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MARKETING
Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs. In simple terms, it is meeting needs
profitably.
Formal definition as per The American Marketing Association: Marketing is an art and science of choosing target
markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, offering and freely exchanging products
and services of value with others.
When Google recognized people needed to more effectively and efficiently access
information on the internet, it created the powerful search engine we know of today.
Sony recognized the need for playing your own music on the go and addressed it by
launching the first small sized portable cassette player — Sony Walkman.
Jeff Bezos identified the need for people to shop from the convenience of their home
and addressed it by setting up Amazon.
Company first manufactures the product and Company first determines customer’s needs and wants
persuades customer that the product fulfils and then decides out how to deliver a product to satisfy
his/her needs these wants
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What is marketed?
Marketers market the following 10 types of entities:
Goods
Physical products like Milk, Soap, Shirts, TVs, Phones, Heavy machines, Cars, Rockets, etc.
Services
Provided by Courier, Lawyers, Bankers, Barbers, Engineers, Doctors, Hospitality providers
Events
Like speeches, trade shows, performances, celebrations, sport events like Olympics, etc.
Experiences
Customized travel and holiday packages; establishments like Disney Magic Kingdom, etc.
Persons
Artists, Athletes, Musicians, High Profile lawyers, Financiers, CEOs and other professionals
Places
Cities, regions and countries compete to attract tourists and investors (“Incredible India”)
Properties
Commercial, residential spaces - real property; stocks, bonds, etc. - financial (intangible)
Organizations
Museums, performing arts, corporations and non-profits - to boost their public images
Information
Information gathered and distributed by the likes of Thomson Reuters, Gartner Reports
Ideas
Concepts and ideas are marketed; e.g.: VC pitches, Campaigns like “Don’t drink and drive”
These entities could be marketed in different ways to different target audiences. Choosing the best methods
forms the challenge for marketing managers
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Wants are need satisfiers. Needs become wants when directed to specific objects to satisfy the need
Wants are shaped by society
E.g. want for food in India could be roti and the same want in the US could be for a sandwich
Thus wants are not mandatory part of life. You DONT need a good smelling soap. But you will definitely use
it because it is your want
Unstated Need Not stated, but expected to be present Good service, presence of accessories
(“hygiene” factors)
Delight Need Not stated or really expected, but would If the phone comes with external docks,
delight the consumer if provided additional warranty, expensive cases
Secret Need Not stated, but factors that would Admiration and envy from friends and
improve perception of the consumer, as peers, which would make the consumer
the owner of the product feel good about themselves
Focusing only on stated needs might not lead to required customer satisfaction. Some of these needs may not be
known to the consumers themselves and if the brand can help the customer with what they want by focussing on
all these needs, the marketing method would be greatly successful
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A consumer’s buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social and personal factors with cultural factors exerting
the broadest and deepest influence.
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Marketing Concepts
Segmentation
It is the process of defining and subdividing a large homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments having
similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics i.e. dividing a whole into parts based on various criteria like
geography, demography, behaviour, gender, personality etc.
Identifying people based on their needs helped us find people with square heads who might need a square cap
across all age groups. People of the same age group or gender may or may not have the same needs.
Let’s take the example of sunglasses market and see one way of segmenting it on the basis of benefits sought:
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Targeting
Targeting is the actual selection of the segment you want to serve. The target market is the group of people
or organizations whose needs the product is specifically designed to satisfy and are most likely to buy your
product
Target market is select on the basis of segment attractiveness
Let us look at our previous example of segmentation and find which company targeted which segment:
1. GSKCH has segmented the consumers based on age and targeted each segment with specific products
GSK has chosen to target all segments because of the available resources. When the budget is limited you might
choose a single segment to target that is the most profitable.
2. HUL segments its customers into income groups and targets them with specific products
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Positioning
Positioning is the use of marketing to enable people to form an image of your product in their minds (relative to
other products).
