The Mouka Imattress Brand Launch

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

To: Senior Management

From: Marketing Manager

Subject: Critical Evaluation of the Mouka iMattress brand Launch

1.0 Background

Recent studies showed a continuous growth of the Nigeria youth market with over 45% of the Nigerian population less than 25 years of age (Child Survival in Nigeria: Situation, Response and Prospect 2002). Youth market (15-25 yrs old) is a very big segment with its dynamic tastes and preferences. No brand of mattress offered by Mouka was directly targeted at this segment. Hence Mouka identified the need and unique opportunity to cater for the comfort needs of these youth population by introducing the youth-centric mattress; Mouka iMattress. To introduce this new brand into the market, a product Launch was organised for the iMattress brand in November 2011

The activities of the marketing department have a great impact on the profitability and sustainability of Mouka, hence the importance of evaluation. Evaluation and control is an essential part of management process. It is the final stage in establishing how effective the business’ strategies have been. By measuring performance, the evaluation and control step tells the business owners important information (Lindsay 2012). The aim of this report is to evaluate the success of the activity in terms of the specific marketing objectives and develop key learnings for future marketing activities.

1.2 Critical Evaluation of the iMattress launch objectives

Setting goals and then evaluating progress toward them is the only way to measure success. This activity guides the team in setting criteria and goals for marketing campaigns. The marketing objectives for the iMattress launch were as follows;

Marketing Objectives

To increase the contribution of iMattress to total mattress sales by 5% in 2013

To increase the market share of iMattress amongst the youth market from 0% to 2% by June 2012 and 5% by year end 2013

To increase number of distributors that stock up iMattress from 20 in 2012 to 50 in each geographical region by 2013

Communication Objectives

To increase Top of mind awareness of iMattress amongst the youth through institutional selling, advertising and sales promotions from 1% in 2012 to in 2013

Objectives

Target

Actual

Increase contribution to total revenue

5% contribution to total revenue

3%

Increase top of mind awareness for the iMattress brand

5% top of mind awareness

2%

Increase market share amongst the youth market

2% market share

1%

Increase number of distributors that stock iMattress

20 outlets in each geographical area in 2012

15 outlets

1.3 Evaluation of Resource requirement for the iMattress Launch

To achieve a successful launch event for the iMattress, the marketing team required some resources. The marketing team did a resource plan to establish the resource requirement for this marketing activity. A resource plan contains the summary of resources (infrastructure, finance, personnel and time) required to complete a given task.

In identifying, the resources required for this launch event, the marketing determined the scope of the marketing activity, established clear deliverables and timelines. These deliverables were drafted from the objectives stated earlier.

Scope- This marketing activity is limited to Mouka limited only and the marketing department with support from other functions in the organisation. This marketing activity is strictly a launch event for the iMattress brand to introduce it to its target audience.

The deliverables and timelines for the launch event were,

Deliverables

Timelines

Communication brief

15th August

Successful launch event

1st December

Successful brand exposure

3rd January

Product availability in outlets

15th November

According to Manjeet (2010), after you have identified the activities involved in a project, determined the sequence of these activities, and established a schedule, you are ready for the next step – determining the resources that you need to accomplish your project activities. The table below shows the resources required for the successful launch of the Mouka iMattress brand.

TASK 2

2.1 Information sources used to develop and inform the resource requirement for the Mouka iMattress launch

It is important to understand how marketing practitioners gain their knowledge and keep abreast of current concepts (Orpen, 1995) because marketing executives need reliable, valid and useful knowledge to help them compete (Gronhaug, 2004).

For marketing activities and budgets to be approved, some information would be required to make a decision, much of this information is held in the marketing information system. The marketing information system is the framework for the day-to-day management and structuring of information gathered regularly from sources both inside and outside an organisation. Marketing information consists of people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort and analyse, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely and accurate information to marketing decision makers (Walsh et al., 2010).

The nature of the product launch event was fully detailed in the marketing plan for the iMattress brand

The Marketing budget was the source of information for available funds for the marketing team

To ensure the marketing and event agency understand what is required, a communication brief needs to be given to them that indicates the objectives of the launch, the deliverables and the budget allocated. For this purpose, a senior person within the marketing team should be responsible for the task.

A representative from the finance department would be required to attend the review meetings and approve the budget.

