marketing
300
discussion section
Announcements?
A note on market research
Remember: It’s not just for
researching consumers!
Company
Retailer
Consumer
quiz
Full-scale market tests:
a) Are unrealistic because they do not test the whole marketing
mix.
b) Are not expensive.
c) Should always be skipped if management is sure that it
understands consumer preferences.
d) May provide information to competitors.
e) Are used mostly for products that have high production costs
and long lead times.
quiz
• Direct _____ involves personal sales contact between a
representative of the company and an individual consumer.
a) marketing
b) selling
c) distribution
d) servicing
e) pricing
discussion question
 Cite two examples of product or services that
you think are in each of the product life-cycle
stages. Provide rationale for why you placed
products in the stage you did.
discussion question
 What are the four stages of the product
cycle?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Market introduction
Market growth
Market maturity
Market decline
discussion question
 Important to know:
1) Product life-cycles refer to categories not
products. Why is this the case?
2) The PLC is a framework, and a continuum.
There are no clear “black/white” divisions
about what phase a category is in.
3) Why is the PLC useful for marketing
managers?
discussion question
Market introduction
 Most people don’t know about product
 People who do have nothing to compare
with
 Need to tell people why they should want
this product (creating primary demand)
 Examples?
discussion question
From www.trikke.com
Back2Life
seriously?
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=E9_amg-Aos4
oh please
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=XUuwEq98ByM
discussion question
Market growth
 Innovator starts making sales
 Competitors start trying to get a piece of the
pie
 Some competitors copy, some add variety
 Examples?
discussion question
Hybrid vehicles
discussion question
Market maturity






Industry sales plateau
Lots of competitors
Profits drop
Market saturation
Consumer price sensitivity
Examples?
discussion question
Cell phones
Photo by Chris Jordan, from Intolerable Beauty — Portraits of American Mass
discussion question
Sales decline
 New products replace old ones
 Competitors drop out of market
 Examples?
discussion question
CRT Monitors
discussion question
cassette tapes
discussion question
typewriter
discussion question
Why does the product life cycle relate to categories, not
products? And why is this important for a marketing manager to
know?
WHEN BRAND EXTENSIONS GO
bizarre product extensions
bizarre product extensions
bizarre product extensions
bizarre product extensions
bizarre product extensions
bizarre product extensions
bizarre product extensions
What is the problem with
these products?
product strategy
Brand identity – What products come to
mind when you think of the brand?
Brand image – What feelings, thoughts, and
symbols come to mind?
Perfume
Perfume
Perfume
motorcycles, renegades,
outlaws, fear, menace,
violence, leather, bar fights,
beer
Perfume
What is the problem?
Product doesn’t match brand
identity or image; leveraging
seemingly unrelated brand to sell
product doesn’t work
“Adult Food”
“Adult Food”
“Adult Food”
gross, unappetizing,
textureless paste, infancy,
helplessness, spit-up food
“Adult Food”
What is the problem?
Product linked to another
product with contextually
uncomfortable associations
product strategy
 Seeking untapped markets can be risky.
 Always think about how your actions fit in
with your product strategy before expanding
your product line or reaching out to
untapped markets.
a cautionary example
 A recommendation from a group last
semester…
a cautionary tale
 “Because AXE Body Spray targets only
young men, there is a huge untapped
segment of older men who the brand can
address.”
young
men
older men
a cautionary example
 What’s the problem with this?
 Think about brand identity and brand
image
Sweet!! AXE has got
me covered. I’m
gonna hit the clubs
tonight!!
Bro, some old guy’s
using AXE Body
Spray.
That’s not cool, bro.
the moral
 Think carefully about what you’re doing!
 How do your actions integrate with the
brand’s strategy and “meaning”?
 Just because you could conceivably make
money doesn’t mean it’s a good idea
 Think about costs as well as benefits
Hand back papers
 Work with your group