Executive Summary
This brand plan description is premised on brand extension of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. in the food and beverage industry. The brand plan constitutes of launching Starwood Hotel and Resort’s new brand of residential houses, Starwood Resort and Palace, to accommodate visitors who wish to get accommodation within the hotel’s premises. The launch of the new brand is to take a 12-month interval. In order to shape the new brand’s image and equity, embracing a positioning strategy will be done. Elucidating competitor analysis, POPs and PODs, media mix, message and the creative strategies in order to create brand awareness will cover the scope of this brand plan description.
Brand Plan
1.0 Introduction
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. has its headquarters in Stamford, United States. Starwood Hotel and Resort prides itself as a leading food and refreshment provider in the Food and beverage industry in the United States. In this study, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc.is seeking brand extension, Starwood Resort and Palace, into a single geographic marketing the United States. Particularly, Starwood Hotel and Resort is seeking to launch residential place as an extension to its parent business. Currently, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. is generating 60% of its total revenues from food and refreshment (Schmidt & Strickland, 2015).
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. has recorded speedy growth that is accredited to its aggressive marketing campaign tactics. The company seeks to attain the uppermost service delivery by utilizing the best-in-breed activities for clients. Starwood Hotel and Resort exemplifies core values based on honesty, dedication to quality service delivery, as well as continuous improvement. Besides, Starwood Hotel and Resort embraces communication, partnering, and inspiration. The hotel and resort’s system vision statement states the importance of addressing client needs and deliver quality products ingrained within the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that guarantee continuous improvement.
Notably, this study is premised in brand extension and shaping brand image and equity. The brand plan constitutes of launching brand residential houses to accommodate visitors who wish to get accommodation within the hotel’s premises. The initiation of the new brand is expected to take a 12-month period. Consequently, embracing a positioning strategy, elucidating how to establish and compute brand equity will be critical in this study. Additionally, creation of a communication strategy that will be ingrained in media mix in order to foster brand awareness covers the scope of this study.
1.1 Brand Plan Objectives
- Promotion of service delivery that is second to none in the food and beverage industry.
- Diversifying Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. economy by seeking far-flung market opportunities.
- Working towards taking advantage of the tourist influx to maximize the number of visitors wishing to get accommodation.
- Developing flexibility in service delivery in the international market to enhance customer trust.
2.0 Assumptions
Premised on brand plan, a number of assumptions will be embraced based on the 12 month duration. Firstly, it will be assumed that the market will be stay consistent and that no new competitors will enter the market. Secondly, the economy of the United States will remain stable.
Further, it will be assumed that the brand deliverables will be achieved in 12 months. Besides, it is assumed that implementation and coordination of brand plan activities will effectively be carried out.
In addition, it is assumed that the management of the Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will successfully carry out its responsibilities of inspecting day-to-day functions of the plan and rectify any inconsistencies.
3.0 Positioning Strategy
As elucidated by Mellahi & Morrell (2012), the tenets of positioning strategies are ingrained designing consumer values and preferences towards a given brand. In positioning strategy, selection of unique selling features of a product is critical to facilitate consumers to differentiate Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. from that of other hotels in the food and beverage industry. Notably, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will embrace elaborate positioning strategies of its new product.
3.1 Target Market
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will work to ensure that it continues to dominate in the food and beverage industry in the United States market. Being that the Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. brand plan targets to access far-flung target audience within the United States, the hotel and Resort will work towards launching offices in foreign countries across the world. This approach is ingrained in intensifying market opportunities. Besides, an appraisal will also be done before the new product is implemented out in the new regions across the US.
3.1.1 Geographics
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. is well reputed in the U.S and is seeking to further its recognition by launching a new production to its parent brand.
3.1.2 Demographics
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. current market entails all people in all social positions in society living in urban and suburbs. Particularly, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. targets tourist as its major clients. The hotel and resort offers a vast range of affordable products. Additionally, the food and beverage facility offers proficient delivery services to the clients by stating a fixed exchange rate of $6.90.
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. records greater number tourist clients compared to non-tourist. Ingrained in the statistics of the study conducted by Pacek (2012), 75% of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. clients were tourists while 20% were non-tourists.
