Subject: Marketing Management

9.3 Convert objectives to goals by assigning magnitudes and dates

To reach the overall objective

	MAY	JUNE	JULY	AUGUST	SEPTEMBER	OCTOBER
Sales Figures	€10m ( ↑€5m)	€18.3m (↑€8.3m)	€21.3m (↑€3m)	€23.3 m (↑€2m)	€18.6 m (↓4.7m)	€18.3 (↓.3m)
Market Share	Increase from 2% to 4% to reach if not surpass their competitor Kit Kat

The sales figures were calculated using current sales figures as a guideline. In addition, Kit Kat one of Twix’s main competitors was used for benchmarking purposes in sales terms.

The Twix Together campaign will initially run for 6 months. Success will be monitored on a KPI basis from the objectives aforementioned. From here, it will be determined whether or not to extend “Twix Together” further for another year.

10. Key Findings

1. 
   No salience in consumers mind
   
2. 
   Lack of strong marketing strategy
   
3. 
   Poor brand to consumer communications
   
4. 
   No clear brand association
   
5. 
   No relatability to human emotions emphasised in current campaign
   

11. Recommendations

There will be no drastic rebranding measures taken within the campaign as we found customers of Twix are generally happy with the product they just ‘forget’ about it as a chocolate bar. We have decided to run with the tagline “Twix Together” this will run throughout the entire campaign in the following ways:

11.1 Promotional strategy

In an effort to drive engagement, increase product salience and create an overall excitement around the Twix Together brand again the following promotional strategies have been proposed:

11.1.1 Sales Promotion

11.1.1.1 Women

In terms of Twix’s target market it is predominantly male. In order to shift this towards a more equal divide a promotional strategy has been devised to increase the number of female Twix consumers. The idea is to alter the packaging for a month to kick-start both the Twix Together campaign while also creating a buzz around what Twix are doing. The packaging will be changed ever so slightly, the well-recognised gold and red packaging will shift to a gold shimmer and red. This has been chosen so that males won’t be singled out completely and the brand identity will remain intact. This will act as the launcher to the entire Twix Together Campaign. This will also hopefully turn into some positive PR for the Twix brand.

11.1.1.2 Cinema sponsorship

The cinema sponsorship will be rolled out in June, a month after the woman's packaging PR stunt. In order to encourage the social aspect of the new “Twix together” campaign we concluded that combining with a cinema is the most advantageous option for the brand and its values. Both Twix and cinema have the intent to promote sharing something with friends whether it be food or time and memories. They also have a similar target market. We feel as though the addition of our Twix share bag “Twixie’s” was created in perfect timing as it perfectly conforms to the type of snack the cinemas offer. The idea is to Sponsor IMC cinema as it is the most nationwide cinema in Ireland. IMC will stock our new Twixie’s product. A free packet of Twixie’s and a medium popcorn will be given free of charge to anyone who ‘checks in’ at the cinema using the Twix app with the expense subsidised by Twix’s budget. Before each film starts Twix’s new advert will be aired. There will be free cinema tickets up for grabs regularly which will be advertised through Twix’s social media outlets. The sponsorship relationship will be beneficial for each party. Twix will avail of air time before movies, it provides the opportunity to get Twixie’s sales up and running as they shall be stocked as a snack available to enjoy during a film, the brand values of both parties will combine to reiterate the message of pausing together, customer interest will be increased if not completely regained as they will now be pushed towards engaging with the brand in order to win free cinema tickets to socialize “together”, it will also add value to the social media aspect of the Twix together campaign, and reinforce the message behind the Twix together campaign.

11.1.1.3 Twixies

This will be rolled out alongside the cinema sponsorship. Roy Benin, chief consumer officer of Mars Chocolate North America said that "Consumers are looking for new ways to enjoy and share our products, which makes offerings like this a delicious and convenient option for social occasions or on the go." As an incentive to boost sales and create a new exciting buzz around the Twix brand, we are introducing a delicious limited edition Twixie’s which are made for sharing. The concept is to have finger sized bars within a bag of approx. 200g. Adding a share bag as a limited edition will emphasize and encourage Twix users to ‘Twix Together’. This form of promotion will directly link with our sponsorship deal with IMC cinema, the sharer packs of Twixie’s along with a medium popcorn will be given free of charge to anyone who downloads the new Twix app and ‘checks in’ in any of their cinemas.

11.1.1.4 The Twix tour

The Twix tour will be where a pop up Twix van will make appearances around upcoming events, festivals, and other social gatherings. The Twix tour will start at the start of the summer, in time for festival season. This is in order to create brand associations. Twix will soon become synonymous with socialising and togetherness with friends and loved ones. The Twix van will offer an array of Twix inspired treats for all to enjoy together.

11.1.2 Social

The campaign name is Twix together, and as aforementioned it is about enforcing the social aspect of pausing and enjoying time with family and friends. We want to incorporate a social media outlet for the brand to interact with their followers to encourage them to Twix together. For this we have chosen three social platforms Facebook, twitter and Instagram. Additionally an App will be created in order to link with our sponsorship deal.

11.2.1 Facebook

#TwixTogether – Together with “Facebook Friends”

Facebook was considered to be a big player for Twix when it comes to engaging with their target audience due to their age. Facebook will become a hub of consumer interaction with live check in’s, cinema reviews and feedback, customer queries answered promptly and a place where people can tell us who they Twix together with and why. There will also be a photo reel of customers ‘Tweaked’ Twixies for all to see. By connecting Facebook to the platform to customise their Twix’s, this will create a seamless omnichannel experience hopefully driving similar orders.

