Marketing

Guide For
Summers
2012-2013

Marksoc-The Marketing Society,

FMS Delhi

Contents
1.

MARKETING VS SELLING ................................................................................................................. 4

2.

STP................................................................................................................................................... 5

3.

MARKETING MIX (4PS & 7PS)........................................................................................................ 5

Product ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Price ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Place ................................................................................................................................................ 9
Promotion ..................................................................................................................................... 10
People ........................................................................................................................................... 12
Process .......................................................................................................................................... 13
Physical Evidence .......................................................................................................................... 13

4.

TYPES OF ENTRY STRATEGIES, SPECIFIC ATTACK STRATEGIES ...................................................... 16

5.

CONCEPT OF CONSUMER DERIVED VALUE ................................................................................... 16

6.

AL RIES AND JACK Z TROUT ON POSITIONING .............................................................................. 16

7.

BCG MATRIX .................................................................................................................................. 17

8.

ANSOFF MATRIX............................................................................................................................ 18

9.

B2B, B2C and C2C marketing ........................................................................................................ 21

Customer to Customer (C2C) MARKETING ................................................................................... 21
Business to consumer (B2C) marketing ........................................................................................ 22
Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing ......................................................................................... 23
Business Marketing vs. Consumer Marketing............................................................................... 24

10.

4 As of Rural Marketing ........................................................................................................... 25

Acceptability.................................................................................................................................. 25
Availability ..................................................................................................................................... 25
Affordability .................................................................................................................................. 26
Awareness ..................................................................................................................................... 26

11.

4 Cs of Marketing ..................................................................................................................... 26
Consumer ...................................................................................................................................... 26
Cost ............................................................................................................................................... 26
Communication ............................................................................................................................. 27
Convenience.................................................................................................................................. 27

12.

Below the line (BTL) Advertising ............................................................................................... 27

13.

What is a Brand? ....................................................................................................................... 32

14.

What is Brand Extension? ......................................................................................................... 33

15.

Brand Equity .............................................................................................................................. 34

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16.

Brand Rituals ............................................................................................................................. 36

17.

Brand Rivalry Examples ............................................................................................................. 36

18.

Buyer Decision Process ............................................................................................................. 37

19.

Cause related marketing ........................................................................................................... 39

20.

Customer relationship management ........................................................................................ 40

21.

Customer relationship Marketing ............................................................................................. 41

22.

Differentiation........................................................................................................................... 42
Methods of differentiation ........................................................................................................... 42
Types of Differentiation: ............................................................................................................... 43

23.

Digital Marketing /Online Marketing ........................................................................................ 45

24.

Experiential Marketing.............................................................................................................. 46

25.

Green Marketing ....................................................................................................................... 47

26.

Guerilla Marketing. ................................................................................................................... 48

27.

Image & Emotional Marketing .................................................................................................. 52

28.

Line Extension ........................................................................................................................... 54

29.

Marketing Myopia..................................................................................................................... 55

30.

Non-Conventional Advertising mediums .................................................................................. 56

31.

PLC and Strategies at Each Stage .............................................................................................. 60

Stage 1: Development ................................................................................................................... 61
Stage 2: Introduction..................................................................................................................... 61
Stage 3: Growth ............................................................................................................................ 62
Stage 4: Maturity .......................................................................................................................... 62
Stage 5: Saturation ....................................................................................................................... 62
Stage 6: Decline............................................................................................................................. 62
Extending the PLC: Extension Strategies....................................................................................... 63
The Problems of PLC Models ........................................................................................................ 63
Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 63
STRATEGIES FOR THE DIFFERING STAGES OF THE PLC ................................................................. 64

32.

Recession Marketing ................................................................................................................. 66

33.

Reviewing Recent ads (Elaborate) ............................................................................................ 68

34.

Sales & Trade Promotion .......................................................................................................... 69

35.

Sports Marketing....................................................................................................................... 70

36.

Types of Advertising .................................................................................................................. 71

37.

USP, ESP .................................................................................................................................... 72

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38.

What are different types of distribution channels?.................................................................. 74

Channel members ......................................................................................................................... 75
Direct Distribution......................................................................................................................... 75

39.

What are the recent retail strategies being adopted by big players in India? ......................... 76

40.

What can be defined as the luxury market in India? ................................................................ 77

41.

What is competitive advantage? .............................................................................................. 78

42.

What is defined as BOP Market? .............................................................................................. 80

43.

What is innovation? Give Example of disruptive innovation. ................................................... 81

44.

What is integrated marketing communication (IMC)? ............................................................. 82

45.

What is so special in marketing of services?............................................................................. 83

46.

What is the NCAER Classification of consumers in the country?.............................................. 85

47.

What is Viral Marketing? .......................................................................................................... 87

48.

What is Word Of Mouth Marketing? ........................................................................................ 87

49.

What is ATL, BTL, TTL? .............................................................................................................. 90

50.

What are Porters Five Forces? ................................................................................................. 90

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1. MARKETING VS SELLING
Marketing: Marketing is an integrated communications-based process through which

individuals and communities are informed or persuaded that existing and

newly-identified needs and wants may be satisfied by the products and services of
others. Marketing creates the atmosphere to make it easy for sales to happen. Eg. ITC
launched Fiama.
Here
are
some
marketing activities:
Handling incoming inquiries
Asking your current customers for referrals for more business
Networking and building relationships
Advertising and public relations. Direct mail and e-newsletters
Special promotional events
Merchandising and merchandise selection
Holding sales, offering preferred customer bonuses
Getting articles published. Blogging
Doing cold calls to set appointments
Market research, customer surveys
Branding, creating your sales message
Design and creation of collateral materials
Building and maintaining your web site, blog, Facebook page, Twitter
Market planning and strategizing
Selling: Selling includes the activities that get customers to make a purchase. Selling
is closing sales that make you money. Eg An insurance agent trying to sell insurance,
a salesperson selling encyclopaedias door to door
A few things included in selling are: presenting, answering questions, making
suggestions, doing proposals or estimates, addressing concerns, negotiating, and
most important, asking for the sale and then completing the sales agreement, etc.
The Difference: The selling concept takes an inside-out perspective. It starts with the

factory, focuses on the companys existing products, and calls for heavy selling
and promoting to produce profitable sales. The marketing concept takes an outsidein perspective. It starts with a well-defined market, focuses on customer needs,
coordinates all the activities that will affect customers, and produces profits through
creating customer satisfaction.
Thus we can say that :
Marketing is money OUT the door (marketing is a cost centre)
Selling is money IN the door (selling is a revenue centre)
Marketing is something that creates a favourable environment for sales to
happen.

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Marketing
Customer Focussed
Product is designed as per customer needs
Profit through customer satisfaction
Emphasis on product planning and developing as
per customer needs

Selling
Product Focussed
Revenue is generated from the product sold
Profit through sales maximization
Emphasis on selling the product already produced

2. STP

For details refer to the first document and presentation sent by Marksoc on STP.

3. MARKETING MIX (4PS & 7PS)

Product

A tangible object or an intangible service

that is mass produced or manufactured on
a large scale with a specific volume of units.
Intangible products are often 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
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object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced
service is a computer operating system.
Methods used to improve differentiate the product or increase sales or target sales more
effectively or to gain competitive advantage

Extension Strategies
New Edition
Improvement
Changed packaging
Technology
Specialized Versions

There are three levels of product

Core Product: The need that it satisfies. Eg: BMW

satisfies the need for transportation.
Actual product: It is the product that you have| want to
have. Eg: Blue coloured BMW with boss speakers and
sunroof etc.
Augmented Product: It is the non-physical part of the
product. It can also be said as the excess that you get
beyond the tangible product. Eg: Warranty of 3 years in
your car, customer service when you call their number,
delivery at your doorstep, etc.

Product Life Cycle and Customer Life Cycle are also important tools for studying the product.
Price

The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined by a number of factors
including market share, competition, material costs, product identity and the customer's perceived
value of the product. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if other stores have
the same product.

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There are many ways to price a product. Let's have a look at some of them and try to
understand the best policy/strategy in various situations.
Premium Pricing
Use a high price where there is uniqueness about the product or service. This approach is used
where a substantial competitive advantage exists. Such high prices are charge for luxuries such as
Cunard Cruises, Savoy Hotel rooms, and Concorde flights.
Penetration Pricing/ Predatory Pricing
The price charged for products and services is set artificially low in order to gain market share. Once
this is achieved, the price is increased. This approach was used by France Telecom and Sky TV and
also followed by Hyundai in US.
Trial Pricing
This is similar to penetration pricing but differs in the objective. Penetration pricing is used to
increase market share of the brand whereas trial pricing is used to increase trials for a new product|
brand. Eg: Nivea face balm
Economy Pricing
This is a no frills low price. The cost of marketing and manufacture are kept at a minimum.
Supermarkets often have economy brands for soups, spaghetti, etc.
Price Skimming
This is opposite of Penetration pricing. Charge a high price because you have a substantial
competitive advantage. However, the advantage is not sustainable. The high price tends to attract
new competitors into the market, and the price inevitably falls due to increased supply. Example
would include apple iphones.
Premium pricing, penetration pricing, economy pricing, and price skimming are the four main pricing
policies/strategies. They form the bases for the exercise. However there are other important
approaches to pricing.
Psychological Pricing
This approach is used when the marketer wants the consumer to respond on an emotional, rather
than rational basis. For example pricing apparels at 699 or 999; Garnier mens white face wash at Rs
49
Product Line Pricing
Where there is a range of product or services the pricing reflect the benefits of parts of the range.
For example car washes. Basic wash could be $2, wash and wax $4, and the whole package $6.
Another example could be Gym packages.
Optional Product Pricing
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Companies will attempt to increase the amount customer spend once they start to buy.
Optional 'extras' increase the overall price of the product or service. For example airlines will charge
for optional extras such as guaranteeing a window seat or reserving a row of seats next to each
other or offering a life insurance.
Captive Product Pricing/ Bait and Hook Strategy
Where products have complements, companies will charge a premium price where the
consumer is captured. For example a razor manufacturer will charge a low price and recoup its
margin (and more) from the sale of the only design of blades which fit the razor.
Product Bundle Pricing
Here sellers combine several products in the same package. This also serves to move old stock.
Videos and CDs are often sold using the bundle approach.
Promotional Pricing
Pricing to promote a product is a very common application. There are many examples of
promotional pricing including approaches such as BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) or giving 20% off,
etc.
Geographical Pricing
Geographical pricing is evident where there are variations in price in different parts of the world. For
example rarity value, or where shipping costs increase price.
Value Pricing
This approach is used where external factors such as recession or increased competition force
companies to provide 'value' products and services to retain sales e.g. Value meals at
McDonalds.
Cost Plus Cost-plus pricing is a pricing method used by companies. It is used primarily because it is
easy to calculate and requires little information. There are several varieties, but the common thread
in all of them is that one first calculates the cost of the product, and then includes an additional
amount to represent profit. Cost-plus pricing is often used on government contracts, and has been
criticized as promoting wasteful expenditures.
The method determines the price of a product or service that uses direct costs, indirect costs, and
fixed costs whether related to the production and sale of the product or service or not. These costs
are converted to per unit costs for the product and then a predetermined percentage of these
costs is added to provide a profit margin.
Loss Leader Loss leader or leader is a product sold at a low price (at cost or below cost) to
stimulate other, profitable sales. It is a kind of sales promotion, in other words marketing
concentrating on a pricing strategy. The price can even be so low that the product is sold at a loss. A
loss leader is often a popular article. How one makes profit is by selling other products or services
along with this and making net overall profit. Eg: Supermarkets selling one thing at exceptionally low
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price and hence inviting footfall. These people end up buying a lot many things making an overall
profit for the supermarket owner.
Place

A channel of distribution comprises a set of institutions which perform all of the activities utilised to
move a product and its title from production to consumption.
Place is also known as channel, distribution, or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which
goods and/or services are moved from the manufacturer/ service provider to the user or consumer.
There are six basic 'channel' decisions:
Do we use direct or indirect channels? (e.g. 'direct' to consumer, 'indirect' via a wholesaler).
Single or multiple channels.
Cumulative length of the multiple channels.
Types of intermediary.
Number of intermediaries at each level (e.g. how many retailers in Southern India).
Which companies as intermediaries to avoid 'intra-channel conflict' (i.e. in-fighting between
local distributors).
Selection Consideration - how do we decide upon a distributor?
Market segment - the distributor must be familiar with your target consumer and segment.
Changes during the product life cycle - different channels can be exploited at different
points in the PLC e.g. Foldaway scooters are now available everywhere. Once they were sold
via a few specific stores.
Producer - distributor fit - Is there a match between distributors polices, strategies, image,
and yours? Look for 'synergy'.
Qualification assessment - Establish the experience and track record of your intermediary.
Training - How much training and support will your distributor require?

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Promotion

Another one of the 4P's is 'promotion'. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer for
'marketing communication'. As with Neil H.Borden's marketing mix, marketing communications has
its own 'promotions mix.' Think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients are always the same.
However if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different. It is the
same with promotions. You can 'integrate' different aspects of the promotions mix to deliver a
unique campaign. The elements of the promotions mix are:

Personal Selling
Sales Promotion
Public Relations
Direct Mail
Trade Fairs and Exhibitions
Advertising
Sponsorship

Communication Process
Sender Encode Message| Media Decode Receiver Response Feedback
The elements of the promotions mix are integrated to form a coherent campaign. As with all forms
of communication, the message from the marketer follows the 'communications process' as
illustrated above. For example, a radio advert is made for a car manufacturer. The car
manufacturer (sender) pays for a specific advert with contains a message specific to a target
audience (encoding). It is transmitted during a set of commercials from a radio station (Message /
media).
The message is decoded by a car radio (decoding) and the target consumer interprets the message
(receiver). He or she might visit a dealership or seek further information from a web site (Response).
The consumer might buy a car or express an interest or dislike (feedback). This information will
inform future elements of an integrated promotional campaign. Noise represents thousands of
marketing communications that a consumer is exposed to everyday, all competing for attention.
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The Promotions Mix

Let us look at the individual components of the promotions mix in more detail. Remember all of the
elements are 'integrated' to form a specific communications campaign.
1. Personal Selling
Personal Selling is an effective way to manage personal customer relationships. The sales person
acts on behalf of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the approaches and techniques of
personal selling. However sales people are very expensive and should only be used where there is a
genuine return on investment. For example salesmen are often used to sell cars or home
improvements where the margin is high.
2. Sales Promotion
Sales promotion tends to be thought of as being all promotions apart from advertising, personal
selling, and public relations. For example, the BOGO promotion. Others include couponing, moneyoff promotions, competitions, free accessories (such as free blades with a new razor), introductory
offers (such as buy digital TV and get free installation), and so on. Each sales promotion should be
carefully planned depending on the cost and its comparison with the next best alternative.
3. Public Relations (PR)
Public Relations is defined as 'the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain
mutual understanding between an organization and its publics' (Institute of Public Relations). It is
relatively cheap, but certainly not cheap. Successful strategies tend to be long- term and plan for all
eventualities. All airlines exploit PR; just watch what happens when there is a disaster. The preplanned PR machine clicks in very quickly with a very effective rehearsed plan.
4. Direct Mail
Direct mail is very highly focussed upon targeting consumers based upon a database. As with all
marketing, the potential consumer is 'defined' based upon a series of attributes and similarities.
Creative agencies work with marketers to design a highly focussed communication in the form of a
mailing. The mail is sent out to the potential consumers and responses are carefully monitored. For
example, if you are marketing medical text books, you would use a database of doctors' surgeries as
the basis of your mail shot.
5. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions
Such approaches are very good for making new contacts and renewing old ones. Companies will
seldom sell much at such events. The purpose is to increase awareness and to encourage trial. They
offer the opportunity for companies to meet with both the trade and the consumer.
6. Advertising
Advertising is a 'paid for' communication. It is used to develop attitudes, create awareness, and
transmit information in order to gain a response from the target market. There are many
advertising 'media' such as newspapers (local, national, free, trade), magazines and journals,
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television (local, national, terrestrial, satellite) cinema, outdoor advertising (such as posters, bus
sides).
7. Sponsorship
Sponsorship is where an organization pays to be associated with a particular event, cause or image.
Companies will sponsor sports events such as the Olympics or Formula One. The attributes of the
event are then associated with the sponsoring organization.
The elements of the promotional mix are then integrated to form a unique, but coherent campaign.
Extended marketing mix
In the 1980s Booms and Bitner included three additional 'Ps' to accommodate trends towards a
service or knowledge based economy:
People
Process
Physical Evidence
What is significant about services is the relative dominance of intangible attributes in the
make-up of the service product. Services are a special kind of product. They may require
special understanding and special marketing efforts. The need for the extension is due to the high
degree of direct contact between the providers and the customers, the highly visible nature
of the service process, and the simultaneity of the production and consumption. While it is
possible to discuss people, physical evidence and process within the original-Ps framework (for
example people can be considered part of the product offering) the extension allows a more
thorough analysis of the marketing ingredients necessary for successful services marketing.
People

People are the most important element of any service or experience. Services tend to
be produced and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the customer experience
are altered to meet the 'individual needs' of the person consuming it. Most of us can think
of a situation where the personal service offered by individuals has made or tainted a tour,
vacation or restaurant meal. Remember, people buy from people that they like, so the
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attitude, skills and appearance of all staff need to be first class. Some ways in which
people add value to an experience, as a part of the marketing mix, are - training, personal
selling and customer service.
Process

Process is another element of the extended marketing mix, or 7P's.There are a number of
perceptions of the concept of process within the business and marketing literature. Some see
processes as a means to achieve an outcome, for example - to achieve a 30% market share a
company implements a marketing planning process.
Another view is that marketing has a number of processes that integrate together to create an
overall marketing process, for example - telemarketing and Internet marketing can be
integrated. A further view is that marketing processes are used to control the marketing mix, i.e.
processes that measure the achievement marketing objectives. All views are understandable, but
not particularly customer focused.
For the purposes of the marketing mix, process is an element of service that sees the customer
experiencing an organizations offering. It's best viewed as something that your customer
participates in at different points in time. Here are some examples to help your build a picture of
marketing process, from the customer's point of view.
Example - Going on a cruise - from the moment that you arrive at the dockside, you are greeted;
your baggage is taken to your room. You have two weeks of services from restaurants and evening
entertainment, to casinos and shopping. Finally, you arrive at your destination, and your
baggage is delivered to you. This is a highly focused marketing process.
Physical Evidence

Physical evidence is the material part

of a service. Strictly speaking there
are no physical attributes to a service,
so a consumer tends to rely on
material cues. There are many
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examples of physical evidence, including some of the following:

Packaging
Internet/web pages
Paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and despatch notes)
Brochures
Furnishings
Signage (such as those on aircraft and vehicles)
Uniforms
Business cards
The building itself (such as prestigious offices or scenic headquarters)
Mailboxes and many others

A sporting event is packed full of physical evidence. Your tickets have your team's logos printed on
them, and players are wearing uniforms. The stadium itself could be impressive and have an
electrifying atmosphere. You travelled there and parked quickly nearby, and your seats are
comfortable and close to restrooms and store. All you need now is for your team to win!
Some organizations depend heavily upon physical evidence as a means of marketing
communications, for example tourism attractions and resorts (e.g. Disney World), parcel and mail
services (e.g. UPS trucks), and large banks and insurance companies (e.g. Lloyds of London)
4 PS OF MARKETING/ 7PS: EXTENDED MARKETING MIX
Product Decisions
The term "product" refers to tangible, physical products as well as services. Here are some examples
of the product decisions to be made:
>Product Variety >Quality > Design > Features > Brand name > Functionality > Styling >
Returns > Safety > Packaging > Repairs and Support > Warranty > Accessories and services > Price
Decisions
Some examples of pricing decisions to be made include:
> Pricing strategy (skim, penetration, etc.) > Suggested retail price/List price > Volume
discounts and wholesale pricing > Cash and early payment discounts > Allowances > Credit Terms
and Payment period > Seasonal pricing > Bundling > Price flexibility > Price discrimination
Distribution (Place) Decisions
Distribution is about getting the products to the customer. Some examples of distribution decisions
include:
> Distribution channels > Market coverage (inclusive, selective, or exclusive distribution) >
Assortments
> Locations
> Specific channel members
> Inventory management
>
Warehousing > Distribution centers > Order processing > Transportation > Reverse logistics
Promotion Decisions

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In the context of the marketing mix, promotion represents the various aspects of marketing
communication, that is, the communication of information about the product with the goal of
generating a positive customer response. Marketing communication decisions include:
> Promotional strategy (push, pull, etc.) > Advertising > Personal selling & sales force > Sales
promotions > Public relations & publicity > Marketing communications budget > Direct
marketing
The 7-Ps or Extended Marketing Mix of Booms and Bitner is a Marketing Strategy tool that expands
the number of controllable variables from the four in the original Marketing Mix Model to seven.
The Traditional Marketing Mix model was primarily directed and useful for tangible products. The 7Ps model is more useful for services industries and arguably also for knowledge-intensive
environments. The additional 3 Ps are:
People
An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people. Recruiting
the right staff and training them appropriately in the delivery of their service is essential if the
organisation wants to obtain a form of competitive advantage. Consumers make judgments and
deliver perceptions of the service based on the employees they interact with. Staff should have the
appropriate interpersonal skills, aptititude, and service knowledge to provide the service that
consumers are paying for.
Process
Refers to the systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the service. E.g at McDs u get a
burger in 2 min. What was the process that allowed you to obtain an efficient service delivery?
Banks that send out Credit Cards automatically when their customers old one has expired again
require an efficient process to identify expiry dates and renewal. An efficient service that replaces
old credit cards will foster consumer loyalty and confidence in the company.
Physical Evidence
Where is the service being delivered? Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix which
allows the consumer again to make judgments on the organisation. If you walk into a restaurant
your expectations are of a clean, friendly environment. On an aircraft if you travel first class you
expect enough room to be able to lay down!
Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix, consumers will make perceptions
based on their sight of the service provision which will have an impact on the organisations
perceptual plan of the service.
We must remember that the 4p/7p are from the sellers point of view. From the buyers point of view
we have:
Solution: How can I solve my problem? Information: Where can I get information from? Value: What
is my total sacrifice to get the solution? Access: Where can I find it?

