MKT 571; Social, Ethical, and Legal Implications PowerPoint Presentations

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The product

The company selected in the previous assignment is Facebook; Facebook is the largest social media company in the world with a database of over one billion people who actively share their life including their tastes. Given the amount of data that billions of users submit to Facebook, the company is in an excellent position to introduce a new kind of on-demand food service that leverages user information into a product that forecasts food demand in different locations and allows consumers to purchase on-demand food from the website. For instance, if Facebook notices a trend whereby users from New York are constantly posting about pizza it will include an option for New York users to purchase pizza directly from the website, order fulfilled by a third-party company such as Domino’s that has mastered the logistics of food delivery.

Product lifecycle

There are several elements to the product lifecycle of the product introduced by Facebook; the first stage of the product lifecycle is the initial stage. The priority of the company in the introduction stage is to create awareness about the product and alert consumers how they can benefit from the new product (Stark, 2015). The marketing and advertising strategy developed for the product is extremely significant in the introduction stage and includes product branding; here, the company creates a unique identifier for the product. Pricing, distribution, and promotion are also aspects of the introduction stage. If Facebook pulls of the product launch correctly, the product will seamlessly move to the growth stage.

The growth stage is the second element in the product lifecycle. The aim of the company in the growth stage is to establish the product further and increase its market share. In their efforts to develop and growth of the profile of the product, the company fine-tunes the new product to increase its quality and ability to meet the needs of the customer. The company may also reduce the price of the product in order to take away market share from competitors (Baker, 2014). Distribution is also essential in the growth stage; a faulty distribution channel acts as a bottleneck in the growth of the product, for Facebook to truly unleash the potential of the new service, it must partner with companies that have mastered the art of food distribution such as Domino’s pizza.

Another element of the product lifecycle is maturity, in the maturity stage, the product is no longer a novelty, and sales begin to decline as competition intensifies and customers tire of the new product (Baker, 2014). To achieve longevity, the company must launch new marketing strategies aimed at existing consumers, the intention of this marketing strategy is to defend market share. An example of a company that successfully uses marketing to keep sales momentum despite the product being decades old is Coca-Cola. A stellar advertising is key in maintaining market share dosing the maturity stage (Baker, 2014).

Determining success or failure

In assessing the launch of the new product, there are several ways to evaluate success or failure, one of the methods to evaluate success or failure is the number of consumers signing up to use the services, a large number of users indicates success while a low number of users indicates failure. Another metric that enables the company to determine success or failure is the conversion rate; this is the number of signed up users who start paying and using the service versus the number of users who sign up but do not pay for the service. A high conversion rate indicates success. User engagement is also an indicator of success; a company assesses user engagement by asking questions for example:

• Is the advertising increasing traffic to the product?

• How many users are clicking on the advertisements?

The responses to these questions can determine success or failure depending on the focus and what the consumer wants.

Media methods

The print media method will focus on newspapers and magazines. Advertisement in the newspapers and magazines will contain Quick Response Codes that unlock special discounts if users scan them with their phones. The print media will help drive traffic to the product.

The non-print media will focus on television advertisements. Creative advertisements that highlight the usefulness of ordering food from within the social network will create awareness about the product. The use of television for advertising enables the company to compete with other on demand food-delivery services that also use the same media.

Push and Pull

The marketing efforts used to create awareness about the new product use the push strategy. In the push strategy, the company promotes the product towards the consumer irrespective of demand (Chang, Chen, & Liu, 2014). The company encourages consumers to use the new service through exclusive discounts and aggressive marketing strategies.

Advertising strategy

The adverting strategy will focus on creating awareness of the novel new product and how it improves the consumer’s life, the print and television strategies will especially highlight the convenience of ordering food while browsing Facebook. When the consumers understand how the product can help them, they are in a better position to use the service.

References

1. Baker. (2014). Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan.

2. Chang, Chen, & Liu. (2014). The push, pull and mooring effects in virtual migration for social networking sites. Information Systems Journal, 24(4), 323-346.

3. Stark. (2015). Product Lifecycle Management. In Product lifecycle management (pp. 1-29). Springer International Publishing.

