3. MY NATURAL MARKET 3
My Natural Market Advertising Plan
Executive Summary
The nutritional supplement market has grown considerably in the last ten years and
shows no signs of slowing. Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Yare all potential
consumers. My Natural Market offers quality organic products and services to enhance
performance or revitalize health. The current advertising is through the website, catalogue, e-
mail newsletter, and social media sites. While the coverage within this arena is substantial, there
are areas where improvement and growth should be considered. The main purpose should be
helping consumers to keep the brand in mind, building awareness and ultimately creating
engagement. My Natural Market is primarily an online retailer so reaching out to potential
consumers in ways that are appropriate for them becomes critical. Using a wide variety of
advertising that targets people motivated by health related issues will help to create appreciation
of the website and the products offered. Enticing consumers into a relationship that builds brand
identity and loyalty is a key objective. Some of the techniques highlighted here are direct mail
offers, pop-up and pop under advertising, magazine distribution, and infomercial development.
Product
My Natural Market is an online retailer with a store front in Draper, Utah. It was founded
in 2008. Annual revenues have increased 801% in the last three years reaching $6.8 million
dollars in 2011. (Inc., 2013). A large array of products are offered including organic vitamins
and supplements, pet supplies, snacks, household products, personal care items, and books
among other things. The merchandise is free of contamination from pesticides and additives. The
post and share recipes strive to get customers vested in the site and in turn the product. The
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website presents several articles on health related topics as well as an area to sign up for a free e-
mail newsletter or to order a free catalog. This one stop shopping experience is of great value to
consumers looking to improve their extremely busy lives.
Target Market
The use of nutritional supplements has exploded in the last few years. The men and
women in the primary market were born between 1946 and 1964. As these Baby Boomers
continue to grow older, they are looking for ways to stay vital and healthy for as long as possible.
Their motivations include staying healthy, prevention, and treatment of chronic conditions.
Generation X and Generation Y consumers born between 1965 and 1995 are interested in the
supplements and natural personal care items as well. However, their focus, being slightly
different, is on hair care, body shape, and skin care. (Dennis, 2010). The entire demographic is
55% women and 45% men. (The National Academics Press, 2013). They fall into the Believers
and Thinkers category with needs for quality and price. These health conscious consumers are
attracted to self-care and alternative medicine. They are worldwide and appear to be regular
users. Although mostly Caucasian, these shoppers are also comprised of 12% Chinese. They are
well educated with slightly higher than average income levels but that does seem to vary
depending on the motivations for purchasing.
Market Trends
The industry for nutritional supplements is enormous; globally it reaches $68 billion
dollars annually. (Report Linker, 2013). Americans are a large part of that market with 53% of
adults using vitamins, minerals, or supplements. The recession does factor into the market
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slightly but with the rising cost of health care it continues to expand each year. There are
currently very little Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations concerning botanical or
herbal products. (Natural Products Insider.com, 2012). Continued efforts to improve on quality
or to control ingredients are currently underway. My Natural Market’s main competitors for the
online market are Puritan’s Pride and Swanson’s Vitamins. Both companies have well
established brands and have been in business for many years. Vitamins, minerals, and
supplements are also available at other online retailers, co-ops, fitness clubs, health centers,
supermarkets, pharmacies, and even retailers like Target and Wal-Mart. The combative aspects
of the market are immense making it necessary to differentiate between My Natural Market and
its’ competitors.
Differentiation
What differentiates My Natural Market from its key competitors?
Eco-friendly options: The natural beauty products and the chemical free
household cleaners are a unique addition. They offer a clear choice to consumers
interested in providing healthier and more environmentally safe options for their
homes.
All organic products: The vitamins, minerals, and supplements sold by many of
the competitors do not have the organic attributes. This allows consumers to
select products that are pure and safe for their families.
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Goals
NON-FINANCIAL GOALS
One of the goals for this advertising plan is to continue to build relationships with
consumers. Continuing to offer e-mail newsletters, online articles, and post and share
recipes helps to accomplish this. Over the next two years, ask customers through
advertising efforts, to register online for free gifts to build a data base that can be used
for future advertising endeavors.
Increasing awareness of the products offered and the additional website benefits is
extremely important to the company’s identity. Showing current and potential
customers the value of the organic products available helps to shape the brand. In the
next two years, increase awareness through advertising methods described below.
FINANCIAL GOALS
The advertising changes included here should increase profits by a minimum of 15%
over the next year especially since the growth in the last three years has been so
enormous.
Return on Investment (ROI) using advertising methods such as direct mail, magazine
ads, internet pop ups, and even infomercials will increase over the next year as well.