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4. TYPES OF ENTRY STRATEGIES, SPECIFIC ATTACK STRATEGIES

Type of entry strategy depends upon the market share that the company has. Market strategy for a
market leader, market challenger, market follower and market niche would be different. The details
of the kind of strategy to be followed is wonderfully summarised in brief in
(http://www.public.iastate.edu/~sjwong/pdf540/leader_follower_strategy.pdf)

5. CONCEPT OF CONSUMER DERIVED VALUE

Marketing is about meeting the needs of your targeted market, but also providing them with a
value. This value is determined when subtracting the benefits a customer gets from the product with
the customer costs he does to get it. Cost here is not only the monetary cost that the consumer
gives to buy a particular product. Cost is in terms of Psychic (the mind that he used to buy that
product), Energy (the energy that he spent in buying), Time (time spent by the consumer to buy a
particular product), monetary (actual price paid) and total cost (summation of all this). Value derived
out of this is image (what will people think of me), personnel (how does the staff treat me), services
(what all am I being offered), product (the actual tangible thing) and total (summation of all the
values). Only if the value derived is more than the cost incurred, we will say that the consumer will
be motivated to buy the product/ service.

6. AL RIES AND JACK Z TROUT ON POSITIONING

A product's position is how potential buyers see the product. Positioning is expressed relative to the
position of competitors. The term was coined in 1969 by Al Ries and Jack Trout in the paper
"Positioning" is a game people play in todays me-too market place" in the publication Industrial
Marketing. It was then expanded into their ground-breaking first book, "Positioning: The Battle for
Your Mind".
Positioning is something (perception) that happens in the minds of the target market. It is the
aggregate perception the market has of a particular company, product or service in relation to their
perceptions of the competitors in the same category. It will happen whether or not a company's
management is proactive, reactive or passive about the on-going process of evolving a position.
But a company can positively influence the perceptions through enlightened strategic actions.
In marketing, positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create an image
or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. It is the
'relative competitive comparison' their product occupies in a given market as perceived by the target
market.
Re-positioning involves changing the identity of a product, relative to the identity of competing
products, in the collective minds of the target market.
De-positioning involves attempting to change the identity of competing products, relative to the
identity of your own product, in the collective minds of the target market.

The Process of Positionin g:

Generally, the product positioning process involves:
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Defining the market in which the product or brand will compete (who the relevant buyers
are)
Identifying the attributes (also called dimensions) that define the product 'space'
Collecting information from a sample of customers about their perceptions of each product
on the relevant attribute.
Determine each product's share of mind
Determine each product's current location in the product space.
Determine the target market's preferred combination of attributes (referred to as an ideal
vector)
Examine the fit between:
o The position of your product
o The position of the ideal vector
Position

The process is similar for positioning your company's services.

Services, however, don't have the physical attributes of products - that is, we can't feel them or
touch them or show nice product pictures.
So you need to ask first your customers and then yourself, what value do clients get from my
services? How are they better off from doing business with me? Also ask: is there a
characteristic that makes my services different?
Write out the value customers derive and the attributes your services offer to create the first draft
of your positioning.

7. BCG MATRIX

MARKET SHARE & MARKET GROWTH

Market share is the percentage of the total market that is being serviced by your company,
measured either in revenue terms or unit volume terms. The higher your market share, the higher
proportion
of
the
market
you
control.
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The Boston Matrix assumes that if you enjoy a high market share you will normally be making money
(this assumption is based on the idea that you will have been in the market long enough to have
learned how to be profitable, and will be enjoying scale economies that give you an advantage).
Market growth is used as a measure of a market's attractiveness. Markets experiencing high growth
are ones where the total market is expanding, which should provide the opportunity for businesses
to make more money, even if their market share remains stable.

Dogs: Low Market Share / Low Market Growth : In these areas, your market presence is
weak, so it's going to take a lot of hard work to get noticed. Also, you won't enjoy the scale
economies of the larger players, so it's going to be difficult to make a profit.

Stars: High Market Share / High Market Growth : Use large amounts of cash; they are
the leaders in business so they should produce large amounts of cash as well. These are fantastic
opportunities, and you should work hard to realize them.

Question Marks (Problem Child): Low Market Share / High Market Growth :
These are the opportunities no one knows what to do with. They aren't generating much revenue
right now because you don't have a large market share. But, they are in high growth markets so the
potential to make money is there. Question Marks might become Stars and eventual Cash Cows, but
they could just as easily absorb effort with little return. These opportunities need serious thought as
to whether increased investment is warranted.

8. ANSOFF MATRIX
The Ansoff Product-Market Growth Matrix is a marketing tool created by Igor Ansoff and first
published in his article "Strategies for Diversification" in the Harvard Business Review (1957). The
matrix allows marketers to consider ways to grow the business via existing and/or new products, in
existing and/or new markets there are four possible product/market combinations.
Ansoff Matrix

Existing Products
Existing
Markets

New
Markets

New Products

Market
Penetration

Product Development

Market
Development

Diversification

Ansoff's matrix provides four different growth strategies:

Market Penetration - the firm seeks to achieve growth with existing products in their
current market segments, aiming to increase its market share.
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Market Development - the firm seeks growth by targeting its existing products to new
market segments.
Product Development - the firms develops new products targeted to its existing market
segments.
Diversification - the firm grows by diversifying into new businesses by developing new
products for new markets.

The matrix illustrates, in particular, that the element of risk increases the further the strategy moves
away from known quantities - the existing product and the existing market. Thus, product
development (requiring, in effect, a new product) and market extension (a new market) typically
involve a greater risk than `penetration' (existing product and existing market); and diversification
(new product and new market) generally carries the greatest risk of all. In his original work, which
did not use the matrix form, Igor Ansoff stressed that the diversification strategy stood apart from
the other three.
While the latter are usually followed with the same technical, financial, and merchandising resources
which are used for the original product line, diversification usually requires new skills, new
techniques, and new facilities. As a result it almost invariably leads to physical and
organizational changes in the structure of the business which represent a distinct break with past
business experience. For this reason, most marketing activity revolves around penetration. The
market penetration strategy is the least risky since it leverages many of the firm's existing resources
and capabilities. In a growing market, simply maintaining market share will result in growth, and
there may exist opportunities to increase market share if competitors reach capacity limits.
However, market penetration has limits, and once the market approaches saturation another
strategy must be pursued if the firm is to continue to grow.
Market penetration
Market penetration is the name given to a growth strategy where the business focuses on selling
existing
products
into
existing
markets.
Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives:

Maintain or increase the market share of current products this can be achieved by a
combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and perhaps
more resources dedicated to personal selling
Secure dominance of growth markets
Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors; this would require a much more
aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the
market unattractive for competitors
Increase usage by existing customers for example by introducing loyalty schemes A
market penetration marketing strategy is very much about business as usual. The
business is focusing on markets and products it knows well. It is likely to have good
information on competitors and on customer needs. It is unlikely, therefore, that this
strategy will require much investment in new market research.

Market development

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Market development is the name given to a growth strategy where the business seeks to sell its
existing products into new markets.
There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including:
New geographical markets; for example exporting the product to a new country
New product dimensions or packaging: for example
New distribution channels
Different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments
Product development
Product development is the name given to a growth strategy where a business aims to
introduce new products into existing markets. This strategy may require the development of new
competencies and requires the business to develop modified products which can appeal to existing
markets.
Diversification
Diversification is the name given to the growth strategy where a business markets new products in
new markets. This is an inherently more risk strategy because the business is moving into markets in
which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, therefore, it
must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from the strategy and an honest assessment of
the risks.
Market penetration (existing markets, existing products): Market penetration occurs
when a company enters/penetrates a market with current products. The best way to achieve this is
by gaining competitors' customers (part of their market share). Other ways include attracting nonusers of your product or convincing current clients to use more of your product/service, with
advertising or other promotions. Market penetration is the least risky way for a company to grow.
Product development (existing markets, new products): A firm with a market for its current
products might embark on a strategy of developing other products catering to the same market
(although these new products need not be new to the market; the point is that the product is new to
the company). For example, McDonald's is always within the fast-food industry, but frequently
markets new burgers. Frequently, when a firm creates new products, it can gain new customers for
these products. Hence, new product development can be a crucial business development strategy
for firms to stay competitive.
Market development (new markets, existing products): An established product in the
marketplace can be tweaked or targeted to a different customer segment, as a strategy to earn
more revenue for the firm. For example, Lucozade was first marketed for sick children and then
rebranded to target athletes. This is a good example of developing a new market for an existing
product. Again, the market need not be new in itself; the point is that the market is new to the
company.

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Diversification (new markets, new products): Virgin Cola, Virgin Megastores, Virgin
Airlines, Virgin Telecommunications are examples of new products created by the Virgin Group of
UK, to leverage the Virgin brand. This resulted in the company entering new markets where it had
no presence before.

9. B2B, B2C and C2C marketing

Customer to Customer (C2C) MARKETING
Customer 2 Customer or the commonly used acronym C2C is a new marketing mantra for Indian
firms and the foreign multinationals.
Customer to Customer (C2C) markets are innovative ways to allow customers to interact with each
other. In customer to customer markets the business facilitates an environment where customers
can sell these goods and or services to each other. The quality of a product is vital for the
continued success of a business. A terrific marketing strategy might bring a customer to your door,
but if the product you deliver fails to satisfy, they will never return. And worse, the best
advertising of all, word-of-mouth, will turn against you.
Now let's define what is - Customer 2 Customer and Word Of Mouth. Customer 2 Customer as
defined by Philip Kotler:
"Customer 2 Customer includes all activities involving interaction between consumers.
Customer 2 Customer activities include auctions between consumers that are facilitated by firms
such as e-bay, personal, classified ads, ad games etc."

Word of Mouth as defined by Philip Kotler:

"Personal communication about a product between target buyers and neighbours, friends,
family members and associates."
Let's understand the real meaning of Customer 2 Customer and Word of Mouth through an
illustration. This illustration mainly focuses on the success behind Toyota Qualis.
Toyota Qualis is a car that has a tag of a taxi, than that of a personal or a private car. And one of
the sole reasons behind the huge volume of sales is its taxi tag. Now how did they get this taxi tag?
It all happened because of the word of mouth the best medium of advertisement. Private taxis
are the most roughly-driven cars and if these drivers swear by a car, then it's the best ad for its
reliability and toughness.
How were they able to win over these drivers? They won over them because they delighted them.
Delighted them means - they were able to provide delight to their customers by understanding
their specific personal interests, anticipating their needs, exceeding their expectations, and making
every moment and aspect of the relationship a pleasant - or better yet, an exhilarating experience.
This illustration proves only one aspect of Customer 2 Customer i.e. Word of mouth. Now
coming to the second aspect, i.e. C2C's role in consumer decision making:
Often we find that in a consumer decision process several individuals get involved. Each of them
plays an influencing role. At times, more than one role may be played by an individual. These roles
are:
1. Initiator
This is the person who sows the seed in a prospective customer's mind to buy the product.
This person may be a part of the customer's family like spouse or parents. Alternatively the
person may be a friend, a relative, a colleague or even the sales person.
2. Influencer
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Influencer is a person within or outside the immediate family of the customer who
influences the decision process. The individual perceived as an influencer is also perceived
as an expert. In consumer durable sale the dealer plays an influencing role.
3. Decider
He is the person who actually takes the decision. In a joint family often it's the head of the
family or the elders in the family who take a decision. But in nuclear and single families
and with the increase in the literacy among women and number of working couples, one
finds more often than not, decisions are joint. Husband, wife and even the entire family
taking the decision, particularly on major purchases, is quite common in urban and metro
areas. The decider/s considers both economic and non-economic parameters before
selecting a brand.
It is important to note that the people who play these roles seek different values in the product or
service. The perception of the value is to a large extent influenced by their prior experience of
others, media reports and the marketing cues created by the firm. These values, which may also
be referred to as, market value is the potential of a product or service to satisfy customer's needs
and wants.
The most common and widely used example of C2C marketing is Ebay. Ebay provides sellers a
platform to freely hawk their goods as well as interact with customers. These sellers themselves
are non-business individuals.
A real-life example is auctions, where sellers, who were initially customers themselves, sell goods
that they have bought to other individual customers.
Business to consumer (B2C) marketing
B2C marketing is one of the most popularly used strategies for effective market communication and
profitable business building. Business to consumer marketing is when a business markets products
to a consumer market. A consumer is a buyer of products that are not business related. B2C
products include goods and services such as food, clothes, cars, houses, phone services, credit
repair services, etc.
A B2C sale is to an individual. That individual may be influenced by other factors such as family
members or friends, but ultimately its a single person that pulls out their wallet.
B2C features a large target market, single step buying process and shorter sales cycle.
Repetition and imagery create its brand identity. B2C focuses on merchandising and point of
buying activities including coupons, displays and store fronts. Basically any business that offers a
retail product to the public comes under this type. In B2C markets, the brand encourages the
shopper to purchase, remain loyal and potentially pay a higher price.
It is one of the many marketing campaigns that business houses can use for publicizing their goods
and services. For this the company can hire people who can reach out to the general public as
company representatives. These representatives can address customers at public places, such as
shopping malls or districts and make them aware about companys products and services by
distributing flyers containing companys information or by handing over various forms of
promotional materials. The companys representatives also undertake door to door marketing to
promote company products or services. All these factors make B2C marketing one of the most
effective modes of communication. B2C marketing also involves advertising through newspapers,
television and radio for better communication. These modes provide the companies with better
consumer marketing strategies that can be worked upon to build a bigger market for the products
and services and thus achieve a profitable goal.

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The B2C internet marketing is one of the most advanced consumer marketing strategies that
revolutionized the business world. It not only helps in developing a direct contact between the
consumer and business house but also allows the businessman to advertise and sell his
products and services in an easy manner.
Now days with the advent of Internet, a businessman can make use of various online advertising
strategies which help to cater to wider section of potential market globally. Online advertising
strategies such as PPC and Podcast are counted among the most effective promotion campaigning
for any business. These advertisements can be displayed on various search sites so that they are
viewed by many people at the same time.
Making aware of companys offerings via websites also helps the business house to successfully
cater the potential audience. Also, the online shopping facility provided through the websites
make the customers in availing the facilities and buying the products without wasting any time and
extra money to visit any physical store for making a desirable purchase.
It is not enough to just establish a business; the business should also flourish and produce profit.
To meet the objective, various strategies are used for good publicity. Among various business
market strategies, B2B marketing i.e. business to business marketing and B2C marketing i.e.
business to consumer marketing are being constantly talked about. A constant debate over the
two has created a B2B vs. B2C marketing situation in the business world. Though the purpose of
both is same i.e. business development and to generate profits but their approaches are different.
While B2B deals with transactions between two businesses, B2C marketing strategy helps the
business house in directly targeting the customers.
Examples
A family is at home on a Sunday night and is watching television. An advertisement appears that
advertises home delivered pizza. The family decides to order a pizza.
Walking down a supermarket aisle, a single man aged in his early 30's sees a hair care product that
claims to reduce dandruff. He pick's the product and adds it to his shopping cart.
A pensioner visits her local shopping mall. She purchases a number of items including her favourite
brand of tea. She has bought the same brand of tea for the last 18 years.
Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing
Business to Business marketing is the practice of individuals or organizations (commercial
businesses, governments and institutions) facilitating the sale of their products or services to other
companies or organizations that in turn resell them, use them as components in products or
services they offer, or use them to support their operations. This is also known as Industrial
marketing.
In B2B, the customers can be:
1. Companies that consume products or services eg. automakers, who buy gauges to put in
their cars
2. Government agencies this includes centre, state and local governments
3. Institutions - schools, hospitals and nursing homes, churches and charities
4. Resellers wholesalers, brokers and industrial distributors
A B2B sale is to an organization. B2B describes commerce transactions between businesses, such
as between manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. The volume of
B2B transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions. The main reason is that in
any supply chain, there will be many B2B transactions, e.g. involving subcomponent or raw
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materials, and only on B2C transaction, i.e. the finished goods sale to customer. B2B Marketing is
driven purely on the basis of fewer, but larger, customers. It is very necessary to be able to
customize offering based on the buyers needs.
Some B2B Marketing Strategies:
B2B Branding Closely align corporate brands, divisional brands and product/service brands
and to apply brand standards to material often considered informal such as email and other
correspondence.
Product cost-saving or revenue-producing benefits of products/services should factor
throughout product development and marketing cycle.
People Usually, the target market for business products are smaller and have more
specialized needs. Thus, there can be multiple influencers on purchase decision, and these
need to be marketed to as well.
Pricing Business markets can pay premium prices if the pricing and payment terms are
structured well. This is particularly true in the case of a strong brand.
Promotion Specific trade shows, analysts, publications, blogs and retail/wholesale
outlets tend to be fairly common to each industry/product area. In essence, with proper
knowledge of your industry/product, the promo strategy almost writes itself.
Place -- The importance of a knowledgeable, experienced and effective direct (inside or
outside) sales force is often critical in the business market. If you sell through distribution
channels also, the number and type of sales forces can vary tremendously and your success
as a marketer is highly dependent on their success.

