Introduction to Marketing Launch of Straw Hat by Oxfam Shop

Question: Discuss about the Introduction to Marketingfor Launch of Straw Hat by Oxfam Shop. Answer: Introduction: Oxfam Shop is a non-profitable organization in Australia, which is continually deploying new concepts in manufacturing different products to satisfy their mission. Their mission is to help those people who face injustice for their hard labour. The Company achieve its goal through the mean of fair trade, which has several key factors. Stable product prices, fair payment to the farmers and producers and ensuring the stability in their income are the key features of the Company to save people from injustice. This report mainly covers the strategy formulation for the launch of a new product Straw Hat in the market (Shop.oxfam.org.au, 2017). Strategy Formulation Marketing Mix In the view of Philip Kotler, Marketing Mix is a bunch of handy variables that a company can adopt to control its marketing segment (Alex 2012). As per Kotler, for a successful branding of the product, striving to the four core variables of marketing is of utmost important. These four variables are Product, Promotion, Price and Place. For the marketing consultant of Oxfam Shop in Australia, there is an urgency to analyse the market properly before the launch of Straw Hat in the market (Brooks and Simkin 2012). Figure 1: Marketing Mix (Source: PAUL 2013) Product Deciding the product before its launch in the market is the first task, which a marketing consultant needs to focus on (Gordon 2012). The product, which is set for its launch in the market, is Straw Hat. Straw Hat constitutes material such as plants or synthetics. Straw Hat protects head from the heat stroke. This is also a part of fashion, which adds an extra dimension to the personality. Price Price is another very important element before a product launch in the market (Singh 2012). There are various influencing variables for the price of a product such as market appeal for the product, cost involved, price range of other competitors, government limitations etc. For Oxfam Shop, which has a mission to support people by doing justice to their hard work, it becomes necessary to put the comparatively lesser pricing for the product. Price range would be from AU$9 to AU$20, which would cover various types of Straw Hat such as Floppy, Collage, Rusty Sea and many more. Pricing range are the best than other competitors are offering for the respective category of Straw Hat. Moreover, the lesser pricing for respective categories have been made keeping in view satisfying poor people. Huge sell will generate huge income, which will help in helping the poor people. Place Place is another very important aspect of a marketing mix as the profitability of the product relies heavily on the availability of the product to the consumer (PAUL 2013). There should be chain to make product available to the target customers. The best place to launch the Straw Hat would be the hottest places in Australia such as Sydney, Canberra and many more. People are cautious about their health in hotter region. They also tend to protect them from scorching heat of Sunlight. Moreover, the types of Straw Hat such as Rusty Sea, Collage, which would be launched, are best suitable for these places. College students and common people living there would have attraction towards the offering. This would increase the probability of a high sale. Promotion Promotion is another very important element of marketing mix, which has gained a huge popularity in modern era (Gordon 2012). However, promotion does not necessarily decide the fate of a product in the market. It rather tries to catch the attention of common people towards the product. The promotion should cover a process, which is feasible with the Hat trends in the market. For the Oxfam Shop in Australia, the best way to promote the Straw Hat is making this a part of the fair trade, which has always remained their integral part. This is indeed cost saving and effective. Promoting the product online has the potential to grab more attention of masses. In fact, media is a dominating body in the modern era. With a mission to help poor people, the Oxfam Shop needs healthy revenues from their new launch. The product has the capability to grab a hold on its target customers. It would be wiser to go online, as this would catch the attention of a comparatively more people. Conclusion: Oxfam shop in Australia has dedicated their expertise to serve those poor people who face in justice for their hard work. To serve the purpose, the Company has always kept it involved in bringing innovative products that bears potential quality to capitalise on the market. This time, the Oxfam Shop is set to bring the Straw Hat in the market. They have set plans to hit their target customers with comparatively cost effective Straw Hat. The cheaper price tagging and its proper promotion has constructed ample of expectations with the offerings. References: Alex, N.J., 2012. An enquiry into selected marketing mix elements and their impact on brand equity.IUP Journal of Brand Management,9(2), p.29. Brooks, N. and Simkin, L., 2012. Judging marketing mix effectiveness.Marketing Intelligence Planning,30(5), pp.494-514. Gordon, R., 2012. Re-thinking and re-tooling the social marketing mix.Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ),20(2), pp.122-126. PAUL, T., 2013. Mental Accounting of Mutual Fund Investors and Marketing Mix--A Study from 4CMarketing Mix Perspective.Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN,2319, p.2836. Shop.oxfam.org.au. (2017). Charity Gift Shop in Australia - About Us | Oxfam Shop. [online] Available at: https://shop.oxfam.org.au/our-story [Accessed 18 Jan. 2017]. Singh, M., 2012. Marketing Mix of 4PS for Competitive Advantage.IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSRJBM),3(6), pp.40-45.