Re – Launch: main concept

 

Considering the results of the research which prove that Senz has an appealing product, Senz will maintain its position as a premium dark chocolate brand and continue to pursue this niche market. The brand will not re-launch its product, but will adapt the way it presents and communicates itself with its customers.

 

The first step is to redesign the packaging in order to better convey the message of Senz being a facilitator for “expression of life”; although in the Western culture, black is a confident and sophisticated color, in China it is perceived as a bit serious, as it was revealed in the qualitative research (interviews). Adding a little bit more of red to the packaging, a color associated in China with good luck and fortune, as well as known to drive the feeling of hunger, is a step in the right direction.

 

The second step is to add new designs to the chocolate itself, by imprinting Chinese characters or emblems, as studies have shown that in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, Chinese brands are more popular than Western ones. At the same time, as the re-launch is planned for Chinese New Year’s, an important event for everyone, it is intended to create excitement among consumers in big cities as well.

 

Senz will be making special edition Chocolate gift boxes, completely red, and with designs including dragon imprints as well as the other Chinese zodiac symbols, such as sheep, the symbol for 2015. Pralines were the most popular style of specialty chocolate indicated in our survey, and so these should be included in our special editions. These will be promoted in middle to high income shopping centers as well as places which are popular with the young professional and college age demographic.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drive re-launch and communication throughout the year online

 

Research shows that two thirds of Chinese consumers rely on online, personal reviews. At the same time, the survey highlights that only 21.49% of consumers know Senz. Therefore, Senz should focus greatly on building a strong online presence through e-commerce, interaction and engagement to build a wide community of loyal consumers.

 

One of the plans to boost online sales is for Senz to create their own T-Mall page, in order to avoid competitors on the same screen, which is currently the situation. The objective is for Senz to start competing on analytics, integrating them both internally and especially externally to gather information about consumers in order to improve their processes and communication.

 

The site will include offers such as 5% for the next purchase, thank-you cards for loyal customers, and a point accumulation system through online purchases and exchange them for discounts (both online and in the pop-up stores).

 

To support the creation and engagement of a community, Senz will launch its own WeChat account. In order to gather awareness, the first activation will be a social media campaign titled, “How do you celebrate Chinese New Year’s with Senz?” It will be a contest in which people will post pictures of themselves eating Senz and the person whose picture is voted most popular will win a year’s supply of Senz Chocolate. During the rest of the year, WeChat fans will receive a weekly Expression of life powered by Senz – a funny, emotional or inspirational quote or saying -, as well as special promotions for them, launches of new products.

 

Driving innovation offline, in selling channels

 

To increase visibility of the brand, the proposal is to create pop-up stores in different spots around the cities. Mainly, these stores are going to be located in malls appropriate for the target of the brand. The main advantage of a pop-up store is creating an exciting experience at a lower cost than setting up a flag store.

 

The second advantage of a pop-up store is the flexibility it has compared with other regular retail stores. For example, if it’s noticed that sales are not reaching expected values and if the conclusion is reached that the reason is the marketing approach, the stand can be easily changed according to the goals. The same is valid regarding the location: the pop-up store, during the first year, will travel around the country, in different cities and mall chains in order to assess profitability and customers profile and response in different geographical areas.

 

 Furthermore, the stores are a good option in terms of seasonality: the chocolate industry is influenced by some seasons when sales typically grow, and that can be reflected in the design of the locations.

 

Another reason for supporting this idea is that they are going to generate buzz. They usually catch the attention of the crowd and are a great tool to promote a product or to expose a new promotion, creating a link with the established social media channels.

We have to consider the fact that this kind of store is also a great tool to test the brand marketing and also to test the market’s acceptance of a new product or promotion. The pop-up stores can also create and encourage spontaneous purchases because it creates a sense of urgency, due to its temporary state. It’s a huge advantage from pop-up stores over regular retail stores where people know they can come back there whenever they want to buy the product.

 

Finally, pop-up stores are also used as brand extension and to create brand awareness. It creates the opportunity of interacting with the customer face-to-face and not just through the other tools available for the brand (as third part retail store or internet, for example).

 

Competing on analytics

 

In order to reduce the gap of awareness and engagement with the consumers, one of the solutions for Senz is to use data analytics in order to drive performance and add value.

 

In addition to the features described above, Senz is also going to work with online intelligence in order to improve its scope and sales. To achieve this goal, the “Brand Monitoring” method is a good start point. By using it, Senz will keep the market always on track – for prices and competitors new actions – which can provide the brand the opportunity of quick response for market changes.