Elements of positioning:
3. Points of Difference (POD): Attributes that differentiates the products from others in the category. The
more the number of PODs the better the positioning. PODs should satisfy the following three criteria
a. It should be desired by the customer
b. It should be sustainable by the producer
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Marketing Concepts
BRAND PERSONALITIES
Brand Personality: Specific mix of human traits that we can attribute to a particular brand
The theory is that consumers are more likely to choose brands with which they can associate their own
personalities. Following are the 5 common traits of various brands:
Some marketers carefully orchestrate brand experiences to express brand personalities. For example, Axe, the
popular deodorant, caters to consumers who want others to view them as attractive and appealing.
These traits may vary depending on the socio-economic factors in different geographies with different people.
For example, in countries like Japan and Spain, traits like “peacefulness” and “passion” replace some traits like
“ruggedness” which might not be culturally relevant in those countries.
The model can be used to help you decide how to take a new offer to market by helping you define your marketing
options in terms of product, place, price and promotion. It can also be used to test your existing marketing
strategy to optimize the impact with the target market.
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Product
A product is anything (either be a tangible good or intangible service) that fulfils needs or wants of a customer.
It’s imperative that you have a clear grasp of exactly what your product is and what makes it unique before you
can successfully market it. Questions for the marketer:
What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy?
What features does it have to meet these needs?
Are there any features you've missed out?
Are you including costly features that the customer won't actually use?
How and where will the customer use it?
What does it look like? How will customers experience it?
What size(s), colour(s), and so on, should it be?
What is it to be called?
How is it branded?
How is it differentiated versus your competitors?
Products provide benefits, and it is for these benefits that they are bought by customers. These benefits may be
classified into three types:
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Place
Place is not just about the physical locations or distribution points for products. It encompasses the management
of a range of processes involved in bringing products to the end consumer.
Go-to-Market Strategy
A go-to-market strategy (GTM strategy) is an action plan that specifies how a company will reach customers
and achieve competitive advantage. The purpose of a GTM strategy is to provide a blueprint for delivering a
product or service to the end customer, taking into account such factors as pricing and distribution. A GTM
strategy is somewhat similar to a business plan, although the latter is broader in scope and considers such
factors as funding.
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Price
Price is a mechanism to appropriate the value from the customer. Simply put, it’s what the customer pays for the
value he/she gets from the product.
Example: iPhone’s pricing decision for the next iPhone model, say iPhone 7, would be made:
Reference Price:
Price of iPhone 6
or Galaxy S7
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Total Customer Benefit is the perceived monetary value of the bundle of economic, functional and
psychological benefits customers expect from a given market offering because of the product, service, people
and image.
Total customer cost is the complete packet or fees a customer expects to pay in the researching, buying, obtaining
and maintaining of a given product or service including monetary, time, energy, and psychological costs.
Total
Product Services Personnel Image
Customer
Benefit Benefit Benefit Benefit
Customer- Benefit
perceived
value
Total
Monetary Energy Psychologi
Customer Time Cost
Cost Cost cal Cost
Cost
Can you think of the factors that you considered while deciding to buy your last smart phone?
Promotion
Promotion looks at the many ways marketing agencies disseminate relevant product information to
consumers and differentiate a particular product or service.
Promotion includes elements like: advertising, public relations, social media marketing, email marketing, search
engine marketing, video marketing and more. Promotion includes:
Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target market?
Will you reach your audience by advertising online, in the press, or on TV, or radio, or on billboards? By
using direct marketing mailshot? Through PR? On the Internet?
When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market? Are there any wider environmental
issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your market launch, or the timing of subsequent promotions?
How do your competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence your choice of promotional
activity?
Example of 4Ps
Product: Nivea’s Creams
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Pull Push
Advertisements: Radio, TV, Print Ad, Online Sales promotion: Trade promotions - buy one get
one free
Consumer Promotion: 30% extra Pricing offers: Get 1000 Rs. Off on purchase above
Rs. 10000
PR & Publicity: Non-paid, online blogs, press Personal: Face to face sales push
releases, etc.
