Current Situation

A. Current Situation

Saxonville Sausage Company is a privately held, 70-year-old family business headquartered in Saxonville, OH. In 2005 the company had approximately generated $1.5 billion in revenue from a variety of fresh pork sausage products. 70% of the products consisted of bratwurst, 20% were breakfast sausage and the remaining 10% consisted of an Italian sausage named Vivio and other store brand products that accounted for 5% each. Since 2004, the company has observed a stagnant growth of their two main products; bratwurst and breakfast sausage. In addition, underperformance of the breakfast sausage caused a double-digit revenue decline and the company also noted that their product was only ranked sixth out of eight in the same product category. On the other hand, Italian sausage was the only category that demonstrated steady growth in the past two years; 9% in 2004 and 15% in 2005. Even though, Vivio brand had matched the level of category growth, this product was only available in16% of the nation's large supermarkets. While senior managers appreciated the growth in demand for Vivio, they hired Ann Banks as a product marketing director to create a marketing strategy that will introduce a new national Italian sausage brand. The goal was to achieve company's profit objectives for an upcoming year, but also assure that brand positioning and cannibalization of the other products will not take place.

B. "Finalists" Strategies

Based on the research results presented in Exhibit 3, we can notice that women are the primary purchasers of Italian sausage and that heaviest usage is among consumers aged 20-50 years. Results of the focus groups presented in Exhibit 4 display different consumer behaviors and habits that were observed in usual Italian sausage user. From perceptual map in Exhibit 5 we are able to gather information about product positioning and how Italian sausage fits in meeting core target needs. Both maps represent consumer's perceived trade offs between time and skills required in meal preparation and which family members will be most satisfied with the outcomes. As a result we also notice an opportunity for a product that could fulfill both: easiness in preparation and entire family satisfaction.

Ann Banks concluded her research with six different positioning territories: Family Connection, Clever Cooking, Confidence, Appreciation, Quick and Easy, and Tradition. Based on the information provided, the two "Finalists" strategies are: Family Connection and Clever Cooking. Banks also discovered that these two positioning territories represented the highest areas of potential where Saxonville could possibly position Vivio in order to maximize their profits.

C. Positioning Ladders

A key to desirable positioning requires a company to consider each potential