Attune Marketing Plan
1.0 INTERNAL CONDITIONS – THE COMPANY
 Attune wishes to double their sales, thus increasing profit.
 Dedicated to having the healthiest content in their cereals
 Attune would like to become a more prominent brand in the probiotic, organic, and gluten free
categories. Overall they would like consumers to see them as a company focused on digestive health.
 Very small company
 Attune is willing to take some calculated risks. Their first risk was the probiotic-rich chocolate bar to
compete against yogurts.
 They’re going for a sense of authenticity. That consumers should believe them because they have been
around for so long. They are the elder teaching the young ones how to take care of themselves.
 Focus on honesty and transparency
 True to their brand all the way through
2.0 INTERNAL CONDITIONS – THE BRAND
 Attune – probiotic chocolate bar
 Uncle Sam’s cereal
 Erewhon cereals
 Brand loyalty is high for all products, including the acquired Uncle Sam and Erewhon. Attune made sure
to keep loyalty a priority be keeping the brand images intact while updating them to be more relevant in
the present time as they were seen as ‘old fashioned’.
 Attune makes sure to keep Uncle Sam’s brand image cohesive and consistent by only allowing 100%
American products to be used in making it.
 People don’t want to talk about the thing that these products are targeted for (digestive health)
 No longer needs to fortify their cereal
 Dedicated to brand image and consistency
 High loyalty with Uncle Sam and Erewhon
 Straightforward and non-GMO ingredient panel, clean products, and product-specific characteristics
3.0 CONSUMER CONDITIONS
 Natural foods shoppers are more adventurous and have more discretionary income to spend on food
 Attune found it difficult in fitting into established categories. They marketed the probiotic chocolate bar
in a novelty way, leading consumers to adopt a new behavior (seeing chocolate bars in the refrigerated
aisle).
 Organic cereals, probiotics, crackers, granola, and gluten free products
 Cereals is a huge market in the U.S. and is in its mature stage
 Digestive health products, digestive health beverages and foods
 Growth for the ‘good-for-you’ food segment – because there are still many products being created for
these categories as the need for them continues to rise with consumers requiring more health driven
foods.
 Many consumers hope on and off food trends and fads, however the idea of healthy food and beneficial
products will always be an apparent trend. Consumers seek for the most beneficial product in these
types of categories.
 Want food to be food, not medicine.
 People have an inherent trust in things that have been around for a long time
 People are more inquisitive in where their food comes from, and how it was prepared
 Understands social media is key to keep up with authenticity with consumers
4.0 COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS
 Kashi
o Focus on experimenting with whole grains and sees
o Health-conscious lifestyle as well as others
o Wants to provide nutritious whole gran foods to a growing number of people
o Small company, 70 employees
 Cascadian Farms
o Balance between nature and humans
o Organic frozen fruits and breakfast cereals
 Barbara’s Bakery
o Inspired by good health, family, and the kitchen table
o Whole grains and oats like nature intended
o Natural products
 Nature’s Path
o Organic breakfast foods and snacks
o Relatively small company
o Does not use GMOs
 Danon
o activia
 Competition has Attune beat with advertisements
 Attune uses social media as their selective target marketing strategy
 Sold in supermarkets and through distributors
 Sold through 400 supermarket chains
 Some ingredients are hard to find and be available in required quantities and quality
 Organic products are more difficult to export
 Timing problem with shipping organic ingredients based on seasons
 Has only one co-packer for small chocolate products
5.0 STEEPLE ANALYSIS
Social
 An increase in digestion awareness and digestive diseases such as diabetes, celiac disease, and overall
obesity.
 Increase in health fad creating more need for health foods
 Increase awareness of gluten allergies and intolerances
Technological
 The health sector is now more equipped in diagnosing digestive diseases which has affected the health
food categories.
 The internet allows people to research into health and nutrition and learn what to eat to counteract
digestive diseases
Economic
 Recession in 2007 made Attune think on what consumer’s were spending money on. That being the
absolute necessities.
Environmental
 Increase in production of organic foods
Political
Legal
 Clear and honest labeling practice due to gluten-free and peanut-free requirements.
Ethical
 Controversy of GMOs being sold in markets, some labeled as such, some not
STRENGTHS
Critical Success Factors:
OPPORTUNITIES
Consumer Conditions:
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High levels of brand loyalty for Uncle Sam’s
and Erehwon.
Focus on honesty, transparency, and
authenticity.
Superior use of social media.
Uncle Sam’s more than 100 years old.
Differentiation/SCA:
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They take care of brand consistency and
imaging
100% American ingredients for their very
American branded brand
Dedicated to best cereal health content.
No GMOs, antibiotics or hormones.
High fibre content.
Resources:
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Food specialists familiar with manufacturing
organic, non-GMO, and digestive health
recipes.
Relationships:
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Strong relationships with organic farms.
Strong relationships with natural foods
retailers.
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Natural foods shoppers are more adventurous and have
more discretionary income to spend on food.
