During this course, you have compiled a marketing plan for your fictional start-up company. Share with your fellow classmates the most important part of the marketing plan, and include an explanation

MBA 5501 , Advanced Marketing 1 Cou rse Learning Outcomes for Unit VII Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 3. Compare new product development and competitive product strategies. 3.1 Explain the product strategies of a company. 6. Explore positioning, differentiation, and pricing strategies for effective marketing scenarios. 6.1 Describe the pricing strategies of a company. 7. Compare holistic, direct, personal selling, retail, and wholesale marketing concepts. 7.1 Summarize distribution techniques used by a company. 8. Examine the key aspects in managing advertising, sales, promotion, events, and public relations. 8.1 Analyze the promotional techniques us ed by a company. Course/Unit Learning Outcomes Learning Activity 3 Essay; Chap ters 20 and 22 6 Essay; Chapters 20 and 22 6.1 Essay; Chapters 20 and 22 7 Essay; Chapters 20 and 22 7.1 Essay; Chapters 20 and 22 8 Essay; Chapters 20 and 22 8.1 Essay; Chapters 20 and 22 Reading Assignment Chapter 20: Managing Mass Communications: Advertising, Sales Promotions, Events and Experiences, and Public Relations Chapter 22: Managing Personal Communications: Direct and Database Marketing and Personal Selling Unit Lesson Promotion is defined as the communication of information between a seller or company and a potential buyer.

This communication not only parlays necessary information about the product and/or service b ut also typically utilizes an influencing tone in order to encourage the potential buyer to purchase the product/service. The first thing that may come to your mind is the commercials we see on television. This is indeed a segment of the promotional proces s. The methods of promotion include personal selling, mass selling, and sales promotion. Personal selling involves the direct spoken communication between a company representative and the consumer. This is typically a face -to-face venture, but the use of technology such as Zoom, Skype, or a variety of other electronic methods could be viewed as personal selling. With this method, the salesperson has the advantage of being able to modify his or her message based upon the consumer and will also receive imme diate feedback. While this is a huge advantage, this method is one of the most expensive methods as it requires the hiring and training of personnel. Salespeople tend to take on one of the three following approaches in their presentation style: UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE Integrated Marketing Communications MBA 5501, Advanced Marketing 2 Mass selling involves communicating with large numbers of potential customers simultaneously. As you can imagine, this method is particularly effective if the message to be delivered is similar for all and if the target market is geographically dispersed. W ithin the mass selling category, there are two methods typically used including advertising and publicity. Advertising is the paid form of marketing and typically utilizes media such as television, radio, magazi nes, billboards, direct mail, and the Internet. Take a look at the Heinz commercial aired during Super Bowl 2016 by clicking the link below. Wall Street Journal. (2016, February 1). Super Bowl 2016: Heinz ad [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3HqIkJ9 -3w Click here for a transcript of the video. Why do you think the Heinz commercial was so effective? The National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl is one of the most coveted days in the marketing and advertising world. While this day includes a day of good football, it also represents one of the la rgest audiences of consumers who are all viewing the commercials at the same time. Because of this, companies produce the biggest and best commercials. They pay extremely high placement costs to the networks, and production costs are enormous. In spite of this, companies believe this is one of the best deals in the advertising world with consumers anxiously looking to see the ads and talk about it with their friends for weeks after. YouTube provides a second life for these commercial messages as well. Pub licity , on the other hand, is an unpaid form of mass selling. This could include a local newspaper running a story about a company’s new product introduction. Outwardly, this method is indeed the most economical, but it does not allow the marketer to maint ain any control on the message that will be delivered. Sales promotion involves all other promotion activities besides personal selling, advertising, or publicity.

