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Situation Analysis

Dark Horse Media Planners

Brand Analysis

Brand Situation (Slide 1)

Altoids is a breath mint that has a 100 year history, its parent company is WM. Wrigley

purchased Altoids in 2008 by confectionery giant Mars. There are well over 20 brands of breath

mints, making it difficult for Altoids to stand out in a crowded category. Altoids offer a variety of

flavors including, peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint, cinnamon, and sugar-free smalls which are

also available in all these flavors. The product is also sold in a metal container, making the

“curiously strong mints” slogan being displayed through the packaging. According to AdAge,

Altoids had a budget of a little bit over $1 Million to create their marketing campaign.The primary

marketing objective is to increase sales, as well as increase the awareness through advertising. The

goal is to increase sales by 20% next year.

Industry Situation (Slide 2)

Altoids could be put into many categories such as mints, and breath fresheners. Mints is

the best category for Altoids to be placed in. The category of mints in general is remaining at a

constant level across years. According to simmons research, 128.56 million people in America use

breath mints. This is about 40% of Americans, this is a large amount of people that use these

products. In the past 10 years consumers of mints, strips, and sprays has had low fluctuating, From

these results it is concluded that consumers who use mints use them often, and people who do not
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use them, do not use them at all. The general public care about their personal hygiene, which leads

consumers to purchase mints. Mints is a wide industry with a vast amount of competitors.

Although, Altoids seems to be doing well, according to a graph 37.16 million American use

Altoids, the highest among all other competitors(statista). However, the brand Tic-Tac is not far

behind at 35.08 million. To insure these customers stay loyal, they must be clear with their strategy

and capture a specific target audience to increase sales and the brand persona in consumer’s mind.

4 C’s

Consumer wants and needs:

Analyzing the consumers want and needs is crucial in understanding what a consumer

specifically wants to buy. People purchasing mints are generally care about their appearance. On

the go people don’t always have time to quickly run to the bathroom to bush their teeth, this is

when Altoids comes in. Altoids packaging makes it easy to keep in your purse, coat pocket, or car,

ideal locations for the on the go person. Since the Altoids mints are so strong consumers don’t

mind paying a little bit extra to secure the desire of having fresh breath. With the multiple flavors

available, consumers can pick their favorite, or try all of them.

Altoids products offer consumers to be worry-free at their next meeting, date, or just day

to day interactions.

Cost:

Cost of Switching to competitors:

Currently Altoids are priced at $3.75, this is a little high of a price compared to competitors. Tic-

Tac are priced at $1.39, and Ice Breakers at $1.88. Consumers may be sensitive to the price of

Altoids making them choose another brand over Altoids. Price is a high factor in consumer’s

purchase decision and a higher price may lead consumers in purchasing a competitor.
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Cost of time in acquiring the product:

Altoids is placed next to its competitors on the shelf at the convenience stores, gas stations,

and supermarkets. This makes it easy for consumers to see Altoids, as well as it’s competitors.

Therefor, it is essential to create a strong brand persona in a consumer’s mind, leading them to

reach for Altoids at their next grocery shopping day.

Communication:

Creating a constant dialogue between Altoids and consumers will lead them to trust the brand,

and therefor be loyal customers. This can be effective using social media, and through the Altoids

website. Currently, the website for Altoids falls under the parent company, Mars Inc. However,

Altoids does have a strong social media presence through Facebook. Adding a variety of social

media accounts will allow for more two-way communication between the business and consumers

that would be beneficial to the Altoids brand. Altoids creates strong advertising campaigns that

are similar in style, leading consumers to associate Altoids with being a “curiously strong mint.”

This quality differentiates the Altoids mint from its competitors.

Convenience

Altoids are distributed in most grocery stores and gas stations. The brand is found in, but

not limited to: Walmart, Wegmans, Target, Tops, CVS, Walgreens and gas stations. With all these

multiple places to purchase Altoids, it makes it easy for consumers to travel to the store that is

closest to them.. Once they are in the store, they are conveniently placed by the cashier. Making it

accessible to pick up if they are waiting to be checked out. Or if headed to the store to just purchase

Altoids, consumers don’t have to waste time looking around the whole store. As well as at stores,
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Altoids is also available on Amazon. This makes purchasing Altoids easy for the on the go

consumer.

