HOLISTIC MARKETING

Holistic Marketing can be defined as a marketing strategy that is developed by thinking about the business as a whole, its place in the broader economy and society, and in the lives of its customers. It attempts to develop and maintain multiple perspectives on the company’s commercial activities. . Holistic marketing recognizes that ‘everything matters’ with marketing and that a broad, integrated perspective is necessary to attain the best solution.

There are 4 main components to holistic marketing.

·         Relationship marketing emphasizes customer retention and satisfaction rather than a dominant focus on sales transactions.

·         Internal marketing is a process that occurs within a company or organization whereby the functional process aligns, motivates, and empowers employees at all management levels to deliver a satisfying customer experience.

·         Integrated marketing is an approach to brand communications where the different modes work together to create a seamless experience for the customer and are presented with a similar tone and style that reinforces the brand’s core message.

·         Socially responsible marketing is a marketing philosophy that states a company should take into consideration what is in the best interest of society in the present and long term.

Holistic Marketing Perspective of Frooti

Internal Marketing:

·         Alignment of organizations purpose with employee behaviour.

·         Motivation, empowering and reframing of employees attitude.

·         Inside – out management approach

·         Constant training programs for the benefit of employees.

Relationship Marketing

·         Constant offers like the ‘ 5 ka 2’ offer wherein they sold 2 65ml tetra packs at Rs 5 or at Rs 2.5 each.

·         The pullback strip concept

·         .The use of mangoticons to strike a bond with their target audience

Integrated Marketing

·         The juicy mango project wherein they got common people involved in their campaign.

·         Initially the ‘ Why Grow Up’ campaign featuring Shah Rukh Khan went up on TV commercials. This was followed with OOH activities like painting of buses, use of billboards and hoarding, wall paintings having the same theme supporting the campaign. Then we had promotions like ‘Have a Frooti with Shah Rukh’. Thus all their efforts were directed in one direction.

Societal Marketing

·         Use of fresh ingredients every time.

·         Suitable disposal of waste to ensure minimal pollution.

·         Social Responsibility Projects taken up time to time.

PRICING

Pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products. Its a highly complex task and a lot of thought goes behind it. In such competitive markets like the ones we have today every rupee matters. Consumers unless they are brand loyalists might jump from one brand to another because of the smallest of margins. Prduct buying decisions are made keeping a lot of factors in mind, generally pricing being the most important.

Some factors to be kept in mind while deciding the pricing strategy.

·         Pricing objectives

·         Product cost

·         Extent of competition in the market

·         Customers demand and utility

·         Marketing methods used

·         Government and legal regulations

Find below the pricing of Frooti.                                         

     

 Tetra Pack packaging                   

                                    

Quantity	Price(Rs)
65ml	2.50
200ml	10.00
250ml	12.00

                                    

   PET bottle packaging

Quantity	Price(Rs)
250ml	10.00
500ml	18.00
1000ml	35.00
2000ml	60.00

              

Thus we see that Frooti isn’t only available in multiple quantities but also at a diverse price range.  Prices have been kept very affordable keeping in mind their target audience – kids and early teens. They prices are also slightly lower than their competitors Maaza, Slice, Tropicana and Real which is been to their advantage.

Frooti promotes the 65ml tetra pack priced at Rs 2.50 as ‘ 5 ka 2’ that implies 2 packs for Rs 5. This is a very smart gimmick. Seeing 2 packs for only Rs. 5 consumers get tempted and invariably buy 2 instead of 1. There is a high sense of customer value associated with this offer. 

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals groups and organizations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. A consumer’s buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social and personal factors.  Marketing and other environmental stimuli enter the consumer’s consciousness and a set of psychological processes combine with certain consumer characteristics to result in purchase decisions.

For Frooti the model of consumer behaviour can be ascertained as shown in the following model.

ORGANIZATIONAL BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Organization buying is the decision- making process by which formal organizations establish the need for purchased products and services and identify, evaluate, and choose among alternative brand and suppliers. Those who supply goods and services to consumer markets are themselves in need of goods and services. These organizations (producers, re-sellers and government) make up vast marketing organizations that buy a large variety of products and services. Some organizations sell exclusively to other organizations and never come into contact with consumer buyers.

Every organization has a buying center which consists of member who typically play one of the following 7 roles:

·         Initiator: They are the one who request that something needs to be purchased.

·         Users: They are the ones who will eventually use the product that is being bought. In many cases the users and initiators might be the same person.

