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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary

Product Description

Product Repositioning Statement

Product Category Market Profile

 Segmentation

 Targeting

 Positioning

 Competition

Porters five forces model

 Trends

Integrated Communication Mix

Brand Equity

 Target Market Profile

Motivation and values

Personality and lifestyle

Attitudes

Decision making

Group influence

Cultural influence

Situational influence

SWOT Analysis

BCG matrix (flavour analysis)

Perceptual mapping

Developing Brand Strategies

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Marketing Mix Recommendations

Product

Price

Place

Promotion

Cost Structure

Conclusion

References

Appendices

 Charts and Tables

 Questionnaire
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Executive Summary

This report was commissioned to examine the prevailing positioning of POLO mints in

consumer mind, its prospective segments and target market’s behaviour as well. Furthermore,

it highlights the dire need for Nestle Pakistan to reinvigorating, reposition or just simply fend

off the competition to better explain "why buy POLO mint." Methods of analysis range from

Segmentation, SWOT analysis and Porters Five Forces Model to general industry trends. The

research draws attention to the fact that that Polo's current declining brand equity is a result of

an obsolete Marketing Mix. POLO is being left in the dust by its rivals like tic tac and soft

mints and is losing its position in Pakistan. If Nestle does not reposition POLO to capitalize on

the changing market needs, it would soon cease to exist. Further investigation revealed

Millennials as the prospective niche for POLO mints based on segmentation. All calculations

can be found in the appendices. A brand strategy is also devices and it is recommended that a

new marketing mix for POLO to be launched with emphasis on above the line and below the

line promotional strategies. It would not only rebuild the brand image but will capture the

attention of loyal customers from the past as well.

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Introduction

POLO mint is a confectionary brand by Nestle and a childhood favourite, and nostalgic

memory for many in Pakistan, Polo is something that we’ve all had a packet or two of in the

past. Whether we grabbed a packet for our bag or kept them in our desk, nothing was near the

minty taste of POLO. Whether we sucked our POLO or crunched it up in one go, they were a

great way to refresh our day. With real peppermint oil in every crunchy, holey mint, there was

no mistaking the taste of a Polo. Unfortunately gone are the days of glory for POLO. The

former unique selling point that nestle once associated with the brand “The mint with the Hole”

has failed to keep up with the current trends of the mint market in the country. Without regular

care and attention, POLO quickly began to lose its value, becoming outdated,

disengaging, and just plain boring. Eventually, the company did not spend enough time

investing in the presence and identity of the brand, which ended up in the company of

dormant brands. According to Reporter (2018). During the present times there’s a big hole in

sales of POLO. Sales have also been damaged by changing consumer habits as more shoppers

get their groceries online, making impulse purchases of mints less likely. Shop keepers hesitate

to keep polo mints on their shelves. Likewise, Consumers no more feel connected to the

brand. Quite inevitable were the days of POLO’s doom as there existed an inconsistency in

marketing. Customers now keep a negative aggregate of beliefs, ideas, and impressions

regarding the brand, hence a negative brand equity. There is an absence of TVC’s and

billboards to maximize sales on the memories of chilly vibes that people associate polo with.

Every crunchy peppermint sweet was once considered the perfect minty and crunchy refresher

for our breath. Suck or crunch a POLO after your lunch or coffee break, before a presentation,

or as a refresher for your breath during the afternoon. We all Enjoyed them at our desk or on

the go - and added some minty deliciousness to our day. Unfortunately, it has all become part
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of a faded memory. No more we face the world a bit cooler and fresher with POLO. Consumer

sentiment for POLO has been is like a fire. During the good times, it has proved to be a roaring

campfire, emanating heat and light and making everybody around it happy. During the bad

times, it has been the flickering flame of a candle, barely shining through the darkness. And

during the really bad times, the fire is roaring once again but only because everything is burning

to the ground.

Product Repositioning Statement

The new tagline or the repositioning statement that we have devised for POLO is “Let’s Roll

with a POLO.” Obviously, we have tried to portray POLO as a friend for the People. It

would add all the more fun to their daily lives as it used to do in the past as well. Through its

positioning statement POLO fits in the marketplace. We have the opportunity to guide it, but

our customers will make up their minds about what POLO really means to them. The good

news is that if we concentrate on the value we want to deliver and actually deliver against

that promise, our product will be positioned for broader success.