Business Marketing vs. Consumer Marketing

Although on the surface the differences between business and consumer marketing may seem
obvious, there are more subtle distinctions between the two with substantial ramifications. Dwyer
and Tanner (2006) note that business marketing generally entails shorter and more direct channels
of distribution.
While consumer marketing is aimed at large demographic groups through mass media and
retailers, the negotiation process between the buyer and seller is more personal in business
marketing. According to Hutt and Speh (2004), most business marketers commit only a small part
of their promotional budgets to advertising, and that is usually through direct mail efforts and
trade journals. While that advertising is limited, it often helps the business marketer set up
successful sales calls.
Marketing to a business trying to make a profit (Business-to-Business marketing) as opposed to an
individual for personal use (Business-to-Consumer, or B2C marketing) is similar in terms of the
fundamental principles of marketing. In B2C, B2B and B2G marketing situations, the marketer
must always:
successfully match the product/service strengths with the needs of a definable target
market;
position and price to align the product/service with its market, often an intricate
balance; and
Communicate and sell it in the fashion that demonstrates its value effectively to the target
market.

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10.

4 As of Rural Marketing

Rural market is widely different from the urban market because of many factors including income
level, social infrastructure, low shops availability and limited awareness. Each company is making
their way to Rural India. Most of them have studied the market and analysed the things over there
and ready to fight at Rural India. There are some of the companies which have already written their
success stories in rural market. Companies like HUL, ITC, LG, and Mahindra have given a new format
for rural marketing. They have done a great job. Marketing mix is such an element in rural market
which gives the sense to think of marketing activities: this 4A model is similar to the 4P model of
Marketing mix, the difference it shows is main streamline and rural market. 4A perceived to be more
customer oriented. The 4As are affordability, availability, awareness and acceptability.

Affordability

Acceptability

Awareness

Availability

Acceptability
Nokia 1100, LG Sampoorna TV (run way hit, with 100,000 sales in very first year), HUL Pure-IT are the
few examples of how MNCs are customizing their products for rural markets with the aim of low
price, high quality. The insurance companies are not lagging behind in tapping this market. They are
tailoring made their products; HDFC Standard LIFE topped private insurers by selling policies worth
Rs 3.5 crore in total premium. The company tied up with non-governmental organizations and
offered reasonably-priced policies in the nature of group insurance covers. Innovation is the key.
Availability
Ensuring availability of the product or service is another challenge with poor infrastructure. Coke
strategy Coke is available where, even water is not available, is successful via their popular hub &
spoke distribution model, where they are giving low cost ice-boxes to distributors. HUL is ensuring
availability of products by using unconventional transport methods like tractors, bullock-carts and
even boats in the backwaters of Kerala.

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Affordability
Rural market is low price, high volume market, and companies like HUL has addressed it by
launching Lifebuoy atRs.2 for 50 gm. Cavinkares Chik shampoo for 50 paisa, Britannia Tiger Biscuit
for Rs.5, Maricos Parachute for Rs.1, are the examples of how FMCG companies targeting rural
market with low pricing strategy.
Awareness
Radio, TV, street plays, remains the medium to advertise. Example: Coca-Cola uses a combination of
TV, cinema and radio to reach 53.6 per cent of rural households. It doubled its spend on advertising
on Doordarshan, which alone reached 41 per cent of rural households. Tag lines like thanda matlab
Cocacola, what an idea sirjee, creates rural feel. Godrej uses radio in local language for its FMCG
products, whereas HUL started Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana, as contact program.

Conclusion
The rural market has immense potential to deliver welfare activities through new business models,
and companies have realised this. Various projects taken up by the private sector such as ITCs eChoupal, HULs Project Shakti, Microsofts Project Shiksha and Googles Internet bus among various
others, are assisting in generating not only awareness but also exploring the ways to get into this still
untapped market.

11.

4 Cs of Marketing

The traditional Marketing mix is a 4 Ps model and is business oriented. The 4 Cs model of marketing
on the other hand is more consumers oriented. Because of its focus on consumers, the 4 Cs model is
mainly used for Niche Marketing. However, just like the traditional marketing mix, it can also be
used for mass markets. The four variables in the 4 Cs model are

Consumer
Cost
Convenience
Communication

Consumer The principle of four Cs of marketing states that your customer should be your prime
focus. Unlike the traditional marketing mix where the primary focus is on Products, in the 4 Cs
model, the primary focus is on the customer. Thus the companies which follow this model believe in
making products which satisfy their customers. They are generally ready to offer customizable
products and because they have a general set of target customers, this principle is only applicable
for smaller market segments and not for mass markets. For mass markets, the traditional marketing
mix can be used. Questions that need to be asked is Who is your customer - or prospective
customer? What are their needs? Where do they live; where do they work; and what do they do for
fun? Where do they get information?
Cost Cost is equivalent to Pricing in the traditional marketing mix. Cost is a very important
consideration during consumer decision making and hence in the 4 Cs principle, the cost variable is
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given special attention. The 4 Cs model generally plans on the basis of Customers and not products.
And hence they have to plan the cost of the product on the basis of their customer. If you are
targeting a SEC A segment, then the costing of the product needs to be premium to have proper
psychological positioning. On the other hand, if your product is for the SEC B and SEC C classes, then
it needs to have a lower costing. Thus over here, costing of the product depends on the customer.
Ask what will your product (or service) cost? How does this compare? What effect will the cost of
your product have on its perceived value (or position) in the competitive marketplace? And most
importantly, what are customers willing to pay?
Communication The concept of communication remains same for both, the traditional marketing
mix as well as for the 4 Cs of marketing. Off course, the marketing communications for a company
following the 4 Cs of marketing is completely different as it needs a completely different
Segmentation, targeting and positioning. As said before, the 4 Cs of marketing are generally used
for Niche products. The media vehicles used for marketing communications for a mass product and
that for a niche product are different. A niche marketing company might use more of BTL rather than
ATL whereas in a mass marketing company, ATL communications are very important. Ask yourself;
How will you communicate your offering to customers? What modes of communication are available
to you (or your client)? Which will be most effective ... and what will be the strategic mix of
communications?
Convenience Convenience is equivalent of distribution or placement of the traditional marketing
mix. When you have a niche customer base, the convenience of the customer in acquiring your
product plays a critical role. Take a niche product like Heavy machinery as an example or even
products like television and air conditioners. What if the companies who sell these products do not
give you delivery and installation? You will not buy the product as you wont be ready to pick up the
machine and install it yourself. You will be looking out for your own convenience. Thus convenience,
like distribution, plays a critical role. The customer will not buy your product if it is not convenient to
him.
All in all, the traditional marketing mix model helps a company define its strategy more efficiently.
However, the 4 Cs model, although not much different, really helps if you are a customer oriented
firm.

12.

Below the line (BTL) Advertising

BTL & ATL

BTL (Below the Line): All advertising that can be targeted to our TG is termed as BTL. In other words
all advertisements where we can limit the visibility to a particular group of people based on our
desire is termed as BTL advertising. This generally includes means other than the five major media the press, television, radio, cinema and outdoors; below-the-line advertising employs a variety of
methods - direct mail, sponsorship, merchandising, trade shows, exhibitions, sales literature and
catalogues, and so on. Below the line promotions are becoming increasingly important within the
communications mix of many companies, not only those involved in FMCG products, but also for
industrial goods.

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With the increasing pressure on the marketing team to achieve communication objectives more
efficiently in a limited budget, there has been a need to find out more effective and cost efficient
ways to communicate with the target markets. This has led to a shift from the regular media based
advertising.
Below the Line uses less conventional methods than the usual specific channels of advertising to
promote products, services, etc. than Above the Line strategies. These may include activities such as
direct mail, public relations and sales promotions for which a fee is agreed upon and charged up
front. Below the line advertising typically focuses on direct means of communication,
most commonly direct mail and e-mail, often using highly targeted lists of names to maximize
response rates.
Above the line is much more effective when the target group is very large and difficult to define. But
if the target group is limited and specific, it is always advisable to use BTL promotions for efficiency
and cost-effectiveness.
Examples
Sales counters, beauty advisors, and dealer aids such as shade cards etc. LAKME
Search, email and online advertising
Price Promotion
o

A discount to the normal selling price of a product, or

o More of the product at the normal price

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Examples of Campaigns
1. Nestle Milo school trials: Nestle Milo during the time of its launch in India was competing
against the market leader and well established Cadbury Bournvita. To change consumer
(mostly children) loyalty it ran a free trial programme across prominent schools of the
country. It gave free trials across schools in summer season using cold milk. This campaign
helped generate trials and purpose of Nestle was more than fulfilled.
2. ING Vysya Bank also launched a social responsibility campaign, which started on the Internet
and moved to on-ground. It launched a website, www.kidzzbank.com, to educate children
about the importance of saving money and investing. Later, the initiative was taken to
underprivileged children in South India.

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3. Dabur India ran a school activation campaign in 500 schools across 21 cities to look for Super
Champs, promising to pay their entire school fees for a year. The primary objective of the
activity is to create awareness and drive consumer engagement for Dabur Chyawanprash
and Dabur Chyawan Junior, a newly launched malted drink.
4. Coca Cola launched the happiness wagon| happiness truck that goes to different college|
towns and villages. This truck has a vending machine, the difference being that the vending
machine gives the consumers more than they order. This cements the proposition of Coca
Cola of open happiness and help increase brand loyalty. This has also successfully created
a buzz across the globe. Thapar University in Punjab was the first to witness this in India.
Plans are to roll out this campaign in other cities of the country.

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5. Vivel launched its FB page a couple of months back to reach directly to its TG. It came out
with an application that could give personalized skin care solution. The application was
designed in a manner to subconsciously position Vivel as a skin care expert in the mind of its
consumers. Apart from this there was an option of requesting a free sample. This helped to
generate trials in a red ocean market. This received a good response amongst consumers
with a total of more than 6500 requests of free sample in the first weekend of the
application launch. Campaign is still up and running at http://www.facebook.com/itcvivel

6. Most of the educational institutes like Career Launcher, Time and PT are holding informative
workshops and free tests for students which give a direct interaction of these institutes with
the target customer, and hence, a suitable platform to sell themselves.
7. Most of the pharmacy companies do BTL promotion by getting shelf-space through doctors
to display their products or by giving away free calcium tablets again through doctors,
knowing that for a patient a personal advise from a doctor would hold more value as
compared to a commercial advertisement.
8. Igen A cigarette brand was built through below the line marketing efforts. The brand of
cigarette was promoted through organizing parties for the BPO employees on weekly basis
and collecting their database and then making the cigarette available at their door steps, the
exercise was continued for quite a few months and a strong database and customer base
was developed for the brand among the BPO employees.
9. In the media space, Sab TV, the comedy channel from MSM India, devised an interesting
route to reach media planners and buyers during the launch of Bhootwala Serial, India's first
horror comedy. Breaking the clutter, promoters dressed in scary ghostly costumes went
across all agencies like Zenith Optimedia, Lodestar, Lintas Media Group, Starcom, Madison,
Maxus, Mindshare and Mindshare Fulcrum
10. Oreo launched Togetherness bus to symbolize moments of family togetherness. The bus will
travelled across the country as part of a movement that provided parents a platform to bond
and encouraged them to spend more time with their family. The Oreo Togetherness bus
travelled across nine cities New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow,
Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mysore.

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13.

What is a Brand?

A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business. It is basically the perception the
consumers have about the product. A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol,
color combination or slogan. It is the emotional and psychological relationship you have with your
customers. A legally protected brand name is called a trademark. Eg: Coca Cola, Apple
A brand is a name or trademark connected with a product or producer. Brands have become
increasingly important components of culture and the economy, now being described as "cultural
accessories and personal philosophies".
A brand is the essence or promise that a product, service or company will deliver or be experienced
by a buyer.
Harley Davidson is a great brand because Harley Davidson motorcycle owners rarely switch to
another brand. Nor do Apple Macintosh users want to switch to Microsoft. The brand amounts to a
contract with the customer regarding how the product will perform.
Richard Bransons Virgin brand is about fun and creativity. These attributes are projected in all of
Virgins marketing activities. Some of Virgin Atlantics Airways flights include massages, live rock
bands, and casinos. Flight attendants are fun-loving and enjoy joking with the passengers. Branson
uses public relations to project his daring, such as attempting to fly around the world in a hot-air
balloon. To launch Virgin Bride (bridal wear), Branson dressed up in drag as a bride.
Philips as a Brand talks about Sense and Simplicity. This is reflected in nearly every product of the
company.
The tagline, logo, personality, association, name, etc. are brand elements and together constitute to
the brand identity.
Some people distinguish the psychological aspect of a brand from the experiential aspect. The
experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the
brand experience. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a
symbolic construct created within the minds of people and consists of all the information and
expectations associated with a product or service.
Brand name
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The brand name is often used interchangeably within "brand", although it is more correctly used to
specifically denote written or spoken linguistic elements of any product. In this context a "brand
name" constitutes a type of trademark, if the brand name exclusively identifies the brand owner as
the commercial source of products or services.
Brand identity
A product identity, or brand image are typically the attributes one associates with a brand, how the
brand owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand - and by extension the branded company,
organization, product or service. The brand owner will seek to bridge the gap between the brand
image and the brand identity. Effective brand names build a connection between the brand
personalities as it is perceived by the target audience and the actual product/service. The brand
name should be conceptually on target with the product/service (what the company stands for).
Furthermore, the brand name should be on target with the brand demographic. Typically,
sustainable brand names are easy to remember, transcend trends and have positive connotations.
Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation
from competitors.

14.

What is Brand Extension?

Brand extension is a part of brand management to diversify and leveraging the existing brand by
entering into new product category by new product development. A firm uses an established brand
to introduce a new product, the product is called a brand extension.
Its advantages are:

It helps in enhancing parent brand image.

It helps in avoiding risk of developing new names.

Brand extension poses more risk than line extension. Its major disadvantages are:

Poorly executed extension of brand to new product categories can jeopardize current image
of parent brand.
The image and financial figures of parent brand may be endangered due to the failure of
strategy implementation.
It cannibalizes sales of the parent brand.

Brand Extension
Category Extension = New category with the same brand name
Line Extension = Variants in the same category

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Eg: Harley Davidson bikes later ventured into bike accessories, Maggi in Soups, Noodles, Sauces.
Horlicks Foodles.

15.

Brand Equity

A brand is a name or symbol used to identify the source of a product. When developing a new
product, branding is an important decision. The brand can add significant value when it is well
recognized and has positive associations in the mind of the consumer. This concept is referred to as
brand equity.
There are at least three perspectives from which to view brand equity:
Financial - One way to measure brand equity is to determine the price premium that a brand
commands over a generic product. For example, if consumers are willing to pay $100 more for a
branded television over the same unbranded television, this premium provides important
information about the value of the brand. However, expenses such as promotional costs must be
taken into account when using this method to measure brand equity.
Brand extensions - A successful brand can be used as a platform to launch related products. The
benefits of brand extensions are the leveraging of existing brand awareness thus reducing
advertising expenditures, and a lower risk from the perspective of the consumer. Furthermore,
appropriate brand extensions can enhance the core brand. However, the value of brand extensions
is more difficult to quantify than are direct financial measures of brand equity.
Consumer - based - A strong brand increases the consumer's attitude strength toward the product
associated with the brand. Attitude strength is built by experience with a product. This importance
of actual experience by the customer implies that trial samples are more effective than advertising in
the early stages of building a strong brand. The consumer's awareness and associations lead to
perceived quality, inferred attributes, and eventually, brand loyalty.
Strong brand equity provides the following benefits:

Facilitates a more predictable income stream.

Increases cash flow by increasing market share, reducing promotional costs, and allowing
premium pricing
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Brand equity is an asset that can be sold or leased.

However, brand equity is not always positive in value. Some brands acquire a bad reputation that
results in negative brand equity. Negative brand equity can be measured by surveys in which
consumers indicate that a discount is needed to purchase the brand over a generic product.
Building and Managing Brand Equity
In his 1989 paper, Managing Brand Equity, Peter H. Farquhar outlined the following three stages that
are required in order to build a strong brand:
1. Introduction - introduce a quality product with the strategy of using the brand as a platform
from which to launch future products. A positive evaluation by the consumer is important.
2. Elaboration - make the brand easy to remember and develop repeat usage. There should be
accessible brand attitude, that is, the consumer should easily remember his or her positive
evaluation of the brand.
3. Fortification - the brand should carry a consistent image over time to reinforce its place in
the consumer's mind and develop a special relationship with the consumer. Brand
extensions can further fortify the brand, but only with related products having a perceived
fit in the mind of the consumer.
Alternative Means to Brand Equity
Building brand equity requires a significant effort, and some companies use alternative means of
achieving the benefits of a strong brand. For example, brand equity can be borrowed by extending
the brand name to a line of products in the same product category or even to other categories. In
some cases, especially when there is a perceptual connection between the products, such
extensions are successful. In other cases, the extensions are unsuccessful and can dilute the original
brand equity.
Brand equity also can be "bought" by licensing the use of a strong brand for a new product. As in line
extensions by the same company, the success of brand licensing is not guaranteed and must be
analysed carefully for appropriateness.
Managing Multi Brands
Different companies have opted for different brand strategies for multiple products. These
strategies are:

Single brand identity - a separate brand for each product. For example, in laundry detergents
Procter & Gamble offers uniquely positioned brands such as Tide, Cheer, Bold, etc.
Umbrella branding/ family branding - all products under the same brand. For example, Sony
offers many different product categories under its brand.
Multi-brand categories - Different brands for different product categories. Campbell Soup
Company uses Campbell's for soups, Pepperidge Farm for baked goods, and V8 for juices.
Family of names - Different brands having a common name stem. Nestle uses Nescafe,
Nesquik, and Nestea for beverages.

Brand equity is an important factor in multi-product branding strategies.

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16.

Brand Rituals

Brand ritual is the performance of an act by the consumers as defined by the brand (Owners). These
days brand rituals are a common strategy adopted by marketers. Some rituals become a part of our
behaviour over time. Few examples are as follows:
1. Cadbury Oreo: - Oreos Twist Lick Dunk is a very popular ritual among kids.
2. Close up: - The HA-HA thing which we do by holding our palm in front of our mouth to check
the fresh breath.
3. Pepsi My can: - The way they hold the can in the ads to ask the viewers to do the same.
4. Kitkat: - Push the chocolate out of the paper wrap. Pull your thumb across the lines between
the chocolate bars. Break it. Unwrap and eat.
5. Tequila Shots: - The trademark way of consuming tequila.
6. Bru Cappuccino: - Sip, Lick... Ummm..!! Denoted how to enjoy the cool drink and the coffee
froth.
7. Wrigley's Chiklets: - Shake the box of chewing gums 2 make that chik-chik noise.
8. Ponds Googly Woogly wooksh:- Squeeze both the cheeks of the person who has used
Ponds cold cream
9. Boomer: - the bubble that everyone started making while chewing the gum.
10. Horlicks: - Epang Opang Jhapang. Try and make a chocolate shake with Horlicks by using
their freebie and this technique.
11. Fair & Lovely: - One of the ads showed the viewers to apply the cream on the face and
massage it in the shape of eight.
12. Corona Beer: - Consume the beer with a slice of lemon.
13. Martini : - The James Bond induced ritual of Shaken Not Stirred

17.

