Marketing Management

Q1. “Ware – housing decision are growingly becoming more critical” . Discuss quoting examples

Q2. What do you mean by the term Physical Distribution? Explain briefly the nature & importation in the sphere of physical distribution

Q3. Explain Co-branding

Q4. What is Price sensitivity?

Q5. A New brand of a ‘Tyre –that-Never –punctures’ is to be launched in India by a multinational company with your advice about concept – testing and test – marketing Justify your contention

Q6. Advertisement expenses are usually wasteful, with no guarantee of enhanced sales or higher loyalty from among the target audience” .Do you agree with this statement ?Present your view – point.

Q7. Present the factors that influence the pricing strategy of an organization .Which among them are non – controllable ? Why?

Q8. Define the term Marketing Mix. Explain the significance of appropriate marketing mix in the present competitive environment. Cite examples to support your answer.

 

Marketing Management

Q1. How will you alter the marketing mix –intensity & composition ,as a product is entering the maturity stage in the lifecycle? How again the marketing mix will have to be modified ,when the same product ,later on, starts showing sales – decline?

Q2. Explain Product Life Cycle in detail .How do marketing strategies change as product moves. through various stages of Life cycle

Q3. Give the steps in launching a new product. Also give various methods of test marketing a new Product.

Q4. Explain Channel conflicts

Q5. Discuss the role & importance of physical distribution in the consumer products marketing.

Q6. What do you mean by the term product Life Cycle (PLC) Explain the stages of PLC. Find out in which stage of PLC are are the Following product in India, and suggest suitable marketing strategies for each
a) Tooth Powder b) Microwave Ovens b) Bicycles d) VCRs.

Q7. Explain Sales Promotion Techniques

Q8. Explain Test Marketing.

 

Marketing Management
Q1. Advertising is a wastage of money. Develop your arguments in favour or against this statement.

Q2. What are main Elements of Branding?

Q3. Marketing as an Exchange Process explain this?

Q4. What are the various Methods of Pricing?

Q5. What you mean by Environmental Marketing?

Q6. What are advantages and disadvantages of Direct Marketing?

Q7. What is Importance of Environmental Marketing? What are Opportunities in Environmental Marketing?

Q8. How Monitoring and Measuring Customer Satisfaction is done?

 

Marketing Management

Case Study – 1

Eureka Forbes successfully introduced and sold for many years few models of vacuum cleaners through door–to door marketing. During the initial few years Eureka Forbes vacuum cleaners were not available at any dealer channel. These were sold only by direct marketing. Some experts attribute the success of Eureka Forbes to two factors: one, implementation of an effective sales management system & two, elimination of channel conflict by adopting only door to door selling even at a stage when durables were sold only through dealers. Scene1 It has been a common experience that well advertised & well organized trade fairs generate huge sales. Experts believe that people visit such trade fairs with a frame of mind that is favorably predisposed to making purchase decisions. Deriving a cue from the trade fairs, way back in 1980, a small & upstart computer manufacturer arranged “Road Shows” in metros & mini metros. It was a period when foreign computer vendors were asked to leave India; indigenous makes of computers were few; perception of people about computers were – highly expensive, complex to use, needed trained manpower to operate that was scarce & performance of the hardware was unreliable. Those were the early days of computer marketing when there were no dealers & manufacturers had to sell through their own sales team. Scene2 In the year 1999 Compaq Corp declared that its objective for the year is to become the Internet leader in the InfoTech industry. But for some strange reasons the rival company Dell took the lead in sale of PC’s over the Internet. They take just over three days to deliver a built to specs PC ordered via the net in the USA. Compaq, in the meanwhile, has behaved all muddled up in its Internet plan. The company made a tentative start, but recently announced that it has stopped selling its computers to internet only retailers worldwide. Such a move had a drastic effect on major players such as Siberian Outpost & Shopping.com, which derive much of their revenue from the sale of Compaq PC’s through their websites. On the other hand Compaq plans to purchase Shopping.com and merge it with the Alta Vista search engine on the net. Compaq also declared that its move to stop retailing on the net is not permanent & it will reexamine this policy after three months. So what exactly prompted Compaq to move away from what is apparently the direction in which all others are headed? Industry watchers say that Compaq’s regular stores were being hurt through online sales. Many online retailers sell items at just above the procurement cost, since they maintain low inventories and have hardly any overheads to take care of. This was turning out to be the competition to Compaq’s brick and mortar retailers, who cannot simply match those prices because of slow operations and high overheads. As against this Dell, who sold only through direct marketing, could derive immense advantage from Internet retailing. This was supplemented by a highly rated online customer support service.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Explain channel conflicts. What lesson do you learn about selection of channel from the above scenes?
Q2. Compare the merits & demerits of selling by company’s own sales team, Dealer Channel & Direct Marketing?

 

Case Study – 2

Titan Industries Limited, formerly TITAN WATCHES, is a joint venture of TATA group and The Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation. It was promoted in the year 1987. By the year 1990, TITAN emerged as the leader in the Indian quartz watch market, selling six million watches with 60 per cent market share. The watches are currently sold in 40 countries through marketing subsidiaries in London, Dubai and Singapore. Titan’s expertise in marketing and brand building has elevated Titan to therefore front of Indian brands. Titan has been ranked as India’s leading consumer durables marketing company. Winning awards for excellence has become a way of life with Titan. Titan adopted an aggressive product strategy. They offered a wide and attractive range of quality watches. They offered Dual Time, World Time, Alarm and Long Battery Life Watches. Titan offered a product that combined quality and fashion. Opting for quartz was another important technological decision. Titan went in for the most modern technology and the best international collaboration. TITAN flew down technicians from Europe to train its Indian Staff. To ensure quality TITAN resort to Vertical Integration. They started manufacturing watch cases and other components. Titan positioned their watches as an ornament. It is not a product showing time, watches are expressions of taste and style. It is the most popular gift item to parents, children and life partners. High profile distribution was dominated by the showroom concept. Titan opted for franchising and was very selective. Now, there are more than 6,000 retail shops. They are backed by an excellent service network. They underpriced battery, repair & service charges. In promotion too, TITAN chose an aggressive approach. They spend over Rs.20 chores per year for advertising. While TITAN has conquered all domestic players, global competition poses a new challenge. Import Liberalization and Import duty reduction will force TITAN to modify its marketing strategy.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Explain the following Marketing Mix variables of TITAN. (i) Product (ii) Promotion (iii) Price (iv) Placement.
Q2. Explain the main components of Titan’s marketing strategy.

 

Case Study – 3

Everyone connected with the industry of bath room fittings can vividly recall the catastrophic failure of a beautiful model of English WC launched by Bharat Sanitary ware a couple of months back. The Italian design was aesthetically superb, occupying less space and using much less quality of water to flush it clean. It was launched with fully coordinated range of bathtub, washbasin geysers, floor & wall tiles and a host of other accessories. A leading MR firm had conducted market researches in a metro and a mini metro town to ascertain consumer preferences & profile. A huge potential was predicted among up market buyers. Competition was virtually nonexistent In spite of all the precautions the product bombed. The manufacturer had to hastily withdraw it incurring heavy loss. The main reason of failure was analyzed as the complicated process of installation in the existing bathrooms. It turned out to be little difficult for the illiterate plumbers to carry our installations. And they conveniently recommended other brands. For a similar product you have been assigned the task of formulating launch strategy.

Answer the following question.

Q1. How many types of pricing strategies do you know? Explain & what should be the pricing strategy for this product?
Q2. If you were the marketing manager, which marketing strategy will you implement? Justify your answer
Q3. Suggest which all groups of people you will interview to find out buyer preferences & needs of channel members. List key information that you would like to obtain from different groups of respondents.
Q4. Discuss and list as per importance the various options available to you for promoting this product.

 

Case Study – 4

Sunshine Lumieres was established in 1992 in Bangalore, India to manufacture lamps mainly for household use. The company was established by Dr. Srinath Kashyap who had extensive experience in the lamp industry with the major multinational manufacturers in India and overseas. Sunshine was involved till now in manufacturing and supplying lamps for consumer and household use under various brands for the leading lamp companies. Dr. Kashyap was involved in looking after the manufacturing and marketing functions while his wife looked after the Finances and the HR functions. The Company had a total of 50 employees and grossed revenue of Rs.9 crores in 2005. The market in India was large and growing due to the increasing affluence and the massive rural electrification programmes of the Government. Post liberalization in 1992; the market dynamics slowly started changing due to increased competition from leading brands looking to capture larger market shares. Dr Kashyap felt it was time to diversify this business and get into newer product segments. The lamp industry can be classified into various segments like: Consumer household Lamps Industrial & Commercial lamps Specialty lamps like high intensity lamps used in Medical & Office Equipment Automotive lamps Miniature lamps Energy efficient lamps like CFL lamps, LED lamps etc. While the large MNCs were present in all segments, most local manufacturers were involved in the consumer and household lighting. Typically, household lamps sold at around US$0.25 per piece at the retail level while the Industrial and commercial lamps sold at prices upwards of US$25 per piece retail. Sunshine lumeries hired Dr. Mohan Das, a bright Engineer from IIT and MBA from a leading Business school. After working in some leading companies, Mohan felt it was time for him to exploit his innovative skills and create world class products. In a very short span of time after joining Sunshine, Dr. Das was able to produce some very interesting and technologically advanced products. Dr. Kashyap felt that over time , in low value products like lamps, the large MNC’s would be forced to give way to players from developing countries like China and India, who would over time establish the products under their own brands. Establishing the Sunshine brand over time was therefore vital for the future. Meanwhile, Mohan had designed a slew of new and innovative products – comparable with the best in their class in the world, in the energy efficient and Industrial lamp categories. Given suitable financial investments, these could take the company’s revenues to over Rs.100 crores by 2008 between the domestic and export markets. As he looked out of his office window, enjoying the light drizzle and cool breeze of Bangalore, Dr. Kashyap’s realized that he was at a point of inflexion. If the current opportunities were exploited fully, it could lead to great fortunes for himself and his family. He could even take the company public and unlock the value of his holdings. However, it would also mean that Sunshine would have to evolve into a professionally managed company and have a larger number of employees. He wondered how he should go about structuring his Sales and Distribution organization so as to grow manifold both domestically and overseas within the next three years before taking the company public. Dr. Kashyap was convinced that he needed to seek professional advice. He invited Dr. Vasant Rao, an old friend and leading Management expert in Bangalore to visit his office for a discussion on a broad game plan.

Answer the following question.

Q1. How Dr. Kashyap should go about professionalizing & restructuring his organization?
Q2. Should the sales be organized on geographic or product basis?
Q3. Should be distribution be common for all products?

Q4. Should he have his own Sales and Distribution organizations in some countries?

 

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Case-1 : The use of the marketing mix in product launch

Introduction

NIVEA® is an established name in high quality skin and beauty care products. It is part of a range of brands produced and sold by Beiersdorf. Beiersdorf, founded in 1882, has grown to be a global company specialising in skin and beauty care.

