Marketing Team: Brittany AlexanderJorge BracamonteKaren JohnsonDaniel RigbyAlyssa Vanleeuwen

Course: Introduction to Marketing

Instructor: Ahmad Kareh

Date: April 30, 2015

StudCase

For more than 100 years, the world’s premier marketer of red pepper sauce has been churning out is mainstay product with no sense of urgency about diversifying its line.  The family-owned McIlhenny Co., makers of the Tabasco sauce that all but owns the hot sauce market, started marketing other products only in 1973, when they introduced a Bloody Mary mix, followed by a picante sauce in 1982.  Now they offer Tabasco Brand 7-Spice Chili Recipe mix, which plays off the strong heritage and widespread awareness of the Tabasco brand.

Tabasco is to red pepper sauce what Xerox is to copiers.  Despite repeated buyout offers, the McIlhenny family has remained dedicated to preserving the old family recipe.  The sauce is aged in oaken vats on remote Avery Island, deep in Louisiana Cajun country and headquarters for the company.  The fiery sauce is difficult to duplicate because of the Central American Capiscum peppers used in the aging process, which involves mixing them with the local salt and vinegar.

Tabasco got its start in 1865 when Henry McIlhenny used peppers brought from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to create the sauce.  For four generations, each patriarch has taken a daily walk, dressed in suit and tie, through the fields of peppers during the fall harvest to personally inspect the crop’s quality, examine the mash in the vats, and watch the shipment of bottles.  For more than a century, neither the bottle nor the name nor the logo has changed.

The chili mix is made from the finest vine-ripened tomatoes, green chilies, diced onions, genuine Tabasco pepper sauce, and a blend of seven herbs and spices known only to the company.  All you add is fresh beef.  The sauce comes in a “spaghetti sauce” jar.  The label reads, “Tabasco Brand 7-Spice Chili Recipe.  McIlhenny Co.”

Tabasco dominates the hot sauce category with 30 percent of the market.  And it is a growing market, riding the crest of a wave of popularity for spicy foods.

InformatiProdu

Other products that have been on market longer with stronger presence and different options. Carroll Shelby’s Chili Mix comes in a beef or chicken variety; also allows you to use some or all of the ingredients.

Because the product is packaged in a spaghetti-type jar, customers can be hesitant to purchase product for fear it tastes like spaghetti sauce.

Since recipe is so guarded, buyout offers are a threat.T Changing the packaging to better showcase product. Market the chili kit to include other meats and/or vegetables (lamb, pork, ribs.) Work on a marketing campaign- Tabasco has relied on their name to sell their

products, now it's time to utilize marketing techniques to sell their product. Tabasco should consider making the chili ready-to-eat.O

Family owned company could have limits to financial backing. Product could be affected by natural disasters. Limited product offerings – no diversity in brand and limited consumer base. Company relies on Tabasco brand name to sell their product; advertising is by

word of mouth. W Company has been in the market for over 100 years. Trademarks are well defined. Widely known strong brand name. The company has strong heritage values passed down from

generation to generation. Currently dominates the marketplace.S

Our team felt that the basic concept behind the Tabasco 7-Spice Chili Recipe Mix is all you need is beef to create a meal, the rest is provided for you. The unique ingredient that sets the 7-Spice Chili Recipe Mix apart from all the rest is the Tabasco Sauce ingredient.

Some of our favorite themes were:

“just like mama used to make, but with a kick” “You bring the beef, we’ll bring the heat” “The chili that bites back”

Without the Tabasco Sauce added, the chili would be bland and normal – like all the rest. The uniqueness of the taste and the spice come from Tabasco.

Integrated Marketing Communication

IM

The Primary target market is men ages 30 to 50

- Men who are well established in their jobs and lifestyle to be able to have time and resources to make meals at home. - Men who are manly, like hot sauce and chili. Men that are customers already to Tabasco brand. 

The Secondary target market is women ages 30 to 50.

- Women who want quick and easy meals to prepare for their families.- Women who do the shopping for their families.- There are many loyal Tabasco Sauce members that use Tabasco for their regular cooking.

MarkTarget

Link to videoSpotT

IMC: "Just like Mama used to make, but with a kick".

Target: Men and women between age 20 to 45.

Narrator: For over one hundred years, Tabasco has made the best hot sauce in America. For over one hundred years, Tabasco has remained dedicated to preserving an old family recipe. For over one hundred years…

Pancho: [Interrupts with a strong Mexican accent] Excuse me señor…?

Narrator: [clears throat] Hmm, yes Pancho?

Pancho: Wasn't this supposed to be for the new 7-Spice Chili mix?

Narrator: Yes Pancho, but I'm trying to engage our audience with some of our history… 

Pancho: Ahh, ok señor. Why don’t you just tell them, it is better than the chili mi mamá makes, it’s true! And she got her recipe from mi abuelita… 

Narrator: I’m getting there Pancho, hold on. [Clears throat] …Tabasco 7-Spice Chili Recipe. Made from the finest vine-ripened tomatoes, green chilies, onions, Tabasco pepper sauce, and a blend of herbs and spices. All you need to add is fresh beef, and you get the best chili… Even better than Pancho’s mamá. 

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