Events and Experiences: mall activations Direct to consumer: Tele marketing
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People
People are the most important element of any service or experience. Services tend to be produced and consumed
at the same moment, and aspects of the customer experience are altered to meet the 'individual needs' of the
person consuming it.
Customers buy from people they like, so the attitude, skills and appearance of all staff need to be first class. Some
ways in which people add value to an experience as part of the marketing mix are: training, personal selling and
customer service.
Most of us can think of a situation where the personal service offered by individuals has made or tainted
a tour, vacation or restaurant meal.
Process
For the purposes of the marketing mix, process is an element of service that sees the customer experiencing an
organization’s offering. It's best viewed as something that your customer participates in at different points in time.
Here are some examples to help your build a picture of marketing process, from the customer's point of view.
Processes are important to deliver a quality service. Services being intangible, processes become all the more
crucial to ensure standards are met with. Efficient process ensures that the service is perceived as being
dependable by the target segment.
Example: Going on a cruise - from the moment that you arrive at the dockside, you are greeted and
your baggage is taken to your room. You have two weeks of services from restaurants and evening
entertainment, to casinos and shopping. Finally, you arrive at your destination, and your baggage is
delivered to you. This is a highly focused marketing process
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no physical attributes to a service,
so a consumer tends to rely on material cues. There are many examples of physical evidence, including some of
the following:
Packaging
Internet/web pages
Paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and dispatch notes)
Brochures
Furnishings
Signage (such as those on aircraft and vehicles)
Uniforms
Business cards
The building itself (such as prestigious offices or scenic headquarters)
Mailboxes and many others
Some organizations depend heavily upon physical evidence as a means of marketing communications, for example
tourism attractions and resorts (e.g. Disney World), parcel and mail services (e.g. UPS trucks), and large banks and
insurance companies (e.g. Lloyds of London)
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Consider yourself in a hotel or a restaurant. Though the actual service might be food, the tangible
physical environment around it plays a major factor in your satisfaction. The environment has to be
ambient, the tables need to be clean and the cutlery needs to be inviting to eat, or else you will not be
fully satisfied.
A packet of chips is a product and Lay’s is a brand. Soap is a product and Dove is a brand
A brand sets a company’s products apart from competition. It’s the perception of the product in the minds of
the consumers. Brand is the company’s definition of what they have to offer. The Brand has a personality and
refers to the promise that the company makes to their customers.
When Amazon launched the Kindle e-reader device, it didn’t take long
for competitors to come out with their own branded versions of an e-
reader product. However, each brand had a different consumer
perception.
Similarly, a product can be replaced with a competitor’s product if consumers believe the two products offer the
same features and benefits. Products with low emotional involvement are typically easily replaced.
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The Enfield rifle is obsolete but the brand Royal Enfield is well known for
its motorcycles
Product Line
A product line is a group of products within the product mix that are closely related,
either because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups,
are marketed through the same types of outlets or fall within given price ranges.
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PLC describes the various stages that a product goes through from the time it was initially thought of until it is
finally removed from the market.
Product Development Stage: This is the stage where the product is conceived and developed. This stage
is characterized by high R&D costs and losses in the form of manufacturing costs.
Introduction Stage: This is the stage where products are introduced to the market. This stage is
characterised by high marketing costs since the company invests a lot in creating awareness for the
product. Sales growth is slow in this stage due to which the company experiences huge losses during this
period. Due to the inability to continuously sustain losses, the failure at this stage is the highest.
Growth Stage: This stage is marked by a sharp increase in sales and the product becomes profitable in
this stage. Company spends on marketing to strengthen market share and capture market share. This
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stage also experiences competition from new entrants who now see value in entering the segment. This
stage also experiences the highest profits.
