Marketing Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Plan - Assignment Example Furthermore the report has also presented the marketing strategy by which Philip Morris can grab the intended market segment. Finally the report has also highlighted some of the contingency plans as well as the budget for the coming three years. Table of Contents Tobacco Consumption 4 Philip Morris: A Brief Introduction 5 Situation Analysis 5 Industry Analysis 5 Market Characteristics 7 Consumer Analysis 8 Competitor Analysis 8 Product Offerings 9 SWOT Analysis 9 Market Research and Information 10 Marketing Strategy 11 Missions and Values 11 Marketing Objectives 11 Financial Objectives 11 Target Market Segment 12 Positioning 12 Broad Overall Strategy 12 Marketing Mix 13 Financials 14 Control Procedures 14 Contingency Plan 15 References 16 Appendices 18 Tobacco Consumption The tobacco industry consists of a number of corporations that manufactures and sells tobacco and its related product all over the world. However among the tobacco products cigarettes are the most popular. Studies r eveal that there are billions of smokers around the world, although the figure dipped due government interventions. The interference of Governments of respective countries and banning of cigarettes in few places has hugely affected the sales of cigarettes. Also the health issues of cigarettes are impacting in the sales. Despite of the economic downturn and health issues the industry bears contradiction with elevated demands. In the context of the US market, the volume of the tobacco industry is simply huge however the industry has suffered greatly from the mid 1990s, when various states of the country had officially banned smoking of cigarettes. The states also highlighted that cigarettes causes cancer and all the companied indulged in this business knew the fact, but they intentionally understated their findings about the ill effects of it. This has led to the death and severe illness of a number of smokers around the world. Further the US government incorporated a number of polici es and laws in order to prohibit the selling of products related to tobacco. Despite of such strong rules and policies from the US government the industry maintained its strong hold. There are large numbers of cigarette companies operation within the US market and hence the level of competition is intense. Some of the evident companies that operate in the markets of US include Philip Morris, British American Tobacco (BAT), Universal Corporation, Standard Commercial, DIMON, Reynolds American, Lorillard Tobacco Company, and Vector Group's Liggett unit (Yahoo Finance, n.d.). Most of the tobacco companies operating in the markets of US spend huge bucks for promoting their products (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). In order to be more competitive the company needs to develop a sound marketing plan which will ensure higher visibility of their brand in the market place. Hence the marketing plan for Philip Morris is developed accordingly. Now to start off with the developm ent of marketing plan a brief introduction of the company has been presented below. Philip Morris: A Brief Introduction Philip Morris is a US based firm specializes in the manufacturing and selling of tobacco products. It is the US division of Altria Group Inc. Among the product mix of the company, it gives special emphasis to its cigarette segment. The company is currently headquartered in Richmond, Virginia