Elephant Wines: Marketing Plan for Online Platform Sales in Spain

This report presents a marketing plan for Elephant Wines, a Spanish wine company specializing in Ribera del Duero wines. The plan focuses on leveraging an online platform to increase sales and expand market share. It begins with an executive summary, followed by an introduction to the company and the Spanish wine industry. The report includes external and internal analyses, a SWOT analysis identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It defines the target market, outlines a marketing mix strategy covering product, price, place, and promotion. The marketing objectives are set, and strategies for product portfolio, positioning, segmentation, pricing, and communication are selected. An action plan and control plan are also provided, concluding with a summary of the key findings and recommendations. The report highlights the growing ecommerce sector in Spain and its potential for Elephant Wines, while also considering challenges like domestic consumption decline and economic fluctuations. The company aims to attract a younger audience and increase brand awareness through events and online marketing.

MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
Executive Summary
In this paper, the Spanish wine industry has been discussed. The company Elephant wines
and their marketing objective to increase sales from online platform is also discussed in the
paper. The paper also addresses the steps towards the marketing objectives and strategies The
Company has also set out an action plan that it will follow to complete the objectives set out
by it. There is also a control plan for the company in case the marketing plan fails or is
delayed.

2MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
External Analysis...................................................................................................................3
Internal Analysis....................................................................................................................6
SWOT Analysis.....................................................................................................................6
Strength..............................................................................................................................6
Weakness............................................................................................................................7
Opportunity........................................................................................................................8
Threats................................................................................................................................8
Target Market.........................................................................................................................9
Marketing Mix Strategy.........................................................................................................9
Product...............................................................................................................................9
Price..................................................................................................................................10
Place.................................................................................................................................10
Promotion.........................................................................................................................11
Setting the Marketing Objectives.........................................................................................11
Selection of the Marketing Strategies..................................................................................11
Product Portfolio Strategy................................................................................................11
Positioning and Segmentation Strategy...........................................................................12
Functional Strategy..........................................................................................................12

3MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
Pricing Strategy................................................................................................................12
Communication Strategy..................................................................................................12
Action Plan...........................................................................................................................12
Control..................................................................................................................................14
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
The company Elephant is a company that was established in the year 1999. The
company is devoted to the sales and the distribution of the wine with it established in the
region of Origin Ribera del Duero. Ribera Del Duero is a wine region in Spain. It one of the
eleven quality wine regions. It is known for the high quality of red wine that is made from the
Tempranillo grapes (Ramos, Jones & Yuste, 2015). Spain in the term of having vineyards has
the most in the world, yet the country cannot has lower production of wines due to the dry
climate and the poor quality of the soil. The country because of its topography has an
extensive variety of wines. The company Elephant has a high quality wine product that has
won many prizes. One of the aims of the company is to become an association for the
younger audience. Elephant’s marketing plan that it has created is an online platform for
sales. The online channel will help the company to have a wider reach and gain more market
share. The company wants the consumers to have the possibility of having an offline and
online platform for buying the product (Berbegal, et. al., 2017). Spain has had to deal with a
huge financial crisis; however, the effect of it on the ecommerce sector was less. The
ecommerce industry was one of the few industries that had a growth in the year 2011 and
2012. The ecommerce sector is growing tremendously in the upcoming years. Though the
industry of ecommerce is growing, yet in terms of percentage it is not that huge in Spain, as it
only accounts for 3% of the total retail sales. In this paper, the marketing plan for the
company will be presented in respect to the online market of Spain.
Discussion
External Analysis
The wine industry in Spain has made numerous efforts in changing the direction of
the market of wine. The country is investing in wines and grapes like the Tempranillo that are

5MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
more lucrative to the global wine consumers. Spain has the qualities to become the global
leader in the market, where the quality matters more than the quantity of the wine (Gilinsky
Jr, et al, 2015). The country to achieve the reputation for having a fine quality of wine. The
people of other countries think of France and Italy as the finest producers of wine, not Spain.
Spain though is the third largest producer in the world for wine is perceived as much lower in
the list.
Chart 1: Top 15 countries producing wine. Source: OIV, November 2019
The wine exports are rising and have exceeded the domestic consumption in the
country. The rising in exports is one of the highlights for the wine industry as the domestic
consumption is decreasing at a rapid speed. The global financial crisis that happened affected
the wine industry and it is one of the biggest concerns, as the domestic market was one of the
major consumer of the wine (Lorenzo, Rubio & Garcés, 2018). The country has had a
continuous downfall in the domestic consumption. More than two thirds of the wine is
exported to the foreign market. The growth that is happening in the industry is due to the fact
that export is rising. The exports are important for the wine industry and the importance of
quality wines is increasing at a good pace. The wine that is produced in Spain is priced lower

