A Mini-Muffin Cookie Story on YouTube

ADVERTISEMENT IDEA

Mini Muffin will nicely target to 30-45 year old, middle to upper-middle class family with kids, who have higher education level, and stable household income per year. These families have clear conscious to live in a healthy life style, are likely to be part of the growing trend of people looking for healthier options. As both parents are working and the kids are involved in extra-curricular activities, these families are typically short on time.

They want freshly baked all-natural cookies, but not necessarily have the time associated with actually mixing cooking dough, baking, and cleaning. Mini Muffin with help them solve both of the issues, as they are quick and easy to prepare, involve no clean-up, can be eaten as a snack on the go, while providing a high quality dessert at the same time.

Therefore, our story begins… The lady of our story is named Christina, a 35 year lady

Scene 1 (5 seconds)

6:30 pm, in the car. Coming back from work and picking up her 2 sons from soccer games, Christina directly drive to the nearest grocery store near her house, very relaxed and not in a rush. She selected many things from shelves. When she sees the Mini Muffin, she picks it up and put the Mini Muffin box in her trolley, with a smile on her face.

Scene 2 (5 seconds)

6:45, arrive Home. Christina’s family lives in a 2 floors house with a half-acre yard, very clean and nice decoration, big living room, warm orange light. The two kids rush into the living room and open TV, Christina start to prepare for dinner. She looked at the clock on the wall. It’s 6:45 pm. She opens the oven and put the Mini Muffin tray into the oven.

Scene 3 (5 seconds)

Christina turns the oven button, and sets up time into 20 minutes, and goes to prepare for other dishes.

Scene 4 (5 seconds)

Time up, everything is prepared! She gets the Mini Muffins out of the oven. At the time, her husband rings the bell and arrives home as well. The family enjoys dinner together!

 

Ads Narration from Christina

"No matter how busy I am, I never forget to bake delicious and healthy cookie my family. Mini Muffin serves your family quality dessert within 20 minutes. Easy backing, no cleaning. A wise choice for every mom."

My Leadership Style: “Everyday New Fantastic Possibilities”

I would like to share a very interesting and helpful link with you called “41 QUESTIONS, 1 PERSONALITY” http://www.41q.com/. Based on the result from this test, My MBTI is ENFP.

“Everyday New Fantastic Possibilities” exactly describes me. I am passionate and optimistic. I love to explore every beautiful moment and use my heart to feel and praise life. I am curious about the world and generate excitement quickly. When communicate with people, I can easily find out interesting topics to move conversation forward, especially first meet with strangers. I can easily create relax, pleasant atmosphere in conversations. I also get energy from surrounding people.

During social network, I am highly people-oriented and care about others a lot. I prefer to maintain broad relationship with a large scale of people, rather than dig in deep relationship with a few. I see others’ shining personalities all the time. I don’t judge and respectfully regard differences between people as individual personalities. I can well put myself into others’ shoes, good at build trust and open-communicate environment within a team. My social circle is wide that I have many friends come from all backgrounds.

I am an open-minded person who loves creative and good at finding new ways to do things. At the brainstorming stages, I have outstanding performance inspiring my team. Not only I can outline many plans within a short time, but also quickly link together various possibilities. I love changes, flexible dealing with problems. Moreover, I am confident with my decisions and love to take action follow my own thinking.

I influence my people by helping them see the future and build better interpersonal personalities in the organization. I assign tasks to people by their strength, find out the best combination of my group to facility organization and work out programs, reward members for their contribution.

“It is harder to be kind than clever”, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos says at the Princeton University graduation. I would like to quote this sentence as my personal image. In my point of view, leadership is not always about changing the world or something beyond our average power. Leadership can be every amazing moment when you helped others, lift a frustrated person up. Leadership can be a word you say actually successful influenced someone else and can make others live better in the future. Leadership can be the gift you reward to this world. We are learning leadership every day. We are writing our own leadership story every moment, even if we do not realize sometimes.

