1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................3

MAJOR FINDINGS......................................................................................................................4

I. Marketing plan......................................................................................................................4

1. Executive Summary...........................................................................................................4

2. Current market situation analysis......................................................................................4

1. SWOT model in Sakuko Vietnam.....................................................................................7

2. Marketing objective: Launching a new food product........................................................8

3. Marketing strategy.............................................................................................................9

4. Action programs..............................................................................................................12

5. Budget..............................................................................................................................13

6. Controls............................................................................................................................14

II. Media plan...........................................................................................................................14

1. Marketing plan objective.................................................................................................14

2. Target audience................................................................................................................15

3. Communication channels.................................................................................................15

4. Types of contents.............................................................................................................16

5. Timeline...........................................................................................................................16

6. Budget..............................................................................................................................17

REFERENCE LIST....................................................................................................................19

2
 INTRODUCTION

A marketing campaign consists of a marketing plan and communication plan to achieve

marketing goals as well as overall business goals (Tarver, 2020). This assignment consists of
two main parts, a marketing plan and a communication plan for the product "edible mushrooms”
– new food products of Sakuko Vietnam. In each section, specific strategies and actions are
given as well as specific actions, budgeting for marketing activities of edible mushrooms

3
 MAJOR FINDINGS
I. Marketing plan
1. Executive Summary
Sakuko Vietnam is an enterprise specializing in the distribution and retailing of domestic
Japanese goods, providing services, cuisine and typical culture from Japan. Formerly Sakura
Vietnam International Co., Ltd., first launched in September 2011, derived from the very
practical and everyday desire of a mother - also the founder of Sakuko Vietnam, Ms. Cao Thi
Dung: To give her children the best quality and safe products to develop. On December 15,
2017, Sakura Vietnam officially changed and launched the company's new brand identity,
Sakuko Vietnam and Sakuko Japanese Store.

The visions and missions of Sakuko Vietnam (Sakuko, 2019):

a. Vision: To be a multi-industry Japanese corporation focusing in offering dependable products

and services that improve consumers' quality of life.
b. Mission: Sakuko Vietnam is committed to providing high-quality, traceable products and
services that are safe and dependable. Sakuko Vietnam is committed to serving the
community with respect, love, and a strong sense of responsibility for human life and society.

After 10 years of establishment and development, Japanese Store with more than 30
supermarkets located in many provinces and cities across the country. According to Ms. Cao Thi
Dung - CEO of Sakuko Vietnam, Sakuko's goal is to become a bridge for Vietnamese consumers
to purchase high-quality, accessible and affordable Japanese products. From there, a marketing
plan was created to support and realize Sakuko's future goals when launching a new food
product “edible mushroom”. The Sakuko supermarket chain will use specific activities in its
marketing plan to reach customers and target markets.

2. Current market situation analysis

The retail market in Vietnam is developing strongly, bringing great opportunities for businesses.
With a growing economy and improved living standards, Vietnamese consumers are looking for
a wide range of quality and safe branded products. (Babuki, 2021). Vietnamese consumers are
looking for a diverse selection of branded products that are both high-quality and safe. 2021)
4
(Babuki). According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam has evolved into one of the
world's most attractive retail markets (ranking 6th among 30 nations with potential and
attractiveness for retail investment in the global retail industry). Statistics show that the
Vietnamese retail market is always an attractive destination for foreign retailers (Nga, 2019).
However, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the attraction of development investment by the foreign
direct investment (FDI) sector was lowIn 2020, non-state sector investment climbed by only 3.1
percent, and in the first six months of 2021, it increased by only 7.4 percent. In 2020, the total
foreign investment capital into Vietnam fell by 25% compared to 2019, and it fell by 2.6 percent
in the first 6 months of 2021. (Quochoi, 2021).

