Observation Paper 1. (a) What is the business name & address (visited only)? - I visited a Ralphs store, which sell numerous products. Ralphs is general grocery stored own and managed by Kroger Co, which has numerous stores across the country. This particular business serves as a local supermarket for many cities across the united states. The particular Ralphs store I went to is located in 2661Green River Rd, Corona, CA 92882. Ralphs sells produce, dairy, meat, general food selection, and deli. (b) When did you conduct the observation (date and time frame-start and end time)? - I visited the Ralphs store om Friday 24th 2019. My visit consisted in a general grocery shopping list. My trip to the store was brief and during my grocery selection I observed a particular item. The time frame of my item observation was approximately five minutes. I arrived at the store at 8:05PM, and began my observation at 8:15PM, and lasted until 8:20PM. During my product observation I was able to acknowledge many marketing traits and features the product provided to consumers. 2. (a) What is the product? - The product I observed was a particular cereal. This particular product is called Cinnamon Toast Crunch. This product is a general cereal that is popular among kids, and adults. This cereal is owned and distributed by General Mills, which has a vast selection of cereals as-well. This product was introduced in 1984 and has been in the market for over 35 years. (b) Describe how it is used. - This product is used for consumptions. It is a cereal that is known to be consumed during breakfast, and/or dinner, although it can be consumed whenever. The product can be described as small square cinnamon toast. This product is generally consumed with milk. The product is poured into a bowl and immersed with milk. It is then consumed, which provides a cinnamon toast taste and provides nutrients, such as calcium, potassium, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, and protein. 3. (a) What is the pricing of the product? - The pricing of this product typically ranges at $2.98 for a 12oz box. However, there is an additional giant size box that is 27oz and cost $5.14. The pricing can fluctuate depending on any promotions, specials, or discounts per store and locations. Overall the pricing for this product can range from $3.00-$5.00 on any given day. (b) How does the business appear to stay competitive? - This business stays competitive by marketing their products in numerus marketplaces, such as Ralphs. Cinnamon Toast Crunch has stayed in business for over 35 years because of their strategic marketing and product taste. The goal was to create a product that taste like a cinnamon toast, but in a crunch cereal format. The product contains a slogan which states “mmm…. REAL cinnamon”. This slogan states that it does indeed contain real cinnamon ingredients, and also targets adult consumers. 4. How does the business put the product in a place where people are enticed to buy it? - In Ralphs, this particular cereal is put in the cereal isle where it can easily be chosen from numerous cereal selections. When shopping for a cereal, this particular item was location in the from isle and also located in the front isle as a prometon item. This item was location in the from isle and promoted with a discount price, which convinced me to choose that particular cereal and not proceed into the cereal isle to choose another type of cereal. This marketing strategy does indeed work because it so did with me and other cereal consumers, when quickly shopping for a list of products. 5. How does the business promote their product (must choose promotion mix or social media)? - Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal is promoted as a promotion mix because it is multi advertised, with direct marketing, sales, and promotion. This cereal is promoted to vast marketplaces, such as Ralphs. This product is highly advertised in television commercials, marketplace discount coupons. This product also has a sales promotion which provides marketplace retailers incentives when purchasing in bulk. Direct marketing also plays a role in promoting Cinnamon Toast Crunch, with the intent to reach consumers directly, such as General Mills e-mails, promotion text messages, and marketplace discount card holders.
