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Chapter 10: Crafting the Brand Positioning GENERAL CONCEPT QUESTIONS Multiple Choice 1. As part of the strategic brand management process, each company and offering must represent a distinctive ________ in the mind of the target market. a. promotion b. cell c. big idea d. ad e. organizational concept Answer: cPage: 309Level of difficulty: Medium 2. All marketing strategy is built on STP—segmentation, targeting, and ________. a. positioning b. product c. planning d. promotion e. performance Answer: aPage: 310Level of difficulty: Medium 3. _______ is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market. a. Positioning b. Product conceptualization c. Promotion presentation d. Performance imaging e. Preproduct launching Answer: aPage: 310 Level of difficulty: Easy 4. The result of positioning is the successful creation of ________, a cogent reason why the target market should buy the product. a. an award winning promotional campaign b. a customer-focused value proposition c. a demand channel d. every-day-low-pricing e. strategic window of opportunity Answer: bPage: 310Level of difficulty: Hard . A good illustration of the value position for Perdue (chicken) is ________. a. one price beats all b. bring chicken to the world c. ethical values, the American way, and quality chicken d. chicken any way you like it e. more tender golden chicken at a moderate premium price Answer: ePage: 311Level of difficulty: Hard 6. A starting point in defining a competitive frame of reference for a brand positioning is to determine ________—the products or sets of products with which a brand competes and which function as close substitutes. a. functional membership b. competitive field c. category membership d. alue membership e. demand field Answer: cPage: 311Level of difficulty: Medium 7. Which of the following terms is most closely associated with the following statement: “attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand”? a. Brand image b. Points-of-difference c. Points-of-parity d. Points-of-value e. Brand concept Answer: bPage: 312 Level of difficulty: Medium 8. ________ are associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands. a. Points-of-parity . Points-of-difference c. Brand cells d. Brand positions e. Points-of-competitive field Answer: aPage: 313 Level of difficulty: Medium 9. To achieve a point-of-parity (POP) on a particular attribute or benefit, a sufficient number of consumers must believe that the brand is “________” on that dimension. a. most excellent b. neutral c. marginal d. good enough e. service-based Answer: dPage: 313 Level of difficulty: Medium 10. The preferred approach to positioning is to inform consumers of a brand’s membership before stating its ________. a. point-of-parity b. point-of-difference c. point-of-conflict d. oint-of-weakness e. point-of-reference Answer: bPage: 314 Level of difficulty: Medium 11. There are three main ways to convey a brand’s category membership: announcing category benefits, ________, and relying on the product descriptor. a. overt publicity b. industry trade press c. buzz marketing d. preference positions e. comparing to exemplars Answer: e Page: 315Level of difficulty: Hard 12. To avoid confusing brand loyal customers, Ford presented the X-trainer as a “sport wagon. ” With respect to ways of conveying a brand’s category membership, which of the following did Ford use with its new product? . Announcing category benefits. b. Comparing to exemplars. c. Relying on the product descriptor. d. Using brand perception to increase profits. e. Using public relations to secure brand position. Answer: cPage: 315Level of difficulty: Medium 13. Points-of-parity are driven by the needs of category membership and ________. a. loyalty b. large margins c. guaranteed profits d. the necessity of negating competitors’ PODs (points-of-difference) e. the creation of PODs (points-of-difference) Answer: dPage: 315 Level of difficulty: Hard 14.
There are at least three key consumer desirability criteria for PODs (points-of-difference): relevance, distinctiveness, and ________. a. believability b. presentation style c. economy d. non-technological e. information content Answer: aPage: 315Level of difficulty: Medium 15. Which of the following desirability criteria asks a question such as “Is the positioning preemptive, defensible, and difficult to attack? ” when determining a POD (point-of-difference)? a. Feasibility b. Communicability c. Sustainability d. Knowledgeable e. Value orientation Answer: cPage: 316 Level of difficulty: Hard 6. Marketers must decide at which level to anchor the brand’s points-of-differences. At the lowest level are ________. For example, Dove soap can talk about the fact that it is one-quarter cleansing cream. a. brand values b. brand attributes c. brand benefits d. brand specifications e. brand partitions Answer: bPage: 316Level of difficulty: Medium 17. One common difficulty in creating a strong, competitive brand positioning is that many of the attributes or benefits that make up the points-of-parity and points-of-difference are ________. a. negatively correlated b. positive correlated c. either positive nor negatively correlated d. inversely correlated e. unable to be correlated Answer: a Page: 316Level of difficulty: Hard 18. All of the following would be considered to be among examples of negatively correlated attributes and benefits EXCEPT ________. a. low price vs. high quality b. taste vs. low calories c. supply vs. demand d. powerful vs. safe e. nutritious vs. good tasting Answer: cPage: 317 Level of difficulty: Easy 19. When BMW created a straddle position with its “luxury and performance” approach, it was able to maximize ________. a. its core identity b. attributes c. enefits d. both attributes and benefits e. competitive parity Answer: dPage: 317Level of difficulty: Medium 20. In order to derive a fresh approach to gaining consumer insights to differentiating products and services, MacMillan and McGrath suggest in their list of questions that help in identifying new, customer-based points of differentiation. Which of the following is NOT one of those questions? a. How do consumers find your offering? b. How do consumers make their final selection? c. How is your product installed? d. How is your product stored? e. How was the product or service invented?