Geographic Information

Based on Altoids data, the category of mints based on revenue is in urban cities. The highest being

New York City at $45,060,600. Based on the date it is concluded that there is slight to no difference

depending on the cities geography, meaning the cities in the north, south, east, and west are all

high compared to smaller cities. For Altoids the highest is also in New York City at $7,624,000.

Based on BDI and CDI information, the CDI or category development index is the highest in

Yuma-El Centro, AZ-CA. This city has a index number of 121, meaning the people in this area

are 21% more likely to use mints than the average population. Larger cities including Albany, GA,

Miami, FL, and Fresno-Visalia,CA all of index numbers over 100, meaning they are more likely

than the average population to use breath mints. Regarding BDI or brand development index. The

brand Altoids has a large amount of sales in Washington, DC. The index number for this city is

126, meaning people who live in Washington are 26% more likely to purchase Altoids than the

average population. Following Washington are the cities of NY, NY,

and Boston, MA. This crucial data because the overall category of mints are poor among these

areas, but the brand of Altoids is doing well. Based on this information, it is concluded that in areas

where the category of mints is high, Altoids is not selling in these areas. However, in areas where

the category of mints is low, Altoids is selling a high amount.

Societal Trends

In today’s society, there are many cultural norms, one including the hook-up culture which

encourages intimate personal interactions. Altoids uses this trend to create advertisements with
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male and female speaking about the opposite sex. Altoids is aware of these societal trends and

relates with consumers by creating advertisements that display the hookup culture.

Core Client Challenge:

Women making a decent amount of money are buying mints just not Altoids.

Competitive Analysis

Overview

As our main product category is mints, we looked to specific competitors which sold

singular mint packs at consistent prices with similar target audiences. Based on the data below, we

looked to the following companies as competitors to Altoids: Ice Breakers, Tic Tacs, and Life

Savers.

Tic Tacs

History

Tic Tac, as a brand is owned by Ferrero. The product was first released in 1968/1969 as

Refreshing Mints. In 1970, the product was rebranded as “Tic Tacs” (named after the sound the

pills make when they hit the pack). While the highlighted flavors change every so often (sometimes

seasonal), according to their website, they feature the following core flavors: Wintergreen,

Spearmint, Orange, Strawberry, and Apple. In the more recent past, they have also released gum

products which taste the same as the mints. (TicTacUsa.com) According to Statista, in 2017, Tic

Tacs made $204,400,000 worth of sales. (statista.com)

Media Mix
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In terms of the advertising media mix, between 2012-2015 Tic Tacs, has mainly included

Cable TV Advertising, Internet Display Advertising, and Business to Business Advertising. In

2015, Tic Tacs spent a total of $13,574,000 on advertising with the following media mix: 28% on

network TV advertising, 70% on Cable TV Advertising, 1% on Internet Display advertising, and

less than 1% on Business-Business Advertising, Spot TV Advertising, and online video

advertising.

In 2014, Tic Tacs spent a total of $7,013,300 on advertising with the following media mix

93% on Cable TV, 2% on Business to Business advertising, 4 % on Internet Display advertising,

and less than 1% on online video advertising.

In 2013, Tic Tacs, spent a total of $13,522,200 with the follow media mix: 60% on Cable

TV Advertising, 38% on magazine advertising, 1% on Business to Business Advertising, and less

than 1% on Radio and Internet Display Advertising.

Lastly, in 2012, Tic Tacs spent $11,910,400 with the following media mix: 57% on Cable

TV Advertising, 31% on Magazine Advertising, 2% on Business to Business advertising, 6% on

Internet Display advertising, 2% on outdoor advertising, and less than 1% on Radio advertising,

national sport radio advertising, and Network Tv advertising.