However, I am struggled dealing with details. Compare with focus on particular processes, I emphasis more on developing a whole process or overall idea, and look for far-reaching significance. Meanwhile, I am not a cautious leader since lack consideration for details fore ahead. Too flexible doing things makes me a lack of coherent during work sometimes. Even if I made a plan in advance, I still make small changes all the time. Moreover, I sometimes have trouble maintaining passion to focus on one certain thing in long-term. Besides, caring too much about others confuses me a lot that my own emotions are easily affected and influenced. I always find it hard to say NO or reject others’ request.

A Comic By Manu Cornet

Manu Cornet (Blog link at http://www.bonkersworld.net) posted a interesting comic on major tech companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, Oracle And Facebook. This is really interesting and implied different organization cultures here. Take a look at it and guess what's the comic mean? Microsoft has obviously been shot LOL.

Estimating Market for Mini-Muffin Cookie

US Cookie Manufacturing Industry 
Cookie Manufacturing Industry makes cookies from purchased ingredients, such as flour, sugar, salt, seasoning, emulsifiers, flavorings, syrups, preservatives, gluten and food acids. And then package the final products to distribution channels. Popular cookies flavors include chocolate chip, oatmeal, crème-filled, and sandwich varieties. Other products classified with cookies include toaster pastries, ice cream cones, and wafers for ice cream sandwiches.

In the US market, there are two trends that should be highlight. First, reflected by the changing composition and fast pace in workplace, there is a dominant influence that more working couples per households have much less time to prepare for food than before, especially for young working couples. However, consumers are becoming more health-conscious as they start to pay attention to labels on packaging and looking for less-sugar added cookies. 

Second, children used to be the leading force in cookie consuming market. Yet, the average number of children per US household is predicted to be decreasing in the next decade, which would limit demand for cookies.

1.   Potential Demand

Demand is driven by population growth, consumer tastes, and health considerations. Our potential market can be everyone who would like to pay a relatively high price for high quality cookies. Domestically, on one hand, B2C world includes adults without children; adults with children; or even the kids themselves. On the other hand, B2B world include grocery wholesalers, supermarkets, convenience stores, specialty food stores, food service contractors, or hospitality industries. In long run, we also look for export opportunity outside US and expend business into international markets.

2.   Addressable Market

The barriers to entry in this industry are relatively low and competition are high. The biggest threat facing our new entrants is the dominant position of the industry's major players. Thus, compare with them, we might be weak compete in B2B market, that we decided to pivot the potential demand to B2C market at first, and look for further business opportunities after expansion. Regionally, we would narrow down and focus on domestic US market only. Moreover, instead of children, adults with steady income level but may have to adapt to the fast moving working pace would be our target. 

3.  Realistic Opportunities VS Competition

The US cookie manufacturing industry includes about 300 companies with combined annual revenue of about $11 billion. The industry is highly concentrated: the top 50 companies account for more than 90 percent of industry revenue. Major companies include Kraft's Foods Inc., Kellogg's US Snacks Division, Campbell Soup's Pepperidge Farms unit, Snyder's-Lance, Interbake Foods, and Otis Spunkmeyer.
Large companies have advantages in purchasing, distribution, and marketing, while small start-ups, just like our Mini-Muffin Company, may get more opportunities by providing high-end cookies and high quality cookies to differentiate ourselves. In addition, based on the industry trend, as a new entrants, we may differentiate our products and innovate through specializing in frozen, pre-prepared bakery products, cakes and pastries can be huge.

4.  Targeted selection of "Winnable" market opportunities

      Taking all these factors into consideration, we decided to narrow down and set up from some business within major cities of Massachusetts, taking advantage of the local strength of our management team, where we have a familiar knowledge about the distributors, and reliable business partners here. Our target market would be adults in their 35-50, with higher education level, and relative stable household revenue per year. These customers have clear conscious to live in a healthy life, but don’t always have enough time to cook desert after diner. Our Mini-Muffin Cookie Doug will provide you right the choice of time-saving baking cookie with delicious home-made flavor. 

