Target Market Strategy

Target markets are crucial to a company’s success because it’s the first step in letting the company know if their product is truly for whoever they want to target in the first place. While this is true, if the company don’t succeed in winning over their target market, but succeed in winning over another target market they don’t suspect, it could potentially flip their future plans upside down. For example, the ever so popular game franchise Call of Duty is obviously meant for young adults and up, but instead the large audience for Call of Duty games tend to attract a much younger audience from its fast paced gameplay and simple controls and mechanics.

When it comes to attempting to cater to a certain age group, not only of course do you need to take in mind regular profits, but as well as the rules and ethics with possibly releasing content that could interfere and break certain rules “At the same time that it pursues profits (economic responsibility), however, a business is expected to obey the law (legal responsibility); to do what is right, just, and fair (ethical responsibilities); and to be a good corporate citizen (philanthropic responsibility) (Pg. 41).”

My intended target audience for Duos is a simple, yet complex target to aim for simply for its intense diversity, college students. The reason why I have chosen college students as my target audience for Duos is because of the simple fact that a vast majority of young adults still enjoy chocolate from time to time, and with college students always being busy and always in a rush for a quick snack or a quick bite Duos is perfect because it has the immense flavor that people crave and the snack sized nature of Duos add extra mobility to them. I feel that if I can get a hold of the feature of mobility with college students, it will become a huge benefit for college students of all ages and walks of life everywhere and as with every product, word of mouth will definitely help because If a good or service is meeting its profit goals, positive attitudes toward the product merely need to be reinforced (Pg. 114).”

SWOT Analysis

All companies need competitive advantages when trying to get their product out and about to the world, and the absolute best way to start that off is of course to take a step back, and see what you have at your disposal in terms of advantages and to take a close look into who your competition is to make sure they don’t overshadow you and your product because “Marketing planning is the basis for all marketing strategies and decisions (Pg. 20)”.

In terms of strengths, the overall idea and concept of Duos themselves is the pure foundation of the strengths that would set apart Duos from the other chocolate products. For starters, other chocolates tend to only feature one type of chocolate whenever they make variations of their own product. For example, Hershey’s chocolate, by standard, comes in milk chocolate, but they also have a dark chocolate version, as well as their own “Cookies and Cream” version which of course feature while chocolate with little crunchy bits to mock the cookies. Duos on the other hand will of course feature those same different types of chocolate but at the same time in a snack sized truffle that is sure to mix and blend two types of chocolate together to create a whole new flavor and experience.

The only weakness I can see with Duos is simply just the fact that consumers could get tired of them. I can see Duos achieving their first goal by standing out and having that new twist, but the question is, how long will that hype last? As with just about every product in the world, the fear of their product just not standing the test of time is always a fear because "If the brand is not succeeding, however, the marketing manager must strive to change target consumers' attitudes toward it (Pg. 114)." If Duos do end up not lasting long in terms of uniqueness, then I would have to resort to having to scramble around and make up more Duos related products, and that could easily end up badly, so I want to make sure that I don’t end up in that position to begin with.

With opportunities and threats, the only primary threat that comes to mind when it comes to truffles and chocolate balls in general seems to be Lindor truffles. Lindor Truffles have actually been a family favorite among my own family, but that won’t stop me from taking them on. With that in mind, the opportunities are clear, and that is the fact that I can play and mess around with the different flavor combinations within the types of chocolate.

Objectives

Objectives are extremely crucial for companies to thrive and keep themselves in the right direction for what they want to achieve. As for Duos, our objectives simply revolve around the new flavors that consumers will experience through Duos for “Marketing has two facets. First, it is a philosophy, an attitude, a perspective, or a management orientation that stresses customer satisfaction (Pg. 2).”

One objective that I want to always actively pursue is to always make sure that we serve our followers, fans, and consumers efficiently and adaptively enough to where we will be able to satisfy the mass majority of our consumers because there will always be someone out there that has a certain preference when it comes to products and customer service “Consumers’ product and service preferences are constantly changing (Pg. 90).”

Social media is EVERYWHERE at this point in time, and that will definitely be another objective that we will focus on, is to always remain contact with our followers and likers on Facebook, Instagram, etc. so that whenever we receive feedback whether good or bad, we will be able to take it into consideration. I know for sure that if we can nail that perfectly, getting our name out and advertising will improve and of course gain through word of mouth as well “So it is critical that marketing managers have a thorough knowledge of consumer behavior (Pg.90).”

With all these objectives in mind, the last main objective that I want to pursue is to put ourselves in locations that are of course thriving and that will help us out in the long run, because even though it isn’t something that most people tend to think about first, it could truly give your company the head start it needs because “Sometimes products or companies are repositioned in order to sustain growth in slow markets or to correct positioning mistakes (Pg. 150).”

