Prepared by: Amy OBrien and Abby Leeper (M) Strategic Message Planner: Ensure High Calcium Client

and Product

Due Date: February 28, 2010

Ensure High Calcium is a product of Abbott Nutrition, a segment of Abbott Laboratories. Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company and can be found in about 130 countries. According to MarketWatch, Abbott can be segmented into five categories: Pharmaceutical products, diagnostic products, nutritional products, vascular products and other products. Abbott Nutrition makes nutrition products and supplements and categorizes them in the following departments: infant, child, adult, sports and therapeutic nutrition. (MarketWatch) Abbott Nutritions U.S. headquarters is in Columbus, Ohio. Abbott Nutrition was originally founded as Moores and Ross Milk Company in 1903. The companys first major innovation was the development of the first milk-based infant formula. This company, known as Ross Laboratories, merged with Abbott Laboratories in 1964. The made the Ensure brand which produced the first lactose-free nutritional supplement in 1973. At least five line extensions of Ensure have been created since then, including Ensure High Calcium in 1998. In 2007, Ross Laboratories changed their name to Abbott Nutrition. Abbott Nutrition holds at least 15 other brands besides Ensure (www.abbottnutrition.com). Abbott Nutritions values are focused on creating progressive and innovative products. The company also places value on having a trustworthy name. Abbott Nutritions Ensure brand was awarded the 2009 ChefsBest award for best tasting meal replacement shake. Ensure High Calcium is categorized as an adult nutritional supplement. The shake comes in two flavors: Homemade Vanilla and Creamy Milk Chocolate. A serving size is one bottle, which contains eight fluid ounces. Nutrition facts are printed on the bottle, as well as an

ingredient list. The shakes are packaged in plastic bottles or aluminum cans. Shakes are sold in packages of six or 24 and can be purchased at drug and grocery stores, and specialty nutritional stores. They can also be purchased through online suppliers and on Abbott Nutritions Web site. Six packs of Ensure High Calcium are approximately $8.79 and 24 packs are about $43.55. Target Audience The target audience for Ensure High Calcium are the health conscious, white-collar 45 to 64-year-olds. According to Claritas PRIZM, these Middleburg Manager individuals have a median household income of $53,453 and a total of 2,303,539 (2 percent) households in the United States. This demographic is enjoying the entrance into retirement while listening to books on tape, watching inspirational television, shopping at Pottery Barn and reading the VFW Magazine. The Middleburg Managers are generally college graduates who own homes in the suburban areas of the U.S., and are also members of the social group City Centers and the lifestage group Conservative Classics. This demographic has a mixture of ethnic diversity, including white, black and mixed. The Middleburg Managers are the main target audience for this product because they have a strong desire to keep up their healthy lifestyle to assure a smooth transition into old age. This product will insure these individuals the vitamins and minerals their doctors recommend at a relatively low cost per bottle and decent taste. According to a Mintel report from 2007 states that respondents between 2002 and 2006 had, overall, increased their use of diet/meal replacement products. In 2006, 35 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds, 44 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds, 50 percent of 35 to 44-year-olds, 58 percent of 45-to-54 year olds, and 64 percent of both 55 to 64-year-olds and 65 plus were utilizing products to control their weight and health. Also, according to this report, dieting increases with age and focuses more on nutritional benefits, as opposed to weight loss, in order to divert from the wide

array of health problems that may develop with old age. Therefore, the Middleburg Manager demographic can be narrowed to the ages on the older side of the spectrum.

Supporting Benefits The Ensure High Calcium offers benefits that support the lifestyle of the target audience. Offering the user a healthy and delicious alternative to everyday meals. Features 50 percent of the daily value of calcium Vitamin D Antioxidants 220 calories / 50 calories from fat 24 essential vitamins and minerals Two flavors Benefits .

Efficient way to fulfill daily suggested vitamins Promotes strong bones Promotes a healthy immune system A healthy meal replacement Supports a balanced, healthy diet Allows for a wider range of satisfaction with taste

Current Brand Image Ensures current brand image is all about taking control of your own health. Ensure provides nutrition for ones everyday needs, or for the needs of one who is in recovery from some sort of health ailment, like a surgery or illness. Ensure brands itself as an aid to help consumers keep their health in their own hands. Ensure promotes this image as a nutritional aid by positioning its product in photos next to recognizably healthy foods, like apples and asparagus. A problem with Ensures current brand image is that people tend to think of Ensure as a nutritional supplement which is taken only after one is injured or sick. This negative connotation of Ensure needs to be disproven in order to properly reach the target market.