In the UK, Beiersdorf’s continuing goal is to have its products as close as possible to its consumers, regardless of where they live. Its aims are to understand its consumers in its many different markets and delight them with innovative products for their skin and beauty care needs. This strengthens the trust and appeal of Beiersdorf brands. The business prides itself on being consumer-led and this focus has helped it to grow NIVEA into one of the largest skin care brands in the world.

Beiersdorf’s continuing programme of market research showed a gap in the market. This led to the launch of NIVEA VISAGE® Young in 2005 as part of the NIVEA VISAGE range offering a comprehensive selection of products aimed at young women. It carries the strength of the NIVEA brand image to the target market of girls aged 13-19. NIVEA VISAGE Young helps girls to develop a proper skin care routine to help keep their skin looking healthy and beautiful.

The market can be developed by creating a good product/range and introducing it to the market (product-orientated approach) or by finding a gap in the market and developing a product to fill it (market-orientated approach). Having identified a gap in the market, Beiersdorf launched NIVEA VISAGE Young using an effective balance of the right product, price, promotion and place. This is known as the marketing mix or ‘four Ps’. It is vital that a company gets the balance of these four elements correct so that a product will achieve its critical success factors. Beiersdorf needed to develop a mix that suited the product and the target market as well as meeting its own business objectives.

The company re-launched the NIVEA VISAGE Young range in June 2007 further optimising its position in the market. Optimised means the product had a new formula, new design, new packaging and a new name. This case study shows how a carefully balanced marketing mix provides the platform for launching and re-launching a brand onto the market.

Product :

The first stage in building an effective mix is to understand the market. NIVEA uses market research to target key market segments which identifies groups of people with the same characteristics such as age/gender/attitude/lifestyle. The knowledge and understanding from the research helps in the development of new products. NIVEA carries out its market research with consumers in a number of different ways. These include:

• using focus groups to listen to consumers directly
• gathering data from consumers through a variety of different research techniques
• product testing with consumers in different markets.

Beiersdorf’s market research identified that younger consumers wanted more specialised face care aimed at their own age group that offered a ‘beautifying’ benefit, rather than a solution to skin problems. NIVEA VISAGE Young is a skin care range targeted at girls who do not want medicated products but want a regime for their normal skin.

Competitor products tend to be problem focussed and offer medicated solutions. This gives NIVEA competitive advantage. NIVEA VISAGE Young provides a unique bridge between the teenage market and the adult market.

The company improved the product to make it more effective and more consumer-friendly. Beiersdorf tested the improved products on a sample group from its target audience before finalising the range for re-launch. This testing resulted in a number of changes to existing products. Improvements included:

• Changing the formula of some products. For example, it removed alcohol from one product and used natural sea salts and minerals in others.

• Introducing two completely new products.
• A new modern pack design with a flower pattern and softer colours to appeal to younger women.
• Changing product descriptions and introducing larger pack sizes.

Each of these changes helped to strengthen the product range, to better meet the needs of the market. Some of these changes reflect NIVEA’s commitment to the environment. Its corporate responsibility approach aims to:

• reduce packaging and waste – by using larger pack sizes
• use more natural products – by including minerals and sea salts in the formula
• increase opportunities for recycling – by using recyclable plastic in its containers.

Price :

Lots of factors affect the end price of a product, for example, the costs of production or the business need to maximise profits or sales. A product’s price also needs to provide value for money in the market and attract consumers to buy.

There are several pricing strategies that a business can use:

• Cost based pricing – this can either simply cover costs or include an element of profit. It focuses on the product and does not take account of consumers.

• Penetration price – an initial low price to ensure that there is a high volume of purchases and market share is quickly won. This strategy encourages consumers to develop a habit of buying.

• Price skimming – an initial high price for a unique product encouraging those who want to be ‘first to buy’ to pay a premium price. This strategy helps a business to gain maximum revenue before a competitor’s product reaches the market.

On re-launch the price for NIVEA VISAGE Young was slightly higher than previously. This reflected its new formulations, packaging and extended product range. However, the company also had to take into account that the target market was both teenage girls and mums buying the product for their daughters. This meant that the price had to offer value for money or it would be out of reach of its target market.

As NIVEA VISAGE Young is one of the leading skin care ranges meeting the beautifying needs of this market segment, it is effectively the price leader. This means that it sets the price level that competitors will follow or undercut. NIVEA needs to regularly review prices should a competitor enter the market at the ‘market growth’ point of the product life cycle to ensure that its pricing remains competitive.

The pricing strategy for NIVEA is not the same as that of the retailers. It sells products to retailers at one price. However, retailers have the freedom to use other strategies for sales promotion. These take account of the competitive nature of the high street. They may use:

• loss leader: the retailer sells for less than it cost to attract large volume of sales, for example by supermarkets

• discounting – alongside other special offers, such as ‘Buy one, get one free’ (BOGOF) or ‘two for one’.

NIVEA VISAGE Young’s pricing strategy now generates around 7% of NIVEA VISAGE sales.

Place

Place refers to:
• How the product arrives at the point of sale. This means a business must think about what distribution strategies it will use.

• Where a product is sold. This includes retail outlets like supermarkets or high street shops. It also includes other ways in which businesses make products directly available to their target market, for example, through direct mail or the Internet.

NIVEA VISAGE Young aims to use as many relevant distribution channels as possible to ensure the widest reach of its products to its target market. The main channels for the product are retail outlets where consumers expect to find skin care ranges. Around 65% of NIVEA VISAGE.

Young sales are through large high street shops such as Boots and Superdrug. Superdrug is particularly important for the ‘young-end’ market. The other 35% of sales mainly comes from large grocery chains that stock beauty products, such as ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Market research shows that around 20% of this younger target market buys products for themselves in the high street stores when shopping with friends. Research also shows that the majority of purchasers are actually made by mums, buying for teenagers. Mums are more likely to buy the product from supermarkets whilst doing their grocery shopping.

NIVEA distributes through a range of outlets that are cost effective but that also reach the highest number of consumers. Its distribution strategies also consider the environmental impact of transport. It uses a central distribution point in the UK. Products arrive from European production plants using contract vehicles for efficiency for onward delivery to retail stores. Beiersdorf does not sell direct to smaller retailers as the volume of products sold would not be cost effective to deliver but it uses wholesalers for these smaller accounts. It does not sell directly through its website as the costs of producing small orders would be too high. However, the retailers, like Tesco, feature and sell the NIVEA products in their online stores.

Promotion

Promotion is how the business tells customers that products are available and persuades them to buy. Promotion is either above-the-line or below-the-line. Above-the-line promotion is directly paid for, for example TV or newspaper advertising.

Below-the-line is where the business uses other promotional methods to get the product message across:

• Events or trade fairs help to launch a product to a wide audience. Events may be business to consumer (B2C) whereas trade fairs are business to business (B2B).

• Direct mail can reach a large number of people but is not easy to target specific consumers cost-effectively.

• Public relations (PR) includes the different ways a business can communicate with its stakeholders, through, for example, newspaper press releases. Other PR activities include sponsorship of high profile events like Formula 1 or the World Cup, as well as donations to or participation in charity events.

Branding – a strong and consistent brand identity differentiates the product and helps consumers to understand and trust the product. This aims to keep consumers buying the product long-term.

• Sales promotions, for example competitions or sampling, encourage consumers to buy products in the short-term.

NIVEA chooses promotional strategies that reflect the lifestyle of its audience and the range of media available. It realises that a ‘one way’ message, using TV or the press, is not as effective as talking directly to its target group of consumers. Therefore NIVEA does not plan to use any above-the-line promotion for NIVEA VISAGE Young.

The promotion of NIVEA VISAGE Young is consumer-led. Using various below-the-line routes, NIVEA identifies ways of talking to teenagers (and their mums) directly.

• A key part of the strategy is the use of product samples. These allow customers to touch, feel, smell and try the products. Over a million samples of NIVEA VISAGE Young products will be given away during 2008. These samples will be available through the website, samples in stores or in ‘goody bags’ given out at VISAGE roadshows up and down the country.

• NIVEA VISAGE Young launched an interactive online magazine called FYI (Fun, Young & Independent) to raise awareness of the brand. The concept behind the magazine is to give teenage girls the confidence to become young women and to enjoy their new-found independence. Communication channels are original and engaging to enable teenagers to identify with NIVEA VISAGE Young. The magazine focuses on ‘first time’ experiences relating to NIVEA VISAGE Young being their first skincare routine. It is promoted using the Hit40UK chart show and the TMF digital TV channel.

• In connection with FYI, NIVEA VISAGE Young has recognised the power of social network sites for this young audience and also has pages on MySpace, Facebook and Bebo. The company is using the power of new media as part of the mix to grow awareness amongst the target audience.

Conclusion

NIVEA VISAGE Young is a skincare range in the UK market designed to enhance the skin and beauty of the teenage consumer rather than being medicated to treat skin problems. As such, it has created a clear position in the market. This shows that NIVEA understands its consumers and has produced this differentiated product range in order to meet their needs.

To bring the range to market, the business has put together a marketing mix. This mix balances the four elements of product, price, place and promotion. The mix uses traditional methods of place, such as distribution through the high street, alongside more modern methods of promotion, such as through social networking sites. It makes sure that the message of NIVEA VISAGE Young reaches the right people in the right way.

Answer the following questions:

1. Describe what is meant by a business being ‘consumer led’.
2. What are the key parts of the marketing mix? Explain how each works with the others.3. Explain why the balance of the marketing mix is as important as any single element.
4. Analyse the marketing mix for NIVEA VISAGE Young. What are its strongest points? Explain why you think this is so.

 

Case-2 : SWOT analysis in action at Škoda

Introduction

In 1895 in Czechoslovakia, two keen cyclists, Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement, designed and produced their own bicycle. Their business became Škoda in 1925. Škoda went on to manufacture cycles, cars, farm ploughs and airplanes in Eastern Europe. Škoda overcame hard times over the next 65 years. These included war, economic depression and political change. By 1990 the Czech management of Škoda was looking for a strong foreign partner. Volkswagen AG (VAG) was chosen because of its reputation for strength, quality and reliability. It is the largest car manufacturer in Europe providing an average of more than 5 million cars a year – giving it a 12% share of the world car market. Volkswagen AG comprises the Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, SEAT, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti brands. Each brand has its own specific character and is independent in the market. Škoda UK sells Škoda cars through its network of independent franchised dealers.

To improve its performance in the competitive car market, Škoda UK’s management needed to assess its brand positioning. Brand positioning means establishing a distinctive image for the brand compared to competing brands. Only then could it grow from being a small player. To aid its decision-making, Škoda UK obtained market research data from internal and external strategic audits. This enabled it to take advantage of new opportunities and respond to threats.

The audit provided a summary of the business’s overall strategic position by using a SWOT analysis.

SWOT is an acronym which stands for:

• Strengths – the internal elements of the business that contribute to improvement and growth

• Weaknesses – the attributes that will hinder a business or make it vulnerable to failure
• Opportunities – the external conditions that could enable future growth
• Threats – the external factors which could negatively affect the business.