PEST MODEL IN RETAILED MARKET IN VIETNAM

a. Politics

The retail industry's growth is inextricably linked to politics. Our country's political stability
produces a good economic climate for retailers, encouraging many foreign companies to invest
in Vietnam. Vietnamese state system promulgates business laws such as commercial law, labor
law, payment of import and export taxes, etc., especially our country has an open door policy for
foreign retail investors into the Vietnamese market (Ha, 2019). When the Covid-19 pandemic
"knocked on the door", the difficulty that businesses in the retail sector faced was the input
problem of products and goods. The Government of Vietnam creates conditions to maintain
production, business and economic development according to the provisions of Resolution No.
30/2021/QH15 (July 28, 2021). Specifically, the "green transport flow" solution so as not to
disrupt the supply chain. Second, reduce corporate income tax and allow employees to work
overtime to solve urgent and backlog tasks. Sakuko also applies the provisions of the tax law,
always trying to ensure uninterrupted supply of goods, fully meeting the source of goods during
the epidemic season. In addition, the Government of Vietnam has issued a regulation on
"Economic Needs Test (ENT). These are the criteria used to determine whether a foreign
investor should be licensed, as well as obstacles posed to protect the domestic retail market from
foreign competition.

b. Economics

5
Vietnam is a small scale market with a high growth rate, making it an appealing prospect for
international investors. Vietnam is also consistently first on the retail business development
index (GRDI). Furthermore, Vietnam enjoys from favorable conditions such as a golden
population structure, rapid middle-class expansion, a developing economy with high GDP
growth and stable inflation, and a high rate of urbanization. Vietnam's economy has been
growing at a rapid pace in recent years, with rising per capita income. As a result, people's
purchasing patterns are steadily shifting. Traditional retail venues such as marketplaces, grocery
stores, and agents are steadily dwindling, with contemporary retail systems such as supermarkets
and trade centers gradually taking their place. However, in the previous three years, Vietnam has
had to contend with a high unemployment rate. In 2020, the unemployment rate of working-age
workers is 2.48% (in 2019 it was 2.17%). (Parliament, 2021). When business activities decline,
there are no jobs, and resources are limited, they switch to savings mode. Less spending means
less business growth (Beliaikin, 2021).

Sakuko has to face direct competition from supermarket chains and convenience stores in
Vietnam such as BigC, Aeon Mall, Lotte Mart, etc... Companies that have strengths in the
Vietnamese retail market with a large scale, diversified products and suitable for the average
income of Vietnamese people. Besides, Sakuko also has to be wary of "brothers" in the field of
Japanese retail such as Fuji Mart, Sakura store, JE mart, etc... Most of them deal in household
products, fashion and cosmetics. Japanese distribution companies are also famous, but they do
not have as wide a variety of products as Sakuko.

Types 2016 2017 2018

Compare to Compare to
Quantity Quantity Quantity
2016 2017
Market traditional 8.591 8.580 -0,13% 8.475 -1,2%

Supermark et 865 958 10.8% 1.009 5,3%

Trade center 168 189 12,5% 210 11,1%

Number of markets, supermarkets and trade centers over the years 2016-2018
(Source: General Statistics Office, 2020)
6
 c. Social

Vietnam is in the period of "golden population structure" with the proportion of the population
under 15 years old and 65 years old and above accounting for 24.3% and 7.7% respectively
(Kien, 2020). The population is still increasing, so consumption demand is also increasing,
especially food, household appliances and health care products. Besides, the speed of
urbanization and international integration also affects the retail market in Vietnam. In the past 10
years, the rate of urbanization in our country has increased rapidly. The urbanization rate has
increased rapidly from 19.6% with 629 cities in 2009 to about 39.3% with 833 cities in 2020
(Danso, 2020). The urbanization process also changes consumer culture along with international
integration. economic. Sakuko has been continuously expanding the variety of products to
satisfy the increasing needs of consumers.

d. Technology

The trend of consumption through e-commerce sites or businesses' websites has grown strongly
in the past few years. Especially since the Covid-19 epidemic broke out in Vietnam in 2019,
social distancing makes consumers look to online shopping channels more. (Kien, 2021). Along
with the development of technology, customers have the habit of reviewing and choosing goods
online before ordering or buying at a store. Grasping that trend, Sakuko has developed an
electronic sales channel to promote and sell products through the website and weekly livestreams
to reach more customers during difficult times. However, Sakuko faces to competitors that are e-
commerce platforms: Lazada, Shopee, Sendo, etc... with diverse products, reaching many
customer segments. However, customers always tend to fear fake goods when shopping online.
Therefore, Sakuko is still the top choice to buy Japanese products for Vietnamese consumers.

