The document outlines a promotional strategy for B-Balady eggs. It discusses improving the current egg packaging by changing the color, design, size and materials. It also evaluates the package using the VIEW model and suggests developing new B-Balady products like wheat, car air fresheners, and fruits. Additionally, it recommends enhancing existing products like candles and herbs. Finally, the document proposes a communication plan including limited advertising, sales promotions, public relations, direct marketing and personal selling to increase brand awareness and sales within a limited budget.

1. Notre Dame University
Faculty of Business Administration and Economics
Department of Management and Marketing
B-Balady
To
Dr. Kamal Zakhour
By
Hanady Eid
Serj Massaad
Anthony El-Hage
Rami Daaboul
Naja Faysal
Promotional Strategy
MRK 321 - Section B
Fall 2004

2. Outline:
I. Pay a field visit to Jezzine area to learn more about the parties involved. Like the WRF,
the COOP, the beneficiaries, the environment, etc… (Already Done)
II. Participate in the survey targeted to the End-users to learn more about the egg buyers’
behavior. (Already Done)
III. Find ways to reduce the current operating costs. (Already Done with the assistance of
Dr. Kamal Zakhour and the Coop in Jezzine)
IV. Improve the current eggs package.
A. Package components
B. Package Evaluation
V. Generate ideas to develop other B-Balady products, while providing prototypes.
A. Introduction of new products
B. Enhancement of established products
C. Increasing profitability
VI. Develop a communication plan for the Coop as well as for the eggs project, to make the
non-aware aware, and then lead them to the interest, then trial, then finally to the
adoption stages. (With the minimum communication budget possible)
A. Advertising

3. B. Sales promotion
C. Public relations
D. Direct marketing
E. Personal selling
VII. Start a personal word of mouth campaign beside your plan, to encourage trial and
adoption of B-Balady products. (Already Done on the 25th of December with Mr. Ramzi
at NDU Main Campus. Entitled “B-Balady Day”)

4. IV. Current Eggs Package Improvements
A – Package Components
A brand’s package is of course, the container that both protects and sells the
product. It is a silent sales man and it is the product itself. The most important elements
of the package are: Color, design, size and shape, and physical materials. Thereby, in
our preceding discussion, we will find ways of improvement relying on these four
components:
Color:
Color has the ability to communicate various cognitive and emotional meanings
to prospective buyers. The strategic use of color in packaging is effective because colors
affect people emotionally. The green color connotes abundance, health, calmness, and
serenity. And since free range eggs are healthy as compared to other ordinary eggs this
color could be a good choice with keeping the SHUMAN logo on it.
Design
An effective package design is one that permits good eye flow, provides a
consumer with a point of focus, and conveys meaning about attributes and benefits.
Since we are cost oriented and we need to lower cost as much as possible, we suggest
that the package should remain the same with adding a handle on top of the box and
making the eggs seen easily with eliminating the catalog inside and putting it aside in a
pocket. This catalog is a good idea because it is explaining clearly the story of Abou
Fares

5. Package Size
Many product categories are available in several product sizes. Manufacturers
offer different sized containers to satisfy the unique needs of various market segments, to
represent different usage situations, and to gain more self space in retail outlets. As for
our product, the size should remain the same. Moreover, consumers buy B-Balady eggs
in small quantities. B-Balady eggs have a short UBD (Used Before Date), and a very
short expiry date period. So it is healthier to use it before the expiry date. Therefore, a
box of six eggs is a good idea; people can buy one box or more. By this, profit margin is
also much higher than that of the 12 or 24 eggs package.
Physical Materials
Another important consideration is the materials that make up a package.
Increased sales and profits often result when upgraded packaging materials are used to
design more attractive and effective packages. So packaging can arouse consumer’s
emotions usually subconsciously. In our case, eggs are not an expensive product,
therefore of all social level can buy it. For that reason, we can still use cartoon boxes but
in different colors (like green). And adding the handlebar on it (as we have mentioned
earlier), the consumer will feel like the box is calling him, because it is easy to be
handled. Beside this, the type of the cartoon can be changed to reduce our costs. As
Ramzi said once, our package is a very expensive one because it is the only one on the
market that is recyclable. However, and even though we are trying to focus on the
organic type of products and the environmental-friendly issue, people do not usually rely
their buying decision on if the package is recyclable or not.

