1.0 Executive Summary In 4–6 paragraphs, summarize your Brand Extension Marketing Plan. Be sure to include: Product Benefits Target markets Customer needs Value proposition Sales projections When you project to break-even Your keys to success2.0 Situational Analysis Write a 1-paragraph summary of the current situation2.1 Market Summary (write this section after completing 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, and 2.2) In a 1–2 paragraph summary, address: What are your target customer groups? Why? What are your projections for the growth of this market?2.1.1 Market Demographics (refer to your Kotler text for helpful definitions/explanations)Carefully define the demographic profile of your target market. In a similar fashion, define the geographic target area you are choosing. What are the behavior factors that will influence your decision-making? Define the values and lifestyles (psychographics) of your target market.2.1.2 Market Needs (refer to your Kotler text to make certain you understand these terms)What are the benefits that are important to your customer base? What needs do they have? Include both customer needs and the customer value assessment.2.1.3 Market TrendsIdentify and explain at least three trends that will influence how your customers view your product these should be trends going on in the industry or the environment; these are trends that your company/product can respond to in some way. Remember: Trends are long term; fads are short term.2.1.4 Market GrowthIs the market growing, static, or diminishing? What are the growth trends?What is the evidence? What research are you using to determine market growth?How will you address the market if it is growing, static, or diminishing?2.2 SWOT Analysis (refer to Chapter 2 of your Kotler text for a thorough explanation of a SWOT analysis)2.2.1 Strengths – list and describe at least three positive internal aspects that add value.2.2.2 Weaknesses – list and describe at least three negative internal aspects that place you at competitive disadvantage.2.2.3 Opportunities – list and describe at least three opportunities external to your business that will lead to your success.2.2.4 Threats – list and describe at least three threats external to your business that will threaten your success (e.g., it is common to include unexpected acts of nature, government and regulatory concerns, and competition in this section of the SWOT).2.3 CompetitionDescribe your competition. Why will customers prefer your product? How will you compete with your competition and win? What is the marketing mix (price, place, promotion, product, you know them as “the 4 P’s of Marketing”) of at least one of your competitors?2.4 Product Offering What are the current products you offer? How will your new product fit in with existing products? Is there a good fit between them?2.5 Keys to SuccessList and describe at least three factors that will determine your success. 2.6 Critical Issues How will you leverage your SWOT strengths and opportunities to your advantage?How will you lessen the impact of your SWOT weaknesses and threats? Where is your product in the product life cycle and why? Refer to your Kotler text for a definition of a product life cycle3.0 Marketing Strategy3.1 MissionEstablish the fundamental goals for the quality of your business/product offering and customer satisfaction. Define your business/product offering.What are your fundamental goals? (Fundamental goals are those that you would like to achieve with your new product, either as an individual product or as part of the overall company mission. These are directional goals that provide the overall strategic direction for management planning.)State the value proposition. Be sure to look up this term in your Kotler text if you don’t fully understand it.3.2 Marketing Objectives Include a sentence or two about each of the following:What are your specific marketing objectives?Market share: what is your growth objective by quarter?Market penetration: how do you plan to gain a share in this market?Awareness: how do you plan to gain awareness for your product?Customer acquisition: how do you plan to grow your customer base?Identify a specific, measurable market share and size.Remember that your objectives need to be quantifiable. In other words, objectives need to have a base point, end point, and time frame so you can research to see if you have reached your benchmarks or if your plan needs adjustment.3.3 Target Markets (refer to your Kotler text to make sure you fully understand what is meant by target market segments)Identify the specific target market segments you have defined. What are the market niches you hope to capture? Describe. Include the rationale behind why these are the optimal target marketing segments. Be specific.3.4 Positioning(refer to your Kotler text for definition of terms in this section)Describe how your product/service meets the need(s) of your target market segments. Describe how you are different from your key competition. What is the most distinguishing feature of your new product?3.5 Marketing MixProductWhat makes your product different from the competition?What gives your product more value than the competition?PriceHow will you determine what price to charge for your product?How