university of michigan dearborn_full written case

Ice Breakers Cool Blasts Chewable Mints

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Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 3

Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Target Market ............................................................................................................................................... 5

Primary Research ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Ethnographies ........................................................................................................................................... 6

Surveys ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

Focus Groups ............................................................................................................................................ 8

Segments ...................................................................................................................................................... 9

Targeting ..................................................................................................................................................... 10

Positioning .................................................................................................................................................. 10

Value Propositions ................................................................................................................................. 11

Product ....................................................................................................................................................... 11

Price ............................................................................................................................................................ 12

Place ............................................................................................................................................................ 12

Promotions ................................................................................................................................................. 13

Cool Blasts Coffee Promotion ................................................................................................................ 13

Cool Blasts Pizza Promotion ................................................................................................................... 14

Cool Blasts Text Book Promotion .......................................................................................................... 14

Timeline of Events ...................................................................................................................................... 15

Financials .................................................................................................................................................... 16

Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 18

Picture 1: Checkout at Supermarket ...................................................................................................... 18

Picture 2: Candy Aisle at Supermarket .................................................................................................. 19

Picture 3: Current Package ..................................................................................................................... 20

Picture 4: Cool Blast Circles .................................................................................................................... 20

Picture 5: Recommended Packaging ..................................................................................................... 21

Document 1: Spearmint Survey ............................................................................................................. 22

Document 2: Peppermint Survey ........................................................................................................... 23

Document 3: Focus Group Conversation Questions ............................................................................. 24

Statistics 1: Correlation .......................................................................................................................... 25

Statistics 2: Confidence – Purchase Linear Regression ......................................................................... 26


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Financials 1: Manufacturing Cost Estimates .............................................................................................. 27

Financials 2: Cool Blasts Pizza Promotion.................................................................................................. 28

Financials 2: Cool Blasts Coffee Promotion ............................................................................................... 30

Financials 3: Cool Blasts School Promotion ............................................................................................... 31

Financial 4: Projected Unit Sales for 2015-2020 with Weight in Millions of Dollars ............................... 32


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Executive Summary Our recommendations for Ice Breakers Cool Blast Chews come as the result of months

of research and product testing with a diverse group of consumers. We used their feedback to draft several iterations of marketing strategies, each one subtly changing and tweaking the various aspects of the product, promotion, and placement. These changes lead us naturally to two large and well defined segments within the target market. These segments have unique and challenging struggles associated with how we could position Cool Blasts to best appeal to them. However the recommendations that our local chapter of the AMA made will yield a much larger consumer base, long-lasting strategic partnerships, and increasing fiscal returns for the next five years.


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Overview Ice Breakers Cool Blast Chews are presently sold as a “chew” and are designed to provide immediate freshness and then dissolve. Thus preventing the user from needing to find a place to dispose of the chew. Hershey’s considers this to be a selling point and a key feature. Their strategy reflects that this is a new experience, one that is unique and desirable. Our local AMA chapter conducted primary and secondary market research to gain an understanding of

consumer perceptions of Ice Breakers Cool Blast Chews.

Our goals were to understand how the target consumers viewed the product, how they classified it, what benefits they perceived it having, and how much they enjoyed the product. We began by trying to understand the competitive landscape of the candy, mint and gum industry. Our team visited various stores and markets to try and understand where the Cool Blasts were placed, how much they sold for, and what they were competing against. In Picture 1 to the left, we found the product next to chewable candy, other mints gums, and other Ice Breakers products. This was in the check out aisle at a local supermarket. Both flavors were displayed next to each other.

Next we went to a different chain supermarket to see how Cool Blasts were displayed. On the bottom left is a picture we took of the product for sale in the candy aisle. This time only the peppermint flavor was being sold. In picture 2, Cool Blasts are surrounded exclusively by gums, whereas in picture one, there were candies and mints.

This gave us an understanding about how the product is currently positioned in stores and markets. We visited various other stores in different categories to better understand how Cool Blasts were placed within the stores, and at what price. This understanding was critical for continuing with our research.

With a firm understanding of the price of the product at various outlets, we moved forward, trying to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the product. To these ends, we conducted three ethnographies. These involved two people each. Neither had consumed Cool Blasts before. One of

Picture 1: Checkout at Supermarket

Picture 2: Candy Aisle at Supermarket


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them was a member of our AMA chapter who was familiar with the case. The other, was someone who was not familiar with the case. On two occasions, they were a friend of the member, and in the last instance, the other person was a family member. The participants would talk about what they thought of the product in relation to other candies, gums and mints. Then they would try it, and discuss their opinions. The AMA member would be taking notes on their discussion.