Segmentation

We did Market segmentation by dividing the market of potential customers into groups, or

segments, based on different characteristics. The segments created were composed of

consumers who responded similarly to marketing strategies and who shared traits such as

similar interests, needs, or locations. The questionnaire of our survey along with its results can

be found at the end of this report under the appendices section. It provides a clear understanding
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of our research process and the behaviour of our target market as well. Likewise, a brief

introduction is given below.

 POLO is a nationwide product but it’s more popular in the urban areas

 Demographically it focuses on children and adults and both the genders due to good variety

of mint flavors. However, it needs more of the verity

 It includes middle class people who have a sweet tooth

 POLO’s reasonable prices make it affordable for its target market

 POLO has packages of different sizes to make it worth buying for individuals as well as

families.

Targeting

POLO’s former target market comprised of People looking for mouth refreshment, but who

also needed a bit of distraction and stimulation get back on track. This target market is

viable in the current time as well but now people as need emotional attachment with the

brand as well. POLO needs to target people who are looking to interact with the brand on

ground level as well. The target markets particular behavior patterns are discussed in detail

under the upcoming section of target market profile. As mentioned earlier our target

market’s behavior can be identified from the results of our survey as well.

Positioning

POLO itself is a brand that gives a friendly gesture and provides refreshment as well. Hence

it has been positioned for its refreshment aspect besides its unique shape appeal. What was

missing in its positioning was POLO’s specific brand personality. It needs to be portrayed
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in the consumer mind as the intelligent, witty and amiable. Similarly, it is the brand that

does not take the world, or itself, too seriously.

Competition

Market competition motivates companies to increase sales volume by utilizing the four

components of the marketing mix, also referred to as the four P's. We have used the porters

five forces model to analyze the level of competition for POLO in the market. Porter's Five

Forces is a simple but powerful tool for understanding the competitiveness of your business

environment, and for identifying your strategy's potential profitability. (Study. MBA, 2015)

helped us in forming the competition analysis for POLO. Its components and their results are

as follows:

Bargaining power of Suppliers

POLO’s production is essentially referring to two types of suppliers. Those for the raw

materials for the specific production (sugar, peppermint) and those for the packaging (paper,

plastic). Both sectors have a high fungibility, so the suppliers bargaining power is relatively

low.

1) Bargaining power of Buyers

If a business has just a few powerful buyers, they are often able to dictate terms. In
POLO’s case they buyer power is medium to high because the switching costs are very
low with increasing number of new brands of mints all providing a wide range of
choices for customers hence empowering their buying habits.

2) Competitive rivalry
The competitive rivalry for POLO is very high since large number of new brands have
been introduced during POLO’s downfall. Soft mints, Mentos, tic tac, cool mint, host,
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along with other breath fresheners like spout, fresh up, extra and Listerine mouth strips
are all a direct threat for POLO’s sales.

3) Threat of substitution
There is of course a high threat of substitutes since switching costs are very low and
there are a lot of mint providers in the market. Huge number of flavors and compared
to a limited supply of POLO’s flavors also poses as a main threat for substitute.

4) Threat of new entry

There are no strong and durable barriers to entry, for example, patents, economies of
scale, capital requirements or government policies, hence there is an easy entry into the
market. Demand for mints is increasing with increased concern for fresh breath and
dental health. New entrants like soft mint and cool mint have already taken away
POLO’s share of sales in the past and success of these brands further encourages more
new brands to get into action.

Trends

The general trends in the Pakistani market provide great depth of knowledge for marketers and

Polo can utilize this information for the sake of repositioning. IMC, integrated marketing

communications is "a process for planning, executing, and monitoring the brand messages that

create customer relationships." It’s important to remember that segmentation and diversity are

at the core of IMC. IMC analysis along with other research identified the three most important

industry trends that are as follows:

1. Product choices are more diverse than ever.

For instance, look at the number of POLO mints available and then think of the same

product category 10 or 20 years ago. Where there used to be just good old peppermint, you

now have strawberry POLO, POLO grape, etc. The increase in alternatives is due partly to
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the fact that manufacturers are getting better at understanding consumers’ wants and needs,

and partly because of our highly competitive supply-based economy.