Answer: ePage: 318 Level of difficulty: Medium 21. The obvious means of differentiation, and often most compelling ones to consumers, relate to aspects of the ________. a. price b. distribution process c. promotions d. product and service e. sales team responsible for the product or service Answer: d Page: 319Level of difficulty: Medium 22. The Strategic Planning Institute studied the impact of higher relative product quality and found a ________ between relative product quality and return on investment (ROI). a. positive correlation b. negative correlation c. neither a positive or negative correlation d. inverse correlation . correlation to be infeasible Answer: aPage: 319Level of difficulty: Medium 23. Better-trained personnel exhibit six characteristics. Which of the following would NOT be among those six characteristics? a. Competence b. Courtesy c. Credibility d. Aggressiveness e. Reliability Answer: dPage: 320Level of difficulty: Easy 24. Brand image means different things to different people. Which of the following national companies is known for hiring employees based on diversity (e. g. , might be tattooed or have multiple body piercing)? a. Barnes & Noble b. Borders c. J. W. Marriott d. Walt Disney e. Southwest Airline
Answer: bPage: 320Level of difficulty: Hard 25. With respect to image differentiation, ________ is the way a company aims to identify or position itself or its products. a. image b. identity c. character d. culture e. the WOW factor Answer: bPage: 321Level of difficulty: Medium 26. An effective identity does three things: it establishes the product’s character and value propositions; it conveys this character in a distinctive way; ________. For the identity to work, it must be conveyed through every available communication and brand contact. a. it must present everyday low price b. it must be aesthetically pleasing . it delivers emotional power beyond a mental image d. it must have a global presence e. it must avoid all cultural taboos Answer: cPage: 321Level of difficulty: Hard 27. To say that a product has a life cycle is to assert four things. All of the following would be from that list of assertions EXCEPT ________. a. products have a limited life b. product sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities, and problems to the seller c. products all basically exhibit cycle-recycle growth patterns d. profits rise and fall at different stages of the product life cycle e. roducts require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life-cycle stage Answer: cPages: 321–322Level of difficulty: Medium 28. According to Crego and Schiffrin, if a restaurant serves a complimentary sorbet between courses and places candy on the table after the last course is served, the restaurant has a consumer value benefit that is ________. a. basic b. expected c. desired d. unanticipated e. meaningful Answer: dPage: 322 Level of difficulty: Medium 29. The four stages of the product life cycle include all of the following EXCEPT ________. a. decline b. learning . maturity d. introduction e. growth Answer: bPage: 322Level of difficulty: Easy 30. The ________ stage of the product is characterized as being one where there is period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit improvement. a. introduction b. growth c. maturity d. saturation e. decline Answer: bPage: 322Level of difficulty: Medium 31. According to the general bell-shaped curve used to illustrate the product life cycle, which of the following stages is generally seen when the sales curve is at its peak? a. Introduction b. Growth c. Maturity d. Decline e. Abandonment Answer: cPage: 322Level of difficulty: Easy 32.
According to the illustrations describing the product life cycle, during which stage of the cycle is there a strong likelihood that negative profits will be the norm? a. Introduction b. Growth c. Maturity d. Decline e. Death Answer: aPage: 322Level of difficulty: Medium 33. Which of the following common product life-cycle patterns would be characterized as being one where sales grow rapidly when the product is first introduced and then fall to a “petrified” level that is sustained by late adopters buying the product for the first time and early adopters replacing the product? a. Cycle-recycle pattern b. Scalloped pattern . Growth-slump-maturity pattern d. Reverse-cycle pattern e. Inverse-cycle pattern Answer: cPage: 323Level of difficulty: Medium 34. A product such as nylon (e. g. , numerous uses—parachutes, hosiery, shirts, carpeting, et cetera) has been characterized as having a ________ pattern to its product lifecycle. a. growth-slump-maturity b. scalloped c. cycle-recycle d. triangular e. fad Answer: bPage: 323Level of difficulty: Hard 35. When Mel chose his new home, he picked a Cape Cod design. Which of the following special categories of product life cycles would be most associated with the description of Mel’s home? a. Style b.
Fashion c. Fad d. Ideation e. Technological Answer: aPage: 323Level of difficulty: Medium 36. ________ do not normally survive (as a special category product life cycle) because they do not normally satisfy a strong need. a. Styles b. Fashions c. Fads d. Intra-brands e. Trends Answer: c Page: 324Level of difficulty: Easy 37. Which of the following product life-cycle stages would be appropriately described as being one where firms focus mainly on buyers from higher-income groups and prices tend to be high because costs are high? a. Introduction stage b. Growth stage c. Maturity stage d. Saturation stage e. Decline stage
Answer: aPage: 324Level of difficulty: Medium 38. Most studies indicate, with respect to the product lifecycle in its introductory stage, that the ________ gains the most advantage. a. market pioneer b. market nicher c. market reverser d. market follower e. market challenger Answer: a Page: 324Level of difficulty: Hard 39. Tellis and Golder identified five factors as underpinning long-term market leadership. Which of the following is NOT one of those factors? a. vision of mass market b. persistence c. slash-and-burn tactics d. relentless innovation e. asset leverage Answer: cPage: 325 Level of difficulty: Medium 40.