These three brief ethnographies provided the foundation of our research, giving us a very cursory understanding of how consumers perceive Cool Blasts. From there we distributed about 100 surveys, and conducted three focus groups with a total of eleven people. Their feedback, and the analysis we did was the basis of our targeting and positioning. Below is a summary of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that we concluded Cool Blasts has, based on research.

Strengths Opportunities

Well recognized brand Immediate effect Potent/ strong

Sugar free Immediate freshness Refreshing Clears sinuses

Making it longer lasting More flavors It is a new product

Changing consumer preferences

Weaknesses Threats

Can be overwhelming

Not a lot of awareness Weird/misleading texture Misleading package High price Dissolves Short lasting

Bland/boring package

Competition from other products

Competitive market environment Alternatives Potential cannibalization of other Ice Breakers product sales

These beliefs about the market are what helped us understand the main problem facing Cool Blasts. We believe that the way the product is currently positioned, as a chew, puts consumers in the wrong mindset when they try the products. We know that if consumers have the right set of expectations, they will enjoy just about any product. But the way the packaging looks, the phrasing in the advertisements, the texture of the chew, none of it makes the target market ready for the experience that is Cool Blast.

Target Market We had been working from the beginning with the assumption that our core group of

consumers would be the Young Millennials. The Ice Breakers Cool Blast Case defined Young


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Millennials loosely as single or couples who are 18 – 24 years old, ethnically diverse, who are concerned with their appearance, use scented deodorant multiple times a day, brush their teeth 3-4 times daily who frequently socialize. However, we knew we could further segment this market. We limited ourselves to asking the 18 – 24 year olds within our circles. All of the primary research we conducted was based off of a convenient samples of college students at our university.

Primary Research Our AMA team spent a considerable amount of time creating surveys and focus groups, collecting participants and analyzing the results. With our target market in mind, we needed to have a basic understanding of their perceptions so that we could know what questions to ask on the survey and in the focus groups.

Ethnographies At the beginning of the project, a small group of us took some samples and went to a friend or family member. We only had one question in mind while conducting these ethnographies. “What do we think of this product?” We made a point to have someone within our chapter of the AMA and someone else who have never tried it before. We were aware that Cool Blasts provided a unique sensation, and we wanted to experience it the same way an outsider would. We did this three times with two different people each time. All six of the people put the sample in their mouths and began chewing it. The participants who had never had it before were shocked that it dissolved. The AMA members were a little less surprised, they knew that Cool Blasts did that, but had no idea what the chew dissolving would feel like. The participants described an immediate and powerful freshness. One of them stated that “…it was like opening my mouth on a really cold and windy day.” The sensation was too strong for one of the participants who was in pain for a few minutes until the sensation dwindled. Other participants remarked that it cleared their sinuses, and they were better able to breathe through their nose for a short period. The biggest take away from this was that for those consumers who were unprepared, there was a greater chance of them not enjoying the product. These findings alerted us to some of the questions we should ask on the survey, moving forwards.

Surveys With some insights in mind from the ethnographies, we began to design a short questionnaire that would be distributed on campus to as many students as possible. We distributed two different versions of the questionnaire, one with the spearmint sample pack, and one with the peppermint sample pack. We distributed about 100 surveys, and received 98 back. The questionnaires are attached in the appendix as Document 1, and Document 2. We asked two demographical questions so we could understand who was taking the survey. It is followed by a picture of the full product, and then a question about how familiar the respondents were with the Cool Blasts. The survey then instructed the respondent to consume the sample package that was stapled to the survey. After consuming it, they were asked their


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initial impressions about the product. That open-ended question was followed by a brief matrix scale question asking how the respondent felt about a short series of items. The last question was asking at what price the consumer would be willing to purchase the product. The graph to the left shows the matrix questions. After consuming the product,

respondents were asked if their breath felt immediately more fresh. More than 80% of the respondents agreed that their breath felt immediately more fresh, but only half agreed that they felt more confident. Respondents could not seem to make up their minds over whether they felt that Cool Blasts lasted long enough before dissolving. Less than half of the consumers agreed that they would be willing to purchase it, however many of the respondents said that they would be willing to pay around $2.00 to $3.00 for the product. This told us that for those consumers who were enjoyed the product enough to try and buy it, the price they were seeking was similar to the price Cool Blasts is sold for.

When we looked at how familiar the respondents were with the product, we were expecting to see that those who were more familiar with Cool Blasts would be the ones who

liked it. Oddly we did not see any relationship between those who were familiar with the product, and those who agree to the variables on the left. Roughly half of the people who agreed that their breath felt immediately more fresh were unfamiliar with the product

before trying it. This told us that the product was something that people either liked, or they did not like.