·         Influencers: They are the ones who influence the buying decision by defining specifications and providing information for evaluating alternatives.

·         Deciders: People who decide on product requirements or on suppliers

·         Approvers: People who authorize the proposed actions of deciders or buyers.

·         Buyers: They are the people who have formal authority to select the supplier and arrange the purchase terms.

·         Gatekeepers: People who moderate the information that reach the buying center

Like any other manufacturing company Parle Agro will also have certain requirements for making Frooti. Parle Agro buys fine quality of mango pulp for making of Frooti. It is bought from areas of Bangalore and Mumbai. Some of the typical requirements of the company would be -

1. Mango Pulp
2. Sugar
3. Flavour
4. Water
5.Plastic Bottles
6.Cartons  

The water is managed in house. Parle Agro has a mineral water unit as well - Bailley Packaged Drinking Water.
Same goes for the PET Bottles in which Frooti is packed. Parle Agro has a manufacturing plant for that as well.

 Frooti was the first drink that was available in Tetra Packs in India. Tetra packs are bought from the Tetrapack Company.

SALES MANAGEMENT

Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and services and resulting profit drive most commercial businesses.

In the case of Frooti salesmen are not required. Frooti is a low involvement purchase product wherein customers just enter a store buy it and leave. Being very economically priced prior research and study isn’t required.  Information regarding the product like its ingredients is printed on the package itself. People are also very aware of the product because of the numerous commercials and campaigns. Hence there isn’t need for assistance and no sales force is required.

However Frooti has a back end sales team which help devise the selling strategy for the product. They might decide on which markets to enter and how to enter them.  They are also in charge of keeping a track of the sales records which is useful for accounting and forecasting purposes.

DISTRIBUTION

A distribution channel includes the chain of businesses or intermediaries through which a good or service passes until it reaches the end consumer. A distribution channel can include wholesalers, retailers, distributors and even the internet. Channels are broken into direct and indirect forms, with a "direct" channel allowing the consumer to buy the good from the manufacturer and an "indirect" channel allowing the consumer to buy the good from a wholesaler. Direct channels are considered "shorter" than "indirect" ones.

There are generally 4 levels to a distribution channel:

Zero Level: Manufacturer ----- Consumer

One Level : Manufacturer ---- Retailer ---- Consumer

Two Level : Manufacturer ----- Wholesaler ---- Retailer --- Consumer

Three Level: Manufacturer ---- Wholesaler ---- Jobber ---- Retailer -- Consumer

Find below the illustration showing the channels used by Frooti.

Frooti’s Distribution:

Frooti adopts first level and second level distribution channels.  The depot of the company sells its products directly to the retailers and them it reaches to the consumers. This happens only in places where depot of the company is located. In small towns wholesalers are established by the company. Wholesalers get product from depot of the company and they sell it to retailers through whom it ultimately reaches the consumers. There are around 3,50,000 retailers that help to serve Frooti in its distribution.

SEGMENTATION, TARGETING & POSITIONING

Segmentation

Market segmentation divides the market into well defined slices. A market segment consists of a group of customers who have similar needs and wants. Segmentation is generally done on 4 parameters – Demographic, Geographic, Behavioural and Psychographic.

Frooti has segmented its market as follows.

Targeting:

Targeting is a process of prioritizing segments based on the brand’s core competencies or capabilities, and other researched factors including segmented market size, growth potential of the segmented market, competitive dynamics, etc. A target market is a group of customers that the business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately its merchandise towards.

Frooti has mainly targeted the youth which can be associated to the following heads –Recreational, Health, Lifestyle and Sports.

Positioning:

Positioning involves directing marketing activities in such a way that you can place the brand in the minds of your target audience exactly the way you want them to perceive it.

Frooti is India’s legendary and iconic mango drink. When it came in 1985 it came across as a youthful mango drink. It was the first brand to introduce fruit drinks in tetra packs to Indian consumers. It was very cool and trendy. Even the Frooti commercials were way ahead of anything else the Indian society had seen.
As Frooti entered the second decade of its existence they had to change the perception that Frooti was meant only for kids. There was a need for repositioning.  The YO Frooti, Digen Verma and Bindass campaigns were steps in that direction. Today the ads are no longer required to create the buzz; they are created in keeping in mind a long term brand vision. Frooti’s most recent campaign ‘ Why Grow Up ‘ does exactly that.