Very important for the success of the iMattress launch is product availability, the logistics and production team need to attend the review meetings to carry them along so they know the role they would play in meeting the objectives of having the products in at least 20 outlets in each geographical region

Human resource department provided information on team members pay for the period they would be working with the marketing department

The project team need to have review meetings to discuss milestones and areas of development hence the need to have a meeting room that is equipped with projectors and computers

A critical success factor for the launch event is communication to update key stakeholders. For internal communication, the notice boards and coloured printers need to be made available for some specific dates and for external communication with vendors, phone lines and airtime would be required.

2.2 Information source’s usefulness, appropriateness of interpretations and applications made

The source used is the Marketing information system where the results of marketing projects evaluation are stored. This source is useful because it;

Identified the need and importance of internal communication for any given marketing activity

Identified the need for an expert marketing agency to handle the launch event as we do not have capable resources within the department to organise it.

Identified the need for review meetings and the importance of functions within Mouka working as a team to achieve the objectives set out

Applications made from the sources of information;

Internal communication drafted, signed by the Head of department and sent out to all functions within Mouka

Weekly review meetings amongst key stakeholders to discuss milestones and responsibilities of each team member

The iMattress launch event was contracted out to an agency who worked closely with the marketing team to develop concepts and campaigns for the event.

Comment on this section

This looks like half finished work. Where is the rest of your Task Two?

TASK 3

3.1 Management Techniques employed to influence the iMattress Launch team

For the purpose of the iMattress launch, two teams where developed, an external team and internal team. The external team comprises of the Event Management agency and PR agency that were outsourced. Outsourcing is the practice of contracting external service providers to undertake activities or functions that the organisation would otherwise perform itself (Walsh et al, 2010). They were outsourced, as the marketing team did not have sufficient competencies to execute them. For the internal team, a cross functional team was developed. Cross-functional teams bring together individuals from different functional specialism, within a matrix structure or on a temporary project basis, so their competences can be pooled or exchanged

In selecting the cross functional team, the objectives of the iMattress launch were considered and specific roles and responsibilities were assigned based on what needed to be achieved and area of expertise.

Roles

Responsibility

Product availability/Logistics

Production Mgr/ Logistics Mgr

Budget allocation and approval

Finance Manager

Brand Management

Marketing team

To build the team and manage team processes, Tuckman’s stages of team development was adopted. Four stages in the process of team development were identified (Walsh et al, 2010) and adapted to suit the iMattress launch team.

Forming Stage: This stage involved the iMattress launch team coming together, familiarising with each other, discussing the aim of coming together and establishing the objectives, the expectations of team. Also at this stage, roles and responsibilities are assigned to each member

Storming: it was at this stage that team members, discuss their ideas and in the course, conflict arose. The conflicts were managed by encouraging questioning, challenge and constructive criticism. In addition, ground rules were set to keep the the criticism constructive and potentially managinf negative conflict.

Norming: this stage involved the team engaging in team building activities, providing informaion and communicaion mechanism for decision making; reinforcing positive group decisions

Performing: The team at this stage is working well as a group with each member performing his role and engaging in task assigned

Mourning/Adjournment: At this stage, the team members have fufilled their purpose, which is the launch of the iMattress brand and the evaluation of performance. After evaluation of achievements, the team was dissolved gradually but with the production and logistics team still working closely to ensure continuous product availability.

Two management techniques were adopted to influence the team in delivering the activity. They are

Empowerment: This technique involves enabling staff use their discretion, judgement, experience and skills to better quality of service to customers (Walsh, Wright and Vincent. 2010). In this case, the various Head of departments empowered the middle level managers to take decisions regarding the iMattress launch.

Task allocation and delegation: Delegation is a process whereby a superior transfers to a surbordinate part of his or own authority to make decisions. (Walsh, Wright and Vincent. 2010). The heads of departments delegated some task regarding the launch event of the iMattress brand, backed off and maintained contact to monitor progress. In addition, to achieve a timely and successful product launch, a responsibility assignment matrix was designed to clearly assign responsibilities and timelines for each task.