We decided to dig a little deeper into the factors that might contribute the respondents’ willingness to purchase the product. We ran several correlations with different factors to see if any had an impact on the willingness to purchase. We discovered that there was a strong positive correlation between willingness to purchase and confidence (Appendix Statistics 1). Correlation shows whether two or more factors appear to be related, to see whether the factors were related, we ran a simple linear regression. This showed us that consumers who felt like Cool Blasts made them more confidant were more likely to be willing to purchase (Appendix, Statistics 2).

Agreed with… Unfamiliar Familiar

Immediate Freshness 46% 54%

Confidence 48% 52%

Favorable Duration 44% 56%

Willingness to Purchase 54% 46%

84%

49%

39%35%

10%

37%

21% 21%

6%14%

40% 44%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

ImmediateFreshness

Confidence FavorableDuration

Willingness toPurchase

Agree Neutral Disagree

Survey Responses to Scale Questions


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When we asked the respondents to try the product, and then to immediately describe what they felt it was most similar to, we received a variety of results. The word cloud below

shows what the respondents felt Cool Blasts were most similar to. The larger the word, the more people used that term. Words like gum, and mint were the most commonly used. However many people believed that Cool Blasts were similar to pillow mints, and other dissolving treats. One thing that was surprising, was how many

respondents indicated that when the Cool Blasts began to dissolve, it reminded them of toothpaste.

From all the research we had done thus far, we had a good idea of the issues we hoped to address with a focus group.

Focus Groups We wanted to have a well-rounded understanding of the consumers. We had some good quantitative and qualitative research from the surveys and ethnographies, but we wanted to conduct a few focus groups. We believed that seeing the consumers interact with the product in a structured environment would be beneficial to our understanding of the benefits it provided, as well as how it was perceived. We again took a convenient sample of our classmates. We held three focus groups with a total of eleven people. There were two at the first one, five at the second, and four at the last one. They were all held in the same room, with the same facilitator asking the same questions. Each of the focus groups was recorded on video, and by note takers. At the beginning of the

focus group, we gave the participants garlicy pizza, candy, and soda pop. During following discussion, we would give the participants the Cool Blasts. The goal was to initiate conversation between participants about their

perceptions of Cool Blasts, and hear them discuss issues of price, usage, packaging, and their preferences regarding it. From the surveys, we learned that when Cool Blasts began to dissolve, it had the consistency of toothpaste. We thought this might be an area that could present interesting promotional ideas. To test this, many of the early conversation focused on oral hygiene. We wanted to know what role mints, gums, chews, and strips played in the daily oral hygiene care of the focus group participants (Appendix, Document 3). Many of them considered mints and

Cool Blasts is most similar to…

Focus Group Goals

Test effectiveness of Cool Blasts

Initiate conversation about product perceptions

Encourage discussion surrounding 4Ps

Understand link to oral hygiene routines


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strips to be vital to their routines. These were things that were carried in purses, or stored in cars. One of the participants told us that:

“At the beginning of the school year, I make it a point to stock up on gum. I create a stash and always have some on me.”

She made a point to state that having a lot of gum was a convenience, but that going out to purchase gum was a hassle, and an inconvenience. Quite a few of the other participants had similar mentalities towards convenience. They generally fell into two categories based on the time that they used the product. Early Morning Masters, participants who said they could see themselves using the product in the morning after breakfast and coffee. The second group indicated they could see themselves using the product between just after lunch, and just after dinner. We called them Mid-Day Dynamos, who would have one to two pieces after a fast, and usually smelly lunch or dinner. One of the participants who fell into the second category told us that:

“[Cool Blasts] almost seem like they are too strong. I would want to have one with plenty of time to spare before a meeting, in case everything smells like Peppermint.”

One of the traits of Mid-Day Dynamos was their tendency try to space out the chew. When given another sample, one of them tried to not chew Cool Blasts, he described it as a “…much more gradual and relaxed experience”. The rapid dissolving and strong power of the chew were comments we had heard before. At each stage in the research, we had people tell us that Cool Blasts were too strong, or that it dissolved too quickly, and that it dissolving caused it to have a weird texture. One of the respondents from the survey, when asked what Cool Blasts reminded them of, said that it reminded them of … “Pepto bismol, but minty. [And that] It disturbed me, when it started dissolving.” Many others described the texture mismatch as unappealing. Cool Blasts has the texture of a gum, the way it feels on the hand and tongue, both reminded the participants of chewing gum. However, the way it dissolved reminded them of a mint. From the focus groups, surveys, and ethnographies, we had gained a well-rounded and in-depth understanding of the target market, and were able to split it into two broad segments. We had gathered some valuable feedback on ways to promote, and chances to improve.