Blue Ray Players: With advanced technology delivering the very best viewing
experience, Blue Ray equipment is currently enjoying the steady increase in sales
that’s typical of the Growth Stage
Maturity Stage: This stage sees stagnation in profits and the sales after growing for a certain period start
going down. Companies often spend a lot on innovation and promotions to sustain this stage as long as
possible. This is also a stage that is characterised by strong competition since the segment is now an
established one. A product might be in this stage for months or for decades.
Smart phones are currently in this stage coming out with innovative solutions on a
regular basis to sustain the maturity stage
Decline Stage: This is the stage when players start moving out of the segment because it has been
replaced by better and more lucrative alternatives. Companies reduce their marketing spends and do
not invest in innovations and the product sells by itself. The sales in this stage continuously decrease
until the product goes obsolete
Desktop computers are currently in the decline stage with a decreasing market
every year and little to no innovation
Marketplaces are platforms that enable a large, fragmented base of buyers and sellers to discover price and
transact with one another in an environment that is efficient, transparent and trusted.
The main feature of the market place model is that the e-commerce firm like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon etc. will
be providing a platform for customers to interact with a selected number of sellers. When an individual is
purchasing a product from Flipkart, he will be actually buying it from a registered seller in Flipkart. The product is
not directly sold by Flipkart. Here, Flipkart is just a website platform where a consumer meets a seller. Inventory,
stock management, logistics etc. are not supposed to be actively done by the ecommerce firm.
Inventory Model
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Inventory model of ecommerce means an ecommerce activity where inventory of goods and services is owned by
e-commerce entity and is sold to the consumers directly.
The main feature of inventory model is that the customer buys the product from the ecommerce firm. He manages
an inventory (stock of products), interfaces with customers, runs logistics and involves in every aspects of the
business.
BRAND EXTENSION
Brand extensions fall into two general categories:
Brand dilution: It occurs when consumers start thinking less of the brand. If a firm launches extensions
consumers find inappropriate, they may question the brand integrity or become confused or even
frustrated.
Brand confusion: Line extensions may cause the brand name to be less strongly identified with one product
E.g. By getting into powdered milk, soups and beverages, Cadbury ran the risk of losing its more specific
meaning as a chocolate and candy brand
Damage to parent brand: Product failures can sometimes impact brand equity if the extension is seen as
very similar to the parent brand
E.g. Criticism for Audi 5000 also spilled over to the 4000 model
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Cannibalization: Consumers may switch to extensions from parent-brand offerings, hence cannibalizing the
brand sales
Coca Cola introduced Minute Maid to compete with its own soft drinks business for 'throat share'.
Wheel and Surf Excel are detergent powder brands from HUL. These companies target different
segments when they introduce these products, but cannibalization might happen when consumers
buy across segments.
BCG MATRIX
The BCG matrix uses the criteria of market growth rate and market share to analyse business units and allocate
financial resources. While originally developed as a model for resource allocation among the various business
units in a corporation, the growth-share matrix also can be used for resource allocation among products within a
single business unit. This helps the company allocate resources and is used as an analytical tool in brand
marketing, product management, strategic management, and portfolio analysis.
BCG matrix has four cells, with the horizontal axis representing relative market share and the vertical axis denoting
market growth rate. The mid-point of relative market share is set at 1.0.
It was reasoned that the cash required by rapidly growing business units could be obtained from the firm's other
business units that were at a more mature stage and generating significant cash. By investing to become the
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market share leader in a rapidly growing market, the business unit could move along the experience curve and
develop a cost advantage. From this reasoning, the BCG Growth-Share Matrix was born.
Under the growth-share matrix model, as an industry matures and its growth rate declines, a business unit will
become either a cash cow or a dog, determined solely by whether it had become the market leader during the
period of high growth.
