Marketing Assignment

Task 3 Positioning
Brand – Mr Kipling’s
Market- Cakes and Cake Bars

Explain what positioning is and evaluate the positioning of your chosen brand in its market and relative to its competitors. Identify the appropriate positioning criteria and use positioning maps to illustrate your analysis, show how this could be developed or enhanced. In your answer you should demonstrate up to date and relevant knowledge of your brand and its market and up to date relevant knowledge of consumer behaviour in your market and by using information obtained from a Mintel

In this essay I will be discussing the positioning of Mr Kipling’s cake bars within its market and how relative it is to its specific competitors. Mr Kipling’s cake bars is a popular UK based brand introduced to the mass market in 1967. Its distinguished product contains an array of different cakes and cake bars to a large segment due to the fact that the market sector which is cakes and cake bars usually varies from young men and women to an older generation who enjoy it as a mild snack or treat. The unique praise that this particular brand upholds is that it is known and has successfully retained its status as the number one cake brand within the United Kingdom.

This particular market sector has a large segment due to the fact that it varies from a wide age range one of the reasons because of this is due to the fact that these specific light snacks are often seen as treats. In addition these specific cake bars are in some cases often used in particular times such as in the home and are often used as an essential item for afternoon tea. Furthermore based on the usage of the product it is also used in particular settings such as birthdays, party’s etc therefore this is an advantage for the brand due to the fact that it has widened its demographic by reaching a various number of age groups. However in addition based on the research I have obtained is that the most common consumers of these particular products are women who are under the age of 35 who purchase these particular products as a light snack. Furthermore in addition and important fact of these particular products is discussed in Mintel UK Cakes and Cakes Bars 2011 where it states “that more than three in five consumers have eaten/bought cakes and cake bars, with wrapped varieties such as mini rolls the most popular”. Therefore judging from this particular piece of information there is a particular target market which can be successfully targeted by implementing certain types of strategies.

In addition there is a type of niche within this particular market that could potentially benefit Mr Kipling’s due to the fact that the nature of these particular snacks can potentially be associated with packed lunches by doing this not only will it increase its target market but it also raise awareness among consumers due to the fact that there is also another usage besides using this particular product within the home. In addition an important piece of information was discussed in Mintel UK Cakes and Cake Bars 2011 where it states “Opportunities exist to target the lunch-box market as over half of the consumers agree that cake/cake bars are suitable for this occasion, particularly those working full-time”. Therefore judging from this specific piece of information it indicates that there is a niche which targets within a particular group of consumers those who are working full time therefore it is vital that the brand targets this specific group of consumers. Furthermore a way in which the brand Mr Kipling’s can position itself so it can appeal to a wider target market is by issuing strategies that show there is a another beneficial usage to the product.

The definition of positioning is discussed in Market strategy and competitive positioning 3rd Pg 267-268 (2003), where it states “Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image so that they occupy a meaningful and distinct