Segments

Early Morning Masters Mid-Day Dynamos

Bad Breath activities concentrated in the mornings

Awake between 6:00AM and 7:00AM

Drink 2-3 cups of coffee before noon

Usually have no or light breakfast

Frequently exercise in the morning

Consumes one piece of Cool Blast

Usually part - full time college student

Bad Breath activities concentrated in the afternoons

Typically work in the afternoon

More prone to drink energy drinks

Usually order lunch or dinner

Frequently out late at night

Consumes one to two pieces of Cool Blast

Usually part - full time college student


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Targeting We developed one unique way to target each of the two segments within the Young Millennial group, and several broad ways to target the whole Young Millennial group.

Early Morning Masters Mid-Day Dynamos

For targeting these consumers, we plan to partner with select a coffee chain. Our goal is for Ice Breakers Cool Blasts to be the product of choice for eliminating coffee breath. This is ideal as the products speed and power are ideal for quick situations. The Early Morning Masters frequently purchase coffee at chains. It would increase trial and awareness of the Cool Blasts, and these coffee chains could even double as a source of sales, and not just samples.

For targeting these consumers, we plan to partner with a select pizza chain. Our goal is for Ice Breakers Cool Blasts to be the product of choice for eliminating after lunch/dinner odors. This is ideal as the product is easily shareable, and the unique makeup of the product allows it to be chewed, or to dissolve slowly. That way the consumers can have slow release, or immediate release. This would be beneficial for the pizza chains because they could employ cross promotions with Ice Breakers.

There are various other ways we plan to target the Young Millennials that involve other

strategic partnerships, but those rely more heavily on manipulating the various aspects of promotional pricing, aspects of the product, methods of promotion, and locations for distribution. When we look at the segment, and our methods for targeting them with the benefits that they desire, we have a unique value proposition for each segment.

Positioning Based on the research we conducted, we believe that Ice Breakers should position itself

as a chewable mint. This is more in-line with what the market desires. About half of our survey respondents indicated they would not be willing to purchase the product. This could be for any number of reasons, however the research from the focus groups led us to believe that a large percentage of consumers dislike the texture, and the dissolving. There is a mismatch between what Cool Blasts do – dissolve – and the way they look – like gum – and this is a big reason why many consumers would not be willing to purchase the product.

During the focus group, we asked people what they thought of the package, and someone said something about the phrasing of the text on the package.

“When I think of a chew, I think of something that you chew for a really long time. These are gone after like two chews.”

Picture 3: Current Package


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Her words resonated with the feelings of many others that we have talked to, and we have incorporated those thoughts into our value propositions.

Value Propositions

Early Morning Masters Mid-Day Dynamos For Early Morning Masters who do not want coffee breath, Ice Breakers Cool Blasts are the Chewable Mint that deliver quick, powerful odor elimination.

For Mid-Day Dynamos who do not want lunch/dinner breath, Ice Breakers Cool Blasts are the Chewable Mint that deliver quick, powerful odor elimination.

Both of these value propositions highlight the same benefit: A powerful flavor that completely eliminates the previous flavors with an immediate effect. This is unique to Cool Blasts, and different from other Ice Breakers products. This benefit has the added ability to be delivered in two different way, by chewing and by letting the chewable mint dissolve. Ice Breakers Cubes are supposed to be chewed. Ice Breakers Mints are supposed to dissolve. Cool Blasts has two options that both work. Chewing appeals to the Early Morning Masters who desire a more immediate effect, and a more gradual dissolve appeals to the Mid-Day Dynamos. These value propositions are the reason for why we recommend the product changes that we do.

Product The product has many aspects. The chewable mint, and the package are the two that we are recommending changes to.

We believe that calling Cool Blasts a “Chewable Mint” is the first step in putting consumers in the right mindset for trying the product. During one of the focus groups one the participants did not try the sample at the same time as the other participants. It was everyone’s first time having the product, and they were all shocked at what it was like. The one who did not consume the sample, after hearing about it, refused to have the sample. She did not think that the experience that was described to her would be a good one. The other three participants were confused by the texture. In that group, everyone chewed. If the chewable mint were in a circular shape, like to the left, it would put the consumers in more of a “mint”, “slow dissolve” mindset. While consumers who want immediate

relief can still chew, like they do with hard mints. Slow dissolve should be the mindset the consumer has when trying the product for the first time. We thought about ways to make the texture feel less like gum. One of the ways we thought to do this was to put a hard, but thin

Picture 4: Cool Blast Circles


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sugar-free coating on the outside of the chewable mint. However participants felt this would be too much like other gums. Therefore we recommend leaving the texture alone, but changing the shape from a square to a circle.

