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ASSIGNMENT OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT QUESTION: In Marketing , we study 4Ps like Product, Price, Place and Promotion. You are supposed to analyze any brand or product of choice based on the above marketing mix i. e. 4Ps. ANSWER: MARKETING MIX The marketing mix is a broad concept which includes several aspects of marketing which all inquire to obtain a similar goal of creating awareness and customer loyalty. The marketing mix is not only an important concept, but a guideline to reference back to when implementing the price, promotion, product, and distribution.
Elements of the marketing mix are often referred to as the “Four ‘P’s”, a phrase used since the 1960’s * Product – It is a tangible good or an intangible service that is mass produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible products are service based like the tourism industry & the hotel industry or codes-based products like cellphone load and credits. Typical examples of a mass produced tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating system.
Packaging also needs to be taken into consideration. Every product is subject to a life-cycle including a growth phase followed by an eventual period of decline as the product approaches market saturation. To retain its competitiveness in the market, product differentiation is required and is one of the strategies to differentiate a product from its competitors. * Price – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if other stores have the same product. * Place – Place represents the location where a product can be purchased.
It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet. * Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketeer may use in the marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. A certain amount of crossover occurs when promotion uses the four principal elements together, which is common in film promotion. MARKETING MIX OF 5 BRANDS Product The core benefit is to satisfy consumers’ needs or want. Caters for different needs and wants of consumer
Uphold its brand by constantly upgrading and improving products’ innovative features and quality to satisfy its customers. Today, Adidas has established itself as a strong brand for sports apparels. Product line * Footwear * Clothing * Accessories Price Adidas is a shopping product Able to penetrate the market as it is cheaper than its competitors Uses market skimming e. g white T-mac 4 shoes is being charged at a higher price than the other colour of the same version Promotion Promotion objective is to become the NO. 1 sporting brand in the world. Promotion Mix Advertising commonly through the mass media. Through the use of the internet
Point of Sale ‘Impossible is Nothing’ campaign Place Distributing some of the Adidas products to the various sporting outlets e. g Royal Sporting House, World of Sports, Sportslink Adidas outlets Online purchasing through the internet Product * Portable Computers – including Mac products such as Mac Book Pro, iMac, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, Xserve * Servers – including Xserve, Xsan, MacOS X Ser, MobleMe. * Accessories – including MagicMouse, Keyboard, Led Cinema Display. * Wi-fi Based Stations – including Airport Express, Airport Extreme, Time Capsule. * Developer – including Developer Connection, Mac Program, iPhone Program. iPod – including iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, ipod Classic. * iPhone – including iPhone3GS, iPhone3G, iPad. * iTunes – including movies, TV shows, audio books, games. * Periphal products – including Printers, Storage devices, digital videos and cameras. Price * Apple is a premium brand computer that does not attempt to compete on price. The company has reduced prices after some initial product launches. It uses skimming and preimuim pricing strategies. * The AppleiPad is priced at a minimum of $499. * The Apple iPhone costs begin at $99. * The Apple iPod Classic is priced starting at $249. The Apple iPod Nano costs $149. * The Apple Mac Book costs $999. * The Apple Mac Book Pro is priced at $1199. * The Apple Quick time Pro for Windows costs $29. 99 * Apples iPad pricing strategy includes the flexibility to lower the prices if consumer response dictates such action. This would be consistent with a similar $200 price cut on the iPhone in 2007. * In 2009 Apple announced a reduced cost pricing structure for iTunes – songs will cost 69 cents, 99 cents or $1. 29. He said the “vast majority” of the songs will cost 69 cents. Changes are said to be a response to a slower pace of music downloads.
Place * Apple, Inc Headquarters are located at is located at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California. * The Apple Consultants Network includes independent professional service providers and technology consulting firms that specialize in Apple and third-party solutions. Certified on Apple technologies, these providers deliver on-site technology services and support to home users and businesses of all sizes. * Apple service providers are certified technicians, who complete regular Apple training and assessments, and offer repair services, and exclusive access to genuine Apple parts. They are located in Asia/Pacific, Africa, the Middle East Europe and Latin America. * Apple has over 200 retail stores worldwide including the US, UK and Canada. Apple recently opened a new retail store in Shanghai China. Promotion * Apple, Inc offers special discounts on refurbished MacIntosh computers, iPod Nanos, and the 8GB iPod Touch. In each case a 1 year warranty is included on the all products. * Apple, Inc authorized Training Centers are located throughout the U. S. each provides instruction in Mac systems, Mac OS X, and Apple’s professional applications.