These methods target Baby Boomers and older individuals effectively.
Key Messages
One of the key messages to relate to the customers through the advertising is “Discover
the advantages of an organic supplement today.” (My Natural Market, 2013). The benefits of
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products free of pesticides or dangerous additives should be highlighted. Showing that My
Natural Market offers inexpensive vitamins and supplements to enhance performance and
promote good health will be important to communicate to customers as well. Consumers will
appreciate the convenience of a one stop shopping experience, offering them the added benefit of
time for their extremely busy lives. The post and share recipes, e-mail newsletters, and articles
available to read online are essential to the relationship building needed. To gain the attention of
perspective customers the key messages need to be communicated in a way that attracts, that
suggests a difference to consumers.
Marketing Recommendations
Advertising in magazines such as Prevention, Healthy Living Made Simple, and Mother
Earth News allows for targeting of the demographic. Self-care and alternative medicine as well
as staying healthy, prevention of diseases, and treatment of chronic illnesses are motivations for
the target market. The circulation for these magazines is upward of 10 million. Mailing out direct
mail pieces that highlight the low cost of the products and the other benefits of the website
reminds current customers to order and builds awareness and engagement within the target
market. Use pop-ups and pop-unders when potential customers are searching other informational
websites on health related topics, beauty products, or even pet care sites. This will put the
website in front of customers when they are interested in obtaining information. Finally, the most
expensive but highly effective technique is an infomercial leading viewers to the website. “This
advertising medium is indeed effective with a broad demographic base.” (Belch, 2012). The
infomercial should be viewed early in the morning (5 am) and shown on stations that aim their
broadcasting toward the 50+ crowd. In considering promotion, place strategy, price, and product
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these methods are designed to reach as many of the target audience as possible with products and
services that benefit them.
Current New
Markets
Selling products online through the
website, Amazon, and at the store front
in Draper, UT.
Selling products through direct
mail and infomercials.
Increasing awareness of products
through e-mail newsletters, catalogues,
and social media sites.
Building brand through magazine
ads, direct mail, pop-ups and pop-
unders, and infomercials.
Media Selection
Direct Mail
The direct mail piece should be sent out quarterly. This would not be so much that it
would ultimately annoy customers and not too little that they completely forget. This would also
allow for seasonal preparation of the piece, offering vitamins to increase the immune system
during the winter or specials on spring cleaning products. It should be mailed to existing
customers to remind them to purchase needed products and to new customers to bring awareness
of the products and services available. A list of potential customers can be purchased initially. In
the future, that list should come from data bases created from pop-ups, pop-unders, requests for
catalogs, and e-mail newsletters. The direct mail piece should also ask customers to register
online for a free gift allowing for more information to be added to the data base. Offering a
special not available on the website or in other media allows for easy tracking.
Magazines
The magazine ads should be tailored to the individual magazines chosen. An example is
using an ad in Prevention Magazine highlighting the health benefits of the vitamins and minerals
and an ad in Mother Earth News that highlights the organic aspects. Prevention has a circulation
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of 2.8 million and is published monthly. (Mazzotta, 2009). Healthy Living Made Simple has a
circulation of 8 million and is published bi-monthly. (Sam’s Club, 2013). Mother Earth News
has the smallest circulation of 500 thousand but has a very specialized audience and is published
bi-monthly. (Mother Earth News, 2013). Special rates can be negotiated for yearly placements.
The ad within each magazine should offer separate deals not available in other advertising to
facilitate measurement.
Pop-ups and Pop-unders
Pop-ups and pop-unders should be used when potential customers search for information
on chronic illnesses, disease prevention, beauty products, pet supplies, and merchandise for eco-
friendly non-toxic home cleaning. Using pop-ups or pop-unders appropriately is extremely
important. Not wanting to alienate customers, do not place pop-ups and pop-unders on each page
of a website, and use them only when customers perform a particular action. They need to be
relevant. The pop-up and pop-under designs should be eye catching and entice the customer to
sign up for the e-mail newsletter or catalog, or have a link directly to the website. Giving away
another gift to sign up for the newsletter or catalogue will help to attract attention also.
