Writing-in-CTE Lesson Plan Template
Lesson Title: Promotion Plan – Sports, Fashion, and Entertainment
Author(s):
Sherril Wilson Daniels
Maren Black
Phone Number(s):
503-785-8815
503-785-7903
E-mail Address(es):
Sherril.daniels@orecity.k12.or.us
maren.black@orecity.k12.or.us
TEACHER NOTES
1. Essential Question
What would be an effective promotional plan for a sports, fashion
and/or entertainment company?
2. Final Project
Students will prepare a written documented fact sheet (11 pages
or less) describing a company and creating a viable seasonal
promotional plan.
Students will make an oral presentation of 20 minutes or less to
present (15 minutes) and defend (5 minutes) the promotion.
3. Evaluation Method
Sections will evaluated with specific class rubrics for major
sections of the project (Section II. III. IV.).
Final project will be evaluated using Fact Sheets and Oral
Presentation Evaluation Form – DECA Guide page 166.
4. Activity plan to support
skill development
Lesson One:

Choosing a company

Letter of introduction

Business Interviews
Lesson Two:

The six parts of a business’s image
o
Defining target market

Demographics

Psychographics

Geographic market
Sherril Daniels – Oregon City High School Marketing Page 1 Lesson Three:

Writing structure – subheadings
o



Guidelines, MLA formatting, citation and documentation
o
Easybib.com
o
Making writing stronger – “experts”, quotes, facts,
footnotes
Visuals – decision to use/not use/formatting
o
Keep to minimum
o
Important visuals to use
Planning packet section II due
o


Planning packet section II
feedback
Section II due
o
Peer edit/re-write
o
Copies required – 3 (electronic, clipboard, your
copy)
Rubric – Section II
Lesson Four

Section III Objectives

Lesson – SMART objectives

Write 2-3 objectives
o
Goal

Return on Investment (ROI) (LESSON)

Timeline (formatting – seasonality)

Message, target market (audience)

Packet Due (III. Objectives)


Draft – final
Rubric – Section III
Sherril Daniels – Oregon City High School Marketing Page 2 Lesson Five

Special events in Marketing (LESSON)

Sponsorship packaging (LESSON)
o
Pepsi/Mnt Dew examples

Budgeting for an event – add to cost assessment

Research – secondary sources, primary resources

Return on Investment

Packet due (IV. Section A. Special Event)
o
Draft
o
Peer edit
o
Final due
Lesson Six

Review Advertising Medium

Media Choice for target market (geographic)

Co-op Advertising (LESSON)

Sponsorship

Budget– add to cost assessment

Timing

Advertising plan packet due (IV. Section B, Advertising)

IV. Section B. Advertising due
Lesson Seven

Visual merchandising (lesson)

Opportunities - pricing

Building image through visual repeated message

Budgeting for display – add to cost assessment

Packet due (IV. Section C. Display)

IV. Section C. Due
Sherril Daniels – Oregon City High School Marketing Page 3 Lesson Eight

Publicity (lesson) PR Toolkit
o
Assignment – press release topics top 10
o
Contact list top 10
o
Sample press release – project

Timing to project

Budgeting for publicity – add to cost assessment

Packet due (IV. Section D. Publicity)