2. Consumer data is more readily available than ever before.

Big data, digital media and online social juggernauts like Facebook provide more

information about consumer demographics and psycho-graphics, preferences, behaviour,

and buying history than we’ve never had access to in the past.

3. Media options are now more diverse than ever.

As the population has become more segmented, messaging channels have proliferated. There

has been growth in broadcast channels with hundreds of cable channels as well as an explosion

of digital media from blogs, to social media, to online ad networks, and much more.

Realizing these trends, we concluded that POLO needs to create a stronger presence in Pakistan

because as of right now we do not see POLO anywhere. While conducting our survey, we

realized that many people do not see POLO when they go shopping. Social media marketing

has become the core of marketing these days, so POLO must capitalize on these tactics.

As per Clark, N. (2006). POLO needs maintain a strong equity as well. It is a model to measure
brand strength. For POLO to rank high on each factor, it should have four of the following features.

1) Differentiation
All brands make promises to consumers. The strongest brands make unique promises that they
consistently uphold. So, POLO should make promises that differentiate from the promises of
other brands so that consumers have a reason to purchase POLO.

2) Knowledge
Consumers won’t buy a brand if they don’t know anything about it. POLO should have
effective advertising and promotional campaigns that are successful in educating the market.
Brand stories must be told and retold to new generations of customers.
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3) Relevance
POLO must address the needs of their market. It should constantly adapt to
dynamic market conditions and evolving trends.
4) Esteem
Esteem represents how much a brand is respected. POLO can build its Esteem by providing
great quality, service, support, etc. Consumers must demonstrate high respect for a brand to
have equity.

Target Market Profile

The accompanying outcomes are simply gotten from the poll utilized in our survey amid the
research procedure. The outcomes give the establishment and have the best impact on our
repositioning effort. The questionnaire and all the applicable results alongside their graphical
portrayal are given under the indices segment toward the end of this report.

Motivations and values

Nearly everyone has tried Polo mint in Pakistan. From the survey we conducted, we found out
that most of the people are motivated to buy Polo mint because of their previous experiences,
which makes it 77% of the people. Furthermore, 11% said they tried it because of the reputation
that the Polo mint holds. While only 7% said they are motivated to try the product because of
the price and the rest said that they tried it because of peer recommendation.

Personality and lifestyles

29% of the people say that their personality is agreeable and a further 29% of the people said
to have an openness type of personality. People having a sensation-seeking personality were
22% while people with an innovativeness personality were 22%

Most of the people who answered our survey say that the best lifestyle hobbies and interest that
describe them is the internet. Almost 50% of them chose that answer (48% to be exact). 7% of
the people say that reading is their hobby, whereas for travelling and sports, we found out that
each of those have a percentage of 22.

Attitudes

Consumer attitudes are a composite of a consumer’s beliefs, feelings and behavioural intentions
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toward some object. Therefore, one of the questions we asked was the situation they preferred
to consume Polo. 37% said after eating, 29% preferred it to be before meetings. 18% liked to
have it after smoking and 15% chose under stress

Group Influence

From the data we have collected, it is fair to conclude that consumers are influenced by other
consumers and groups of people. This influence is one of the major reasons why people in
Pakistan purchase Polo mint. In our research, out of those subjects that had not previously
experienced the product, only 7.4% said they bought the product due to its low price, 77.8%
bought it due to previous experience and 11.1% purchased due to the good reputation that Polo
holds with the people of Pakistan. Furthermore, a lot of our research candidates also wished
that Polo would be advertised better, with 66.7% of people claiming so. This shows that word
of mouth is one of the main reasons why consumers purchase the product.

Cultural Influence

Polo has been available in Pakistan for a very long time now and so, people are used to
consuming the product due to its brand name and loyalty. 37% of people like to have it as a
mouth freshener after eating, while 29.6% like to have it before meetings, which can be seen
in our data. In addition to this 51.9% of people said they liked to have it on occasions like
weddings or on days like Eid, where there is a get together.