will go determine what your product is worth? How will your pricing strategy set you apart from your competition?PlaceHow do you plan to distribute your product?Do you have alternative delivery methods in mind? If so, describe in detail.Will you take responsibility for distribution, or will you reply on an outside firm? How will you decide?PromotionWhat kind of promotional tools will you use? Describe in detail.How will you determine what promotional tactics will work best?With a limited promotional budget, how do you plan to gain market share? How will you go about evaluating the results of your promotional campaign?3.6 Marketing ResearchWhat type(s) of marketing research to you think will work best to get you the information you need to make informed decisions?How will you evaluate whether the research is providing you with the results you need?Will you conduct the research yourself, or hire an outside firm? Explain why.Note: Do not forget that you need research to determine if you reached your Objectives in 3.2.4.0 FINANCIALS TIP: Refer to Sample BEMP “Sample Marketing Plan” in Course Documents for assistance on this section. The Financials Section contains some good examples for you to follow. Also refer to your sample marketing plan at the end of Chapter 2.4.1 Break-Even Analysis Explain when you will break even. Include a break-even table/chart. Explain the break-even table/chart.4.2 Sales Forecast Include your sales forecast for the first year by month. For the second and third years, include your forecasts by quarter. Identify the risks you face. Identify the most important components of sales performance. Keep your chart(s) relatively simple and reduce the total number of categories so that your investors can quickly discern the information. Again, refer to the Sample Marketing Plan in Course Documents for assistance on this section.4.3 Expense Forecast List your expenses for the following items for the next 3 years: Website Advertising Printed Material Development of retail channel Other (list)5.0 Controls How will you monitor expenses/revenue? Identify what methods/reports and how often. How will you assess marketing effectiveness? How will you assess changes in the market environment?5.2 Marketing Organization Roles and Relationships in Your Marketing Functions (who will be responsible and who will implement this Brand Extension Marketing Plan?). 5.3 Contingency PlanningIdentify risks How you will monitor risks How you will adapt to adversity
brand_extension.docx
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Running head: BRAND EXTENSION MARKETING PLAN
“Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid Sedan” by GM
Derrick Newkirk
Purdue Global
04/30/2019
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BRAND EXTENSION MARKETING PLAN
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Brand Extension Marketing Plan
Situation Analysis
For the last 76 years, General Motors has been among the top leaders in the automobile
industry. The company is committed to keeping pace with the rapidly advancing technology in
order to remain competitive. The following brand extension marketing plan illustrates the
emerging markets of the autonomous electric sedans that require minimal input from the driver.
Being powered with eco-friendly energy sources, the new models will improve the company’s
environment responsibility globally as the cars will be marketed in most parts of the world. The
constantly increasing costs of living to compel people to work for prolonged hours, get tired and
may cause accidents when driving from their jobs. Careless driving among teenagers has also
reported as a major cause of accidents worldwide. With the increasing number of accidents, there
is a need for a new autonomous sedan that will sense various conditions such as high traffic on the
roads and move appropriately with less input from the driver. GM is yet to release the version of
its high-end autonomous and electric sedan named “Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid”.
Name and Description of the product to be produced
GM will use a brand extension to add an autonomous sedan to its existing automobile
product portfolio. Unlike conventional cars, the new “Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid” sedan has
sensors that enable it to sense nearby and approaching vehicles and navigate appropriately through
traffic without much input from the driver. “Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid” to be launched in 2017
will be powered by an 18.6 kWh battery meaning its reliance on fuel and gas will be drastically
reduced making it an eco-friendly sedan as well.
BRAND EXTENSION MARKETING PLAN
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Brand Extension Strategy of the Product
Production and marketing of the “Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid” sedan at GM is a line
extension strategy. The new sedan will be improvement of the existing luxury model cars such as
Cadillac ELR – electric-hybrid coupe and 2016 Cadillac CTS sedan produced by General Motors.
With the additional features of being automatic and self-driven, the new model will revitalize the
company’s market outreach by attracting new customers especially those who value luxury and
prestige.