3.2 Addressing team conflicts

Team cnflict is inevitable as people from different backgrounds and opinons were brought together to make a decision and achieve the successful launch of the Mouka iMattress brand. Team Conflict is an interpersonal problem that occurs between two or more members of a team, and affects results of teamwork, so the team does not perform at optimum levels. Team conflicts are caused by the situation when the balance between perceptions, goals, or/and values of the team is upset, therefore people can no more work together and no shared goals can be achieved in the team environment. (Lewinson, 2010)

Some of the origin of conflicts by (Lewinson, 2010) that arose in the course of the launch of the iMattress brand and how they were resolved are as follows;

Delay in approving resources: This conflict arose as the finance team were skeptical about approving the budget for the launch of the iMattress brand. To address this conflict, the marketing department were requested to draw up a business case to justify the allocation of funds, this was done and the resources were approved

Goals versus expectation: At the stage of assigning roles and tasks, the production team were given a production target that were unrealistic given the current production capacity. To resolve this conflict, the round robin technique method was used. According to Knopman (2006), it is a technique were the issue/weakness presenter explains his position. This was applied in this case, and the production team were allowed to explain their position, discussing what could be achieved with current capacity and time frame. During the discussion, other members of the team were allowed to ask questions to get clarifications. After the presentation by the production team, an acheivable production target was agreed and approval was given for extra working hours for some machines and people in the production department.

Values of team members: Each team member has his own values and each member had to follow the team values, conflict arose when some of the team members were not in agreement with some decisions taken within the group as they were not in line with their individual teams. To resolve this conflict, a combination of techniques were used such as flip chart objectivity whereby a scribe writes down the perspective of each team member regarding an issue, the sleep on it technique were team members are assigned homework to think about what would help them come to a resolution (Knopman, 2006). If the issues are still not resolved, it would be moved to the last item on the agenda and a decision would be taken by majority rule.

3.3 Assessment of the development needs of individuals and the team

Some development needs were identified when the team members were selected. Due to the team being a cross functional one, coming from different backgrounds and having different values, it was important for them to understand the importance of team work to achieve the set objectives of the launch of the iMattress brand. To make this happen, the selected team members had a one week training on importance of team work, resolving team conflicts and effective communication, which was organised by the Human resource depatment in conjunction with the marketing department. In addition, conflict management plan, which included some conflict management techniques, were discussed during the training.

Lecture notes were distributed after the training for further reading and team members were permitted to ask questions on areas they were not clear on. This training was effective as the team members applied some of the techniques in resolving techniques.

3.4 Assessment of Individual and Team Performance

To evaluate team and individual performance, KPIs (Key performance Indicators) were drafted alongside tasks assigned. The performance of the team where appraised against the tasks and goals set out for them.

Team Performance Appraisal

Name:

Mouka iMattress brand Launch Team

Location:

Lagos

Team Appraisal

Goal

Weighting

Objective/ Action

Metric/ Outcome

Increase turnover

30%

5% contribution to total sales

3% contribution to total turnover

Product Availability

20%

Stock up of iMattress in 20 distributor outlets in 2012 and 30 by 2013

Stock up in 15 outlets in 3 geographical regions each in 2012

Communcation and Top of Mind awareness

30%

Increase brand awareness and market share from 2%:3% in 2012 and 3%:5% by 2014

Achieved 2% brand awareness and 1% market share in 2012

Bugdet Management

10%

Manage budget +/- 10%

Achieved 15% over allocated budget

Team Performance Orientation

10%

Timely submission of reports- monthly reports

Effective follow up and timely achievement of agreed initiatives

5%

Total

Achieved scores

100%

65%

Production/Logistics Team (30%)

Goal

Weighting

Objective

Action

Oucome

Timely and Cost effective order fulfillment

30%

Planning and coordination to ensure availability of finished goods for sales

20% -Sales and Operations Planning weekly and monthly in all plants evidenced by formal minutes and agreed SKU levels by September 2012

10% - 1% lost orders of across all stores evaluated monthly

12% order fulfillment

Achieved 5% lost orders

Total

Achieved score

30%

17%

Marketing Team

Goal

Weighing

Objective/Action

Outcome

Communication

5%

Draft communication plan for the iMattress Launch

Effective Internal communication for stake holders

Brief to Communication/PR agency

3%, effective communication

Product Launch

10%

Effective planning and execution of the iMattress launch in conjunction with an event planning organisation.

7%- achieved 70% success

Brand Awareness

10%

Effective Integrated Marketing Communication campaign for the iMattress brand

7%- 50% effective as only 1% brand awareness was achieved

Vendor Management

5%

Manage all key vendors related to the product launch

3%,- untimely delivery and arrival of vendors to the venue of the event

Total

30%

20%

Finance Team

Budget Management

10%

Monitor budget spending +/- 10% of budget allocation

7% as the team spent 15% above budget

Total

10%

7%

3.4.1 Addressing Good and Poor Team Performance

Good performance were enhanced by acknowleging the team member’s effort during the meeting and poor performances were reviewed during the team meeting whereby the affected team mate is allowed to discuss his area of challenges and the team then comes together to resolve them. This method was effective as it fostered team building and it created a better working relationship amongst the team members.