Written IV. Section D. Publicity due

Rubric Section IV. Schedule of Events
Lesson Nine
o
Responsibility Sheet
o
Organizational chart – responsibility (LESSON)
o
Packet due (V. Responsibility Sheet)
o
o
Peer check
Responsibility Sheet due
Lesson Ten
o
Evaluate budget assessment sheets
o
Lesson high low budget (LESSON)
o
Budget rough draft high/low
o
Budget final
Lesson Eleven
o
Conclusion (LESSON)
o
Closing the sale – feature/benefit analysis
o
Final – Section VII
Sherril Daniels – Oregon City High School Marketing Page 4 Lesson Twelve
o
Executive Summary (LESSON)
o
Test
o
Rewrite
Lesson Thirteen
o
Bibliography due
o
Appendix – Documentation
o
Citations within the text
o
Final electronic copy due
Added next would be lessons to work toward presentation.
Ending evaluation – Business professional – DECA Guide
page 166.
Alignment
CTE Industry Standard
(e.g. Oregon Skill Set)
State Writing Standard
Due to the length of this lesson plan (for a full tri), I have listed
National Standards separate from this document.
WHST (GRADES 11-12)
1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific
content.
a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s),
establish the significance of the claim(s),
distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or
opposing claims, and create an organization
Sherril Daniels – Oregon City High School Marketing Page 5 that logically sequences the claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as
varied syntax to link the major sections of
the text, create cohesion, and clarify the
relationships between claim(s) and reasons,
between reasons and evidence, and between
claim(s) and counterclaims.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style and
objective tone while attending to the norms
and conventions of the discipline in which they
are writing.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section
that follows from or supports the argument
presented.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including
the narration of historical events, scientific
procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which
the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by
planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying
a new approach, focusing on addressing what
is most significant for a specific purpose and
audience.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce,
publish, and update individual or shared writing
products in response to ongoing feedback,
including new arguments or information.
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research
projects to answer a question (including a self generated
question) or solve a problem; narrow or
broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize
multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating
understanding of the subject under investigation.
Sherril Daniels – Oregon City High School Marketing Page 6 8. Gather relevant information from multiple
authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the
strengths and limitations of each source in terms
of the specific task, purpose, and audience;
integrate information into the text selectively to
maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and
overreliance on any one source and following a
standard format for citation.
Traits*
*Only the final written
product will be evaluated
on all seven traits.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Voice
Word Choice
Conventions
Sentence Fluency
Organization
Ideas
Presentation
Sherril Daniels – Oregon City High School Marketing Page 7 Writing outline for Section II Marketing Promotion Plan 2011 This should be double spaced. How are you paragraphing? Indents or spacing between paragraphs? T.R.E.A.C. – Reminder of how to write good paragraph! Topic sentence (idea) ‐ Restatement (bring it to your specific) Example (specific – what you will do) Analysis (break that example down‐ the example) Conclusion (based on above) – can be transition to the next thing in the paper From 1977 through 1995, the Portland Trail Blazers sold out 814 consecutive home games, the longest such streak in American professional sports.[4] It is not by chance that the Blazers organization hold the sold out game streak, aggressive promotions have added to the image and demand for the well liked home team. For the 2011‐2012 season OC Advertising Team One will create the “Home Court Advantage” promotion. This exciting promotion will focus on the team’s sixth man their fan. The average fan will have a chance to experience what players experience daily as an NBA player. Fans will play with the sound effects in the media booth, pass the ball back to the players at practice facility in Tualatin or even join the training table the day of the game. So get ready to embrace your sixth man status with this year’s “Home Court Advantage”. Title Required: II. DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY Introductory paragraph Introduce your business by giving an overview of the ownership, form of ownership, industry, history and possibly major competitor. As an introduction it will also introduce the remaining topics listed below Minimum would be a well written 5 sentence paragraph. Next decide which of the topics below you will include in this session. Most likely you will include at least the 5 p’s but if not you should have a good reason for not including it. If you have a unique company you may need other topics. You can use bulleting and diagrams of photo’s here if NEEDED to clarify or summarize. Place Describe specifically the location of the business. If there is more than one location explain that and tell what location(s) is (are) being used for this project. Once you describe location get specific How to write section II `3/3/2012 Page 1 about the specific look or image of this location. Size, colors used, age of facility, etc. I should be able to read it and get a picture of the business in my mind. Think of someone who has never seen the business or does not know the area reading it. You may even want some locators that reference your business. For example Pete’s Place is located in historic Oregon City which is a suburb of Portland the largest city in Oregon. Product or Product/Price What is the product width and depth of this business? If you do not know what that means be sure to look it up. You will want the readers to understand branding, uniqueness or lack of it, If you are promoting a team remember you are selling entertainment as well as concessions and product. Be careful to think globally! You may be able to combine price into this section as well. Price Think about “placing” your business in the market place. You can reference competitors or type of business based on image to justify your price placement in the market. For example, is this store a discounter? Is this store selling premium brands that cost more? Giving information on odd or even pricing would be considered basic but don’t forget to know if the team or store features any of the following: bundle pricing, BOGO, sales, discounting for quantity, group pricing. Promotion What does this business do to attract customers? Remember you are going to decide on a promotion plan but this section should outline what they do now. If you can get a % spent on advertising or a budget figure it will help you be realistic. Look to all types of media including social media. People Two topics to cover here are the people who work for the company and defining the target market of the business. 

