Saxonville Sausage Company

Submitted By:
CABAYACRUZ, Jamie Bernadette C.
CARPITANOS, Joyce Sophia R.
TAN, Krystal Joy D.
TAN, Neil Matthew L.
ZOZOBRADO, Bethle May M.

Submitted to:
Mr. Francis Arroyo

Date:
August 13, 2015

Saxonville Sausage Company

Problem Statement
Which brand positioning concept should Saxonville use in order for them to
effectively and efficiently launch a national Italian sausage brand for the company to be
able to generate more profit and improve their competitive edge?
Objective
The objective for Saxonville is to determine the most appropriate brand
positioning concept as well as the marketing strategies connected to it and be able to
apply it to their products which needs improvement without dismantling or having
cannibalization of Saxonvilles other sausage products.
Brief Description of the Case
Saxonville Sausage is a private family owned company in Saxonville,
Ohio. It is a national producer of fresh sausages, an Italian sausage with the potential to
become a national category leader. The main focus of their company is fresh pork
sausage products. Their main product is their bratwurst line, which makes up seventy
percent of their revenues, breakfast sausage that consists of twenty percent of their
revenues and their small Italian sausage line, named Vivio that only makes up five
percent.
Unfortunately, Saxonville's sales in bratwursts have been flat and their breakfast
sausage line has been steadily underperforming in the market resulting in a double-digit
decline in revenue. However, the Italian sausage was the one category showing growth
across producers in the retail sausage market. They have been consistently increasing
because of their Vivio Italian sausage and this is primarily in the New England area.
Saxonville hired a new marketing director in Ann Banks to attain and launch a national
Italian sausage brand needed to bring to market in order to achieve profit goals or
intentions for the next fiscal year without dismantling or having cannibalization.
Saxonville Sausage needs to carefully create their positioning marketing plan to move
their Italian sausage brand to national category leader and correspond to the core

values of consumers with the attributes of a product portfolio to meet their specific
preferences.
Saxonville is suggested to re-launch a new product line to be able to meet the
standards of the national level and increase its sales. The primary situation in the
Saxonville Sausage Company case was their need to increase the awareness,
customer base, and sales with their Italian Sausage products. Currently, Saxonvilles
brand name is strong overall, and people evoke high quality when speaking of
Saxonvilles Italian products. Although, Saxonville has well-established business, when
it comes to Italian sausage, the companys weakness is its poor standing of Italian
sausage because of a more German heritage.

Areas of Consideration
Strengths

The brand has laid all their identified goals and objectives and they also have a
clear view of their target market

Saxonville is already known because it is well established and customers as well

as the other potential buyers already find their products trusted and worth buying.

The company already has a huge number of existing distributors.

Saxonville can compete and match other competitors in terms of production of

Italian sausage across the retail sausage market.

Weaknesses

Saxonville does not have a broad advertising and promotional tactic.

Vivio was only available in just 16% of the nations large markets, primarily in
Boston, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and South Carolina.

Due to its German heritage, the brand created confusion in other areas and
consumers perceive it to have a poor brand name.

Saxonville does not follow a clear market positioning and they have a vague
brand identity. Take for example their name, logo, details, type and symbol. With
this, they have poor presentation of their products to their customers (e.g.
packaging)
Opportunities

Among all the products in the sausage industry the Italian sausage was the only
category that shows rapid growth and Saxonville is producing these.

They have increase in their target market population and it is now possible that
there is also an increase in their product consumption which means they can
generate more profit.

There are no existing national competitors for fresh sausages.

Investing on Saxonvilles nationwide brand awareness for them to be able to take

advantage in the companys retail power.

Threats

There is a risk that Saxonville can dismantle or cannibalize their other products
like breakfast sausages and bratswurt.

Competitors from the national sausage retailing market

There is competition from 29 local yet already established brands which may
threat the launching of the national Italian sausage.

Saxonville appealing to the Western region for them to be able to launch the
national Italian sausage brand.