The Cool Blasts packaging has been something that we have struggled with. We initially perceived it as uninteresting. We did not feel like it would stick out on store shelves. However, the target market reacted favorably to it. We left the packaging alone for the most part,

although we did incorporate the new circular design of the product. We also changed the term “chews” to “chewable mints” to better indicate to the consumer that this is a product that they can chew or let dissolve.

Price The ideal price for consumers who were willing to buy Cool Blasts was between $2.00 and $3.00. The consumers recognize the Ice Breakers name, and associate it with a powerful and effective, but costly product. The consumers discussed that $3.00 was a great deal to pay for 24 chewable mints, but acknowledged that it would be worth it considering the immediate effect of the product, and the well-known brand name. The only pricing changes we considered were tied to increasing awareness and trial. We wanted to do promotional pricing surrounding a pizza chain, a coffee chain, and a book distributor.

Place When it came time to decide where to distribute Cool Blasts, we knew where we could find it, and where our target market said they would purchase it. The current distribution works fine, we just want to add three methods of distribution into the “Other” category. Currently Cool Blasts is sold in supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, dollar stores, mass merchandisers, and a few miscellaneous stores. These distribution channels nicely penetrate all markets and have the potential to reach every consumer group, however to best reach the Young Millennials, specifically the Early Morning Masers, and the Mid-Day Dynamos, we are proposing three additions.

Picture 5: Recommended Packaging


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Early Morning Masters Mid-Day Dynamos We recommend that Ice Breakers partner with at least one coffee chain, preferably a national chain. The coffee chain would sell the 24 packs of Cool Blasts. These packs would be the normal price. Then there would be a special promotion. When the consumer buys a large cup of coffee, they get the 24 pack for free. The message would be something like “Your fast acting, coffee cleansing solution – Cool Blasts”. This would have the benefit of targeting the Early Morning Masters directly as they care about their breath, and frequently visit coffee shops. This promotion would only last for September 29, 2016, which is national coffee day.

We recommend that Ice Breakers partner with at least one pizza chain, preferably a national chain. For a limited time period, the coffee chain would include a 24 pack of Cool Blasts with the purchase of a large pizza. The message would be something like “Your fast acting, on-the-go after meal breath solution – Cool Blasts”. This promotion would affect everyone who purchases the prerequisite items during the time period. Pizza is a very common college student lunch and dinner item, so this strategic partnership would reach the Young Millennials. This promotion would run all throughout the month of October 2016.

We recommend one other special promotional partnership. Brick and mortar stores that sell college text books. These stores are frequently on college campuses. We are proposing a short term, potentially reoccurring partnership with the company that owns these stores. They would package Cool Blasts with the books and sell the books with the chewable mints as a free extra. These stores usually sell other convenience items, so they would likely become the place of purchase for Cool Blasts if the consumer likes them.

Promotions To promote all of this, we recommend the use of a wide variety of different mediums. That range from TV ads, to radio ads, to ads in YouTube channels and on Netflix.

Cool Blasts Coffee Promotion The Cool Blasts coffee promotion should be advertised on radio talk shows that Young

Millennials frequently listen to. These adverts would consist of a 30 second skit between a young man with a cup of coffee and bad breath, and his boss refusing to talk to him because of the bad breath. It would end with the announcer proclaiming that “This does not need to happen anymore. For a limited time only get a free pack of Ice Breakers Cool Blasts Chewable Mints with your purchase of a large coffee on national coffee day, September 29, 2016”. These adverts would air in the mornings for the whole month of September 2016. We chose September because it is the typical back-to-school month. Also September 29, 2016 is national coffee day.

The radio ads would be aired in tandem with a series of YouTube adverts that would be displayed on channels that are popular with the Young Millennials. These ads would consist of a video version of the radio skit. Except in this skit, the young man with the coffee in hand stands


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at the door to his boss’s office. The young man with the coffee asks to speak to the boss about something. The boss responds by saying “Sure, we can talk, just shut the door”. The young man would then enter the room, and begin to close the door behind him. The boss would get become visibly confused and a little agitated. He quickly stands up and tells the young man that he meant for him to stand outside of his office with the door shut, and to have a conversation through the door. This was due to the young man’s coffee breath. There would be an announcer, like in the radio ad who would say the same thing: “This does not need to happen anymore. For a limited time only get a free pack of Ice Breakers Cool Blasts Chewable Mints with your purchase of a large coffee on national coffee day, September 29, 2016”. This ad will run for the whole month of September 2016.

The goal of this promotion is to attract young millennials who drink coffee to the Cool Blasts product by offering an easy and quick way to eliminate their coffee breath.

There will also be a short ad in the two months prior alerting consumers about national coffee day, and Ice Breaker’s involvement.