Strategy

In terms of the advertising strategy, the brand utilizes the idea of simple and chill in its

advertisements. In print advertisements, the brand uses a simplistic approach with visual elements

in guiding the viewer to the conclusion that Tic Tacs help people in helping them refresh and

making their breath smell fresh. In recent video campaigns, the brand focused on the idea that Tic

Tacs help users open up and connect with others, either platonically or romantically.
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Advertisement 1:

Advertisement 2:

Advertisement 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vc-_0oUHx0
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Life Savers

History

Lifesavers is owned by Mars, Inc. The product was first released in 1912 and named

“LifeSaver” because of the reselblemse to life preservers. By 1935, today’s common five flavors

had been released including pineapple, lime, lemon orange and cherry. Over time, the brand had

created numerous lifesaver flavors and products including lollipops, Lifesaver Gummies,

Lifesaver Holes, as well as sour and sugar free options. In 2004, Mars acquired the Lifesavers

brand which itself was bought by Mars in 2008. The brand’s headquarters are in Port Chester, New

York. According to Statista, in 2017, Lifesavers made $31,000,000 worth of sales (Statista.com).

Media Mix

In the year 2012, Life Savers only purchased two types of advertisements, magazine and

outdoor. With a total of $1,588,400 spent on advertisements, Life Savers spent 98% of their media

mix on Magazine Advertisements and 2% on Outdoor Advertisements.

Strategy

Because of its media mix, the majority of the Life Saver advertisements are mostly not available

electronically. As the brand is so old and so widely known, the majority of lifesaver commercials

and print ads are considered vintage (see below). However, in the past advertisements that Life

Savers had, the focus was on the variety of flavors. In terms of its branding strategy, the brand

focuses on the shape of the product with the slogan that Life Savers are “A Hole lot of Fun”
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Ice Breakers

Ice Breakers is owned by The Hershey Company. The mint itself was first created in 1912

and in the past decade celebrated the 100 year anniversary. As Ice Breakers have multiple flavors,

it’s main product differentiation tactic segments the product into 3 main category flavors: minty,

fruity, and spicy. Ice Breakers also produces multiple types of products including gum, dual

flavors, “sours”, and “frosts”. According to Statista, in 2017, Ice Breakers made $189,410,000

worth of sales (Statista.com)

Media Mix

Between, 2012-2015, the Ice Breakers brand has focused significantly on Cable TV

advertising and Broadcast syndicated advertising along with other other advertising venues as

well.

In 2015, Ice Breakers, spent $37,751,700 on advertising with the following media mix: 4% on

Network TV Advertising, 56% on Cable TV Advertising, 36% on Syndicated Broadcast

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Advertising, 1% on Spot TV Advertising, 2% on Online Video Advertising, and less than 1% on

Business to Business Advertising and Internet Display Advertising.

In 2014, Ice Breakers spent $53,144,900 on advertising with the following media mix: 1% on Spot

TV Advertising, 53% on Syndicated Broadcast Advertising, 38% on Cable TV Advertising, 8%

on network TV advertising, and less than 1% on Business-to- Business Advertising.

In 2013, Ice Breakers bought $32,777,400 of advertisements with the following media mix: 7%

on Network TV Advertising, 1% on Spot TV Advertisements, 63% on Cable TV Advertisements,

and 29% on Broadcast Syndicated Advertisements. In 2012, Ice breakers bought $31,256,500

worth of advertisements with the following media mix: 16% on Network TV Advertisements, 2%

on Spot TV advertisements, 68% on Cable TV Advertisements, 14% on Broadcast Syndicated

Advertisements, and less than 1% on Business to Business Advertisements.

Strategy

In terms of the advertising strategy, Ice Breakers primarily uses a creative approach to target

younger audience segments. In the past few years, they have utilized mythical creatures such as

unicorns, magic, and superhuman abilities in their commercial advertisements (see below). Within

the commercials, they often utilize additional visual effects to tie in the flavors, such as grape or

strawberry, to make the appeal for the mint even stronger for customers. In terms of print

advertisements, the brand focuses on the the product itself by using little copy and focusing the

color palit on the colors of the mints.

Advertisement 1: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/d6QT/ice-breakers-rise-to-grapeness

Advertisement 2: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/d6QT/ice-breakers-rise-to-grapeness#
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Advertisement 3:

Altoids:

Altoids is owned by the Mars Group. As a product, it was first implemented in 1780 as a food to

relieve stomach aches and pain. Though it is largely sold in the United States, the product was

first created in London before emerging as one of the most well known mints in the market

today. (https://productcentral.mars.com/altoids) Within the altoids brand, there are four main

flavors including peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint, and cinnamon. Over the past two decades

they have also released various products such as Altoids gum, sours, and strips. However while
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they each lasted a few years, they are no longer available for purchase. According to a statista

survey, Altoids had $116,130,000 worth of sales in 2017.