1. SWOT model in Sakuko Vietnam

STRENGTHS
 Sakuko has both offline and online sales with
high quality products at reasonable prices for
all classes of Vietnamese consumers
 Sakuko's distribution network is large with
more than 35 supermarkets and more than
7
WEAKNESS
 Sakuko has less financial potential than
domestic retailers such as Vinmart,
Coopmart, etc.
 There has not been a strong impression on
consumers when entering the Vietnam
 500 distribution agents
 Diversified products: more than 10.000
products with 07 categories
OPPORTUNITIES
 Vietnam is in the period of “Golden
population structure”
 Signing the European Trade Agreement
(EVFTA) in 2019
retail market in 2011.
THREAT
 The people's demand for shopping directly
is interrupted due to the impact of the
Covid-19 epidemic.
 The more popular of e-commerce such as
Lazada, Shopee, Tiki, etc.

With existing strengths above, according to Ms. Cao Thi Dung - CEO of Sakuko Vietnam:
“Sakuko products are imported directly from manufacturers or authorized trading companies for
export to the Vietnamese market by the manufacturer" (Sakuko, n.d). Belong to the agreement
EVFAT, eliminate the customs fee between EU and Vietnam will be the driving force for
Sakuko to continue to expand and diversify product lines and approach many customer groups in
the coming time. In addition, Sakuko also used the advantage of online sales to generate revenue
during the epidemic season. Furthermore, Sakuko is also able to attract capital from domestic
and foreign investors to expand market share and minimize weaknesses by impressing
Vietnamese consumers, building their trust with products Japanese domestic (Nga, 2019)

2. Marketing objective: Launching a new food product

a. Objective 1: Increasing 50% number of customer access Sakuko's website

Attracting 5,000 customers access website to search for the product "edible
Specific
mushrooms"

Measurable At least 10% weekly increments

post 2 to 3 advertising/week on the website and media channels, solve the

Achievable
problems customers are interested in for website

8
 Reach more customers to know about the new "edible mushroom" product,
Relevant
thereby promoting the business

Time-bound complete the goal before the Lunar New Year 2022 (February 1, 2022)

b. Objective 2: Get 5000 customers using the product

Specific bring 5000 "edible mushrooms" products to users

Measurable with 10% of existing customers per month

use promotion: product discount, buy 1 get 1 free or get free with food bills
Achievable
over 300,000 VND

promote the product widely, reach many customers (existing and new
Relevant
customers)

Time-bound 2 months

3. Marketing strategy
5.1. Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning

SEGMENTATION

a. Geography: concentrated in 63 cities in Vietnam

b. Demographics:

 Age: Sakuko targets customers aged 22-45, especially housewives

 Financial ability: suitable for all income classes of Vietnamese people, especially the middle
income class
9
c. Psychology:
 Hobbies: People who prefer to cook and trust Japanese products.
d. Behavior:
 Buying habits: Customers who love the environment, prefer fresh food will tend to choose
environmentally friendly food. In addition, women with a university degree or higher are
more interested in healthy foods than those with a low education level.

TARGETING

Sakuko's launch new product campaign will use the "Focus Targeting Strategy". Choosing a
focus strategy will make it easier for Sakukko to focus on a specific group of customers on a
large market. Besides, Sakuko can create all suitable strategies and attract that customer group as
well as improve product quality. As for the new product "edible mushroom", Sakuko mainly
targets the potential market of housewives and women who like to cook with low to moderate
income, with the desire to bring a meal "delicious - healthy - clean" for the family.

POSITIONING

On the currently market, Sakuko will have to compete with two competitors sale edible
mushrooms are Homefarm and BigC.

First of all, BigC's mushroom product costs only from 13,000 VND to 70,000 VND, but the
supermarket does not pay attention to the origin of the food, making the mushroom product
make a bad impression on consumers as "mushroom of unknown original" (Linh, 2014).

Secondly, for the Homefarm imported food store, the mushrooms are clean, clearly sourced from
Vietnam and Korea (Homefarm, n.d.). Besides fresh mushrooms, Homefarm also provides
customers with products such as mushroom hot pot sauce, mushroom cream sauce with prices
ranging from 20,000 VND to 65,000 VND.