Disadvantages:
The model uses only two dimensions (i.e. growth and share) to assess competitive position, others are ignored
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Below is Nestle’s current BCG Matrix for a selection of their brands. For detailed explanation refer this
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ANSOFF MATRIX
The Ansoff Growth Matrix is a tool that helps business decide their product and market growth strategy. The
purpose of this matrix is to help managers consider how to grow their business through existing or new products
or in existing or new markets. The matrix shows four strategies you can use to grow. It also helps you analyse
the risks associated with each one. The idea is that, each time you move into a new quadrant (horizontally or
vertically), risk increases.
Market Penetration
This involves increasing market share within existing market segments. This can be achieved by selling more
products/services to established customers or by finding new customers within existing markets.
In Market Penetration, the risk involved in its marketing strategies is usually the least since the products are
already familiar to the consumers and so is the established market.
Another way in which market penetration can be increased is by coming up with various initiatives that will
encourage increased usage of the product.
A good example is the usage of toothpaste. Research has shown that the toothbrush head influences
the amount of toothpaste that one will use. Thus if the head of the toothbrush is bigger it will mean
that more toothpaste will be used thus promoting the usage of the toothpaste and eventually leading
to more purchase of the toothpaste
Product Development
This involves developing new products for existing markets. Product development involves thinking about
how new products can meet customer needs more closely and outperform the products of competitors
Product development can differ from the introduction of a new product in an existing market or it can involve
the modification of an existing product
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By modifying the product one would probably change its outlook or presentation, increase the
products performance or quality. By doing so, it can appeal more to the already existing market
It is slightly riskier, because you're introducing a new product into your existing market
Market Development
This strategy entails finding new markets for existing products. Market research and further segmentation of
markets helps to identify new groups of customers
This strategy assumes that the existing markets have been fully exploited thus the need to venture into new
markets
There are various approaches to this strategy, which include: New geographical markets, new distribution
channels, new product packaging, and different pricing policies
Diversification
This involves moving new products into new markets at the same time
It is the riskiest strategy among the others as it involves two unknowns, new products being created and the
business does not know the development problems that may occur in the process. Additionally, you're
introducing a new, unproven product into an entirely new market that you may not fully understand
There are two types of diversification
- Related diversification: This means that the business remains in the same industry in which it is
familiar with.
A cake manufacturer diversifies into a fresh juice manufacturer. This diversification is in the same
industry which is the food industry
- Unrelated diversification: In this, there are usually no previous industry relations or market
experiences. One can diversify from a food industry to a mechanical industry for instance
Richard Branson took advantage of the virgin brand and diversified into various fields such as
entertainment, air and rail travel foods etc.
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BUSINESS MODELS
B2B Model (Business 2 Business)
It is a type of commerce transaction that exists between businesses, such as those involving a manufacturer and
wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer. Business to business refers to business that is conducted between
companies, rather than between a company and individual consumers. For instance, the tires, batteries,
electronics, hoses and door locks may be manufactured elsewhere and sold directly to the automobile
manufacturer.
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"Understanding the competitive forces, and their underlying causes, reveals the roots of an industry's current
profitability while providing a framework for anticipating and influencing competition (and profitability) over time"
Supplier power
An assessment of how easy it is for suppliers to drive up prices.
This is driven by the:
- Number of suppliers of each essential input
- Uniqueness of their product or service
- Relative size and strength of the supplier
- Cost of switching from one supplier to another
In the jewellery sector, diamond suppliers often hold the power and can set prices, withhold supply and
restrict sales
Buyer power
An assessment of how easy it is for buyers to drive prices down.
This is driven by the:
- Number of buyers in the market
- Importance of each individual buyer to the organization
- Cost to the buyer of switching from one supplier to another
If a business has just a few powerful buyers, they are often able to dictate terms
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An example is the grocery sector since supermarkets tend to retain power over suppliers due to volume and
price of contracts. They dictate terms, set prices and can possibly end agreements at any time
Competitive rivalry
The main driver is the number and capability of competitors in the market.
Many competitors, offering undifferentiated products and services, will reduce market attractiveness
These include Estate agents, web design and office stationary. Many competitors often buy on price.