Media Mix

In 2013, Altoids spent a total of 13,825,700 on advertising. Of this media mix, 93% of this was

spent on magazine advertising and 7% of this was spent on internet display advertising. In 2014,

Altoids spent $7,223,200 on advertising. Of this media mix, approximately 96% of this was

spent on magazine advertising, 3% on internet display advertising and around 1% on business to

business advertising.

Strategy:

In the past, the Altoids advertising strategy was very cheeky and direct. For example, on many

magazine advertisements, they would use adult humor to catch people’s attention. In a typical

advertisement, there is typically an individual holding a altoids container. Along with the art, the

copy matches what the figure is wearing and encourage people to buy a mint. For example a

2004 magazine included a soldier holding an altoids box with the copy “Thank You Sir! May I

have another!” These ads insinuate that altoids, though strong in flavor, can be for everyone.

Advertisement:

https://www.google.com/search?q=altoids+advertising&safe=active&source=lnms&tbm=isch&s

a=X&ved=0ahUKEwj97OfM5P_hAhWNv1kKHWHeA44Q_AUIDigB&biw=1440&bih=821&

dpr=2#imgrc=Q_6aj8P6wX_a9M:
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https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&biw=1440&bih=821&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=92zMX

IXrDsHs_Qau96cI&q=+altoids+ads+&oq=+altoids+ads+&gs_l=img.3..0i30j0i8i30.545050.548

065..548262...0.0..0.116.433.3j2......1....1..gws-wiz-

img.......0j0i24j0i67.xBUNP3yAtxM#imgrc=pE7YQnZVJp0txM:

Client and Competitive Set Overall

According to a 2017 survey run through statista, Tic Tacs are leading the breath freshener

brands in sales within the united states. With $204,000,000 they are just above Ice Breakers who

have $189,410,000 in sales. Altoids is ranked with the third highest sales in the breath freshener

category with $116,130,000 in sales, and Life Savers is not mentioned in the survey. The entire

category has a total of $815,750,000 in sales which means that Tic Tac accounts for 25% of all

breath freshener sales in the United States in 2017, Ice Breakers accounts for 23% of all breath

freshener sales in in the United States in 2017, and Altoids accounts for 14% of all sales in the

breath freshener category in the United States in 2017.

According to the data provided by kantar of advertising between 2012 and 2015 Ice

Breakers is leading the category in share of voice. Ice Breakers and Tic Tacs both advertised there

products every year between 2012 and 2015 while Altoids only advertised in 2013 and 2014, and

Life Savers only advertised in 2012. Ice Breakers spent a total of $154,930,500 on advertising

between 2012 and 2015, and Tic Tacs spent $46,019,900 on advertising between 2012 and 2015.

Altoids spent $21,048,900 on advertising between 2013 and 2014, and lastly Life Savers spent

1,588,400 on advertising in 2012. This data means that Ice Breakers made up 69.3% of all breath

mint industry ad spending between 2012 and 2015, Tic Tacs made up 20.6% of all breath mint

industry ad spending between 2012 and 2015, Altoids made up a total of 9.4% of all breath mint
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industry ad spending between 2012 and 2015 and Life Savers made up a total of .7% of all breath

mint industry ad spending between 2012 and 2015. From both the share of market and the share

of voice we can conclude that although altoids is doing well there is room for them to grow and

surpass bigger competitors, like Ice Breakers and Tic Tacs who currently dominate in ad spend

and sales.

Kantar data also exemplifies each brand’s seasonal ad spend Altoids being the only brand

in the category to not advertise year round. Altoids has a total budget of $7,223,200 for all ad

spend throughout the year. Their seasonal ad spend consists only of june to december starting with

a low budget of $11,600 in june and gradually rising to a budget of $1,883,600 in december. Ice

Breakers advertises with a much larger budget of $53,144,900 and they also advertise year round

while roughly spending the same amount each month dipping between 3 million and 5 million the

only two different months of ad spend for Icebreakers are November and December where their

budget gets as low as $2,700,400 and then drastically rises to $7,390,800. Tic Tacs also spending

year round with a total budget of $7,010,900 which is a similar total budget to altoids, Tic Tac

spreads their budget out spending a much smaller amount each month there ad spend stays in the

thousands only peaking in the millions in march, june, and august. Their highest ad spend is in

March with a budget of $2,016,400 and their lowest ad spend is in January where they have a total

advertising budget of $500. Lastly Life Savers was not accounted for in seasonal total ad spend

considering their small amount of advertising between 2012 and 2015.

