Final Project: Distribution

Our company will only be distributing Splash Vodka in select places. To help promote the luxury of Splash Vodka, it will only be held at the more luxurious casinos, clubs, and more upscale liquor stores. By limiting the distribution of our vodka to select places, we believe that people will be able to see the luxury of our vodka better. We want everyone to feel welcomed to drinking Splash Vodka, but we do not want people to think this is just another brand of vodka. We think people will go to these places to purchase our product for the luxury, and by going to these select places for our vodka, they will be experiencing the luxury of many other great things, and they will see the great lifestyle they can have with choosing to drink Splash Vodka. “Market development A strategy for company growth by identifying and developing new market segments for current company products.” (Marketing: An Introduction p. 46) Different people will slowly recognize our vodka and the lifestyle that comes along with it. By using word of mouth to promote our product, unfamiliar people will discover Splash Vodka and will have to go to the select places we are distributing it. They will be able to go to these places and discover a life of luxury and discover how luxurious Splash Vodka is.

Final Project: Product

“Product means the goods-and-services combination the company offers to the target market.” (Marketing: An Introduction, p. 53) Splash Vodka is not only luxurious vodka, but also comes with the quality customer service that Splash has to offer. Splash Vodka has a soft but rich flavor while giving your mouth the wetness a fresh glass of water can. It is 80 proof and is made at the perfect time to combine French mountain spring water with both winter and spring wheat to give Splash its great flavor. It’s distilled four times and only partly filtered to preserve its natural taste. Splash also comes in a unique glass bottle shaped like a water drop and with designed all around the bottle. Another thing that makes the bottle unique is that the designs are different on every bottle. Our company is much like Ford where “The car comes fully serviced and with a comprehensive warranty that is as much a part of the product as the tailpipe.” (Marketing: An Introduction, p. 53) Our product also comes with great service as part of the product. We inform all suppliers of Splash Vodka of the great ways it can be served so that the customers can have the best time possible with Splash Vodka. 

Final Project: Target Market Strategy

Our marketing strategy is to target only those seeking the luxury that comes with Splash Vodka. Splash Vodka is not vodka that every person can afford every time they drink, but it is vodka that everyone that is looking for a great time while living luxuriously will buy. “Guided by marketing strategy, the company designs an integrated marketing mix made up of factors under its control—product, price, place, and promotion (the four Ps). To find the best marketing strategy and mix, the company engages in marketing analysis, planning, implementation, and control.” (Marketing: An Introduction, p. 49) Our strategy is to put Splash Vodka in the more luxurious clubs and casinos so people will know that they are living wealthy when they go to these places and drink our vodka.  “Companies know that they cannot profitably serve all consumers in a given market—at least not all consumers in the same way.” (Marketing: An Introduction, p. 50) Our company understands this, and that is why we are choosing to place Splash Vodka in more luxurious places. When other people not accustomed to luxury try our vodka, they will have to go to more luxurious places and it will help to create a better more unique experience for each individual.

Final Project: Situation or SWOT Analysis

At Splash Vodka, we study our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, or do a to make sure our company is creating great vodka, connecting with our customers, and being the best our company can be. “Managing the marketing function begins with a complete analysis of the company’s situation. The marketer should conduct a SWOT analysis, by which it evaluates the company’s overall strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T).” (Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Edition. p. 54)

“Strengths include internal capabilities, resources, positive situational factors that may help the company to serve its customers and achieve its objectives.” (Marketing: An Introduction, p. 54) Our strengths are the great relationship we can build with our customers. Our company makes sure to treat our customers like family, making sure they always have a great time when drinking Splash Vodka and letting them know they can always trust our company to produce high quality vodka to the best of our ability.

“Weaknesses include internal limitations and negative situational factors that may interfere with the company’s performance.” (Marketing: An Introduction, p. 54) The major weakness we have is that our company is new and not many people know about us yet. This is were promoting Splash Vodka will help get our name recognized.

“Opportunities are favorable factors or trends in the external environment that the company may be able to exploit to its advantage.” (Marketing: An Introduction, p. 54) Some of our opportunities are that our product is from Las Vegas. With all the tourists that visit Las Vegas, our product can slowly become more recognized all over. It’s also a great place to start our company because our product has the ability to be all across the strip where many people drink alcohol.

“Threats are unfavorable external factors or trends that may present challenges to performance.” (Marketing: An Introduction, p. 54) Our threats are our competitors. Though a great opportunity for our company, the strip is a great opportunity for all our competitors.