TASK 4

4.1 Review of Budget Process for the Mouka iMattress Launch Event

As part of the evaluation of the iMattress launch event, it is crucial to review the budgeting process adopted and its impact on the marketing function. A budget is a statement of desired performance expressed in financial terms (Walsh, Wright and Vincent. 2010).

The budget process consists of activities that encompass the development, implementation and evaluation of a plan for the provision of services and capital assets (Lawndale city FY 2004-5 Budget). The budget setting process that was used for the iMattress product Launch was the Bottom-up budgeting approach. Bottom-up budgeting approach requires that budgets are set by individuals further down the organisation hierarchy, junior managers and employees involved in performing the task relevant to the budget being set. These figures are passed to senior management for approval. (Walsh, Wright and Vincent. 2010).

This budget process was adopted because of the sense of ownership and acceptance it gave the team members, although it was time consuming, as approval had to be sort from senior management. The budget for the iMattress launch was considered in both time and money.

4.2 Assessment of the iMattress Budget Variances

One of the challenges faced by the team was delay in senior management in approving the budget. The table 3 below shows the final approved budget by senior management. The budget was approved with the caveat of + or – 10%.

Table 3: Approved iMattress Launch Event budget

Activity

Budget (Naira)

iMattress Launch Event

3,500,000

Internal Communication

50,000

PR for the Launch Event

1,500,000

Refreshments during meetings

20,000

Logistics Manager @ N16,000 per day for 10 days

160,000

Production Manager @ N15,000 per day for 10 days

150,000

Finance Manager @ N20,000 per day for 5 days

100,000

Meeting room

not costed

Phones/Airtime

not costed

Photo copier/Printer/Projector

not costed

Total

5,480,000

Source: iMattress Launch event Proposal

Table 4: Launch Event Statement of variances

Activity

Budget (Naira)

Actual (Naira)

% variance

iMattress Launch Event

3,500,000

4,000,000

14%

Internal Communication

50,000

40,000

-20%

PR for the Launch Event

1,500,000

1,750,000

17%

Refreshments during meetings

20,000

30,000

50%

Logistics Manager @ N16,000 per day for 10 days

160,000

240,000

50%

Production Manager @ N15,000 per day for 10 days

150,000

225,000

50%

Finance Manager @ N20,000 per day for 5 days

100,000

200,000

100%

Training

not budgeted

110,000

0%

Meeting room

not costed

0

0

Phones/Airtime

not costed

10,000

10%

Photo copier/Printer/Projector

not costed

0

0

Total

5,480,000

6,605,000

21%

In setting the budget, the following were the sources of information;

The accounting records: this provided information regarding the sales of another medium density mattress offered by Mouka, and it was a useful tool for predicting the sales of the iMattress brand

Head Counts: Information about staff levels was also relevant as cost of production had to be considered in setting the Net Margin for the iMattress brand

Exchange rate: This information was very vital also as Mouka sources most of its raw materials from foreign countries. Exchange rate movement was considered in the budget.

Table 6: Imattress Statement of variances

Source: Financial Report 2012

GSV- Gross sales value, NSV- Net sales value, GM- Gross Margin

4.3 Causes of Budget Variance and corrective actions

Various factors contributed to the budget variances. There are two budgets to be evaluated, the iMattress product launch event budget and sales budget. These causes for the variances in each budget would be discussed.

4.3.1 Causes of Budget Variance for the Launch Event

Delay in Budget approval: One of the disadvantages of bottom-up budget process is its time consuming. The budget had to be amended several times thereby increasing the number hours the team had to spend reviewing it and having meetings.

Mismanagement of Vendors: The management of the event was outsourced due to the marketing team not having sufficient skill to manage it in house. This was a plus as the launch event ceremony was a success but the event management went over budget due to the venue they selected. To avoid the event management from spending more, a member of the marketing team was assigned to monitor the vendors and given more airtime to be in contact with the vendors.

Under Budgeting: The team had to undergo training on working as a team and its importance. This training was not included in the approved budget so provision had to be made for it. This training helped the team in handling conflicts and communicating in a group setting.

