A marketing plan.

As I wander around the industry, some people have challenged me regarding the idea of turning some commodity products into value-added consumer products. This month, I accept that challenge and show you what I would do if I were the marketing vice president for coated and uncoated cut size freesheet. My market focus will be the consumer and neo-consumer sizes of letter in the United States and A4 in the remaining world.

NOT THE USUAL SUSPECTS

The first thing necessary is a brand name. I choose Casablanca. It means white House--we like white, and it evokes memories of a movie loved around the world. The corrugated container in which we will ship multiple reams of Casablanca will have a white mottle on the outside with minimal graphics consisting of the word Casablanca in stencil-style at a rakish angle on all sides of the box.

The ream package will be a tight polyethylene bag with a built-in opening rip string. The graphics will be more elaborate here with a likeness of Humphrey Bogart in trench coal and hat. A print, radio, and television advertising campaign featuring a Humphrey Bogart look-alike will introduce the product. In the first few months, we will be fairly bland about the quality of the paper but will focus on entrenching the name in the minds of the public. We will sell two forms of the paper from the beginning. "Casablanca" will be an uncoated free sheet, and "Casablanca Extra" will be a coated free sheet.

Assuming the product rollout proceeds according to plan, we will introduce within nine to twelve months a new uncoated free sheet subcategory. Designated "Casablanca--Play it again, Sam," this will be a product directed to youths and their parents with the special purpose to use both sides for drafts of school reports and other household uses. Mr. Bogart will extol its virtues by noting that it is exactly the same on both sides. (We will always use simple lay terms to express any features we try to convey to the market).

THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP?

Our next product improvement--nine to twelve months later--will be "Casablanca Dry" and "Casablanca Extra Dry." These will be products that do not curl in humid conditions. Assuming my two very favorite actresses are still with us, we will introduce these products in two series of print, radio, and television advertisements. The first will use Lauren Bacall as spokesperson. Ms. Bacall will recall how she and Bogey enjoyed Key Largo, but the humidity made it difficult for Bogey to write his memoirs. He needed "Casablanca Dry" or "Casablanca Extra Dry!" The second part of the series will star Katherine Hepburn. She will discuss how "The African Queen" might have had a scene where Bogey and she could have sent a note for help if only they had had--you guessed it--"Casablanca Dry" or "Casablanca Extra Dry!"

By the way, many other approaches will be undertaken to energize this product constantly:

* Coupons in each package for redemption for a printer cartridge after collecting a sufficient number

* One-hundred sheet count packages priced identical to a full ream placed at checkout counters in grocery and convenience stores for impulse purchases--the point of purchase display might be "Rick's Place"

* A "cleaning sheet" to clean a printer in each ream

* Instructions on the package for direct ordering of supplies from an exclusive web site

* A fax form in each package for direct ordering

* "Here's looking at you, kid"--a special coated product line for printing photos, etc.

Who says you cannot make a commodity into a positioned, value added product? S!