 

The “Sentiment Analysis” it is the next method which will also be used to increase e-commerce performance. Basically this analysis is focused on managing the brand’s online reputation, compare its online strategies with the competitor’s strategies, and identify the trends to pursue a better way to reach the customers.

 

By combining the two methods previously described Senz will certainly find a more effective way to work online and also to approach its customers.

 

The WeChat platform allows the brand to connect its existing Big Data and also collect new customer data to increase the effectiveness of the campaigns and promotions. In other words, the WeChat account is not only a way to interact with the consumers but also a platform for the brand’s sales force, which will help to connect the “dots”, all interaction points.

Consider these scenarios for a better understanding of how data analytics can be used and how they can drive interaction with consumers and sales:

 

• Customers buy Senz online, get 5% discount for the second purchase, print a voucher, and then take the product from the pop-up store if convenient for them; or do the opposite: go to a pop-up store, receive a voucher and use it for an online purchase.

• The company has data on all customers online. Personalized messages can be sent, depending on gender. The survey revealed that women and men have different secondary reasons for buying chocolate: health and gift, respectively. Therefore, women can be encouraged to try out Senz due to its healthy characteristics, whereas men will receive gift ideas

• Integrating online with offline and mobile marketing. The brand will use information from the T-Mall database to target consumers who are in a shopping mall where a pop-up store is also located. Personalized messages can be sent, together with a discount.

 

 

Interacting with consumers

 

To continue the momentum of the re-launch, Senz will employ additional new marketing strategies. The first of these is interacting with the younger target group, the one who, according to the survey results, prefers dark chocolate most. The tactic proposed is going to college campuses and handing out cards that will have a dual purpose: educate the consumer on dark chocolate, and introduce Senz to the up and coming consumer. The front of the card will have a small piece of chocolate attached to it featuringe the question, “Why Dark?” written on it, along with a short description of the benefits of dark chocolate. The back of the card will have a different question, “Why Senz?” written on it, with a paragraph describing the quality and what Senz stands for- the sophisticated chocolate for the new generation. On the back, a QR code will be inserted in a corner with the tagline, “Add us on WeChat for promotions and to join the Senz lifestyle conversation.”

 

The final momentum strategy is to organize a promotion in which packages of Senz will each have a letter printed inside them. If a customer collects packages that complete the phrase, “Life” she/he will win a hip high-tech item: Xiaomi pads.

 

New communication with distributors

 

How to make the retailers consider placing the brand in a good spot of their stores? From the research conducted, it can be inferred that small gifts build a long term relationship. However, there are two objective downsides to that: the truth is Senz does not have the financial strength to constantly compete in gifts with very big brands such as Dove and Snickers, and secondly, once a brand starts on this path, it will have to keep going.

 

Therefore, the proposal is to focus on the business side, to create a culture within the company whose all sales representatives know that the retailers are one of the most important drivers of our business. They are the ones who support the process of generating profit and keeping the business running. By creating this awareness within these employees, they will treat the retailers as best as possible.

 

Build a win-to-win relationship. Senz needs to consider that the retailers have to make profit in order to keep ordering the products and also that they should think of Senz as an important one to be sold. Starting a discussion based on their margins and how can they be increased might be an important step to keep them aware of their level of priority for Senz.

 

From the relationship created, take constant feedback from the retailers to improve products, promotions, and marketing strategy. Capitalize on their knowledge, as they are the ones dealing with final customers daily, and who help create the perception about the brand’s strengths or weaknesses.

 

Budget 

 

The investment for implementing the tactics above is consistent, yet still under 2% of the revenues (calculated by multiplying the number of units from the penetrated market with the smallest price per product from the range). The budget is modular, built on different categories, and KPIs are associated per each type of activity. The detailed budget can be found here.

If a prioritization would be considered, the most important and at the same mandatory tactics to be implemented are related to online - T-Mall personalized page and WeChat account - because they support the main objectives of creating awareness and engagement, and contributing to sales. The re-launch is essential in order to create buzz and establish the new positioning, while the pop-up store is an innovative, flexible and efficient way to interact with consumers, test markets and drive sales. Lastly but not least, the supporting flyer campaign would help boost the loyalty of the younger generation, especially through its educational aspect. A promotion is always beneficial for a brand, more so when it is in the form of an engaging competition, as seen above, making it not only a sales driver, but also an image driver.

 

*the budget and KPIs were built based on previous working experiences of the members and checked with experts who worked on projects on the Shanghai market

 

 

The presentation of the creative strategy can be previewed here.