Clean Edge
* Case: “Clean Edge Razor: Splitting Hairs in Product Positioning” * Writing task: Recommend a strategy to Paramount Health and Beauty Company about the best positioning plan for the new product Clean Edge. The plan should include the brand name and marketing budget in order to launch the product.
The best course of action for the positioning of Paramount’s new Clean Edge Razor is
Niche strategy with an emphasis on “the most intensely involved super-premium consumers” (Clean Edge, 2011, p. 1) for the first two years the product is in the market, then introducing it to a mainstream market. This strategy will produce a successful product launch, “curb excessive marketing expenses” (Clean Edge, 2011, p. 6) and will have a smaller amount of cannibalism on Paramount’s existing nondisposable product lines, the Pro and Avail. Other positioning strategies would be less effective because the marketing budget will be costly, the risk of a lower return on investment, or the loss of customer loyalty by not introducing product to the mainstream market in an appropriate timeframe after the initial launch of the product.
Options
There are two other alternative ways Paramount can position the Clean Edge Razor for the upcoming product launch: 1. Paramount can launch the product to a mainstream target audience. This would require a higher marketing budget in order to reach the larger target and would increase the risks of cannibalization from the Pro and Avail product lines by 25%. But it would result in overall higher revenue. 2. Paramount could also position the product to a niche market and never introduce it as a mainstream product line. In the short run, this positioning strategy would have a smaller marketing budget and would lead to about 35% cannibalization on existing product lines. However in the long run, this strategy would not produce as much revenue as a mainstream positioning strategy.
Selection Criteria and Proof Paramount would like
The best course of action for the positioning of Paramount’s new Clean Edge Razor is
Niche strategy with an emphasis on “the most intensely involved super-premium consumers” (Clean Edge, 2011, p. 1) for the first two years the product is in the market, then introducing it to a mainstream market. This strategy will produce a successful product launch, “curb excessive marketing expenses” (Clean Edge, 2011, p. 6) and will have a smaller amount of cannibalism on Paramount’s existing nondisposable product lines, the Pro and Avail. Other positioning strategies would be less effective because the marketing budget will be costly, the risk of a lower return on investment, or the loss of customer loyalty by not introducing product to the mainstream market in an appropriate timeframe after the initial launch of the product.
Options
There are two other alternative ways Paramount can position the Clean Edge Razor for the upcoming product launch: 1. Paramount can launch the product to a mainstream target audience. This would require a higher marketing budget in order to reach the larger target and would increase the risks of cannibalization from the Pro and Avail product lines by 25%. But it would result in overall higher revenue. 2. Paramount could also position the product to a niche market and never introduce it as a mainstream product line. In the short run, this positioning strategy would have a smaller marketing budget and would lead to about 35% cannibalization on existing product lines. However in the long run, this strategy would not produce as much revenue as a mainstream positioning strategy.
Selection Criteria and Proof Paramount would like