A wide range of certification exams and courses offer innovative learning opportunities for IT and creative professionals, educators, and service technicians—delivered exclusively by Apple Certified Trainers. * The Apple Consultants Network website provides a search tool allowing visitors to locate nearby certified Mac product consultants in the U. S, Canada, and a number of international locations. * The online Apple Store offers free shipping for orders over $50. * The online Apple store offers iTunes gift cards. Apple provides a $100 rebate when you purchase a Mac or specific printers from the online store. Product Variety: In every series of Nokia there are large numbers of sets thus large variety Quality: Nokia gain brand personality and market shares of 35% because of its quality. Design: Nokia sets are of various designs such as flip sets, Flat sets, Slide sets, Sets with rotating Camera etc Features: Each set of Nokia has its own features. Price Prices start from mere Rs. 1200 to more than Rs. 50, 000 to suit all class of people. Nokia also offer cash allowances It uses skimming price strategy Promotion
Advertising – Through TV, Sign boards, Bill boards, Radio and Newspaper, Broachers, Posters Dummies and display stands Personal selling – By product training to Distributer (what is product) Sale promotion – Gift like Yamaha bike, Philips TV, Mitsubishi split AC, watches and digital diary, With N73 mobile offer 2500Rs original Blue tooth free With 6220 offer leather Wallet, With 6300 offer caps and shirts Public relation – Nokia spot light Road shows – N-gage. com for game lovers, Nokia football crazy. Place Nokia products are available at Nokia gallery Established mobile phone dealership such as Carphone warehouse & Link Advertisement
Product a. Brand : Advertising is often used to make consumers aware of a product’s special low price or its benefits. But an even more important function of advertising is to create an image that consumers associate with a product, known as the brand image. The brand image goes far beyond the functional characteristics of the product. The products of Tata Motors have many special characteristics to them, but when consumers think of it, they not only think of its features, but they may also associate it with quality, performance, class. All of these meanings have been added to the product by advertising.
Consumers frequently buy the product not only for its functional characteristics but also because they want to be identified with the image associated with the brand. Tata Motors have been successful in creating and maintaining a professional brand image. b. Packaging : A vehicle cannot have a material packaging. Here, packaging refers to and effective assembly of features. Tata Motors provide many innovative features to suit the target customers and the product. E. g. Tata Safari Dicor has ‘Reverse Guide System’ which includes a weather-proof camera to help the driver while reversing the vehicle. c.
Innovations : The various motives behind buying an automobile are Need, Prestige, Comfort, Fashion, Jealousy and Novelty. The R & D Department continuously strives to bring new innovations in their product. Tatas have an industrial experience of over 100 years and they are well known with the Psychology of Indian customers, who desire more at less price. This experience has helped them to develop products which fulfill the expectations of Indian consumers. d. Quality Control : Tata Motors have their Quality Control standards and the QC Dept. ensures that the customer does not face any inconveniences of a defective product. Price
Pricing Strategy : The prices are fixed keeping in mind a number of factors. As told by Mr. Desai, prices have to be at par with the prices of the competitors. Tata Motors give a relative price advantage as compares to its competitors. The various determinants of price are: Market Condition Costs incurred Profit percentage desired by the Co. Dealer Profit Alterations : The Company does not allow any alterations to any of the features of the product. If there is an alteration which affects the performance of the engine, then the warranty becomes void. However, there may be alterations in the accessories, if desired by the customer.
Discounts : Discounts are decided by the Co. every month. Any further discounts made from the profits of the dealer. However, the Co. may compensate the dealer for the discounts allowed to a certain extent. Promotion a. Personal Selling : There is minimal personal selling involved. The Sales Officers at the dealerships collect prospective customer databases and perform cold calling to attract customers. b. Advertising : Advertising is a form of commercial mass communication designed to promote the sale of a product or service. Tata Motors is responsible for the advertising of its products.
The dealer does play any role in the advertising. The various media used for advertising are T. V. , Newspapers, Magazines, Hoardings, Internet etc. The dealer conducts point-of-purchase displays to advertise the products. The advertisements done by the Co. help the dealer to capitalize on the market. c. Sales Promotion : The purpose of sales promotion is to supplement and coordinate advertising and personal selling; Sales promotions are designed to persuade consumers to purchase immediately by providing special incentives such as cash rebates, prizes, extra product, or gifts. The Co. onducts intensive sales promotion during festivals such as festive discounts during Diwali. d. Public Relations : Public Relations is a management function that creates, develops, and carries out policies and programs to influence public opinion or public reaction about an idea, a product, or an organization. The Co. takes serious measures to maintain good public relations. The Co. follows business ethics to ensure that the customer is satisfied and receives good service whenever and wherever he desires Place a. Channels of Distribution : In case of vehicles, dealership method of distribution and sales is generally adopted.