Brand Rivalry Examples

1. (Heinz)Complan vs (GSK) Horlicks: Complan has never been an aggressive player compared
to the market leader Horlicks. This explains the reason why such a powerful brand is
languishing in a distant position of 15% market share compared to the 60 % share of
Horlicks. While Horlicks has been breaking new grounds with a series of variants aiming at
the entire family segment, Complan was lying low all these years. The major happening for
this brand in 2008 was the launch of the new flavor Kesari Badam . In the promotional front,
the brand was in a low key mode continuing with the extension of its earlier campaign
focusing on EXTRA growth.
Article: http://www.mouthshut.com/diary/fecjmqtqm/COMPLAN-vs-HORLICKS
Ad: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcbLBJSTtQg
2. (Nestle) Munch vs (Cadbury) Dairy Milk: Fighting with advertisements is not new in the
Indian consumer market. First we saw two cola companies making ads against each other,
then came two hot beverage products doing this and now its the turn for the chocolates Dairy Milk vs Nestle Munch.
Article: http://vettyofficer.blogspot.com/2009/08/dairy-milk-vs-nestle-munch-ad-war.html
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http://themanmeetsabharwalblog.com/?tag=dairy-milk
3. (Coca Cola) Sprite vs (Pepsi) Mountain Dew: Sprite came up with an ad hitting on mountain
dews jingle.
Ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRIwkKF2cm8
4. Pepsi vs Coca Cola: Pepsi's 'Nothing Official About It' campaign in World Cup 96 after Coca
Cola became the official sponsor. One of its effects was the stringent anti-ambush marketing
laws that cricketers had to sign in 2002.For further reference go through the Cola wars
document which will be sent to you.
5. Kotex v/s whisper: Whisper has the highest market share in the product segment & Kotex
attacking the no. 1 brand came up with the ad campaign which showed, don't whisper be
loud. This was to directly attack the Whisper Brand.
6. HUL v/s Eureka Forbes: Eureka Forbes making mockery of the Pureit Mascot, ie the guy in
the yellow raincoat. There is a case filed by HUL regarding the same in the high court.
Other Rivalries include
Sony vs Nintendo
AMD vs INTEL
Huggies vs Pampers
Energizer vs Duracell
Mcdonalds vs Burger King USA
CCD vs barista
Ford vs GM
BMW vs Mercedes Benz

18.

Buyer Decision Process

Research suggests that customers go through a five-stage decision-making process in any purchase.
This is summarized in the diagram below:

This model is important for anyone making marketing decisions. It forces the marketer to consider
the whole buying process rather than just the purchase decision (when it may be too late for a
business to influence the choice).
The model implies that customers pass through all stages in every purchase. However, in more
routine purchases, customers often skip or reverse some of the stages.
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For example, a student buying a favorite hamburger would recognize the need (hunger) and go right
to the purchase decision, skipping information search and evaluation. However, the model is very
useful when it comes to understanding any purchase that requires some thought and deliberation.
The buying process starts with need recognition. At this stage, the buyer recognizes a problem or
need (e.g. I am hungry, we need a new sofa, I have a headache) or responds to a marketing stimulus
(e.g. you pass Starbucks and are attracted by the aroma of coffee and chocolate muffins).
An aroused customer then needs to decide how much information (if any) is required. If the need
is strong and there is a product or service that meets the need close to hand, then a purchase
decision is likely to be made there and then. If not, then the process of information search begins.
A customer can obtain information from several sources:
Personal sources: family, friends, neighbours, etc.
Commercial sources: advertising; salespeople; retailers; dealers; packaging; point-of-sale
displays
Public sources: newspapers, radio, television, consumer organizations; specialist magazines
Experiential sources: handling, examining, using the product
The usefulness and influence of these sources of information will vary by product and by customer.
Research suggests that customers value and respect personal sources more than commercial
sources (the influence of word of mouth). The challenge for the marketing team is to identify
which information sources are most influential in their target markets.
In the evaluation stage, the customer must choose between the alternative brands, products and
services.
How does the customer use the information obtained?
An important determinant of the extent of evaluation is whether the customer feels involved in
the product. By involvement, we mean the degree of perceived relevance and personal importance
that accompanies the choice.
Where a purchase is highly involving, the customer is likely to carry out extensive evaluation. Highinvolvement purchases include those involving high expenditure or personal risk for example
buying a house, a car or making investments.
Low involvement purchases (e.g. buying a soft drink, choosing some breakfast cereals in the
supermarket) have very simple evaluation processes.
Why should a marketer need to understand the customer evaluation process?
The answer lies in the kind of information that the marketing team needs to provide customers in
different buying situations. In high-involvement decisions, the marketer needs to provide a good
deal of information about the positive consequences of buying. The sales force may need to stress
the important attributes of the product, the advantages compared with the competition; and maybe
even encourage trial or sampling of the product in the hope of securing the sale.

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Post-purchase evaluation - Cognitive Dissonance

The final stage is the post-purchase evaluation of the decision. It is common for customers to
experience concerns after making a purchase decision. This arises from a concept that is known as
cognitive dissonance. The customer, having bought a product, may feel that an alternative would
have been preferable. In these circumstances that customer will not repurchase immediately, but is
likely to switch brands next time.
To manage the post-purchase stage, it is the job of the marketing team to persuade the potential
customer that the product will satisfy his or her needs. Then after having made a purchase, the
customer should be encouraged that he or she has made the right decision.

19.

Cause related marketing

Cause marketing or cause-related marketing refers to a type of marketing involving the cooperative
efforts of a "for profit" business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit. The term is
sometimes used more broadly and generally to refer to any type of marketing effort for social and
other charitable causes, including in-house marketing efforts by non-profit organizations. Cause
marketing differs from corporate giving (philanthropy) as the latter generally involves a specific
donation that is tax deductible, while cause marketing is a marketing relationship generally not
based on a donation. The creation of the term "cause-related marketing" is attributed to American
Express, and it was coined to describe efforts to support locally based charitable causes in a way that
also promoted business. The term was then used to describe the marketing campaign led by
American Express.
In 1983 for the Statue of Liberty Restoration project, a penny for each use of the American Express
card, and a dollar for each new card issued was given to the Statue of Liberty renovation program.
Over a four-month period, $2 million was raised for Lady Liberty, transaction activity jumped 28 %
and the concept that doing good was good for business, was born.
Attracting and Retaining Customers: Companies that have engaged in Cause Related Marketing
reports that those efforts help attract and build long- term relationships with customer. For
Example, affinity credit cards, in which a non-profit organization benefits each time a consumer,
uses the card to make a purchase, help credit card companies develop long term relationships with
consumers.

Market Differentiation: For many companies, Cause- Related Marketing has helped them to
create an alternative and distinctive approach to brand advertising. CRM can help
companies distinguish themselves from their peers by offering the consumer the
opportunity to contribute to something more than the companys bottom line. National and
International brands can better identify with their local markets by linking themselves with
community organizations, or with regional or nongovernmental organizations.
Outreach to Niche Markets: Partnering with non-profit organizations can help a company to
connect with specific demographic or geographic markets. For Example, Ford Motor
Company successfully positioned itself among a formerly disengaged target market
Women. In addition to its Substantial financial and in kind donations to Race events, The
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Ford Division of the Ford Motor Company has issued thousands of public service
announcements in an effort to both communicate a critical health message to women and
to enfold them into its brand identity.(Cause Related Marketing A Conceptual Paradigm)
Examples in Indian context:
1. Tata Salt, the pioneers and undisputed leaders in the packaged and iodized Salt Category,
reiterated its commitment to the cause of educating underprivileged children and
announced its Desh Ko Arpan Programme. The Desh Ko Arpan Programme, Tata Chemicals
Limited Contributes 10 paise for every kilo of Tata Salt, sold during specific periods, to the
education of underprivileged children. Child Relief and You (CRY) have been chosen as
partners. The money raised was Rs 33 lakhs in a period of one month.
2. P&Gs Shikha campaign: Every time you choose to buy a large pack of Tide, Ariel, Pantene,
H&S, Rejoice, Vicks VapoRub, Whisper, Gillette Mach 3 Turbo, Gillette series, Oral B, Duracell
or Pampers, P&G promises to contribute are helping thousands of underprivileged children
across India to access their right to education. Minimum contribution from P&G to Shiksha,
irrespective of sales will be Rs. 1 crore. Shiksha enabled the education of 33052 children in
435 communities in 2006.

20.

Customer relationship management

Main aim: customer retention and customer satisfaction

We have to make list of the customers, these serve as the target lists.
Strategy should be:

Save money by not marketing to those who are less likely to respond.
Make money by making relevant offers to those who need, or want or can afford or
products.
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We build relationship with our best customers, resulting in higher loyalty, retention, referral,
spending rate and profits.

It is a process or methodology used to learn more about customers' needs and behaviours in order
to develop stronger relationships with them. CRM helps businesses use technology and human
resources to gain insight into the behaviour of customers and the value of those customers.
According to industry view, CRM consists of:

Helping an enterprise to enable its marketing departments to identify and target their best
customers, manage marketing campaigns and generate quality leads for the sales team.
Assisting the organization to improve telesales, account, and sales management by
optimizing information shared by multiple employees, and streamlining existing processes
(for example, taking orders using mobile devices).
Allowing the formation of individualized relationships with customers, with the aim of
improving customer satisfaction and maximizing profits; identifying the most profitable
customers and providing them the highest level of service.
Providing employees with the information and processes necessary to know their customers
understand and identify customer needs and effectively build relationships between the
company, its customer base, and distribution partners.

21.

Customer relationship Marketing

Customer Relationship Marketing (Basics)

Focuses on retaining existing Customers to create long-term value to the firm

DOES NOT FOCUS on targeting new customers/acquisition of new clients
It costs four-to-six times more to convert a customer than it does to retain one
Directly linked to enhancing the levels of Customer Satisfaction
It can be applied when there are competitive product alternatives for customers to choose
from and also when there is an on-going & periodic desire for the product or service.

Primary Objectives:

Reduce Customer Turn-over/ Increase Customer Retention

Increase Customer Loyalty
Increase Customer Satisfaction
Increasing switching barriers (especially when there are many competitors offering similar
products/services)

It relies upon the communication and acquisition of consumer requirements solely from existing
customers in a mutually beneficial exchange so as to create value.
It is empirically proven that a 5% improvement in customer retention can cause an increase in
profitability of between 25% and 85%.

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One of the advantages of retaining customers is that these long-term customers may initiate free
word of mouth promotions and referrals, which is one of the most cost- effective campaigns that a
product can get.
Customers that stay with you tend to be satisfied with the relationship and are less likely to switch to
competitors, making it difficult for competitors to enter the market or gain market share.
Customer retention efforts involve considerations such as the following:
1. Customer valuation - describes how to value customers and categorize them according to
their financial and strategic value so that companies can decide where to invest for deeper
relationships and which relationships need to be served differently or even terminated.
2. Customer retention measurement - This is simply the percentage of customers at the
beginning of the year that are still customers by the end of the year. In accordance with this
statistic, an increase in retention rate from 80% to 90% is associated with a doubling of the
average life of a customer relationship from 5 to 10 years. This ratio can be used to make
comparisons between products, between market segments, and over time.
3. Determine reasons for defection - Look for the root causes, not mere symptoms. This
involves probing for details when talking to former customers. Other techniques include the
analysis of customers' complaints and competitive benchmarking.
4. Develop and implement a corrective plan - This could involve actions to improve employee
practices, using benchmarking to determine best corrective practices, visible endorsement
of top management, adjustments to the company's reward and recognition systems, and the
use of "recovery teams" to eliminate the causes of defections

22.

Differentiation

The market is flooded with similar products and offerings which has created a huge clutter of brands
and products. It is essential for a marketer to be able to differentiate his product to break through
the clutter. Differentiation based on product features has become a difficult task with competitors
taking no time in copying /adopting that feature. Differentiations based on incremental product
improvements /features have become difficult to develop and sustain in the market.
Methods of differentiation:
1. Invest in R&D
India is an R&D and product development hub for most of the MNCs but seldom Indian
marketers were able to create breakthrough products for the Indian market. Tata Nano has
shown the world what Indian minds can do when inspired. The market is moving in a
direction where only those brands will succeed who can innovate.
2. Protect the Differentiation
An important determinant of a successful differentiation is the brands ability to protect the
differentiation. Smart brands use ingredient branding to protect their key differentiators.
Ingredient branding is where a particular product feature or an ingredient is branded by the
company. There are two kinds of ingredient brands.
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a. Where the ingredient is owned by another company. Intel is a pioneer in ingredient

branding. Intel has built ingredient brands like Pentium, Celeron and Atom etc.
b. Where the feature/ingredient is owned by the company itself. Bajaj has a powerful
ingredient brand DTSI (which is also a patented technology) which it now uses for all of
its two wheeler brands.
3. Connect to a Relevant Need
Creating a sustainable differentiation is possible only when brands become customer
focused. When products become standardized, it is important for marketers to create
differentiation focusing on consumer needs.
Brand laddering is a strategy that can be used by marketers to create differentiation on a
need rather than on a product feature (attribute to value). Raymond is a brand that has
created a space for itself by effectively laddering up to a customer need (Complete Man).
The benefit of such a strategy is that competitors will find it difficult to copy the
differentiation since it is based on an intangible attribute. The brand has created a unique
powerful image which is sustainable over time.
4. Long Term Vision through Brand Charter
It is important for marketers to create a brand charter which will spell out the long term
vision for the brands, its differentiation and positioning platforms, guidelines and strategies.
Such a brand charter will guide the future brand managers to create tactics which are in line
with the overall brand vision. If a brand chose to create intangible differentiation
opportunities, there has to be a consistency in the brands positioning and differentiation
strategies. Brand Charter will help bring consistency which will in turn facilitate create a
sustainable differentiation.
Types of Differentiation:
Personnel Differentiation: By using better trained employees. Singapore airlines are well
regarded because of its flight attendants.
Channel Differentiation: By efficiently and effectively designing distribution channels
coverage, expertise and performance. Eureka Forbes water purifiers and vacuum cleaners
gained popularity due to their differentiated positioning through their direct to home
channel. Examples: The Himalaya drug company differentiates itself by using ayurvedic
ingredients.
Product Positioning: In marketing, positioning has come to mean the process by which
marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its
product, brand, or organization. It is the 'relative competitive comparison' their product
occupies in a given market as perceived by the target market. Positioning means
determining and communicating the central benefit of the product in the minds of target
buyers. For example, a car manufacturer might target buyers for whom safety is a major
concern. The company "positions" its cars as the safest vehicles that customers can buy.
Positioning starts with a product. A piece of merchandise, a service, a company, an
institution, or even a person. But positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is
what you do to the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the
prospect. Brands usually position themselves using certain parameters. These parameters
highlight the most relevant features of its product and the image, the brands wishes to
portray to its consumers.
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How to write a positioning statement:For [target end user]

Who wants/needs [compelling reason to buy]
The [product name] is a [product category]
That provides [key benefit].
Unlike [main competitor],
The [product name] [key differentiation]
Product differentiation: Differentiation is the act of distinguishing your company's offering
from competitors' offerings in ways that are meaningful to consumers. You can differentiate
products physically or through the services your company provides in support of the
product. In business terms, to differentiate means to create a benefit that customers
perceive as being of greater value to them than what they can get elsewhere. It's not
enough for you to be different--a potential customer has to take note of the difference and
must feel that the difference somehow fits their need better. (Other words that mean
virtually the same thing: Competitive Advantage; Unique Selling Proposition; or Value
Proposition.)
Products' physical distinctions include:

formsize, shape, physical structure; for example, aspirin coating and dosage
featuressuch as a word processing software's new text-editing tool
performance qualitythe level at which the product's primary characteristics function
conformance qualitythe degree to which all the units of the product perform equally
durabilitythe product's expected operating life under natural or stressful conditions
reliabilitythe probability that the product won't malfunction or fail
reparabilitythe ease with which the product can be fixed if it malfunctions
stylethe product's look and feel
designthe way all the above qualities work together; (it's easy to use, looks nice, and
lasts a long time)

Products' service distinctions include:

ordering easehow easy it is for customers to buy the product

deliveryhow quickly and accurately the product is delivered
installationhow well the work is done to make the product useable in its
intended location
customer trainingwhether your company offers to train customers in using the product
customer consultingwhether your company offers advising or research
services to buyers of the product
maintenance and repairhow well your company helps customers keep the
product in good working order

Keys to Successful Differentiation:

Know your customers, really, really well.
Pick a blend of differentiation methods that, in the eyes of your customers, truly sets you
apart.
Talk about your differentiation in terms of customer benefits.
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 Tell everyone about what differentiates you--often.

Keep your differentiation fresh by listening for changing customer needs.

23.

Digital Marketing /Online Marketing

Digital Marketing is the practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution
channels to reach consumers in a personal and cost-effective manner. Media include: Internet
Banner Ad: An advertisement that appears on a Web page, most commonly at the top
(header) or bottom (footer) of the page. Designed to have the user click on it for more
information.
Blog: blog is a user-generated Web site where entries are made in journal style and
displayed in a reverse chronological order
Brand and consumer interaction through social web and brands own website
Microsite: A mini Web site design to promote a specific portion or brand from a larger
corporate site. Used often with contests or as a landing page for a specific promotion.
RSS or Real Simple Syndication is technology designed to allow users to subscribe to a
specific content feed and be automatically alerted when new updates are available.
Personalised E-mails to subscribers of companys newsletters etc/ potential customers
SMS (Short Message Service) is a one-way text message sent via a cell phone.
MMS
ADVANTAGES
Multi-Channel Communications: For example, if a company is trying to promote a new
product release, an email could be sent to a list of potential customers with a special offer
for those that also include their cell phone number. A couple of days later, a follow up
campaign would be sent via text message (SMS) with the special offer.
Also an email campaign can include a banner ad or link to a content download SERVING as
brand reinforcement.
Can be personalized -- messages received can be highly targeted and specific to selected
criteria like a special offer for females, 21 years old or over and living in California.
Detailed tracking and reporting marketers can see not only how many people saw their
message but also specific information about each user such as their name as well as
demographic and psychographic data.
Global audience and interactive nature of the media
Different content by choice: A typical example for different content by choice in geo
targeting is the FedEx website at FedEx.com where users have the choice to select their
country location first and are then presented with a different site or article content
depending on their selection. This is called geo-targeting.
High Return on Investment (ROI) possible if executed the right way, push messaging can
help drive new revenue as well.
Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively.
Nearly all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced, measured, and tested.
The advertisers can use a variety of methods: pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play,
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or pay per action. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are
more appealing to the audience.
DISADVANTAGES
Consumers can easily connect with one another, often using multimedia sites such as
YouTube and Flickr, so they themselves can satisfy their need for information about
products. Whats more, consumers may trust information obtained in this way much more
than they do information from your company
From the buyer's perspective, the inability of shoppers to touch, smell, taste or "try on"
tangible goods before making an online purchase can be limiting.
Many consumers are hesitant to purchase items over the Internet because they do not trust
that their personal information will remain private. Encryption is the primary method for
implementing privacy policies. Customers are unaware if and when their information is
being shared, and are unable to stop the transfer of their information between companies if
such activity occurs.
Effects on industries
Music Industry- By 2008 Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store has become the largest music vendor in the United
States Internet marketing is now overtaking radio marketing in terms of market share e-commerce
this is where goods are sold directly to consumers (B2C) or businesses (B2B). Of those individuals
who use the Internet, 44 percent now perform banking activities over the Internet in the US.
Internet Auctions have become popular- eBay is often used as a price-basis for specialized items.

