Building the brand nutrozinc a zinc supplement syrup for kid master project in business and marketing management

Nguyen Huu Diem Phuong Building the brand nutrozinc - A zinc supplement syrup for kid MASTER PROJECT MASTER IN BUSINESS & MARKETING MANAGEMENT Tutor’s name: Dr... TUTOR’S COMMENTS I am

Nguyen Huu Diem Phuong

Building the brand nutrozinc - A zinc supplement syrup for kid

MASTER PROJECT MASTER IN BUSINESS & MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Tutor’s name: Dr Bui Thanh Trang

Ho Chi Minh City

(2010)

DECLARATION

I declare that this study does not incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university; and that to the best of knowledge it does not contain any materials previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text

………

Signature of the Student

December 15th, 2010

Nguyen Huu Diem Phuong

Master of Business and Marketing Management

ACKNOWNLEDGEMENT

This project would not be possible without the advice, assistance, cooperation and encouragement from a number of people I would like to acknowledge their help and support The most important individual has been my tutor, Dr Bui Thanh Trang, who gave guidance and valuable advices during the last four months Thanks to Dr Trang, this project has been made possible

Moreover, I would like to express my appreciation to Mr Tran Manh Hao, my mentor in I.A.M Vietnam, who have supported me during the development of this project I also would like to thanks Solvay Business School Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City Open University and all proffessors who have lectured and shared valuable practical experiences during the MBMM program

Last, but not least, I wish to thank my family members for their love, assistance, encouragement and patience

TUTOR’S COMMENTS

I am writing to confirm that the project entitled:

BUILDING THE BRAND NUTROZINC – A ZINC SUPPLEMENT SYRUP FOR KID

A product belongs to Supplement Category, Pharmaceutical

Prepared by

Ms NGUYEN HUU DIEM PHUONG

has satisfied the requirement for a Master’s project in Business and Marketing Management

I, therefore, recommend that the project be presented

Bui Thanh Trang

CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

INTRODUCTION 3

i Rationale of the project 3

ii Problem statement 3

iii Scope of the project 3

iv Research methods 3

v Structure of the project 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 Brand and Branding 5