6. B – Package Evaluation
Applying the VIEW model, four general features can be used to evaluate a
particular package:
V – Visibility
Visibility signifies the ability of a package to attract attention at the point of
purchase. B-Balady eggs packaging graphics, size and shape also enhances the package’s
visibility. Most probably the green color that we have chosen before to the package will
attract the attention of the consumers since all the eggs packages have a brown or a grey
color. B-Balady package will be the only one that has a different color. However, we
must eliminate the story that is written on the package because we can not fluently read it
since the characters are too small.
I – Information
Package information is useful for stimulating trial purchase behavior and
providing correct product usage instructions. The objective is to provide the right type
and quantity of information without cluttering the package. As we have mentioned
before, we should eliminate the story of Abou Fares that is written on the package
because we already have the same information on the catalogue. We should keep Shuman
logo, the brand name, the expiry date and of course the information should be written in
Arabic and English within the same package. Moreover, the package should contain a
thank you note to thanks the customer who he is helping the WRF every time he
purchases it. By this, we focus more on the humanitarian aspect.

7. E – Emotional Appeal
It is the ability of a package to evoke a desire feeling or mood. But packages for
some brands contain virtually no emotional content and emphasize instead informational
content, while packages of other brands emphasize emotional content and contain very
little information. Because of the story of Abou Fares and the humanitarian aspect of the
project, B-Balady package has both the emotional and informational content. The
families of land mire survivors who are in need to expend their income generating
through the development of credible and sustainable economic opportunities. These
families benefit from the sales of B-Balady eggs. Hence, the reader will find it very
emotional. The message to the consumer written on the catalogue, gives the reader all the
information needed about how the chicken are raised and their daily alimentation.
W – Workability
It refers to how a package functions rather than how it communicates. First of all,
the package of the eggs should separate each one from the other. This package will
protect retailers against unintentional breakage from consumer handling. As we have said
once in class, a base should be constructed to protect the eggs from stock transportation
accidents. In addition to this, when we add the handlebar on top of the box, the customer
will find himself very comfortable while handling the box of eggs, which will increase
both awareness and trialability of the product.

8. V. Developing Other B-Balady Products
A – Introduction of New Products
B-Balady Wheat/Flour
B-Balady Wheat/Flour can be combined with B-Balady herbs such as Zaatar and
Sima’. B-Balady Wheat/Flour can be also developed into Manakich and other types of
Mouaajanat. A team from the WRF should visit the mini-bakeries (such as B2B,
Zaatar WO Zeit, Keirouz Bakeries, etc…) and get their support, or try sell those item
there. This can give a great push to the brand in 2 ways: To enhance both profitability
and awareness. People will learn more about the brand and ask about it so that it will
be like a channel to reach the main products of the brand.
B-Balady Car Air-Freshener
Introduce car air freshener branded B-Balady with the herbal fragrances provided
by the brand itself as a promotional item to increase awareness beyond consumers (it
could be shaped as a chick or the country of Lebanon). Young volunteers should go on
the road and try to sell them there by showing Abou Fares story to them. This will
certainly increase awareness and enhance the brand image.
B-Balady Facial Tissue
Introduce a new facial tissue fragranced by the smell of honey, lavender and all
the herbs that the brand provides. It should be in small packs. This type of products has a
role of expansion to compete with other industries. It is risky and unpredictable.

9. Therefore, it is important to carry the humanitarian aspect of the brand, which helps in its
introduction phase.
B-Balady T-SHIRTS
T-SHIRTS printed with Abou Fares story and the B-Balady brand. We can visit
the big stores like GS for example and try to tack a little stand at the entrance or at the
exit and try to tell people about the brand and sell them the T-Shirts.
B-Balady Chewing Gum
We can create from the waxed honey a kind of chewing gum targeted to little
children as a healthy-gum. Here we should be directed mainly to parents to convince
them to let their children try the gum instead of the un-healthy children products that
roams the market. In this way, we will be targeting both, the children segment by the gum
and prepare him to the future so he can use the B-Balady eggs, and the mothers/fathers
segment to create awareness and enhance the our positioning.
B-Balady Fruits and Vegetables
Like eggs, we can introduce B-Balady Fruits and Vegetables. Apples can be a
good product as well as olives. The cost should be low so we can increase the profit
margin. Many types of fruits can be introduced and, in this way, we can promote the idea
of the “B-Balady Cocktail” including all the B-Balady fruits.
B-Balady Natural Soaps
As we all know the natural soap is a very ''clean product'', which means, it
contains no chemicals what so ever. Here we can add all the natural fragrances that we
have and in this way introducing a new idea for an old brand which will be welcomed by

10. most people, especially in the Jezzine area. Imagine a natural soap with the lavender or
honey smell… It’s nice!
B-Balady “Arak”
Finally, we can introduce the B-Balady Arak flavored with mint. This is a new
idea that has never been marketed before. On the back of the bottle we can also print the
story of the brand and the reason behind its creation.
B – Enhancement of Established Products
B-Balady Candles
Each candle should be branded with the B-Balady logo on the bottom. The candle
should be differentiated by its smell from the B-Balady fragrances. The candles can come
in a package along with incense with the smell of honey or mint or thyme. We can create
many shapes from the candles for different segments. (Example: A ball shape for
children, cedar tree shape, Lebanon map shape, and Phoenician soldier shape for all year
round) This can be a good idea for tourists’ souvenirs. Candles can be sold at all tourist
attractions and all “souks” such as Byblos and Jeita Grotto.
Zaatar and Other Herbs
Zaatar and other herbs should be Vacuum packed so as to maintain freshness and
dryness of the product. Packing date should be visible on each bag. The zaatar package
should be changed because it deceives the eye, and it should be branded and printed with
Abou Fares story to increase awareness.