Which of the following product lifecycle stages is characterized as being one where a rapid climb in sales occurs, new product features are introduced by new competitors, and distribution is expanded? a. Pre-pioneering b. Introduction c. Saturation d. Growth e. Maturity Answer: dPage: 325 Level of difficulty: Medium 41. All of the following strategies have been suggested as proper for sustaining rapid market growth during the growth stage of the product life cycle EXCEPT when the firm ________. a. improves product quality and adds new product features and improved styling b. enters into new market segments c. owers prices to attract the next layer of price-sensitive buyers d. shifts from product-awareness advertising to product-preference advertising e. moves to sue all new entrants into the market place Answer: ePage: 325 Level of difficulty: Medium 42. Today, most products are in the ________ of the life cycle, and most marketing managers must cope with the problems and challenges of this stage. a. pre-pioneering stage b. introduction stage c. growth stage d. maturity stage e. decline stage Answer: dPage: 326Level of difficulty: Medium 43. The maturity stage of the product life cycle can be divided into three distinct phases.
If the absolute level of sales starts to decline and customers begin switching to other products, the marketing manager will most likely find that the product is in the ________ phase of the maturity stage. a. growth b. decaying maturity c. stable d. competitive vulnerability e. abandonment Answer: bPage: 326Level of difficulty: Medium 44. A company might try to expand the market for its mature brand by working with the two factors that make up sales volume. Volume equals (=) ________. a. supply times (X) demand b. number of brand users times (X) amount of money spent on each purchase c. number of brand users times (X) usage rate per user . price level of the product times (X) the number of items purchased e. price level of the product times (X) the number in the market segment selected for targeting Answer: cPage: 327Level of difficulty: Hard 45. When Campbell’s soups began advertising that soups were an excellent snack for children or adults, it was using which of the following volume-oriented brand usage strategies? a. Use the product on more occasions. b. Use more of the product on each occasion. c. Use the product in new ways. d. Use improved quality to attract new users. e. Use the product in older, more traditional ways. Answer: aPage: 328Level of difficulty: Medium 6. Managers try to stimulate sales by modifying the product’s characteristics. Which of these modifications has as its aim to increase the product’s functional performance? a. Feature improvement b. Style improvement c. Fashion improvement d. Packaging improvement e. Quality improvement Answer: ePage: 328Level of difficulty: Hard 47. When Vlasic created a cucumber 10 times larger than the traditional pickle cucumber (e. g. , Hamburger Stackers), it used ________ as a means of modifying its product so additional customers might be attracted to the brand. a. quality improvement b. feature improvement c. style improvement . packaging improvement e. idea improvement Answer: bPage: 328Level of difficulty: Medium 48. Marketing programs can be modified to stimulate sales. Which of the following forms of marketing program modification might ask such questions as “Can the company speed up delivery? ” or “Can it extend more credit? ” in order to bring modification about? a. Pricing b. Distribution c. Advertising d. Personal selling e. Services Answer: ePage: 329Level of difficulty: Medium 49. In the decline phase of the product life cycle, if a firm “milks” the firm’s investment to recover cash quickly, it is using a strategy called ________. . positioning b. reverse engineering c. psychological divestment d. harvesting e. abandonment Answer: dPage: 330Level of difficulty: Medium 50. If an organization chooses “harvesting” as a decline stage PLC strategy, the first step in using such a strategy would likely be to ________. a. rejuvenate the brand or product b. cut R&D costs and plant and equipment investment c. cut all promotional expenses d. cancel distribution contracts e. require that all distributors reduce inventory of older models of the product Answer: bPage: 330Level of difficulty: Hard 51.
Which of the following is a popular criticism of product life-cycle theory? a. It is too costly to implement. b. It has few actual examples that can be benchmarked. c. It only works in the U. S. market. d. Life-cycle patterns are too variable in shape and duration. e. Stages often follow fad trends. Answer: dPage: 331Level of difficulty: Medium 52. Markets are similar to products with respect to life-cycle concepts. All of the following are considered to be stages that markets pass through in market evolution EXCEPT ________. a. emergence b. growth c. decline d. maturity e. estruction Answer: ePage: 332Level of difficulty: Easy 53. Which of the following stages of the product life cycle (PLC) is characterized as being one where there are low sales, high cost per customer, negative profits, and few competitors? a. Introduction b. Growth c. Maturity d. Decline e. Abandonment Answer: aPage: 332Level of difficulty: Medium 54. During which of the following stages of the product life cycle (PLC) would we expect a marketing manager to pursue a marketing objective of maximizing market share? a. Introduction b. Growth c. Pre-pioneering d. Maturity e. Decline
Answer: bPage: 332Level of difficulty: Hard 55. When sales peak, there is a low cost per customer, profits are high, and the marketing manager attempts to maximize profit while defending market share, the product is most likely in the ________ stage of the product life cycle (PLC). a. introduction b. pre-pioneering c. growth d. maturity e. decline Answer: dPage: 332Level of difficulty: Medium 56. A manufacturer of calculators finds when examining the calculator market that there is about an even split between customers who want a small hand calculator and those that want a large one.
