Foundations of Marketing Analytics -

Running head: FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................2
Company Overview...........................................................................................................2
Mission Statement.............................................................................................................3
Situational Analysis............................................................................................................3
Competitive Analysis – SWOT analysis............................................................................4
Target Market Analysis (STP)...........................................................................................5
Marketing Mix.....................................................................................................................6
Product Strategy................................................................................................................6
Distribution Strategy..........................................................................................................6
Promotion Strategy............................................................................................................7
Pricing Strategy.................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................7
Reference List....................................................................................................................9

2FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
Introduction
The report will be based on the case study of Pillsbury refrigerated baked goods
or RBG and the business plans that can be implemented for the upcoming year.
General Mills Canada Corporation or GMCC had faced major challenges related to the
development and implementation of strategies for improving the business performance.
RBG or refrigerated baked goods is considered to be the fourth biggest category and
the performance depicted by the organization has also been stellar (Iveycases.com.
2020). The case study has provided details related to the steps and strategies that have
been implemented by the organization in order to improve its operations and revenues
in the industry. The plans made by the organization related to the launch of its new
product line named Pillsbury have also been discussed in the case study
(Iveycases.com. 2020).
Company Overview
General Mills is considered to be one of the biggest food companies in the world
and the company is also known in the industry for following a unique culture. The
company has aimed at managing its brands and businesses in an effective manner in
an autonomous manner with the help of its diverse customer base. The organization
has also been able to fulfil the expectations and needs of Canadian consumers by
enhancing the services that are provided to the company. The headquarters of General
Mills is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the organization has gained sixth biggest
position in the industry (Generalmills.ca. 2020).

3FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
Mission Statement
The mission statement that has been developed and implemented by General
Mills Canada Corporation states that “Our mission at General Mills is to make lives
healthier, easier and richer every day. Intertwined within the fabric of our mission are
our core values, which enable us to further our mission and improve our culture
(Generalmills.ca. 2020).”
Situational Analysis
The case study is mainly based on the Canadian division and operations that
have been developed by General Mills Canada Corporation. The organization has
divided its Canadian operations into four different business units that include breakfast,
meals, snacks and baked goods. The products that are offered by General Mills Canada
Corporation have been able to enhance the customer base of the organization in a huge
manner. The refrigerated baked goods that are offered by the organization mainly
include the ready-baked goods, cookies, breads and sweets (Aguinis, Edwards &
Bradley, 2017, p. 666). The RBG category of the organization had been mainly
dominate by Pillsbury that was able to gain 85% of the total shares in the market. The
refrigerated baked goods of Pillsbury had mainly gained popularity in the market due to
family appeal and convenience of the products as well. The case study has been able to
provide details related to the plans made by the marketing manager of General Mills
Canada Corporation to enhance the business operations and to grow its revenues in the
industry as well (Daspit et al., 2017, p. 1).

4FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
Competitive Analysis – SWOT analysis
Strengths –
General Mills Canada
Corporation has developed
a wide presence in different
domains of food and
Pillsbury has been able to
dominate one of the major
product segment of the
organization.
The organization currently
owns many different top
selling brands that include
Pillsbury, La Saltena,
Cascadian Farm and
Cheerios.
The company has gained
popularity in the industry for
its advertising strategy and
the iconic brand like
Pillsbury.
General Mills offers
products that are popular
Weaknesses –
The poor growth that has
been depicted by yogurt
segment of General Mills is
considered to be a major
weakness of the
organization.
The prices of products
offered by General Mills are
based on low margins and
this is able to reduce the
revenues gained by the firm
(Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson,
2016).

5FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
amongst the homemakers
and kids (Hanson et al.,
2016).
Opportunities –
The ready-baked goods or
RBG segment of General
Mills has major growth
opportunities due to the lack
of interest for cooking and
dependency on the ready
cooked meals.
General Mills can focus on
the emerging markets for
sales of its products
(Jackson & Ahuja, 2016, p.
171).
Threats –
The competition that is
faced by General Mills from
the organizations like Kraft
Foods, Mondelez and
Kelloggs has been able to
provide major threats to its
operations.
The increase in concerns
related to health has led to
the reduced consumption
of processed food (Hitt,
Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

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Target Market Analysis (STP)
Segmentation – The culture that has been developed in General Mills is based
on innovation and the factors that are taken into consideration for selection of target
market mainly include age, gender, lifestyle, income and values. The unique buying
based behavior of consumers is also considered to be a major factor that has an impact
on the customer base of General Mills (Datta, Ailawadi & Van Heerde, 2017, p. 10). The
segmentation process of General Mills Canada Corporation is able to play a major role
in proper formation of smaller customer segments. The Exhibit 6 is able to depict
different users who are a part of the consumer base of General Mills. The customer
segments of the organization have been divided with respect to their choice of the
products.
Targeting – The diversified customer base of General Mills has been divided into
small groups based on the similar characteristics. The growth potential and commercial
attractiveness of General Mills is based on different indicators that include,
Identification of the segments that are based on appropriate size.
Having concrete differences.
Estimated profits of the organization need to exceed the marketing based
costs.
The segments have to be easily accessible in nature.

7FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
The target market development of General Mills Canada Corporation will be
based on the products that are offered by the organization. The Refrigerated Baked
Goods based segment of General Mills is mainly dominated by the products of Pillsbury.
Positioning – The market positioning of General Mills is mainly based on the
needs and demands of the customers. The price based positioning strategy has been
implemented by General Mills in order to attract the customers (Abril & Rodriguez-
Cánovas, 2016, p. 169). The price based positioning strategy is able to play a major role
in providing an effective position to an organization like General Mills Canada
Corporation in the industry.
Marketing Mix
Product Strategy
General Mills Canada Corporation has developed a culture based on innovation
that is related to the unique design based products that are offered to consumers. The
iconic brands of General Mills have been able to develop a unique position in the
industry based on their quality and ease of use. The efficient supply chain is based on
the procurement of raw materials from trusted suppliers (Iveycases.com. 2020). The
broad product portfolio of General Mills Canada Corporation has been helpful for the
organization to develop a unique position in the industry. The consumption of products
of General Mills Canada Corporation has also been able to provide major benefits to the
consumers. The psychological needs of consumers have been easily fulfilled by the
products offered by General Mills (Abril & Rodriguez-Cánovas, 2016, p. 170).

8FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
Distribution Strategy
General Mills has provided huge importance to the proper placement and
distribution of the products that are offered to the customers. The stores of General Mills
have been helpful for the organization to attract the consumers with the proper
implementation of innovative activities (Iveycases.com. 2020). The licensed stores of
General Mills are considered to be a major part of the distribution and placement based
activities of the organization. E-commerce stores and websites have also been able to
play a major role in helping the organization to reach the consumers in different parts of
the world. The hypermarkets and supermarkets are also offered different types of
products to fulfill the needs of consumers (Liu et al., 2017, p. 84).
Promotion Strategy
Promotional activities are considered to be an important part of the operations of
General Mills Canada Corporation. The innovative culture of the organization is able to
influence the digital marketing activities and the engagement of consumers as well. The
reward programs have also played a major role in enhancing the brand value of General
Mills in the industry. The community influencers are also able to play a major role in the
ways by which General Mills can maintain its brand value in the industry. The
conventional marketing techniques have also been able to influence the operations of
General Mills and has been able to attract the Canadian consumers (Nickols, 2016, p.
5).

9FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING ANALYSIS
Pricing Strategy
The pricing strategy of marketing mix of General Mill is based on the mix of
different approaches that include the premium pricing, psychological pricing,
geographical pricing and bundle pricing. The diverse product portfolio of General Mill is
able to fulfil different needs and demands of the consumers. The prices of products are
also set with respect to the ways by which needs of the customers are fulfilled and
innovative levels of the products as well (Iveycases.com. 2020).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that an organization like General Mill
Canada Corporation has been able to maintain its position and brand value in the
market with the implementation of different growth strategies. The marketing manager
of the organization has aimed at implementing the strategies that can lead to the growth
of its major product segment that includes the refrigerated baked goods. The market
share that has been gained by Pillsbury has been able to support the growth of a major
organization like General Mills Canada Corporation.

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Reference List
Abril, C., & Rodriguez-Cánovas, B. (2016). Marketing mix effects on private labels brand
equity. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 25(3), 168-
175.
Aguinis, H., Edwards, J. R., & Bradley, K. J. (2017). Improving our understanding of
moderation and mediation in strategic management research. Organizational
Research Methods, 20(4), 665-685.
Daspit, J. J., Chrisman, J. J., Sharma, P., Pearson, A. W., & Long, R. G. (2017). A
Strategic Management Perspective of the Family Firm: Past Trends, New
Insights, and Future Directions. Journal of Managerial Issues, 29(1).
Datta, H., Ailawadi, K. L., & Van Heerde, H. J. (2017). How well does consumer-based
brand equity align with sales-based brand equity and marketing-mix
response?. Journal of Marketing, 81(3), 1-20.
David, F., & David, F. R. (2016). Strategic management: A competitive advantage
approach, concepts and cases. Pearson–Prentice Hall.
Generalmills.ca. (2020). General Mills Canada: Global overview. Retrieved 20 March
2020, from https://www.generalmills.ca/en-CA/Company/Global%20Overview
Hanson, D., Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2016). Strategic
management: Competitiveness and globalisation. Cengage AU.
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2016). Strategic management: Concepts
and cases: Competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning.

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Iveycases.com. (2020). Ivey Publishing - Product View. Retrieved 20 March 2020, from
https://www.iveycases.com/ProductView.aspx?id=45734
Jackson, G., & Ahuja, V. (2016). Dawn of the digital age and the evolution of the
marketing mix. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 17(3), 170-
186.
Liu, Y., Li, K. J., Chen, H., & Balachander, S. (2017). The effects of products’ aesthetic
design on demand and marketing-mix effectiveness: The role of segment
prototypicality and brand consistency. Journal of Marketing, 81(1), 83-102.
Nickols, F. (2016). Strategy, strategic management, strategic planning and strategic
thinking. Management Journal, 1(1), 4-7.