1.1.1 What is a brand 5

1.1.2 Brand Equity 5

1.1.3 Brand positioning 6

1.1.4 Brand concept (brand premise) 6

1.1.5 What is branding 7

1.2 Qualitative research 7

1.2.1 Individual depth Interview 7

1.2.2 Focus Group Discussion 7

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH DESIGN 9

2.1 Research problem 9

2.2 Research framework 9

2.2.1 Research targets 9

2.2.2 Research stages 10

2.2.3 Data collection 10

2.3 Research findings 11

CHAPTER 3: SITUATION ANALYSIS 12

3.3 Internal environment 12

3.2 External environment 12

3.2.1 Population and kids’ undernutrition situation 12

3.2.2 Economic growth and medication expenditure 13

3.2.3 Sociocultural Specific 14

3.2.4 Competition 15

3.3 Consumer environment 17

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS 19

4.1 Conclusions 19

4.2 Recommendations 20

4.2.1 Marketing goals and objectives 20

4.2.2 Brand Strategy 20

4.2.3 Product Strategy 23

4.2.4 Pricing Strategy 24

4.2.5 Distribution Strategy 24

4.2.6 Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy 24

4.2.7 Recommendation for implementation and monitoring marketing activities 27

4.3 Monitoring and evaluation 28

APPENDIX A: INDEPTH INTERVIEW DISCUSSION GUIDE 30

APPENDIX B: FGD CONCEPT TEST DISCUSSION GUIDE 32

APPENDIX C: BRAND CONCEPTS FOR FGD CONCEPT TEST 34

APPENDIX D: STANDARD SOCIAL ECONOMIC CLASS 35

APPENDIX E: NUTROZINC SYRUP 36

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 - Research Stages 10

Figure 2 - Vietnam GDP/Capita 1995 - 2010F in USD 13

Figure 3 - Medication expenditure 2000 - 2008 in USD 14

Figure 4 - The growth of the Pharmaceutical Industry 2001 - 2013F 15

Figure 5 – Perceptual map of kid’s growth and development products 16

LIST OF TABLES Table 1 - Prevalence of under nutrition in 2008 12

Table 2- Prevalance of Stunting by province/city in 2008 13

Table 3 - Price Index 24

Table 4 - 12 months marketing schedule for Nutrozinc 27

Table 5 - Estimated Nutrozinc Sales 2011 - 2013 27

Table 6 - Estimated 12 months Marketing budget for Nutrozinc 28

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Nutrozinc Syrup is a zinc supplement product which is suitable for kids Every 5ml has Zinc sulfate equivalent to 10mg Zn, an essential micromineral in human body and especially important in growing kids The product is used in Zinc insufficient cases such as: poor absorption, loss of appetite, stunting and growth retardation in kid The product is imported and distributed by Central Pharmaceutical No 1 Company, a leading local pharmaceutical company Nutrozinc had been successfully penetrated to the ETC (prescribed) channel The company now wants to penetrate to OTC market In order to do this, the company need to build brand for Nutrozinc

More than one-third of the kids under five years old in Vietnam is suffered from stunting and growth retardation And many others are suffered from loss of appetite, which makes mothers worried and stressed the most as the kid is the center of the family in the current Vietnam scociety

In the pharmaceutical market, there has been many products, mostly multivitamin, for supporting kids’ growth and appetite Among them, Nutroplex, Lysivit and Cansua 3 are the three most popular brands currently Nutroplex promises a strong starting point for kids; Lysivit stimulates appetite to help the kids grow fast and strong while Cansua 3 offers height improvement However, they all have temporary effects not the long term ones that mothers are looking for

Qualitative exploratory research on mothers who have or think that their kids at the age of one to six years old suffered from stunting and growth retardness shows that they love chubby kids Therefore, they are very worry if their kids do not gain weight They think that the major reason is lack of appetite They will try many ways and make a lot of efforts

to make the kids eat This is a very tough and stressful process for many mothers They

even become desperated because the kid is the indicator of the family status and how good

a mother be Height, another measurement of kids’ growth, has been awared as an important element currently; however, mothers do not know the exact height of their kids while they can speak right away the kids’ weight

The research also reveals that there are two groups of mothers who care a lot about their kids growth and spend their whole heart on improving their kids’ condition These are the overstressed mothers who have tried many ways from forcing the kid to eat, using many multivitamins products to seeking nutritionists’ consultancy but the kids stay the same The other group is un-satisfied mothers Their kids are growing normaly but they nerver satisfied with that and always think that the kids do not grow as well as their peers They want their kid to be chubbier and taller Mothers from both groups are non-stop searching for appetite improvement solutions fot their beloved kids

Mothers do not aware of neither micromineral nor their roles in kids’ development; therefore, Zinc is something totally new to them For the kids under two years old, mothers never give them anything without doctor’s prescription They only feel open and confident

to try OTC products for their kid when they are over two years old

Nutrozinc syrup supplies essential adequate daily zinc intake for kids to increase absorption which lead to natural appetite, which is a long term effect that mothers are looking for This proposition of Nutrozinc has been bought in by target mothers in the concept test (via focus group discussions)

Base on the above findings, a branding strategy with a twelve months implementation schedule is recommended for Nutrozinc to get 300,000 units sold in the first year

INTRODUCTION

i Rationale of the project

Any product, to be successful in the competitive market, needs a strong brand Nutrozinc, a zinc supplement syrup product for kids, which is going to be launched to the OTC market in

2011 is not an exception It is a must to build Nutrozinc a strong brand in order to ensure its vitality in the market

ii Problem statement

Nutrozinc Syrup has penetrated the ethical (ETC) market 6 months ago The product has proved its effectiveness in curing anorexia and improved the stunting condition in kids aged from one to five It also gains pediatrists’ prescriptions for stunting and loss of appetite cases in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi Pharmacies are also aware of Nutrozincs thank to the recent frequent prescriptions from doctors

It is time to move to another step, the OTC market However, no branding strategy for Nutrozinc has been developed

iii Scope of the project

This study focuses on the vitamin & supplement for kids category and mother who has kid from 1 to 5 years old who suffer from stunting, growth retardness and loss of appetite All consumer researches were conducted in Ho Chi Minh City

iv Research methods

Secondary research: Desk research was used to provide general information

Primary research: Qualitative research (In depth Interview and Focus Group Discussion) was used to understand target consumers perception and insights in this category

v Structure of the project

This project includes four Chapters and five Appendix Chapter 1: Literature review

Chapter 2: Research Design

Chapter 3: Situation analysis

Chapter 4: Conclusions and Recommendations

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Brand and Branding

1.1.1 What is a brand

Brand is defined as “ a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors” by The American Marketing Association