This case study focuses on how Škoda UK’s management built on all the areas of the strategic audit. The outcome of the SWOT analysis was a strategy for effective competition in the car industry.

Strengths

To identify its strengths, Škoda UK carried out research. It asked customers directly for their opinions about its cars. It also used reliable independent surveys that tested customers’ feelings. For example, the annual JD Power customer satisfaction survey asks owners what they feel about cars they have owned for at least six months. JD Power surveys almost 20,000 car owners using detailed questionnaires. Škoda has been in the top five manufacturers in this survey for the past 13 years. In Top Gear’s 2007 customer satisfaction survey, 56,000 viewers gave their opinions on 152 models and voted Škoda the ‘number 1 car maker’. Škoda’s Octavia model has also won the 2008 Auto Express Driver Power ‘Best Car’.

Škoda attributes these results to the business concentrating on owner experience rather than on sales. It has considered ‘the human touch’ from design through to sale. Škoda knows that 98% of its drivers would recommend Škoda to a friend. This is a clearly identifiable and quantifiable strength. Škoda uses this to guide its future strategic development and marketing of its brand image.

Strategic management guides a business so that it can compete and grow in its market. Škoda adopted a strategy focused on building cars that their owners would enjoy. This is different from simply maximising sales of a product. As a result, Škoda’s biggest strength was the satisfaction of its customers. This means the brand is associated with a quality product and happy customers.

Weaknesses

A SWOT analysis identifies areas of weakness inside the business. Škoda UK’s analysis showed that in order to grow it needed to address key questions about the brand position. Škoda has only 1.7% market share. This made it a very small player in the market for cars. The main issue it needed to address was: how did Škoda fit into this highly competitive, fragmented market?

This weakness was partly due to out-dated perceptions of the brand. These related to Škoda’s eastern European origins. In the past the cars had an image of poor vehicle quality, design, assembly, and materials. Crucially, this poor perception also affected Škoda owners. For many people, car ownership is all about image. If you are a Škoda driver, what do other people think?

From 1999 onwards, under Volkswagen AG ownership, Škoda changed this negative image. Škoda cars were no longer seen as low -budget or low quality. However, a brand ‘health check’ in 2006 showed that Škoda still had a weak and neutral image in the mid-market range it occupies, compared to other players in this area, for example, Ford, Peugeot and Renault. This meant that whilst the brand no longer had a poor image, it did not have a strong appeal either. This understanding showed Škoda in which direction it needed to go. It needed to stop being defensive in promotional campaigns. The company had sought to correct old perceptions and demonstrate what Škoda cars were not. It realised it was now time to say what the brand does stand for. The marketing message for the change was simple. Škoda owners were known to be happy and contented with their cars. The car-buying public and the car industry as a whole needed convincing that Škoda cars were great to own and drive.

Opportunities and Threats

Opportunities

Opportunities occur in the external environment of a business. These include for example, gaps in the market for new products or services. In analysing the external market, Škoda noted that its competitors’ marketing approaches focused on the product itself.

Audi emphasises the technology through its strapline, ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’ (‘advantage through technology’). BMW promotes ‘the ultimate driving machine’. Many brands place emphasis on the machine and the driving experience. Škoda UK discovered that its customers loved their cars more than owners of competitor brands, such as Renault or Ford.

Information from the SWOT analysis helped Škoda to differentiate its product range. Having a complete understanding of the brand’s weaknesses allowed it to develop a strategy to strengthen the brand and take advantage of the opportunities in the market. It focused on its existing strengths and provided cars focused on the customer experience. The focus on ‘happy Škoda customers’ is an opportunity. It enables Škoda to differentiate the Škoda brand to make it stand out from the competition. This is Škoda’s unique selling proposition (USP) in the motor industry.

Threats

Threats come from outside of a business. These involve, for example, a competitor launching cheaper products. A careful analysis of the nature, source and likelihood of these threats is a key part of the SWOT process.

The UK car market includes 50 different car makers selling 200 models. Within these there are over 2,000 model derivatives. Škoda UK needed to ensure that its messages were powerful enough for customers to hear within such a crowded and competitive environment. If not, potential buyers would overlook Škoda. This posed the threat of a further loss of market share.

Škoda needed a strong product range to compete in the UK and globally. In the UK the Škoda brand is represented by seven different cars. Each one is designed to appeal to different market segments. For example:

• The Škoda Fabia is sold as a basic but quality ‘city car’

• The Škoda Superb offers a more luxurious, ‘up-market’ appeal

• The Škoda Octavia Estate provides a family with a fun drive but also a great big boot.

Pricing reflects the competitive nature of Škoda’s market. Each model range is priced to appeal to different groups within the mainstream car market. The combination of a clear range with competitive pricing has overcome the threat of the crowded market.

The following example illustrates how Škoda responded to another of its threats, namely, the need to respond to EU legal and environmental regulations. Škoda responded by designing products that are environmentally friendly at every stage of their life cycle. This was done by for example:-

• Recycling as much as possible. Škoda parts are marked for quick and easy identification when the car is taken apart.

• Using the latest, most environmentally-friendly manufacturing technologies and facilities available. For instance, areas painted to protect against corrosion use lead-free, water based colours.

• Designing processes to cut fuel consumption and emissions in petrol and diesel engines. These use lighter parts making vehicles as aerodynamic as possible to use less energy.

• Using technology to design cars with lower noise levels and improved sound quality. Outcomes and benefits of SWOT analysis.

Škoda UK’s SWOT analysis answered some key questions. It discovered that:

• Škoda car owners were happy about owning a Škoda
• the brand was no longer seen as a poorer version of competitors’ cars.

However,

• the brand was still very much within a niche market

• a change in public perception was vital for Škoda to compete and increase its market share of the mainstream car market.

The challenge was how to build on this and develop the brand so that it was viewed positively. It required a whole new marketing strategy.

Škoda UK has responded with a new marketing strategy based on the confident slogan, ‘the manufacturer of happy drivers.’ The campaign’s promotional activities support the new brand position. The key messages for the campaign focus on the ‘happy’ customer experience and appeal at an emotional rather than a practical level. The campaign includes:

• he ‘Fabia Cake’ TV advert. This showed that the car was ‘full of lovely stuff’ with the happy music (‘Favourite things’) in the background.

• An improved and redesigned website which is easy and fun to use. This is to appeal to a young audience. It embodies the message ‘experience the happiness of Škoda online’.

Customers are able to book test drives and order brochures online. The result is that potential customers will feel a Škoda is not only a reliable and sensible car to own, it is also ‘lovely’ to own.

Analysing the external opportunities and threats allows Škoda UK to pinpoint precisely how it should target its marketing messages. No other market player has ‘driver happiness’ as its USP. By building on the understanding derived from the SWOT, Škoda UK has given new impetus to its campaign. At the same time, the campaign has addressed the threat of external competition by setting Škoda apart from its rivals.

Conclusion

Škoda is a global brand offering a range of products in a highly competitive and fragmented market. The company must respond positively to internal and external issues to avoid losing sales and market share.

A SWOT analysis brings order and structure to otherwise random information. The SWOT model helps managers to look internally as well as externally. The information derived from the analysis gives direction to the strategy. It highlights the key internal weaknesses in a business, it focuses on strengths and it alerts managers to opportunities and threats. Škoda was able to identify where it had strengths to compete. The structured review of internal and external factors helped transform Škoda UK’s strategic direction.

The case study shows how Škoda UK transformed its brand image in the eyes of potential customers and build its competitive edge over rivals. By developing a marketing strategy playing on clearly identified strengths of customer happiness, Škoda was able to overcome weaknesses. It turned its previously defensive position of the brand to a positive customer-focused experience. The various awards Škoda has won demonstrate how its communications are reaching customers. Improved sales show that Škoda UK’s new strategy has delivered benefits.

Answer the

1. What was the key weakness that Škoda was able to identify?
2. What strength did Škoda use to turn its brand weakness into an opportunity?3. How has Škoda strategically addressed external threats?
4. What in your view are the important benefits of using a SWOT analysis

 

Case-3 : Marketing strategy for growth

Introduction

Businesses must respond to change in order to remain competitive. Developing appropriate strategies which allow them to move forward is essential. Wilkinson is a prime example of a business that has responded to changing customer needs throughout its history. It is one of the UK’s long-established retailers of a wide range of food, home, garden, office, health and beauty products.James Kemsey (JK) Wilkinson opened his first Wilkinson Store in Charnwood Street, Leicester in 1930. After the Second World War, the 1950s saw a rise in the use of labour-saving devices and DIY. Wilkinson responded by making this type of product the focus of its sales. In the 1960s customers wanted more convenience shopping. Wilkinson started selling groceries and supermarket goods and created the Wilko brand. In the 1980s Wilkinson extended its range of low-cost products to include quality clothing, toys, toiletries and perfumes. In 1995 it opened a central distribution centre in Workshop, serving stores in the north of England and in 2004, a new distribution centre opened in Wales. In 2005 Wilkinson launched its Internet shopping service, offering over 800,000 product lines for sale online. Wilkinson currently has over 300 stores, which carry an average of 25,000 product lines. 40% of these are Wilko ‘own-brand’ products. The company’s target is to see this element grow and to have over 500 stores by 2012.

Wilkinson’s growth places it in the top 30 retailers in the UK. Recently it has faced increasing challenges from competitors, such as the supermarket sector. Wilkinson needed to combat this and identify new areas for growth. Over two years it conducted extensive market research. This has helped it create a marketing strategy designed to continue growing by targeting a new market segment – the student population. This case study focuses on how Wilkinson created and implemented this strategy, using the findings of its market research to drive the strategy forward.

Marketing strategy aims to communicate to customers the added-value of products and services. This considers the right mix of design, function, image or service to improve customer awareness of the business’ products and ultimately to encourage them to buy. An important tool for helping develop an appropriate marketing strategy is Ansoff’s Matrix. This model looks at the options for developing a marketing strategy and helps to assess the levels of risk involved with each option. Marketing strategies may focus on the development of products or markets. Doing more of what a business already does carries least risk; developing a completely new product for a new audience carries the highest risk both in terms of time and costs.

Based on its research, Wilkinson committed to a market development strategy to sell its products to a new audience of students. This is a medium risk strategy as it requires the business to find and develop new customers. It also carries costs of the marketing campaigns to reach this new group. The main focus of the strategy was to increase awareness of the brand among students and encourage them to shop regularly at Wilkinson stores.

Market research

Market research is vital for collecting data on which to base the strategy. Market research takes one of two main forms – primary research and secondary research. Primary research (also called field research) involves collecting data first hand. This can take many forms, the main ones being interview, questionnaires, panels and observation. Secondary research (also called desk research) involves collecting data which already exists. This includes using information from reports, publications, Internet research and company files.

Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of primary research are that it is recent, relevant and designed specifically for the company’s intended strategy. The main disadvantage is that it is more expensive than secondary research and can be biased if not planned well. Secondary research is relatively cheap, can be undertaken quickly and so enables decision-making sooner. However, secondary research can go out-of-date and may not be entirely relevant to the business’ needs.