Final Project: Objectives

The overall mission of Splash Vodka is to create a trusting relationship with our customers, knowing they will be buying quality vodka every time they purchase Splash. We do this through many of the objectives we have. “The company needs to turn its mission into detailed supporting objectives for each level of management. Each manager should have objectives and be responsible for reaching them.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions p. 40) The goals of Splash Vodka is to research both the process of making our vodka and the different things that go into our vodka. We continually study the process of which Splash Vodka is being made to make sure that the quality of Splash is always at its best. We also study the wheat and water we put into our vodka to make sure they are fresh to give Splash its great taste.

Some of other objectives we have are to make sure we are promoting to the people we want drinking our vodka and to make sure we are promoting the right amount. “Marketing strategies and programs must be developed to support these marketing objectives.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions p. 42) By studying our consumers, we can discover who they are and what they like. We a great amount of effort into researching our consumers to make sure that our vodka is at its best quality for them.  

Final Project: Mission Statement

The mission here at Splash Vodka is to make the best quality vodka that's both smooth and refreshing, and gives people the feeling of wealth without having to be a celebrity. We want everyone who purchases a bottle to have a great time drinking Splash Vodka and enjoy themselves to the best of their ability.

"Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace. Too often, mission statements are written for public relations purposes and lack specific, workable guidelines." (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Koetler, Pg. 40) 
Just by following this simple guideline, we can create a better company that people will learn to love and will be well respected. Putting the customers first and making sure that our customers are happy with our company will help create a better company and in time, will help the company grow to be great.

EOC Week 7: Pitch

Splash Vodka is a premium brand of vodka that gives you richness that you have always wanted. Splash is made for every person that wants the amazing experience that it brings, while receiving the wealth of just owning a bottle. Its elegant flavor is something that you never want to forget. Just one sip and the smooth wet taste will give you feeling putting a cool refreshing splash of water over your face. Splash Vodka is made at the perfect time of year to get its full, rich flavor. It is made to perfection through a brilliant process that gives Splash its amazing taste and clean aroma. Splash Vodka is distilled four times to receive its great flavor. It is made with a combination of winter wheat and spring wheat. Made with fresh French mountain spring water to help give its smooth wet taste. The aroma of Splash is clear, fresh, and the moistness of spring air. The palate is smooth, soft, rich, and wet. The finish has a soft bite, but is smooth with a medium sustain. Splash is partly filtered to help preserve its rich natural taste while creating Splash’s fresh moist aroma.

EOC Week 6: Me x 3

Almost every person has at least one brand of a product that they always buy and will rarely buy another brand of that product. It is something that they value and they like buying it. I have a few brands that I prefer to purchase over others. One of the brands that I buy is Old Spice deodorant. I like using Old Spice and will rarely buy anything else. Even if I go to the store to buy it and it is not there, I will either wait and buy it from another store, or buy it at another time. It is the deodorant I have become used to, and I like wearing it. I even prefer the buying the actual Old Spice brand compared a knock off Old Spice brand. I like the smell of it, and feel that other people like the way I smell when I wear it.

Another brand that I prefer to purchase is Asics running shoes. I will purchase other brands of running shoes, but if I ever need a new pair of running shoes, Asics are the first brand of shoes that I look at. I’ve always known Asics to be one of the best running shoes. I have liked almost every pair of shoes that I have purchased from Asics and I love using them. They have always been very comfortable to me and I have always loved wearing them to run in.

I have also always purchased Apple products. I currently own an iPhone and an iMac. I have also purchased an iPod multiple times. I love Apple products and the type of company that Apple is. Almost every time I have gone into Apple, I have had fairly good service. They treat their customers well and it shows that they know what they are doing. I like using their products, and I will probably always use them.

EOC Week 5: Sony Sleuths - Marketing

Sony has found itself into a tight bind after not getting their system hacked once but twice. This has definitely become an issue for them. After getting hacked the first time, Sony decided to take their system offline and reported the system had been hacked and that some customers “personal information like email and physical addresses, birth dates, and credit card number and expiration date may have been obtained.” (http://www.ktnv.com/story/14528749/sony-playstation-network-hacked-personal-info-breached) This is a big problem for Sony, being that over 70 million user accounts may have been hacked.

            If this wasn’t a big enough problem, the system was hacked a second time where over 24 million user accounts may have been hacked. Sony has tried to assure customers that this second hack was not a big deal because the information was from an “outdated database from 2007.” (http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/05/sony-online-entertainment-hack/) With many new hit games coming up for Playstation 3, Sony could have a lot of angrier people to deal with. They will have to find some way to have gamers play on their network again once it is back online. I think if they were to credit every user account that may have been hacked with something so that users can purchase something from Sony's Playstation 3, online store. This will entice players to come back sooner, and help gamers feel more open to Sony again.