Sample Marketing Plan

Lone Star Stone

Geo-Stone

June 9, 2006

Executive Summary

For over 20 years, Lone Star Stone has provided natural stone veneers to developers and designers at competitive prices. Lone Star Stone has formatted its brand image and personality so that it is now the "premier supplier of manufactured stone veneers" to developers, contractors, and designers. Now, Lone Star Stone is on the verge of launching Geo-Stone, a new consumer product for the Do-It-Yourself and home-improvement fans. The name Geo-Stone was chosen to capture the purity of the natural, reformed stone veneer.

Lone Star needs to promote several messages when introducing the Geo-Stone product. The single most important message that needs to be communicated is fact that natural stone is used to manufacture the product. Lone Star wants to promote a quality product that consumers can buy and install proudly. Other messages that need to be instigated are Geo-Stone's ease of usage with no need for restructuring, its multiple uses around the home and landscape (interior/exterior walls, gardens, pool walls, fireplaces and chimneys), and its competitive pricing against true stone blocks and competitive stone veneers.

To launch the Geo-Stone product, potential customers need to see the stone veneers of Lone Star being implemented into home projects through real-life situations; therefore, an effective promotion for the product line will be the integration of Geo-Stone into home and garden shows on television, as well as supplemental information through the usage of commercials during the shows' allotted advertisement breaks.

In order to persuade the customers to choose the Geo-Stone product, brochures, POP advertising, and in-store demonstrations should provide the further information and imagery needed for purchase.

Advertisements for Geo-Stone will appear in both television and print format. The television advertisements will fall coincidently during shows that focus on home and garden improvement, as well as other do-it-yourself programming (HGTV, FINE LIVING, etc.). Print advertisement will be found in home, garden, and landscaping magazines in order to capture the do-it-yourself, home improvement, and remodeling audience that read that genre of magazines (Southern Living, Martha Stewart, etc.).

Current Brand Image

Architects, contractors, designers, and developers demand Lone Star Stone because of its quality, easy of use, price efficiency, and durability. Lone Star only uses natural rock from Portland cement. Lone Star creates their brand image of quality rock through their use of natural rock on all projects: houses, gardens, fire places, and outer walls. By having a quality product that makes it easy for people to have a beautiful stone structure without the hassle of using large, heavy stones, Lone Star Stone has established itself as the leader in stone veneers.

Current Positioning

Keeping with its brand image, for 20 years Lone Star Stone has kept consistent with its image of quality, durability, easy use, and economic efficacy. This allows Lone Star to be the "premier supplier of manufactured stone veneers" amongst contractors, designers, and developers. Most of Lone Star Stone's positioning will not need much altering when they enter the consumer market through Home Depot and Lowe's.

Product Line Name

When choosing the name for this product, I wanted to find a name that captured the brand image and personality of the product without compromising its value. I chose the name Geo-Stone for several reasons. After making a list of names, I tried to find the one that would essentially capture the imagery that the product brought to the table. Lone Star Stone has provided stone veneers to homes and commercial sites for years because of its stone's exuberance. Using the word "Geo" in the name lets the customer know that the product they are buying is not a replica or a phony stone. The customer needs to know that the same materials found in natural stone, are also found in Geo-Stone. Other nominees seemed to detract from the brand identity that Lone Star Stone wants to create. For example, two nominees, Nature-Lite, Nature-Stone, and Geo-Stone Lite added complications. I felt that adding the word "Lite or Light" would give the consumer the impression that the stone is fake and/or unnatural. When the customer decides to use something on their home, they are going to want a product that adds value and durability to the home. Replicas that use a material other than stone can be spotted and detract value from the property and also decrease the home or garden image.

Using the name Geo-Stone will allow Lone Star Stone to provide the luxury of a true stone veneer to customers without the hassle of reconstruction, allowing consumers to purchase and install the product themselves.

Key Messages

Through advertisements, Lone Star Stone must focus on several key messages so that their current brand image, as seen by their current customers, is transferred to their new target audience. The two main messages that must be relayed to the consumer are Lone Star's use of natural stone and ease of usage. Customers want to know that it will not take a lot of work to install their stone veneer; however, they also want to know that they are using a quality product, which is why they need to stress that the Geo-Stone is made with natural rocks and cement. Relative to some competitors that do not use real stone, Nailite, Geo-Stone will give customers the satisfaction of using real stone without the hassle of restructuring.

Another message that Lone Star would like to relay to customers is the multiple uses of the Geo-Stone. Geo-Stone can be used for exterior and interior walls, fireplaces, pool walls, garden stones, landscapes, and chimneys. By having versatile uses, customers can use the Geo-Stone product in