Weekly Reflection

Weekly Reflection

This week we learned strategies focused on products, including new product development and managing products and brands. One of the brand management strategies is called multi-brand and multi-product branding. With the drawback of higher promotional cost, this strategy has the benefit of raising awareness, attracting customers with different interests and isolated impacts on other products in case one of the sub-product fails.

One of the great examples is P & G. Most of its products are in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, and its brands include Ariel, Crest, Duracell, Gillette, Head & Shoulders etc. over 40 million-dollar sale brands. It greatly helps market and segmentation and for a B2C company such as P&G it can effectively increase its influence to consumers who make purchasing decisions based on many different factors.

1. How did Sanofi develop a product strategy for their new vaccine? What actions did they take?

Upon development they set up the industrial capacity, and prepare the market launch in parallel and not in sequence as the company and its competitors used to do. It is in hope that the vaccine will be ready to supply the market the day after approval.

They created a core group named “Dengue Company” within Sanofi employees dedicated to dengue vaccine development, marketing and production.

2. Considering the 7-stage new product development process, currently at what stage Sanofi is? Explain.

It is under the market testing phase. Because they have finished a working prototype and distribute it at the sample market in Thailand, and is planning for fully launch in some of the countries if the results turned out positive.

3. In your opinion, having the facility to be built parallel to vaccine development was a right move? Why or why not?

I don’t think it is a right move. Because it is highly risky depending on the results of the testing. The development period of dengue vaccine lasts...