To describe the employees think about training, average employee, level of customer service, organization, number of full time employees, team members if it is for a sport, pay level, etc. To describe the target market use demographic, psychographics and Geographic’s. It is important that you not say “everyone”. You want the reader to understand who is spending money. For an example I am a Blazer fan but have never bought a ticket or blazer clothing item in the last five years. How to write section II `3/3/2012 Page 2 Promoting a brand (England)
Case Study Wimbledon
Sponsorship
The chief executive of the All England Club, Ian Ritchie, is confident that this year's Wimbledon
Championships will make good profits, even if the weather is somewhat unpredictable. Last year
Wimbledon made a 31 million pound profit (surplus), and the previous few years saw surpluses
in the region of a 25 to 30 million pounds. Any surplus made is passed on to the Lawn Tennis
Association. Only a small percentage of the revenue actually comes from ticket sales though.
50% of Wimbledon's income comes from selling the broadcasting rights of the tournament,
which is now shown in 185 different countries. The second largest contributor to Wimbledon's
revenue is sponsorship. Wimbledon does not have advertising around the courts, but firms can
take advantage of the promotional possibilities the event has to offer by entering into agreements
to provide goods and services. Firms that sponsor Wimbledon include Slazenger, Jacob's Creek
and Lavazza. Unsurprisingly, Slazenger supplies the balls for the Championship, and has done
since 1902. Jacob's Creek and Lavazza are providing the wine and coffee respectively. For the
sponsors, association with the Wimbledon name provides an excellent promotional opportunity.
(BBC News 19th June 2011)
Food company McCain also uses sponsorship as part of its promotional activities. An example
includes the sponsorship of the TV show Family Fortunes. This is an effective way of reaching a
wide audience because the popular family programme attracts many viewers. McCain also
sponsors McCain Athletics Networks which encourage young people to get involved in athletics
through local clubs. Sponsorship is regularly used within the area of sport. An organization can
benefit two-fold from the use of sponsorship in its promotional mix. Firstly, a greater awareness
of the product or brand can be developed; and secondly, the image of an organization can be
cultivated by being associated with another well-known and highly regarded organization or
event.
Questions
1. Define sponsorship.
2. Other than sponsorship, what other types of promotion might organisations employ
3. Using the case study, explain how McCain uses both above and below-the-line promotion.
Answers to questions
1. Define sponsorship. Sponsorship is a long term association where a business provides
funding to another body e.g. McCain sponsors the TV show Family Fortunes.
2. Other than sponsorship, what other types of promotion might firms employ Other types of
promotion include:




sales promotion
direct marketing
public relations
advertising.
Read more: http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/additional/news--promoting-brand--224.php#ixzz1Q2F311Sq Page 1 3. Using the case study, explain how McCain uses both above and below-the-line promotion.
nbsp;Above the line methods employed by McCain include:


Television advertising, for example, the 'It's All Good' campaign
Advertising on supermarket trolleys.
Below the line methods that McCain uses include:



Leaflets and discount voucher books delivered door-to-door
Newsletter emailed to consumers
Track and Field Roadshows are delivered by McCain and UK Athletics.
Read more: http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/additional/news--promoting-brand--224.php#ixzz1Q2F311Sq Page 2 Read more: http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/additional/news--promoting-brand--224.php#ixzz1Q2F311Sq Page 3 24765_KELLOGGS
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www.thetimes100.co.uk
Using aims and objectives to
create a business strategy
CURRICULUM TOPICS
• Aims and objectives
• Branding
• Positioning
• Communication
Introduction
When preparing a strategy for success, a business needs to be clear about what it wants to
achieve. It needs to know how it is going to turn its desires into reality in the face of intense
competition. Setting clear and specific aims and objectives is vital for a business to compete.
However, a business must also be aware of why it is different to others in the same market.
This case study looks at the combination of these elements and shows how Kellogg prepared
a successful strategy by setting aims and objectives linked to its unique brand.
One of the most powerful tools that organisations use is branding. A brand is a name,
design, symbol or major feature that helps to identify one or more products from a business
or organisation. The reason that branding is powerful is that the moment a consumer
recognises a brand, the brand itself instantly provides a lot of information to that consumer.
This helps them to make quicker and better decisions about what products or services to buy.
Managing a brand is part of a process called product positioning. The positioning of a
product is a process where the various attributes and qualities of a brand are emphasised to
consumers. When consumers see the brand, they distinguish the brand from other products
and brands because of these attributes and qualities. Focused on Kellogg, this case study
looks at how aims and objectives have been used to create a strategy which gives Kellogg
a unique position in the minds of its consumers.
GLOSSARY
Branding: process of
managing brands by using
the position of the brand to
communicate a series of
values to consumers.
Product positioning:
emphasising the attributes
and qualities of one brand
against the qualities and
attributes of its competitors.
Market share:
proportion of total sales of
products by value, against
total sales within the
market.
Segments: parts of a
large market.
Branding
Consumer confidence
Product choice based
upon perceptions
Name, design, symbol
Product positioning
Market leader: the firm
that has the largest share of
the market, measured by
sales (value or volume).
Premium: high position
within a market, based
upon the faith and
confidence of consumers.
Influences perceptions
of consumers
The value of the UK cereals market is around £1.1 billion per year. Kellogg has a 42% market
share of the value of the UK’s breakfast cereal market. The company has developed a range of
products for the segments within this market, targeted at all age groups over three years old.
This includes 39 brands of cereals as well as different types of cereal bars. Consumers of cereal
products perceive Kellogg to be a high quality manufacturer. As the market leader, Kellogg
has a distinct premium position within the market. This means that it has the confidence of its
consumers.
KELLOGG’S
The market
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Developing an aim for a business
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GLOSSARY
Corporate
Responsibility (CR):
way in which a business
organisation is sensitive to
all of the needs of
individuals and
organisations that it
deals with.
Aim: broad statement of
intent providing a direction
for an organisation, from
which more specific
objectives could be set.
Objectives: specific and
measurable targets that
follow the aims of a
business organisation.
SMART objectives:
framework for constructing
objectives in a way that
meets a business aim.
Today, making the decision to eat a healthy balanced diet is very important for many consumers.
More than ever before people want a lifestyle in which the food they eat and the activities they
take part in contribute equally to keeping them healthy. Research undertaken for Kellogg, as well
as comprehensive news coverage and growing public awareness, helped its decision-takers to
understand the concerns of its consumers. In order to meet these concerns, managers realised it
was essential that Kellogg was part of the debate about health and lifestyle. It needed to promote
the message 'Get the Balance Right'.
Decision-takers also wanted to demonstrate Corporate Responsibility (CR). This means
that they wanted to develop the business responsibly and in a way that was sensitive to all of
Kellogg’s consumers’ needs, particularly with regard to health issues. This is more than the
law relating to food issues requires. It shows how Kellogg informs and supports its consumers
fully about lifestyle issues.
Any action within a large organisation needs to support a business direction. This direction is
shown in the form of a broad statement of intent or aim, which everybody in the organisation
can follow. An aim also helps those outside the organisation to understand the beliefs and
principles of that business. Kellogg’s aim was to reinforce the importance of a balanced lifestyle
so its consumers understand how a balanced diet and exercise can improve their lives.
Creating business objectives
Having set an aim, managers make plans which include the right actions. These ensure that
the aim is met. For an aim to be successful, it must be supported by specific business
objectives that can be measured. Each of the objectives set for Kellogg was designed to
contribute to a specified aim. Kellogg’s objectives were to:
• encourage and support physical activity among all sectors of the population
• use resources to sponsor activities and run physical activity focused community programmes
for its consumers and the public in general
• increase the association between Kellogg and physical activity
• use the cereal packs to communicate the ‘balance’ message to consumers
• introduce food labelling that would enable consumers to make decisions about the right
balance of food.
Aim
Specific measurable objects
Well constructed objectives are SMART objectives. They must be:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable or Agreed
• Realistic
• Time-related.
Each of the objectives set by Kellogg was clear, specific and measurable. This meant Kellogg
would know whether each objective had been achieved. The objectives were considered to be
achievable and were communicated to all staff. This made sure that all staff agreed to follow
certain actions to achieve the stated aims. The objectives were set over a realistic time-period