This type of market, in which buyer preferences scatter evenly, is called a(n) ________ market. a. emerging b. mass market c. diffused-preference d. niche e. standardized Answer: cPage: 333Level of difficulty: Medium 57. If an entrepreneur discovers that his or her firm’s market is described as being one of diffused-preferences, a ________ (e. g. , the new product can be designed to meet the preferences of one of the corners of the market) can be used to expand sales. a. mass-market strategy b. multiple-niche strategy c. bipolar design strategy d. standardized niche strategy e. single-niche strategy
Answer: ePage: 333Level of difficulty: Hard 58. Eventually, competitors cover and serve all the major market segments and the market enters the maturity stage with respect to market evolution. As market growth slows down, the market splits into finer segments and high ________ occurs. a. market ideation b. market consolidation c. market fragmentation d. market deflation e. market escalation Answer: cPage: 334 Level of difficulty: Medium 59. Market fragmentation in the market evolution process is often followed by ________ caused by the emergence of a new attribute that has strong appeal. . a market consolidation b. a market dissolution c. a market expansion d. a market abandonment e. a market harvesting Answer: aPage: 334Level of difficulty: Medium 60. Competition produces a continuous round of new product attributes. If a new attribute succeeds, several competitors soon offer it. In an attempt to discover new attributes before competitors, a firm can use a(n) ________ process of hunches and undertake product development without much marketing research. This approach often has difficulties as opposed to other alternatives available. a. customer-survey b. intuitive . dialectical d. needs-hierarchy e. means-end Answer: bPage: 324Level of difficulty: Easy True/False 61. Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market. Answer: TruePage: 310 Level of difficulty: Easy 62. A good illustration of a value proposition for Domino’s Pizza would be “always the cheapest price anywhere. ” Answer: FalsePage: 311Level of difficulty: Medium 63. Category membership is seen as the products or sets of products with which a brand competes and which function as close substitutes.
Answer: TruePage: 311Level of difficulty: Medium 64. Points-of-parity are attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand. Answer: TruePage: 312Level of difficulty: Medium 65. Points-of-parity come in two basic forms: category and competitive. Answer: TruePage: 313Level of difficulty: Medium 66. The preferred approach to positioning is to inform consumers of a brand’s membership before stating its point-of-difference. Answer: TruePage: 314Level of difficulty: Medium 7. There are three consumer desirability criteria for PODs (points-of-difference): price, value, and respectability. Answer: FalsePage: 315Level of difficulty: Medium 68. If a product manufacturer compares its organization’s products to those of leaders in the field, the manufacturer is using what is called “comparing to exemplars” to convey a brand’s category membership. Answer: TruePage: 315Level of difficulty: Easy A good illustration of negatively correlated attributes or benefits is good tasting versus bad tasting. Answer: FalsePage: 317Level of difficulty: Medium 9. One of the most obvious means of differentiation, and often most compelling to consumers, relate aspects of the product and service. Answer: TruePage: 319 Level of difficulty: Easy According to the Strategic Planning Institute, there is a significant negative correlation between relative product quality and return on investment (ROI). Answer: FalsePage: 319Level of difficulty: Medium One of the dangers faced by firms claiming to have a high quality image is that its prestige may be lost if it goes on sale too often. Answer: TruePage: 319Level of difficulty: Easy 73.
Retailers, in particular, use there top management and CEOs as a means of differentiating and positioning their brand. Answer: FalsePage: 320Level of difficulty: Medium 74. Companies cannot achieve differentiation by differentiating their channels as this is not the purpose of a distribution channel. Answer: FalsePage: 320Level of difficulty: Easy 75. Image is the way a company aims to identify or position itself or its product. Answer: FalsePage: 321Level of difficulty: Medium 76. Image is the way the public perceives the company or its products. Answer: TruePage: 321Level of difficulty: Easy 77.
One of the assertions of saying that a product has a life cycle is to recognize that products have a limited life. Answer: TruePage: 321Level of difficulty: Medium 78. Most product life cycles are portrayed as a scalloped shaped curve. Answer: FalsePage: 322Level of difficulty: Medium 79. In the product life cycle, growth is a stage of rapid market acceptance and substantial profits improvement. Answer: TruePage: 322Level of difficulty: Medium 80. One of the shortest stages in the product life cycle is the maturity stage because of the marketing manager’s desire to keep the product in its growth stage.
Answer: FalsePage: 322Level of difficulty: Medium 81. The profit curve for most product life-cycles peaks during the growth stage of the life cycle. Answer: FalsePage: 322Level of difficulty: Medium 82. The sales curve for most product life-cycles peaks during the maturity stage of the life cycle. Answer: TruePage: 322Level of difficulty: Medium 83. According to information presented in the text, the pharmaceutical industry often has products that can be characterized as having cycle-recycle product life-cycle patterns. Answer: TruePage: 323Level of difficulty: Hard 4. With respect to product life cycles, a style can last for generations and go in and out of vogue. Answer: TruePage: 323Level of difficulty: Medium 85. The length of a fashion cycle is usually easy to predict. Answer: FalsePage: 323Level of difficulty: Easy 86. In the introductory stage of a product’s life cycle, promotion expenditures are at their highest ratio to sales. Answer: TruePage: 324Level of difficulty: Medium 87. Because of the pioneer advantage, virtually all market pioneers demonstrate market staying power and sustained product growth.
Answer: FalsePage: 324Level of difficulty: Medium 88. During the growth stage of the product life cycle, prices grow along with profits. Answer: FalsePage: 325Level of difficulty: Medium 89. One strategy for sustaining rapid growth during the growth stage of the product life cycle is for the firm to add flanker products. Answer: TruePage: 325Level of difficulty: Medium 90. Most products are in the growth stage of the life cycle, and most marketing managers cope with the problem of sustaining growth.