Threat of substitution
Where close substitute products exist in a market, it increases the likelihood of customers switching to
alternatives in response to price increases.
This reduces both the power of suppliers and the attractiveness of the market.
The substitute to all services is DIY.
Threat of new entry
Profitable markets attract new entrants, which erodes profitability.
Unless incumbents have strong and durable barriers to entry, for example, patents, economies of scale,
capital requirements or government policies, then profitability will decline to a competitive rate
An example is web design, as there are independents in every location. This is an easy market to enter with few
requirements, other than skills, initiative and relevant hardware and software. This does mean there are many
new entrants
Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis for The Two-Wheeler Automotive Industry in India
1. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors: High
There is a lot of competition in the 2 wheeler industry with each competitor being an established company rolling
out competing products on a continuous basis. Companies have to constantly innovate to make profits and
distinguish themselves from the other brands. In terms of market concentration, data shows that the market has
a monopolistic nature with Hero Motor Corp and Honda accounting for 65% market share. There is a lot of
competition when it comes down to individual product lines especially in the lower cc segments with Hero
Splendor and Honda active challenged by Suzuki Access and TVS Moped.
The rivalry is further heightened by the fact that switching cost for a customer is very low as most customers can
ride all types of 2 wheelers in a particular segment.
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The typical chain for a grocery store FMCG product will be:
Manufacturing plant ---> Company Ware House ---> Regional Ware House ---> Regional Stockist ---> Super
Stockist ---> Stockist ---> Distributor ---> Retailer
Main Godown ---> C&F Agents/Super Stockist ---> Distributors as per the territories ---> Wholesalers/Retailers
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BRAND EQUITY
Brand Equity is the value premium that a company realizes from a product with a recognizable name as compared
to its generic equivalent. Companies can create brand equity for their products by making them memorable, easily
recognizable and superior in quality and reliability. Mass marketing campaigns can also help to create brand
equity.
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The additional money that consumers are willing to spend to buy Coca Cola rather than the store
brand of drink is an example of brand equity.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
The theory was proposed by Michael Porter in 1985. Competitive advantage occurs when an organization acquires
or develops an attribute or a combination of attributes that allow it to outperform its competitors. It is the ability
to perform at a higher level than others in the same market or industry. There are four strategies that can be
followed to achieve a competitive advantage.
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DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital marketing is an umbrella term for the marketing of products or services using digital technologies, mainly
on the Internet, but also including mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium that may or
may not require the internet.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The process of affecting the visibility of a website or webpage’s in a search
engine’s organic results.
If you sell burgers online, the success of your business will largely depend on how quickly can one locate
the link to your website when they google ‘burgers’ or related terms.
Search Engine Marketing: This involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search
engine results pages (SERPs) primarily through paid advertising. Advertisers are charged ny a pay per click
(PPC) model where they pay a pre decided amount every time someone clicks on the advertisement.
The ads you see on top of your search results when searching for something on Google
The SPACE (refer figure above) defines the type of digital marketing. Some examples of space are:
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EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING
Experiential marketing is a grassroots marketing tactic that not only communicates features and benefits but also
connects a product or services with unique and interesting experiences. The idea is not to sell something but to
demonstrate how a brand can enrich a customer’s life. It encourages two-way interaction and direct physical
immersion into a brand.
Compared to mass media campaigns, experiential events tend to communicate on a much more personal level,
generate a deeper level of emotional engagement, and result in better conversion rates, all at relatively low cost.
Experiential marketing activities can range from high profile invite only events to tasters at a local farmer's market.
Lipton found a creative way to show that its iced tea cools you down. See the ad
here
Experiential marketing builds customer relationships for the long term. It can be used to:
Build relationships
Raise awareness
Increase loyalty
Encourage product trial
Create memories
Stimulate positive word of mouth
Verify the target audience
It is also to be noted that experiential marketing generally cannot be used for brand awareness on a large scale
or communicate with people who prefer less intrusive marketing messages.