Alternative Courses of Action

ACA1: Saxonville should keep the Vivio name and use the Family
Connection brand positioning scheme
Keeping the name Vivo when launching it in public will still have an

absolute effect to the consumers, especially to the buyers that already recognize
their product. With this, it builds a trail to success by keeping its brand name
when re-launching it. While using the Family Connection brand will match up
core values of the consumers with the quality of the product.
Advantages:

Economical: This could be of advantage for Saxonville since they would just be
keeping the brand name Vivio, they would not have to undergo drastic changes.
Meaning, they are not to spend that much from the companys money.

Political:
Psychological: For the persons involved in this case, it would have a positive
effect on camaraderie and team building in the entity. Since the company will be
implementing a new strategy towards achieving a certain goal which is to make
their products known and profitable, the employees of Saxonville will then work
as a team to achieve this aim. This could result to a much stronger bond for the
people involved.
Social:

ACA2: Saxonville should change the name to Primo and implement the
Clever cooking brand positioning scheme
Changing the name to Primo creates a new opportunity to make it
names more known and to have a better representation of an upgraded product
that would outgrow the existing brand name Vivio. As the Saxonville made a
research, Primo was one of the popular names that the respondents prefer.
Changing the name to Primo will enable the product to easily stand out from the
wide range of companies whose names follow the traditional one. Implementing
the clever cooking brand positioning can be used in different ways. It is also
important as it the value of the buyers read core

Advantages:

Economical: This could be very costly for the company since they would rebrand
the product itself. Rebranding takes a lot of financial hold from company because
it entails huge costs. From repackaging down to advertising and promoting it to
the public. Although this alternative is costly, but this also depicts great
advantage for Saxonville since this would make them more known in the Italian
sausage retail market.
Political:
Psychological: This has a positive effect in the company itself because this can
boost the companys performance. It would also have a positive effect for the
people involved in this alternative because they would be more motivated to do
their job as specified for the company to grow and become successful. The
success of the company would always first-handedly come from the people
inside the business entity.

Social:

ACAS 3: Saxonville should use the name Primo only to the areas where
they are expanding and keep the name Vivio, to the places where it is
already established. Also, Family connection brand positioning scheme
should be used.
In this case Saxonville sausage company will be able to keep the brand
name Vivio in the regional market so that usual consumers will continue to
patronize their product and change the name Primo for the areas where they will
expand to. wala pa yung sa fam connection di ko sya ma gets, basahin ko pa
ulit to family connection-

Advantages:

Economical: This could be very costly for the company since it would entail that
they are to produce two packaging designs for this matter. Every time they are
about to repack the sausages they always have to put in mind that two different
designs should be used. His is very costly unlike when you only have to produce
a uniform design across your products.
Political:
Psychological: This has a positive effect on the persons involved because this
could create good camaraderie. In this sense, the people of the Saxonville
Sausage Company can work as a team to think of ways on how to deliberately
separate two different designs for their product. They are working as a team and
they are to share their own profound ideas while listening to their colleagues as
well. With this, it could create a strong bond between the employees.
Social:

ACAS 4: Expansion of the Saxonville Sausage Company to the Western

Side
Expanding to the western side could have the opportunity to generate
more profit and customer line. With this it makes the marginal value of the
products decrease allowing the company to obtain more profits from bratwurst
and breakfast patty sausages sales at a lower price. ----hanapin ko pa yun
westside saan sila----

Advantages:

Economical: This is costly and unstable. Expansion would always entail huge
spending for the company. This could also create short-term losses due to
expansion and dealer incentives of unsure profits to the places where they would
be expanding. Bratwurst and breakfast sausage are still declining in sales
volume so the expansion of these product lines and the company as well could
have risks on overall profits.
Political:
Psychological: This could create a positive effect since expansion could also
mean addition to the family of the company. Employees would gain new friends
and colleagues and they would be able to share new great ideas on how to
improve the companys status.
Social:
Recommendation
In this study, the recommendation raised by the researchers is to choose clever
cooking amongst the branding positioning schemes. Clever Cooking compensates the
Family Connection territory because the majority of Italian foods are associated with
the idea of Family. To have their Italian name and its being Italian, their sausage might
drive this stereotype even further in the eyes of many consumers and customers. Since
there is no current Cleaver Cooking marketing campaign it might have more staying
and stable power among the other brand positioning game plans. To many, Family
Connection is not a new idea, because Saxonville is giving their competitors the idea or
temptation of copying their strategies.
The Cleaver Cooking approach is more difficult to duplicate or copy because
the companies would be recognized or identified as copy cast who do not have the
vision of originality as an entity. This is a positive thing for Saxonville because it gives
them the advantage for thinking of a new idea and an original tactic. Therefore, it is

better for them to take the Cleaver Cooking approach and eliminate any possible
competitors entering into the same market position.

