Advertising Budget

The advertising budget throughout our simulation process was implemented based on our feedback from the prior decisions results. During the simulation reliance was placed on the advertising dollars report as well as the income statement. During the entire simulation, the goal was to maintain an adverting spend in the range of 55% to 60% of total expenses. We believed this provided flexibility to either increase or decrease advertising spending based on market conditions, performance, and opportunity. The chart below depicts the trend of Allstar Brands’ advertising expenditures compared to three major competitive products.

The decisions on advertising dollar allocation made each period were influenced by Allstar Brands’ strong brand equity and the use of high-quality advertising to both keep the message of quality and superiority at the forefront but also to capture the family and singles market so they would become lifelong, satisfied, loyal customers.

Selected Advertising Agency

The selected advertising agency we used throughout the simulation was Brewster, Maxwell & Wheeler. In each decision, we maintained our ad agency choice. Though this firm incurred the company a cost of fifteen percent in commission on media placements, the results from using this body had a high reward with our consumers. The Allround product line was regarded as a premium product and as such the decision was made to partner with a high-end advertising organization that could further strengthen the brand. The steady cash flow of Allstar Brands Company contributed to the decision to use Brewster as the company could afford the additional expense. During the entire simulation, the advertising dollar report and customer feedback received within the social media campaign was monitored to ensure the investment in Brewster was creating tangible benefits for Allstar Brands, the brand, and our clients.

Relative Emphasis on the Four Types of Advertising Messages

The concern and challenge from Allstar Brands management before the first week of the simulation was the Allround brand had lost some market share and had sluggish quarterly results. As brand managers, particular attention was focused on maximizing the advertising benefits given the significant spend, which averaged $26.5M a period. Though the use of advertising messaging based on the categories listed in the chart below, the message could be modified or adapted on a period by period basis as determined by market conditions and the competition.

The benefits category for seven of the eight weeks on average received 45% of the message attention. Allround was renowned for its effectiveness as a multi-symptom cough and cold remedy. Given a market share between 22 – 24%, the approach was to promote the benefits when compared to the competition, especially Besthelp. The strategy was effective in maintaining share but not as effective on the growth side. In period eight, the approach was shifted to 60% primary benefits and 30% reminder. With young and mature families as our target demographics, the messaging strategy focused on generating demand and reinforcement. At week eight market share was at an all-time high of 25.7%. When Allstar Brands introduced a new product, Allright, in period six the initial strategy was to promote generate initiate demand and promote the products benefits. As the product matured and gained market acceptance, the future direction would be to migrate some of the advertising spend into the reminder category.