Cereal is a huge market in the U.S.
Digestive health benefits can be attached to many
different foods and beverages.
‘Good-for-you’ food segment growing.
People have an inherent trust in things that have lasted
a long time through many obstacles.
People are becoming more inquisitive about what they
are eating.
Competitive Conditions:
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Major competitors are owned by large conglomerates.
Major competitors underdeveloped in health and
natural food stores.
STEEPLE:
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Increase in digestion and digestion disease awareness
and diagnosis.
Technological advancement in food preparation.
Increase in production of organic foods.
Clear and honest food labeling.
Consumers trust their social media networks, bloggers
and forums more than commercial advertising.
WEAKNESSES
Critical Success Factors:
THREATS
Consumer Conditions:
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Access to ingredients: timing and scheduling
challenges with organic ingredients based on
seasons.
Some ingredients are hard to procure.
Uncle Sam: old man’s image.
Erehwon: old hippie image.
Comparatively low levels of distribution.
Differentiation/SCA:
 Low levels of brand awareness.
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Forcing consumers to think differently about established
food and food placement.
Cereal is a mature category.
Want food to be food, not medicine.
Competitive Conditions:
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Competition spending heavily on advertising and
promotion.
Competitors have the support of large conglomerates.
Large conglomerates can assure higher distribution
levels.
Resources:
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Very limited financial resources.
STEEPLE:
 GMO controversies.
 Consumers cut back on more expensive foods during a
recession.
MATCHES
S: Focus on honesty, transparency, and
authenticity. O: People have an inherent trust in
things that have lasted a long time through many
obstacles.
S: Use of social media. O: Competition cannot
stop or make social media “too noisy” for
consumers to hear.
S: Dedicated to best cereal health content. O:
‘Good-for-you’ food segment growing. O: Natural
food shoppers are more adventurous with
money.
S: Dedicated to best cereal health content. T:
Many food trends and fads, i.e. gluten free.
S: No longer need to fortify cereals. S: Dedicated
to best cereal health content. T: Want food to be
food, not medicine.
S: High loyalty factor for all attached brands. T:
People are more inquisitive in what they are
eating.
S: Focus on honesty, transparency, and
authenticity. S: Use of social media. . T: Want
food to be food, not medicine. T: People are
more inquisitive in what they are eating.
W: Can be seen as old fashioned or for just the
elderly. O: Natural food shoppers are more
adventurous with money.
W: The brands targeted towards situations
consumers don’t wish to talk about. O: Increase
in digestion and digestion disease awareness and
diagnosis.
W: The brands targeted towards situations
consumers don’t wish to talk about. T: Want food
to be food, not medicine.
STRATEGY ALTERNATIVE
We recommend highlighting how long lasting the
brand is. Perhaps use this theme of persevering
through time as a campaign.
We recommend focusing advertising through
social media and growing loyalty bases through
said social media.
We recommend expanding into “natural food
shoppers” as a target.
We recommend establishing an image of general
better health than piggybacking on food trends
and fads. Health is not a fad.
We recommend building on the image of all
natural ingredients and healthy food to combat
the idea of the brands being medicine or the like.
We recommend reaching out to consumers
through social media and posting content about
what goes into the products and how they are
made. Transparency campaign.
We recommend creating a social media campaign
based on the brands products being food and not
medicine, however comparing the two through
benefits.
We recommend crafting a campaign for “natural
food shoppers” that focuses on the healthy and
natural ingredients that have stood the test of
time.
We recommend establishing marketing messages
developed to talk about digestive health without
actually talking about it, via allusions and
comedic writing.
We recommend creating a campaign based on
the products being food that happens to be
healthy. “You could take a pill, or you could have
breakfast”
Consistent with
Mission & Vision
Expand into new target (Natural
Food Shoppers)
Yes. This new target is a part of
the ‘natural foods’ niche.
Volume/Share
Increase
Medium: Segment is rather new,
however people are becoming
more aware of the benefits of
natural food.
Resources
Yes. There is very little that would
be needed to change. Positioning
and the creative side of
advertisements would be the focal
point.
Loyalty Potential
High. This new segment is looking
for honest and trustworthy brands
that supply them with the best
quality natural products.
Relationships
Unknown as of yet. Little research
has gone into this new segment
and their relationship with Attune.
New social media campaign (Food vs
Medicine)
Yes. It will strengthen the brand image
of natural foods with health benefits
rather than medicine.
Medium: Consumers are fickle and
may not believe the campaign,
however social media has a high
chance of being shared to other
consumers.
Yes. Social media is very open whereas
traditional media is cluttered with
competition. Social is also very
inexpensive and has the highest
potential of being shared and spread.
The company may need to hire web
content creators for this campaign.
High. People are very interested in
what they eat and want to know more
about what they eat, therefore this
campaign focusing on authenticity will
show consumers what Attune and
Attunes brands stand for.
Facebook: 56,392 likes
Twitter: 7,640 followers
Pinterest: 7,419 followers