Trade marketing planning: exemplary!

Below-the-line promotions are not very common in the meat industry. Sampling is simple and popular but it is questionable, if a cheap product can generate enough sales to cover the costs of the promotion. This tools is usually only employed for new product introductions. The marketing manager of Kométa, Krisztina Bódi was not facing an easy task when she had to plan a new introduction with a limited budget for a product which did not belong to any known category. This product is Kamra Java of Kométa, fine lard with garlic and onion flavouring, like drippings from a slice of roast meat. This is one of the things that have not been produced commercially yet, though we are all familiar with it. The brand is not very well known either though it belongs to one of the largest companies in the industry. No precise budget has been defined for the project in advance, but it was to be limited. Fortunately, both consumer and trade marketing tasks were concentrated in the hands of only two people. The agency Kastner és Társa helped them from the from the moment the product was conceived. They were responsible for designing the packaging and planning consumer and trade marketing communication. Motivation of retailers, consumers and the definition of the brand message were all concentrated in on hand. It took only three months for the product to appear on the shelves from the day it was conceived. Choosing Auchan as the strategic partner for the introduction paid off. Auchan allowed secondary placements to be used in each of its stores and samplings were timed for the beginning of December when the Christmas rush was not raging yet. The quantity of products required for sampling was defined using a simple experiment; taking a can of Kamra Java and counting how many “bites of bread” can be served using one can. ased on years of experience, they could make a good estimate of how many people will taste the product and were able to calculate the quantity needed from the product. They used bread baked especially for the purpose by Müllhof Kft. They also decided to provide personal training for the hostesses to ensure that tasks are handled with maximum expertise and enthusiasm. No expense was spared for uniforms and sampling desks either, knowing that a good design for the desks can attract attention by itself. A press advertisement campaign was used to back up the sampling campaign. Both ATL and BTL campaigns worked flawlessly and limited resources were used efficiently.