Tata Motors have also adopted dealership method of distribution of its products. The dealers purchase products from the Co. at a negotiated price. The MRP is fixed by the Co. and the dealer gets a profit within these prices. As the Co. deals in commercial and passenger vehicles, there may be a single or distinct dealerships to market its commercial and passenger vehicles in a town. However, if there is a single dealership appointed, then the commercial and passenger vehicles are managed under Commercial Vehicles Dept. and Passenger Vehicles Dept. espectively. Tata Motors have contracts with the Government of India and it supplies buses and passenger vehicles, in some cases, to the Govt. Sometimes, bulk quantities of vehicles are ordered by a Govt. Dept. or a private company. The sales, distribution and billing of these are looked after by the Co. itself. b. Physical Distribution : The commercial vehicles are manufactured at Jamshedpur, Lucknow and Pantnagar whereas the passenger vehicles are manufactured at Pune plant. From the plant, the finished product is transported to the dealerships.
The nation-wide dealership, sales, services and spare parts network comprises over 2,000 touch points. The dealerships are strategically located in the target and potential markets to ensure efficient and timely availability of its products in the market. Product Horlicks is a widely regarded and highly respected 130-year-old brand. GSK has four brands in the health food drinks segment. Apart from Horlicks, which contributes Rs 600 crores in revenue to the consumer healthcare division, it has Boost, Maltova and Viva – the last three are much smaller brands than Horlicks.
Faced with stagnating sales in the health food drinks segment, the company has chalked out an aggressive brand push strategy and a revamp for its flagship brand, Horlicks. The relaunch aims to focus on children as Horlicks was previously considered as a nourishment drink for old people. The company expects Horlicks contribution to the total turnover to be around Rs 800 crore which amounts to a major chunk of the company’s turnover. Horlicks is a nourishing malted food drink which combines the wholesome goodness of malted barley, wheat and dairy ingredients.
A For more nourishment, Glaxo SmithKlineA Consumer Healthcare India Ltd (GSKCH) has relaunched its flagship brand Horlicks. A To enable consumers choose different flavours, Horlicks is now available in Regular, Chocolate, Creamy Vanilla and Honey Buzz varieties in a new package. A Horlicks drinks provide the following essential nutrients:A Proteins, Carbohydrate, Fat, Vitamin A, Niacin, Vitamin B1, VitaminB12, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, and Iron & Calcium Price HORLICKS| | Flavors (Rs)| | Elaichi| Chocolate| Honey Buzz| Vanilla| Weight(gm)| Jar| Refill Pack| Jar| Refill Pack| Jar| Jar| 200| 57| -| 57| -| -| -| 00| 108| 103| 108| 103| 108| 108| 1000| 199| 189| -| -| -| -| HORLICKS JUNIOR| Weight(gm)| Jar| Refill Pack| 200| 58| -| 500| 114| 105| Target market: Earlier Horlicks believed, white drinks are for the entire family in contrast to the browns, whose prime target audience is children. This is probably because whites–whose growth rate is faster than the browns–have the added advantage of being perceived as food which enhances the healthy image of those who are recovering. But gradually they realized that they have to focus on one segment of market that is children.
Horlicks is now positioned as a pleasurable nourishment drink aimed at children between the age group of 8 -14. Nowadays children have tremendous influence on the things purchased for the family and therefore we want children to prefer Horlicks as a pleasurable nourishment drink. While all the action will be in the general Horlicks segment, the focus of Junior Horlicks (target segment: kids between one and three) will continue to remain the same. Promotion The company has earmarked around Rs 10 crores for brand promotion throughout 2003, and 70% of this will be spent in next six months.
Sixty-five per cent of the ad-spend (around Rs 10 crores) will be for the visual medium and the balance for the print and others. Apart from the high-decibel media campaign, the company also plans to conduct an inter-school competition called a€? Activity 2003a€? in which around 1. 5 million students are expected to take part. Unlike its other drink (the Rs 170-crore Boost, promoted by Sachin Tendulkar); the new Horlicks does not have a brand ambassador. While all the action will be in the general Horlicks segment, the focus of Junior Horlicks (target segment: kids between one and three) will continue to remain the same.
The brand will continue to talk to the mother since the purchase decision rests with her. Place It has a strong marketing network in India comprising over 1800 wholesalers and direct coverage of over 4,00,000 retail outlets. A Horlicks sales have been strong in the south and eastern markets which contributes about 46 per cent and 47 per cent of the total sales. Milk-deficient South and East preferred white liquid powders (Horlicks, Viva, and Complan) as the drink could be prepared with hot water.