Cowley, M. (2016).

'Jellies & Jaffas': Applying PR Smith’s SOSTAC Model to an Online

Confectionary Start-Up. Innovation & Management Science eJournal, September 2016.

'Jellies & Jaffas': Applying PR Smith’s SOSTAC Model to an Online

Confectionary Start-Up

Submitted by Michelle B. Cowley

Business Studies Certificate in Digital Marketing & New Media Management DK_BCDIM_7
Introduction to the SOSTAC Model of Marketing
This report sets about explicating how the SOSTAC Model (Smith, 2011) makes possible a
systematic design and implementation of a digital marketing plan. SOSTAC is an acronym
for the six core components to be considered when generating a marketing plan: situation (S),
objectives (O), strategy (S), tactics (T), action (A) and control (C). Each component
represents a stage in the cycle of planning, and each stage is of equal importance to
successful marketing planning, implementation, and review (Chaffey & Smith, 2013). Now
widely accepted as the forerunner system for implementing marketing plans and
communications strategies, SOSTAC is an extension of the traditional SWOT analysis, that
is, a situational analysis of the strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats
(T) facing a business at the outset, when introducing a new product line, or when engaging in
an organizational change process.
Thus, the premises of this report are two-fold. First the report sets about detailing each
stage of the SOSTAC model in sequence as it can be applied to start-up online business.
Second, the report explicates each stage as a component of a digital marketing plan critiquing
the necessary and sufficient operations that may or may not be applied to a start-up online
business. Finally, conclusions are drawn as to the suitability of the model’s application to a
small to medium sized online business.

(S) SITUATION - ‘‘Jellies & Jaffas’’: A Sweet and Baking Start-Up Online Business
Following the advent of the internet, a plethora of the wonderful world of sugar-craft online
businesses have sprung up in tandem with the exponential explosion of online digital means
to generate income. ‘Planet Candy’ and ‘Aunty Nellies’ are those now well known to name
but a few.

Fig.1. A Google image search sample of retro-style sweets ‘Macaroons & Jellies in Jars’.

The phenomenon of the Great British Bake-Off, for example, has shown us that sweet treats
and everything sugar is as popular as ever. Surely no product could more aptly justify the
philosophy that marketing is about satisfying needs and delighting the consumer to create
profit, than sweets and cakes (Kotler, 2013). Just one mention of Jaffa Cakes by the Great
British Bake-Off '2016 and stores are overrun with demand (Blake & Gurka, 2016).
So with the digital market place being crowded with similar business concepts, and the
demand for such goods seemingly unexhausted, a new company will need to not only have a
cleverly conceived unique selling point (USP), but to ensure that this USP is well positioned
within the market ensuring that margin return on investment (ROI) is competitive.
For the purposes of this report a hybrid business concept, comprising both high-end
product lines in macaroons and retro-sweets, was chosen. The business name ‘‘Jellies &
Jaffas’’ communicates that the product line consists of both sweets and cakes, and the
specification of jellies and jaffa sized cakes indicates the products’ retro-quaint aspects with
bite-size and easily distributable features and benefits. The hybrid concept also identifies the
gap in the market that exists for a convenient one-stop shop for both dessert typologies,
especially for example, for events such as weddings, more usually ordered from separate
companies or suppliers. An integrated online ordering system could be therefore
simultaneously cost aware, in terms of providing a virtual store-front, and centralized for
distribution. Let us now take a closer look at how the SOSTAC model can be used to draw up
a digital marketing plan to implement this ‘‘Jellies & Jaffas’’ concept.

