2012

Marketing
Extra assignment

Nazanin Ziabakhsh

The Fashion Channel The case Fashion Channel points out, how an existing brand concept has to be continuously developed in order to adjust changes in customer preferences and the market. For that reason, the company Fashion Channel re- segmented its market and then approaches the various segments differently. In addition we learned that an advertising revenue model is measured by ratings. Each rating shows us the percentage of television households watching during a measured viewing time. As described in the case, market research can help to narrow customer preferences, but still it doesnt deliver always sufficient information to base strategies on. Thus it is important to have an option table to choose from and to play different scenarios thru (also in regards of financial effects of decisions). Furthermore, competitors best practice should be taken into consideration. Consequently benchmarking is an important tool in marketing. Lastly we learned that there is a wide range of advertising campaigns among competitors which contributes to an increase of the advertising price. Therefore it is important to know, at what time each target group watches TV and which target group is most worth e.g. in terms of loyalty to the network for doing the investment expenditure to track them.

Alpen Bank: Launching the credit card in Romania The case was discussing a Romanian branch of Alpen bank corporation and wether or not they should provide their customers with a credit card service. Firstly, it was very interesting getting to know how the credit card industry is constructed and how the four parties (card associations, merchant acquires, merchants and card issuers) interact in order to provide a credit card service to the users. Furthermore, the case reveals the train of thought, actions to be taken, and facts to be taken into consideration before introducing a product into a new market. We learned that even the best product cannot sell if there is no need for it. In this case it was described that the average income in Romania is very low. It stays questionable if the

majority of people in this country will be in need of a credit card when only a few affluent people can afford the credit card fees. Also the preconditions for the credit card system to be able to work are not fully developed in Romania. Even if Alpen bank would invest into this project, would the credit card holders be able to use the service? Or are the required infrastructures available? Does it worth the costs that its going to bring us? By studying the case we learned more about integrated marketing communication tools such as direct marketing (direct mail) and sales promotion (take ones). we also learnt lunching a new branch or a totally new product in a market, we need to also consider the competitors in that field, are there any other providers of this service or product that we are going to lunch or are we the very first or one of the first ones? and again we saw the importance of segmentation in a market and learnt lunching a new branch we also need to know what kind of classes do we have in our target society and which one is better for us to invest on.

The Springfield Noreasters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues The baseball team Noreasters do not have to face direct competitors in their region. They can position their brand into a relatively blue ocean since there are no other professional baseball teams in the city of Springfield. The case demonstrates, that even a sports team has to overcome typical entry barriers when it wants to enter a market. Demographic facts such as age, income and family structures have to be considered very deliberately when developing a marketing strategy for a sports team. Depending in which society, sports events may have a different significance to the inhabitants. In the USA sports events are apparently happenings which tend to be enjoyed with the entire family, hence a lot of products beside the core competency (the game itself) have to be marked in order to have a successful brand. Merchandise products such as caps, toys, shirts as well as food and drinks have to be incorporated in the marketing concept of a sports team. The case study reveals the importance of market research data and how they are connected with demographics. Here we learned the importance of trial versions of questionnaires, which may be adjusted before using the final version to conduct a survey. The case exposed clearly the marketing mix, market analyzes, customer analyzes and how to develop a value proposition which has to be positioned. It also emphasizes on keeping the old customers(customers we already have) is just as important as finding new ones, in this case this was mentioned with the fact that if a customer doesnt show up for a game they already bought a ticket for it means although we had the benefit of pre selling the tickets but we somehow lost the benefit of selling some more stuffs to that customer,

Manchester Products Manchester Products Inc., a longtime leader in office furniture that only recently entered into the home furniture market, acquired Paul Logan's Furniture Division, resulting in a market leader position in household furniture. This acquisition went along with a new brand name which triggers the fear of losing a good image which was connected with the founders name. When analyzing the case we could imply our knowledge about branding. The corporate brand radiates values. Brand architecture is the structure of brands within an organizational entity. It is the way in which the brands within a companys portfolio are related to, and differentiated from, one another. The architecture should define the different leagues of branding within the organization; how the corporate brand and subbrands relate to and support each other; and how the sub-brands reflect or reinforce the core purpose of the corporate brand to which they belong. Manchaster was lacking in access to household- furniture distribution channels which are one columns of the marketing mix. By the acquisition of PLFD, Manchester products solved this problem. Also two strong core competencies (engineering strength, manufacturing expertise on one side and design skills with respect to colors and shapes on the other side) could be brought together and led to a synergy effect. A SWOT analysis can be easily derived from the case information ( SWOT is an analysis method which gives a framework for distinguishing between the external and the internal environment of the firm. SWOT classifies the various influences on a firms strategy into 4 categories: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. By doing a SWOT analysis the key issues from the business environment and the strategic capability of an organization can be summarized and it can be estimated which are most likely to impact on the strategy development. The case describes how important market research information are. Marketing research is critical to developing a marketing plan and, therefore, to an understanding of the market in which your product or service competes. It is impossible to develop a sound marketing strategy without some form of marketing 5

research.

The Super Shampoo

Suresh Venkataramans idea was to produce shampoos with single use packaging (sachet). The reason behind was that in India, in particular its rural areas, shampoo was still a product whose usage was not common to the population. One of the reasons for this was the very low income which made shampoo an unaffordable product to people. Venkatarams idea addressed exactly that shortage. In regards of shampoo India is an emerging market. Venkataramans task is to create customers, which is the typical marketing purpose (customer perspective). There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer Peter Drucker .The customer perspective he takes is exemplary; starting with the customer rather than the firm. This will result in a company that is structured around the customer. A segmentation process has to take place in order to breaks mass markets into segments that have different buying habits. We learned that branding is a very important first step when developing a new product. The application of the branding strategy is identifiable. Branded products are perceived as superior to generic equivalents. Venkataraman has to find a strong brand name which transports the image of the brand and by doing this creating an umbrella around his product. The case exposes that to be successful and achieve goals a company has to figure out what customers want and offer it in a better way than their competitors. Therefore Venkataraman has to think about a way to market the Super Shampoo better than the competitors which are mega brands. These global players put entry barriers in Venkataramans way, for example the advertising blitzkrieg and the war of marketing communication. The super shampoo can only find a way to compete with them if it offers a niece feature such as the inexpensive sachet size. Marketing research is critical to developing a marketing plan and, therefore, to an understanding of the market in which your product or service competes. It is 6

impossible to develop a sound marketing strategy without some form of marketing research. By conducting surveys Venkataraman accounts for that very important point in marketing. We also learned that The PESTEL method can be a supportive tool as well because it can be used to identify how future trends in political,

economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environments might impinge on organizations. For managers it is important to analyse how these factors are changing now and how they are likely to change in the future, drawing out implications for the organization.