Situational Influence

Lastly, Polo is readily available in almost every shop. So, it is easy to purchase and the
consumers don’t have to travel long distances to purchase a packet, which is another reason
why consumers purchase the product. Different situations call for Polo. From our data 14.8%
of people have it under stress, 18.5% have it after smoking. Furthermore, some consumers of
Polo simply love the taste it gives as 55.6% of people that were surveyed said it was a need.
Also as stated earlier, a few of our research candidates mentioned the price as a reason for
purchase (7.4%). Polo’s price compared to some of its other competitors is relatively less which
is another reason why it is purchased by consumers.

Decision making

For the decision-making part we personally interviewed customers regarding their decision
keeping about our product and in general terms as well. The results were compliant with the
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above results as expected. Most of our target market being the youth said that they like to take
their own decision and sometimes may consult their peers too. However, they prefer cognitive
decisions more than other form of decision-making processes.

BCG MATRIX
BCG Matrix is a business tool, which uses relative market share and industry growth rate

factors to evaluate the potential of business brand portfolio and suggest further investment

strategies.

In BCG matrix, POLO itself generally comes in question mark category in the market of mint

candies in Pakistan because it has unstable income and growth level as well as market share.

Its flavour analysis on the BCG are as follows:

Start product

Peppermint

Stars operate in high growth industries and maintain high market share.

Cash Cow

Raspberry Mint, Blackcurrant Mint

Cash cows are the most profitable brands and should be “milked” to provide as much cash as

possible.

Question mark

Cherry Mint

Question marks are the brands that require much closer consideration.

Dog Product

Lime Mint

Dogs hold low market share compared to competitors and operate in a slowly growing market.
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Perceptual mapping

High quality & High Price High quality & Low Price

Low quality & High Price Low quality & Low Price
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Developing Brand strategies

All brand strategies should focus on maximizing brand equity without weakening long-term

profitability or tarnishing the reputation of the brand. The POLO Brand Strategy should also

align with the overall marketing strategy. Mortimer, N. (2016). Also suggested such strategies.

Brand managers have an unlimited number of choices when they determine how they can best

improve brand equity; however, strategies should be focused on ten of these essential factors.

1) Brand Strategy
The strength of the brand strategy drives the success of each of the remaining factors.
Every brand has a life cycle that includes an introduction, growth, maturity and decline
stage. A successful brand strategy can influence the duration of each stage. For the
POLO’s brand strategy to be successful, it requires an exceptional communications plan
that includes employees, customers, suppliers, retailers and other stakeholders

2) Communication
For POLO to acquire a strong brand equity, it demands a strong communication plan. In
today’s global marketplace, communication must be increasingly multilingual, culturally
sensitive, online and mobile. Partnering with an experienced translation services company
is essential for communication success in foreign markets. Whether brand decisions are
made in small business or a global conglomerate, communication skills are needed to
locate investors, promote products, and direct teams. Strong communication is so critical
in branding that it influences each of the remaining factors.

3) Awareness
Regardless of whether POLO offers the greatest benefits, consumers can’t buy it if
they don’t know about it. One of the first places consumers turn for product
information is the Internet. Therefore, a strong multilingual content marketing
program is an essential component for building brand awareness.
4) Reputation

Many factors can influence a POLO’s reputation. It’s critical that brands monitor what
people are saying online. When a customer has a negative experience, the situation should
be addressed quickly and professionally. Since reputation can be destroyed online, in
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person or in print, someone who is a skilled communicator from POLO must respond in
person or online. Caution: A rebuttal that is communicated poorly can inflame a situation
and damage a brand’s reputation.

5) Legal and ethical decision-making

POLO should maximize their positive impact while minimizing their negative impact on
society. So, it must also adhere to the laws and regulations of the municipalities in which
they do business. Brands that invest time in ascertaining the legal and ethical challenges
that pertain to their business and how decisions regarding them affect stakeholders are
most likely to avoid legal and ethical problems.