For Sakuko, the supermarket chain has been present for more than ten years in the Vietnamese
market with a reputation for quality and products of clear origin. Therefore, Sakuko's mushroom
products will be comparable in price, but superior in quality to the competition. Besides,
Sakuko's edible mushroom products will be more diversified and will be a competitive
advantage compared to Homefarm and BigC.
10
 HIGH PRICE

SAKUKO
VIETNAM
LOW QUALITY
HIGH QUALITY

HOMEFARM

BIGC

LOW PRICE

2.2. Marketing mix are used by Sakuko when launching new product

Factors Contents

Line product is “Edible mushroom” including: dried Dong Co mushrooms,

mushroom rolls, mushroom sauce, mushroom porridge, some types of fresh
Products
mushrooms.

To compete with competitors in the market, the price strategy of Home Food
Price products should range from 200.000 VND to 400.000 VND for Dong Co
mushrooms and the rest mushroom ranges from 20.000-90.000 VND.
Sakuko will display at the store and distribute directly to franchise agents and
Place
retailers a small amount to gradually approach customers.
Sakuko may continue to use promotional strategies that the company is
implementing such as running ads on the website and product discounts and
Promotions
giveaways. Besides, the company can increase website traffic to search for
products by free shipping for online orders.
11
 Because they are new products, special attention should be paid to the product
Physical
packaging procedure in order to provide the greatest possible impression to
evidence
buyers.
Because mushroom products are new products, it is necessary to have staff who
understand the advantages and disadvantages of the product to advise customers.
People
In addition, there are order taking staff and warehouse staff to check the source
of goods to apply promotions.
Products will be tested before being officially sold. After selling, will follow up
Process
customer feedback and improve products and services.

4. Action programs
Mushrooms are purchased from farms and processed at factories in Japan. Mushrooms grown
completely organic (no chemicals, no pesticides, no growth agents). After harvesting, the
mushrooms are transported to the factory, preliminarily processed and processed into mushroom
porridge, mushroom rolls, and mushroom rolls, ensuring that the minerals and vitamins
contained in the mushrooms are preserved after packaging. Mushrooms will be processed in a
factory according to the production line, the groups of workers will be in charge of each step
from preliminary processing, processing, testing, and packaging.

Besides, the packaging will be designed based on the target market segment. Because they are
housewives who love to cook, they will be attractive by the simplicity but still eye-catching.
Because it is an imported product, it is necessary to print the expiry date and production date as
well as the way to preserve it clearly, so that consumers can rest assured when choosing. Sakuko
may use a value-added pricing campaign to use quality to raise the price of a product.

In addition, for customers who are mothers, Sakuko will promote advertising in the hours
outside office hours, and mainly Zalo. Because statistics show that people from 25-40 years old
update news on Zalo more than other age groups (Khanh, 2018).

Sakuko also carries out promotional activities at the supermarket to achieve marketing goals by
running ads on the website and offering discounts and freebies with food bills over
300,000VND. Apply free shipping of edible mushrooms when ordering online to increase the
number of customers visiting the website. Sakuko will offer a 50% discount for employees to
12
receive feedback from their experience and organize a mushroom product launch event with a
wide variety of mushroom products, "cheap but quality" "nutritious – friendly to the
environment” to attract consumers to experience edible mushroom products.

5. Budget
Contents Budget (VND)

PR 50.000.000

Sponsor the program “Masterchef” 25.000.000

Phase 1
Run ads, apply promotions on the website 70.000.000

Social experiment campaign 100.000.000

Distribute to franchises 50.000.000

Phase 2
Giveaway and discount 30.000.000

Production 300.000.000
Phase 3
Transfer 150.000.000

6. Controls
Controlling the flow of marketing channels through KPIs is essential. KPIs performance
measurements are essential for tracking your capital spent on drawing client attention to
marketing platform. (Camilleri, 2017).

For Sakuko's new product launch campaign in the market: Tracking KPIs will help supermarkets
determine which forms of advertising attract more customers as well as consumers decide to buy
directly at the store or more websites. To ensure that the activities are on track and achieve the
set goals, it is necessary to control and analyze the number of visitors to the Sakuko website
(time, duration, most searched). Monitor customer feedback to improve the quality of the
supermarket's products and services

13
 II. Media plan
A media plan outlines the kind of content you'll generate, as well as where and how you'll
distribute it, in order to best engage and convert your target audience. Some media strategies are
designed to support broader organizational goals and campaigns, using pre-approved language
and content (Baker, 2021). Based on the marketing plan in task 1, the media plan will be built to
reach customers in the maximum way, helping Sakuko achieve marketing goals as well as the
supermarket's overall goals.