3.1.4 Market Environment
Quality food and better service delivery remain a crucial influence on the consumer’s choice of a product (Panada, 2009). The researcher further concluded that client demands keep are subject to the changing technology and the social environment. A change resulting from an upward shift in the individual’s lifestyle comes with a new outlook and attitude towards brands befitting the class (Percy & Randrup, 2004). Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. has to discover many unexploited market opportunities in several regions of the United States.
Currently, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. majorly conducts its advertisement via local television networks. Due to advances in technology, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. is increasing its capacity in addition to its innovation potential in popularizing the new product. Due to this advances, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. projects that consumers will be able to do online booking. Decker (2014) argued that an increase in the capacity of potential consumers in society is forcing vast consumers to seek Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. products.
This study established that the seasonality does not affect Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. market. It enjoys consistent sales throughout the year. Other essential factors that include government and tax policy influence all the other market competitors. Notably, the external factors that create an impact on food and beverage industry are critical in generating brand plan for Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. in consideration to the economic and social in addition to technological and regulatory trends in its Starwood Resort and Palace campaign strategies.
Considering the existing market strategies, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. has made laudable efforts in publicizing their products in its website, http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/index.html, where it seeks to market and trade its new product.
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. is typified by heterogeneous food products in its market. Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. S.W.O.T analysis indicates fundamental strengths and weaknesses, in addition to internal threats that are crucial in assessing Starwood Resort and Palace’s competitors. Starwood Hotel and Resort has great opportunities that it should utilize in order to increase returns.
| Strengths Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will seek to offer Starwood Resort and Palace’s quality brand. Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. is a giant retailer of food and beverage products. Starwood Resort and Palace’s target audience is aware of the brands of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. It has a strong online market shopping and booking platform. | Weaknesses Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. has not fetched far opportunities. Starwood Resort and Palace’s price is higher in relation to competitors that entail Smart Restaurants thus losing its loyalty to competitors which is hurting Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. marginal returns. Limited awareness of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. products in many regions across United States. Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. currently has a small percentage of the local customers. |
| Opportunities Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. has a vast market chances to tap. Starwood Resort and Palace has an opportunity to increase awareness via media mediums. Starwood Resort and Palace has an opportunity of ensuring the hotels’ customer loyalty. Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. has to maximize revenue from Starwood Resort and Palace. | Threats Starwood Resort and Palace’s competitors delivery their hotel products at reduced price. Starwood Resort and Palace risks being outshined by competitors. |
3.3 Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis is premised on both weaknesses and strengths assessment of potential, as well as current competitors of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. as Miller (2002) elucidates, competitors are categorized into primary and secondary. Notably, primary competitors have a direct affect to the business. They market and sell the same quality of the products as the company in addition to having to having ease of accessibility just like Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. On the other hand, competitors that are deemed secondary indirectly affect the business. This category of competitors sells their products at lower prices but their products are of lower quality to Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. products. However, they give a chance to customers to go with the market trend.
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. is the largest food and beverage provider. However, the firm has faced fierce competition from numerous upcoming foods and beverage stores that include Kitchenware Superstore which offers similar products as food and beverage as that of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc.
Robins Restaurant is another competitor of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. It sells its products at cheaper prices and strategizing to maintain Starwood Resort and Palace brand loyalty thus exerting competition pressure to Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. Besides marketing brands that Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. sells, Robins Restaurant has gone an extra mile to produce accommodation services to its customers.
In addition, Ecology Resorts is another upcoming food and beverage place posing a great market competition to Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. It operates on the philosophy of ensuring quality customer service delivery.
3.4 POPs and PODs
Ingrained in Keller (2013), embracing right positioning, points-of parity, and the points-of-differences is critical in ensuring brand plan success. POPs are shared benefits that a customer derives from a given brand. As such, embracing the new product of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will enable customers receive service delivery that is second to none in the food and beverage industry. On the other hand, PODs are benefits and attributed that a customer attaches to a product. Notably, these attributes are associated with the brand and not with competitors. The benefits are unique and important in influencing the customer make a decision (Panada, 2009).Premised on Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. new product, customers will be consider quality service delivery that is second to none as POP while image of the Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. and variations in products as PODs in their decision making.