Answer: FalsePage: 326 Level of difficulty: Medium 91. In the maturity stage of the product life cycle, three phases appear to exist: growth, decay, and abandonment. Answer: FalsePage: 326 Level of difficulty: Hard 92. Sales volume is made up of two factors: Volume = number of brand users times (x) usage rate per user. Answer: TruePage: 327Level of difficulty: Hard 93. An example of a volume strategy for modifying would be a situation where Tums antacid promotes usage as a calcium supplement. Answer: TruePage: 328Level of difficulty: Medium
An example of a feature improvement product modification strategy would be one where Campbell’s soup is promoted as being a snack. Answer: FalsePage: 328 Level of difficulty: Hard 95. When a firm uses a “harvesting” strategy in the decline stage of the product life cycle, it maintains the firm’s investment level until the uncertainties about the industry are resolved. Answer: FalsePage: 330Level of difficulty: Medium 96. One of the chief advantages of using the product life cycle as a forecasting procedure is that product life-cycle patterns have proven to be stable in shape and duration.
Answer: FalsePage: 331Level of difficulty: Medium 97. A good pricing strategy to use in the introduction stage of the product life cycle is to charge cost-plus. Answer: TruePage: 332Level of difficulty: Medium 98. A good advertising strategy to use in the maturity stage of the product life cycle would be to stress brand differences and benefits. Answer: TruePage: 332 Level of difficulty: Medium 99. According to ideas found in the concept of market evolution, as market growth slows down, the market splits into finer segments and high market consolidation occurs.
Answer: FalsePage: 334Level of difficulty: Hard 100. Market fragmentation is often followed by a market consolidation caused by the emergence of a new attribute that has strong appeal. Answer: TruePage: 334 Level of difficulty: Medium Essay 101. With respect to positioning, explain points-of-parity and points-of-difference. Suggested Answer: Points-of-difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand.
Points-of-parity (POPs), on the other hand, are associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands. See chapter material for additional discussion material. Pages: 312–313Level of difficulty: Medium 102. There are three main ways to convey a brand’s category membership. What are those three ways? Suggested Answer: The three main ways to convey a brand’s category membership is: (1) announcing category benefits; (2) comparing to exemplars; and, (3) relying on the product descriptor. Page: 315Level of difficulty: Medium 103.
In choosing points-of-difference, one of the primary considerations is that consumers find points-of-difference desirable. There are three key consumer desirability criteria for points-of-difference. What are those three criteria? Suggested Answer: The three consumer desirability criteria are: (1) relevance; (2) distinctiveness; and, (3) believability. Page: 315Level of difficulty: Medium 104. Brands can be differentiated on the basis of many variables; however, four differentiation strategies are emphasized in the text. List and briefly characterize the four differentiation strategies.
Suggested Answer: The four differentiation strategies are: (1) product differentiation—brands can be differentiated on the basis of a number of different product or service dimensions such as product form, features, performance, conformance, durability, et cetera; (2) personnel differentiation—companies can gain a strong competitive advantage through having better-trained people; (3) channel differentiation—companies can achieve competitive advantage through the way they design their distribution channels’ coverage, expertise, and performance; and, (4) image differentiation—buyers respond differently to company and brand images.
For additional information, see chapter section. Pages: 318–320Level of difficulty: Hard 105. A company’s positioning and differentiation strategy must change as the product, market, and competitors change over the product life cycle. To say that a product has a life cycle is assert four things. What are those four things?
Suggested Answer: The four assertions are: (1) products have a limited life; (2) product sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities, and problems to the seller; (3) profits rise and fall at different stages of the product life cycle; and, (4) products require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life-cycle stage. Pages: 321–322Level of difficulty: Medium 106. The product life-cycle’s bell-shaped curve is generally depicted as being divided into four stages.
Briefly, name and characterize each of the four stages. Suggested Answer: The bell-shaped curve’s four stages are: (1) introduction—a period of slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the market; profits are nonexistent because of the heavy expenses of product introduction; (2) growth—a period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit improvement; (3) maturity —a slowdown in sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers; profits stabilize or decline because of increased competition; and, (4) decline—sales show a downward drift and profits erode.
Page: 322 Level of difficulty: Medium 107. Characterize the differences between style, fashion, and fad life cycles. Suggested Answer: A style is a basic and distinctive mode of expression appearing in a field of human endeavor. A style can last for generations, and go in and out of vogue. A fashion is a currently accepted or popular style in a given field. Fashions pass through four stages: distinctiveness, emulation, mass fashion, and decline. Fads are fashions that come quickly into public view, are adopted with great zeal, peak early, and decline very fast.
For additional differences and information on styles, fashions, and fads, see the chapter section. Pages: 323–324 Level of difficulty: Medium 108. Assume that you are the marketing manager for a large appliance manufacturer. You have had five quarters of rapid sales growth and would like to prolong the eventual downturn that always follows periods of high growth for as long as possible. You also know that any one of six strategies for sustaining rapid market growth can be used to achieve your objective.
What are the six generally accepted strategies for sustaining rapid growth in a market from which you will make your choice? Suggested answer: The firm uses several strategies to sustain rapid market growth and they are: (1) improves product quality and adds new product features and improved styling; (2) adds new models and flanker products; (3) enters new market segments; (4) increases its distribution coverage and enters new distribution channels; (5) shifts from product-awareness advertising to product-preference advertising; or, (6) lowers prices to attract the next layer of price-sensitive buyers.