Wilkinson undertook primary market research using questionnaires from students across the UK and secondary research using government and university admissions data. The statistics revealed that there were three million potential student customers.

They had a combined annual spend of around £9 billion per year. This research confirmed that the choice of focusing on the student market as a means of growth was valid. Wilkinson undertook further research to identify how to reach students and persuade them to start shopping at Wilkinson stores. This information was used to formulate a focus strategy. This was aimed specifically at the needs of the student ‘market segment’.

Marketing to students

Wilkinson involved 60 universities in research, using questionnaires distributed to students initially in Years 2 and 3 of a range of universities and then to ‘freshers’ (new students) through the University and Colleges Admission Service. This ensured the widest range of students was included to eliminate bias. It also gave a wide range of responses. From this initial group, students were asked a second set of questions. Participants were rewarded with Amazon vouchers to encourage a good take-up. The research focused on two areas:

1. student awareness of the Wilkinson brand and

2. reasons why students were currently not using the stores regularly.

The market research enabled Wilkinson to put together its marketing strategy. The aim was to ensure the student population began shopping at Wilkinson stores early in their student experience. This would help to maintain their customer loyalty to Wilkinson throughout their student years and also to develop them as future customers after university. Repeat business is key to sustained growth. Wilkinson wanted to create satisfied customers with their needs met by the Wilkinson range of products. A marketing campaign was launched which focused on a range of promotional tactics, specifically designed to appeal to university students:

• Wilkinson being present at freshers’ fairs – and giving free goody bags with sample products directly to students
• direct mail flyers to homes and student halls, prior to students arriving
• advertisements with fun theme, for example, showing frying pans as tennis racquets
• web banners
• offering discounts of 15% with first purchase using the online store
• gift vouchers
• free wallplanners.

The challenge was to get students into Wilkinson stores. The opportunity was to capture a new customer group at an early stage and provide essential items all year round. This would lead to a committed customer group and secure repeat business.

Outcomes/evaluation

Wilkinson wanted to know what would inspire students to shop at Wilkinson more and what factors would help to attract non-customers. The research provided significant primary information to analyse the effects of the campaign. Wilkinson used questionnaires collected from the first year undergraduates to gather qualitative data. In addition, Wilkinson obtained quantitative data from various other sources, including:
• redemption rates – how many people used the discount vouchers when buying

• sales analysis – how much extra business did the stores handle

• footfall in stores analysis – how many extra people went into stores.

This information helped Wilkinson to develop its plans for future marketing campaigns. It identified Motivation factors for the student audience which would help to encourage future purchase. Key factors included products being cheaper than competitors and easy access to stores. 23% of students questioned gave ‘distance from university’ as a reason for not regularly visiting the store. The layout of the store was another major problem affecting repeat visits. These findings have been taken on board by Wilkinson in its future planning of store locations and layouts.

Researching students’ opinions after the campaign showed that:

• Awareness of Wilkinson brand had significantly risen from 77% to 95% of those interviewed. This brought it in line with Morrison supermarkets, a key competitor.

Conclusion

Wilkinson’s marketing strategy began with its corporate aim to grow and increase stores across the UK. It was facing increased competition from supermarkets and needed to identify an area to focus on. To pursue a growth strategy, Wilkinson used market research to identify new target customers. This enabled it to prepare marketing strategies to fit the audience.

Primary and secondary research was used to find out customer views regarding its brand. Data indicated the student market segment was a significant area to focus on to achieve market development. A marketing campaign using data from a follow-up survey was put in place. The campaign showed significant increase in students’ levels of awareness about Wilkinson and its products. It encouraged them either to shop more or to try Wilkinson for the first time. The campaign helped to achieve many of the business’ aims, creating increased brand awareness and repeat visits. It also helped to inform the company’s future strategies for growth. Market research gathered will help to formulate future plans for

new stores. These will be in line with Wilkinson commitment to providing communities with affordable products across the country.

Answer the following questions

1. What is the difference between primary and secondary research? Identify one example of primary and secondary research carried out by Wilkinson.
2. Explain why Wilkinson needed a marketing strategy to help them to grow.
3. Evaluate the benefits of the marketing campaign to Wilkinson.
4. Analyse how effective the marketing campaign was in helping Wilkinson respond to competitive pressures.

 

Case-4 : Extending the product life cycle

Introduction

Businesses need to set themselves clear aims and objectives if they are going to succeed. The Kellogg Company is the world’s leading producer of breakfast cereals and convenience foods, such as cereal bars, and aims to maintain that position. In 2006, Kellogg had total worldwide sales of almost $11 billion (£5.5 billion). In 2007, it was Britain’s biggest selling grocery brand, with sales of more than £550 million. Product lines include ready-to-eat cereals (i.e. not hot cereals like porridge) and nutritious snacks, such as cereal bars. Kellogg’s brands are household names around the world and include Rice Krispies, Special K and Nutri-Grain , whilst some of its brand characters, like Snap, Crackle and Pop, are amongst the most wellknown in the world.

Kellogg has achieved this position, not only through great brands and great brand value, but through a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility. This means that all of Kellogg’s business aims are set within a particular context or set of ideals. Central to this is Kellogg’s passion for the business, the brands and the food, demonstrated through the promotion of healthy living.

The company divides its market into six key segments. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes has been on breakfast tables for over 100 years and represents the ‘Tasty Start’ cereals that people eat to start their day. Other segments include ‘Simply Wholesome’ products that are good for you, such as Kashi Muesli, ‘Shape Management’ products, such as Special K and ‘Inner Health’ lines, such as All- Bran. Children will be most familiar with the ‘Kid Preferred’ brands, such as Frosties, whilst ‘Mum Approved’ brands like Raisin Wheats are recognised by parents as being good for their children.

Each brand has to hold its own in a competitive market. Brand managers monitor the success of brands in terms of market share, growth and performance against the competition. Key decisions have to be made about the future of any brand that is not succeeding. This case study is about Nutri-Grain. It shows how Kellogg recognised there was a problem with the brand and used business tools to reach a solution. The overall aim was to re-launch the brand and return it to growth in its market.

The product life cycle

Each product has its own life cycle. It will be ‘born’, it will ‘develop’, it will ‘grow old’ and, eventually, it will ‘die’. Some products, like Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, have retained their market position for a long time. Others may have their success undermined by falling market share or by competitors. The product life cycle shows how sales of a product change over time. The five typical stages of the life cycle are shown on a graph. However, perhaps the most important stage of a product life cycle happens before this graph starts, namely the Research and Development (R&D) stage. Here the company designs a product to meet a need in the market. The costs of market research – to identify a gap in the market and of product development to ensure that the product meets the needs of that gap – are called ‘sunk’ or start-up costs. Nutri-Grain was originally designed to meet the needs of busy people who had missed breakfast. It aimed to provide a healthy cereal breakfast in a portable and convenient format.

1. Launch – Many products do well when they are first brought out and Nutri-Grain was no exception. From launch (the first stage on the diagram) in 1997 it was immediately successful, gaining almost 50% share of the growing cereal bar market in just two years.

2. Growth – Nutri-Grain’s sales steadily increased as the product was promoted and became well known. It maintained growth in sales until 2002 through expanding the original product with new developments of flavour and format. This is good for the business, as it does not have to spend money on new machines or equipment for production. The market position of Nutri-Grain also subtly changed from a ‘missed breakfast’ product to an ‘all-day’ healthy snack.

3. Maturity – Successful products attract other competitor businesses to start selling similar products. This indicates the third stage of the life cycle – maturity. This is the time of maximum profitability, when profits can be used to continue to build the brand. However, competitor brands from both Kellogg itself (e.g. All Bran bars) and other manufacturers (e.g. Alpen bars) offered the same benefits and this slowed down sales and chipped away at Nutri-Grain’s market position. Kellogg continued to support the development of the brand but some products (such as Minis and Twists), struggled in a crowded market. Although Elevenses continued to succeed, this was not enough to offset the overall sales decline. Not all products follow these stages precisely and time periods for each stage will vary widely. Growth, for example, may take place over a few months or, as in the case of Nutri-Grain, over several years.

4. Saturation – This is the fourth stage of the life cycle and the point when the market is ‘full’. Most people have the product and there are other, better or cheaper competitor products. This is called market saturation and is when sales start to fall. By mid-2004 Nutri-Grain found its sales declining whilst the market continued to grow at a rate of 15%.

5. Decline – Clearly, at this point, Kellogg had to make a key business decision. Sales were falling, the product was in decline and losing its position. Should Kellogg let the product ‘die’, i.e. withdraw it from the market, or should it try to extend its life?

Strategic use of the product life cycle

When a company recognises that a product has gone into decline or is not performing as well as it should, it has to decide what to do. The decision needs to be made within the context of the overall aims of the business. Kellogg’s aims included the development of great brands, great brand value and the promotion of healthy living. Strategically, Kellogg had a strong position in the market for both healthy foods and convenience foods. Nutri-Grain fitted well with its main aims and objectives and therefore was a product and a brand worth rescuing.

Kellogg decided to try to extend the life of the product rather than withdraw it from the market. This meant developing an extension strategy for the product. Ansoff’s matrix is a tool that helps analyse which strategy is appropriate. It shows both market-orientated and product-orientated possibilities.

Extending the Nutri-Grain cycle – identifying the problem

Kellogg had to decide whether the problem with Nutri-Grain was the market, the product or both. The market had grown by over 15% and competitors’ market share had increased whilst Nutri-Grain sales in 2003 had declined. The market in terms of customer tastes had also changed – more people missed breakfast and therefore there was an increased need for such a snack product.

The choice of extension strategy indicated by the matrix was either product development or diversification. Diversification carries much higher costs and risks. Kellogg decided that it needed to focus on changing the product to meet the changing market needs.

Research showed that there were several issues to address:

1. The brand message was not strong enough in the face of competition. Consumers were not impressed enough by the product to choose it over competitors.
2. Some of the other Kellogg products (e.g. Minis) had taken the focus away from the core business.

3. The core products of Nutri-Grain Soft Bake and Elevenses between them represented over 80% of sales but received a small proportion of advertising and promotion budgets.

4. Those sales that were taking place were being driven by promotional pricing (i.e discounted pricing) rather than the underlying strength of the brand.

Implementing the extension strategy for Nutri-Grain having recognised the problems, Kellogg then developed solutions to re-brand and re-launch the product in 2005.

1. Fundamental to the re-launch was the renewal of the brand image. Kellogg looked at the core features that made the brand different and modelled the new brand image on these. Nutri-Grain is unique as it is the only product of this kind that is baked. This provided two benefits:

• the healthy grains were soft rather than gritty

• the eating experience is closer to the more indulgent foods that people could be eating (cakes and biscuits, for example). The unique selling point, hence the focus of the brand, needed to be the ‘soft bake’.

2. Researchers also found that a key part of the market was a group termed ‘realistic snackers’. These are people who want to snack on healthy foods, but still crave a great tasting snack. The re-launched Nutri-Grain product needed to help this key group fulfil both of these desires.