Ice Breakers has a weak social media presence their instagram has a total of 9,415 followers

their twitter has 6,856 followers and their strongest platform is facebook which has a total of

1.1million likes. Their posts are interactive and creative yet there is low engagement their posts

more recently have a net reach of about 5,000 but in past months their net reach is about 800. Tic
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Tacs has a much stronger social media presence their instagram pages have a collected 662,400

followers their twitter has 1 million followers and 15 million likes on facebook. Despite their high

follower count their engagement is low. Their instagram has a net reach that drastically ranges

between posts some posts have a massive increase in views compared to others ranging between

800,000 and 2,000 their posts are funny and interactive and seemed to be for a younger audience.

Their twitter takes on a witty personality in an attempted to be relatable but lacks in engagement.

Altoids doesn’t have an instagram but interestingly has a hashtag on the platform where there are

37,100 posts where artists show off their creative talents by drawing on or painting in the famous

altoids tin and turning it into a piece of art. Their twitter has 37 followers with a total of 9 tweets

which were all posted on the same day and follows only one account it seems as though altoids

attempted to utilize the platform but eventually gave up after a lack of engagement from

consumers. Lastly their facebook has total of 93,000 likes. Life Savers also doesn't have an

instagram or twitter account and they do not have a facebook page. Their social media presence is

non existent. Altoids needs to increase their social media presence to be able to compete with Tic

Tacs and Ice Breakers their lack of platforms is decreasing consumer awareness among younger

audiences making them a more notable brand for older generations but not for any others.

Ice Breakers mints cost of about $1.88 per 1.5oz container, Altoids cost a total of $1.79 per

1.25oz tin, Tic Tacs cost a total of $1.79 per 1 oz container and life savers cost a total of $1.99 per

a 6.25oz container. Life savers has the cheapest price for the most product but their brand lacks

awareness from consumers. Altoids has a good price for the amount of product you're getting

compared to Ice Breakers and Tic Tacs yet Ice Breakers and Tic Tacs prices aren't seen as too

much from consumers due to their large variety of different flavors and options.
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Overall Altoids sales and ad spend are weaker compared to Ice Breakers and Tic Tacs. they

have a similar seasonal ad budget to Tic Tacs and it might be beneficial for them to spread their

advertising out throughout the year to compete better with those brands, which potentially would

also increase their sales. Their social media presence needs to be increased to be able to compete

with other breath mint brands but the price of the product isn’t seen as too much from consumers

and compares pretty well next to other breath mint brands.

Target Audience

Core Client Problem: In order to determine our target audience, it was imperative to

determine Altoids core client problem. As it stands, Altoids core client problem is that women who

are working are buying mints, just not Altoids. Of the 18,156,000 Altoids users, women account

for more than half with a number of 10,076,000. Of that number, just over 50% account for the

population of working women with a total of 5,673,000. Even compared to other brands, this is no

small number of the working women population but with a total of 23,260,000 working women

that have bought mints in the last six months, Altoids is only being purchased by 24.4% of working

women. By pursuing working women as the target audience, it is more than likely that women, in

general, will be reached and inclined to move from other brands towards Altoids as well. The

question is, is how can working women be influenced to move towards Altoids, while maintaining

Altoids classic, tongue in cheek messages?

In the first steps of our primary research, it was determined that a survey would provide

beneficial insights into consumer preferences and tastes when it comes to mints, as well as general

demographics. Survey questions were composed of categorical responses and continuous

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responses, specifically using the Likert-type response to gauge the importance of fresh breath to

an individual in one question. All questions asked were mutually exclusive and throughout the

survey, modifiers were avoided wherever possible. Unfortunately, the reach of the survey was

underwhelming with a total of 13 respondents. We believe this is due, in part, to an overwhelming

amount of related surveys on the social media platforms where we shared the survey, as well as

the fact that the survey was published in the midst of a spring break period. As our media plan

progresses, we plan to revisit our survey and repost the link to different social media platforms in

order to obtain an increased number of respondents.