4.0 Building Brand Equity
As elaborated by Smith (2013), brand equity is the considered added value an organization records for engaging in marketing efforts. Brand equity is ingrained in awareness, quality, association, and brand loyalty.
4.1 Brand Awareness
Starwood Hotel and Resort’s management should popularize to target market its new product, Starwood Resort and Palace, by creation of the new brand awareness and embracing a marketing plan adopted with an intention of incorporating social media services to boost product advertisement. Particularly, Starwood Hotel and Resort will utilize YouTube to promote brand awareness. This follows the finding that YouTube has over 1.4 billion users monthly who can be potential customers of Starwood Hotel and Resort. This platform is intended to not only aid in creation of awareness but also a connection point with potential customers.
Starwood Hotel and Resort will remain firm in product campaigns and in the creation of concept features intended to motivate customers to embrace mobile apps will be greatly emphasized by the hotels’ management. Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will use its online website, http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/index.html, in designing brand campaigns. There exists over 555 million online customers who can become a prospective market for Starwood Hotel and Resort. Additionally, the marketing plan is contemplating on creating interactive online features to assist aiding clients in embracing online shopping, hotel research and subsequent booking.
Building brand identity is based on brand elements and trademarks that facilitate the brand’s uniqueness. Keller (2013) elucidates that brand names, logos, and symbols are paramount in enabling customers identify products.
4.2.1 Brand Name
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will name its new product as Starwood Resort and Palace.
4.2.2 Brand Logo
Brand logo is critical in enhancing customer awareness (Knutsonv & Bitz, 2013). Notably, a logo plays a vital role in identifying the uniqueness of the brand name. Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. logo is more for you.
4.2.3 Brand Image
As defined by Keller (2013), a brand image is an emotional perception customers attach to company brands. He further elucidates that establishing a positive brand image is critical realizing the uniqueness of a product in addition to enhancing the memory of the consumer in regard that a given product.
Brand Image 2
5.0 Communication Strategy
Communication is critical in either directly or indirectly reminding, informing or persuading the customer about the brand. It is worth noting that it creates dialogue with the customer and greatly influences decision making (Keller, 2013).Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. objectives will greatly influence the communication strategy to be embraced. Particularly, at Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. the communication strategy is ingrained on the objective of fostering brand awareness and equity via vast channels emphasizing brands PODs.
The management of Starwood Hotel and Resort seeks to embrace communication ingrained in mobile apps in doing online shopping and booking. The hotel’s management projects successful implementation of the new brand Starwood Resort and Palace since vast customers of the Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. utilize Smartphones undertake product research. These communication strategies will assist Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. to attain its marketing goals of increasing sales by 35% before the end of 2016 through its new brand. Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. further needs to enhance a cohesive relationship with clients to guarantee effective communication and build product loyalty. Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will embrace the following strategy:
| Establishing PR Objectives |
| Implementing PR Campaign |
| Developing PR strategies and Tactic |
| Evaluating results |
| Identifying Intended Public |
5.1 Message and Creative Strategy
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. works to enhance its capacity to continue dominating in the food and beverage market. Considering that the public and media relations plans to popularize Starwood Resort and Palace tap in the United States, Starwood Hotel and Resort management intends to establish offices in other regions across the country to enhance service delivery and accessibility. Starwood Hotel and Resort seeks to expand its revenue. The hotel will engage a structured brand advertisement. Firstly, an evaluation will be conducted by Starwood Hotel and Resort’s management before the extension of hotels is fully rolled out in new geographical place in the United States.
A unique approach to attain the overall aim of popularizing the product requires to be developed within the firm. Particularly, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will embrace a creative brief; to increase online sales by 35 % by the end of 2016 via the new product within the target audience by stepping up the extension of Starwood Hotel and Resort’s brand.
Tactics to be embraced entail increasing product appreciation in many regions within the United States through applying more efforts in social media, which is the appropriate product campaign platform. Additionally, embracing detailed objective of reaching the firm’s target customers will be critical in facilitating brand loyalty for generations to come, and increasing responsiveness on the utilization of the mobile apps in the target market.
