1. Tyler Pet Foods: Show Circuit
1. Introduction
Tyler sells dog food to the Kennel Market
Food brokers approach Tyler to sell its products through supermarkets in Boston. They had achieved a huge success with a similar product in the Southwest.
2. Issues
Promotions strategy for introducing a new product
Segmentation
Positioning
Pricing

2. 3. Situation Analysis $5.6B market (at manufacturers prices)
Less than 50% of dogs are fed by prepared foods
55% for sales in supermarket
50 Mfgrs. And 350 brands
The big 8 account for 75% of sales
Product categories
% of sales
Dry
Canned 30
Treats 15
Moist 13
100
Adv. & promotion
2% of sales on adv.
$7~8M for national brands
$Adv. To introduce new products
$30M Heinz (reward, premium canned dog food)
$25~30M Ralston (nature’s course; dry dog food)
$10M Alpo Lite

3. 4. Product Attribute / Market Matrix Attribute Dry Moist Canned Treats
Ease of preparation 
Nutrition
Palatability
Price
Storage
Appearance

4. 5. Marketing Intelligence
Show circuit has best chance of success if positioned as a moist or canned dog food with premium quality
Canned food has twice the market potential as moist food
Canned food (current prices per ounce):
$.10 (Mighty dog) to $.048 (Alpo)
Moist food (price per ounce)
$.065 (Gaines Burgers) to $.045 (Moist And Meaty)
Coupons cost .12/case or .01/tub, with each coupon valued at $.10, ten percent redemption rate is typical

5. How Much Should Be Spend On Adv.?
6. Launch Strategy
Positioning
“Finest Dog Food Available At Any Price”
Acceptance by dog breeders
Positioned against canned and dry dog foods
(Questions as to whether appeals are desirable/believable/sufficiently exclusive)
Media
Dogtime TV
Better home and gardens
(Inserts)
Promotion Objectives
Create awareness
Motivate trial via coupon redemptions and TV ads
Obtain distribution via grocery channels
How Much Should Be Spend On Adv.?

6. EXHIBIT 1 ESTIMATING TOTAL AND CATEGORY DOG FOOD SALES POTENTIAL IN BOSTON AT MANUFACTURERS’ PRICES
Estimate Percent of Boston dog Boston area
Dog food National (U.S.)* Percent of dogs/ Boston dog food sold through supermarket
category sale data x people in Boston** = food sales = supermarkets*** = dog food sales
Dry $2.352 Bill % $35.28 Mill % $19.40
(42% of total)
Canned $1.680 Bill % $25.20 Mill % $ (30% of total)
Moist $.728 Bill % $10.92 Mill % $6.01 (13% of total)
Treats $.840 Bill % $12.60 Mill % $6.93 (15% of total)
Totals $5.6 Bill % $84.0 Mill % $46.2 Mill
*Category percentages based on case Exhibit 2; US dog food sales at manufacturer prices were $5.6 billion given in case.
**Assume a relationship between the percentage of dogs in a geographical area and the percentage of total food consumed.
***Supermarkets account for 55% of dog food sales.

7. EXHIBIT 2 ESTIMATED SHOW CIRCUIT CONTRIBUTION AT ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTED LIST PRICES PER CASE OF 12 AND 15-OUNCE TUB
Premium priced Premium priced
canned dog food moist dog food
Show circuit Case Tub Case Tub
Price to consumer $ $1.50 $11.76 $0.98
Price to retailer
(assuming 25% retailer
gross profit margin)* $ $1.125 $8.82 $.735
Less: Broker commission
(7% of price to retailer)* ($0.945) ($0.079) ($0.617) ($0.052)
Less: Production + Freight +
Packaging Costs (all
variable)* ($6.37) ($0.531) ($6.37) ($0.531)
Contribution $ $0.515 $1.833 $0.152
*Given in the case

8. EXHIBIT 3 BREAK-EVEN CALCULATIONS FOR SHOW CIRCUIT AT DIFFERENT CONTRIBUTION AND PROMOTION SPENDING LEVELS
Promotion Strategy Expenditure
Contribution/Case $300,000 $500,000
$300, $500,000
Premium-priced B/E (cases) = $ B/E (cases) = $6.185
canned dog food:
$ = 48, = 80,841
B/E ($) = 48,504 cases B/E ($) = 48,504 cases
x $ x $13.50
$654, $1,091,354
Premium-priced B/E (cases) = $ B/E (cases) = $1.833
$ = 163, = 272,777
B/E ($) = 163,666 cases B/E ($) = 272,777 cases
x $ x $8.82
$1,443, $2,405,893