of three years. By setting these objectives Kellogg set a direction that would take the business
to where it wanted to be three years into the future.
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Strategy
Having created an aim and set objectives, Kellogg put in place a process of planning to
develop a strategy and a series of actions. These were designed to meet the stated aim and
www.thetimes100.co.uk
range of business objectives.
In the area of food labelling, Kellogg introduced the Kellogg’s GDAs to its packaging,
showing the recommended Guideline Daily Amounts. These GDAs allow consumers to
understand what amount of the recommended daily levels of nutrients is in a serving of
Kellogg’s food. Working with a group of other major manufacturers, Kellogg introduced a
new format in May 2006, with GDAs clearly identified on brand products and packages.
These GDAs have been adopted by other manufacturers and retailers such as TESCO.
For many years Kellogg has been working to encourage people to take part in more physical
activity. The company started working with the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) as far
back as 1997, with whom it set some longer term objectives. More than twelve million people
in the UK swim regularly. Swimming is inclusive as it is something that whole families can do
together and it is also a life-long skill. The ASA tries to ensure that ‘everyone has the
GLOSSARY
Planning: series of
procedures designed to
meet the needs of a
business aim and a range
of objectives.
Sponsor: long-term
association between a
business organisation and
another body, involving the
co-ordination of activities,
promotions and branding.
opportunity to enjoy swimming as part of a healthy lifestyle’. As a lead body for swimming,
the ASA has been a good organisation for Kellogg to work with, as its objectives match
closely those of the company.
Kellogg became the main sponsor of swimming in Britain. This ensured that Kellogg’s
sponsorship reached all swimming associations so that swimmers receive the best possible
support. Kellogg sponsors the ASA Awards Scheme with more than 1.8 million awards
presented to swimmers each year. This relationship with the ASA has helped Kellogg
contribute in a recognisable way to how individuals achieve an active healthy balanced
lifestyle. This reinforces its brand position.
Working with the ASA helped Kellogg set up links with a number of other bodies and
partners. For example, Sustrans is the UK’s leading sustainable transport organisation.
Sustrans looks at the different ways that individuals can meet their transport needs in a way
that reduces environmental impact. It is the co-ordinator of the National Cycle Network.
This provides more than 10,000 miles of walking and cycle routes on traffic-free paths
throughout the UK. To meet its business objective of encouraging and supporting physical
activity Kellogg is developing a promotion for a free cyclometer which will be advertised
on television in 2007.
Walking is one of the easiest ways for people to look after themselves and improve their
health. To encourage people to walk more often, Kellogg has supplied a free pedometer
through an offer on All-Bran so that individuals can measure their daily steps. During 2006
more than 675,000 pedometers were claimed by consumers. From a research sample of 970
consumers, around 70% said they used the pedometer to help them walk further. Kellogg’s
Corn Flakes Great Walk 2005 raised more than £1 million pounds for charity on its way from
John O'Groats, through Ireland and on to Land's End. In 2004, 630,000 people took part in
the Special K 10,000 Step Challenge.
Kellogg has also delivered a wide range of community programmes over the last 20 years.
For example, the Kellogg’s Active Living Fund encourages voluntary groups to run physical
Old Trafford which runs keep-fit classes, badminton and table tennis.
Since 1998 Kellogg has invested more than £500,000 to help national learning charity
ContinYou to develop nationwide breakfast club initiatives. These include start-up grants for
KELLOGG’S
activity projects for their members. The fund helps organisations like the St John’s Centre in
new clubs, the Breakfast Club Plus website, the Kellogg’s National Breakfast Club Awards and
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the Breakfast Movers essential guide. Breakfast clubs are important in schools because they
improve attendance and punctuality. They help to ensure that children are fed and ready to learn
when the bell goes. Kellogg promotes breakfast via these clubs, not Kellogg’s breakfast cereals.
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Together Kellogg and ContinYou have set up hundreds of breakfast clubs across the UK,
serving well over 500,000 breakfasts each year.
GLOSSARY
External
communication:
communication with
individuals outside a
business organisation
within the business
environment.
Internal
communication:
communication that takes
place within an
organisation between
members of staff working
for the business.
House magazine:
magazine for employees
distributed within an
organisation.
Communicating the strategy
Effective communication is vital for any strategy to be successful. Kellogg’s success is due to
how well it communicated its objectives to consumers to help them consider how to ‘Get the
Balance Right’. It developed different forms of communication to convey the message ‘eat to
be fit’ to all its customers.
External communication takes place between an organisation and the outside world. As
a large organisation, Kellogg uses many different forms of communication with its customers.
For example, it uses the cartoon characters of Jack & Aimee to communicate a message that
emphasises the need to ‘Get the Balance Right’. By using Jack & Aimee, Kellogg is able to
advise parents and children about the importance of exercise. These characters can be found
on the back of cereal packets.
The company has also produced a series of leaflets for its customers on topics such as eating
for health and calcium for strong bones. These are available on its website.
Internal communication takes place within an organisation. Kellogg uses many different
ways to communicate with its employees. For example, Kellogg produces a house
magazine which is distributed to everybody working for Kellogg. The magazine includes
articles on issues such as getting the balance of food and exercise right. It also highlights the
work that Kellogg has undertaken within sport and the community. To encourage its
employees to do more walking, Kellogg supplied each of its staff with a pedometer. Such
activities have helped Kellogg’s employees to understand the business objectives and why the
business has created them. It also shows clearly what it has done to achieve them.
The Times Newspaper Limited and ©MBA Publishing Ltd 2007. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy
of information, neither the publisher nor the client can be held responsible for errors of omission or commission.
Conclusion
64
Research undertaken by Kellogg as part of the 2005 Family Health Study emphasised that a
balanced diet as well as regular exercise were essential for good all round health and
wellbeing. Kellogg is demonstrating good corporate responsibility by promoting and
communicating this message whenever it can and by investing money in the appropriate
activities. This was the broad aim. To achieve this aim, Kellogg set out measurable objectives.
It developed a business strategy that engaged Kellogg in a series of activities and
relationships with other organisations. The key was not just to create a message about a
balanced lifestyle for its consumers. It was also to set up activities that helped them achieve
this lifestyle. This case study illustrates how consumers, given the right information, have
made informed choices about food and living healthily.
Questions
1. Explain what is meant by a premium brand.
2. Describe the difference between an aim and an objective.
3. Outline the purpose of Kellogg’s work with the ASA.
4. Using examples to support your dialogue,
evaluate how Kellogg communicates and
discuss how this enables it to position its brand.
www.kelloggs.co.uk
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Portakabin – promoting the brand
Introduction
Entrepreneurship happens when someone sees a market need and has an idea that will
satisfy that need. The entrepreneur follows up, explores and develops the idea into a real
product or service. In post-war Britain, in the late 1940s and 1950s, Donald Shepherd saw
that there was a need for simple, easily made, portable buildings. These had the potential to
provide all sorts of accommodation. Donald worked on his concept and began production of
the first Portakabin buildings in 1961, registering the Portakabin trademark in 1963. Today,
Portakabin provides modular and portable buildings for many uses. These include offices,
nurseries, classrooms, doctors’ surgeries and airport buildings.
Portakabin is the UK market leader in modular construction. Its products meet the
accommodation needs of many different customers. It delivers products and services tailored
to individual customer requirements. Portakabin is a well-known brand and most potential
customers already know the company’s name. Portakabin promotes its business in ways that
clearly distinguish its products and services from those of its competitors.
CURRICULUM TOPICS
• Market analysis
• Planning promotion
• Above-the-line promotion
• Below-the-line promotion
GLOSSARY
Trademark: logo and symbol
displayed on a company’s
products.
Market leader: the firm that has
the largest share of the market
measured by sales (value or
volume).
Customer: people who buy a
product.
Brand: a name, symbol or design
used to identify a specific product
and to differentiate it from its
competitors.
Consumers: purchasers and users
of products.
Market share: the percentage of
sales within a market that is held by
one brand or company.
This case study explores how Portakabin promotes its brand. The starting point is a market
analysis to identify the key reasons why customers buy its products.
Market analysis
A market is where buyers and sellers come together to exchange products for money. Physical
markets take place every week all over the country. In business, the concept of a ‘market’
applies to any product or service for which there are buyers and sellers.
There are two main types of market that reflect the type of customers the market serves. There
are markets where the customers are individual consumers. These are known as B2C
(business-to-consumer) markets. There are also markets where the customers are businesses.
These are called B2B (business-to-business) markets.
An important indicator of the value customers give to a range of products is market share.
Portakabin is the leading supplier in its market sector. This means that Portakabin has a
greater share of sales than any other brand supplying this market. The Portakabin market
share is currently 15%. (As a comparison, Sainsbury has around 16% of the UK supermarket
market.) The market share is arrived at by this calculation:
P O R TA K A B I N
Portakabin deals exclusively in B2B markets. It sells to organisations such as schools and
hospitals. B2B markets have different characteristics to B2C markets. For example, business
customers often buy in bulk to get good deals on price. Most businesses have a specialist
centralised buying function which allows them to negotiate the price. Specialist buyers
carefully assess the options and never make ‘impulse’ buys. Understanding how B2B markets
work helps Portakabin organise its promotions in the right way.
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GLOSSARY
Tactics: activities carried out with
a short-term objective in mind.
Promotion: making products and
services better known through a
range of activities.
Marketing mix: a series of
variable factors – product, price,
place, promotion – used by an
organisation to meet its customers’
needs.
Objectives: the end purposes
that an organisation or individual
seeks to achieve.
Repeat purchases: consumers
who make further, subsequent
purchases.
Target audience: group/s that
communications and messages are
aimed at.
Above-the-line promotion:
direct expenditure on advertising,
such as for a television
commercial.
Media: newspapers, magazines,
radio, television and the Internet.
Trade journals: magazines
directly targeted to businesses in a
particular sector.
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To understand why it is the leading supplier, and to maintain its position, Portakabin
undertakes market research. There are various ways of undertaking market research – by
questionnaire, by telephone survey, by focus groups.
• Its research shows that customers return to Portakabin because of the quality and reliability
of its products. The key Portakabin message is: Quality – this time – next time – every time.
This message always accompanies the Portakabin brand name.
• Portakabin also states that it will be ‘on time, on budget – our promise’. These are explicit
statements about reliability and quality. They provide a focus for staff and reassurance for
customers.
• Customer satisfaction is crucial. Portakabin has a customer satisfaction index. This currently
scores 9/10, which means that customers have had positive experiences in their whole
dealings with Portakabin.
Delivering on quality and providing customer satisfaction is vital in retaining customers. These
are important considerations when Portakabin plans promotional activity.
Planning promotion
Marketing specialists use a mix of tactics to attract and keep customers. These involve
balancing the four Ps of the marketing mix.
• product, this includes introducing new products or enhancing existing products or