Through social networking sites, companies can interact with individual followers. This personal interaction can
instil a feeling of loyalty into followers and potential customers. Also, by choosing whom to follow on these sites,
products can reach a very narrow target audience achieving higher return on marketing investments.
Unilever owned Sunsilk launched a one-of-its-kind campaign called ‘The Straight Hair
Experiment’ during the season of winter chills and dry frizzy hair. Sunsilk involved bloggers and
its Facebook community with the idea of sourcing crazy hair straightening ideas with a blogging
contest and had integrated the campaign with Facebook and Twitter as well
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GUERRILLA MARKETING
Guerrilla Marketing is an advertising strategy that focuses on low-cost unconventional marketing tactics that yield
maximum results. The original term was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book ‘Guerrilla Advertising’.
The term guerrilla marketing was inspired by guerrilla warfare which is a form of irregular warfare and relates to
the small tactic strategies used by armed civilians. Many of these tactics includes ambushes, sabotage, raids and
elements of surprise. Much like guerrilla warfare, guerrilla marketing uses the same sort of tactics in the marketing
industry. Guerrilla marketing is about taking the consumer by surprise, make an indelible impression and create
copious amounts of social buzz. Guerrilla marketing is said to make a far more valuable impression with consumers
in comparison to more traditional forms of advertising and marketing. This is due to the fact that most guerrilla
marketing campaigns aim to strike the consumer at a more personal and memorable level. Guerrilla marketing
originally was a concept aimed towards small businesses with a small budget, but this didn’t stop big businesses
from adopting the same ideology. Larger companies have been using unconventional marketing to complement
their advertising campaigns. Some marketers argue that when big businesses utilize guerrilla marketing tactics, it
isn’t true guerrilla. Bigger companies have much larger budgets and their brands are usually already well
established
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SURROGATE MARKETING
Surrogate marketing, uses the marketing campaign of a brand or product, to convey a message which is related
to another brand or product. This is done due to various reasons. Primary reason is to circumvent the ban on
advertising for a particular type of product(s).
For example, advertising for alcoholic beverages and cigarettes are banned in India. However, such brands
advertise through other products like mineral water or music CDS
Surrogate marketing may also be used in cases where the use of a product is linked to a service. In such cases, the
service is advertised widely, and the service provider uses only the product in question.
For Example, Custom Fitness Tracker Apps of brands like Nike and Under Armour may be advertised. But,
without a Nike Shoe or a UA pad, the app can’t function anyway. So, it would be surrogate marketing for the
products through the app service
Surrogate advertising is widely prevalent in India, due to bans imposed on advertising alcoholic and tobacco
products. This is how marketing campaigns of companies changed after ban in India:
“Wills” a cigarette brand of ITC, used to sponsor the Indian Cricket Team/Matches
Tennis Tournaments were sponsored by “Gold Flake”, another cigarette brand
“Manikchand”, manufacturers of ghutka, sponsored the Filmfare Awards for a considerably number of years
However, after the imposition of a ban on advertising for liquor/tobacco and related products, brands are
increasingly using surrogates for advertising. Here are a few examples
BRAND SURROGATE
Seagrams Music
McDowells Water and Soda
Bagpiper Water, Soda, and Music
Red and White Bravery Awards
Bacardi Music
Kingfisher Water and Calendars
Wills Lifestyle Apparels, Accessories
Smirnoff, Aristrocrat Apple Juice
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Marketing Concepts
Pet Rock – A rock was the ideal pet. The fad lasted 6 months and the
owner became a millionaire
Other examples - Crocs, Pokemon Go gifts and toys, YOLO
Trend is a direction of sequence of events with more momentum, predictability and durability as compared to a
fad.
Megatrend is a large social, economic, political, and technological change that is slow to form, and once in place,
influences us for some time – between 7 and 10 years or longer.
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