Promoting Land and Nature Jerky

Kathy Ayers, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Land and Nature (L&N) Jerky Company, needs to make a recommendation about L&N's 2020 promotional spending. L&N's CEO, Tim Ryan, wants her to calculate different scenarios using historical data to determine which option to recommend. Specifically, Ryan wants Ayers to recommend one of the three options: reduce the promotion budget by 30%, increase spending on consumer promotions by $200,000, or increase spending on trade promotions by $200,000. Ryan's goal is to achieve an operating profit of at least 7% of L&N's sales in 2020. To make a recommendation, Ayers must first evaluate the effectiveness of past consumer and trade promotions and then determine how to allocate promotional spending to achieve Ryan's operating profit goal. The case can be used to discuss positioning and integrated marketing communications. It demonstrates how return-on-marketing-investment (ROMI) varies with changes in gross profit. Students will need to evaluate strategic information as well as calculate quantitative information. The case is recommended for upper-level undergraduate students or first-year MBA students studying marketing management. It can also be used in a course on consumer marketing, promotions management, or integrated marketing communications.