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than the rest of the wines from the world. The price to quality ratio of the wines from Spain is
one of the best from the in the world.
Many problems are also faced by the country when producing wine. The producers of
wine, produced a large quantity of wine, it was reconsidered as producing in huge quantities
was driving down the price and the reputation of the countries wine (Bardají, Estavillo &
Iráizoz, 2014). The people boosted the exports in a significant manner, yet too rapidly that the
price of the wine decreased. The producers could produce the wines at a lower rate because
of the irrigation system, harvest mechanisation, the storage units and the cheap labour costs.
Many people although have suggested that the country not produce wine in bulk, however the
income of many farmers and wine makers depends on the bulk production.
The wine making sector in Spain is updating and being modernised. The main
producers of wine in the country are small businesses and many are agrarian co-operatives.
The control of quality throughout the production process has made the producers extend the
vineyards (Sellers Rubio, 2016). The small wineries and the co-operatives work together with
the large companies who operate in the sector of production in different areas. There have
been investment in the new wineries, improvement of the machinery and the adapting of the
different ageing techniques to provide the consumers new varieties of wine. The wine sector
is dynamic and concentrated.
As stated earlier, Spain is the world’s leading wine exporter in the world it is however
the third in the manufacturing. The perception of the wine of Spain is though not good. It is
perceived to be of a lower quality than that of Chile, Argentina, and New Zealand though the
quality of the wine of Spain is better than that of these countries. The perception is
considered to be lower because of the bulk in which the wine produced. There have always
been competition between Spain, France and Italy in terms of producing wine. The cost of the

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bottle of wine from Spain is lower than that of the other countries, which is also one of the
major causes of the perception of the wine being low.
Ecommerce in Spain is growing yet it is not the primary market. In 2019, there were
approximately 26.2 million ecommerce users (Valarezo, 2018). The most preferred system of
payment was PayPal, after which debit cards, credit cards, and then cash on delivery. The
growing ecommerce business is a booming market that can be tapped and used by Elephant
Wines to market their wines.
Internal Analysis
Elephant Wines has many varieties of wine, which can be divided into Red wine and
White wine, the main wine that is offered by them is the Red wine made by Tempranillo
grapes. The company has won many awards for producing the best quality of wines. There
are many services that are offered by the company that is they have a resort near their
vineyards where people can stay, taste the new vines and learn more about making wine. The
company aims to be a part of the lives of the teenagers and to have a theme that resonates
with them. The company is also planning to expand the resort and have wine festivals to
attract more people.
SWOT Analysis
Strength
 Bulk production of wine: The production of wine at a bulk rate is a
competitive advantage for the company, as it can reach more number or
people
 Situated in a region where the grapes are of the best variety: The
company, Elephant Wines, is situated in the Ribera Del Duero distract, where

8MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
one of the best variety of grapes can be found to make wine (Gürel, & Tat,
2017)
 Huge exporter of the Red wine: The company is one of the biggest exporter
of wine from Spain
 Events for people to participate in: They organise events and festivals and
launches for new products in which people can take part and are lured to buy
the products
 Resorts and Villas where people can stay with the tour of the vineyard
included: The company to increase more brand awareness and image is
coming up with a resort that is near its vineyards, where people can spend
their vacations, learning about wine and the process of making wine (Bellia &
Pilato, 2014)
Weakness
 Perceived to be of a lower quality of wine: Spanish wines are perceived to
be of a lower quality of wine due to the pricing of the wines and the
production being in bulk
 Government rules and regulations regarding vineyards and wines: The
government has come up with many rules and regulations that affect the
production and the export of the wines. The export rules getting more strict
and the import rules of other countries regarding alcoholic beverages getting
more strict is also one of the biggest problems that the company faces
(Phadermrod, Crowder & Wills, 2019)
 White wine and Sparkling wine are less known: The less awareness of the
white and sparkling wines reduce the chance of the company penetrating into
that market and capturing the market share

9MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
 The consumption of wine and visiting the resorts by the people is
seasonal: There are certain occasions and celebrations in which the people
will visit the resort, most of the time the resort will be empty and in a loss
Opportunity
 Can increase more brand awareness with the events: The company has the
opportunity to increase more brand awareness by promoting itself through
various means, like online marketing, launches, and many more
 Ecommerce section is rowing thus easier for tapping into the ecommerce
market: The ecommerce market in Spain is growing rapidly and it is expected
to grow in a more rapid manner in the upcoming years
 The company can expand and open franchises: Elephant Wines can expand
itself and open more branches and franchise of itself for more people to visit
the place
 Export demand is increasing and a lot of people are buying the Spanish
wine: The demand for wine is on the rise in the world and as Spain is the
leading in exporting of wine it has an huge advantage to gain more consumers
and capture more of the market share
Threats
 Decrease in the consumption in the local market: The consumption of wine
in the domestic market of Spain is decreasing which is creating a huge
problem as it was at a point of time the biggest consumer of the wine (Sarsby,
2016)
 Fluctuation in the economy: The inflation and recession in the economy
affect the prices of the raw materials, labour rates and other such factors that
in turn affect the price of the product

10MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
 Effect of Brexit on the sales of the product: United Kingdom is one the
largest importer of wine from Spain and due to the Brexit, the export of wines
to United Kingdom has decreased, resulting in loss of a major consumer
 Drier soil and climate changes: Though Spain is the leading in the number of
vineyards, the production of the wine is not equivalent of it as due to the soil
being dry and climate changes happening the production of the grapes gets
hampered
 Over production can lead to boom and bust: Over production of the
product can make the product redundant in the market and can be then
perceived as product of bad quality that results in dropping of sales and losing
of consumers
Target Market
The target market for Elephant wines is mainly the young crowd, the people between
the ages of 23-40. The social status of the target market is upper middle class and above. The
people who genuinely want to taste and experience the wine. The brand wants to create an
image that the TG can relate to. The company wants to target the people who would love to
have an adventure in the resort and villa that is created by the company and are interested in
the festivals and events that are organised by the company. The target market of the company
can be described as hip. This segment of the people are the ones that usually try new variety
of wines and can be easily converted to loyal customers.
Marketing Mix Strategy
Product
A company to effectively utilise the marketing mix must be able to define the product
that they are selling. The company must describe both the primary and the secondary

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products to understand the mix in a better manner. The company must also be able to develop
the value that the product has. The main product of the company is the wine (Huang &
Sarigöllü, 2014). The company produces three types of wine: red, white and sparkling. As
secondary products, the company also has resorts and villas, where people can stay and learn
more about the wine and wine making process. Red wine and sparkling wine are mainly
made from Tempranillo grapes while the white wine is made from Albillo. The company also
uses Garnacha for rose wines. The maturity age of the wine ranges from 6 months to 10 years
and the price is dependent on the texture, age, colour and flavour of wine. The company has
won many awards for the quality of wine that is produced by them. Their bottles are
packaged attractively and the resort and villa provide a nice tourist destination for the people.
Price
Price is one of the most important aspect when considering the marketing strategy of a
business. The price of the product is determined by the cost of raw material, the competition,
labour and the government regulations. Elephant wines adopt a penetration pricing strategy
than the premium pricing strategy (Londhe, 2014). The pricing strategy chosen is because the
company wants to increase the brand awareness and gain more consumers to increase the
sales of the company. It is one of the leading brands to export wines to the other countries in
the world. The pricing strategy is also adopted to increase the market share of the company
domestically where the consumption is decreasing.
Place
The place refers to the location either physical or virtual where the customers can buy
and access the product of the company. Elephant wines avail the wines in four and five star
hotels, wine shops, high-end restaurants and online platform created by the company (Khan,
2014). The place has to be in accordance with the target market of the company to make more

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sales, and to resonate with the target group. The company as exports most of the wine
defining a proper place of distribution of the product becomes a little difficult.
Promotion
The promotion of a product or a service is a key element as it helps the consumers be
aware of the products and services that the company offers. Elephant wines can use mass
media, in shop advertisements, on premise promotion to promote their product. The company
when organises fests can promote the products that it produces. Having resorts and villas also
helps the company in promoting the wine (Išoraitė, 2016). The company as is expanding to
sell on the online market must use social media marketing to attract more consumers to buy
the products. The companies can have launches and programs for new products that they are
introducing in the market to create a hype around it. The company can also offer
complimentary glasses of wine in some restaurants and bars to encourage more people in
buying the product.
Setting the Marketing Objectives
These marketing objectives will help the company in understanding the marketing
strategies and the marketing channels that the company must use. It also helps in determining
the budget of the company. The marketing plan for Elephant wines include the following
aims and objectives
 To promote the online sales channel
 Promoting the company to become the market leader
 To become a reference for the younger generation
 To make a perception of being of high quality

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Selection of the Marketing Strategies
The marketing strategies are selected on the basis of the marketing objectives and
what the company aims to achieve from the objectives defined by it.
Product Portfolio Strategy
 Development of new wine products by widening the scope of the product
 Development of resort and villa for vacations for the people
 Penetration in the market
Positioning and Segmentation Strategy
 Segmentation based on the basis of the characteristics of people that drink
wine to other alcoholic beverage
 Segmenting on the basis of age of the people
 To be perceived as the best wine by the consumers
Functional Strategy
 Offering the product on an online platform
 Consolidating the existing products and services offered by the company
 Innovation and expansion of the products and services
Pricing Strategy
 Maintaining the current price for penetration into the market
Communication Strategy
 To increase the investment in advertising to increase the brand awareness
Action Plan
The action plan defines the actions of marketing that are used to specify the strategies
of the company in a much more detailed manner.

