Jones-Blair Paint Case Study Strategic Marketing Dr.

Smith Rachel Raines

Jones Blair Company is a privately held corporation that is a world leader in the paint and coatings industry. Jones Blair Company produces, markets, and distributes architectural paint and coatings under the name brand of Jones Blair. The organization is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Since 1928 their mission has been to provide the business community with the highest quality products while providing unparalleled customer service. Jones Blair consists of two divisions; Jones Blair high performance coatings and NEODARD. Their OEM, Original equipment manufacturing, is ran through the high performance coatings division and is 35 percent of the total industry. Seamless epoxy flooring, surface applied waterproofing, and elastomeric roofing and wall coating systems are operated through NEODARD. Jones Blair Company markets its paint and sundry items in over 50 counties in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana from its plant and headquarters in Texas. The U.S. paint industry is divided into three main segments: The Architectural Coatings, The Original Equipment Manufacturing Coatings and lastly the Special Purpose Coatings. General-purpose paints, lacquers, and varnished that are used on commercial, residential, and institutional structures comprise the architectural coatings segment. These materials along with brushes and other accessories are sold through wholesalers and retailers; they are then purchased by DIY consumers, contractors, and professional painters. The OEM coatings are commonly used for durable goods such as: trucks, cars, metal containers, furniture, and machinery. Special Purpose Coatings are formulated for unique conditions. These coatings may be used for bridges, highway markings, shipping facilities, and railroad construction.

The executive group at Jones Blair Company encountered a tough problem. The problem is how to deploy corporate marketing efforts in the southwestern United States to bolster sales. While they pride themselves on their quality, they struggle as to what appeals to use in their marketing strategies. Members of the executive group have their opinions on what is the best approach, however this topic is debatable. The Vice president of advertising for instance believes that the company should direct its efforts on advertising, targeting the DFW do-it-yourself market, with an overall goal to increase awareness at least 30 percent. Increasing recognition may dramatically induce sales considering that Jones Blair Company has yet to focus on brand awareness within the DIY market. The vice president of operations, on the other hand, thinks that a price cut by 20 percent is necessary in order to make the product more comparable in the market. Reducing the price may make their product more competitive, but also might threaten the consumers perception of their paint quality. The vice president of sales believes that the sales representatives need to be more aggressive and the vice president of finance thinks that they should remain practicing the same methods, but guarding profit margins and controlling costs. Each of their ideas has merit, but the solution must resolve the problem, without jeopardizing the integrity of the company. The best solution is one that is cost effective but also increases revenues. The V.P. of advertising wants to spend $350,000 on advertising in the DFW do it yourself market. This is incredibly expensive, especially when focusing in only one market while only raising awareness by 30 percent. This is a risky option when other options are available.

The V.P. of operations wants to cut prices across all products by 20 percent. This will affect its premier paint image and it will also decrease profits for the company if they cannot increase sales, per gallon of paint. This means in order to make the same amount of profit, they will need to increase their paint sales. This again is a risky option. The V.P. of finance wants to keep on the same track and do nothing. This is not a good option as without changing an aspect of their marketing effort, sales my decrease and the company may dig themselves a hole they cannot get out of. The best option is from the V.P. of Sales. His proposition is to hire another sales representative. The V.P. admits that the sales department has been slacking; they have only made five new accounts in the last five years. Jones and Blair needs to increase their sales to corporations. This is what they are best at, and they need to focus on this market, outside and inside the DFW area. Hiring another sales rep costs $60,000 per year, however the newly created accounts will quickly outweigh this cost. Creating contracts with large companies is what Jones Blair needs to be focusing on. Choosing this option is the best choice proposed by the company V.P.s