1. Marketing plan objective

The buying process consists of 6 stages: Awareness - Knowledge – Liking – Preference –
Conviction - Purchase. Most of Sakuko's customers are in the preferred stage. Because Sakuko is
a domestic Japanese supermarket, loyal customers will be those who love Sakuko products as
well as Japanese products. They already have enough knowledge and understanding about the
features, quality and price of the products in Sakuko. Therefore, the goal of the communication
plan is to direct the customer to the "conviction" stage. Therefore, the goal of the communication
plan is to direct the customer to the "persuasion" stage. The communication plan will help
customers recall the product, attract them to visit the website more and make trust from the value
that the "edible mushroom" product brings.

2. Target audience
The target group Sakuko targets are women, aged 22-45 (married or not), who love to cook and
like Japanese products. There are 2 specific examples of target customers that Sakuko will reach
through the media plan

*Buyer personas:

- Nguyen Ha Linh, female, 24 years old and working as an accountant at a garment company in
Hanoi. She is a single girl with a passion for cooking. Income 10 million/month, tend to eat
organic food and prefer Japanese products

- Bui Thu Hien, female, 35 years old, married and has 2 children. Currently a teacher, income
20 million/month. She very interested in family health, so she prefers organic food. She like to
eat at home with family and she will be vegetarian on the 1st and 15th of every lunar month.

14
The desire of customers is always quality products, clear origin. Consumers have concerns when
buying imported goods that are counterfeit goods of unknown origin.

3. Communication channels
Choosing a channel to promote a product is extremely important in a communication campaign.
According to Haward (2019), to optimize the communication campaign, it is necessary to combine 3
types of channels: Paid, owned and earned. However, with limited economic potential, Sakuko should
only approach target customers through 2 forms online and offline.

Online Offline

 Outdoor (billboards, poster, etc.)

 Social media (Facebook, Zalo, youtube,
 Telemarrketing (phone, text
Form etc)
massage)
 Website, Talk shows, E-magazine
 Broadcasting (TV, Radio)
 Send periodic newspaper
 Post promotions and sales on the group
 Posting posters on the street, at the
Method on facebook
door
 Send link, print-screen
 Leaflets or advertising parade
 High coverage, fast transmission speed
 Can be fixed easily  Convenient for people who do not
Advantages
 Reach the exact customer group use the Internet
 measure interest, followers, etc

 Can't control comments  Can't control the number of readers

Disadvantages
 Sometimes make annoy  Difficult to fix and slow spread

4. Types of contents
Most people spend more than 2 hours a day on social media. That makes social media an ideal place to
promote products. In order for consumers to have insight into the market, Sakuko needs to convey
information to arouse customers' interest and desires. Information will include: Images, Pricing, Product
benefits and promotions (Statler, n.d). For Sakuko and edible mushrooms, the message is given to
customers: "Clean, quality edible mushrooms, delicious meals for Vietnamese families". Because
advertising on facebook and Zalo should be attractive and different from normal ads. For example,
boomerang effects can be used to record videos to create GIFs, a hot trending application to refresh the
15
form and content of messages brought to customers. In addition, edible mushroom products can appear
in culinary programs such as MasterChef, mother's rice, etc with Sakuko as the sponsor. Besides, hiring
some food reviewers the real experience of eating mushrooms

5. Timeline

W W
W1 W2 W3 W4 W6 W7 W8 W10 W11 W12
5 9

Sponsor for TV
Ads on social media shows about culinary
Communication programs Food reviewers, vlog
Task
Viral clip: "Clean,
Ads on social media
quality edible
mushrooms, delicious
Send text massage for
meals for Vietnamese PR, Articles
families".
customer

6. Budget
Category Amount Description
Booking
Channel Influencer:
Food reviewers 250.000.000
3 food reviewer: 1 facebook, 1 Zalo, 1 tiktok