Cool Blasts Pizza Promotion The Cool Blasts Pizza promotion should be advertised on the Netflix and Hulu, on shows

that are popular with Young Millennials. The advertisement will be a short 30 second video showing a diverse group of young people having fun. There are pizza boxes and drinks scattered around the room. One of the young people starts to tell a joke, but one of his friends cuts him off because of his bad breath. The interrupting person says “Dude, the pizza came with a pack of those new Ice Breakers Cool Blasts Chewable Mints. You should really have one. You can chew them quick, or let them dissolve.” Then the young man has one, chews it, and goes on to tell his joke. There would also be an accompanying YouTube ad that shows the same scenario. These two ads would run for the whole month of October 2016 for national pizza month.

The goal of this promotion is to attract young millennials who eat pizza to the Cool Blast product by offering a quick or slow way to remove their after lunch/dinner bad breath.

There will also be a short add during the two months before. It will remind people that October is national pizza month, and that to celebrate, Ice Breakers is giving a free pack of its Cool Blasts to anyone who buys a large pizza from their partner brand.

The goal of this ad is to make people aware of the upcoming promotion.

Cool Blasts Text Book Promotion The Cool Blasts Text Book promotion should be done in two parts. During July, and

August of 2016, Cool Blasts should be advertised as “An essential part of the back to school package”. There will be a TV ad during this time that show several different people purchasing pens, notebooks, binders, etc. and big packs of Ice Breakers Cool Blast Chewable Mints. The commercial centers on the cashier woman. After seeing several of these people, she asks one of them why they are buying Cool Blasts. The person says that they are the only item like it, that “they give you an option as to how you want to use them. If I am in a hurry, I can chew it, if I want a more prolonged experience, I can let it dissolve. I always have some on me and in my car. Just in case.” The ad ends by saying that that Cool Blasts are found where all back-to-school supplies are, and for the months of August and September, you get a free 24 pack with your


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textbooks. The same ad will also be played on Netflix and Hulu during shows that Young Millennials watch.

The goal of this ad is to show consumers that Cool Blasts are a necessary and important part of their back-to-school shopping.

During the months of October through November, there will be a second ad that shows a high school age student. They are seen having breakfast then giving a presentation, having lunch and then talking to teachers and students. After breakfast and lunch, each time, the student had a Cool Blasts. There is an announcer who says that “Everything is easier when you know you have cool breath”.

This ad reminds consumers that Cool Blasts are a vital part of the school routine.

Timeline of Events The following is a tentative timeline of the promotional events that we have recommended.

July 2016 Cool Blasts School Supplies Promotion

August 2016 Cool Blast Text Book Promotion

Cool Blast Coffee Pre-Promotion

September 2016 Cool Blasts Text Book Promotion

Cool Blasts Coffee Promotion Cool Blasts Pizza Pre-Promotion

October 2016 Cool Blasts School Confidence Promotion

Cool Blasts Pizza Promotion

November 2016 Cool Blasts School Confidence Promotion


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Financials

The pie chart and table to the left show the percentage of the $10 million budget that each of the three ad campaigns uses. The coffee ad and promotional campaign used approximately $5.1 million. The pizza ad campaign used approximately $3.2 million, and the school ad campaign used $1.2 million leaving less than $500,000 remaining.

We came to these numbers by estimating a unit cost per package of chewable mints. From there we looked at the number of large coffees drank per day, the number of large pizzas bought per day, and the number of college students who purchase textbooks. We used numbers from 2013 to approximate. From there we calculated the costs of the product that would be given for free during the ad campaign. We also factored in the cost of producing advertisements.

For the sales forecast, we looked at the 2015 sales numbers. Through our promotional

recommendations, about 10 million customers will have the chance to try Cool Blasts, either with their coffee, or pizza, or as a bonus with their textbooks. The percentage of participants from the survey who were willing to purchase was 35%. We used that number to estimate that Cool Blasts will sell in 2016, %107 of their 2015 numbers. In 2015 there were $8.8 million worth of sales. Based on our projections for 2016, Ice Breakers will sell $9.5 million (Appendix: Financials 4).

We see sales of Cool Blasts trending upwards over the next five years, but getting level as it approaches the year 2020. We looked at the categories for sales by revenue. Other was the lowest category, however the sales gathered through the coffee shops, and college book stores are a boon to that. Now the other category is a fairly substantial part of the cash flow. Our model does not account for the likely increase in the Wal-Mart and Target sectors.