1.1.2 Brand Equity

Brand Equity is the added value endowed on products and services It may be reflected

in the way consumers think, feel and act with respect to the brand, as well as in the prices, market share, and profitability the brand commands for the firm

Customer-based brand equity is the differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand There are three key ingredients of customer-based brand equity:

 First, brand equity arises from differences in customer response If no differences occur, then the brand bane product or commodity or genegic version

of the product Competition will probably based on price

the brand Brand knowledge consists of all the thoughts, feelings, images, experiences, beliefs, and so on that become associated with the brand In particular, brands must create strong, favorable, and unique brand associations with customer

 Third, the differential response by consumers that makes up brand equity is reflected in perceptions, preferences, and behavior related to akk aspect of the marketing of a brand Stronger brand lead to greater revenue

The challenge in building a strong brand is therefore ensuring that customers have the right type of experiences with products, services and their marketing programs to create the desired brand knowledge

1.1.3 Brand positioning

According to Kotler & Keller in Marketing Management 13rd edition, Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering offering and image to occupy a disctinctive place in the minds of the target market The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximize the potential benefit to the firm S good brand positioning helps guide marketing strategy by clarifying the brand’s essence, what goals it helps the consumer achieve, and how it does so in a unique way Every one in the organization should understand the brand positioning and use it as context for making decisions

1.1.4 Brand concept (brand premise)

A brand premise is the marketer’s vision of what the brand must be and do for consumers At the end of the day, the true value and future prospects of a brand rest with consumers, their knowledge about the brand, and their likely response to marketing activities as a result of this knowledge Understanding consumer brand knowledge – all the different things that become linked to the brand in the minds of consumers – is thus of paramount importance because it is the foundation of the brand equity

1.1.5 What is branding

Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand It’s all about creating differences between products Marketers need to teach consumers “who” the product is – by giving it a name and other brand elements to identify it – as well as what the product does and why consumer should care Branding creates mental structure that’s helps consumer organize their knowledge about products and services

in a way that clarifies their decision making and, in the process, provides value to the firm

1.2 Qualitative research

Qualitative research includes an “array of interpretive techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the scocial world.” Qualitative research is ideal if researcher want to extract feelings, emotions, motivations, perceptions, consumer “language”, or self-describe behavior

1.2.1 Individual depth Interview

The interview is the primary data collection technique for gathering data in qualitative methodologies Interviews vary based on the number of people involved during the interview, the level of structure, the proximity of the interviewer to the participant, and the number of interviews conduct during the research

An Individual depth interview (IDI) is an interaction between an individual interviewer and a single participant

1.2.2 Focus Group Discussion

The focus group is a panel of people (typically 6 -10 participants), led by atrained moderator, who meet for 90 – 120 minutes The facilitator or moderator use thes group

dynamics principles to focus guide the group in an exchange of ideas, feelings, and experiences on a specific topic

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH DESIGN

In order to collect information about market and consumers; Secondary and Primariy researches have been conducted in Ho Chi Minh City with the following design

2.1 Research problem

Although clearly understand pathology and root causes of stunting, growth retardness and loss of appetite in kids from 1 to 5 years old, the company does not have any clue about the insights of the mothers of these kids It is a crucial need to:

for the kids as well as what they are expecting from a suplement product brand for their kids These consumer insights will serve as materials for developing the brand concepts for Nutrozinc

 After the brand concepts for Nutrozinc have been developed, they will be tested with consumers to find the most suitable one

2.2 Research framework

2.2.1 Research targets

Mothers of kid aged 1 to 5 years old, who are living in Ho Chi Minh City, of ABCD SEC These mothers are not satisfied with their kids’ current growing

condition They think that the kids are suffering from stunting or anorexia/ loss

of appetite/ mal-nutrition problems

The research also covers an expert interview part to thouroughly understand the mothers described above from the pediatrict’s point of view

2.2.2 Research stages

The research has been conducted through two stages as followed in fugure 1

Figure 1 - Research Stages

2.2.3 Data collection

2.2.3.1 Exploratory stage

 Stunting in kids – the situation in Vietnam

 Primary research – IDI

 Expert IDI: the situations of stunting in kids The gap between what mothers thinks and what pediatrics think, what mothers

Exploratory

Understand the market and consumers’ insights

Brand concepts test

Select the winning brand concept

 Secondary research:

Using desk research to collect

background information about the

OTC supplements for kids market.