11. The Lavender
The lavender fragrance should be sold in small bottles as a spray that cleans the
face and the hands. The bottle should look new and eye-catching for the consumer to buy
it.
NB
In addition to all this, we can provide on a monthly basis in the B-Balady pack,
different recipes that contain eggs as a main ingredients. Like omelet, homemade cakes,
etc… We can also give samples of the zaatar to bakeries and advertise the low price yet
high quality of B-Balady zaatar.
C – Increasing Profitability
Advertising
B-Balady should increase its product range and therefore always have a product to
cover the “dead-season” of another product. The consumer should be heavily targeted all
the year round. The expression “B-Balady” should never leave the consumer's mind at
all.
As far as enhancing the brand and increasing profitability through brand
awareness and increase in sales, some budget must be made for advertising at least below
the average line cost level. We should have at last 3 commercials per month on different
channels. Not necessarily on LBC or Future, we can have them on TL per example, or
any other channel that has a low-cost/second advertising price. This way we can give the
brand a really powerful push. Advertising is a great and very powerful MarCom tool
without it awareness could not be properly made. And TV/Radio advertising is the most

12. powerful of it. The eggs advertisements can be shown in the Easter time where eggs are
heavily used. A good price deal can be made by stressing on the humanitarian aspect of
the brand.
Pamphlets – Posters – Stickers
Pamphlets can be distributed in schools, local stores, and towns. While people are
shopping they need to consume time, so by telling them about our egg product we can
save them time to choose among brands in the field. The pamphlet should be filled of
colors and contains the maximum information we can provide.
Posters of Abou Fares story can be given for children as a cartoon characters. In
this way parents will read the information instantly and get to know the brand more and
more.
Stickers of Abou fares can be also given to children to create a new trend among
them. Every little child would want to stick Abou Fares stickers on his hand! It makes fun
to them. In this way, we create a buzz among the parents 2 and they will definitely ask
more about the brand.
Organized Events
We can organize stands at the Mahrajan of Bkassine, Kaytoule, Roum or other
towns in the area of Jezzine every year. A guy comes dressed by Abou Fares character to
attract people. In these events, we can organize games (Like the one that was to be made
at NDU campus) and give free samples to people to increase awareness.

13. We can also advertise beeswax in schools and universities as an art medium for
sculpture. The handing out of small free samples of goods that is for sale by B-Balady
brand.
A Productivity Perspective
Finally, to increase productivity, we could organize or pair up different producers
together. (For instance, a honey and wax producer with an herb harvester or an egg
producer and a honey producer) Combined efforts will increase moral due to
companionship and ultimately productivity and reduce the risk of each beneficiaries.
VI. Communication Plan
The communication strategy should be built on segmenting the market and
knowing who our consumers are. After referring to the survey done, we will know who
usually buy eggs from what types of stores and other useful information. This, in turn,
will help us in targeting our communication strategy. Usually the buyer (father,
mother…) takes his/her decision in the point of purchase since the benefits are intangible
and brand attributes are rarely be deferrable. For the B-Balady eggs, attributes like being
100% Balady, good quality, and the humanitarian aspect should be clearly emphasized.
The communication strategy should be classified into five important parts:
A. Advertising
B. Sales promotion
C. Public relations
D. Direct marketing
E. Personal selling

14. A – Advertising
Since the budget is limited; the usage of advertising should also be limited. But in
any way it’s vital for the coop to launch an advertising campaign even if it will require
some budget because that’s the best way to make consumers aware of the brand and
enhance adoption.
Using advertising on a limited basis with an inexpensive media will have a good
effect on sales and will increase awareness. The message should stress on the 100%
Balady (Organic products) and the quality. On the other side, advertising must also stress
on the humanitarian aspect by using emotional appeal. We can also ask for special
discounts on the price of the space or time in the media since there is a humanitarian
aspect in the brand (As we said before).
B – Sales Promotion
Sales promotion is very important although the budget is limited. Free samples,
coupons, premiums, price offs, and bonus packs can be very effective in the increase of
sales and trialability of the product. We can use for example with each pack of eggs a bag
of zaatar or any other inexpensive products sold by the coop.
We can also add with the pack instead of the story of Abou Fares alone, a more
interesting jokes (or humorous kind of messages) related to Abou Fares so that’s will
encourage them to buy. We should be cautious here not to contradict or destroy the
humanitarian side of the promotion with the humorous message. After all, the
humanitarian aspect is what we are aiming at.

