singular product is the 4-hr Allround muti-symptom
cold liquid. The biggest competitor, Ethik Incorporated, outsells the Allstar Brands with 477
million in sales versus 361 million. One reason could be that they offer 3 different product lines
in this market, Effective: nasal cold spray, End: 4-hr cough liquid and Extra: 12-hr cold capsule.
One key to success for Allstar could be developing addition lines to directly compete with
Ethik. The creation of a nasal cold spray, 4-hr cough liquid and 12- hr capsule in addition to
formulation of a daytime non-drowsy formula and a pm formula that helps one sleep could also
bring about added market share.
In order to make an impact in this already crowded field, significant funds will need to be
allocated to advertising and promotion of these new lines. This heavy investment will bring the
message to the masses. Since Allround is considered one of the best working formulas, we
should be able to capitalize on brand awareness and brand loyalty.

Initial Strategy Paper

Another key to success for Allround lies in our sales team bringing the new line to
doctors offices and having them recommend it to their patients. This internal marketing strategy
will allow the new lines to gain traction while attaining credibility from the doctors
endorsement.
Strategic Assumptions
The strategic assumption is that with a two prong approach; one that targets a mass
audience and another one that is internal promoted by doctors directly to their patients, the new
lines can take away from Ethiks dominance in this arena. Marketing to young families, while
utilizing technology to improve communication, offers a personal touch and real solutions as to
how we as an organization care about those we service. Marketing to a mass audience along
with internal doctor endorsement directly to their patients should produce a great response. We
believe our marketing strategy will be successful and bring immense profits.