Direct Competitors and Brand Images Ensure High Calciums direct competitors are other meal replacement shakes. Competitors from the Ensure brand include the original Ensure nutritional shake, as well as the line extensions: Ensure High Protein and Ensure Plus. Each of these products focuses on a different nutritional benefit. The original Ensure shake comes in five flavors and is meant to boost a healthy immune system while providing fiber. Ensure High Protein comes in four flavors and promotes building strong muscles along with providing complete nutrition. Ensure Plus comes in five flavors. It is higher in calories and is designed to help the consumer gain or maintain a healthy weight. Outside of the Ensure brand, Ensure High Calciums direct competitors are Unilevers Slimfast brand and Nestle Boost brand. Both of these brands fall under the combined weight control/nutrition category. Slimfast is the brand leader, while Ensure falls second, and Boost following in third (Bnet). Slimfast has positioned itself as a weight loss brand. Its brand image focuses on losing weight without feeling deprived. Nestle Boost has positioned itself as a healthfocused brand, much like Ensure, although it focuses on its products features of increasing energy in the consumer. Boost offers several nutritional shakes, but none that promote high calcium. Indirect Competitors and Brand Images The four main indirect competitors for Ensure High Calcium are, in general, any other source of calcium and Vitamin D outside the realm of meal replacement beverages: supplement pills, milk and yogurt. According to a Mintel report from 2009, the sale of vitamin and mineral supplement pills is expected to grow to $15.1 billion a year by 2014 and the demographic of older consumers will

continue to drive the market; specifically, those aged 55 to 64 will increase by 13.6 percent. Mineral supplements are the biggest-selling segment in the FDMx market and are well known for their health benefits and are suggested often by doctors. A Mintel report from May 2009 explained that in the FDMx market milk channels about $16.5 billion in 2008. It is forecasted that milk sales will decrease 7% current-term growth during 2008 through 2013. The average annual consumption of milk declined three gallons in 2008 per household, compared to 2006. The sales for organic milk grew 129 percent during 2003 to 2008, however in the heart of the recession organic milk exhibited the smallest dollar and volume growth. Unlike sodas, energy drinks, teas and other beverages, milk has failed to provide an exciting experience for consumers that may have led to this decline in consumption. Parents still choose milk for their children because of its nutritional value and 70 percent still believe it to be the healthiest drink choice. A Mintel report states that yogurt is perceived to be healthier than milk; and roughly 78 percent of those who responded to drinking yogurt drinks admitted to drinking yogurt instead of milk. In the FDMx market yogurt and yogurt drinks channeled about $3.9 billion in 2008, yielding a growth at about 13% from 2003 to 2008, giving refrigerated yogurt 84 percent of the total market sales. Mintel predicts that from 2008 through 2013 there will be a 7 percent increase for this segment. Yogurt products are widely suggested for and consumed to target immunity boost, lower cholesterol or blood pressure and improve digestive health. Though yogurt is continually growing in popularity, it is important to continue the education on the health benefits of yogurt.

Desired Brand Image In order to better reach the target market, Ensure needs to promote itself as a supplement for those who are already in good health, instead of those whose health is failing. Ensure has been trying to promote itself as a nutritional supplement for healthy adults, but they need to strengthen this image in order for consumers to move past their conception that Ensure is only for sick people. In order to reach the target market, Ensure should promote the products benefit of efficiently maintaining health. This target market wants to enjoy life while aging gracefully, and they will not want to buy a product that reminds them of illness and injury. In order to create this image, Ensure ought to portray its consumers as active and busy individuals who have better things to do than worry about whether or not they are getting enough nutrients from their food. Ensure should be seen as an easy, no-hassle way to incorporate nutrients and calcium into ones daily life. Selected Benefits These selected benefits will catch the target audiences eye effectively, because these benefits will contribute the largest assistance to these users. Features 50 percent of the daily value of calcium Vitamin D Antioxidants Advertising Goals The advertising goal is to create awareness with the target audience and make Ensure High Calcium top of mind for healthy meal replacement drinks. The target audience will be Benefits .

Efficient way to fulfill daily suggested vitamins Promotes strong bones Promotes a healthy immune system

attracted to its selected benefits because they are health conscious individuals who are looking to remain in their best shape. Strategic Message Health conscious men and women ages 45 to 64 should buy Ensure High Calcium because it is the healthy and delicious way for older individuals to keep their health. References http://ensure.com/products/ensure-high-calcium February 20, 2010 http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=485 February 20, 2010 http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=1562 February 20, 2010 http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=226554 February 19, 2010 http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=393526 February 20, 2010 http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=393618 February 19, 2010 Company Spotlight: Abbott Laboratories. Marketwatch: CNS. Datamonitor. January 2010. Business Source Premier. February 18, 2010. Abbott Nutrition. http://abbottnutrition.com/ February 18, 2010. Ensure. http//ensure.com/ February 17, 2010 Slimfast. www.slimfast.com February 18, 2010 Nestle Boost. www.boost.com/products February 18, 2010

www.gnet.com February 18, 2010