The various questions throughout the survey gave us insights into consumer awareness and

preferences. Despite the limited number of respondents, the results reflected one another closely.

All 13 consumers said they were aware of Altoids, Ice Breakers, Tic Tacs and Mentos but when

asked which brand consumers were most likely to purchase, Ice Breakers took the lead with 7

respondents while Altoids and Tic Tacs and tied for second place with 5 respondents each. Another

key insight was that while all consumers skewed high in the ranking of the importance of fresh

breath to them, when asked at what times they perceived it was most important to have fresh breath,

there were a variety of responses. Respondents marked that having fresh breath “at an interview”

was most important at 11, followed by “on a date” with 10 responses and having “all day,” and

“special occasions,” all tying with 9 behind this. Consumers were able to give their input on each

bullet for this question, which accounts for the increased number of responses. Additionally, this

question tied into the question on consumer purchasing behavior, reflecting the importance of the

important dates and occasions that they expressed. 38.5% of respondents answered that they buy

mints less than once per month. Analyzing these questions together, it can be noted that consumers
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are more inclined to use mints as a one-time purchase in line with special occasions, interviews,

dates and those times when they need a quick fix for fresh breath.

Additional questions asked in the interview pertained to advertisements, media and social

media platforms, media consumption and general demographics. Overwhelmingly, these different

responses seemed to be skewed due to the population pool of 13 people that accessed the interview.

The majority were students, with the age of respondents being between the ages of 20-years-old

and 25-years-old. These numbers do not reflect the general population, making the demographics

section of the survey less reflective of the Altoids consumer than the prior attitudes and opinions

section of the survey.

Consumer Profile #1

Girls Who Run The World

This age group is composed of working women between the ages of 22-34 who are career focused

individuals. Predominantly, they are single women who have never been married, with the

occasional woman who is separated. These women are career focused, working between 30-40+

hours a week and tend to be high income earners. Despite being career driven, they know how to

have fun and enjoy going out and spending time outside of their home. These women tend to be

perfectionists and focus on attractiveness; they have high media use and focus on connection

through media/networking. They are ambitious, impulsive and like to stand out from the crowd.
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Hi! I’m Lizzie!

Age: 25

Occupation: Auditing at KPMG

Hobbies: Going out with friends, creative activities, trying all things

new!

Lizzie is a boss and she knows it. At only 25, she has reached a paramount of success that

many of her friends from high school and college are in awe of. She is career focused, valuing

money as the best measure of success (Simmons 129) and proves it by working 40 hours per week

(Simmons 128). While she does not classify herself as a workaholic, many see her as such. Lizzie

is more than just hard working though-she knows how to have fun. Her typical weekend isn’t just

catching up on emails, but dining out (Simmons 125), going to bars (Simmons 239) and spending

time immersed in the arts through painting, drawing and sculpting (Simmons 244). You’ll be able

to see all of this on her instagram-Lizzie has high media use and likes to share what she does online

with others. Throughout the day, Lizzie will change between her phone and computer for her media

consumption (Simmons 184). Social media allows Lizzie to feel close to others despite her busy

schedule-she is able to be connected (Simmons 177) even when she is stuck at her desk for 40

hours per week (Simmons 136). Simmons Seeing herself as a perfectionist (Simmons 123), it is

no surprise that she is a jack of all trades. Many people admire Lizzie and it’s easy to- her

enthusiasm in and out of work is contagious (Simmons 137) and she is a pioneer for trying new

things (Simmons 143). Her success in and outside the workplace is remarkable.

Consumer Insights

ANY AGREE: I like to try new things no one else has. Index: 143
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ANY AGREE: I am the spokesperson in my group. Index:113

ANY AGREE: I make friends easily: Index: 107

ANY AGREE: People often copy what I do or wear. Index: 149

ANY AGREE: People say my enthusiasm is contagious. Index: 137

This target is highly influential to those around her and stands out from the crowd by being a

centripetal force in social environments.