Inbound Marketing VS Outbound Marketing

Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CSA of HubSpot, introduced the concept of Inbound Marketing is to earn the attention of prospects and increase the chances customers can get to contact with you. Blogs, SEO, social media, podcasts, video, eBooks, e-newsletters, whitepapers and a bunch of new marketing methods are all considered inbound marketing. Your email address should be there, contact number should be there. And once they find you, HubSpot help you offering them perfect content to learn about your business, allow your mechanisms engage in different level of contact whichever makes them feel comfortable. In contrast, trade shows, seminar series, direct mail, email blasts to purchased lists, internal cold calling, outsourced telemarketing, and traditional advertising, are considered as Outbound Marketing.

For those IT associate industries, who rely on or find it optimizing to perform E-commerce to do business, inbound marketing may bring huge opportunities to achieve market share.

First, inbound marketing lead customers to seek for information proactively, which made the information more acceptable. While outbound marketing is always too naked pushing products & services to customers, making customers uncomfortable. 44% of direct mail is never opened; 86% of people skip through television commercials; 84% of 25 to 34 year olds have clicked out of a website because of an “irrelevant or intrusive ad”. I still remember the aggressive marketing from CapitalOne which drove me crazy. They kept sending me annoying letters twice a month and ask me to open account with them. Not only do I feel a disclosure of personal information at first, but also I feel CapitalOne is passing me useless information without my permission, which is offensive.

Second, it is easier to make money from fans or followers, who are already interested in your products & services, than from other users. Let’s talk about online marketing in social media like Twitter. If I saw a TV advertisement from L’Oreal introducing their new amazing mascara, I probably won’t buy. Because there are too many mascaras in the market and every brand is exaggerating the result using their product. However, if I saw an L’Oreal mascara recommendation Tweet by one of my friends or a fashion blogger I know. I am very possible to take a try. People tend to believe words of mouth and other customer reviews more than before. The cost per lead in inbound marketing is less than outbound marketing and more effective since it’s more targeted as well, given many small businesses a chance to compete in the market.

Third, they vision of inbound marketing integrated many single tools to present value proposition to convince customers, what value added product & service they may receive, and how they can be benefit from certain product. Inbound marketing more are likely to be interesting, informative and creating a positive connection with consumers. Communications are two ways, thus pull customers more likely to engage in your brand and buy the product. As a result, personally I believe inbound marketing are more influential to B2C companies, where business got to be strong social connected and interacted.

However, inbound marketing is not omnipotent, outbound marketing is not dead. It really depends on the industry. For example, a local grocery store like Shaw’s, a pizza house nearby, or a furniture store are still more looking for direct communication with customers from outbound marketing. Bargaining power of your customers, bargaining power of your partners, channels, size, and financial resources of your company…all these matters. Sometimes it would be more ideal if company can create a model with a mix of the two to reach out to more traffic and expand market share, which many large companies using these days. We see P&G launching a bunch of new product advertisements on TV all the year round, and they also arrange many online PR events on many living information forum.

Why innovations in big companies are more obstructed?

Aren't those big companies innovating? Look at the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2012, Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft are all on the list. Rather than saying “Why big companies can’t innovate?” I would more agree with saying “Why innovations in big companies are more obstructed?”

As is mentioned in the article, profit-chasing developing structure is one essential reason that driven innovations away from big companies. Nevertheless, this could not be the only consideration.

1.   Brand Influence and Reputation

On one hand, big companies can’t afford risk from failure innovation the same as startup companies. Competitors are eyeing looked at them; market consumers are getting restrict toward products and service, brand reputation can be easily vilified.

Let’s take a look at the OS industry. Microsoft is launching Win8 in the next couple weeks, which might be another milestone in Microsoft history, and also a rebirth signal for Microsoft. Microsoft bets that users are willing to have all the way operating system to interact between their phones, tablets, and desktops. If Microsoft can win this gamble, Microsoft will expand his advantage in PC market, encourage App development, and promote other PC manufacturers to develop top-quality hardware for Win 8, as a punch to compete with Apple. However, if Win8 can’t really win users’ love, it would be a heavy blow to Microsoft, because users are already been picky complaining about the existing Windows releases. They can’t bear Microsoft innovate out another trouble for them.

Conversely, startups would not have to worry about this problem. A group of entrepreneurs sharing the same ambition has much less influence on the market at infancy, and market hold relatively tolerant and patient attitude towards startups as well.