3. Kellogg decided to re-focus investment on the core products of Soft Bake Bars and Elevenses as these had maintained their growth (accounting for 61% of Soft Bake Bar sales). Three existing Soft Bake Bar products were improved, three new ranges introduced and poorly performing ranges (such as Minis) were withdrawn.

4. New packaging was introduced to unify the brand image.

5. An improved pricing structure for stores and supermarkets was developed.

Using this information, the re-launch focused on the four parts of the marketing mix:

• Product – improvements to the recipe and a wider range of flavours, repositioning the brand as ‘healthy and tasty’, not a substitute for a missed breakfast

• Promotion – a new and clearer brand image to cover all the products in the range along with advertising and point-of-sale materials

• Place – better offers and materials to stores that sold the product
• Price – new price levels were agreed that did not rely on promotional pricing. This improved revenue for both Kellogg and the stores.

As a result Soft Bake Bar year-on-year sales went from a decline to substantial growth, with Elevenses sales increasing by almost 50%. The Nutri-Grain brand achieved a retail sales growth rate of almost three times that of the market and most importantly, growth was maintained after the initial re-launch.

Conclusion

Successful businesses use all the tools at their disposal to stay at theSuccessful businesses use all the tools at their disposal to stay at the top of their chosen market. Kellogg was able to use a number of business tools in order to successfully re-launch the Nutri-Grain brand. These tools included the product life cycle, Ansoff’s matrix and the marketing mix. Such tools are useful when used properly.

Kellogg was able to see that although Nutri-Grain fitted its strategic profile – a healthy, convenient cereal product – it was underperforming in the market. This information was used, along with the aims and objectives of the business, to develop a strategy for continuing success. Finally, when Kellogg checked the growth of the re-launched product against its own objectives, it had met all its aims to:

• re-position the brand through the use of the marketing mix
• return the brand to growth
• improve the frequency of purchase
• introduce new customers to the brand.

Nutri-Grain remains a growing brand and product within the Kellogg product family.

Answer the following questions:

1. Using current products familiar to you, draw and label a product life cycle diagram, showing which stage each product is at.
2. Suggest appropriate aims and objectives for a small, medium and large business.
3. Consider the decision taken by Kellogg to opt for product development. Suggest a way in which it could have diversified instead. Justify your answer.

 

Marketing Management

CASE STUDY 

Sunshine Lumieres was established in 1992 in Bangalore, India to manufacture lamps mainly for household use. The company was established by Dr. Srinath Kashyap who had extensive experience in the lamp industry with the major multinational manufacturers in India and overseas. Sunshine was involved till now in manufacturing and supplying lamps for consumer and household use under various brands for the leading lamp companies. Dr. Kashyap was involved in looking after the manufacturing and marketing functions while his wife looked after the Finances and the HR functions. The Company had a total of 50 employees and grossed revenue of Rs.9 crores in 2005. The market in India was large and growing due to the increasing affluence and the massive rural electrification programmes of the Government. Post liberalization in 1992; the market dynamics slowly started changing due to increased competition from leading brands looking to capture larger market shares. Dr Kashyap felt it was time to diversify this business and get into newer product segments. The lamp industry can be classified into various segments like: Consumer household Lamps Industrial & Commercial lamps Specialty lamps like high intensity lamps used in Medical & Office Equipment Automotive lamps Miniature lamps Energy efficient lamps like CFL lamps, LED lamps etc. While the large MNCs were present in all segments, most local manufacturers were involved in the consumer and household lighting. Typically, household lamps sold at around US$0.25 per piece at the retail level while the Industrial and commercial lamps sold at prices upwards of US$25 per piece retail. Sunshine lumeries hired Dr. Mohan Das, a bright Engineer from IIT and MBA from a leading Business school. After working in some leading companies, Mohan felt it was time for him to exploit his innovative skills and create world class products. In a very short span of time after joining Sunshine, Dr. Das was able to produce some very interesting and technologically advanced products. Dr. Kashyap felt that over time , in low value products like lamps, the large MNC’s would be forced to give way to players from developing countries like China and India, who would over time establish the products under their own brands. Establishing the Sunshine brand over time was therefore vital for the future. Meanwhile, Mohan had designed a slew of new and innovative products – comparable with the best in their class in the world, in the energy efficient and Industrial lamp categories. Given suitable financial investments, these could take the company’s revenues to over Rs.100 crores by 2008 between the domestic and export markets. As he looked out of his office window, enjoying the light drizzle and cool breeze of Bangalore, Dr. Kashyap’s realized that he was at a point of inflexion. If the current opportunities were exploited fully, it could lead to great fortunes for himself and his family. He could even take the company public and unlock the value of his holdings. However, it would also mean that Sunshine would have to evolve into a professionally managed company and have a larger number of employees. He wondered how he should go about structuring his Sales and Distribution organization so as to grow manifold both domestically and overseas within the next three years before taking the company public. Dr. Kashyap was convinced that he needed to seek professional advice. He invited Dr. Vasant Rao, an old friend and leading Management expert in Bangalore to visit his office for a discussion on a broad game plan.

Answer the following question.

Q1. How Dr. Kashyap should go about professionalizing & restructuring his organization?

Q2. Should the sales be organized on geographic or product basis?

Q3. Should be distribution be common for all products?

Q4. Should he have his own Sales and Distribution organizations in some countries?

 

CASE STUDY 

PepsiCo a world leader in convenient snacks, foods, and beverages is a $35 billion company. Some of the popular brands like PepsiCola, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Lays, Doritos, Tropicana, Gatorade, and Quaker Oats are owned by the company. The company saw a change of preference in it’s consumers in the 1990’s apart from this the beverage industry also observed a rise in functional drinks in the mid 2000s. The case focuses on the Pepsi’s strategy to address this change in the consumer behavior.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Describe the Impact of changing consumer behavior on the food and beverage Industry.
Q2. Discuss the possible solutions to address the .change in consumer preferences.

 

CASE STUDY 

In 2002, Luxor Writing Instruments Private Limited (LWIPL) had emerged as the market leader in the premium pens segment in India, with a market share of 60%. The company held a 10% share in the writing instruments industry, next only to the market leader, Reynolds that held 12%. LWIPL had been in the pen industry for nearly four decades. The company adopted innovative marketing strategies that had made it one of the most popular pen manufacturers in India. LWIPL offered a widest range of pens with leading brands including Luxor, Pilot, Paper mate and Parker. In December 2002, LWIPL launched the world renowned ‘Waterman’ brand of premium pens in India. This was possible after LWIPL’s acquisition of a 50% stake in the Indian operations of Newell Rubbermaid3. The company planned to sell imported ‘Waterman’ pens for the next couple of years and then start indigenous production for these pens. The price of these pens ranged between Rs.3,500 to Rs.50,000 and was made available in nine sub brands. LWIPL planned to sell these pens to corporate customers. Commenting on the prospects of the ‘Waterman’ brand, DK Jain, Chairman of LWIPL said, “Because of its price and brand name, Waterman will certainly have an edge over other premium brands in India.”4 The company planned to launch an international advertising campaign for these pens. LWIPL was known for its heavy spending on advertising its products. It had entered into several tie ups with multinational pen companies that helped in leveraging its current position in the industry. The fact that LWIPL was a debt free company was another significant achievement. However, with the rising competition and negligible presence in the faster growing gel pens segment, analysts felt that LWIPL had an uncertain future. Analysts also feared that LWIPL’s decision to diversify into the hospitality and packaged foods business in 200102, might lead to a loss in market share in its core business.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Give an overview of the case.

Q2. Explain in details the marketing strategy adopted by Luxor Writing Instruments Private Limited (LWIPL).

 

CASE STUDY 

Beiersdorf, the company behind Nivea, maintained a fairly concentrated portfolio of brands. Yet, the huge success of Nivea, made the company extend the brand across 15 product categories by 2006. However, this strategy of umbrella branding presented the company with a new set of issues and challenges. While the repeated brand extensions could eventually wear out the Nivea brand, the unsuccessful brand extensions could even dilute the equity associated with the brand. Beiersdorf was at a major risk in overrelying on an umbrella brand. As Nivea formed the bulk of its sales, Beiersdorf was highly vulnerable to any loss of consumer confidence in its flagship Nivea brand. By far, Beiersdorf had successfully leveraged upon its flagship brand. But whether capitalizing growth on one single brand would make a successful strategy in the long run was yet to be seen?

Answer the following question.

Q1. Analyze brand architecture strategies at Beiersdorf

Q2. Discuss the opportunities and challenges in umbrella branding.

 

Marketing Management

CASE STUDY

Titan Industries Limited, formerly TITAN WATCHES, is a joint venture of TATA group and The Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation. It was promoted in the year 1987. By the year 1990, TITAN emerged as the leader in the Indian quartz watch market, selling six million watches with 60 per cent market share. The watches are currently sold in 40 countries through marketing subsidiaries in London, Dubai and Singapore. Titan’s expertise in marketing and brand building has elevated Titan to therefore front of Indian brands. Titan has been ranked as India’s leading consumer durables marketing company. Winning awards for excellence has become a way of life with Titan. Titan adopted an aggressive product strategy. They offered a wide and attractive range of quality watches. They offered Dual Time, World Time, Alarm and Long Battery Life Watches. Titan offered a product that combined quality and fashion. Opting for quartz was another important technological decision. Titan went in for the most modern technology and the best international collaboration. TITAN flew down technicians from Europe to train its Indian Staff. To ensure quality TITAN resort to Vertical Integration. They started manufacturing watch cases and other components. Titan positioned their watches as an ornament. It is not a product showing time, watches are expressions of taste and style. It is the most popular gift item to parents, children and life partners. High profile distribution was dominated by the showroom concept. Titan opted for franchising and was very selective. Now, there are more than 6,000 retail shops. They are backed by an excellent service network. They underpriced battery, repair & service charges. In promotion too, TITAN chose an aggressive approach. They spend over Rs.20 chores per year for advertising. While TITAN has conquered all domestic players, global competition poses a new challenge. Import Liberalization and Import duty reduction will force TITAN to modify its marketing strategy.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Explain the following Marketing Mix variables of TITAN. (i) Product (ii) Promotion (iii) Price (iv) Placement.
Q2. Explain the main components of Titan’s marketing strategy.