24.

Experiential Marketing

Definition: Experiential marketing gives customers an opportunity to engage and interact with
brands, products, and services in sensory ways that provides exact and precise information. Personal
experiences help people connect to a brand and make intelligent and informed purchasing decisions.
It's the difference between telling people about features of a product or service and letting them
experience the benefits for themselves.
Examples:
1) Hyundai Drive-In California event:
The event was organized to get a real feel of driving a Hyundai Car. They gave customers a
trial ride of Hyundai car on a special track made of obstacles. They were asked about the
pick-up, speed, control, handling and breaking comfortability, along with interiors of the car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHVjPydAiKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PWWghyHpCQ&feature=related
2) Nokia 5800 Xpress Music Activation Launch
They had their associates helping the customers in activating the service and giving a demo
on how to use it. It was totally new to the market and the customers had no idea about it.
They opened several music outlets and gave the customers a real feel of Xpress Music in
Nokia Phones. They also had Nokia handsets to experiment with. This allowed customers to
actually analyse the quality of music and other handset features.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BN4n3Qihac&feature=related
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3) Coca Cola New Grip Bottle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs8YyYAXf2A&feature=player_embedded
4) RC&M: GRAMEENO KE BEECH:
A multi-village fair with participation from various corporate under one roof, where
customer can actually feel the experience of product by using it. Products varying from
refrigerator to motor bikes.
http://www.rcmindia.com/case_GKB.html
5) T- Mobil Angry Birds Campaign
A real time simulation of the game Angry Birds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzIBZQkj6SY

25.

Green Marketing

The marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Refers to the process of
selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service
may be environmentally friendly or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
Incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production
process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising.
Also called Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing
Examples
Under Philips light Marathon they launched a CFL bulb as "Marathon," underscoring its new
"super long life" positioning and promise of saving $26 in energy costs over its five-year
lifetime.
HPs promise to cut its global energy use 20% by the year 2010. The Hewlett-Packard
Company announced plans to deliver energy-efficient products and services and institute
energy-efficient operating practices in its facilities world-wide.
Indica EV- an electric car from Tata Motors which runs on polymer lithium ion batteries
For green marketing to be effective, you have to do three things; be genuine, educate your
customers, and give them the opportunity to participate.
1. Being genuine means that
a. You are actually doing what you claim to be doing in your green marketing campaign
and that the rest of your business policies are consistent with whatever you are
doing that's environmentally friendly. Both these conditions have to be met for your
business to establish the kind of environmental credentials that will allow a green
marketing campaign to succeed.
2. Educating your customers isn't just a matter of letting people know you're doing whatever
you're doing to protect the environment, but also a matter of letting them know why it
matters. Otherwise, for a significant portion of your target market, it's a case of "So what?"
and your green marketing campaign goes nowhere.
3. Giving your customers an opportunity to participate means personalizing the benefits of
your environmentally friendly actions, normally through letting the customer take part in
positive environmental action.
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Examples:
1. Online Shopping: Marketed by the Proposition of saving fuel and reducing pollution.
2. Ban of Plastic Bags to wrap customer purchases.
3. Toshiba Laptops: Concept of Eco utility (Built in power mode to reduce power consumption),
and the recycling scheme after your computer hardware gets old.
4. CFLs
5. Car sharing services
6. Introduction of CNG in Delhi
7. New Mantra of corporate: Companies like HP emphasize on saving energy by going green.
8. Videocon: look for the new campaigns
9. Automobile industry: Example is hybrid cars launched by Civic (in India)
10. Tetra pack of millk

26.

Guerilla Marketing.

Major reasons why guerilla marketing draws analogy from the guerilla warfare are it is associated
with
a. Counters the traditional large spends on marketing through unconventional method which is
effective yet involves much lesser spends.
b. They are unexpected and unconventional where customers are targeted at unexpected
places.
c. It should be based on human psychology instead of experience, judgment, and guesswork
Guerrilla Marketing: The concept of guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions
that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla
marketing campaigns are unexpected and unconventional; potentially interactive; and consumers
are targeted in unexpected places. The objective of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique,
engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz. The term was coined and defined by Jay
Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing involves unusual approaches such as intercept encounters in public places,
street giveaways of products, PR stunts, any unconventional marketing intended to get maximum
results from minimal resources.
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Principles of Guerilla Marketing

Levinson identifies the following principles as the foundation of guerrilla marketing:

Guerrilla marketing is specifically geared for the small business and entrepreneur.
It should be based on human psychology instead of experience, judgment, and guesswork.
Instead of money, the primary investments of marketing should be time, energy, and
imagination.
The primary statistic to measure your business is the amount of profits, not sales.
The marketer should also concentrate on how many new relationships are made each
month.
Create a standard of excellence with an acute focus instead of trying to diversify by offering
too many diverse products and services.
Instead of concentrating on getting new customers, aim for more referrals, more
transactions with existing customers, and larger transactions.
Forget about the competition and concentrate more on cooperating with other businesses.
Guerrilla Marketers should always use a combination of marketing methods for a campaign.
Use current technology as a tool to empower your business.

Examples
1) Nike
Impact on Psychology
Nike passed these
cards out to runners
so they can alert their
friends and family that
they have "gone
running". Its a nice
Example of guerrilla
marketing work.

2) Migros

An M Better
Migros is the largest supermarket chain in
Switzerland and the largest employer in that
country. The orange M of that brand is quite
well known there and earlier this year the M
showed up on various town and city signs,
covering the M in those signs. A guerrilla
marketing activity that goes along well with
their campaign or in English "An M better.
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3) McDonalds
More coffee please
Everyone loves free coffee, but that only
works when people find out about it. Along
those lines, this coffee pot lamp post
promoting FREE McDonalds coffee at the
intersection of 6th Ave and Cambie Street in
Vancouver is tough to overlook. The
promotion is only 2 weeks long, but the
memories of this ambient marketing effort
will last quite a bit longer.

4) The Malboro man

The MALBORO MAN

We all know what Marlboro's are, but why?
We need to pay tribute to one of the earliest
and most successful guerilla marketing
campaigns in Americas advertising history.
Marlboro cigarettes had high status as a real
American brand. This high status came from
the introduction of "The Marlboro Man" in
1955 by Leo Burnett Co. Before the rough
cowboy image was introduced, Marlboro
brand was ranked 31st but once this great
marketing tactic went national they reached
the number one cigarette brand in America.

5) artforransom.org

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With many non-profits struggling during these economic times, a group in Denver wanted to put a
spotlight on the arts. To make people aware that public art and all art in the city comes at a cost;
public art pieces across Denver were covered with black plastic and wrapped with yellow caution
tape. The URL of artforransom.org was also featured prominently, and on that site people can pay
ransom notes and learn more on how they can get involved. A very clever guerrilla marketing
implementation.
For More Examples:
http://koikoikoi.com/2009/04/guerrilla-marketing-collection1/
http://blog.guerrillacomm.com
OTHER NOTABLE EXAMPLES
German World Wide Fund

EMIRATES

PAPA JONES

UNICEF CAMPAIGN

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Principles:
Unconventional system of promotion, doesnt rely on high marketing budget
Campaigns are unexpected and unconventional, relying on time, energy and provoking
thought
Interactive campaigns at unexpected places and unexpected time
Approaches:
Intercept encounters in public places
Street giveaways of products
PR stunts
Cutting edge mobile digital technologies
Guerrilla marketing was initially used by small and medium size (SMEs) businesses, but it is now
increasingly adopted by large businesses

27.

Image & Emotional Marketing

Rational only generates interest in the product the ultimate driver is emotion
The practice of emotional marketing is all about getting your target audience to connect with your
product, service, and brand at a very basic and fundamental level - the level of emotions. Emotions
drive our behaviour; the world is driven by emotions. Rational thought leads customers to be
interested but it is emotion that sells. People really aren't much interested in attributes; they want
to know if they can have a product that suits their personality. It is all about values. Emotional
marketing is better in many instances than rational marketing that focuses on product attributes.
Emotional marketing appeals include personal and social needs, such as: security, comfort,
happiness, acceptance, self-esteem, and status, achievement, saving money, or making money.
These are basic underlying feelings that drive our decisions and buying behaviour. It may be a need
for financial security, which is associated with an image of a safe investments and insurance, or it
could be a desire for status and achievement, reinforced by the mental picture of luxury possessions.
Your marketing can target positive emotions through the use of unusual words, word rhythms and
rhymes, colours or shapes, pictures, numbers, or symbols, which reveal the associated feelings of a
previous experience, like the pleasant smell of food cooking, or a day at the beach. Appealing to an
underlying desire that triggers an automatic memory image can cause an emotional response that
reinforces logical thoughts, which converge and lead to a buying decision.
Rather than using ads with dull corporate speak, unfamiliar industry jargon, or selling how good you
are, try tapping into the direct process of brain patterns and emotional images with sharp, specific,
and relevant details that can sway the buying choices of your potential customers.
Nike succeeds because its core belief - its brand promise, its love of the potential for the athlete
inside everyone lives inside the people in Beaverton. When that love is manifested in their gear,
consumers manifest it in their own lives." The result is not only an emotional connection but an
individual one.

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Having a one-to-one relationship in today's marketplace is essential for market dominance. Other
examples can be seen with other top brands such as Starbucks, Porsche, and so on. These products
and services make an emotional connection with the people they serve.
The Starbucks Example
Starbucks is one of the strongest global brands around without following the marketing text book.
Its complicated logo is not memorable, and most people will not be able to recreate it if you ask
them to. They will describe it as something green roundish with a person or something in the
middle. The slogan is not memorable either, and before you rack your brains, Starbucks doesnt have
one. The packaging and collateral are nothing special and I challenge you to find an advertisement in
any magazine. Starbucks does advertise, but uses emails as the preferred medium.
So what is the success factor of the Starbucks brand? The emotional experience of its consumers
they feel sophisticated and part of what many brand experts refer to as a "coffee house"
community. For the Starbucks community, coffee is not just a beverage, but it is a ritual, a habit, a
treat, and a satisfying reward all rolled in one. Thats the reason why Starbucks cup sizes are
"grande" and "venti," not medium or large. Each cup of coffee is also freshly made by a "barista" at a
separate counter and never behind a wall or out of sight from the customer. The Starbucks store has
tables and chairs for congregating or reading and working, and many have plush sofas and
armchairs. Many Starbucks also have Internet connection for their customers convenience.
A few marketing techniques work well in emotional marketing:
Word of mouth - people trust other people that tell them your product works or if it is the
best.
Forums - this is basically electronic word of mouth.
Trials - if you have concrete results, and the people who participated in the trials are
satisfied, you have proof that your product works, which appeals to people's sceptical side.
Testimonials - again, people trust other people. If people are willing to take the time to give
a testimonial, others will know you have a great product.
Emotional Marketing may also include Sensory-emotional marketing.
Some examples - Singapore Airlines and Starbucks
*Singapore Airlines+ not only employs the more common consistent visual themes one might
expect from an airline, but incorporates the same scent, Stefan Floridian Waters, in the perfume
worn by flight attendants, in their hot towels, and other elements of their service. Consumers then
link the airline to the scent and, should they be smell Stefan Floridian Waters again, will be reminded
of the airline and the pleasant emotions it brought them. Starbucks also uses a scent, the smell of
freshly ground coffee beans, in its business. In a separate article by Roger Dooley, he reports that,
The most startling change is that the firm will go back to grinding coffee in its stores for the sole
purpose of improving the coffee aroma. Presumably, its cheaper to ship the coffee pre-ground in
sealed packages, but Starbucks management apparently feels that any productivity loss at the stores
will be offset by improved customer loyalty and higher sales.

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28.

Line Extension

Line Extension: A product line extension is the use of an established products brand name for a new
item in the same product category. Line extensions happen when the brand launches the new
product in the same category targeting a new segment through new forms, colors, added
ingredients, package sizes etc. Product Extensions help in the growth stage of PLC.
Examples:

Surf, Surf Excel, Surf Excel Blue

Coke, Diet Coke, Vanilla Coke
Clinic All Clear, Clinic Plus
Colgate going onto colgate fresh, colgate total, colgate cibaca

A line can comprise related products of various sizes, types, colors, qualities, or prices. Line depth
refers to the number of product variants in a line. Line consistency refers to how closely relate the
products that make up the line are. Line vulnerability refers to the percentage of sales or profits that
are derived from only a few products in the line.
When you add a line extension that is of better quality than the other products in the line, this is
referred to as trading up or brand leveraging.
A Word of Caution - Although we might tend to think that Line Extension leads to more sales due
because of more products and the company is anyways leveraging the brand equity that it has
created. But it can sometime lead to drop in sales too, because it creates confusion in the minds of
the consumer as to what the brand means. On example of that is 7Up. It became popular as a Lemon
Uncola but in 1978 introduced many flavours such as 7Up Gold and Cherry 7Up and various diet
versions too. As a result its sales dropped from 5.7% of the soda beverage market to 4.2%.
Line extension is to offer a new product under the same brand name, in the same product category.
The parent brand covers a new product within a product category it currently serves, such as with
new flavours, forms, colours and ingredients.
Its advantages are:
It helps in strengthening the brand power and keeps the brand live, modern and
contemporary.
It helps in satisfying the changing desires of customers that is variety-seeking.
It reduces risk associated with new product introduction in customers and distributors.
It provides a convenient route for infusing new values into an ongoing brand and gaining
presence in new market.
It decreases the cost of gaining distribution and trial.
It increase efficiency of promotional expenditures and allow for packaging and labeling
efficiencies.
Its disadvantages are:
In case of failure it would affect the product itself and slight connections with the brand
image.
Chances of eating up the market share of the original product (cannibalization).
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29.

Marketing Myopia

Marketing Myopia is the lack of vision on the part of companies, particularly in failing to spot
customers desires through excessive product focus.
Marketing Myopia is the failure to define an organization's purpose in terms of its function from the
consumers' point of view. For example, railway companies that define their markets in terms of
trains, rather than transportation, fail to recognize the challenge of competition from cars, airlines,
and buses. It is therefore necessary to define the needs of the consumer in more general terms
rather than product-specific terms.
Marketing Myopia is the short sighted look of the managers in wrongly identifying the category and
goals of the company, not looking at the whole industry of the product neglecting the fields of
opportunities in their area of industry, not listening to the customer's real needs.
Marketing Myopia is a short sighted and inward looking approach to marketing that focuses on the
needs of the firm instead of defining the firm and its products in terms of the customers' needs and
wants. Such self-centred firms fail to see and adjust to the rapid changes in their markets and,
despite their previous eminence, falter, fall, and disappear. This concept was discussed in an article
(titled 'Marketing Myopia,' in July-August 1960 issue of Harvard Business Review) by Harvard
Business School emeritus professor of marketing, Theodore C. Levitt (1925-), who suggests that firms
get trapped in this bind because they omit to ask the vital question, "What business are we in?"
Example:
The expulsion of Jaswant Singh from the BJP points to the party falling prey to what's termed
'Marketing Myopia'. With Jaswant, one of the only symbols of urban sophistication in an otherwise
rustic party, gone, the BJP has lost its last hope at connecting with a rapidly changing voter
demographic in India.
Liberalised urban India seeks sophistication in their lifestyle. A party saddled with symbols, real
(read, the people) and contrived (read, the brand) that seem like they are a throwback to yore, will
find it increasingly difficult to connect with voters who want move forward and leave behind cultural
hangovers of the past. Of course, the party bets it will connect with 'less sophisticated' masses who
identify with what's rural and rustic. But tell you what; even the 'less sophisticated' crave urban
sophistication. And the mass media has presented to them on a platter, a lifestyle that they may not
for the moment enjoy, but surely crave. After all, who amongst the citizenry looks to staying still?
Staying stuck to relics of the past and the soon to be obsolete present?
Its the 'moving on' masses the BJP will miss if it holds on to what it calls ideology. The inability to see
the future and design offerings that will be relevant in that future to come, is what's termed,
Marketing Myopia. And not knowing that isn't ideology that matters, and that its about what the
voter wants, is a learning that's imperative. Its a learning of what businesses know keeps them alive
and kicking.
Case Study: Ambassador as an example of Marketing Myopia
The fall of Ambassador from a leadership position to a marginal player is a classic case of marketing
myopia. For four decades, the brand has been taking its customers for granted. There are many
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reasons that can be attributed to this brand's failure. The fundamental issue was with the product
and price.
If we look at the product, Ambassador never changed with times. The brand made many cosmetic
changes from 1958-2000 and three upgrades was made which was named as Mark II, Mark III and
Mark IV. There was no significant value addition between these upgrades. The look and the built
quality remained the same. A major change happened when the brand introduced a 1800 Isuzu
engine. The Amby with Isuzu again lifted the sales of the brand. But the euphoria was short lived.
The apathy of HM to offer product changes in tune with the times made the brand stale. Second
factor that failed Amby was the price. HM never bothered to rationalize the price of the brand. Even
now Ambassador costs more than Rs 4,80,000. At that price one could afford a more luxurious
Indigo sedan.
According to reports, the HM plant had achieved full depreciation in 2000. But the company did not
thought of passing on the reduced cost to the consumer. Had the company rationalised the price of
Amby in 2000, the brand could have survived the competition.
The nail in the coffin came with the launch of Indica. Indica took away the taxi car market from
Ambassador. Again the diesel loving individual consumers had a better affordable modern car as
compared to the ageing Ambassador.
In order to lift the sagging sales of the brand, HM launched a radically designed Ambassador variant
Avigo in 2004. Although the styling was radical, the customer response was lukewarm.
Indian consumer is now spoilt with choices. The competition is immense and the quality of cars has
also gone up. Consumers now have new set of purchase considerations like quality, brand,
drivability, luxury, cost of maintenance etc.
In the value proposition domain, Ambassador is never in the radar of the consumers. The narrowing
price difference between petrol and diesel also eroded the value in investing in an old dated
Ambassador.
The company also has never invested in the brand. Without investing in either brand or product, HM
had sealed the fate of this brand.

30.