These tend to be less costly in nature and are intended to remind and stimulate interest. Sales promotions can be aimed at consumers through contests, coupons, aisle displays, samples, consumer trade shows, banners, or frequent buyer programs. Take a look at this unique sales promotional activity put together by IKEA. The video below demonstrat es how IKEA built an apartment in a Paris train station to demonstrate how its products could take a small apartment and make it appear larger. IKEA France. (2012, January 10). Resume journee 1 des colocataires IKEA [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/y9qM9lmz4a0 The im age depicts sale presentation approaches. MBA 5501, Advanced Marketing 3 This tool is ingenious at reaching the target market of young people who prefer to live in small urban apartments. These young people frequent train stations, thus the exposure to the correct target market is right on. Sales promotions can be aimed at wholesalers, retailers, or others in the distribution channel. These could involve price deductions, promotion allowances, sales contests, gifts, trade shows, educational/training materials, or other merchandising aides. Finally, they can be aimed at the company’s sales force with similar items as described above with the wholesaler, retailer, or others in the distribution channel. Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is a concept that sugg ests that a company needs to coordinate all of its promotional efforts in order to present a consistent message portrayed across all traditional and nontraditional marketing efforts. This will provide a consistent brand image for the company by encouraging greater brand equity among the members of the target market. Take a look at the Toyota commercial below that attempts to reach a specific target market in promoting its minivan. theultimatemultitv3. (2010, May 4). Swagger Wagon Official Toyota Music Vide o HD [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/pUG3Z8Hxa5I Click here to v iew a transcript of the video. Toyota is also attempting to make a minivan “fun” by creating a theme for the balance of their marketing and ultimately IMC efforts. Promotional marketing objectives need to be well -thought -out and align with the overall strategies of the marketing program. Take a look at several objectives that could be incorporated by a marketing department:  positioning the brand (communicating product/service benefits to maintain a certain position or status within the market),  introduci ng new products (providing the consumer with information about new product offerings),  obtaining outlets (informing customers where they can purchase the product/service),  maintaining ongoing contact with the customer (facilitating a good customer relationship),  supporting the sales force (providing the consumer with additional information that will support the sales force for past or future visits), and  requesting immediate action (asking that the customer buy the product/service). Thinking back t o previous units and our discussion on the product life cycle, how might a marketer plan promotional efforts differently at different stages of the product life cycle? In review, the product life cycle demonstrates the four stages that a product moves thro ugh after the product is commercialized. The product is first introduced in the market introduction phase where sales are low and the consumer knowledge about the product/service is also minimal. The product then advances into the market growth stage whe re sales are increasing and product/service knowledge increases. From there, the product moves into the market maturity stage where sales level off, but consumer knowledge is great. Finally, the product moves into the sales decline stage where the sales ar e declining, and consumer preference is also declining. To apply promotional strategies to the product life cycle, a marketer needs to examine exactly what message should be emphasized during each stage and what level of promotional efforts should be imp lemented. For instance, in the market introduction stage, the message might be as follows: “This new product is really innovative and something that will change your life for the better.” Information should be detailed and highly informative as the consume r learns about the product/service and its benefits to them. In the market growth stage, the message might revolve around the following theme: “Our product/service is better than our competitors.” The marketer should continue to include detailed Informatio n with a tone of influence. This is important as consumers are now aware of not only your product but also the competitor’s products, and the consumer will need to make a choice. During the market maturity stage, all efforts focus on influencing and persua ding as sales are beginning to decrease. This could be a result of an enormous number of competitors and/or competitors that are understanding the value proposition of the target market. Finally, in the sales decline stage, the message might resemble the f ollowing message: “Stick with us. We have served you for a long time.” Sales are dropping significantly, and extreme promotional efforts are in order. MBA 5501, Advanced Marketing 4 Jingles , which are short musical tunes, are another method used by marketers. The idea behind the use o f jingles is to hook the customer and generate a recall function in the mind of the consumer. Click the link below to view a video, which demonstrates 15 commercial jingles with which you may be familiar. Duquette, A. [Alex Duquette]. (2013, February 28). 15 commercial jingles in under 3 minutes [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs3R6ufsHAU&feature=youtu.be Click here for a transcript of the video. Why do you think the jingles featured in the video above are so effective and, in many cases, for many years? Another important concept in the promotional segment of marketing is that of media , which represents the vehicle by which the message is delivered. This includes television/cable, digital, newspapers, radio, magazines, outdoor/cinema, and directori es. Each vehicle brings with it advantages and disadvantages that need to be analyzed by the marketer. Take a look at several advantages of each of the forms of media listed below.  Television o Excellent visual qualities o Product/service can be demonstrated o Digital advertising o Highly received by consumers of today o Consumers are able to interact with advertising  Newspapers o Flexible and timely placement o Percentage of population prefers this venue  Radio o Wide reach and low cost o Can appeal to segmented audience th at is tuning into certain radio station  Magazines o Very targeted audience with “pass along” features o Details can be included as well as excellent graphics  Outdoor advertising o Flexible and relatively inexpensive o Repeat exposures with captive audience  Directo ries o Effectively reach local customers who are seeking information Finally, digital media advertising has become very popular. This consists of owned media and earned media.

Owned media consists of branded websites, company blogs, or company social media sites. Earned media consists of independent journalists’ perceptions or that of other customers. This might consist of word -of- mouth, online consumer reviews, and also Facebook or Twitter posts generated by customers. In summary, marketers need to incorporate an IMC perspective with their promotional methods. As decisions are made on the promotional methods that will most effectively reach its target markets, overall company objectives must be incorporated. Of course, budgetary considerations are also an important element of the overall promotional plan that is compiled. Reference Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management [VitalSource Bookshelf version] (15th ed.). Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781323591512 MBA 5501, Advanced Marketing 5 Suggested Reading Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) can help any business go to the next level if done correctly. Read Chapter 19 to discover more about this topic. Chapter 19 : Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Communications Some of the best communications and marketing techniques come through online, mobile, and social media campaigns. Read Chapter 21 to learn more about this topic. Chapter 21: Managing Digital Communications: Online, Social Media, and Mobile Learning Act ivities (Nong raded) Nong raded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. Please complete this activity f or your own learning. You will not turn in this activity for a grade. An additional element of the marketing plan includes the measurement and evaluation of whether the marketing plan strategies have achieved the objectives. Explain several marketing mea surement tools that are used by marketers and how effective they might be with your company.