6) Collaboration
Many branding decisions today are so complex that success depends on working with
people from a variety of fields. Because one individual cannot possibly have adequate
knowledge and time to plan, launch, control and monitor all aspects of branding
successfully, branding becomes a team enterprise. Successful branding demands
collaboration and teamwork that crosses trade specialties and functional areas within and
outside a business. For POLO to achieve success, everyone involved must demonstrate
collaboration and strong communication skills. Thus, branding necessarily includes
engineers, marketers, sales representatives, compliance officials and external
stakeholders.

7) Value

POLO must offer value to both intermediaries and consumers of brands. Distributors and
retailers of it need brands that offer distinct features that are not available in other products
and that will drive demand. Such features promote premium pricing and better margins
that enable businesses to grow. Consumers also need a simple way to understand how one
product is better than another, and why that product’s pricing and benefits represent good
value.

8) Emotional Capital

Emotional capital refers to the strength of the bond that ties a consumer to a brand. So,
POLO should have a strong bond which will keep its consumer tied to a brand through
adversity, competitive challenges and other market pressures. These strong bonds are
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based on strong levels of trust, unwavering loyalty and great experiences. This friendship
that a consumer builds with a brand becomes a subject of conversation.

9) Feed Back
Since the real power of the brand exists in the mind of consumer, it is necessary for POLO
marketers to always capture and analyse feedback from customers.

10) Consistency of Brand Messaging

When creating brand messaging POLO should ensure that it is easy to remember and
reminds customers about the qualities that they care most about.

Recommended Marketing Mix

The four Ps of marketing are essential in all marketing ventures. The marketing mix has been
defined as the "set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in
the target". Thus, the marketing mix refers to four broad levels of marketing decision, namely:
product, price, promotion, and place.

Product

Polo mints used to only come in the flavour of spearmint, but with increasing diversity in the
consumer market the brand has to evolve can release newer flavours that cater to larger
consumer base. Starting with having the classic Polo in flavours like cherry, blueberry, apple,
orange, and many more. Also, the brand should cater to people by having their sugar free
version of the mint be advertised more.

Price

The price Polo is cheaper than some of its competitor so the brand needs to use this fact make
people realize that they can buy a better mint for a cheaper rate. Price plays a huge part in
marketing so Polo needs to utilize this fact and attract people towards its brand through the
pricing of the Polo.

Promotion

Like we discussed before promotion is how you make your brand visible to the consumer. Polo
mints does not do any promotion in Pakistan and has crippled the brand in the face of its
competitors. Promotion of a brand is what makes that brand appealing to the consumer, and if
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a brand does not promote its product then that product is going to get forgotten. So, in order
for people to see the new Polo it needs to be promoted to the public. Both above the line (
TVC’s, social media marketing, radio, and billboards etc.) and below the line promotion
strategies like direct emailing, sponsorships, public relations and expos will be the backbone
of promotion for POLO.

Place

When you to a supermarket or a general store you would see at the counter there are various
confectionaries displayed for sale, but there is a very small chance that you would see Polo
there and is a problem for the brand. Its needs to be everywhere and in order to do that it should
start by having the product be displayed at counter and on the shelves at eye level so that the
consumer’s eyes would catch it more easily.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis was useful technique for understanding our Strengths and Weaknesses, and
for identifying both the Opportunities open to us and the Threats we face. Used in a business
context, it helped us to carve a sustainable niche in our market. (Study. MBA, 2015) proposed
the following respective analysis for POLO.

Strengths

Economical

Product design (hole)

Better taste

More freshness

Weaknesses

Dead advertising

No product variety and packaging

Not growing market

Opportunities
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Recognized well by society

High growth rate expected in market share if advertised properly

Threats

Lack of advertisement can lead polo to dog stage

Competitors are growing we have to have the same pace of growth

Switching cost

Substitutes

Cost Structure

This section focuses upon repositioning costs in contexts involving strategy dynamics for

POLO, or simply the overall cost expected to incur during the whole repositioning campaign.