Business Mission Statement

With Duos, my plan and vision is to bring a whole new dimension to the chocolatey world that everyone seems to be familiar with already. This world only knows that there are separate types of chocolate that are usually enjoyed separately and by different groups of people. With the creation of Duos, it is my mission to change that and to bring out entirely new flavors for the world to enjoy and to even open the eyes of some of those that are too close-minded to enjoy the other types of chocolate. The ultimate goal isn’t to JUST make a new type of chocolate to enjoy, but to also inspire others with the new unique flavors they will be experiencing through just eating Duos, as well as to create great memories with those who you will be sharing Duos with as I did back in the day when I was growing up with chocolate. My aim with creating everlasting memories with Duos is making sure the memories you make with your friends and family will be associated with the new flavors in Duos. The procedures that the Duos team and I will make in order to properly and efficiently serve and interact with our fans and followers will definitely be looked over constantly to make sure we can keep up with efficiency as well as consistency when responding to criticism and especially complaints because we want to grow with all of the feedback we will be receiving to make sure we are always satisfying our consumers. We just aren’t aiming to be the best chocolate in the world, but to be the most memorable chocolate in the world. The same concept also goes for our competition, we don’t want to defeat them, we just want to stand out from them.

EOC Week 7: My Pitch

There are many different types of chocolates out there in the world today, but I wanted to focus on the basics; milk chocolate, white chocolate and dark chocolate. Everyone on Earth has their own preference on which type of chocolate they like, but sometimes it’s hard to just choose one. I propose a new way to have your chocolate fix while satisfying people’s unique taste buds when they want to enjoy more than one type of chocolate, I call them; Duos. In the mood for more than just milk chocolate? Or perhaps you’re craving white AND dark chocolate at the same time? Well, with Duos you can satisfy both cravings at once! These special chocolate truffles will feature an outer layer of milk, white or dark chocolate, while the inner layer, or center will be either again, milk, white or dark chocolate. Once consumed, these snack-sized truffles will blend both chocolates in a harmonious fashion all while you’re enjoying yourself on a chocolatey charter to euphoria! Our bags of Duos will feature the many different combinations, or if you’re feeling adventurous, we will also be selling variety bags so you’ll be in for a different chocolatey experience after each one you pick up to eat. As the progression of this idea and project progress, feedback is obviously very much welcomed, of course as well as ideas and other potential changes to future or existing products. Social Media sites for Duos will of course be provided for me to talk and communicate with curious followers or to accept feedback as well as to keep all future fans updated for what’s to come in the future of Duos. I believe that chocolate should always be enjoyed in various ways, and i definitely hope that Duos can bring that fresh and new spin on traditional chocolate truffles.

Week 6 EOC: Me x3

Everyone has things that they have that they believe properly represent them as individuals, for starters it could simply be their phone or mobile device since everyone has one. A few things I consider to make me who I am and what represents me in general aren’t complicated at all.

This here are the Astro Gaming A30 headphones. The Astro Gaming brand in general I feel represent me perfectly because they are obviously a video gaming brand, but with these headphones, I feel it represents three different aspects that are huge in my life. One of them would simply be my love of music, my taste in music ranges from 90’s hip-hop/rap to Metal and everything in between. Along with the video game aspect this brand represents as well as the “Urban” theme with the interchangeable headphone plates available for this model.

This, I feel is the most important piece of who I am. This is a San Jose Sharks jersey which of course reflects that I was born and raised for 19 years, San Jose California. Not only do I constantly wear San Jose Sharks gear to let everyone know that San Jose my hometown, but also for my love of hockey. I love sports in general, but hockey is definitely my favorite out of all of them. I also like buying blank jerseys with no players on them because when I have the money for it, I get it customized with my last name and number on it as well to amplify my love for this team and city.

This, obviously is the Playstation 4 which is of course the newest console of the Playstation chain. This is important and properly represents me simply because of my absolute LOVE for video games, and while nothing can beat the classics such as the original Super Mario Bros, Contra, or Punch Out! It’s always a blast to stay updated with what’s been going on in the gaming industry. Reason being I have chosen this picture specifically is because I have this same exact bundle, the White Playstation console and controller accompanied by Destiny, a game that I myself always enjoy playing in my spare time. Video games have always (and I mean ALWAYS) been there for me since childhood to now so it definitely describes who I am as an individual.

Week 5 EOC: This is What Has My Interest

https://twitter.com/AMBernales/status/761088471695921152 This has my interest simply because I never thought I’d see the day that a robot would write a script of its own, let alone a “perfect” one as said in the article. I don’t have difficulty myself when it comes to writing scripts, but to know that a good one was written by Artificial Intelligence just simply amazes me and makes me wonder what else could lie ahead for technology. Technology is rising, no doubt about that, but to see it progress this much is simply astonishing. This could also quite possibly be good for directors or producers if they would need an extra writer.

https://twitter.com/AMBernales/status/758536161832738817 This has my interest because when one has to think about a location to shoot for a project or movie they have going on, it just goes to show that there are definitely places out there wherever you are, you just need to explore and look around you. Simply something that I need to take in consideration as well is the fact that just by simply exploring you could run into some sweet areas where the lighting hits just right at a certain angle, or especially with whatever is around it maybe some trees, a wall with awesome art on it, or maybe even a public area that may feature an awesome point of interest.

https://twitter.com/AMBernales/status/758538054403444736 This has my interest because adding special effects and movie magic to edits can definitely be a tricky task, especially if you don’t really know how to pull off certain effects, and while this is true for all VFX programs, some of the best ones have some sort of price tag on them and that of course could very well get in your way when it comes to having a low budget or simply just for inde work. Having a free program means more than just saving money for you, but it of course also means that the potential to learn a new technique is definitely possible through how the User Interface presents itself within a new program. A new program to use is like a new door of possibilities and learning to be found and utilized