4.3.2 Cause of budget variances for the iMattress sales

Exchange Rate: In setting the price for the iMattress, the cost of materials where considered. As most of the raw materials used in manufacturing the iMattress brand are imported, the exchange rate was used in factoring the price. As the exchange rate changed fluctuated, the price of the iMattress too increased, thereby making the price inconsistent. The increase in the exchange rate was taken from the net margin, which was decreased by 1%. See table 6.

Competitors Action: iMattress being a new product in the market, sprung up competition as our major competition Vita Foam, introduced a similar brand and at a lower price. This action by competition made the marketing team review the price to 1% lower than the budgeted price, (see table 6). The approval process for the price decrease was delayed hence making Mouka lose sales to Vita Foam.

Political Environment: The political environment was unstable in the northern part of Nigeria when the iMattress was launched. Sales from this region was included in the sales budget but could not be achieved as there was limited business transaction for the year 2012. This political unrest was incontrollable by Mouka, so the budgeted sales for that region were added to the Eastern region.

TASK 5

5.1 Critical Evaluation of the success or failure of the iMattress launch event

The marketing department with inputs from other departments sponsored the iMattress launch event. One of the critical success factors for this marketing activity was to set up a cross functional team and each team member was assigned task relative to the objectives set. The iMattress launch event was had an average rating as some of the objectives were not met due to some challenges that the marketing team got some learning points from.

In evaluating the performance of the iMattress Launch, it is important to state the aims, objectives and targets set out and compare with the actual performance.

Aim- The aim of the iMattress launch event was to create an avenue for Mouka to introduce the first of its kind ‘youth-centric’ brand of mattress to the teeming youth market.

Table 7: iMattress Launch performance evaluation

Objectives

Target

Weighing

Activity

Action

Outcome

Percentage achieved

Increase top of mind awareness for the iMattress brand

5% top of mind awareness

30%

Product Launch

Effective planning and execution of the iMattress launch in conjunction with an event planning organisation.

Achieved 2% top of mind awareness

20%

Brand Awareness/communication

Effective Integrated Marketing Communication campaign for the iMattress brand

Increase market share amongst the youth market

2% market share

20%

Pricing strategy

Price penetration strategy

Achieved 1% market share

10%

PR

Donations to schools and scholarships

Increase number of distributors that stock iMattress

20 outlets in each geographical area in 2012

20%

Product availability

Timely and Cost effective order fulfillment, planning and coordination to ensure availability of finished goods for sales

Stock up in 15 outlets in 3 geographical regions each in 2012

15%

Increase contribution to total revenue

5% contribution to total revenue

30%

All of the above

All of the above

Achieved 3% contribution to total mattress sales for year 2010

18%

Total

 

100%

 

 

 

63%

5.2 Addressing issues and challenges

In executing the iMattress launch, the team had some issues, which had to be resolved to ensure the marketing activity was a success. Below are some of the challenges encountered and how they were addressed.

Team conflict: The iMattress launch team was a cross-functional team; hence, a high probability of conflict as they had different values and had to work with the same team values. To minimise team conflict, training on teamwork and communication was conducted. In addition some techniques such as flip chart and sleep on it where adopted to address issues within the group. See 3.2 for more details

Vendor Management: With the nature of the marketing activity, it was paramount for the marketing team to employ the services of an event planning agency and PR agency due to insufficient competency to organise the launch event in-house. Some issues arose when the vendors went over budget, to control this, the team member from the marketing team was assigned to monitor their activities hence the increase in the cost of airtime. This constant monitoring helped in curbing excesses.

Budget Management: The budget process adopted was the bottom-up process, there was a delay in management approval and this caused events to be moved backward and the team members spent more time in reviewing the budget. In addition, due to some activities not budgeted for e.g. training (see 4.3) the team spent above the budget. This is a key area the marketing needs to improve upon.

Competitors Action: Some few months after the launch of the iMattress brand, Mouka’s major competition Vita Foam, launched a similar brand and at a lower price. Mouka controlled this by reducing the price of the iMattress brand by 1%, which had to be accommodated in the margin.

Political Factors: The target for the iMattress was to have 20 stores in each geographical region; North, East, South and West. Due to the political unrest in the northern part of Nigeria in 2012, business transactions were limited and our factory had limited operations. This political environment was uncontrollable by Mouka; hence, the production and sales target for the region was transferred to other regions.