packaging
• price, this might involve special offers or discounts
• place, a company might look to use different ways or channels to reach customers, for
example, through the Internet or high street retailers
• promotion this includes many different ways of communicating sales messages to
customers to buy products or services.
Promotion is an important part of the Portakabin marketing mix. The function of
promotion is to send out consistent positive messages to existing and potential customers. For
Portakabin, all promotional activity should reinforce its brand messages of quality and
customer satisfaction.
Promotion is not just advertising – it is a planned series of activities. These must relate to the
business’s objectives. For example, a business might want to increase its market share, it
might want to widen its customer base or increase the number of repeat purchases.
Before starting a promotional campaign, there will be:
• a set of clear objectives
• an intended target audience
• staff to work on the campaign
• a budget, based on costs for the work identified.
Above-the-line promotion
Above-the-line promotion involves the use of advertising to reach a mass audience. It is
mainly used to reach consumers but it can be used in B2B markets. Advertising creates
general brand awareness. Various media can carry the advertising message. These have
different strengths and weaknesses:
• Television and radio can reach a wide range of consumers. Portakabin does not use these
media for promoting to businesses. It is difficult to measure responses. It is also expensive
– a typical television advertising campaign might cost £500,000.
• The national press and consumer magazines are aimed mainly at consumers. As market
leader, Portakabin has high brand awareness. It does not need to promote widely to this
audience. It is also difficult to measure responses from newspaper and magazine advertising.
• Trade journals target a business audience. Portakabin places articles or advertorials in
selected trade journals when it needs to highlight its products and services to other
businesses. It also does this to differentiate its brand from competitors. This is known as
‘brand defence’.
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Below-the-line promotion
Portakabin only uses above-the-line methods in limited circumstances. Instead, it usually relies
on below-the-line promotion. This involves a range of methods over which the business
has more direct control and which can be targeted at specific groups of customers.
Sales promotions offer customers incentives to encourage them to buy goods and
services. In B2C markets, typical sales promotions include:
• BOGOF (buy one, get one free) offers
• price discounts (10% off this week)
• giveaways
• competitions to win holidays or cash prizes.
In most B2B markets, however, these offers would not be relevant to the people who make
the purchase decisions. Portakabin customers are making large investments. They require
unique products to suit a one-off purpose. Portakabin offers solution and value-based
benefits, like adding in air conditioning to a building.
Direct mail enables a business to target existing and potential customers with its sales
messages. Portakabin uses this method of promotion extensively, sending out leaflets and
brochures to maintain brand awareness. This means the company remains in its customers’
minds the next time they need to make a purchase. Direct mailing is a productive way of
promoting to existing customers for several reasons.
• Portakabin already has the names of contacts in existing customer businesses. In addition,
it can easily access the names of people from other parts of these businesses who have
expressed interest in Portakabin products, such as people who have signed up for its
newsletter.
• The company can measure the response rate from a direct mail campaign and can follow
up enquiries.
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GLOSSARY
Below-the-line promotion:
promotional activity other than
paid-for advertising.
Sales promotions: incentives to
encourage the sales of products
and services.
Direct mail: targeted leaflets and
publicity.
Public relations: activities
involved in communicating with
different stakeholders such as
customers, the government, the
general public and the media.
New media: products and
services that provide information or
entertainment using computers or
the Internet, and not by traditional
methods such as television and
newspapers.
Customer newsletters and magazines also provide strong communications channels.
Portakabin can include information for customers about the market and the company.
Portakabin shares information with its customers to show it is a knowledge-based business.
This means that it appears open and trustworthy. These publications feature case studies
highlighting products that serve particular uses. These demonstrate how Portakabin products
can meet different customer requirements.
New media is increasingly used by Portakabin in its promotions. Email is an inexpensive
way to send product updates and news alerts. The Portakabin product range grows rapidly
and email can keep customers up-to-date. Portakabin tracks every enquiry and response, and
follows up potential sales leads.
P O R TA K A B I N
Public relations is used to enhance the image of a company. It involves communication
with groups outside the company, such as customers, shareholders, government and the
public. This can take different forms.
• Product launches – businesses invite the press to the launch of new products. This may
lead to free, and hopefully favourable, publicity.
• Sponsorship – large companies provide finance for events such as Formula One or the
Olympics in return for the right to promote their brand names during the event.
• Charitable donations – businesses may participate in fundraising events like Comic Relief
or Children in Need. This provides an opportunity to put the company name in front of
very large television audiences.
• Press releases – companies issue short news stories about their operations, which may then
appear in television reports or newspaper articles. Portakabin has issued press releases
announcing that it has helped create nursery accommodation at a hospital in Salford,
provided a building for an incubator unit at the famous Papworth hospital in
Cambridgeshire and supplied a new teaching block at York St John College in Yorkshire.
These are commercial sales, but they are also good public relations stories that attract
newspaper interest. The resulting articles name Portakabin, acting as free advertising and
product endorsement.
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The Internet is also important for Portakabin. Research shows that 72% of business buyers
rate the web as their top source of information. Portakabin uses ‘search engine optimisation’