- Channel PR: 2-3 post/week about mushroom

PR article, seeding
170.000.000 - Channel Digital: 10 social post seeding in
group
group Facebook

Advertising 780.000.000

Social and Digital Ads 100.000.000 Facebook, Zalo ads

OOH Advertising 240.000.000 Bus, Billboard, Elevator…

16
 Marketing offline 200.000.000 Leaflets, flyer….

Total: 1.740.000.000

*Criteria to evaluate the quality of communication

- Quantity: the number of people visiting Sakuko website, the number of customers searching for
"mushrooms", the number of followers after the marketing campaign, the number of customers
coming to the store

- Quality: Customers have positive feedback about the viral clip, Consumers promote the
product to their loved ones after experiencing the product.

17
 CONCLUSION

This report outlines the marketing and communication plans for Sakuko's new product "edible
mushroom". At the same time, it also points out the potential market and target customers. From
there, the effectiveness of the marketing campaign can be assessed through the criteria of
quantity and quality.

18
 REFERENCE LIST

1. Babuki JSC (2021) . Retrieved 6 December,2021, from https://babuki.vn/tong-quan-thi-

truong-ban-le-viet-nam/
2. Nga, D. (2019). Moit.gov.vn. Retrieved 6 December 2021, from https://moit.gov.vn/tu-
hao-hang-viet-nam/viet-nam-la-mot-trong-30-thi-truong-ban-le-hap-dan-nhat-the-.html.
3. Quochoi.vn. (2021). Retrieved 6 December 2021, from https://quochoi.vn/ct-vuong-dinh-
hue/Pages/qua-trinh-cong-tac.aspx?ItemID=59241.
4. Beliaikin, A. (2021). PESTLE Analysis of The Retail Industry | Marketing Tutor.
Marketing Tutor. Retrieved 6 December 2021, from https://www-marketingtutor-
net.translate.goog/pestle-analysis-of-the-retail-industry/?
_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=vi&_x_tr_hl=vi&_x_tr_pto=sc.
5. Ha Kien (2021). Retrieved 5 December 2021, from
https://m.baohaiduong.vn/kinh-te/cong-nghe-thuc-day-nganh-ban-le-182362
6. N.Binh (2021) Retrieved 5 December 2021,from https://tuoitre.vn/tang-truong-tieu-dung-
hang-nhat-o-viet-nam-vao-top-10-khu-vuc-20210415140301741.htm
7. CPM new (2017) Retrieved 5 December 2021 from https://cpm-vietnam.com/Nha-ban-le-
Viet-Nam-Quyen-luc-nam-o-dau/
8. KONVOI new (2021) . Retrieved 5 December 2021 from https://konvoi.vn/bao-cao-thi-
truong-ban-le-viet-nam-nam-2020/
9. MT (2020) Retrieved 5 December 2021 from http://consosukien.vn/quy-mo-dan-so-viet-
nam-nhung-phat-hien-chinh.htm
10. Retrieved 5 December 2021 from
https://tranducphu.com/toc-do-do-thi-hoa-o-viet-nam/#Toc_do_do_thi_hoa_o_Viet_Nam
_thoi_gian_qua
11. MT (2020 ) Retrieved 5 December 2021 from http://consosukien.vn/quy-mo-dan-so-viet-
nam-nhung-phat-hien-chinh.htm
12. Vienketoan new (2020 )Retrieved 5 December 2021 from https://vienketoan.vn/tim-hieu-
ve-doanh-nghiep-co-von-dau-tu-nuoc-ngoai.html

19
13. Crowe Vietnam new (2020) Retrieved 5 December 2021 from
https://www.crowe.com/vn/vi-vn/insights/doing-business-in-vietnam/doing-business-in-
vietnam-2020/why-invest-in-vietnam
14. Ha Linh (2014). Retrieved 5 December 2021 from
https://www.doisongphapluat.com/nhung-lum-xum-cua-he-thong-sieu-thi-big-c-
a25487.html
15. Blog public (2020) Retrieved 5 December 2021 from
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/media-planning
16. BLOG publication (2020) Retrieved 7 December 2021 from
https://www.postplanner.com/blog/types-of-social-media-content#product-promotion
17. Statler, J (n.d). Retrieved 7 December 2021 from
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketing-campaign.asp

20