MARKETING PLANNING|Legit essays

Students will be working on the following elements of the marketing plan:

Situation analysis,

Get your paper done on time by an expert in your field.

Order Now

• Macro-Level External Environment (i.e., Political & Legal, Sociocultural, Technological, Economic)
• Competitive Environment (i.e., Threats of new entrants, rivalry among existing firms, Threats of substitute products, bargaining power of buyers, Bargaining power of suppliers)
• Internal environment (i.e., Firm Structure, Firm Culture, Firm Resources)
• Opportunity & Issue Analysis (i.e., SWOT analysis & Issue analysis, SWOT framework should be incorporated)

For the elements, focus on the issues that you believe will be most important to JUST US! CAFES marketing planning over the next year or so. The main issues should be included in the introduction.

• What kind of market research JUST US! CAFES can incorporate to enhance the cafes’ performances?

(Note-Points are allotted to introduction, situation analysis (elements), SWOT framework, market research). The framework can be included in Appendix)

(Times New Roman 12 font size, Double-spaced, 3 page limit (excluding Appendix). For citations follow APA guidelines.)

909A14 MARKETING PLANNING AT JUST US! CAFÉS1

Sara Loudyi, Julia Sagebien, Normand Turgeon and Ian McKillop wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail cases@ivey.uwo.ca. Copyright © 2009, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2010-06-09

On the morning of November 11, 2008, Jeff and Debra Moore, founders of Just Us! were about to hold their first meeting with Juliet, recently hired to fill the new position of marketing director. Juliet had come to Just Us! from a well-established company in the food industry in the Maritimes, where she had been brand manager for a line of gourmet instant coffees. Though her rise in the company had been swift, after several years in the same position she felt it was time to pursue other challenges. The Moores had been searching for a new marketing director and had heard about Juliet from a mutual friend. They arranged an interview and were extremely pleased with her prestigious business school degree, outstanding knowledge of the coffee market and strong marketing background. Juliet felt that even though she did not know much about the fair trade market, this was exactly the kind of challenge she had been seeking. The Moores and the senior staff at Just Us! had been working for some time to compile the information Juliet would need for a smooth transition to her new position. Jeff Moore opened the meeting:

First of all, we would like to welcome you to our team. We are very excited to have you with us and we want to make sure that you quickly feel that you belong here. Just Us! is more than a brand, it’s an ideology. Since our beginnings in 1996, we have become more than a fair trade coffee cooperative, wholesaler and retailer. People in Nova Scotia know who we are and what we stand for. Our sales are growing and we are, more than ever, making a difference with our investments in the producers and in the local community. All the same, we did face some issues with our cafés2 and we hope that you will be helpful in that area. But first let me tell you a little bit about fair trade.

1 This case is partly based on material found in the case Just Us! Coffee Roasters (Ivey product #9B06A027), by Julia Sagebien, Scott Skinner and Monica Weshler, published by Ivey Management Services, 2006. 2 Coffee houses.

This document is authorized for use only by Saiadithya Wupendrum in Building a Marketing Plan – STR-9737 – FMIB1 at Hult International Business School, 2023.

Page 2 9B09A014

WHAT IS FAIR TRADE? The Canadian Fair Trade Market Fair trade is an alternative approach to conventional international trade that seeks greater equity. Producers, traders, buyers and consumers work together to form a trading partnership that provides a more equitable and sustainable form of exchange. The Alternative Trade Organizations (ATOs) buy directly from Third World producers, leaving out the middlemen. They pay the producers a fair price, and help them develop trading experience as well as market contacts. They also enter a long-term partnership.3 Through this arrangement, producers are able to raise their incomes, reduce their dependency on commercial middlemen and invest in community development. To become fair trade certified, an importer must meet stringent international criteria. These include paying a minimum guaranteed price directly to the producer cooperatives4 and providing much-needed credit to farmers along with technical assistance (such as help transitioning to organic farming). Organizations like the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) and TransFair have been instrumental in promoting fair trade. In 2008, Canada imported fair trade certified products from 59 source countries. The number of producers and the range of products are growing annually.5 The fair trade certified product offerings often include cocoa and cocoa products, coffee, cotton, flowers, fresh fruit, rice, honey, shea butter, quinoa, spices, sports balls, sugar, tea and wine.6 There are also hundreds of composite products with fair trade certified ingredients. In addition, consumer interest in ethical products is allowing the fair trade market to break into niches like ethical fashion, where trendy clothes are made from fair trade and ecological fibres.7 TransFair Canada reported “exponential growth in the sales of coffee, tea, sugar and rice, spectacular starts to new products such as flowers, wine and cotton and strong reintroduction of bananas in the Canadian market.”8 Canadian consumers contribute significantly to these success stories. They have become more aware of the benefits of fair trade and are increasingly willing to change their shopping habits in order to be part of the solution to global trade inequities (see Exhibit 1). There were threats to the fair trade movement, however, including wild swings in commodities markets, which resulted in record high prices for food and oil, the former affecting the cost of the primary products and the latter the cost of fertilizer and transport. The move towards lessening the carbon footprint of foods also suggested a shift in green consumer preferences towards “local” foods and away from foods transported from distant regions. The Ethical Consumer The Canadian fair trade market is steadily gaining support from increasingly knowledgeable consumers who demand a wider and finer range of products. The market is not going mainstream yet, though it is certainly emerging as an attractive submarket of customers with very specific needs.9 Besides requiring high quality products, consumers want to know the story behind the products. They want to be reassured that suppliers also benefit from the exchange and that the impact on the environment is not negative.

3 http://transfair.ca/en/standards, accessed May 14, 2009. 4 Ibid. 5 http://transfair.ca/en/sourceproducts, accessed May 14, 2009. 6 Ibid. 7 www.zetika.com/mode-et-eco-design/resultat-d-une-etude-sur-la-mode-ethique-au-canada.html, accessed May 14, 2009. 8 http://transfair.ca/sites/transfair/files/TF_2007_2008_AR_BL_final.pdf, accessed May 14, 2009. 9 www.lesaffaires.com/article/0/publication–lesaffaires/2008-11-08/485158/des-produits-equitables-et-profitables.fr.html, accessed May 14, 2009.

This document is authorized for use only by Saiadithya Wupendrum in Building a Marketing Plan – STR-9737 – FMIB1 at Hult International Business School, 2023.