Fresh Dog Treats is a newly developed company that is focusing on catering to the premium pet market. Specifically, the company is creating gourmet/organic grain-free fresh dog treats. While these treats are similar to some treats offered on the market currently by such companies as FreshPet, one of the biggest differences is the packaging approach. One of the limitations to FreshPet products is the product must be refrigerated in the store, which limits the number and types of retailers that will adopt the product. Most stores do not want to put a refrigeration unit in the middle of their pet food aisle.

Fresh Dog uses aseptic packaging that only requires the product to be refrigerated after opening. This will allow the product to be displayed in the normal pet aisle without the requirement of the refrigeration unit. As the company progresses forward with this product, there are several marketing issues that have not been resolved.

Your task is to assist them in this decision-making process. Please respond to the following decision points for the company:

a: Identify for this product a specific target market group they should focus on. In your description of the target market, you also need to address where you believe this group of individuals would most likely purchase (type of retailer) this type of dog treat. Provide detail around their demographics, geographics and psychographics.

b: After calculating the cost of goods sold, the company has determined that the cost per 8-ounce bag of treats is approximately $2.97. The company desires a 40 percent contribution margin on each package sold. They also know that most wholesalers in this industry use a 32% mark-up and many retailers maintain a 25% mark-up as well. Following this channel and based solely on the calculations, what will be the price that the normal retailer will charge for the product? Reflecting on the psychological aspects of pricing and specific pricing tactics theories, what would your final price recommendation be? Support your answer.

c: Design for the company an appropriate promotional campaign for this product based upon your described target market. Be specific in your discussion. Be sure to address the influence of the brand will have on this component of the marketing strategy. Discuss your message and the type of sales promotion and/or media you would use.

d: Discuss how the aspects of differentiation and positioning will impact the acceptance of this product by the desired target market. What must the company consider in terms of its products and the competitor products when entering the market?

e: Create a slogan for the business, less than 20 words, which captures the essence of the brand. Explain your rationale for the slogan. Then show how it should be incorporated within the brand image and integrated marketing communication plan.

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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