15. A very important thing in sales promotion is to target industries, like bakeries and
restaurants by special offers where they should tell the consumer in there own ways that
their own products have been cooked using B-Balady eggs, which has good quality.
If it is not expensive, we can hire people to talk about the brand in the
hypermarkets and make fancy stands to attract attention and build awareness.
We can also sell the for example 14 eggs in the price of 12 in a special package
that shows this offer, which this will encourage people to buy more. We can apply this on
the 6 eggs pack or the 12 eggs ones. Even more, this strategy will affect the package
which will look different than other packages because it contains more than the original
ones.
In many supermarkets we can place a point of sale that fry eggs and boil them so
the consumer can taste the product and knows what it differs from other eggs. This is one
way to increase awareness.
Also honey should be on the spot and have little samples given for consumers to
taste. A demonstration should be made in front of the consumer to show him the great
quality of this honey.
C – Public Relations
For this brand, Public Relation is the most important communication tool, because
it is unpaid, or relatively inexpensive.
An event making is the key for the awareness and building relations with
reporters, media, and celebrities from all domains. A “founder’s day” of this coop can be
made per example. In all events made, media should be invited to know more about this

16. coop and its brands, and, in turn, will objectively transfer the information to the mass
population. Inviting for example the minister of agriculture to Jizzeen for a B-Balady day
is also a good idea.
A visit to the president and the vise president is also vital in these situations. Since
the coop is not just like any coop, it has a humanitarian message that is worth being
announced to the president of the country.
Moreover, plant visits for charitable organizations, schools, universities,
industries will make the coop known as a charitable organization which is helping
handicapped people to be productive. These visits lead to a better relation between the
charitable associations which, in turn, will have positive effects on the coop.
University students can also be very effective in developing the marketing for this
brand while you can always find new ideas at a very low cost.
Sponsorship can be also very helpful if the event is well chosen. For example, a
social event about how you can fight diseases by using natural nutrition being sponsored
by B-Balady will be a great idea.
We should also try to have good relations with the media. Especially with the
programs that target health-oriented viewers, or listeners. With this relation, we try to
encourage the producers of these programs to test the coop’s products and mention these
products or their unique attributes in their programs. Best examples are the New TV
program “Mariam Nour” or “Ralf nadir” program on T.L.

17. D – Direct Marketing
Direct Marketing using Direct mails, telephone calls, and other customized tools
can be an inexpensive way of awareness. Direct marketing message should be
personalized, where the consumer is our main concern.
Direct e-mails are very important since it targets business people, or at least
people who use the modern technology and this is an important target for our brand.
Moreover, by these e-mails we can talk about the brand, ask them to order the brand,
announce offers, and we can open the gate for donations and this was proven to be very
effective in a nonprofit organization where competition for consumer donations will
always increase.
The same message can be delivered through direct mails where it can target a
wider group of people. For sure e-mails are not expensive useful in the case of limited
budget.
Telephone calls are less effective but can also be used. Phone calls can effective
in making people aware of the brand and its attributes and about the humanitarian aspect.
E – Personal Selling
Personal selling: bringing the retail store into the homes and offices.
This can be done by visiting consumers and talking about the brand, give them free
samples and ask them if they want to buy. Tell them about every thing starting from the
quality to the humanitarian aspect to the WRF to the Shuman co-branding. Tell them
about special offers and the benefits of products produced by the coop. This can be very
effective.

18. We can try to target consumers while they are at home by providing a home
service delivery for eggs and honey because those two items are easy to sell under the
door-knocking marketing technique. By tasting the product instantly the consumer will
have no way but to buy the product.
Another idea is to sell coop products in such events made especially for the brand
or any other events and try to convince people to buy by special decoration and attractive
activities (Like the stand that was made at NDU campus).
Visit institutions and organizations and try to sell the coop brands for employers
as donations for charity.
NB
Remember that the package and the logos can be also used to communicate.
Stressing on the Shuman co branding or the WRF might increase the sales if we try to
create an attractive package that is different from any eggs package in the market!
VII. Starting Word-Of-Mouth Campaign
A B-Balady day was made at NDU main campus with the assistance of Dr. Kamal
Zakhour, Mr. Ramzi (The Marketing Manager of B-Balady Brand). The event was
evaluated assessed to be very successful regarding such criteria as: University
students’ awareness, Promotion, and Sales (which was estimated by Mr. Ramzi to be
450 000 L.L.)
The stand was constructed at the main entrance of the cafeteria with the assistance
of Rakel Saliba and Serj Massaad, and has been visited by many faculty staff as well
as the students.