Non-Conventional Advertising mediums

Non-traditional advertising is a form of advertising that is atypical. Non-traditional advertising can

encompass alternative media and outdoor media. New emerging methods of advertising, the use of
mediums that break from traditional advertising models. More traditional companies find it difficult
to embrace non-traditional advertising, but are slowly becoming more aware and open-minded that
it is a way of reaching consumers with a greater impact. There are two parts of such advertisements;
the virtual world of engagement and the Physical world of engagement.
Online Advertising
Display Ads or banner ads are small, rectangular boxes containing text and perhaps a picture that
companies pay to place on relevant Web sites. Traditional these banners were placed on top of the
web site or on the side panels, however now Youtube videos also have such ads below the video.
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Interstitials: advertisements often with a video or animation, that pops up between changes on a
Website. Ads for Johnsons & Johnsonss Tylenol headache reliever would appear on brokers web
sites.
Sponsorships: Companies get their name of the web site by sponsoring certain content on the site.
Online Communities: many companies sponsor online communities whose members communicate
through postings, instant messaging and chat discussions about special interests to the companys
brands and products. GlaxoSmithKline when launched their first weight-loss drug Alli, they
sponsored a weight-loss online community.
Social Media: Companies use social networking websites as a platform for advertising too. They
project display ads to focus on their target audience using information given by users on the
website.
Examples: facebook, orkut, myspace, friendster.
Mobile Marketing: Every 2 minute mobile episode of Foxs show Prison Break starts with a 10
second message that show cases Toyotas new subcompact sedan Yaris.
Place advertising:
Or out of home advertising, is a broad category including many creative and unexpected forms to
grab customers attention. The rationale is that markers are better off reaching people where they
work, play and of course shop.
Billboards have been transformed and now use colourful digitally produced graphics, backlighting,
sounds movement and usual 3 dimensional images.
Example: the Nokia N97 Live online Billboard ad, which displays the N97 screen with scrolling text.
Product placement in movie: Movie Viruddh, where Amitabh Bachchan and John Abraham
discuss the benefits of Westerm Union. Movie Taal where coke products are displayed during a
song.
Product Sampling: Giving free samples of the product at malls or through other means.
Contextual Advertising: Contextual advertising is a form of targeted advertising for
advertisements appearing on websites or other media, such as content displayed in mobile
browsers. The advertisements themselves are selected and served by automated systems based on
the content displayed to the user.
Wrapped Vehicles can include public transportation buses, trucks, shuttles, vans, automobiles, etc.
This high-impact format reaches both pedestrian and vehicular traffic and provides market
penetration by traveling throughout the target region. Entirely covered by full-colour advertising
design, which is specifically for the vehicle. The customized overall design of this format provides
eye-catching attention, promotional value and makes a statement about the advertiser. Example:
Santro Xing

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Guerilla marketing efforts such as street teams are a form of non-traditional advertising. It is a way
of getting the viewers attention without them expecting it. This kind of advertising uses a surprise
effect to tantalize the viewer when they are in a situation where they would not typically find media.
Examples: The 7up Street teams offering free samples during peak hour traffic
Ad for Mr. Clean

McDonalds

Nivea

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Kit-Kat

3M filled a container with money and let it at a bus stop. The glass is a special "Security Glass" that is
touted as "unbreakable".

Another new trend is elevator advertising. High resolution ads are placed on a screen in bustling
high-rise condos or office buildings. The average number of riders per day is at least 500, which
translates to approximately 90,000 views in a six month period.
The Tokyo Ubiquitous Network Project currently has the technology, to send shoppers personalized
advertising messages on their cell phones, as they stroll by a store.
Another recent phenomenon is to create brand awareness by solving community problems. Two
great examples of this are:
Aircel stuck an empty raft on a billboard near the Milan Subway in Mumbai (which is
notorious for flooding during the monsoons). The copy simply said, In case of emergency,
cut rope. Sure enough, on July 13, Mumbai was flooded and so was Milan Subway. People in
and around the area promptly removed the raft and used it to get around. This functional
innovation was the talk of the town and got wide coverage in local media. Apart from the
goodwill it generated among consumers (some of whom were referring to it as the Aircel
boat), the buzz that it generated in unpaid media was huge.

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 The worlds first solar powered billboard was introduced in Africa by Nedbank. It harnesses
the solar energy of the sun into a much needed necessity: electricity. It currently powers the
kitchens of a township primary school, and will, in time, completely generate the schools
required power needs.

31.

PLC and Strategies at Each Stage

THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The PLC is a model that illustrates the different stages (six in total) that a product or service will pass
through. Each stage has its own attributes and will vary in length (time) with different products and
services. The time that it takes for your product/service to move through the PLC will largely be
determined by how effective your marketing plan is. It should therefore be stressed that the PLC is a
marketing tool to assist you when compiling a marketing plan. After a period of development it is
introduced or launched into the market; it gains more and more customers as it grows; eventually
the market stabilises and the product becomes mature; then after a period of time the product is
overtaken by development and the introduction of superior competitors, it goes into decline and is
eventually withdrawn.

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Below is a diagram of the Product Life Cycle:

Stage 1: Development
As soon as you put pen to paper, this is where the PLC of the product/service begins. This is the time
where you will design and develop your product/service with all the direct costs that may be
incurred such as wages, materials for prototypes, research, etc.

During development, a product/service may never move onto the next stage because you may
decide that the risk is too high to launch the product/service. It is important that you recognize any
risk during this time as small businesses will be affected if the product/service does not prove to be
successful once introduced: the costs of development and introduction may never be recovered
where larger companies can usually compensate for unsuccessful products.
Within this stage, the product has not yet been introduced to the market and consequently there
are no sales. The expenditure of development has also created a loss.
Stage 2: Introduction
It is arguable that this stage can influence the length of the PLC and so the product/service should be
introduced in the market as effectively as possible. This is the time when the product/service is new
in the market and a high degree of marketing will be needed such as promotions and advertising to
increase commercial awareness.
Sales will be slow during the introduction stage and so you should not become impatient and spend
more money than necessary to try to increase the speed of sales: it will take time for people to use
and trust your product/service.
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As you begin to make sales, the money used for developing and introducing the product/service may
not be fully recovered (i.e. break-even) until late in the introduction stage. Once you begin to make
profit, you may decide to re-invest the money back into promoting the product/service in an
attempt to stimulate future sales (and profit).
Stage 3: Growth
Once your product/service has become established in the market, you can expect the number of
sales to increase rapidly and marketing expenditure may now be used for brand building. This is the
stage where you will benefit from high profits but this is also the stage where your profits will peak.
Services over products will generally have far longer periods of growth (usually years) where
products, particularly those that are new, will soon attract the attention of competitors.
Once competitors join the bandwagon, the sales will gradually slow down and force you into
marketing new prices: consequently resulting in fewer profits. If you have released your own version
of an existing product (making you the competitor), then the growth stage may be short depending
on how long the existing product has been available in the market.
Stage 4: Maturity
The stage of maturity begins when the product/service sales peak and become stable mainly due to
the introduction of competitors during the end of the growth stage (influencing the move into the
maturity stage).
As pricing becomes more competitive (resulting in even less profits), many businesses, commonly
the smaller businesses, cannot compete and consequently withdraw their product/service from the
market.
Maturity does not only result from increased competition, but also by new alternative
products/services in the market becoming more popular. Quite often, services in particular are
withdrawn because they are no longer needed, unfavourable or out of fashion.
Stage 5: Saturation
The saturation stage is sometimes overlooked in many PLC models but is seen as the first sign of
product/service decline. At this point, the product/service has no future for profits because there
are too many competitors or the product/service is no longer popular.
Stage 6: Decline
The product/service moves into the decline stage when sales start to drop continuously and will be a
result of the issues that moved the product through maturity and saturation (competition, low
demand, unfashionable, etc).The time taken to reach this stage of the PLC will differ with different
products/services: for an extreme example, Kellogg's still have a range of cereals that are as popular
today as when they were first released in the early 1900s. Also note; Kelloggs may have the number
one cereal, but they have to spend a lot of money advertising that fact: there being nothing new or
exciting about plain old cornflakes makes this a great example of brand marketing.
In the small business world, when your products/services move into decline, it is a good idea to
either improve your product or remove it completely to avoid damaging your image.

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Extending the PLC: Extension Strategies

The most profitable period of the PLC is during the later stages of growth (stage 3) and maturity
(stage 4). This is the reason why many businesses try to delay the product/service from reaching the
decline stages for as long as possible. This is done by introducing PLC extension strategies during the
maturity stage.
Although you may have your own ideas, the more common strategies include:
A move into new markets e.g. supermarkets selling clothing
Introducing accessories to the product or new additions to the service e.g. introducing
financial management advice in accountancy book keeping services
Changing the design and functionality of the existing product e.g. the packaging design,
colour range, mobile phones used for Internet access. The best example of the same is
Gillette. Gillette keeps changing the product line periodically and this keeps rejuvenating the
market space with line extensions.
The Problems of PLC Models
Not all products/services go through every stage of the PLC and it is common to go straight from the
introduction stage to decline: this may be seen as a result of poor marketing. It is often hard to tell
which stage the product/service is in and consequently marketing actions could be taken, as said
before, too early or too late. It is then fair to say that the model can only be used to help identify the
symptoms of each stage. Every product/service will spend different lengths of time in each stage and
there is no physical way of showing this on the PLC model. However, the better your financial
control, the more you will be able to track individual products/services.
Summary
The PLC model is only part of the marketing mix and is used to determine the different stages that a
product or service can be expected to go through. By using the model as guidance, effective and
timely marketing will take the product/service through each stage and can be planned in advance
(the marketing plan. The PLC model illustrates that profits are highest during the stages of growth
and maturity and so it is good business to integrate extension strategies during this time to maintain
high profit levels.

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STRATEGIES FOR THE DIFFERING STAGES OF THE PLC

Introduction stage of PLC

The need for immediate profit is not a pressure. The product is promoted to create awareness. If the
product has no or few competitors, a skimming price strategy is employed. Limited numbers of
product are available in few channels of distribution. Advertising differentiates the product.
Decide when to enter the market. To be first can be rewarding but very risky and expensive.
But pioneer advantage is inevitable as they set the trend for the market class
Speeding up innovation is essential in an age of shortening product life cycles
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Rapid-Skimming strategy involves launching the new product at a high price and high
promotion levels
Slow-skimming strategy involves launching the new product at a high price and low
promotion.
Rapid-Penetration strategy involves launching the new product at a low price and high
promotion.
Slow-Penetration strategy involves launching the new product at a low price and low level of
promotion.
Print ad of a Printer giving details about its specifications
Growth stage of PLC
Competitors are attracted into the market with very similar offerings. Products become more
profitable and companies form alliances, joint ventures and take each other over. Advertising spend
is high and focuses upon building brand. Market share tends to stabilise. Advertising establishes
participation with the marketplace.

Improve product quality and add new features and improved styling
Add new models and flanker products (i.e. products of different sizes, flavors, and so forth
that protect the main product.
Enter new market segments.
Increase distribution coverage and enter new distribution channels
Lower price to attract the next layer of price-sensitive buyers
Shifts from product awareness advertising to product-preference advertising.

Maturity stage of PLC

Those products that survive the earlier stages tend to spend longest in this phase. Sales grow at a
decreasing rate and then stabilise. Producers attempt to differentiate products and brands are key
to this. Price wars and intense competition occur. At this point the market reaches saturation.
Producers begin to leave the market due to poor margins. Promotion becomes widespread and uses
a greater variety of media. Advertising puts price ahead of the competition.
Market modification: the company might try to expand the market for its mature brand by
increasing the number of users and/or the usage rate.

Convert non users

Enter new market segments
Win competitors customers
Promote more frequent use
Use more of the product on each occasion
New and more varied uses

Eg: Johnson & Johnson promoted its baby shampoo to adult users. Pears introduced pink soap to
target children
Product modification: Manager also try to stimulate sales by improving the products quality,
features or style.
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Quality improvement increase the products functional performance. Eg: Pillsbury

advertises its wheat flour as chakki fresh atta and good for familys heart
Feature improvement add new features Eg: Pfizer embarked on feature improvement for
its Listerine brand
Style improvement increase the products esthetic appeal.

Marketing mix modification: Modify other marketing program elements such as

Pricing cuts, discounts, special occasions, credit terms, increase price and quality
Distribution more outlets and new distribution channels
Advertising increasing expenditure, change message, timing and frequency of advertising
Sales promotion - stepping up or reducing sales promotion
Personal selling increase quality of sales force and sales territories
Services speed up delivery and technical assistance.

Decline stage of PLC

At this point there is a downturn in the market. For example more innovative products are
introduced or consumer tastes have changed. There is intense price-cutting and many more
products are withdrawn from the market. Profits can be improved by reducing marketing spend and
cost cutting.
Defensive advertising or for revitalization

Increase investment to dominate or strengthen its competitive position

Maintain its investment level until the uncertainties about the industry are resolved
Decrease its investment level selectively, by sloughing off unprofitable customer groups,
while simultaneously strengthening its investment in lucrative niches
Harvesting investment to recover cash quickly
Divest the business quickly by disposing of its assets as advantageously as possible

32.

Recession Marketing

Recession: A significant decline in activity across the economy, lasting longer than a few months. It is
visible in industrial production, employment, real income and wholesale-retail trade. The technical
indicator of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth as measured by a
country's gross domestic product (GDP);

Marketing: Marketing is the process by which companies create customer interest in goods or
services. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and
business development. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer
relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves.
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John Quelch, a prof at HBS identifies 8 factors which companies should bear in mind before
strategizing marketing policies.
1. Research the customer. Instead of cutting the market research budget, you need to know more
than ever how consumers are redefining value and responding to the recession. Consumers take
more time searching for durable goods and negotiate harder at the point of sale. They are more
willing to postpone purchases, trade down, or buy less.
2. Focus on family values. When economic hard times loom, we tend to retreat to our village. Look
for cozy hearth-and-home family scenes in advertising to replace images of extreme sports,
adventure, and rugged individualism. Zany humor and appeals on the basis of fear are out. Greeting
card sales, telephone use, and discretionary spending on home furnishings and home entertainment
will hold up well, as uncertainty prompts us to stay at home but also stay connected with family and
friends.
3. Maintain marketing spending. This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that
brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve
market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times. Uncertain
consumers need the reassurance of known brands. If you have to cut marketing spending, try to
maintain the frequency of advertisements by shifting from 30-second to 15-second advertisements,
substituting radio for television advertising, or increasing the use of direct marketing, which gives
more immediate sales impact.
4. Adjust product portfolios. Marketers must reforecast demand for each item in their product lines
as consumers trade down to models that stress good value, such as cars with fewer options. Tough
times favour multi-purpose goods over specialized products, and weaker items in product lines
should be pruned. Gimmicks are out; reliability, durability, safety, and performance are in. New
products, especially those that address the new consumer reality and thereby put pressure on
competitors, should still be introduced, but advertising should stress superior price performance,
not corporate image.
5. Support distributors. In uncertain times, no one wants to tie up working capital in excess
inventories. Early-buy allowances, extended financing and generous return policies motivate
distributors to stock your full product line. This is particularly true with unproven new products. Be
careful about expanding distribution to lower-priced channels; doing so can jeopardize existing
relationships and your brand image. However, now may be the time to drop your weaker
distributors and upgrade your sales force by recruiting those sacked by other companies.
6. Adjust pricing tactics. Customers will be shopping around for the best deals. You do not
necessarily have to cut list prices, but you may need to offer more temporary price promotions,
reduce thresholds for quantity discounts, extend credit to long-standing customers, and price
smaller pack sizes more aggressively. In tough times, price cuts attract more consumer support than
promotions such as sweepstakes and mail-in offers.
7. Stress market share. In all but a few technology categories where growth prospects are strong,
companies are in a battle for market share and, in some cases, survival. Knowing your cost structure
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can ensure that any cuts or consolidation initiatives will save the most money with minimum
customer impact. Companies such as Wal-Mart and Southwest Airlines, with strong positions and
the most productive cost structures in their industries, can expect to gain market share. Other
companies with healthy balance sheets can do so by acquiring weak competitors.
8. Emphasize core values. Although most companies are making employees redundant, chief
executives can cement the loyalty of those who remain by assuring employees that the company has
survived difficult times before, maintaining quality rather than cutting corners, and servicing existing
customers rather than trying to be all things to all people. CEOs must spend more time with
customers and employees. Economic recession can elevate the importance of the finance director's
balance sheet over the marketing manager's income statement. Managing working capital can easily
dominate managing customer relationships. CEOs must counter this. Successful companies do not
abandon their marketing strategies in a recession; they adapt them.

33.

Reviewing Recent ads (Elaborate)

1. Maggi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww8o0aCNDR0

The ads focus on the ease of cooking (convenience) and the happiness thereby attempting to take
the consumer's focus away from the health platform adopted by Horlicks, Sunfeast Yippie etc.
Sunfeast has roped in Saina Nehwal as its endorser.
The brand has a new slogan "2 minute mein Khushiyan " . It is interesting to note that the brand has
brought back the 2 minutes proposition after a long time. The presence of the powerful celebrity
along with the smart collection of real life stories of brand consumption adds a big boost to this
brand. The brand exactly needs such a boost at this point of its life cycle. The problem with such
heritage brand is that over the period of time, the communication becomes boring. Booster shots
like these will again revive the energy levels for the brand to move and face competition head on.

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2. Mont Blanc India Ad

Tagline-Mont Blanc, A story to tell Length-1:04 min

Insight-Behind every Mont Blanc Pen there is a story.
Agency- O&M
Link- http://vimeo.com/user1508477/videos/search:mont_blanc/sort:newest
Mont Blanc has rolled out its first TV-led campaign in India. The commercial features actor Anil
Kapoor and daughter Sonam Kapoor. The campaign takes forward the brand's base proposition,
which says that a Montblanc is not just a pen, but a heritage or legacy that is passed on from
generation to generation.
The commercial begins with Kapoor reminiscing about the time he decided to become an actor.
When he told his father about it, the latter didn't offer him any help, but did hand his son a
Montblanc pen The power to write his own destiny. This is followed by certain Images of his
legendary films which confirm that Anil kapoor is indeed a success. Later, Sonam walks into her
father's study and tells him that she too, wants to become an actor. Anil Kapoor tells his daughter
the same thing that his father had said to him years ago don't expect any help from me. However,
he too, hands over the Montblanc pen that his father had given him.
The thought for the TVC comes from the insight that behind every Montblanc pen, there is a story. It
is a pen meant for those who have the power within them to write their own destiny. The Ad
portrays the relationship between a father and a daughter and how the bond between them is
further strengthened by the legacy that is imbibed in the pen. The brand stands for lineage of
exclusive and exquisite brand. Internationally, it is a well-established brand, and the objective of the
Ad is to narrate the story of its heritage and not increase sales or volumes. It establishes the
message that the brand is associated with great success stories.
Criticism- The ad is based on the Theme already used very successfully in the west by another super
luxury watch brand, PATEK PHILIPPE, in its legendary Generations Commercial.

34.

Sales & Trade Promotion

Sales promotion consists of a diverse collection of incentive tolls, mostly short term, designed to
stimulate quicker and / or greater purchase of particular products/services by consumers or the
trade.
Major Consumer - Promotion Tools
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Samples
Coupons
Discount or Price off
Premiums or Gift offer
Price Packs
Prizes
Free trials
Quantity Deals

Major Trade Promotion Tools

1. Price off
2. Allowance: An allowance is an amount offered in return for the retailers agreeing to feature
the manufacturers products in some way
3. Free Goods
4. Dealer contests

35.

Sports Marketing

Using sports to market products is Sports Marketing!

Sports marketing is a branch of the marketing industry that involves the promotion of and the
arrangement of sponsorship deals for sporting events, venues, teams, and individual athletes. Those
who work in the field are often employed by a specialty agency, a sports franchise, or by the
marketing division of a corporation that promotes its products through athletic sponsorship.
It can be classified into 3 subgroups:

The first is the advertising of sport and sports associations such as the Olympics, Spanish
Football league and the NFL.
The second concerns the use of sporting events, sporting teams and individual athletes to
promote various products.
The third is the promotion of sport to the public in order to increase participation.