Page: 325Level of difficulty: Hard 109. Characterize an organization’s strategies with respect to product, price, distribution, and advertising for a product in its maturity stage of the product life cycle. Use information found in the summary table on the product life cycle to construct your answer. Be sure to characterize each of the four strategic areas mentioned.
Suggested Answer: Strategies include: (1) product—diversify brand and items models; (2) price—price to match or best competitors’ prices; (3) distribution—build more intensive distribution; and, (4) advertising—stress brand differences and benefits. For additional information, see text section and Table 10. 3. Page: 332Level of difficulty: Hard 110. Like products, markets evolve through four stages. What are those four stages? Characterize each stage of a market’s evolution.
Suggested Answer: The four stages are: (1) emergence—before a market materializes, it exists as a latent market (when a product is launched that addresses the latent needs, the emergence stage begins); (2) growth—if the new product sells well, new firms will enter the market, ushering in a market-growth stage; (3) maturity—eventually, the competitors cover and serve all the major market segments and the market enters the maturity stage; and, (4) decline—eventually, demand for the present products will begin to decrease, and the market will enter the decline stage. For additional details, see the chapter section.
Pages: 331–335Level of difficulty: Hard APPLICATION QUESTIONS Multiple Choice 111. Which of the following statements would most closely match to Volvo’s value proposition for its station wagon line? a. The whole family will fit in comfort. b. Styling from the twenty-first century and beyond. c. The safest, most durable wagon in which your family can ride. d. Diversity of uses, diversity of users. e. Old-world styling for a new-world car. Answer: cPage: 311 Level of difficulty: Easy 112. Two consultants, Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema have proposed a positioning framework called value disciplines.
Within its industry, a firm could aspire to be the product leader, the operationally excellent firm, or the ________ firm. a. idea innovator b. customer-intimate c. globally-aware d. asset management e. competitive promotional specialist Answer: b Page: 311Level of difficulty: Medium 113. “It’s not delivery. It’s DiGiorno” This ad campaign helped DiGiorno’s Pizza become the frozen pizza leader. Which of the following terms is most associated with the company’s promotional success strategy? a. Price leader b. Value relationships c. Vertical integration d. Superior quality control e. Clever positioning
Answer: ePage: 312Level of difficulty: Medium 114. ________ may be based on virtually any type of attribute or benefit. For example, FedEx uses “guaranteed overnight delivery” and Nike uses “performance. ” a. Points-of-parity b. Points-of-difference c. Points-of-conflict d. Points-of-defensibility e. Points-of-service Answer: bPage: 313Level of difficulty: Medium 115. As a marketing manager, which of the following would be the best purpose for your organization’s competitive points-of-parity? a. To point out competitive points-of-difference. b. To emphasize competitive points-of-difference. c.
To rationalize competitive points-of-difference. d. To globalize competitive points-of-difference. e. To negate competitive points-of-difference. Answer: ePage: 313Level of difficulty: Medium 116. When BMW first made a strong competitive push into the U. S. market in the early 1980s, it positioned the brand as being the only automobile that offered ________. a. both luxury and performance b. ego enhancement c. a sexy status symbol d. a reputation in addition to outstanding performance e. value for the dollar spent Answer: aPage: 314Level of difficulty: Medium 117. There are three main ways that a brand’s category membership can be conveyed.
Which of those ways is applicable in the following situation: Tums claims to have the most acid-reducing components of any antacid? a. Comparing to exemplars. b. Relying on the product descriptor. c. Announcing category benefits. d. Focusing on reliability. e. Persuasion based on believability. Answer: cPage: 315Level of difficulty: Medium 118. Assume that you are in a position to develop your organization’s points-of-difference for an upcoming promotional campaign. Which of the following sets consumer desirability criteria would best fit your promotional task? a. Value, location, service. b.
Loyalty, customization, status. c. Value, reliability, dependability. d. Relevance, distinctiveness, believability. e. Licensing opportunities, promotional protection, and believability. Answer: dPage: 315Level of difficulty: Hard 119. A marketing manager asks a subordinate “Can the favorability of the new brand association we just created in our recent ad campaign be reinforced and strengthened over time? ” Which of the following delivery criteria used for choosing points-of-difference would be most appropriate to the question asked? a. Relevance b. Communicability c. Sustainability d. Feasibility . Comparisons Answer: cPage: 316 Level of difficulty: Hard 120. If your task was to construct a positioning statement for a new product that your company was considering as an addition to your product portfolio, what would be the best first step for you to take? a. State the product’s cost b. State the product’s membership in a category c. State who manufactured the product d. State the image of the product e. State who would distribute the product Answer: bPage: 316Level of difficulty: Hard 121. Which of the following would be the best example of negatively correlated attributes or benefits? . Low quality versus high quality. b. Supply versus demand. c. image versus sales. d. powerful versus safe. e. nutritious versus unhealthy. Answer: dPage: 317Level of difficulty: Medium 122. When Apple Computers launched Macintosh, its key point-of-difference was “user friendly. ” Many consumers valued ease of use, especially those who bought computers for the home. One drawback with a “user-friendly” association was that consumers assumed that the computer was ________. a. available everywhere b. not very powerful c. not very expensive d. not compatible with any other computers . not for university use Answer: bPage: 318 Level of difficulty: Medium 123. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines carved its niche in short-haul flights. The airline knew that it could not differentiate on price alone. Which of the following is a strategy used by Southwest Airlines to create further differences? a. Selection of on board beverages. b. First-come, first-served open seating. c. New movies and communication prospects. d. Personification of employees through their dress. e. No mechanical breakdowns. Answer: b Page: 318Level of difficulty: Medium 124.