 

CASE STUDY

This case study’s primary objective is to debate and discuss on: Does it make sense for a single business firm from an emerging country like India, to transform itself into a conglomerate when the reverse trend is witnessed in other countries – both developed as well as developing? With the inception of Bharti Telecom (Bharti) in 1985, Sunil Bharti Mittal laid the foundations of an organisation that would emerge as India’s ‘telecom conglomerate giant’. The company made a humble beginning with the manufacture of push button handsets. However, 1992 marked the turn of events for Bharti. The liberalization of the Indian telecom sector in that year unleashed numerous opportunities for domestic and international players to tap the lucrative Indian telecom market Notwithstanding its small size, Bharti plunged into the bidding war for cellular licenses, successfully capturing the license for providing cellular network service in New Delhi (Delhi). Making a mark with its brand, Airtel, in the Delhi market, Bharti was confident of a triumphant journey. Contradictory to its aspirations, this early victory was followed by a string of downturns. The company lost most of the subsequent cellular bids and found itself in troubled waters. Nevertheless, competitors’ inability to exploit their winning cellular bids proved a boon to Bharti. The eagerness of these companies to sell their cellular licenses to Bharti brought the company back into limelight. Bnking on the opportunity, the company spread its cellular service to new regions in the country. From being a handset manufacturer, Bharti transformed itself into a full cellular service provider with a whopping 4.5 million customers in March 2003. However, the company is not content with being only a ‘telecom conglomerate’. In 2008, to gratify its growing aspirations, Bharti declared its intentions of becoming India’s ‘finest conglomerate by 2020’. Equipped with a youthful logo and new brand identity, Bharti is determined to unveil another success story. However, many challenges lie ahead.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Analyze the critical success factors in building conglomerates and to understand the role of brand building in a conglomerate.
Q2. Examine the challenges that Bharti would face in operating as a conglomerate when a reverse trend is being witnessed all across the globe.

 

CASE STUDY

Everyone connected with the industry of bath room fittings can vividly recall the catastrophic failure of a beautiful model of English WC launched by Bharat Sanitary ware a couple of months back. The Italian design was aesthetically superb, occupying less space and using much less quality of water to flush it clean. It was launched with fully coordinated range of bathtub, washbasin geysers, floor & wall tiles and a host of other accessories. A leading MR firm had conducted market researches in a metro and a mini metro town to ascertain consumer preferences & profile. A huge potential was predicted among up market buyers. Competition was virtually nonexistent In spite of all the precautions the product bombed. The manufacturer had to hastily withdraw it incurring heavy loss. The main reason of failure was analyzed as the complicated process of installation in the existing bathrooms. It turned out to be little difficult for the illiterate plumbers to carry our installations. And they conveniently recommended other brands. For a similar product you have been assigned the task of formulating launch strategy.

Answer the following question.

Q1. How many types of pricing strategies do you know? Explain & what should be the pricing strategy for this product?
Q2. If you were the marketing manager, which marketing strategy will you implement? Justify your answer
Q3. Suggest which all groups of people you will interview to find out buyer preferences & needs of channel members. List key information that you would like to obtain from different groups of respondents.
Q4. Discuss and list as per importance the various options available to you for promoting this product.

 

CASE STUDY

In the late 1990s, Gillette, best known for its razors and blades grabbed 15% market share in the US market by launching its Mach 3 brand. Mach 3 was a three bladed shaving system that allowed a shave with less pressure and fewer strokes and thus reduced skin irritation. In 2005, Mach 3 with Mach 3 Turbo and battery powered version M3Power captured 34% share in the US market. In the same year P&G acquired Gillette to make its market position stronger overseas. In January 2006, P&G – Gillette merger launched the manual and power versions of a five bladed razor shaving system named as “Fusion” in the US, UK and Canada. Gillette charged $12 to $13 for a pack of four Fusion cartridges and the same number of Fusion Power cartridges was priced at $13 to $14. However analysts estimated that Fusion’s market share had been far weaker than what Gillette saw after Mach 3 and Mach 3 Power launches and the reason behind this was the price structure of Fusion. Analysts predicted that the price of the Fusion manual was 80% higher than Mach 3 manual and that of Fusion Power was 30% higher than Mach 3 Power cartridges. Though Gillette argued that, since Fusion was a luxury brand it was costlier than the previous Gillette razors and blades but when the sales of its razors and blades fell by 5% in 2006, the company planned to cut the price of its Fusion brand. This decision was however, not taken for Brands and Branding unilaterally by Gillette but the company asked its retailers to help it make a decision. The company at the same time paid more attention to the promotional activities of Fusion. Despite this industry observers were skeptical about the success of Fusion.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Would Gillette succeed in promoting its Fusion brand and achieve the same success as it did with Mach 3 in 1998? Explain.

Q2. Give an overview of the case and discuss the product variation of razors and blades categories of Gillette.

 

Marketing Management

CASE STUDY 

Wal-Mart, the second largest company in the world is also the largest retailer in the world. In the past decade, Wal-Mart has been mired in controversies. It has come under increased criticism on a variety of fronts, from paying low wages and providing paltry health benefits to hurting local businesses. Such criticism has escalated since 2004, as two union-backed groups have run grass-roots campaigns to draw attention to Wal-Mart. Analysts observe that the negative perceptions have slowed sales, as some shoppers turn away from the retailer. Lee Scott Jr (Scott), CEO Wal-Mart realises that many of the controversies that have to do with the environment will end up with people feeling that Wal-Mart has a greater responsibility than they are accepting He decides that Wal-Mart needs to define its responsibility broadly, in a way that will bring its vast supply chain— where its environmental impact is the greatest—into the picture. He aims to turn it into the world’s largest environment friendly store. Apart from improving its image, motivating employees, Wal-Mart can also save money by going green.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discusses the green consumerism with respect to Wal-Mart.

Q2. Give an over view of the case.

 

CASE STUDY 

Bose Corporation (Bose), the manufacturer of audio systems was ranked as the most trusted consumer brand among the 22 distinguished technology companies in 2006. Bose topped the list, ahead of Apple, Microsoft, Dell, Intel and Sony. From its inception, Bose had focused on the quality of the product and laid its emphasis on research and development. Moreover, the speakers produced by Bose used an innovative technology that could be controlled automatically. Apart from being the most trusted brand, Bose had been recognized as the strongest brand in the car audio segment for the fourth consecutive year in the US, in 2006. Customers associated Bose with high brand image and so the question was that whether the company would maintain its existing brand image among the consumers or would go for innovative products to counter its competitors. The case gives an insight to Bose’s background from its very inception. It also gives an overview of the making of Bose as a powerful brand.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss whether Bose would cater the niche segment or diversify into other segments.
Q2. Give an overview of the case.

 

CASE STUDY 

In early 2006, Malaysia launched a ‘Visit Malaysia Year 2007’ campaign which coincided with the golden jubilee of its independence in 2007. The objective of the campaign was to market Malaysia as a major tourist destination and attract 20 million international tourists in 2007, up from 16.4 million in 2005. In 1999, Malaysia had launched the ‘Malaysia: Truly Asia’ campaign which significantly increased international tourist flow to the country. The case deals with the efforts made by Malaysia to transform itself into a comprehensive tourism product and market it.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Analyze the need for integrated planning to make a country brand
Q2. Discuss the critical success factors for making the country a major tourist destination
Q3. Debate the image of Malaysia as a country brand
Q4. Give an overview of the case.

 

CASE STUDY 

The very first major move which Paul S. Otellini took, after becoming the new CEO of Intel Corporation, was changing the company’s 16-year old logo. The change was not only in the tag line but also in the famous Intel’s “dropped-e” corporate logo. The company was the market leader in its microprocessor segment and the famous tag line, ‘Intel inside’, was closely associated with its success. A sudden shift from its year-old and well known corporate logo to a new one, was quite unlikely Intel. Moreover, the company was planning to diversify to other businesses, apart from its core PC segment, thus, decided to change from ‘Intel Inside’ to ‘Leap Ahead’. There were many instances where companies had changed their corporate logos and also succeeded in maintaining their images in the market. This case allows room for discussing whether Intel has made the right move or not.
Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss the new marketing initiatives taken by Intel.
Q2. Debate on whether this initiative would help Intel to succeed in future.

 

 

Marketing Management

Case Study – 1

When HLL introduced Lifebuoy in the Indian market in 1895 (110 years ago) it was positioned as the soap that would destroy germs and keep the body healthy. The brand found the going tough especially in rural markets where most people were accustomed to without any soap. HLL then decided to project lifebuoy as soap for hand wash. The approach seemed is pay off. By 1900 Lifebuoy had established itself as soap for hand wash. At this stage, the brand’s inherent properties were expanded and lifebuoy was repositioned as bath soap. Health remained the benefit proposition. “Where there is lifebuoy, there is health”, become a popular jingle in rural India. The brand was also projected on the plank of economy. Much later, in 1964, the brand was re- launched with a change in shape and wrapper design. Lifebuoy started associated with sports. The health and body fitness dimension got reinforced HLL had many requirements to meet. It had to tap same of the emergency market needs. It had to play down the image of lifebuoy as villagers soap and it had to embrace to earnings from lifebuoy brand in the long term. HLL decided to meet these needs through line extensions such as: Lifebuoy personal, Lifebuoy plus, Lifebuoy gold, liquid lifebuoy and lifebuoy active.

Answer the following question.

Q1. How did HLL Position lifebuoy in the beginning?
Q2. What was the geographical focus and why?
Q3. Explain why the brand was going tough in the market?
Q4. What are your views about HLL’s building line extensions?

 

Case Study – 2

Sunshine Lumieres was established in 1992 in Bangalore, India to manufacture lamps mainly for household use. The company was established by Dr. Srinath Kashyap who had extensive experience in the lamp industry with the major multinational manufacturers in India and overseas. Sunshine was involved till now in manufacturing and supplying lamps for consumer and household use under various brands for the leading lamp companies. Dr. Kashyap was involved in looking after the manufacturing and marketing functions while his wife looked after the Finances and the HR functions. The Company had a total of 50 employees and grossed revenue of Rs.9 crores in 2005. The market in India was large and growing due to the increasing affluence and the massive rural electrification programmes of the Government. Post liberalization in 1992; the market dynamics slowly started changing due to increased competition from leading brands looking to capture larger market shares. Dr Kashyap felt it was time to diversify this business and get into newer product segments. The lamp industry can be classified into various segments like: Consumer household Lamps Industrial & Commercial lamps Specialty lamps like high intensity lamps used in Medical & Office Equipment Automotive lamps Miniature lamps Energy efficient lamps like CFL lamps, LED lamps etc. While the large MNCs were present in all segments, most local manufacturers were involved in the consumer and household lighting. Typically, household lamps sold at around US$0.25 per piece at the retail level while the Industrial and commercial lamps sold at prices upwards of US$25 per piece retail. Sunshine lumeries hired Dr. Mohan Das, a bright Engineer from IIT and MBA from a leading Business school. After working in some leading companies, Mohan felt it was time for him to exploit his innovative skills and create world class products. In a very short span of time after joining Sunshine, Dr. Das was able to produce some very interesting and technologically advanced products. Dr. Kashyap felt that over time , in low value products like lamps, the large MNC’s would be forced to give way to players from developing countries like China and India, who would over time establish the products under their own brands. Establishing the Sunshine brand over time was therefore vital for the future. Meanwhile, Mohan had designed a slew of new and innovative products – comparable with the best in their class in the world, in the energy efficient and Industrial lamp categories. Given suitable financial investments, these could take the company’s revenues to over Rs.100 crores by 2008 between the domestic and export markets. As he looked out of his office window, enjoying the light drizzle and cool breeze of Bangalore, Dr. Kashyap’s realized that he was at a point of inflexion. If the current opportunities were exploited fully, it could lead to great fortunes for himself and his family. He could even take the company public and unlock the value of his holdings. However, it would also mean that Sunshine would have to evolve into a professionally managed company and have a larger number of employees. He wondered how he should go about structuring his Sales and Distribution organization so as to grow manifold both domestically and overseas within the next three years before taking the company public. Dr. Kashyap was convinced that he needed to seek professional advice. He invited Dr. Vasant Rao, an old friend and leading Management expert in Bangalore to visit his office for a discussion on a broad game plan.