Common examples of sport marketing include athlete endorsements, testimonials, event marketing
and stadium advertising

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The origination of the marketing discipline known as sports marketing coincided with the advent of
the first MLB (Major league Baseball ) game ever televised on August 26, 1939 and as a result made
Babe Ruth the first six-figure athlete in the history of professional sports.
The expansion of sports marketing began in the "open era" of professional tennis and golf. From the
seventies to early eighties, the corporate sponsorship of Lamar Hunt's WCT Tennis Events and PGA
Tour golf tournaments first launched this modern-day marketing discipline.
Sports marketing morphs advertising, sponsorship, promotion, sales promotion, and public relations
into one of marketing's most effective tools to reach and touch consumers.
Sports today utilize corporate sponsorships and television money in order to compete and pay for
top quality athletes. Those companies use teams, leagues, colleges, and individual s to differentiate
their products in a very competitive business environment.
IPL is good example of sports marketing. However rising cost of sponsoring cricket events are forcing
sponsors to other sports.

36.

Types of Advertising

Advertising can be classified in different ways.

1. According to the medium used, advertising is of the following types:

Print Advertising Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, Fliers

Outdoor Advertising Billboards, Kiosks, Tradeshows and Events
Broadcast advertising Television, Radio and the Internet
Covert Advertising/Product placement Advertising in Movies (Canon in Barfi)

2. Advertising can also be categorized as the following:

Surrogate Advertising Advertising Indirectly (Cigarettes, Alcohol)

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Public Service Advertising Advertising for Social Causes (Polio Campaign, Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyaan)
Celebrity Advertising (Obama)
Infomercials
Business to Business advertising
Co-op advertising
3. On the basis of intent, Advertising can be split into two main types:
Persuasive advertising - this tries to entice the customer to buy the product by
informing them of the product benefit.
Informative advertising - this gives the customer information. Mostly done by the
government (e.g. health campaigns, new welfare benefits).
4. Based on what is being advertised, it can be further classified into:

Product-oriented advertising
Image advertising
Advocacy
Public service advertising

http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/marketing_promotion_advertising.htm
http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/advertising/types-of-advertising-image/
http://www.smalltownmarketing.com/sixads.html
http://www.knowthis.com/principles-ofmarketing-tutorials/advertising/types-of-advertising-image/
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of-advertising.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising

37.

USP, ESP

USP (Unique Selling Point): THE LOGICAL BENEFITS

The task of projecting your product as something which has differentiating factors comes under the
ambit of USP.
USP can be:
1. Product (Include features, packaging etc.)
2. Service
3. Combination of product and service
They should resonate with the needs and wants of the consumer.
Examples:
1. Samsung new mobile Marine: Features like Unbreakable, Water Proof
2. NANO, Worlds cheapest car
3. Mac Book Air: Worlds lightest laptop
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4. Slim Cameras
5. Nokia 1100: Torch Light
Uniqueness can be sought in a number of ways:
1. By offering the lowest price. John Lewis, a British department store, used to claim that it was
never knowingly undersold. Its USP established it as the cheapest vendor (under certain
prescribed conditions) of the items that it sold. But this is a rocky route to success,
particularly at a time when there are firms prepared to sell (temporarily) at well below cost
just to establish turnover. This was the case with many early internet retailing experiments.
Moreover, buyers who base their purchasing decisions on price alone are often disloyal.
Customers continue to go to John Lewis for many reasons other than its price promise.
2. By offering the highest quality. This is the Rolls-Royce approach to selling.
3. By being exclusive. In the information age, this is an increasingly common type of USP. More
and more firms offer a unique packaging of information or knowledge.
4. By offering the best customer service. Dominos Pizza became the bestselling brand in the
United States on the basis of its USP: Fresh, hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less,
guaranteed. It did not promise high quality or low price, just fast delivery. A side benefit of
a USP like this is that it compels the firms employees to try that bit harder to achieve the
promise. A firm that fails to fulfil the promise in its USP is condemned to a short future if it
cannot quickly come up with a new one.
5. By offering the widest choice. This is particularly appropriate to niche markets. A specialist
cheese shop, say, can claim to offer a wider selection of cheeses than anyone else.
6. By giving the best guarantee. This is particularly important in industries such as travel and
catalogue selling, where customers pay for something upfront and then have to hope that
what they think they have bought is eventually delivered.
Emotional Selling Point:
It is said that people buy emotionally and then justify logically.
The Emotional Selling Proposition gives you the opportunity to control the marketing message and
to drive an emotional reaction that creates the connection and triggers "I want this. I am going to
buy it."
Eg: You can emphasize the end emotion after purchase - L'Oreal's "Because you're worth it"
emphasizes pride and recognition of your own self worth,
Caveat: Narrator: I like the idea of an emotional selling proposition to help emphasize the benefit
payback but you can't abandon logical benefits supported by credible features.
The use of the ESP is more of a strategic than a tactical decision and has to be approached very
carefully.
Examples:
1. Incredible India Campaign: Kerala Gods place on Earth
2. Cadbury: 1-1/2 glass of milk
3. Insurance schemes like Sar Utha ke Jeeyo, Almost all of them
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4. Polio Campaign Do Boond Zindagi Ki and other social cause campaigns against poverty,
AIDS etc.
5. Hero Honda Pleasure Why should boys have all the fun
6. L'Oreal's "Because you're worth it" emphasises pride and recognition of your own self worth
7. "Finger lickin' good" from KFC
8. "Make safe sex feel sexy" (Durex condoms)
So think about the feelings and the emotions that you want to stir up with your prospects and clients
and use this in your sales. Can your product/service make the prospect:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Feel important
Feel valued
Feel part of a unique group or select band of people
Feel whole
Feel remembered
Feel attractive
Feel trendy
Feel hip
Feel safe
Feel accepted

"USPs are great but ESPs are even better"

38.

What are different types of distribution channels?

Marketer uses distribution channels to display, sell or deliver the physical product or service to the
buyer or user. They include distributors, wholesalers, retailers and agents. A number of alternate
'channels' of distribution may be available: Distributor, who sells to retailers; Retailer (also called
dealer or reseller), who sells to end customers; and Advertisement typically used for consumption
goods.
There have also been some innovations in the distribution of services. For example, there has been
an increase in franchising and in rental services - the latter offering anything from televisions
through tools. There has also been some evidence of service integration, with services linking
together, particularly in the travel and tourism sectors. For example, links now exist between
airlines, hotels and car rental services. In addition, there has been a significant increase in retail
outlets for the service sector. Outlets such as estate agencies and building society offices are
crowding out traditional grocers from major shopping areas. Activities involved in the channel are
wide and varied though the basic activities revolve around these general tasks:

Ordering
Handling and shipping
Storage
Display
Promotion
Selling
Information feedback
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Channel members: Distribution channels can thus have a number of levels. Kotler defined the
simplest level that of a direct contact with no intermediaries involved, as the 'zero-level' channel.
The next level, the 'one-level' channel, features just one intermediary; in consumer goods a retailer,
for industrial goods a distributor. In small markets (such as small countries) it is practical to reach the
whole market using just one- and zero-level channels. In large markets (such as larger countries) a
second level; a wholesaler for example, is now mainly used to extend distribution to the large
number of small, neighbourhood retailers or dealers. In Japan the chain of distribution is often
complex and further levels are used, even for the simplest of consumer goods. In Bangladesh
Telecom Operators are using different Chains of Distribution, especially 'second level'. In IT and
Telecom industry levels are named "tiers". A one tier channel means that vendors IT product
manufacturers (or software publishers) work directly with the dealers. A one tier / two tier channel
means that vendors work directly with dealers and with distributors who sell to dealers. But the
most important is the distributor or wholesaler.
Retailers- Retailers can promote your product by making consumers aware of its availability and by
passing on technical information that could encourage the sale. Because there are thousands of
retailers located all around the country, they are an excellent intermediary for distributing your
product to a wide geographical range of consumers.
Wholesalers- reaching a potentially large number of consumers. The main function of a wholesaler is
to provide a link between the producer (you) and the retailer. Once selling to a wholesaler, there are
three ways that your product will reach the consumer. Firstly, the consumer will purchase directly
from the wholesaler: this is the less common route out of the three. Alternatively, your products will
be sold on by the wholesaler to retailers. The other advantages of selling to a wholesaler are that
they may have strong links with quality retailers: research will help discover this fact. In addition,
because they buy in bulk, it reduces the burden of on-site storage at your premises reducing
overhead costs. The disadvantage of using a wholesaler to distribute your products is that they
cannot market your products extensively. Further, because they buy in bulk, it is often you will sell at
a price much lower than the final retail price.
Direct Distribution-Very common for small businesses, products/services can be sold directly to
the consumer on-site i.e. directly from your shop, office or home by consumers physically coming
into the premises to make a purchase. This can be related with, for example, a village baker or a
hand-made furniture business where the products are made and sold at the same place. Works well
only when the TG is in the local region only
Direct Mail- Also known as a mail shot, this type of marketing can produce sales on a local, national,
or even global, scale. Your business would send out, say, flyers, leaflets, brochures or catalogues
(often targeted to particular consumers) selling your product/service. Any interested receivers of the
mail would make an order through the contact details/order form that would be included. Although
very effective, there is some cost involved but is considerably cheaper compared to other sources of
marketing such as advertising.
Telemarketing- Selling your product/service through telemarketing is becoming increasingly
popular. Similar to direct mail, telemarketing allows sales to be made on a local, national and global
scale, although the costs will increase with the time and distance of phone calls.
Internet (E-Commerce)- Sites such as E Bay. Virtual Shopping.
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Agents/Brokers- An agent or broker will help sell your product/service, but will not take ownership
of what they are selling at any time. They usually work on commission taking a percentage of the
total sales made by themselves. An agency or brokerage will sell your product or service, for
example insurance, tickets for entertainment, accommodation, etc. Perhaps the most common
example of an agent would be a travel agency. They never own the holidays or credit the full amount
of the sale to their business. Instead, they act as a link between the holiday resort and the consumer,
taking a commission on the sales.
The following types of Channel Memberships are possible:
Intensive distribution - Where the majority of resellers stock the 'product' (with convenience
products, for example, and particularly the brand leaders in consumer goods markets) price
competition may be evident.
Selective distribution - This is the normal pattern (in both consumer and industrial markets) where
'suitable' resellers stock the product.
Exclusive distribution - Only specially selected resellers or authorized dealers (typically only one per
geographical area) are allowed to sell the 'product'.
The marketer must assess the benefits received from utilizing a channel partner versus the cost
incurred for using the services and design the Distribution Channels best suited to his needs.

39.
What are the recent retail strategies being adopted by big
players in India?
The retail sector can broadly classified into four major categoriesfood and groceries, consumer
durables, apparel, and pharmaceuticals. These together accounts for almost 60 to 70% of the total
retail market. Of these four categories, food and groceries account for the largest share of 74%,
according to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).
Retail Marketing Strategies in India:

Advertising

Merchandising

It is the practice of making products in stores available to consumers, primarily by stocking shelves
and displays. Types include: Creating attractive displays (ITC Bingo), Trade shows, Visual display
photo galleries.
Private Branding
Products (or services) which are generally manufactured or provided by one company under the
retailers brand. Ex: Big Bazaar has its own line of towels and apparels.
While many elements may make up a firms retail marketing mix, the essential elements may
include:

Store location
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Store image
Store design
Sales incentives
Merchandise assortments
Store ambience
Customer service
Price
Communication with customers
Personal selling

The retail marketing mix must be consistent with the expectations of customers and must be
responsive to competition. The important factors in retail marketing include:
Store location

Target market
Channel structure
Channel management
Retailer image
Retail logistics
Retail distribution

People element

Staff capability
Availability
Effectiveness
Customer interaction
Internal marketing

40.

What can be defined as the luxury market in India?

Luxury retail in India has been a fascinating journey from a socio-economic perspective. Projected as
the next China for luxury goods consumption, the Indian economy has evoked a lot of interest
globally given its statistics of some of the highest disposable incomes and increase in the number of
millionaires.
The last couple of years have seen a profusion of luxury brands into the Indian market: from standalone stores in five star hotels to luxury Malls, these labels which were previously only seen in
international fashion magazines and high streets abroad, were now household names in India. With
one of the highest levels of disposable incomes, the well-travelled Indian luxury consumer is being
wooed by all.
The New Indian Luxury Consumer, of around 1.7 million Indians qualify as rich (sub-definitions are
Super Rich, Sheer Rich, Clear Rich and Near Rich) a figure that is set to more than double in the
next five years. In sharp contrast to consumers in more mature markets, the spending power of

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Indians earning between US$20,000 and US$40,000 still puts them on the countrys rich list and
makes them well worth targeting by brands keen to secure an Indian market presence.
Luxury clothing, fragrances, premium footwear, home electronics and high-end watches have
achieved good penetration among male Indian consumers, but items such as cufflinks, belts, wallets,
luxury wines, Champagnes and cigars still rate low on the wish-lists of many Indian men seeking
luxury brands. Among women, jewellery, cosmetics and skincare can already boast high levels of
awareness, followed by categories such as underwear, handbags and mobile phones. Lowpenetration sectors that are yet to make an impact include gourmet food, tableware and imported
furniture.
Super-deluxe brands like Porsche, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Rolls-Royce, Rolex, Bvlgari and others have
entered the market.
The luxury consumer in profile
A profile of the Indian luxury consumer, as per a study by research group KSA Tecnopak:

Primarily resident in urban India

Lives in a household earning more than about INR800,000 (US$18,000) a year, where the
chief wage
Earner is generally male, average age 3637
Owns a premium/luxury saloon car such as a Honda Accord, a Vectra, a Skoda Octavia etc.
Among women consumers, 65% are housewives
Most are educated to post-graduate level
Incidence of foreign travel is 53%, 44% travelling abroad for holidays at least once a year.

Luxury households can also be categorised into segments according to their attitudes to luxury
goods purchasing:
The Arrived: This is the most affluent group, comprising 49% of the target audience of luxury
goods companies.
The Actualised Ascetic: This group comprises largely self-made men, professionals or
businesspeople who are in their late 40s or early 50s. This is the smallest group (15% of the
target audience).
The Climbers: As the name suggests, this group wants to project a lifestyle image that will
gain them acceptance into the higher echelons of society, yet many lack the discernment
that comes with exposure to luxury brands and wealth over a long period. These are 19% of
the target universe for luxury brands, says the study.
The Laggards: Although well-heeled and targeted by luxury brands, this group remains
nonchalant about luxury goods consumption. This group comprises a high proportion of
college drop-outs and graduates who are in business or work as office executives. This group
is 17% of the target consumer base.

41.

What is competitive advantage?

Competitive advantage is a position of a company in a competitive landscape that allows the

company earning return on investments higher than the cost.
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Competitive Advantage - Definition

A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater
value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies
higher prices.
Competitive Strategies
Following on from his work analysing the competitive forces in an industry, Michael Porter
suggested four "generic" business strategies that could be adopted in order to gain competitive
advantage. The four strategies relate to the extent to which the scope of a businesses' activities are
narrow versus broad and the extent to which a business seeks to differentiate its products.
The four strategies are summarised in the figure below:

The differentiation and cost leadership strategies seek competitive advantage in a broad range of
market or industry segments. By contrast, the differentiation focus and cost focus strategies are
adopted in a narrow market or industry.
Strategy - Differentiation
This strategy involves selecting one or more criteria used by buyers in a market - and then
positioning the business uniquely to meet those criteria. This strategy is usually associated with
charging a premium price for the product - often to reflect the higher production costs and extra
value-added features provided for the consumer. Differentiation is about charging a premium price
that more than covers the additional production costs, and about giving customers clear reasons to
prefer the product over other, less differentiated products.
Examples of Differentiation Strategy: Mercedes cars; Bang & Olufsen
Strategy - Cost Leadership
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With this strategy, the objective is to become the lowest-cost producer in the industry. Many
(perhaps all) market segments in the industry are supplied with the emphasis placed minimising
costs. If the achieved selling price can at least equal (or near) the average for the market, then the
lowest-cost producer will (in theory) enjoy the best profits. This strategy is usually associated with
large-scale businesses offering "standard" products with relatively little differentiation that are
perfectly acceptable to the majority of customers. Occasionally, a low-cost leader will also discount
its product to maximise sales, particularly if it has a significant cost advantage over the competition
and, in doing so, it can further increase its market share.
Examples of Cost Leadership: Nissan; Tesco; Dell Computers
Strategy - Differentiation Focus
In the differentiation focus strategy, a business aims to differentiate within just one or a small
number of target market segments. The special customer needs of the segment mean that there are
opportunities to provide products that are clearly different from competitors who may be targeting
a broader group of customers. The important issue for any business adopting this strategy is to
ensure that customers really do have different needs and wants - in other words that there is a valid
basis for differentiation - and that existing competitor products are not meeting those needs and
wants.
Examples of Differentiation Focus: any successful niche retailers; (e.g. The Perfume Shop); or
specialist holiday operator (e.g. Carrier)
Strategy - Cost Focus
Here a business seeks a lower-cost advantage in just on or a small number of market segments. The
product will be basic - perhaps a similar product to the higher-priced and featured market leader,
but acceptable to sufficient consumers. Such products are often called "me-too's".
Examples of Cost Focus: Many smaller retailers featuring own-label or discounted label products.
(http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/competitive_advantage.htm)
Examples: Toyota - quality
Mc Donalds - value for money & service

42.

What is defined as BOP Market?

The bottom of the pyramid is the largest, but poorest socio-economic group. Although they dont
have a high purchasing power parity, but by their sheer number there is a lot of money in the
market. Contrary to the popular view, BOP consumers are getting connected and networked. They
are rapidly exploiting the benefits of information networks. Distribution access to the BOP markets is
very difficult and therefore represents a major impediment for the participation of large firms and
MNCs. Initiatives like E-choupal(ITC) and Shakti(HUL) are a part of it.

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43.
What is
innovation.

innovation?

Give

Example

of

disruptive

Disruptive innovation is a term used in business and technology literature to describe innovations
that improve a product or service in ways that the market does not expect, typically by lowering
price or designing for a different set of consumers.
A disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is a term describing a technological innovation,
product, or service that uses a "disruptive" strategy, rather than an "evolutionary" or "sustaining"
strategy, to overturn the existing dominant technologies or status quo products in a market.
Disruptive innovations can be broadly classified into low-end and new-market disruptive
innovations. A new-market disruptive innovation is often aimed at non-consumption, whereas a
lower-end disruptive innovation is aimed at mainstream customers who were ignored by established
companies. It has been systematically shown to the research community that most disruptive
innovations are in a minority compared to revolutionary innovations which introduce an innovation
of higher performance to the market. Examples of true disruptive innovations, i.e. innovations that
are lower in performance and lower cost, succeeding are rare.
Christensen distinguishes between "low-end disruption" which targets customers who do not need
the full performance valued by customers at the high-end of the market and "new-market
disruption" which targets customers who have needs that were previously unserved by existing
incumbents.
"Low-end disruption" occurs when the rate at which products improve exceeds the rate at which
customers can adopt the new performance. Therefore, at some point the performance of the
product overshoots the needs of certain customer segments. At this point, a disruptive technology
may enter the market and provide a product which has lower performance than the incumbent but
which exceeds the requirements of certain segments, thereby gaining a foothold in the market. In
low-end disruption, the disruptor is focused initially on serving the least profitable customer, who is
happy with a good enough product. This type of customer is not willing to pay premium for
enhancements in product functionality. 3M launched a projector for Rs 30000 (existing options

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started at Rs 1.5-2 Lacs) with limited features aimed at simple office use for presentations and low
graphic content projection.
"New market disruption" occurs when a product fits a new or emerging market segment that is not
being served by existing incumbents in the industry. The Linux operating system (OS) when
introduced was inferior in performance to other server operating systems like Unix and Windows
NT. But the Linux OS is inexpensive compared to other server operating systems. After years of
improvements Linux is now installed in 84.6% of the worlds 500 fastest supercomputers.
Innovations in marketing:

Oral-B
Sprite 250 ml
TVS Scooty balancing wheels
Fairness meter

Disruptive innovations:
In storage space industry- floppies to cds, cds being challenged by usb drives and mp3
players
Ceat caught unaware by JK Tyres invention of radial tyres- leading to a drastic fall in market
share in the car segment.