How the information to prepare the marketing plan will be acquired
Comprehensive marketing research will be essential in obtaining the information required
to prepare a marketing plan needed to market the new “Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid” model. This
requires a careful analysis of the company’s current situation and an illustration of its benefits
about its competitors such as BMW, Toyota, and Ford. We will then describe the target customers
and market segment of the new product based on different facets such as age, sex, income, and
family composition before highlighting the goals of the marketing plan. To acquire information
regarding the identified marketing needs, a marketing communication strategy will be developed
that will be useful in obtaining feedback from potential customers.
Type of Research to undertake
The marketing plan targets a specific and new market segment. Consequently, we will use
primary research and focus groups method to conduct marketing research of the “Cadillac CT6
Plug-In Hybrid” sedan. Unlike other research methods, this type of research will allow us to obtain
BRAND EXTENSION MARKETING PLAN
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first-hand information, save on the time required for the research and only concentrate only on
potential market segments.
The target market for the new product
The main consumer market of the product will be adult men and women aged between 28
and 55 years who work for longer hours and would like to rest and get involved in less driving on
their way back home. Also, Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid will be marketed to teenagers aged 20
to 27 years who would like to have a luxurious driving experience while attending parties and
sporting events. The car’s sleek design may also appeal to celebrities who have a preference for
posh and eco-friendly driving.
Market Needs
The design of Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid provides potential car owners with their
everyday transportation needs as General Motors seeks to remain the best automobile company
globally. With its eco-friendly and fuel-efficient technology, the car meets the needs of car owners
to reduce fuel expenses. Besides, the car has an autonomous driving system that meets the needs
of most governments to reduce the number of road accidents.
How the product will be marketed
GM will introduce Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid to the US domestic market during the first
year of its production. The car will then be subsequently introduced to international markets in the
UK, Russia, German, China, Japan, and Brazil. GM targets a population of about 410,000 million
BRAND EXTENSION MARKETING PLAN
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potential users worldwide. The new Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid is appealing to the driving needs
of both men and women aged between 19 to 55years due to its diverse features.
Market Trends and Growth
Following the constantly decreasing oil reserves in the world, the demand for energy
efficiency is more likely to increase even further in the near future. Tougher rules in most states
regarding environmental responsibility will also force potential car owners to budget for Cadillac
CT6 Plug-In Hybrid, which is an eco-friendly car. Moreover, the car has an automatic driving
system that improves the safety of drivers by reducing driver error-related accidents. This will
improve its market especially among those with less attention when driving.
Competition
The major competitors of the Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid brand to be produced by
General Motors include Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Inc. and Toyota Motors. The new will
face stiff competition from Toyota’s Pathfinder; Ford’s Explorer electric version and Chrysler’s
Durango. The completion will be more intensive in Japan, China and India markets.
Marketing Strategy
GM will use differentiated marketing as a marketing strategy to improve awareness of the
new Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid among the public. The strategy will focus on both
psychographics as well as demographics of the consumer base. GM will also use marketing mix
strategy (product, pricing, promotion, and place) to improve its outreach to potential customers.
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Bibliography
Press, G. M. (2012). Self-Driving Car in Cadillac’s Future.
Völckner, F., & Sattler, H. (2006). Drivers of brand extension success. Journal of
marketing, 70(2), 18-34.
Martinez, E., & De Chernatony, L. (2004). The effect of brand extension strategies upon a brand
image. Journal of consumer marketing, 21(1), 39-50.
Holmes, A., Liu, J., Ames, D., Neelakantan, V., Rahman, K., &Grewe, T. (2016). General
Motors Electric Variable Transmission for Cadillac CT6 Sedan (No. 2016-01-1150).
SAE Technical Paper.
Khan, A., Grewe, T., Liu, J., Anwar, M., Holmes, A., &Balsley, R. (2016).The GM RWD PHEV
Propulsion System for the Cadillac CT6 Luxury Sedan (No. 2016-01-1159). SAE
Technical Paper.
Al-Alawi, B. M., & Bradley, T. H. (2014). Analysis of corporate average fuel economy
regulation compliance scenarios inclusive of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Applied
Energy, 113, 1323-1337.
Reichart, G., & Haneberg, M. (2004). Key drivers for a future system architecture in vehicles (No.
2004-21-0025). SAE Technical Paper.
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