Answer the following question.

Q1. How Dr. Kashyap should go about professionalizing & restructuring his organization?
Q2. Should the sales be organized on geographic or product basis?
Q3. Should be distribution be common for all products?
Q4. Should he have his own Sales and Distribution organizations in some countries?

 

Case Study – 3

Kaggi’s Food Co (KFC) is a large producer & seller of edible oils, flour, pulses, spices & some other food items. Over past ten years KFC could establish itself well with popular brand names for its produce. Oil brand “Sunrise” from KFC is very popular as low fat, healthy cooking medium. KFC has three mills, one each in Meerut, Dehradun & Lucknow. To avail tax benefit only spices are procured from small manufacturers who carry out their operations under strict supervision of KFC quality team. All other items are manufactured in company’s own mills. SO far entire produce of KFC is sold easily in northern region of seven states through loyal set of distributors & retailers. For past three years KFC has started feeling the pressure of competition, more in oil & flour brands. Apart from bundling free soap, detergent, pet jar etc., competitors have increased distributor & retailer margins on volume off take. The young and professional management team of KFC is confident of achieving targets and enjoying the scene. KFC mills are not very modern ; nevertheless, they are maintained well. Breakdowns and production stoppages are very rare. KFC has recently bought a large salt manufacturing facility in a coastal town. This mill produces good quality common salt on contract basis for two different brands. The previous owner found this arrangement very neat with assured and quick turn over-even though the profit margin is low. KFC did not wish to change the arrangement immediately, but thought building own brand for salt will not be difficult. It will increase profit margin also. Added attraction is that branded salt can easily be sold through existing channel. Market for branded salt is already over crowed. There are many national and local brands. The leading brand TATA is there for over 30years. There are other big national brands with deep pockets for promotion such as Nirma, T-series, Dandi, Catch etc. Each brand is trying to take a particular but different position. While common planks are crystal clear, white & free flow, the special positions are iodized, triple refined, from the house of TATA etc. Prices & packing are almost same. Only Dandi & Catch are costlier. Catch sells in dispensable container of 400 gms also

Answer the following question.

Q1. What core product is Kaggi’s Food selling when it sells edible oils?
Q2. Carry out a SWOT analysis for Kaggi’s Food.
Q3. Suggest some differentiators to build up competitive advantages for KFC’s brand of salt
Q4. What will you suggest to ensure trial & feedback from customers of salt during launch?

 

Case Study – 4

Mr. Ramaswamy after completing post-graduation from IIM, Ahmedabad in 2006 worked for MNC for about one year. However, he soon realized that he is not meant for doing job for someone and he decided to go for restaurant business. His vision is to establish chain of restaurants in all major cities of the world. To make the dream come true , he started with a small restaurant in Mumbai and selected location having dense office area. The residential area is far from the office area. He initially started with luxury type of restaurant with lot of rich ambience and interior with high priced menu. After lapse of nine months, the restaurant failed to fetch the customers. He started analyzing where the things have gone wrong. His restaurant is quality restaurant and still failing. After analysis, he could make out following observations: a) Restaurant is located in office area and all the office staff leaves mostly around 8 pm. They bring their lunch with them. b) Residential area is far which is consisting of mostly middle class families. c) Spending capacity of customers is low. d) Business visitors are also less because of the nature of corporate offices. After due thought, he changed the restaurant into a fast-food outlet. Soon, it started fetching the customers and he is having happy time now. However, he feels that there is low profit margin and less growth opportunities, if he does not do anything. Now to enhance growth, he is planning for awarding franchisees to other outlets in the city and beyond.

Answer the following question.

Q1. In your opinion, is the decision of changing luxury restaurant into fast food outlet is correct one? If yes, how and why the decision is correct?
Q2. Please help him to work out franchisee network and pricing strategies. What advertising and promotional methods do you suggest to attract and retain the customers?

 

Marketing Management

CASE STUDY

This case study’s primary objective is to debate and discuss on: Does it make sense for a single business firm from an emerging country like India, to transform itself into a conglomerate when the reverse trend is witnessed in other countries – both developed as well as developing? With the inception of Bharti Telecom (Bharti) in 1985, Sunil Bharti Mittal laid the foundations of an organisation that would emerge as India’s ‘telecom conglomerate giant’. The company made a humble beginning with the manufacture of push button handsets. However, 1992 marked the turn of events for Bharti. The liberalization of the Indian telecom sector in that year unleashed numerous opportunities for domestic and international players to tap the lucrative Indian telecom market Notwithstanding its small size, Bharti plunged into the bidding war for cellular licenses, successfully capturing the license for providing cellular network service in New Delhi (Delhi). Making a mark with its brand, Airtel, in the Delhi market, Bharti was confident of a triumphant journey. Contradictory to its aspirations, this early victory was followed by a string of downturns. The company lost most of the subsequent cellular bids and found itself in troubled waters. Nevertheless, competitors’ inability to exploit
their winning cellular bids proved a boon to Bharti. The eagerness of these companies to sell their cellular licenses to Bharti brought the company back into limelight. Bnking on the opportunity, the company spread its cellular service to new regions in the country. From being a handset manufacturer, Bharti transformed itself into a full cellular service provider with a whopping 4.5 million customers in March 2003. However, the company is not content with being only a ‘telecom conglomerate’. In 2008, to gratify its growing aspirations, Bharti declared its intentions of becoming India’s ‘finest conglomerate by 2020’. Equipped with a youthful logo and new brand identity, Bharti is determined to unveil another success story. However, many challenges lie ahead.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Analyze the critical success factors in building conglomerates and to understand the role of brand building in a conglomerate.

Q2. Examine the challenges that Bharti would face in operating as a conglomerate when a reverse trend is being witnessed all across the globe.

 

CASE STUDY

In early 2006, Adidas, the world’s second largest sporting goods maker has acquired Reebok International Ltd (Reebok) to expand its global reach and give a competition to Nike, the market leader in US market. After nine months of acquisition, sales of Reebok branded shoes and other apparel have fallen by 7%. In 2007, Adidas has launched a new marketing and branding strategy for Reebok. The case discusses Adidas’s brand strategy for the revival of Reebok.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss Adidas’s brand strategy for the revival of Reebok.
Q2. Explain the dynamics of US foot wear industry and Adidas’s new marketing strategy

 

CASE STUDY

In the presence of focused and determined competitors, even a wellknown and established player is capable of making all the possible incorrect strategic moves. Established in 1996, Whirlpool of India Ltd. (WIL) set out to capture the Indian market with its customer centric approach. The company gained leadership in the direct cool refrigerator segment with a significant share in the washing machine market. However, with the entry of the Korean conglomerates – LG and Samsung, WIL’s rise to success came to a halt. Competing for the same market space, these Korean players offered a host of technologically superior products at Affordable rates through a strong countrywide network. Promoted aggressively and backed by a customer care service to please Indian customers, these products took away the market share from WIL in less than a decade. The Korean companies redefined the customer service in the home appliances segment. To make a comeback into the Indian market, WIL, under the direction of its new vice president, Marketing, Shantanu Das Gupta, geared up to focus on offering innovative products. To create a brand recall, the company hired celebrity couple Kajol and Ajay Devgan as brand ambassadors. After 3 years in the red, WIL finally witnessed a net operating profit in 2008. However, with its market share still trailing behind its competitors, the case questions the sustainability of WIL’s turnaround.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Give reasons for the rise and fall of Whirlpool of India Ltd. (WIL) in the consumer durables industry.
Q2. What did the Whirlpool of India Ltd. (WIL) do to make a comeback into the Indian Market.

 

CASE STUDY

In 2006, 46 year old Barbie – the largest and the most popular doll in the world is struggling through a midlife crisis. The Barbie brand accounts for almost one third of Mattel’s $5.2 billion annual revenue. The Barbie doll has dominated the global toy market for more than 40 years. But in recent years, its status as queen of the toy cupboard is under threat. Mattel’s financial results highlighted her plight with the gross worldwide sales of Barbie falling by 13 % in the second quarter of 2006. Little girls no longer view her as cool and trendy. Mattel decided to reinvigorate the Barbie brand, focusing on core markets, aligning more effectively with growing retail customers by entering into closer partnerships with them, investing in developing markets, and growing alternative sales channels. Mattel has decided to concentrate on three aspects – product, brand building and distribution channel. It has extended Barbie to animation movies, launched interactive web sites, and developed new products to appeal to teens and preteens. The case discusses the challenges faced by Barbie; it traces the initiatives taken by Mattel over the years to extend Barbie’s product life cycle; and debates over Mattel’s current strategy for Barbie.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss the challenges faced by Barbie in maintaining its brand image.

 

 

Marketing Management

Q.1) Define term “Marketing Management” discuss the elements of Market Environment?

Q.2) Define the term Product Management? Explain how New Product Decisions are made?

Q.3) What is Customer relationship Management Explain its feature and nature?

Q. 4) Explain the nature and feature of Marketing research and Information Systems?

Q.5) What is Market Measurement and Forecasting?

Q6) What is Segmenting and Targeting the Market?

Q7) What is Advertising Management? Explain the concept of Sales Promotion and Personal Selling?

Q8) Write a short note (any two)

a) Brand Equity

b) Global Marketing

c) Direct Marketing

d) Pricing decisions

 

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

A) Discuss Various Marketing Research Instruments .Give suitable examples (one example /instrument)?

B) Describe following in context of new product development (NPD)?

1. The new product development decision process

2. Risk factors hindering new product development

C) Illustrate the marketing mix for any two of the following? (15 Marks)

1. Cafe Coffee Day
2. Dr. Batra’s clinic

3. Lux Soap

4. HP( Hewlett Packard)

D) Illustrate with examples, the differences between Product marketing & Services marketing? 

E) Illustrate with examples, the methods/ways of evaluating advertising effectiveness? 

F) Discuss the factors which contribute in deciding the “price” of the product? Discuss various pricing methods? 

G) “Laco Industries “has planned to introduce new baby shampoo in the kids market. The company conducted a research in selected tier II cities in India to know the demand & successfully launched its product. In this context, discuss the characteristics of the good research?

 

Marketing Management

Q1. Explain Psychological Pricing.

Q2. What are Levels of Product?

Q3. What is Non-store retailing?

Q4. What is Price sensitivity?

Q5. Present a scheme4 of your choice of the distribution channels for a low-price, ‘low – tech’ domestic consumption product . Margins could be small but sales quantum will be huge .justify each channel option.

Q6. “Ware – housing decision are growingly becoming more critical” . Discuss quoting examples.