11.2.2 Instagram

#Twelfie – Instagram is the home of the selfie so it seems fitting to ask consumers to snap an adventurous selfie with their bar and not only tag the Twix page but build on the hashtag within that app too. Instagram was chosen to become Twix’s hub of chocolaty foodporn for all of its fans to drool over. Here is where we will post dessert inspiration using none other than our Twix bars as a main chocolate ingredient.

11.2.3 Twitter

#Tweetyourtwix – Encouraging consumers to tweet their Twix experience.

This is where we ask our followers to tell us about their Twix experience both with the bar and our sponsored cinema, where we will actively ask them about their satisfaction and where they can show us how they enjoy their Twix. The possibility of #Tweetyourtwix trending on twitter would be a fantastic way to measure the campaign's success to recognise if our social platforms are truly engaging consumers or not. Twitter is also a fantastic way to follow what those are saying about you with social media monitoring tools such as Social Mention.

11.2 Product/packaging/design/labelling/service strategy

The product itself, the bar with cookie, caramel and chocolate will also remain the same. This is due to a combination of both primary and secondary research. It was clear to see that Twix is a loved brand based on taste.

Twix has existed on the market for decades. As a result, the branding of the packaging is integral to the bars image. Thus, there is no changes to be made to the packaging at present. However, promotional strategies will be implemented throughout the duration of the Twix Together campaign this will be addressed in section 10.4.

Labelling will be adjusted slightly in order to allow for the first piece in the Twix Together campaign. The “who will I Twix together with” idea. This is where who to Twix together with suggestions will be placed behind the packaging seal fold. This aspect of the campaign is taking inspiration from the jokes that became synonymous with Penguin bars. The idea is to get people excited to see who they’ll be ‘told’ to enjoy their Twix with similarly to Coca Cola’s immensely successful “Share a coke” campaign. This ties in the more than a product aspect that is sought out by consumers.

11.3 Place and distribution strategy

Intensive distribution is required in order to ensure it is available where and when the consumer wishes to purchase it. Due to the glohal appeal of the Twix brand, Twix roducts must have distribution channels across the US, UK, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Further to this, as part of the brand new campaign Twix will become available to purchase online! Not only will consumers be able to order Twix bars from the Twix online store but they will be able to “Tweak their Twix” too. This is where customers can create their own Twix from an array of choices based on flavours and shapes. They can also customise their own packaging too. The website will deliver to the countries mentioned above.

11.4 People strategy

In an attempt to make the Twix together strategy one that is understood by all it will be ensured that all those involved at every level within the Twix brand will hold the same values and understanding. Marketing objectives and brand personality cannot stop at the product alone. Those involved in customer touch points such as the customer service operators, the sales promotion people included in such events as the Twix tour and not forgetting those who run all social media accounts held by Twix need to have an understanding of the personality and the identity that Twix holds. The people must be the living embodiment of the brand conveying this personality back to the consumer in order to maintain brand equity and strengthen the brand personality creating an omnichannel and seamless brand identity.

11.5 Pricing

Price will not be affected by the new Twix Together campaign. The industry itself does not lend itself to low pricing nor extremely high pricing. Brands tend to stick around the €1 mark. The campaign does not exist to alter quality perceptions or enter into a new position based on price. This will be addressed in other areas of the marketing strategy. Twix new strategy will aim to target middle income families these will include the following: ABC1C2D - Upper middle class, middle class, lower middle class, skilled working class and working class.

Appendix

Focus Group

Reference (Ward & O'Loughlin , 2016)

Date: 10/03/2016 Time: 7pm	Moderators Aoife Ward Sarah O’Loughlin	Brand: Twix
Number in focus group: 6	Duration: 30mins	Location: It Carlow
Moderators Draft		Visual Aid
Who are your favourite brands and why? This caused huge discussion, the group tended to lean towards bigger brand names like Coca Cola. “it is everywhere, you cannot forget coke!” The group reminisced on experiences they received from brands and a big element that cropped up was how “fun” the discussed brands had been.
Why do you buy chocolate? The group mentioned these key factors: Sugar rush, treat themselves, share with friends/family on occasions, “chill out” movie nights where mentioned.
What do you feel are the most important qualities in a chocolate bar? The groups general response when asked this question was the taste, the filling feeling, the pack size/ format and the calorie, fat and sugar content.
What are you opinions on chocolate: The group’s general reaction was positive, all admitting to indulging at least once a day in some sort of chocolate related product. The more heath conscious the participant the less likely they were to binge more than once a day, more so once a week.
What are your thoughts on the selection available: The group’s general reaction was positive to the products laid out in front of them. There was some mention of “old fashioned brands” particularly towards Timeout.
I would like you to consider these 4 bars ;The Twix, Kinder Bueno, Kit Kat, Twirl, Time Out Please place them into appropriate groups based on propensity to purchase and on taste.
Imagine that these products have personalities. Please describe the personality Time out was regarded as an old person, “well gone” with no personality what so ever. Twix was regarded as male, in his mid-40s not very exciting but sturdy and reliable Twirl was described as a young girl with a bubbly personality Kit Kat was controversial, some felt it was an old bar that they’d find in their “grannies house” while others felt it was a good reliable bar Kinder Bueno was described as the younger persons bar.
How would you improve the bar? “Make it younger and fun!”
When you look/ think of Twix, what words come to mind?? The key words that were used were chocolate, crunchy, biscuit, fingers, gold, caramel, filling, snack