According to information found in “Discovering New Points of Differentiation,” which of the following are NOT considered as customer-based points of differentiation questions? a. How do people become aware of their need for your product and service? b. How do consumers find your offering? c. What happens when your product or service is delivered? d. How is your product installed? e. How was your product invented? Answer: e Page: 318Level of difficulty: Hard 125. A company chooses that combination of tangible and intangible items, experiences, and outcomes designed to outperform competitors and with the customers’ delight and loyalty.
Which of the following steps for creating a program that will exceed customer expectations would most likely be associated with the above statement? a. Defining the customer value model. b. Building the customer value hierarchy. c. Examining basic differentiation factors. d. Examining unanticipated differentiation factors. e. Deciding on the customer value package. Answer: ePage: 322Level of difficulty: Hard 126. You are somewhat shocked to learn that your product’s profit curve is in the negative. Which of the following stages of the product life cycle is your product most likely in given its position on its profit curve? . Introduction b. Growth c. Maturity d. Saturation e. Decline Answer: aPage: 322 Level of difficulty: Medium 127. While looking a series of special-case product life cycles, you observe that one of the life cycles has had a rapid growth in sales resulting in a severe peak of the sales curve followed by a rapid decline. Which of the following product life-cycle curves is most likely represented by the above illustration? a. Style life cycle b. Fashion life cycle c. Fad life cycle d. Niche life cycle e. Techno life cycle Answer: cPage: 323Level of difficulty: Medium 28. The pioneer advantage does not always ensure success in the marketplace. All of the following are reasons cited by the text that a market pioneer’s product might not be successful EXCEPT ________. a. the new product was too crude b. the new product was improperly positioned c. the new product appeared when there was strong demand d. the product-development costs exhausted the innovator’s resources e. managerial incompetence Answer: cPage: 325 Level of difficulty: Medium 129. Markets often need modification to be able to grow and flourish.
When AARP began to recruit members that were 50–55 years-of-age instead of pursuing their normal target market of 65+ seniors, it was using a market modification strategy called ________. a. converting nonusers b. entering new market segments c. winning competitors’ customers d. value vision e. age discounting Answer: bPage: 327Level of difficulty: Medium 130. As an entrepreneur you have decided to launch two products simultaneously to capture two different parts of the market. Which of the following would be the best descriptive title for the strategy you are employing? a. Single-niche strategy b. Multiple-niche strategy . Standardization strategy d. Mass-market strategy e. Adaptive strategy Answer: bPage: 333Level of difficulty: Easy Short Answer 131. According to advertising executives Jack Trout and Al Ries, positioning is not what you do to a product. What is the proper perspective according to Trout and Ries? Suggested Answer: Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect. Pages: 310–311Level of difficulty: Medium 132. A starting point in defining a competitive frame of reference for a brand positioning is to determine category membership.
How would you define category membership? Suggested Answer: Category membership includes the products or sets of products with which a brand competes and which function as close substitutes. Page: 311Level of difficulty: Easy 133. With respect to points-of-parity, explain why a product does not have to be equal to a competitive product to be compared to that product. Suggested Answer: To achieve a point-of-parity on a particular attribute or benefit, a sufficient number of consumers must believe that the brand is “good enough” on that dimension. There is a “zone” or “range of tolerance or acceptance” with points-of-parity.
The brand does not have to be seen as equal to competitors, but consumers must feel that the brand does well enough on that particular attribute or benefit. Page: 313Level of difficulty: Medium 134. As a company seeks to establish a category membership designation, how does the company approach points-of-difference? What is done first? Suggested Answer: The preferred approach to positioning is to inform consumers of a brand’s membership before stating its point-of-difference. Presumably, consumers need to know what a product is and what function it serves before deciding whether it dominates the brands against which it competes.
Page: 314Level of difficulty: Medium 135. There are three main ways to convey a brand’s category membership. Assume you were an automobile designer for Ford and wished to position a new “sports wagon. ” Which of the three ways to convey the brand’s category membership would be most appropriate for your task? Suggested Answer: The most appropriate strategy would be to rely on the product descriptor (e. g. , name of the product, product’s function, or category position). See chapter section for more details. Page: 315Level of difficulty: Medium 136.
There are three key consumer desirability criteria for creating points-of-difference. When the Westin Stamford hotel in Singapore advertised that it was the world’s tallest hotel, it attempted to create a point-of-difference. The hotel may not have been successful in its attempt to create its POD because of which consumer desirability criteria associated with PODs? Suggested Answer: There is a question of relevance. Is staying in the world’s tallest hotel a necessary need for most tourists or are there other factors that are more important? Page: 315Level of difficulty: Hard 137.
Delivering on promises made in points-of-difference is very important in successful marketing. There are three deliverability criteria stressed in the text with respect to PODs. What are those three criteria? Suggested Answer: The three criteria are feasibility, communicability, and sustainability. Pages: 315–316Level of difficulty: Medium 138. To communicate a company or brand positioning, marketing plans often include a positioning statement. What form should this statement follow? Suggested Answer: The statement should follow the following form: To (target group and need) our (brand) is (concept) that (point-of-difference).