web tools to ensure that its website shows at the top of every relevant search results page.
Portakabin also uses paid-for web advertising, such as pay-per-click on Google, to profile its
business to prospective customers.
Evaluating promotion
GLOSSARY
Internet: a worldwide system of
computer networks.
Promotional campaign: a
means of getting a message across
about what a product is and what
it stands for.
Return on investment: the
return on the funds invested in the
business.
The overall aim of all Portakabin promotional campaigns is to generate enquiries and
sales. Portakabin sets a target of how many enquiries it wants to achieve for each campaign.
It can then measure responses to assess whether the campaign has been a good investment.
• Portakabin records the number of enquires during and after a campaign. This is known as
the response rate. Each campaign has a code, so it is possible to identify which campaign
generated each response.
• The number of enquires together with the number of orders they generate tells Portakabin
whether the campaign has given a good return on investment (ROI). This is calculated by:
For example, if Portakabin spends £15,000 on a promotional campaign that generates
£45,000 worth of orders, the return on investment would be:
Before each new campaign, Portakabin looks back at the effectiveness of previous promotions
to help it decide which type of campaigns give the best return on investment.
Conclusion
The Times Newspaper Limited and ©MBA Publishing Ltd 2008. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy
of information, neither the publisher nor the client can be held responsible for errors of omission or commission.
Promotional campaigns use a range of channels to help businesses reach customers with
their messages.
128
In business-to-business (B2B) markets, sales promotions techniques and above-the-line campaigns
are not used extensively. Portakabin does not invest in television campaigns, radio adverts or big
newspaper adverts. Its promotion works around the needs of large-scale professional buyers.
These customers need information about Portakabin products and the benefits these can offer
their organisations. They need confidence that the company is reputable and can deliver on
its promise. Portakabin focuses on providing customers with accurate and timely information
through its own magazines and its website. It takes care to develop promotional campaigns
that target customers through direct mail and email. Portakabin assesses its promotions
carefully. It measures the volume of business generated by each promotional campaign to
evaluate whether it has met its targets.
Questions
1. What are the main aims of promotion for Portakabin?
2. Why does Portakabin not employ many
above-the-line promotion methods?
3. Explain below-the-line promotion. Why is this
used more often by Portakabin?
4. What are the main ways in which Portakabin
evaluates its promotional effort? Why is this an
important activity?
www.portakabin.co.uk
6+1 Trait Writing Model : 2011 sports, entertainment and fashion Section II. Introduction Teacher Name: Sherril Daniels Student Name: ________________________________________ CATEGORY Support for Topic (Content) 4 Relevant, telling, quality details give the reader important information that goes beyond the obvious or predictable. 3 Supporting details and information are relevant, but one key issue or portion of the marketing mix is unsupported. 2 Supporting details and information are relevant, but several key issues or portions of the marketing mix are unsupported. 1 Supporting details and information are typically unclear or generic. Grammar & Spelling (Conventions) Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Writer makes 1‐2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Writer makes 3‐4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Date Created: Jun 22, 2011 11:04 am (CDT) Sherril Daniels Writing in CTE 3/3/2012 North Carolina Writing Rubric for Content and Conventions : Section III. Objectives ‐ Sports, Entertainment, and Fashion 2011 1 Lacks use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful. NS/0 Unscorable: blank responses, and/or responses that are off‐topic or incoherent. Teacher Name: Sherril Daniels Student Name: ________________________________________ CATEGORY Content: STYLE ‐ Vocabulary 4 Exhibits skillful use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful. 3 Exhibits reasonable use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful. 2 Exhibits minimal use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful. Content: ORGANIZATION 2 Organization is a logical progression of ideas and is unified and complete. There is a logical progression of ideas and is reasonably complete, although minor lapses may be present. One or more major Ideas are lapses in the logical presented in a random fashion. progression of ideas is evident. SMART Goals ‐
Specific Objectives presented are specific, measurable, and reasonable. Objectives are specific and measurable but may not be reasonable for the situation. One or more of the objectives lack specific details or may not be reasonable for the situation. Unscorable: blank responses, responses that are off‐topic or incoherent. undefined Goals are not specific and/or lack realistic perspective. Date Created: Jun 22, 2011 11:30 am Sherril Daniels Writing in CTE 3/3/2012 Research Report : Rubric ‐ IV Schedule of Events Teacher Name: Sherril Daniels Student Name: ________________________________________ Date ________ CATEGORY Sources 4 All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented in the desired format. 3 All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but a few are not in the desired format. 2 All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but many are not in the desired format. 1 Some sources are not accurately documented. Quality of Information Information clearly relates to the section topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples. Information clearly relates to the section topic. It provides 1‐2 supporting details and/or examples. Information clearly relates to the section topic. No details and/or examples are given. Information has little or nothing to do with the section topic. Organization Information is very organized with well‐constructed paragraphs and subheadings. Information is organized with well‐constructed paragraphs. The information Information is appears to be organized, but paragraphs are not disorganized. 8) well‐constructed. Amount of Information All topics are addressed and all questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each. All topics are addressed and most questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each. All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with 1 sentence about each. One or more topics were not addressed. Date Created: Jun 22, 2011 11:11 am Sherril Daniels Writing in CTE 3/3/2012