five:am
Market Research Brief September 2014 25097296 Tin Kau Chan
11577932 Izabella Jelonek
25370197 Hongsheng Zhang
Word Countďźš925
Market Research Brief
Introductory Comment In order to pursue a healthy lifestyle, David Prior has been waking up at five am every morning, for decades, to savor the five am stillness by enjoying surfing, yoga, and eating organic yoghurt. In 2009 Prior founded his own yoghurt brand called ‘five:am’ with the ambition to share his philosophy with the rest of Australians (about five:am, n.d.). Over the last five years, five:am has grown to become an established and successful brand. In addition, it has been recognized as ‘great tasting’ having received many awards such as the gold medal at the Dairy Industry Association of Australia Awards. (about five:am, n.d.).
Background Information In Australia, consumer emphasis on ‘healthiness’ continue and often drive consumer behaviour and product choice, particularly within the dairy industry (Lin, as cited in IBISWorld Industry Report, 2014). Yoghurt, as a convenient and healthy snack has also been subject to this trend and has shown considerable growth within the almost stagnant dairy industry over the past two decades (Dairy Australia, 2014; IBISWorld Industry Report, 2014). The yoghurt industry is growing and forecast to generate $542 million in revenue (for the year of 2013) with an expected growth of 3% per annum (IBISWorld, 2014). The yoghurt category represents 14% of the overall butter and dairy industry worth close to $4 billion (IBISWorld Industry Report, 2014). Five:am is one of the brands that has been capitalizing on this growth and has become one of the brands with solid presence on Australian supermarket shelves. Similarly to five:am however, the other yoghurt brands entering this market, also focus on inspiring the health-conscious consumers of today, both current and potential. As an example, American brand Chobani, specializing in natural Greek yoghurt, has recently exploded in the Australian market and has became the second best-selling yoghurt in Woolworths (Watson, 2014). The yoghurt industry in Australia is facing increasingly high competition domestically and internationally. With an established product range and wide distribution, it is the promotional campaign that is seen as the key driver behind five:am’s sales. Hence, the overall aim of this research is to provide market information and feedback regarding five:am’s promotional effort, that of its competitors and the corresponding consumer reactions. Consumer insights will enable five:am to position its products in this crowded and increasingly competitive market to reduce the uncertainty of current promotional strategy and maximize the achievement of overall business results of this young yoghurt brand.
Purpose Given five:am’s vision and business objectives and the current competitive environment, the purpose of this research is to enable five:am to clearly differentiate itself from its competitors. To achieve differentiation five:am must also gain an intimate understanding
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of customer needs. This will enable five:am to implement a positioning strategy which will provide a framework for the overall promotional campaign. This market research will directly drive those decisions into a particular direction. More specifically, the findings will allow to: • Gain deep consumer insights around selected yoghurt brand attributes • Develop messaging focusing on the most relevant product benefits • Clearly position the five:am brand in the market, away from its competitors • Guide the marketing team and creative agency in the development of a new integrated marketing communication plan The marketing and management teams at five:am feel it is imperative and timely to conduct this research given recent changes in the yoghurt market particularly with new entrants, as well as current consumer trends looking more and more towards ‘healthier’ options within dairy and snack categories.
Research Objectives Before identifying the research objectives, it is important to understand five:am’s business objectives. These are, for five:am to: - continue its current strong growth of 10% annually over the next 3 years (2015-18) - be a well recognized and revered yoghurt brand with a strong brand community by 2018 - gain a market share of 10% ($) within the Australian yoghurt market by 2018 The key objectives to be derived from this marketing research are listed below: 1. To describe current needs and drivers of five:am’s target market and the broader yoghurt market when choosing a yoghurt brand 2. To gather target market perceptions about five:am and therefore develop a perceptual map for the brand and the yoghurt market 3. To recommend a positioning strategy identifying key dimensions
Research Methods With regards to methodological issues, five:am suggests to use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research tools, as outlined below, although guidance provided by the agency will be highly regarded. Qualitative - Focus group discussions with regular yoghurt consuming customers. - Short in-store interviews with yoghurt shoppers. Quantitative - Widely distributed online surveys to allow statistical analysis, where larger audiences could be reached and various segment characteristics teased out.
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Target Market The research is set to be performed in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane with target audiences including those who are regular yoghurt consumers and purchase the product from major Australian supermarkets (Coles, Woolworth, IGA). The research is required to cover both five:am’s customers and other yoghurt brands’ customers in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of buyer behaviour of all consumers purchasing yoghurt.
Reporting Requirements 1 x written report – full report 1 x abbreviated report with summary recommendations 1 x presentation (PPT) to the marketing and management team
Timing Final report and presentation along with research findings and recommendations need to be submitted and delivered before December 1st 2014 in order for five:am to prepare and adjust the 2015 strategic marketing plan.
Budget The allocated budget for this research project is AU$300,000.
Existing research or other information Internal sales data and current marketing plans will be provided upon request to the successful agency.
Contact Details For further information, please direct your questions to: Izabella Jelonek Marketing Manager
P: (03) 8888 8888 E: Izabella.Jelonek@fiveam.com.au
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Reference About five a.m. (n.d.). In five:am. Retrieved from: http://www.fiveam.com.au/#section=about-five-am&tab=2 Dairy Australia. (2014). Fresh products. Retrieved 05/09, 2014, from http://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/Markets-and-statistics/Production-and-sales/FreshProducts.aspx Fitzsimmons, C. & Mitchell, S. (12 August, 2014). How David Prior grew yoghurt brand five:am to an $80m company in five years. Retrieved from: http://www.brw.com.au/p/ entrepreneurs/how_david_prior_grew_yoghurt_brand_QmmDkCGV8mDC1sRE6E2lLN IBIS World. (2014). Yoghurt Production in Australia: Market Research Report. Retrieved 05/09, 2014, from http://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry/yoghurt-production.html Lin, R. (July, 2014). Milking the markets: Expanding Asian and Middle Eastern markets to drive export growth. Butter and Dairy Product Manufacturing in Australia, IBISWorld Industry Report C1133c. Retrieved from: https://docs.google.com/a/student.monash. edu/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=148401911c3080ab&mt=application/ pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D99c1ccd33c%26view%3D att%26th%3D148401911c3080ab%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26realattid%3Df_ hznw1jom0%26zw&sig=AHIEtbQJ_3bUIo2LlqwQiKixx-9NG__AEA Malhotra, N.K, (2010) Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, Pearson: New Jersey, 6th ed. Watson, E. (16 April, 2014). Chobani generates explosive growth in Australia, unveils aggressive expansion plans in Asia, Latin America. Retrieved from: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Manufacturers/Chobani-generates-explosive-growthin-Australia-unveils-aggressive-expansion-plans-in-Asia-Latin-America
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