ANY AGREE: I am a perfectionist. Index: 123

ANY AGREE: I like to stand out in a crowd. Index: 155

ANY AGREE: I make an effort to look attractive to people I am interested in. Index: 119

This target cares about self-image and external appearance and perceptions.

Population: Never Married. Index: 220

ANY AGREE: Money is the best measure of success. Index: 129

ANY AGREE: I would like to set up my own business one day. Index: 134

ANY AGREE: I am willing to sacrifice time with my family in order to get ahead. Index: 111

Working Hours: 40 hours per week. Index: 136

Working Hours: 41-50 hours per week. Index: 115

This target is very career focused and oriented. Their main priority right now is their success within

the workplace and they do not place much emphasis on familial relationships.
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Consumer Profile #2:

Girl on the Go

The consumer in this profile is on the younger end of the target demographic, ranging from 22-

24. They are freshly out of college and in a transitional period in their lives-they are living

amongst roommates and getting ready to become an industry leader in the workforce but are still

transitioning into the workforce as a whole. Generally, these women are confident in social

capacities but are unsure about themselves in their future aspirations. They have high media use,

specifically with social media, using it more than 4 times per day. The women in this segment

depend on media for both entertainment and news, so they are highly connected to all their

devices. They are highly social and highly active in life and online.

Hi! I’m Jaime!

Age: 22

Occupation: Actively applying to advertising agencies in NYC

Hobbies: Listening to music, attending concerts, running and going out

with my friends!

Jaime is a recent college graduate (388) from Penn State University where she majored in

advertising. She is currently seeking (280) a full time position as she switches paths from college

to the full time workforce. During her search, she has remained living with her three girl friends

(287) in their apartment (141). Not wanting to stay idle during her job hunt, Jaime picked up a

part time job, working less than 30 hours per week (164), as she would rather have a boring job

than no job at all (113). As a driven post grad without a job in the field of intention, this stagnant
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period has been difficult for Jaime-she wants to get to the very top in her career (173) and even

some day start her own business (138), but where she presently stands she worries a lot about

herself (140) and future. Jaime considers money to be the best measure of success (141) and

likes other people to think she is financially successful (151). She likes to be the person people

look to and aspire to be; wanting to be the one to try new things no one else has (137) and being

the one to organize the activities for her friends and acquaintances (112)-even in conversation,

Jaime takes on a leading role (110). As the decider of most activities, Jaime’s hobbies and

interests are most catered to including: attending concerts (141), going to comedy clubs (139),

and dancing the night away with her friends at bars and nightclubs (234), jogging (199), and

doing yoga (174). When she’s unable to attend the concerts she loves, she uses her Spotify (329)

subscription to listen to music (116) and catch up on all the latest releases. When Jaime isn’t able

to do all her favorite activities with her friends, she takes to social media (120) sites like Twitter

(270), Instagram (293) and Facebook (132) at least 3 times a day (190). Internet consumption has

affected her life so much that she has dedicated less time to magazines (126), television (156)

and even sleep because of it (186).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses
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● 100 year old brand ● There’s well over 20 brands of breath

● Owned by WM mints

● variety of flavors including, peppermint, ● Mints is a wide industry with a vast

wintergreen, spearmint, cinnamon, and sugar- amount of competitors

free smalls ● Higher price compared to competitors

● Different packaging

● Familiar slogan

● Can fit into many categories

● You can buy them online or in convenience

stores at the counter

Opportunities Threats

● There’s a large population of consumers that ● consumers of mints, strips, and sprays

consume breath minds has had low fluctuation

● People care about their hygiene and see breath ● People that don’t consume mints don’t

mints as a way of making them fresher tend to try them

● Urban cities have a high ratio of mint

consumers

KEY challenge
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Due to a lack of brand awareness, and lack of campaign frequency, Altoids is struggling

to solidify itself compared to its competitors in the mint category. Altoids have a unique

advantages separating them from their competitors, but they have not sufficiently capitalized

on their strengths. Altoids must overcome competition from other mint categories that offer a wider

variety of flavors by playing to their strength as a potent breath freshener.

KEY insights

Women are conscious of self-image and driven to improve their physical appearance,

and fresh breath is no exception. Women are willing to buy products to freshen their breath, thereby

improving their confidence, enhancing physical attractiveness, and creating a

better first impression.