Like many entrepreneurs, the developers of Zicam launched the product without the benefit of a formal marketing plan. The product was developed, some distribution was obtained through good salesmanship and aggressive trade terms, and then it was hoped that the consumer would buy the product.
Luckily, a press release caught the attention of USA Today , resulting in enough publicity to generate consumer and broad-scale trade interest. To efficiently manage the growth that followed, however, Zicam had to be implemented on a larger scale with a combination of integrated marketing plan elements.