Campaign Management Process

The very concept of a campaign in marketing is focused on a time bound effort to design a strategy for various objectives as per the client requirements. The business objectives which can be the drivers for a campaign are considering an effective launch for a range of products, follow-up and may be increase market share sometimes. The process of campaign management involves an understanding of what are the expected benefits of the campaign, budgeting and costing of the campaign while ensuring that all needful resources are met and finally evaluating the effect of the campaign on the target market. There could be various kinds of campaigns and depending on the objectives of the campaign the basic principle can vary while some core processes remain the same. Some campaigns perform more than one of the functions which may include product launch in the first stage and then go on to brand Continue reading

Factors Influencing the Product Line Decisions

The extent to which a company can add new products is not unlimited.   Very often, the scope for having new products is in some way related to the existing conditions of the firm.   The goods may be : 1. Cost Related Goods A company may decide to add a product which may be the result of a common production process.   For example, a company which strikes oil may decide to produce petrol or mobil oil, kerosene, gas, wax, etc.   A company producing sugar may decide to produce molasses. 2. Demand Related Goods A firm may decide to add a product which is jointly demanded.   For example, manufacturers of Sulekha Ink have gone in for production of other related items of stationery like sealing wax.   Food Specialties Ltd. added Maggi to their various food products.   Weston Electronics, manufacturers of tape recorders, colour TV sets, Continue reading

Why do Firms Go Green?

Environmental issues have gained importance in business as well as in public life through out the world. It is not like that a few leaders of different countries or few big renowned business houses are concerned about the day to day deterioration of oxygen level in our atmosphere but every common citizen of our country and the world is concerned about this common threat of global warming. So in this scenario of global concern, corporate houses has taken green-marketing as a part of their strategy to promote products by employing environmental claims either about their attributes or about the systems, policies and processes of the firms that manufacture or sell them. Clearly green marketing is part and parcel of over all corporate strategy; along with manipulating the traditional marketing mix (product, price, promotion and place), it require an understanding of public policy process. So we can say green marketing covers Continue reading

Brand Irritation – A Case of Negative Brand Image Building

There are some gaps in between a company and its customers. These gaps are due to customer expectation with the brand and that expectation is not met with the actual brand offerings including other factors, which made customer experience not only negative but at the level of irritation. This customer irritation ultimately turns into brand irritation if necessary actions are not take. Brand irritation word coined by the Mr Alison Eastwood in the year 2003 in his article named “Brand irritation”. But in this article he had discussed on the term brand integration (the  use  of  commercial  products  in  the  story  line of  a  television  show,  film,  etc.  and  involving  the development  of  specific  objectives,  strategies, plans,  and  tactics  to  drive  the  business) and connecting it with the use of brand integration in American idol and same kind of initiatives adopted by other brands. He relates it with out of Continue reading

Methods of Pricing a New Product

We will address the following questions after new product development: How should a company price a new good or service? How should the price be adapted to meet varying circumstances and opportunities? When should the company initiate a price change, and how should it respond to competitive price changes? In the entire marketing mix, price is the one element that produces revenue; the others produce costs. Price is also one of the most flexible elements: It can be changed quickly, unlike product features and channel commitments. Although price competition is a major problem facing companies, many do not handle pricing well. The most common mistakes are these: Pricing is too cost-oriented; price is not revised often enough to capitalize on market changes; price is set independent of the rest of the marketing mix rather than as an intrinsic element of market-positioning strategy; and price is not varied enough for different Continue reading

Why Integrated Marketing Communication is Important?

For marketing communication to be successful, sound management decisions must be made in the other three areas of the marketing mix: the product, service or idea itself; the price at which the brand will be offered; and the places at or through which customers may purchase the brand. The best promotion cannot overcome poor product quality, inordinately high prices, or insufficient retail distribution. Likewise, successful marketing communication relies on sound management decisions regarding the coordination of the various elements of the promotional mix. To this end, a new way of viewing marketing communication emerged in the 1990s. It is called integrated marketing communication; this perspective seeks to orchestrate the use of all forms of the promotional mix to reach customers at different levels in new and better ways. Why Integrated Marketing Communication is Important? The evolution of the above mentioned perspective has two origins. Marketers began to realize that advertising, Continue reading