44.

What is integrated marketing communication (IMC)?

A management concept that is designed to make all aspects of marketing communication such as
advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing work together as a unified force,
rather than permitting each to work in isolation so that they speak consistently with one voice all the
time, every time. For example, if a company markets its product as being customer friendly, it should
be reflected in all aspects starting from any phone conversation with them and friendly salesman at
the store location to prompt after-sales service.
Benefits:

IMC creates competitive advantage, boost sales and profits, while saving money, time and
stress.
IMC wraps communications around customers and helps them move through the various
stages of the buying process. The organisation simultaneously consolidates its image,
develops a dialogue and nurtures its relationship with customers.
This 'Relationship Marketing' cements a bond of loyalty with customers which can protect
them from the inevitable onslaught of competition.
IMC also increases profits through increased effectiveness. At its most basic level, a unified
message has more impact than a disjointed myriad of messages. In a busy world, a
consistent, consolidated and crystal clear message has a better chance of cutting through
the 'noise' of other messages.
At another level, initial research suggests that images shared in advertising and direct mail
boost both advertising awareness and mail shot responses. So IMC can boost sales by
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stretching messages across several communications tools to create more avenues for
customers to become aware, aroused, and ultimately, to make a purchase
Carefully linked messages also help buyers by giving timely reminders, updated information
and special offers which, when presented in a planned sequence, help them move
comfortably through the stages of their buying process.
IMC also makes messages more consistent and therefore more credible. This reduces risk in
the mind of the buyer which, in turn, shortens the search process and helps to dictate the
outcome of brand comparisons.
Finally, IMC saves money as it eliminates duplication in areas such as graphics and
photography since they can be shared and used in say, advertising, exhibitions and sales
literature.

45.

What is so special in marketing of services?

A service is the action of doing something for someone or something. It is largely intangible. A
product is tangible (i.e. material) since you can touch it and own it. A service tends to be an
experience that is consumed at the point where it is purchased, and cannot be owned since is
quickly perishes. A person could go to a caf one day and have excellent service, and then return the
next day and have a poor experience. So often marketers talk about the nature of a service as:

Lack of ownership: Right of ownership is not taken to the service, since you merely experience it. For
example, an engineer may service your air-conditioning, but you do not own the service, the
engineer or his equipment. You cannot sell it on once it has been consumed, and do not take
ownership of it.
Intangibility: Service is intangible and cannot have a real, physical presence as does a product. For
example, motor insurance may have a certificate, but the financial service itself cannot be touched
i.e. it is intangible.
Inseparability: Service is inseparable from the point where it is consumed, and from the provider of
the service. For example, you cannot take a live theatre performance home to consume it (a DVD of
the same performance would be a product, not a service.
Perishability: Service is perishable in that once it has occurred it cannot be repeated in exactly the
same way. For example, once a 100 metres Olympic final has been run, there will be not other for 4
more years, and even then it will be staged in a different place with many different finalists
Heterogenity: since the human involvement of service provision means that no two services will be
completely identical. For example, returning to the same garage time and time again for a service on
your car might see different levels of customer satisfaction, or speediness of work.
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Differentiating between Goods and Services

Goods

Services

A physical commodity

A process or activity

Tangible

Intangible

Homogenous

Heterogeneous

Production and distribution are separation from Production, distribution and consumption are
their consumption
simultaneous processes
Can be stored

Cannot be stored

Transfer of ownership is possible

Transfer of ownership is not possible

The marketing mix (4Ps) has seen an extension and adaptation into the extended marketing mix for
services, also known as the 7P's - physical evidence, process and people.
Physical evidence
It is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no physical attributes to a service, so a
consumer tends to rely on material cues. There are many examples of physical evidence, including
some of the following:
Packaging.
Internet/web pages.
Paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and dispatch notes).
Brochures.
Signage (such as those on aircraft and vehicles).
Uniforms.
The building itself (such as prestigious offices or scenic headquarters).
Mailboxes and many others
People
An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people. Recruiting
the right staff and training them appropriately in the delivery of their service is essential if the
organisation wants to obtain a form of competitive advantage. Consumers make judgements and
deliver perceptions of the service based on the employees they interact with. Staff should have the
appropriate interpersonal skills, attitude, and service knowledge to provide the service that
consumers are paying for. Many British organisations aim to apply for the Investors In People
accreditation, which tells consumers that staff are taken care of by the company and they are
trained to certain standards.
Process
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Refers to the systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the service. Imagine you walk into
Burger King and you order a Whopper Meal and you get it delivered within 2 minutes. What was the
process that allowed you to obtain an efficient service delivery? Banks that send out Credit Cards
automatically when their customers old one has expired again require an efficient process to
identify expiry dates and renewal. An efficient service that replaces old credit cards will foster
consumer loyalty and confidence in the company.
At each stage of the process, markets:

Deliver value through all elements of the marketing mix. Process, physical evidence and
people enhance services.
Feedback can be taken and the mix can be altered.
Customers are retained, and other serves or products are extended and marked to them.
The process itself can be tailored to the needs of different individuals, experiencing a similar
service at the same time.

Customer Service: Many products, services and experiences are supported by customer services
teams. Customer services provided expertise (e.g. on the selection of financial services), technical
support (e.g. offering advice on IT and software) and coordinate the customer interface (e.g.
controlling service engineers, or communicating with a salesman). The disposition and attitude of
such people is vitally important to a company. The way in which a complaint is handled can mean
the difference between retaining or losing a customer, or improving or ruining a company's
reputation. Today, customer service can be face-to-face, over the telephone or using the Internet.
People tend to buy from people that they like, and so effective customer service is vital. Customer
services can add value by offering customers technical support and expertise and advice.
Training: All customer facing personnel need to be trained and developed to maintain a high quality
of personal service. Training should begin as soon as the individual starts working for an organization
during an induction. The induction will involve the person in the organization's culture for the first
time, as well as briefing him or her on day-to-day policies and procedures. At this very early stage
the training needs of the individual are identified. A training and development plan is constructed
for the individual whom sets out personal goals that can be linked into future appraisals. In practice
most training is either 'on-the-job' or 'off-the-job.' On-the-job training involves training whilst the
job is being performed e.g. training of bar staff. Off-the-job training sees learning taking place at a
college, training centre or conference facility. Attention needs to be paid to Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) where employees see their professional learning as a lifelong process of training
and development.

46.
What is the NCAER Classification of consumers in the
country?
According to National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) there are 5 consumer classes
that differ in their ownership patterns and consumption behaviour across various segments of
goods.
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Consumer Classes

Annual Income in Rs.

1996

2001

2007

Change

The Rich

Rs. 215,000 and more

1.2

2.0

6.2

416%

The Consuming Class

Rs 45000- 215,000

32.5

54.6

90.9

179%

The Climbers

Rs. 22000-45,000

54.1

71.6

74.1

37%

The Aspirants

Rs. 16000-22,000

44

28.1

15.3

-65%

The Destitute

Below Rs. 16,000

33

23.4

12.8

-61%

164.8

180.7

199.2

21%

Total
*Source: NCAER

The 5 classes of consumer households (consumer classification) show the economic development
across the country based on consumption trends.
The Indian consumer market is not secular in nature. Rural markets are growing at a much faster
than urban markets and rural consumers are largely value for money customers. Markets are
growing but mainly for low-value items.
A study conducted by The National Centre for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) divides Indian
households into five categories based on income, consumption, asset ownership and education
level. The key assumption for such a classification is that consumption, and not income alone
differentiates consumer segments. The five categories are as given below
The very rich segment is very comparable to consumers in the developed world and is willing to
spend more for greater benefits. They are consumer of premium category products
The consuming class consumes most products, but rarely expensive, high-end items that offer extra
features. This segment also seeks a judicious balance between categories between benefits and
costs with affair amount of elasticity. Consumers in this class mainly demand mid-price and lowprice products, but occasionally indulge in the premium product.
The climbers consists of cash-constrained benefit-maximizes, mainly consuming low-priced and
unbranded products.
The aspirants aspire to greater consumption but need money to achieve their goal. This class too
focuses mainly on unbranded goods.
The destitute consumers lead a hand-to-mouth existence. Households in this segment are below the
poverty line and their basic housing and food and clothing, rather than consumer goods.
Consumer profile
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over
1.21 billion people (2011 census), more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing
17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025,
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surpassing China, its population reaching 1.6 billion by 2050. Its population growth rate is 1.41%,
ranking102nd in the world in 2010.
India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of
35. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for
China and 48 for Japan; and, by 2030, India's dependency ratio should be just over 0.4.

47.

What is Viral Marketing?

Viral Marketing is known as a word of mouth or these days with the increased use of the internet
word of mouse with the objective of marketing the product of a company via tools such as social
media networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, social media sharing sites such as Youtube etc. or sites
which have a social connect such as Twitter, Blogspot etc.
In short it can be defined as any strategy which uses individuals to pass on a marketing message to
others; creating scope for exponential growth in the companys spread of the intended message.
Companies could even use non-internet mediums such as phone SMS etc. t market their products.
The two basic differentiators of viral marketing from other marketing mediums are:

It is rather inexpensive in its use and also value for money since at times it may be more
effective a marketing tool than contemporary marketing media. For example: Cadbury using
the Gorilla advertising campaign
Its uses the basic tenet of a virus in its spreading i.e. its spreads from one person to another
just as a virus would spread.

Prominent examples of viral marketing are:

When Hotmail launched, much of its early success was due to the virality of the sigline that it
attached to every outgoing email inviting the recipient to join. One of the earliest examples
of viral marketing on the internet
Subservient Chicken - the creepy webcam site made for a Burger King campaign allowed
people to control a guy in a chicken suit. It went viral almost instantly and for a few weeks
was everywhere
Will It Blend - One of the most recent best viral marketing campaign examples, Blendtecs
will it blend video series shows scientists testing if various household items will blend in their
super-powerful blender. This campaign leveraged the popularity of online video sharing sites
Dove Evolution Video - Part of a campaign by Dove, this video showed how models beauty
is often artificial, and really struck a chord with its intended audience of female viewers

48.

What is Word Of Mouth Marketing?

Definition
Word of mouth is a reference to the passing of information from person to person. Originally the
term referred specifically to oral communication (literally words from the mouth), but now includes
any type of human communication, such as face to face, telephone, email, and text messaging.
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Characteristics of Word of Mouth

Word of mouth also takes many forms online or off-line. Three noteworthy characteristics are:
1. CrediblePeople trust others they know and respect, word of mouth can be highly
influential.
2. PersonalWord of mouth can be a very intimate dialogue that reflects personal facts,
opinions, and experiences.
3. Timely It occurs when people want it to and when they are most interested, and it often
follows noteworthy or meaningful events or experiences.
Whose Word of Mouth Matters?
According to Mintel, 34% of US Internet users who bought a product or service based on a
recommendation got that tip from a friend or relative, while one-quarter bought based on advice
from a spouse or domestic partner.
Difference between Word of Mouth and Viral marketing
The major different between word-of-mouth marketing and viral is that word-of-mouth is often
driven by you the marketer or business owner and viral marketing driven by the passion of your
consumers and its success does not depend on you.
Word of mouth and India
In the case of India, 87 per cent of those who use the Internet trust others advice rather than any
kind of advertising, proving that word-of-mouth is the most powerful advertising tool, a press
release issued by the research agency found. Newspapers come second in the most trusted list,
with 77 per cent saying so. Opinions expressed online and on brands Web sites were the third and
fourth most trusted at 73 and 72 per cent, ahead of television, which came fifth as only 65 per cent
said they were trustworthy.
India comes fourth among the top ten countries which trust in recommendations from consumers,
with Hong Kong topping the list with 93 per cent. Most of the top ten markets that rely most on
Recommendations from consumers are in Asia. They include Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and
the Philippines.
Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) is a form of promotional campaign which operates through an
individuals personal recommendations of specific brands, products or services.
Like its literal meaning, word-of-mouth marketing spreads from one person to another outside of a
formalized setting, without heavy intervention by advertisers.
A recommendation from someone familiar and trust-worthy is the easiest path to a product sale,
link or new subscriber. This is because, recommendations are generally perceived as incentive-free,
unlike the obvious motivation of advertisers, who may over-promise in a bid to increase sales.
If you want to sell more products, get more affiliate commissions or just gain more new readers or
supporters for your website, word of mouth marketing is one the most powerful ways to do so.
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What better way to spread your brand than to have an army of supporters constantly talking about
or referencing it online or offline, through conversations or links?
1. Leverage Existing Social Networks. Online communities have a tightly knit group of users
who can help to increase brand awareness for the product. Tap into these communities with
tools or content targeting their specific sub-culture and you are likely to get a lot of
attention. These can include applications for platform-specific websites like Facebook,
Firefox and Wordpress, which each have a large body of users.
2. Target the Influencers. Look for individuals who are trend-setters or authorities on a specific
topic. They should preferably be individuals who have many personal connections or a large
and loyal audience. If these people spread your message, your website or product will very
easily be disseminated within a targeted group of potential users. Identify these influencers,
build a relationship with them and market through their existing sphere of social influence.
Examples of influencers include celebrities, power users on social websites and popular
webmasters or bloggers with many loyal supporters.
3. Exclusivity and Scarcity. Many websites or businesses launch virally by offering a limited
number of site invites. Some dangle the bait of limited edition products or temporal
discounts. Combine this with influencer marketing and youll have an excellent method to
disseminate brand awareness for new websites, products or services. Exclusivity invites
curiosity and scarce products generate consistent demand and conversation. Remember
how people were incessantly asking for or writing about Gmail, where someone had to invite
you to open an account, a while ago?
4. Micro-Market. While online viral marketing leverages the interconnectedness of the web to
spread unique content or user-supported promotional schemes, micro-marketing focuses on
marketing to the individual by providing highly customizable products. Nike and Pumas
Mongolian Buffet are examples of micro-marketing schemes which allow you to design and
purchase your own unique sneaker online. Micro-marketing can be combined with scarcity
and existing social networks to generate word-of-mouth exposure.
5. Industry Marketing. Instead of focusing directly on customers, focus on the people who can
build your brand. Instead of seeking for thousands of views from a wide audience, make
your mark within a niche community (like Sphinn) to build relationships and leverage-able
connections. Get recommendations from others in the similar industry to be mentioned,
promoted or included in an industry-specific ranking or recommendations list. This builds
your overall brand within a specific niche, which in turns promotes your site to traditional
media and buyers looking in from the outside.
Successful examples

Gmail - Google did no marketing, they spent no money. They created scarcity by giving
out Gmail accounts only to a handful of "power users." Other users who aspired to be
like these power users aspired for a Gmail account and this manifested itself in their
bidding for Gmail invites on eBay. Demand was created by limited supply; the cachet of
having a Gmail account caused the word of mouth, rather than any marketing activities
by Google.
Tupperware popularization
Popularization of text messaging (SMS)
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Popularization of chat (Instant messaging)

Unsuccessful examples

49.

Hotmail - Hotmail "piggybacked" on personal emails from one person to another to

publicize their free email service. At a time when few people had email, the first and
only free email service in the marketplace was appealing and novel -- hence their rapid
adoption and spread. However, the same "piggybacking" technique currently employed
by all free email providers (except gmail) no longer works. Furthermore, the Hotmail
users did not voluntarily pass it on; they had no choice about Hotmail adding the "sign
up" link at the end of their personal emails.
Burger King's Subservient Chicken - Burger King's marketing program called Subservient
Chicken did indeed generate a lot of word of mouth, but the word of mouth was about
the marketing campaign instead of the product that was being marketed. Also, those
marketing efforts which rely on being edgy or on some kind of stunt often fade quickly
when the novelty or edge wears off. Finally, this type of marketing is not reproducible or
sustainable since it won't be edgy the second time around.
McDonald's Lincoln Fry - a fake blog was discovered, and it generated lots of negative
word of mouth and little participation.

What is ATL, BTL, TTL?

Below the line (BTL), Above the line (ATL), and Through the Line (TTL), in organizational business and
marketing communications, are advertising techniques.
Promotion can be loosely classified as "above the line" or "below the line".
Promotional activities carried out through mass media, such as television, radio and newspaper, are
classed as above the line promotion.
The terms "below the line" promotion or communications, refers to forms of non-media
communication, even non-media advertising. Below the line promotions are becoming increasingly
important within the communications mix of many companies, not only those involved in FMCG
products, but also for industrial goods.
"Through the line" refers to an advertising strategy involving both above and below the line
communications in which one form of advertising points the target to another form of advertising
thereby crossing the "line". An example would be a TV commercial that says 'come into the store to
sample XYZ product'. In this example, the TV commercial is a form of "above the line" advertising
and once in the store, the target customer is presented with "below the line" promotional material
such as store banners, competition entry forms, etc.

50.

What are Porters Five Forces?

Michael Porter's Five Forces is probably the most famous framework used in preparing for the case
interviews. It has endured as one of the frameworks most talked about by many in and out of the
consulting field. Although the Five Forces is an excellent framework in helping you organize your
thoughts, like any other framework we cover in this guide, its analysis is not complete. The Five
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Forces should be used in conjunction with other frameworks to enable you to fully understand the
issues at hand. Further, we only briefly touch on this framework here, but we have included more
detailed material of Porter's work later in this guide.
Five primary forces:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

The threat of new entrants

The bargaining power of buyers/customers
The bargaining power of suppliers
The threat of substitute products
Rivalry with competitors

Attractiveness of the market depends upon:

Intense competition allows minimal profit margins

Mild competition allows wider profit margins

Barriers to Entry:
There are a number of factors that determine the degree of difficulty in entering an industry:

Economies of scale
Product differentiation
Capital requirements vs. switching costs
Access to distribution channels
Cost advantages independent of scale
Proprietary product technology
Favourable access to raw materials
Favourable location
Government subsidies
Learning curve
Government policy

Bargaining Power of Buyers:

A buyer group is powerful if:

It is concentrated or purchases large volumes relative to seller's sales

The products it purchases front the industry are standard or undifferentiated
It faces few switching costs
Buyers pose a credible threat of backward integration
The industry's product is unimportant to the quality of the buyer's products or services
The buyer has full information

Bargaining Power of Suppliers:

A supplier group is powerful if:
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It is not obliged to contend with other substitute products for sales in the industry
The industry is not an important customer of the supplier group
The supplier group is an important input to the buyer's business
The supplier group's products are differentiated or it has built up switching costs
The supplier group poses a credible threat of forward integration

Substitute Products:
Substitute products that deserve the most attention are those that:

Compete in price with the industry's products

Are produced by industries earning high profits

Rivalry:
Rivalry among existing competitors increases if:

Numerous or equally balanced competitors exist

Industry growth is slow
Fixed costs are high
There is lack of differentiation or switching costs
Capacity is augmented in large increments

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank the previous batches of 2011,2012 for providing us the base for this material.
All the best to the batch of 2014 from Marksoc.

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