Infomercials
A half-hour infomercial should be targeted to Baby Boomers. It should air early in the
morning at around 4 to 5 AM during the week on networks that target that demographic. Bright
House Media Strategies should be used to create and distribute the infomercial. They have
expertise in production as well as measurement. (Bright House Media Strategies, 2013). The
networks chosen are A & E, AMC, and Hallmark. They deliver to audiences that are appropriate
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for My Natural Market. Each segment of the infomercial should contain the toll free number and
website URL. It should showcase products that Baby Boomers will relate to. Costs can range
from $20,000 to $250,000 depending on the production factors involved. ( Kobliski, 2006). It
should be kept simple to begin with in order to test station, time, and contents. Testing in markets
such as Florida and Arizona where Baby Boomers are concentrated will also provide needed
feedback on its success. Infomercials often have to be recreated every 9 to 12 months. The
infomercial needs to highlight the organic products and the website itself, illustrating the benefits
of the recipes, e-mail newsletter, books, and articles.
While many times the budget for advertising is a percentage of the revenues, in this case
it should be commensurate with the selection. The quick and enormous growth over the last three
years makes it necessary to budget advertising in a way that continues its upward swing. Pop-up
and pop-unders are inexpensive and ads in magazines such as Prevention run monthly (half page
cost approximately $36,000) or bi-monthly. A deal should be made for yearly placement in each
magazine. Direct mail is more expensive but if only sending quarterly and possibly using in-
house staff to create additional funds can be saved. The infomercial would be the most expensive
but has the largest audiences and offers much higher return on investment.
Measurements
Offering unique specials or free products in different advertising will allow for
measurement of each. A free gift should be included with the direct mail piece along with
another offered when registering online. A special deal only shown on the direct mail piece itself
is another option. A code of some kind will be needed in order to keep them straight. Magazine
ads should also offer a free book or product in order to measure effectiveness. If you offer
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different gifts for each advertising method, measurement will be easier to track. Pop-up and Pop
unders can be measured using the times people divert from their current site to view yours or by
how many people order catalogs or sign up for e-mail newsletters. You should test out different
versions of this as well to see which ones work best. Infomercials often offer special deals that
end soon after viewing which helps to measure activity. Samplings in markets where the
demographic is concentrated should also be used to test market and message for infomercial
before full roll-out.
Conclusion
My Natural Market has found some unique ways to fill a need for consumers wanting to
stay healthy. Offering a wide variety of products as well as services that engage and inform will
help to differentiate from some of the competitors. The main difference is in the organic products
offered. The eco-friendly options available for household cleaners are another distinctive aspect.
Illustrating the benefits of the website and the organic and eco-friendly products that are
advertised as well as targeting the Baby Boomers effectively will increase consumer awareness
and confidence. My Natural Market will need to continue building relationships with consumers
that enhances brand loyalty. Using direct mail, magazine ads, pop-ups and pop-unders, and
infomercials to magnify the already substantial social media presence will increase return on
investment, profits, and market share.
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References
Belch, G. & Belch, M. (2012). Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing
Communications Perspective. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY.
Bright House Media Strategies. (2013). Smart Solution for Advertisers. Retrieved from
http://bhmediastrategies.com/WhatWeOffer/TVAdvertising.aspx.
Dennise, J. (2010, April 1). Despite globalization issues, scientific validation concerns,
potentially restrictive regulations, rocky economics and an uneasy healthcare system, the
dietary supplement market continues to grow. Nutraceuticals World. Retrieved from
http://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/issues/2010-04/view_features/dietary-supplements-
2010/.
Inc. (2012). Retrieved January 31, 2013 from http://www.inc.com/profile/mynaturalmarket.
Kobliski, K. (2006, January 17). Infomercials. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from
http://www.entrepreneur.com/arti.cle/83092.
Mazzotta, K. (2009, March 27). Prevention Adjusts Circulation Rate Base. Rodale Inc. Retrieved
from http://www.rodaleinc.com/newsroom/empreventionem-adjusts-circulation-rate-base
Mother Earth News. (2013). Media Kit. Retrieved from
http://www.ogdenpubs.com/uploadedfiles/advertising/Mother_Earth_News_Media_Kit.p
df.
My Natural Market (2013). Retrieved January 31, 2013 from http://www.mynaturalmarket.com/.
Natural Products Insider. (2012, December 28). Botanical Drug Market Hampered by
Regulations. Retrieved from
http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/news/2012/12/botanical-drug-market-hampered-
by-regulations.aspx.
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Report Linker. (2013). Vitamin and Supplement Industry: Market Research Reports, Statistics
and Analysis. Retrieved from: http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02037/Vitamin-and-
Supplement.html.
Sam’s Club. (2013). Sam’s Club commits to Healthy Living Made Simple in 2013. Retrieved
from http://www3.samsclub.com/newsroom/Press/1327.
The National Academics Press (2013). Vitamin and Mineral Supplements. Retrieved on January
31, 2013 from: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1365&page=119.
