Thermal Films Division of ITW - Marketing Strategy

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STEP 1
The company selected is (ITW) Illinois Tool Works. The selected division is ITW Thermal Films.
This material is taken from http://finance.yahoo.com/" Illinois Tool Works, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the design and manufacture of engineered products and specialty systems. It operates in four segments: Engineered Products, Engineered Products?International, Specialty Systems, and Specialty Systems-International." http://finance.yahoo.com/
http://www.itwsfk.co.k" ITW Thermal Films is a leader in the thermal transfer ribbon industry with more than 30 years of experience in film coating technology and manufacturing.
ITW Thermal Transfer Ribbons have proprietary features specifically designed to extend the life of thermal printheads. In our research and development laboratories, We create formulations that call for the lowest printhead energy requirements in the market. Combining low energy usage with our unique anti-static back coating process produces the most printhead frienldly ribbons in the industry. Our ribbons' performance characteristics allow printing at lower temperatures and faster speeds which result in reduced printhead costs and lower overall energy usage. "http://www.itwsfk.co.k

STEP 2
The marketing objectives & strategy dictated by your market analysis and your understanding of the opportunities presented by your company.
This company has different business units for different products, the most developed division being that of packaging. The marketing objectives are however to get the maximum sales for the company. Traditionally the company has specialized in business-to-business marketing.
We take the example of one product of ITW to illustrate the marketing strategy of ITW thermal transfer ribbon manufacturer. The objective of marketing was to compete with other large manufacturers on the basis of greater visibility and generation of leads. Once leads were generated, the business-to-business marketing of ITW would take over and convert it to orders.
The competitors of ITW were formidable, Datamax, Sato and Sony. The company embarked on a search engine marketing program in 2002. The company identified a dozen or so important key words and phrases with the help of market research that these words were used to optimize the Thermal Films website that the ITW product appeared in the top placement in about 15 search engines. The result was that thermal films appearance on first page engine search increased by 1/5 and the website traffic increased by six times. Because of the greater visibility, there was an increase in the company's leads generated leading to increased business and revenue.

STEP 3
An analysis of the positioning, branding & life cycle issues relevant to your product/product lifecycle:
The increased visibility of the ITW website positioned it a better maker of Thermal Films than some of its ...