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DECISION 1: Offering a high quality of wine
ACTION 1: Making sure that the grapes that are being used are of high quality
DATE: Monday, 24th February 2020
DECISION 2: Promoting the sales of the wine on the online platform
ACTION 2: Developing the online platform that is easy and secure to use
DATE: Friday, 13th March 2020
DECISION 3: Increasing the variety of wine
ACTION 3: Planting more variety and types of grapes
DATE: Tuesday, 31st March 2020
DECISION 4: Increasing the Brand Awareness of the product
ACTION 4: To invest in more channels for advertisement of the product
DATE: Wednesday, 15th April 2020
DECISION 5: Exporting huge quantity of wine
ACTION 5: Increasing the quantity produced by the company
DATE: Sunday, 31st May
DECISION 6: Opening of the Elephant Wines Resort
ACTION 6: Working on the project of opening the resort
DATE: Thursday, 18th June 2020
24th Feb
2020
13th
March
2020
31st March
2020
15th
April
2020
31st May
2020
18th
June
2020
Offering
a higher
quality of
wine
Completed by
this time
Promotin
g sales of
wine on
online
platform
Developing
the online
sales platform
Completed
by this time
Increasin
g the
variety of
wine
Planting
more variety
of grapes
Harvesting
the grapes
to make the
final
Completed by
this time

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product
Increasin
g the
brand
awarenes
s
Investing in
advertisement
s
Having
promotiona
l events
Offering
complimentar
y wine glasses
Completed
by this
time
Exporting
huge
quantity
of wine
Producing
huge quantity
Maturing
the wine
for better
taste
Maturing the
wine for
better taste
Developin
g
channels
for
exporting
Complete
d by this
time
Opening
the
Elephant
Wines
Resort
Starting the
work on the
resort
Completing
1/3 of the
project
Completing
2/3 of the
project
Having
promotion
s for the
opening
Sending
invites to
regular
customers
for the
opening
Complete
d by this
time
Table 1: Showing the Action Plan of Elephant Wines Source: Developed by the author
Control
The action plan must be followed in a precise manner, as it will help the company in
achieving the objectives that it has set for itself. By following the plan the company will also
have time to know whether the plan is working or not and what changes can be made to make
it better. There will be many factors that will change and the action plan will have to be
revised, yet following it will help the company in having a base to perform the operations that
they are working on. The company must also keep a check on the progress and the
completion of the tasks, to know what more can be done. In order to complete the task the
preparation of management chart will be required that includes the sales, marketing
performance, distribution channels, segments, and ratios that indicate these elements. It must
also be kept in mind that the marketing plan is not negatively impacted by considering the
support of the management, confusion that can be caused in regard to the terms that are used
in the process of planning. The plan must not be too complicated for people to not be able to
follow, and must be integrated with the goal, aim and the culture of the company.

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Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that Elephant Wines is a company that
wants to increase the online presence of the company and to resonate with the youth. The
company is situated in a region where the grapes are of one of the best qualities in the
production of the wine. The country though has the number of vineyards it is yet not able to
produce huge quantities of wine. The leading wine makers in the world are France and Italy
and Spain comes third. The poor quality of the soil and the dry climate affect the production
of the grapes. The SWOT analysis of the company can be used to analyse the internal and the
external situation and condition of the company. The strength of the company is as follows
Bulk production of wine, situated in a region where the grapes are of the best variety, huge
exporter of the Red wine, events for people to participate in. The weakness of the company is
perceived to be of a lower quality of wine, government rules and regulations regarding
vineyards and wines, White wine and Sparkling wine are less known and the consumption of
wine and visiting the resorts by the people is seasonal. The opportunities of the company is as
follows can increase more brand awareness with the events, ecommerce section is rowing
thus easier for tapping into the ecommerce market, the company can expand and open
franchises and export demand is increasing and a lot of people are buying the Spanish wine.
The threats of the company is as follows decrease in the consumption in the local market,
fluctuation in the economy, effect of Brexit on the sales of the product, drier soil and climate
changes and over production can lead to boom and bust. It can also be concluded that the
company must focus on the product and the online sales of the product to increase the sales
and to achieve the objective that it has set for itself. The main marketing objectives of the
company is to promote the online sales channel, promoting the company to become the
market leader, to become a reference for the younger generation and to make a perception of
being of high quality. The marketing objectives are achieved after the analysis of the

17MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
marketing mix that is product, place, price and promotion. The company also made an action
plan, which would help the company in understanding, which tasks the company, will do in
what amount of time. The selection of the marketing strategies is also discussed in the paper
and how the company will achieve the objectives that it has set up about for itself. The
control plan has also been made by the company to know if the plan is changing and how the
negative impact that will affect the plan can be stopped. The company has huge potential to
grow and can become the top exporter in Spain and the world.

18MARKETING PLAN FOR ELEPHANT WINES
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