 Primary research:

• Using qualitative research –

In-depth interview, to understand the

mothers’ perception and explore

their insights towards their kids

condition (stunting and anorexia)

and the kid supplement category

• Research design:

 02 FGDs (5 respondents/group)

often do when facing such issue and what they have done is right or wrong

 Mothers IDIs:

 What do they think about stunting and anoxeria in kid? When do they start worrying that such thing may be happening to their kids? What do they feel when their kid suffer from such condition? What do stunting and loss of appetite will cause to the kids’ future?

 What do they understand about the supplement brands that help support the kids’ growth? How do they distinguish these brands and how do they consider and decide a brand for their kids (OTC) What influence their buying decision?

2.2.3.2 Brand concepts test stage

Via focus group discussion to find out the winning brand concept base on:

2.3 Research findings

Research findings will be separated into two parts and presented in following stages of this project

CHAPTER 3: SITUATION ANALYSIS 3.3 Internal environment

Central Pharmaceutical Company No 1 (CPC1), a member of the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Company, is a nationwide distributor of pharmaceutical products (ethical and OTC) CPC1’s head office is in Hanoi with four branches in Bac Giang, Quang Ninh, Danang and

Ho Chi Minh City The branches can be assigned to be responsible for a specific brand/product base on the specific market

Central Pharmaceutical Company No 1 is one of the leaders in local pharmaceutical distributors They have settled a strong business in ethical products, especially in the Hospital channel However, the company is not doing well on the pharmacy channel as well as having its own brands In order to grow and penetrate into the OTC market, the company will start with launching a OTC brand

Nutrozinc is the chosen brand and will be handled by the Ho Chi Minh City Branch The goal is to make Nutrozinc a leading brand in kids stunting supplement category for kids Above all, it is critial to find a strong positioning for Nutrozinc

3.2 External environment

3.2.1 Population and kids’ undernutrition situation

With the population of over 86 million, in which

kids under five years old accounts for 7.65

million, the country is still facing severe

undernutrition issues in kids It is one of the

countries that have the highest rate of stunting

in kids (32,6% in 2008 which is 2,5 million kids under five years old) in the world Among the three kids’ undernutrition types: underweight, stunting and wasting; stunting also has

Table 1 - Prevalence of under nutrition in 2008 Source: Nutrition surveillance system – National

Institue of Nutrition Vietnam

the highest rate of all Most of the case happened in rural and mountainous areas of the country

Research has shown that Zinc

deficiency plays a major role in

countries This comes from the diets

that often contain sufficient quantity

of zinc for the daily demand of the

kid’s body

microsubstances and their roles in

the kids’ development make the

case slowly be improved

3.2.2 Economic growth and medication expenditure

In the last ten years, despite

GDP/Capita continuously grows This improvement has been reflected on the increasing expenditure for medication as shown in figure 2 and figure 3 Vietnamese are more and more concern about their health and

Table 2- Prevalance of Stunting by province/city in 2008

Source: Nutrition surveillance system – National Institue of

Figure 2 - Vietnam GDP/Capita 1995 - 2010F in USD

Source:General Statistic Office of Vietnam

289

552 725 835

spend more on that; and the expenditure will be continuously increased in the

spending can be seen in 2008 as Vietnamese are more and more knowledgeable and health concern This happens not only in the pharmaceutical industry but FMCG as well TNS World Panel Vietnam Mini Lifestyle Research

2007 shows that consumers are looking for health as they are willing to spend more for healthier foods

3.2.3 Sociocultural Specific

Like many other Asian nations, Vietnamese families are very caring about their children as long as they have the economic condition The child is the center of the family and reiceives a lot of attentions from family members Thus, the mother has to bear a high pressure when raising her kid People (family members and scociety) will judge their family status and motherhood base on the child’s development performance

Vietnamese like chubby kids, so do Vietnamese mothers It is really ashame raising a malnutrition kid Recently, with the development of economic and international exchange

in many aspects (entertainment, fashion, technology,…) with other countries, improving height has become a serious issue in the country and of-course, to mothers as well

Parents now spend more and more attention as well as ‘investment’on their kid development both mental and physical as: economic condition is getting better; people concern more on general health issue or kid’s development in particular; and rich source of information on raising kids as well as the development of kids is available and people are

Figure 3 - Medication expenditure 2000 - 2008 in USD

Source: Department of Drugs Control

5.4 6

6.7 7.6

8.6 9.85 11.23 13.39 16.45