Q7. Present the major. issues affecting “costs’ in the context of Inventory , management. Explain your views citing examples.

Q8. Give the steps in launching a new product. Also give various methods of test marketing a new Product.

 

Marketing Management

Q1. Explain Test Marketing.

Q2. Explain Forms of Direct Marketing.

Q3. What do you mean by the term product Life Cycle (PLC) Explain the stages of PLC. Find out in which stage of PLC are are the Following product in India, and suggest suitable marketing strategies for eacha) Tooth Powder b) Microwave Ovens b) Bicycles d) VCRs.

Q4. Explain Significance of Branding.

Q5. Explain Channel conflicts

Q6. What are Current trends in packaging?

Q7. Give the steps in launching a new product. Also give various methods of test marketing a new Product.

Q8.How will you alter the marketing mix –intensity & composition ,as a product is entering the maturity stage in the lifecycle?How again the marketing mix will have to be modified ,when the same product ,later on, starts showing sales – decline?

 

Marketing Management

Q1. Explain the factors influencing consumer behavior?

Q2. What is marketing management process?

Q3. Marketing as an Exchange Process explain this?

Q4. What is Market-Centered Organization?

Q5. What are characteristics of Indirect Marketing Organization?

Q6. Explain the Organizational Buyer’s Decision Process?

Q7. What are Objectives of Public Relations Program?

Q8. State and explain the contents of a Marketing plan?

 

Marketing Management

Q1. Explain Warehousing and Inventory Decisions.

Q2. Explain the terms Product Item and Product Line in the context of Product Mix. Why and how product mix is changed?

Q3. A New brand of a ‘Tyre –that-Never –punctures’ is to be launched in India by a multinational company with your advice about concept – testing and test – marketing Justify your contention.

Q4. How will you alter the marketing mix –intensity & composition ,as a product is entering the maturity stage in the lifecycle? How again the marketing mix will have to be modified ,when the same product ,later on, starts showing sales – decline?

Q5. Which are the factors that influence the pricing strategy of an organization operating in highly competitive environment.

Q6. What are the functions of Marketing Mix .Discuss three Brands that failed due to poor integration of the marketing mix elements.

Q7. Discuss the pricing techniques application to a FMCG product being launched In a highly competitive market.

Q8. Define pricing Describe various factors influencing the pricing decisions.

 

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

1. Give the Classification of Products and state Product Line Decisions?

2. What are various ways to classify the service market?

3. Define marketing channel. And explain various types of marketing channels?

4. What are problems and constraints in Rural Marketing?

5. What is market segmentation and Basis of Market Segmentation?

6. How marketing Research and Distribution Management is done in Rural Markets?

7. State the Market Segmentation process and criteria for effective market Segmentation?

8. What is Matrix Organization and what are advantages and disadvantages?
Marketing Management

Q1. How will you alter the marketing mix –intensity & composition ,as a product is entering the maturity stage in the lifecycle? How again the marketing mix will have to be modified ,when the same product ,later on, starts showing sales – decline? (10 marks)

Q2. Explain Product Life Cycle in detail .How do marketing strategies change as product moves. through various stages of Life cycle 

Q3. What are Current trends in packaging? 

Q4. Explain Channel conflicts 

Q5. Discuss the role & importance of physical distribution in the consumer products marketing. 

Q6. Explain Forms of Direct Marketing.

Q7. Explain Sales Promotion Techniques 

Q8. Explain Test Marketing.

 

Marketing Management

Q1. Present the factors that influence the pricing strategy of an organization .Which among them are non – controllable ? Why?

Q2. Explain Test Marketing.

Q3. Explain Sales Promotion Techniques.

Q4. What is Direct Marketing?

Q5. What is Test marketing?

Q6. Explain PortFolio Analysis.

Q7. Explain Wholesaler.

Q8. Explain Psychological Pricing.

 

Marketing Management

Q1. R.K.Industries Ltd., intends to launch a new folding exercise cycle in Indian market. As a marketing manager which steps would you like to take while launching this product? How will you conduct the test marketing for this product. Make necessary Assumptions and justify your answer.

Q2. What is Price sensitivity?

Q3. A New brand of a ‘Tyre –that-Never –punctures’ is to be launched in India by a multinational company with your advice about concept – testing and test – marketing Justify your contention

Q4. Present the factors that influence the pricing strategy of an organization .Which among them are non – controllable ? Why?

Q5. Present the major. issues affecting “costs’ in the context of Inventory , management. Explain your views citing examples

Q6. Define the term Marketing Mix. Explain the significance of appropriate marketing mix in the present competitive environment. Cite examples to support your answer.

Q7. Explain Warehousing and Inventory Decisions

Q8. Explain Psychological Pricing

 

Marketing Management

Q1. State the Meaning and Definition of Advertising?

Q2. What is Importance of Environmental Marketing? What are Opportunities in Environmental Marketing?

Q3. Explain the Marketing Communication Process?

Q4. State types of Buying Motives and Buying Behaviors?

Q5. What are the Target market and Segmentation for Non-Profit Organization?

Q6. What are the Characteristics of good marketing Plan?

Q7. what are various ways to classify the service market?

Q8. What is Sales Promotion? And what are objectives of sales promotion?

 

Marketing Management

Q1. State the various Environmental Marketing Strategies?

Q2. What are the approaches to Non-profit Marketing?

Q3. What is Selling Process?

Q4. What is function and Importance of Sales Promotion?

Q5. What you mean by Rural Consumer Behavior?

Q6. State the Classification of Non-Profit Marketing?

Q7. What are main Objectives of Pricing Policies?

Q8. What is rural market? Explain the dimensions of Indian rural market?

 

Marketing Management

Q1. What are Levels of Product?

Q2. Explain PR.

Q3. Explain PortFolio Analysis.

Q4. What is Test marketing?

Q5. Explain Warehousing and Inventory Decisions.

Q6. Explain Significance of Branding.

Q7. Explain Approaches to pricing.

Q8. “Expenditure’ incurred for advertising is wasteful. Its results are unpredictable”. Comment.

 

Marketing Management

Q1. What are opportunities in Rural Markets?

Q2. What is relation between Sales Promotion and Consumer Behavior?

Q3. What are various types Public Relations Program?

Q4. State the difference between Selling and Marketing?

Q5. What you mean by Environmental Marketing?

Q6. Marketing as an Exchange Process explain this?

Q7. what are important factors while Deciding Prices?

Q8. Define marketing channel. And explain various types of marketing channels?

 

Marketing Management

Q1. What do you mean by the term Physical Distribution? Explain briefly the nature & importation in the sphere of physical distribution

Q2. Explain Co-branding

Q3. What is Price sensitivity?

Q4. Advertisement expenses are usually wasteful, with no guarantee of enhanced sales or higher loyalty from among the target audience” .Do you agree with this statement ?Present your view – point.

Q5. Present the factors that influence the pricing strategy of an organization .Which among them are non – controllable ? Why?

Q6. Define the term Marketing Mix. Explain the significance of appropriate marketing mix in the present competitive environment. Cite examples to support your answer.

Q7. What is Inventory Management

Q8. Explain Psychological Pricing

 

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

1. What do you mean by the term product Life Cycle (PLC) Explain the stages of PLC. Find out in which stage of PLC are are the Following

product in India, and suggest suitable marketing strategies for each-

a) Tooth Powder

b) Micro-wave Ovens

b) Bicycles

d) VCRs.

2. Discuss the pricing techniques application to a FMCG product being launched In a highly competitive market.

3. Define the term Marketing Mix. Explain the significance of appropriate marketing mix in the present competitive environment. Cite examples to support your answer.

4. Present the major. issues affecting “costs’ in the context of Inventory , management. Explain your views citing examples

5. Present the factors that influence the pricing strategy of an organization .Which among them are non – controllable ? Why?

6. Advertisement expenses are usually wasteful, with no guarantee of enhanced sales or higher loyalty from among the target audience” .Do you agree with this statement ?Present your view – point.

7. A New brand of a ‘Tyre –that-Never –punctures’ is to be launched in India by a multinational company with your advice about concept – testing and test – marketing Justify your contention

8. Discuss the role & importance of physical distribution in the consumer products marketing.

 

Marketing Management

Q1. What is Non-store retailing?

Q2. Explain PR.

Q3. Explain On-Line marketing.

Q4. Explain Sales Promotion Techniques.

Q5. Promotional schemes favouring the dealer slowly become less effective.
Further when these methods to redeem this situation.

Q6. How will you alter the marketing mix –intensity & composition ,as a product is entering the maturity stage in the lifecycle? How again the marketing mix will have to be modified ,when the same product ,later on, starts showing sales – decline?

Q7. Which are the factors that influence the pricing strategy of an organization operating in highly competitive environment.

Q8. MK Industries Ltd. Intends to launch a two seater tiny motor car in Indian market. As a marketing manager which steps would You like to take to lunch this novel product? Make necessary assumptions and justify your answer.

 

Marketing Management

Q1. What is role of Sales Management in Marketing?

Q2. What are the approaches to Non-profit Marketing?

Q3. What is function and Importance of Sales Promotion?

Q4. What are the problems in implementing integrated Marketing Communication?

Q5. State the Classification of Non-Profit Marketing?

Q6. State the role of Public Relations in Marketing?

Q7. What is Marketing Information System and Marketing Research?

Q8. Explain how culture influences consumer behavior in context to the Indian market?

 

Marketing Management

Q1. what is Social Marketing?

Q2. State the various Environmental Marketing Strategies?

Q3. What is Sales Management? And how its evolved to personal selling?

Q4. What are the problems in implementing integrated Marketing Communication?

Q5. state the concept of Product Life Cycle (PLC) and Marketing Strategies for PLC stages?

Q6. State the role of Public Relations in Marketing?

Q7. What is Marketing Communication?

Q8. What is Importance of Marketing as a subject of study?

 

Marketing Management

Q1. what is Social Marketing?

Q2. State the various Environmental Marketing Strategies?

Q3. What is market segmentation and Basis of Market Segmentation?

Q4. How Social Responsibility is playing key factor in promotion of Environmental Marketing?

Q5. state the concept of Product Life Cycle (PLC) and Marketing Strategies for PLC stages?

Q6. What are main Objectives of Pricing Policies?

Q7. What is Importance of Marketing as a subject of study?

Q8. What is Marketing planning? And what are the steps involved in corporate planning process?

 

International Marketing

Q1. Give types of government?

Q2. Discuss country risk management?

Q3. What are german strategies.

Q4. Explain international joint ventures.

Q5. Discuss TQM .

Q6. Give a note on Exchange rate .

Q7. Give a note on Demand elasticity.

Q8. Explain marketing of services.

 

Marketing Management

1. Explain distribution policy

2. Explain international marketing planning?

3. Define and explain Intellectual property?

4. Give a note on
a) Role of Pricing
b) Pricing decisions

5. Discuss TQM

6. Explain with block diagram International distribution channels

7. What are German strategies

8. Give a note on
a) Demand elasticity
b) Exchange rate