Action Plan
Implementing

Monitoring

Person(s)

Scheme

Scheme

Responsible

Conduct a

By scheduling

-List of

-CEO Seung-

There is no

It would not be

meeting by

meetings on

strategies

han Lee

exact date on

costly because they

gathering the

what time are

-Date when

-Senior

when are they

can conduct this

people

the persons

this strategy

Management

going to

meeting within the

involved to

responsible

will be

Team

conduct this

establishment of

review,

under these

implemented

meeting but it

the company and

discuss,

departments

- Service /

the cost in

free.

operations

should

challenge and

-A copy of the
explanation

Management

happen as

implementing the

on how the

soon as

strategy will depend

-Technology

company will

possible to

on the approach

Management

solve the

that they will be

-Product

problem

using.

Management

stated earlier.

Activity/Plan

finally agree
on the
internalization
strategy that
they are
going to
develop to
successfully
implement it.

execute this

- Financial
Management
-External
Consultants

Target Date

Budget/Resources
Needed

Implementin

Monitoring

Person(s)

g Scheme

Scheme

Responsible

Create new

By trying to

- The list of

-CEO Seung-

Within only

It would not be that

website store to

create a site

orders of

han Lee

one year for

costly because all

sell the products

that would be

customers

you need is an

used by the

-Marketing

them to be

online.

Management

able to run

internet connection

their industry

so you can do this

smoothly so

activity.

Activity/Plan

customers for
convenience.

-Requirements
needed to be

Target Date

able to create a

-Supplier

site

-Financial

that when the

Management

law will be

-Site

passed they

developers

will not

Budget/Resources
Needed

encounter
any major
problems.

Activity/Plan

Implementin

Monitoring

Person(s)

g Scheme

Scheme

Responsible

Target Date

Budget/Resources
Needed

Have a meeting

By making an

-List of legal

- Small store

Within only

It would either be

with the small

agreement in

requirements

owners

one year for

costly or not

store owners to

a form of a

needed

- CEO Seung-

them to have

depending on the

convince them to

meeting that

han Lee

harmonious

company on how

have a

will cover on

partnership with

how they are

- Board of

relationship

are they going to

their company.

going to

Directors

and if ever the

approach this

laws will be

activity/plan.

-Signature of
approval of the
small store
owners

implement the

-Board of

partnership in

trustees

a formal way.

implemented

Activity/Plan

Implementin

Monitoring

Person(s)

g Scheme

Scheme

Responsible

-New profound

- CEO Seung-

As

ideas

han Lee

possible

for costly

-Papers

-Research

them

be depending on the

Management

able

to

-Marketing

their

industry are they going to

Management

smoothly

Plan a meeting to

By

gathering

know how to

certain

enrich the

important

strategy

people of the
company

to

be part of the
said meeting.

Target Date

Budget/Resources
Needed

soon
to

as It would either be
or

run company

on

how

so enrich the marketing

they will not strategies.

struggle when
there will be
economic
changes.

Conclusion
As their product is Italian sausage, the researchers would like to conclude that
Saxonville needs to have a brand name that will surely be striking in the consumers
thinking or mindset. This brand name must not cannibalize their other products because
this might create a new problem for the company. Saxonville needs to focus on the
improvement of their new names sales so they could be able to reach the standards of
the national level. Saxonville actually has a potential in the national level, but as a
business entity, generating profit and quality in production are only few of the factors to
consider in their case.
And given all the possible brand positioning schemes they should pick the one
that best fits their company. Among all of them, clever cooking depicts the finest line of
marketing strategy for Saxonville. Saxonville must use the approach of Clever Cooking
at full force for them to be able to successfully launch the national Italian sausage
brand.

not