5.3 Cost Benefit analysis

For evaluating the success or failure of the iMattress launch, a cost-benefit analysis is required. Cost- Benefit analysis is a technique used to determine the feasibility of an activity, project, decision or plan by quantifying its costs and benefits. This analysis adds up the value of the benefits of a course of action, an activity or project and subtracts the cost associated with it (Walsh, Wright and Vincent. 2010). The table below shows the total cost incurred in executing the iMattress launch event.

Table 8: Cost

Activity

Actual (Naira)

iMattress Launch Event

4,000,000

Internal Communication

40,000

PR for the Launch Event

1,750,000

Refreshments during meetings

30,000

Logistics Manager @ N16,000 per day for 15 days

240,000

Production Manager @ N15,000 per day for 15 days

225,000

Finance Manager @ N20,000 per day for 10 days

200,000

Training

110,000

Meeting room

Not costed

Phones/Airtime

10,000

Photo copier/Printer/Projector

Not costed

Total

6,605,000

5.3.1 Qualitative Benefits

The iMattress launch event helped introduce the brand to its target market

The iMattress launch event fostered customer satisfaction and loyalty which arose from brand awareness campaigns.

It helped increase Mouka’s market share in the youth market by 1%

Improved staff moral as the empowerment and delegation management technique was adopted in managing the team

Improved the efficiency of the marketing team as they learnt to work with other departments to achieve the objectives

5.3.1 Quantitative benefits

Although the iMattress launch event had some shortcomings, it still achieved a net margin of N52.11Million.

5.4 Contribution of the Marketing activity to the work of the Marketing department and the organisation

The iMattress brand contributed 3% to the total sales of mattresses in the year 2012

The iMattress launch fostered team work and built morale of the team members

TASK 6

6.1 Recommendations for a future marketing activity

The evaluation of the iMattress of the iMattress launch event highlighted the following as its strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Achieved 3% contribution to total sales

Highly motivated team

Brand awareness and customer loyalty

Weaknesses

Delay in budget approval

Budget Mismanagement

Vendor mismanagement

Achieved 1% market share

From the above highlighted, it is recommended that the marketing department execute a sales promotion for the iMattress brand in the year 2013 to;

Increase sales of the iMattress

Increase market share

Increase customer loyalty

Move the iMattress brand from the introductory stage to the growth stage of its product life cycle

Counter competitors action

6.2 Critical Success factors for the recommended future marketing activity (Sales Promotion for the iMattress brand)

From the evaluation of the iMattress launch event, it is recommended that the following be taken into consideration before and during the sales promotion implementation;

Training: Some training sessions should be organised for the marketing team on vendor and budget management to ensure the budget allocated is utilised and the vendors deliver within budget. Although the marketing team has to outsource some of its task to vendors, they need to be trained on handling the tasks themselves for future references. Some of the recommended modes of developing the team are;

On the job training

Secondment to the Finance department for budget management

Books on Management

Prompt Approvals: For the sales promotion to be successful, all necessary approvals should be done promptly, all supporting documents should be drafted and submitting on time to avoid postponing execution dates. This weakness of the marketing team has caused the team to lose grounds in the market, as our competitors are always a step behind.

Control: The element of control needs to be improved by the marketing team. For this recommended sales promotion for the iMattress brand, the marketing team needs to be in control of all the activities from the planning phase to execution such as selecting vendors, implementation of the marketing activity and managing resources. In addition, a contingency plan should be drafted to take care of any risks foreseen.

Marketing Audit: A thorough marketing audit would have pointed out the unstable political and economic environment and contingency plans for the iMattress launch would have been approved. To improve the performance of the team and success of this recommended sales promotion, it is very important that a proper marketing audit be conducted. A marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic examination of a company’s-or business unit’s-marketing environment, objectives, strategies and activities with a view of determining problem areas and opportunities and recommending a plan of action to improve the company’s marketing performance (Kotler, Gregor and Rodgers, 1977).

Setting feasible objectives: For this sales promotion to be successful, the marketing team needs to set achievable and feasible targets in terms of sales and reach, as these would serve as a yardstick for measuring performance.

Communication: A key factor that was successful for the iMattress launch was the communication and working together as a team with other departments. Although full involvement of other department may not be required for the sales promotion, it is important that they be properly briefed of what is expected from them in terms of budgets, product availability and logistics.