Percentage Allocation of $10 Million Budget

Coffee Ad & Promotional Campaign 52%

Pizza Ad & Promotional Campaign 33%

School Ad & Promotional Campaign 12%

Remaining Budget 3%

52%

33%

12%

3%


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Projected Unit Sales in Millions of Dollars for 2015-2020

We feel that the above recommendations are the logical outcome from the research conducted, the analysis performed, and the consumers witnessed. Our decision to promote the choice aspect of Cool Blasts was the direct result of observing consumers struggle in confusion between the texture, telling them to chew, and the package telling them it is a mint. Defining Cool Blasts as a Chewable Mint will without a doubt put the consumers in the proper frame of mind. One that tells them it is alright to chew the product, but that letting it dissolve naturally over time is also an option. All of our recommendations to the product, packaging, and promotion cater to this, and those changes are reflected in the advertisements. As long as our assumptions hold true, then the end result of giving several million packages away for free will be yielded with increasing fiscal returns, a more loyal consumer base, and better strategic partnerships.

$8.89

$9.49

$10.57 $10.85 $10.93 $10.93

$-

$2

$4

$6

$8

$10

$12

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Mill

ion

s o

f D

olla

rs


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Appendix The following are all the documents, pictures, and spreadsheets that we used while designing this case.

Picture 1: Checkout at Supermarket


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Picture 2: Candy Aisle at Supermarket


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Picture 3: Current Package

Picture 4: Cool Blast Circles


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Picture 5: Recommended Packaging


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Document 1: Spearmint Survey


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Document 2: Peppermint Survey


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Document 3: Focus Group Conversation Questions 1. I wanted to know about how important oral hygiene is in your daily routines.

2. What sorts of things do you do? Brushing, how frequently? Floss? Mints?

3. What is your opinion of mints, gum, breath strips and other items used for fresh breath?

4. How familiar are you with Ice Breakers Cool Blast Chews?

5. What do you think of it? Good or Bad, Weird or Interesting? Why?

(Samples) 6. How does it feel?

7. What do you think about it while using it?

8. Does it remind you of anything?

9. What is it most similar to?

10. How powerful is it?

11. When could you see yourself using this?

(Give containers) 12. What do you think of the packaging?

13. What do you think about price?


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Statistics 1: Correlation

Correlations

ReFamiliar ReImmediate

Freshness ReConfidence ReProduct

Length RePurchase

ReFamiliar Pearson Correlation 1 .087 -.028 -.080 .004

Sig. (2-tailed) .587 .860 .620 .979

N 41 41 41 41 41

ReImmediate Freshness

Pearson Correlation .087 1 .174 .059 .063

Sig. (2-tailed) .587 .087 .568 .536

N 41 98 98 97 98

ReConfidence Pearson Correlation -.028 .174 1 .086 .422**

Sig. (2-tailed) .860 .087 .401 .000

N 41 98 98 97 98

ReProduct Length

Pearson Correlation -.080 .059 .086 1 .182

Sig. (2-tailed) .620 .568 .401 .075

N 41 97 97 97 97

RePurchase Pearson Correlation .004 .063 .422** .182 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .979 .536 .000 .075

N 41 98 98 97 98

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).


26

Statistics 2: Confidence – Purchase Linear Regression

Confidence - Purchase Regression

Variables Entered/Removeda

Model Variables Entered

Variables Removed Method

1 RePurchaseb Enter

a. Dependent Variable: ReConfidence

b. All requested variables entered.

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .422a .178 .170 .65547

a. Predictors: (Constant), RePurchase

ANOVAa

Model Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 8.958 1 8.958 20.850 .000b

Residual 41.246 96 .430

Total 50.204 97


b. Predictors: (Constant), RePurchase

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

t Sig. B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 1.693 .158 10.722 .000

RePurchase .343 .075 .422 4.566 .000



27

Financials 1: Manufacturing Cost Estimates

Cost to make

$ 0.53

This is the estimated cost to produce Cool Blasts derived from an aggregate MSRP, and factoring for the different allowances that members of the supply chain receive.

Ice Breakers allowance

25% This is an estimated markup on the Cool Blasts to the wholesaler.

Price to wholesaler

$ 0.70

This is the estimated price that the wholesaler pays for 1 unit of Cool Blasts.

Allowance to wholesaler 30%

This is the estimated markup that the wholesaler places on Cool Blasts. Industry standard is 20% to 30%.

Price to retailer

$ 1.00 This is the estimated price that retailers pay for Cool Blasts.

Allowance to retailer 50%

This is the estimated percentage that retailers receive. Industry standard 33% to 50%.

MSRP $ 2.00

This is an aggregate price taken from various different sources.

Budget $ 10,000,000 The total budget of 10 Million dollars.

Totally Possible Quantity

19,047,619

The highest possible units Ice Breakers could give away for free.


28

Financials 2: Cool Blasts Pizza Promotion Yearly Pizza Consumption 3,000,000,000

The approximate number of pizzas consumed per year in the United States.