See chapter section for additional information and examples of positioning statements. Page: 316Level of difficulty: Hard 139. Assume that you are a marketing manager that is trying to stimulate creative thinking on the part of your department. You would like your department to come up with a series of questions that might be used to generate new consumer-based points of differentiation. Write five questions to get your group started with their assignment. Suggested Answer: The questions can be derived from the Marketing Memo found in the appropriate text section as shown below.
The questions could be: (1) how do people become aware of their need for your product and service; (2) how do consumers find your offering; (3) how do consumers make their final selection; (r) how do consumers order and purchase your product or service; (5) what happens when your product or service is delivered; (6) how is your product installed; (g) how is your product or service paid for; (7) how is your product stored; (8) how is your product moved around; (9) what is the consumer really using your product for; (10) what do consumers need help with when they use your product; (11) what about returns and exchanges; (12) how is your product repaired or serviced; and, (14) what happens when your product is disposed of or no longer used? Students may pick any five. Page: 318Level of difficulty: Hard 140. Companies can achieve competitive advantage through the way they design their distribution channel. What three areas are considered in this design process? Suggested Answer: Considerations to achieve competitive advantage in the distribution channel are in the areas of coverage, expertise, and performance. Page: 320Level of difficulty: Hard 141.
Brand managers often have to deal with the concepts of identity and image. An effective identity does three things. What are those three things? Suggested Answer: An effective identity does three things: (1) it establishes the product’s character and value proposition; (2) it conveys this character in a distinctive way; and, (3) it delivers emotional power beyond a mental image. Page: 321Level of difficulty: Hard 142. Crego and Schiffrin have proposed that customer-centered organizations should study what customers value and then prepare an offering that exceeds their expectations. The best way to do this is to use a three-step process. What are those three steps?
Suggested Answer: The three-step process is: (1) defining the customer value model; (2) building the customer value hierarchy; and, (3) deciding on the customer value package. Page: 322Level of difficulty: Medium 143. As a marketing manager, you have the following facts about your product offering presented to you: (1) there is a slowdown in sales growth; (2) profits are stabilized; (3) competition has increased; and, (4) both profits and sales are likely to peak soon. Given these facts, what stage of the product life cycle is your product most likely in? Suggested Answer: Given the facts, your product is most likely in its maturity stage of its product life cycle.
See chapter section for additional information. Page: 322Level of difficulty: Easy 144. As a brand manager of a pharmaceutical firm you have observed that your brand is following the classic cycle-recycle pattern with respect to the product life cycle. Describe what is mostly likely happening in this pattern. Suggested Answer: The cycle-recycle pattern often describes the sales of new drugs. The pharmaceutical company aggressively promotes its new drug, and this produces the first cycle. Later, sales start declining and the company gives the drug another promotion push, which produces the second cycle (usually of smaller magnitude and duration). Page: 323Level of difficulty: Medium 145.
The length of a fashion cycle is often hard for industry analysts to predict. Explain why this is true. Suggested Answer: One point of view is that fashions end because they represent a purchase compromise, and consumers start looking for missing attributes. Another observation is that the length of a particular fashion cycle depends on the extent to which the fashion meets a genuine need, is consistent with other trends in the society, satisfies societal norms and values, and does not exceed technological limits as it develops. Pages: 323–324Level of difficulty: Medium 146. Most marketing managers know that most products are in the maturity stage of the life cycle.
The maturity stage has been characterized as having three sub-stages or phases. What are those phases? Suggested Answer: The three phases of the maturity stage of the product life cycle are growth, stable, and decaying maturity. Page: 326Level of difficulty: Medium 147. As a marketing manager, it has become necessary for you to understand the two factors that make up sales volume so long-term planning can be accomplished. What are those two factors? Suggested Answer: According to information provided in the text the two factors that make up sales volume are: volume = number of brand users times (X) usage rate per user. Page: 327Level of difficulty: Medium 148.
Experience has shown marketing managers that a product’s sales can be stimulated by modifying the product’s characteristics in one of three ways. What are those three ways of making improvement in the product’s characteristics? Suggested Answer: According to information provided in the text, product modification can be accomplished through: (1) quality improvement, (2) feature improvement, and (3) style improvement. Pages: 328–329Level of difficulty: Medium 149. You have been given the assignment of critiquing the product life-cycle concept by pointing out weaknesses in the concept. What are the weaknesses that should be pointed out to an aspiring marketing manager?
Suggested Answer: Criticisms are: (1) life cycle patterns are too variable in shape and duration; (2) one can seldom tell what stage the product is in (a product may appear to be mature when actually it has reached a plateau prior to another upsurge; and (3) the PLC pattern is the result of marketing strategies rather than an inevitable course that sales must follow. For additional information, see chapter section. Page: 331Level of difficulty: Hard 150. Competitors often compete on the basis of product attributes. One of the problems is, however, determining what new attributes the product may have or be perceived to have. There are four approaches that a marketing manager might try to discover more information about attributes. What are those four (4) approaches? Suggested Answer: The four approaches are: (1) a customer-survey process; (2) an intuitive process; (3) a dialectical process; and, (4) a needs-hierarchy process. Page: 334Level of difficulty: Hard