(O) OBJECTIVES: ROI and Brand-Marketing

The main objective of the business is to satisfy market
demand, using the purchasing exchange process with
consumers, to generate profit and market share. Other
objectives include building brand awareness and reputation for
service and products, while discovering where the most
valuable consumers are. Capitalizing on the exponential reach,
richness, and affiliation that an online business affords, can be
used to divide the market into useful market segments
geographically, and demographically to effectively target
channel and regional communication efforts leading to
increased ROI.
For “Jellies & Jaffas” this translates to creating an enticing
logo, packaging and labeling set, a high quality product range,
and excellent B2B supplier relationships. Add to this a brand-
marketing and communications regime consisting of a
website, e-marketing campaign plan, social-media platform
brand-awareness generation, and a marketing budget, and the
germs of the necessity of tailoring an explicit digital marketing
plan becomes evident.
The SOSTAC Model
(Copyright Smith, 2011).

Moreover, the communications strategy, the efficiency of tactics to implement it, and the
extent of brand-marketing success will need to be evaluated according to measurable and
regular key performance reporting (i.e., KPIs). Let us turn first to making our digital
marketing strategy more explicit.

(S) STRATEGY: A Comprehensive Digital Marketing Strategy

For the strategy to be in alignment with what competitors such as ‘Aunty Nellies’ and ‘Candy
Planet’ employ, the digital marketing plan must be either more
comprehensive, more efficient, or more focused. To match a digital
marketing strategy to the hybrid ‘‘Jellies & Jaffas’’ concept it is
therefore important to define the target market and to segment that
market sensibly in an undiffused way. The plan needs to focus the
marketing message consistently across the digital marketing
channel with a defined and patented logo, business registration, and
phrase, and to build all marketing material consistently across all
channels regardless of media. An identifiable ‘‘Jellies & Jaffas’’
marketing material template is to be constructed through an
advertising agency or graphic designer consultant of choice. (e.g.,
CMS Marketing). Drawing on geographic, demographic, and psychographic retail
knowledge catalogues of behavioural consumer research (e.g., ESOMAR, 2016), the cluster
profiles for purchasers of retro-sweets and old fashioned baked dessert foods needs to be
drawn up. Consumer profiles matching events, such as garden parties, buffets, weddings etc.,
are to be inferred to develop the marketing material and digital photography portfolio for
digital channel use. Next, a comprehensive chart of digital marketing strategy components
and the matching business process model is to be put into place to organize the marketing
campaign. See Figure 2 below for an example (Vedprakash, 2016).

Fig. 2. : A comprehensive Digital Marketing Strategy (Vedprakash, 2016)

(T) TACTICS: Social Media Marketing Tactics & Marketing Operations

Once each component of the digital marketing plan is explicated, the tactics themselves
corresponding to the plan and
marketing material needs to be
put into an operational calendar.
A spider-gram or brain-
storming exercise such as
drawing out operational tactics
for each social media platform
may be appropriate at this stage
as Figure 3 shows (e.g.,
Kentico, 2016).
Fig. 3.: Tactical Operations for Social Media

For example, a design template for a “Jellies & Jaffas” website might look like a standard
template for online sweet selling, with the added product line for macaroons and other bite-
size bakes.
Registered domain names matching “Jaffa & Jellies.Com”, and a well-budgeted Google
Ads program including well designed calls to action, landing pages, and thank you pages to
gather vital consumer intelligence and e-contact details for an e-Marketing campaign comes
next (HubSpot Academy, 2016).
 A sweet-making, bite-size bake baking webinar or trade-show series on YouTube, and a
regular and active Pinterest blog timed to capitalize on the fashionable sweeties and min-
bakes of the moment will increase brand-awareness, consumer
engagement, lead and pipe-line consumer possibility, and in turn
enable conversion measurement.
Moreover, SEO and engagement data through Google
Analytics and YouTube view, comments, and reviews will enable
regular weekly, monthly, and quarterly insights for routine and
novel conjectures relevant to company direction, immediate
consumer needs, and demand patterns. Twitter in conjunction
with Twitter Analytics, and Facebook in conjunction with
Facebook Insights will give quick summary statistical insights
into how each social media platform is performing at a glance
guiding daily decision making.
Pinterest ‘Jellies & Jaffas’