2.   Organization Settings

Big companies have jumbled hierarchy to deal with large-scale of businesses and internal resources. Implementation of an innovative project may involve more than a dozen different departments to collaborate. Not only costs but also resources spent can be incredible. Thus, seemingly reasonable organization settings within big companies stifle flexibility, imprison enthusiasm and courageous, and prolong reaction time towards innovation and new trends. On the contrary, small companies have much smaller size of core team members, directing efficiency and take less reaction time before executive an innovation project, which implying higher probability of successful innovations.

3.   Game between Interest Groups & Power of Top Decision-makers

Power boundaries for top decision-makers have great impact on the innovation culture of big companies. Once successfully launching an industry-leading product, some top leaders would more incline to focus on the maintenance of this product, to preserve its monopoly position in the market, until another new product break this monopoly. Some veteran leaders focus on profit when developing business. Others control too much of internal resources with strong authority on the development of the companies. We can see that many big companies are facing this kind of conflicts and dilemmas.

This reminds me an article talking about Samsung's R&D culture, "Designers have lots of unique and creative ideas, but these have to be loved by the top decision-makers. The problem was, because they were so fascinated by the Apple design, these ideas weren't really satisfactory to please the top level," said a Samsung designer. "I think elsewhere top managers respect their chief designer's decision, but at Samsung, they overrule designers and have the final say about what design we go with. That limits our capability. To be better than a good fast follower, Samsung needs a more horizontal culture and to empower designers."

This top-to-bottom cooperate environment is really not conducive to innovation. Some big companies have already realized this problem and are trying to solve their companies. The new Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer announced her new Strategy and Vision to survive Yahoo! that streamline process, reduce bureaucracy, and eliminate obstacles to progress the corporate culture and work environment would be a huge part of her plan.

4.   Innovation Responsibility

Many entrepreneurs dedicate themselves days and nights on their ideas with great motivation. Compared with small companies, large companies usually innovative without financial troubles, innovation team members do not have to afford revenue/loss themselves, leading responsibility. 

A Persona Pain-Gain Map

Amy is a 35 year old professional office lady. Both Amy and her husband Ryan work full time. They have 2 sons and 1 daughter, all in primary school. It was late Thursday night, tomorrow would be their little boy’s eight-year-old birthday. Amy and Ryan are planning to hold a home party at 8:00 pm, and invite some of their son’s friends here. 

What does a bad day look like for her? 
“It’s so swamped a day today.” She walked in the door, with full of bags in her hand. She just came back from Sam’s Club to shop something to prepare for the party tomorrow. After a whole day’s work of three important appointments with clients, she already feels exhausted. 

What is he afraid of? 
Amy is planning about tomorrow. It will be another busy working day just as usual. She is afraid that she may not get off work before 5:30. And think about the traffic on Friday night, “Oh, I am afraid I may not have enough time to prepare for food.” 

What keeps her awake at night? 
Lying in the bed, she can’t really fall into sleep, trying to figure out the menu for 7 kids tomorrow. 

What is she responsible for?
She doesn't want to takeout food from restaurants, it’s her son’s birthday and she would like to cook for everyone a delicious meal herself.  

What obstacles stand in her way? 
She only has about one hour. But there are so many things on her "To Do List", including decorating the house and preparing gifts. 

What does this person want and aspire to?
Anything won’t take long time to cook, would be loved by both children and adults, and suitable for holiday/ family get-together is her first choice. 

What can we offer this person? (Elevator Pitch) 
Our new product Mini Muffin is exactly what we would like to offer you. Those busy party host, overworked parent, or catering company, who needs to easily prepare a quick and delicious dessert. Mini Muffin Cookies are prepackaged, frozen cookie dough that is ready to bake the moment they are taken out of the freezer. Unlike traditional prepackaged frozen desserts, Mini Muffin Cookie dough comes in a disposable, oven-able, plastic mini-muffin tray. The unique shape of the cookies creates a delicious combination of harder exterior with a soft gooey center. In just 20 minutes, 12 Mini Muffin Cookies go from frozen to cooked, and the plastic tray can be recycled or thrown away. You will have a delicious dessert for everyone to enjoy.