Monthly Pizza Consumption 250,000,000

This is the monthly number of pizzas consumed per year in the United States for all pizza companies.

http://www.statisticbrain.com/pizza-statistics/

Monthly Large Pizzas Sold By Chain Nationally 2013

Pizza Hut 19,912,500 Dollar value of Pizza Market $ 37,375,108,000

Domino's 11,712,500 Pizza Hut's Market Share 15.93%

Papa John's 8,162,500 Domino's Market Share 9.37%

Little Caesars 5,625,000 Papa John's Market Share 6.53%

% of all pizzas that are large 50% Little Caesars's Market Share 4.50%

Independent Stores' Market Share 40.33%

Other Chain's Market Share 23.34%

http://www.pmq.com/December-2013/Pizza-Power-The-

2014-Pizza-Power-

Report/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc

Cost of Cool Blasts Given away with Pizza

We are assuming that very few people will buy more pizza because they get a free pack of Cool Blasts with it.

% increase in pizza sales due

to giveaway 1%

We are also assuming that every single person gets a single free pack of Cool Blasts with any size pizza.

Pizza Hut $ 10,558,603.13

Domino's $ 6,210,553.13

Papa John's $ 4,328,165.63

Little Caesars $ 2,982,656.25


29

Cost to make the commercial

2008: 30 sec national commercial $ 342,000.00

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/much-television-advertising-really-cost-58718.html

during popular show $ 475,000.00

2014: midrange commercial cost $ 150,000.00

http://www.danielmallfilms.com/how-much-does-a-tv-commercial-really-cost/

Total Costs for Cool Blast Pizza Promotion

Pre-Promotion Ad $ 150,000.00

Promotional Ad $ 150,000.00

Little Caesars $ 2,982,656.25

We are assuming a partnership with only one pizza company. Whichever one has a target market most similar to ours.

TOTAL FOR PIZZA PROMOTION $ 3,282,656.25

REMAINING BUDGET $ 6,717,343.75


30

Financials 2: Cool Blasts Coffee Promotion

Daily cups of coffee in US 382,000,000 https://sdsublog.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/how-much-coffee-does-america-drink/

% coffee sales in US 33%

Number of daily coffee sales 126,060,000

Cups of Coffee per day by store 2013

Starbucks 46,264,020 Starbucks's Market Share 36.7%

Dunkin Donuts 31,010,760 Dunkin Brand's Market Share 24.6%

% of cups were large 30% Other Brand's Market Share 38.7%

http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/nithingeereddy/files/starbucks_case_analysis.pdf

Cost of Free Cool Blasts with each large cup for 1 day

Starbucks $ 7,286,583.15

Dunkin Donuts $ 4,884,194.70

Total Costs for Cool Blasts Coffee Promotion

Pre-Promotion Ad $ 150,000.00

Promotional Ad $ 150,000.00

Dunkin Donuts $ 4,884,194.70

TOTAL FOR COFFEE PROMOTION $ 5,184,194.70

REMAINING BUDGET $ 1,533,149.05


31

Financials 3: Cool Blasts School Promotion Number of College Students in US in 2013 12,200,000

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372

% of classes requiring textbooks 75%

% of students buying textbooks 35%

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/28/report-high-textbook-prices-have-college-students-struggling

% of students buying textbooks from campus stores 45%

Number of college books bought from campus stores 1,441,125

Total Cost of School Promotion

Cost of 1 Free Cool Blasts per student for college books $ 756,590.63

Supplies Promotional Ad $ 150,000.00

Text Book Promotional Ad $ 150,000.00

Confidence Promotional Ad $ 150,000.00

TOTAL COST OF SCHOOL PROMOTION $ 1,206,590.63

REMAINIG BUDGET $ 326,558.43


32

Financial 4: Projected Unit Sales for 2015-2020 with Weight in Millions of Dollars

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Weight

Other $ 0.03 $ 2.37 $ 2.64 $ 2.71 $ 2.73 $ 2.73 25%

Dollar $ 0.16 $ 0.95 $ 1.06 $ 1.08 $ 1.09 $ 1.09 10%

Walmart $ 0.41 $ 0.38 $ 0.42 $ 0.43 $ 0.44 $ 0.44 4%

Target $ 0.72 $ 0.66 $ 0.74 $ 0.76 $ 0.76 $ 0.77 7%

Convenience Store $ 5.19 $ 3.70 $ 4.12 $ 4.23 $ 4.26 $ 4.26 39%

Drug $ 0.82 $ 0.47 $ 0.53 $ 0.54 $ 0.55 $ 0.55 5%

Supermarkets $ 1.57 $ 0.95 $ 1.06 $ 1.08 $ 1.09 $ 1.09 10%

Total $ 8.89 $ 9.49 $ 10.57 $ 10.85 $ 10.93 $ 10.93

university of michigan dearborn_full written case

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