(A) ACTION & (C) CONTROL: Scheduling, Dashboards, & Performance Reporting
What actions are to be taking, that is, what actions are to be taken daily and how will the
labour and time resources be devoted to each task? First, we need a scheduler of activity for
our social media platforms. Who
will source the materials, who will
be engaged in prospective
videography for YouTube and
writing prospective press releases
for Facebook, Twitter, Google+,
Pinterest etc., and moreover what
resources and time-lines will be
required to build the material. For
example, a studio kitchen space,
equipment, and ingredients will
need to be sourced, invoiced, and
monitored.
Fig. 4.: Social Media Scheduler

The time-lines will need to co-reflect media relevance and cross-posting from up to the
minute journalistic or renowned blogger sites, and to be platform and device appropriate. A
program of E-Marketing will need to be drawn up with data protection procedures and
policies in place, and a quarterly schedule for each platform, and each product/seasonal retail
time-line is to be constructed. The time-line must also have some flexibility to wax and wane
with the demands of the market (See Figure 4 ‘Find & Convert.Com).
Aside from labour, space, and material resources there is the ongoing challenge of
performance measurement (IBM SPSS, 2016), and whether engagement leads to pipeline
conversion (HubSpot Academy, 2016).
One way to consistently monitor and produce automatic statistical summary reporting is to
use a package such as Salesforce or Tableau (e.g., Tableau, 2013). A dashboard, such as the
one here in Figure 5 can be specified to the business purposes and organized accordingly.
Monitoring in this way will quickly demonstrate the most profitable way to market to
engender brand-awareness through engagement data, or sales volume through conversion
mapping data from engagement to sale per consumer per digital marketing medium pipeline.
Where there are shortcomings, the
SOSTAC model will allow a tracing
through from action and control endpoint
back right back to restructuring the
objectives at the outset. This cyclical model
therefore builds in renewal, redundancy,
and efficiency. (Copyright –
Salesforce.Com)

Fig. 5.: A Sales and Engagement Dashboard

Conclusion
In sum, this report explored the concept of the SOSTAC Model (Smith, 2011), as it can be
applied to an online business start-up concept. Each component in the cyclical stage was
outlined and explained in terms of applying it to the “Jellies & Jaffas” online bite-size sweet
and baking online company. Although the SOSTAC model is the most widely implemented it
could be too heavy-duty in its application to small and medium businesses online- the KPI
performance component may require costly labour and software resources, in comparison to
other models such as the Inbound-Methodology three-step consumer journey focus
methodology (HubSpot Academy, 2016). That said, should the business be successful with
unanticipated growth in market share or regional expansion, then it will always be useful to
have conducted a SOSTAC analysis at the outset (Chaffey & Smith, 2013).

Bibliography & Social Media Image Credit Appendix

Aunty Nellies Online Sweets. http://www.auntynellies.ie/

Blake, I., & Gurka, E. (2016). The Bake-Off Effect Strikes Again.
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Cakes-lemon-drizzle-SOAR.html

Chaffey, D. & Smith, P. R. (2013). Emarketing Excellence: Planning and Optimizing your
Digital Marketing. Routledge: London.

ESOMAR: The World Association for Market, Social, and Opinion Research
https://www.esomar.org/

Find and Convert. Com. (2016). Elements of a Digital Marketing Road-Map.

http://www.findandconvert.com/2012/10/4-elements-of-a-digital-marketing-roadmap

HubSpot Academy – Inbound Marketing Certification Program

http://www.hubspot.com/

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Kotler, P. T. (2013). The Principles of Marketing. UK: Pearson Education.

LinkedIn Business Solutions – White Paper Series
https://business.linkedin.com/en-uk/marketing-solutions

Planet Candy. https://www.planetcandy.ie/

Smith, P. R. (2011). The SOSTAC(r) Guide To Writing The Perfect Marketing Plan,
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Sweet Shop Website Templates: https://www.template.net/web-templates/website-

templates/sweet-shop-template/

Tableau Software Solutions (2013). Fostering a Data-Driven Culture: A Report for the
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Vedprakash, S. (2016). Digital Marketing Plan Templates. https://branded.me/vedprakash-

srivastava