Further, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will utilize inventive strategy by including social media platform, such as Instagram and Facebook, in addition to YouTube and Twitter. Besides, creation of interactive features that are online oriented in aiding clients do online shopping and booking will be essential in product campaigns of the extension of the Starwood Hotel and Resort as customer motivation approach.
5.2 Media Mix
In order for Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. to meet its goals and objectives of marketing, embrace public relations strategies ingrained in the increasing social media advertisements via the utilization of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Starwood Hotel and Resorts’ target market spends 27 hours weekly on social media platforms. The hotel will utilize the interactive advertisements criteria in boosting Starwood Resort and Palace brand awareness. It is worth noting that Starwood Resort and Palace should seek market opportunities in the U.S by establishing offices in addition to conducting Starwood Resort and Palace product campaigns as a crucial strategy of wooing potential customers.
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. projects a 35% increase attributed to its new product at the end of 2016. Starwood Hotel and Resort can further tap the opportunity ingrained in market research indicates that depicts that consumers especially tourists are increasing preferring Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. because of its service delivery and ability of the hotel to offer a chance to undertake product research prior to purchasing, in addition to getting an opportunity to permit a feedback concerning the product that the customers have purchased (Piros, 2013).
The Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. objectives of the media mix entail utilizing online features to boost Starwood Resort and Palace product advertisement, boosting the number of campaigns in order to access 75% of Starwood Resort and Palace’s the target audience, and further promoting the utilization of mobile apps for customers to do the hotel’s research with regard to shopping and booking.
In order for Starwood Resort and Palace to realize its objectives, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. management will embrace a number of strategies; 40% of the budget will be channeled to online campaigns. Notably, Starwood Resort and Palace will utilize this platform because of the medium’s ability to access vast numbers. In addition, 35% of the Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. budget will be utilized in creating mobile application in doing research regarding Starwood Resort and Palace’ products. A further 25% of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. budget will be utilized magazine campaigns.
6.0 Measuring Brand Equity
Evaluating Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. public and media relations plan will be guided by organizational objectives of diversifying the Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. economy by harnessing and utilizing promotional campaigns. In addition, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. intends to record 35% increase in sales that will be sourced from the returns of the new product by the end of 2016 through the online booking and the utilization of the mobile app. Notably, Starwood Hotel and Resort management will conduct an evaluation plan ingrained initial collecting information.
Secondly, pre-testing and further post-testing will be done to determine whether the objectives of extending Starwood Hotel and Resort in a single geographical region were realized. The management will find it critical that before implementing the public and media relations plan, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. will conduct a structure research in order to determine how the target market perceives Starwood Hotel and Resort’s intended extension of its product. Similarly, research will be carried out at the end of 2017 to verify if the awareness concerning Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. product has changed and if the 35% increase in sales were realized at the end of 2017 as was projected.
In order to building strong brand equity, brand image is critical. Evaluation will be done at the end of the 12 months period to determine the extent of brand awareness, quality, association, and loyalty of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. new product.
7.0 Timeline
7.1 Gantt chart
8.0 Recommendations
Ingrained in the study Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. of extension to its parent business by launching a new product, Starwood Resort and Palace, this study recommends that Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. engages elaborate media mix plan in developing and maintaining a positive image of Starwood Resort and Palace product. Further, the media plan should be directed at capturing Starwood Resort and Palace’s target market in addition to boosting the credibility of Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. promotional strategies.
Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. should utilize online features Starwood Resort and Palace product advertisement and fostering client trust. Additionally, Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. should embrace media mediums that entail Instagram and Facebook in boosting Starwood Resort and Palaceproduct recognition.
9.0 Conclusion
In this study, a brand plan was developed for the brand extension of the existing brand Starwood Hotel and Resort Inc. into a new market. The new brand Starwood Resort and Palace will be situated in the United States. Further, this plan described a positioning strategy ingrained on the target market. Further, a competitor analysis premised on the PODs and POPs was done. Establishing an elaborate communication strategy in order to develop Starwood Hotel and Resort’s objectives of increasing the new brand’s awareness covered the scope of this study.
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