Mikael La Ferla

Mikael La Ferla

January 1, 2023

UMass Amherst Marketing Assignment #1

Fiery Base Pizza Marketing Mix

DESCRIPTION

A new pizza joint, Fiery Base, has opened in your area, which needs help with a strong and outcome-oriented marketing plan. The plan should include strategies for attracting customers, promoting the business, and expanding the customer base. Additionally, it should identify potential target markets and discuss how to best reach them. Finally, the plan should outline the marketing mix, buyer persona, and promotion plan.

 Objective:

To develop a marketing plan for a newly opened pizza joint in the local area. 

Background of the problem statement:

The pizza joint in question opened recently and has been struggling to draw in customers. They have been marketing locally and spreading the message about its newly opened place, but there has been no visible impact. The business owners have hired you in hopes that you can help turn things around and increase their sales. You have these four tasks:

(1) Identify the 5 Ps of marketing

(2) Recognize the ideal target audience by creating a buyer persona

(3) Map the segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategy for the brand

(4) Develop digital campaign ideas for brand promotion

(To complete this project, you will need to have a solid understanding of marketing principles and strategies. Additionally, it will be helpful to be familiar with the local area and its demographics.)

How is the pizza joint experimenting with its new menu?

The pizza joint is trying to attract customers with its new menu. The menu includes a variety of pizza toppings, as well as some traditional Italian dishes.

What kind of customers are they targeting?

The pizza joint is targeting families, young adults, and businesses in the local area. They are specifically targeting customers who are looking for an affordable, convenient, and delicious pizza option. Additionally, they are hoping to attract customers who are looking for a new and different dining experience.

Pricing strategy for the new pizza range:

The pizza joint is offering a discount for customers who order online. Additionally, they are working on a delivery service that will allow customers to have their pizzas delivered to their homes or offices.

Promotion strategy:

The pizza joint is promoting its new menu through word-of-mouth, flyers, and online ads.

What is to be expected in the project?

• Make a chart of the 5 Ps of marketing and suggest how you would identify the product, price, place, promotion, and people.
• Suggest ideal segmentation, targeting, and positioning for the brand.
• Create innovative promotional ideas for the restaurant.
• Create a buyer persona for the pizza restaurant.

Coverage for buyer persona:

While developing the buyer persona, outline the same in the format below:

1. Name:

2. Age:

3. Location:

4. Occupation:

5. Family status:

6. Income:

7. Personality type:

8. Hobbies or interests:

9. Why they would visit the pizza joint:

10. What would they order:

11. What would make them return:

1) The 5 Ps of marketing are: product, price, place, people, and promotion. Below is the breakdown of Fiery Base’s marketing mix:

• Product → Fiery Base’s product is pizza. The new pizza joint has many choices as to how they make the pizza, as they should consider Neapolitan Style, New York Style, and Sicilian Style. In addition to the style, the pizza joint also has to select the kinds of toppings that’ll go on the pizza, such as pepperoni, cheese, mushroom, vegetarian, etc. Once the pizza is made, the pizza shop has to decide on what the packaging/pizza box will look like.
• Price → Fiery Base’s price will reflect on the quality of the pizza. For instance, if the pizza is made with fresh ingredients imported from Italy, the price of the pizza will be relatively high. If the pizza is made with frozen and processed ingredients, the price of the pizza will be pretty cheap. A large pizza should be priced anywhere from $18-$22, and a slice should be anywhere from $2.50-$3.50.
• Place → Fiery Base’s place ultimately creates the atmosphere for customers walking in. Is the pizza place upscale or is it plain? The location of the pizza place is also very important for several reasons: accessibility, visibility, and traffic. Having these three things to many people will most likely result in giving Fiery Base more potential customers.
• People → Fiery Base’s provided service will contribute to making people feel welcomed when they enter the pizza shop. Having employees that have good attitudes, clean appearances, and are helpful to the customers will create a bond between the customer and the store. Once this connection is made, the customer will continue buying pizza from the store.
• Promotion → Fiery Base will need to advertise themselves in order to attract customers. Whether it’s having sponsorships or a strong social media presence, the pizza shop will have to compete for people’s attention as there are many pizza places that people are intrigued by. 

2) (The source I used for this fact is: https://thepizzacalc.com/pizza-consumption-statistics-2022-in-the-usa/)

Pizza consumption is high in the adolescent age group (kids and teens), which also ties in another potential age group: adults. Since kids do not normally go into restaurants and buy food for themselves, parents will often be the ones going in with them. It is important to have food options that appeal to parents so they can keep bringing their family there. Having family-friendly prices and healthy options, parents will be more inclined to take their kids to Fiery Base than a pizza place that doesn’t provide the same experience for families. Below is the format for the buyer persona:

1. Name: Michael Gary Scott

2. Age: 45 years old

3. Location: Philadelphia, PA

4. Occupation: Regional Manager at a mid-level paper company

5. Family status: Two kids and a wife

6. Income: ~$80,000 a year

7. Personality type: Family-oriented

8. Hobbies or interests: Centered around his family

9. Why they would visit the pizza joint: There’s a food option for everyone in the family

10. What would they order: Pizza, salad, soup, or pasta.

11. What would make them return: Family-friendly foods and prices, convenient location, and great customer service

3) The four types of Market Segmentation Fiery Base will utilize are: geographic and demographic. For a business as straightforward as this, the other two market segmentations are not necessary. 

Geographic

• Zip code = 19103
• City = Philadelphia, PA
• Country = USA
• Population density = 12,465 people per square mile
• Distance from a certain location (Rittenhouse Square) = Half a mile
• Climate = Depending on season, but normal weather
• Time zone = Eastern Standard Time
• Dominant Language = English

Demographic

• Age = Since it’s for family, it’s technically all ages
• Gender = (Consistent with Philadelphia’s gender breakdown: 46% male and 54% female)
• Income = Average-above average 
• Occupation = Employed, not specific
• Family size = Any size
• Race/Religion = Doesn’t matter
• Marital Status = Doesn’t matter
• Education = Doesn’t matter

4) I think a great digital campaign idea is to make 5 of the best pizzas Fiery Base has, display all of them on a big table, take a picture and post/announce it everywhere (social media, paper menus, word of mouth, public display, etc.) that the first 40 people who come to Fiery Base get a free slice. Once they get there, the people can take pictures eating the pizza and post it with the Fiery Base’s tag.

Thank you,

Mikael La Ferla