While repositioning costs increase realism in the analysis of competitive interactions, they are

complicating factors. Hence, it is valuable for POLO to consider conditions under which such

costs truly impact strategic interactions. The first-order consideration is the size of the

repositioning costs relative to that of the market payoffs. The initial repositioning costs

mainly in the form of promotions will add up to be around Five Million Rupees

(5,000,000). TVC’s with celebrity endorsement, billboards, sponsorships and other above

the line and below the line advertising strategies will surely drive people closer to the

POLO once again. We know that repositioning costs are fundamental features of strategic

change and, therefore, should be accounted for in strategic interactions involving grand

strategies. The inherent complexity of strategic considerations, however, renders difficult the

identification of specific mechanisms by which grand strategy changes. We believe that a

fruitful approach would be to focus on general repositioning cost structures (such as time-based

structures) that can be identified from the organizational and strategy literatures. We hope that

the classification and analysis of repositioning costs developed here is a first step in that

direction.
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Conclusion

Repositioning is how we would re-adjust the way we differentiate POLO in the mind of the

consumer – in the face of competition, change or crisis. Essentially, repositioning is the art of

the obvious – searching for that simple, credible, differentiating idea we wanted to be

associated with POLO, and making that real in all our marketing. Simplicity and innovation

here, according to us, are the key to success; the best repositioning involves owning a single

differentiating word in the mind of the consumer. Like good positioning ideas, good

repositioning ideas will be obvious for POLO.

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References

Bevan, C. (1998). Design Choice: POLO. Retrieved from

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/design-choice-polo/63391

Clark, N. (2006). Brand Health Check: Polo. Retrieved from

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/brand-health-check-polo/543852

Dawood, S. (2017). Polo mints freshens up logo and packaging. Retrieved from

https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/25-april-1-may-2016/polo-mints-freshen-up-

logo-and-packaging/

Harish, B. (2011). Brand Update: Hole New Fashion from Polo. Retrieved from

http://marketingpractice.blogspot.com/2011/08/brand-update-hole-new-fashion-from-

polo.html

Mortimer, N. (2016, April). Nestlé hopes to drive relevance of Polo mints with brand refresh.

Retrieved from https://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/04/27/nestl-hopes-drive-

relevance-polo-mints-brand-refresh

Reporter, D. (2018). There’s a big hole in sales of Polo’s: Big brand mints suffer falling sales

as health-conscious Brits 'cut down on their sugar'. Retrieved from

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/companies/there%E2%80%99s-a-big-hole-in-

sales-of-polos-big-brand-mints-suffer-falling-sales-as-health-conscious-brits-cut-

down-on-their-sugar/ar-BBO5ji8

Study MBA. (2015). Nestle Polo SWOT Analysis Retrieved from

https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/food-and-beverages/545-nestle-polo.html
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Charts and Tables

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Questionnaire

1. Age:
a) 10-25 b) 25-40 c) 40-55 d) 55-70
2. Gender
a) Male b) Female
3. Occupation
a) student. b) employed c) unemployed d) self employed
4. Income level

a) lower income group b) middle level income group c) upper level income group

5. What best describes your residential location?

a) urban city b) rural city c) rural village d) village

6. Have you ever consumed polo mints?

a) yes. b) no

7. What level of a user do you consider yourself to be?

a) Heavy b) medium c) light d) never

8. Preferred situation for consumption of polo?

a) After smoking b) after eating c) before meetings d) under stress

9. In your opinion who are the main competitors of polo?

a) Tic tac b) soft mints c) Mentos d) cool mint

10. Where do you buy from?

a) Super store b) local shop c) school d) bar

11. Are you an impulse buyer or a conscious buyer?

a) Purely impulse b) impulse c) conscious

12. What best describe your purchase behavior?

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a) Complex b) variety seeking c) dissonance reducing d) habitual

13. What motivates you to buy our product?

a) Price b) reputation c) previous experience d) peer recommendation

14. What describe best your lifestyle hobbies and interest?

a) Sports b) reading c) travel d) internet

15. What values do you wish polo had which it currently doesn’t

a) Advertising b) new flavours c) new packaging d) a logo

16. What is your most prominent personality trait?

a) Openness b) agreeable c) innovativeness d) sensation seeking

17. Would you recommend polo to a friend or associate?

a) Definitely b) probably c) not sure d) probably not

18.Which of the following you usually get inspired from to catch up with life

trends?

a) Family & friends b) social media c) random observation of people

d) I search online myself

19.What situational factor most prominently influence your purchase?

a) Social pressure b) occasion c) time. d) need