Individual Assignment: Promotion and the Product Life Cycle

Purpose of Assignment 

All products/services go through a life cycle of NPI (new product introduction), growth, maturity and decline. These various stages affect the marketing strategy and promotional efforts. In Week 3, you will incorporate a product strategy that addresses at least 3 areas of the product life cycle. The primary objective of this assignment is to allow the student to demonstrate an understanding of the factors that can affect the launch of a product or service. A secondary objective is to understand the differences in a product launch in the U.S. (domestic market) and an international market.  

Assignment Steps 

Generate a minimum 700-word product strategy in Microsoft® Word. 

Incorporate a product strategy that addresses the following:

• At least three areas of the product life cycle (NPI-new product introduction, growth, maturity and decline).

• How you will measure (what metrics will be used to determine success or failure) the marketing activities.

• Create at least two different types of media methods for the products. One media method must be a print method and one must be non-print. A media method is a media strategy which highlights your product. For example, (this cannot be used in this assignment), a non-print media method would be a Facebook campaign that provides a user a reward for each review, positive or negative, posted about the use/appearance/price/etc. of the product. In your assignment, you should have 2-3 sentences about each media method (i.e. one paragraph of what you would do, not how to do it).

• Address three elements of the Product and Promotion List (see below).

  • Product and Promotion List:

    • Integrated Marketing Communication

    • Advertising Strategy/Objectives

    • Push and Pull

    • Media Strategy

    • Advertising Execution                     

    • Direct Marketing

    • Public Relations/Strategies

    • Positioning 

The plan will be a continuation of your global or multi-regional company you chose in Week 1. This will be incorporated into your overall marketing plan for Week 6.

Note: Charts/graphs/tables do not count toward the word count.

Cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed references.

Format your assignment consistent with APA guidelines. 

Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.

Grading Guide

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Note that we can easily relate the 4 As to the traditional 4 Ps. Marketers set the product (which mainly influences acceptability), the price (which mainly influences affordability), the place (which mainly influences accessibility), and promotion (which mainly influences awareness).

Chapter 1

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Social media is an explosive worldwide phenomenon. In Germany, the percentage of consumers over 65 accessing the Internet increased from 24 percent to 33 percent from 2011 to 2012; most belonged to a social media service. The number of Germans browsing the Web wirelessly increased to 29 million in 2012 and was expected to hit 60 million in 2016. More than 10 percent of Germans were using tablets to access the Internet in 2012. Almost two-thirds of German companies surveyed in 2012 reported positive payback to their social media activities (Facebook, Twitter, social media newsrooms, customer feedback communities).37

The rise of digital media gives marketers a host of new ways to interact with consumers and customers. We can group communication options into three categories.18 Paid media include TV, magazine and display ads, paid search, and sponsorships, all of which allow marketers to show their ad or brand for a fee. Owned media are communication channels marketers actually own, like a company or brand brochure, Web site, blog, Facebook page, or Twitter account. Earned media are streams in which consumers, the press, or other outsiders voluntarily communicate something about the brand via word of mouth, buzz, or viral marketing methods. The emergence of earned media has allowed some companies, such as Chipotle, to reduce paid media expenditures.19

(pg 115)

Marketers employ a wide variety of measures to assess marketing effects.47 Marketing metrics is the set of measures that helps marketers quantify, compare, and interpret their performance. Marketers choose one or more measures based on the particular issues or problems they face. 

Companies can also monitor an extensive set of internal metrics, such as innovation. For example, 3M tracks the proportion of sales resulting from its recent innovations. Ambler also recommends developing employee measures and metrics, arguing that “end users are the ultimate customers, 

Chapter 12 Page 348

Most product life cycles are portrayed as bell-shaped curves, typically divided into four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline55 (see Figure 12.5).

• 1. Introduction—A period of slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the market. Profits are nonexistent because of the heavy expenses of product introduction.

• 2. Growth—A period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit improvement.

• 3. Maturity—A slowdown in sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers. Profits stabilize or decline because of increased competition.

• 4. Decline—Sales show a downward drift and profits erode.

Chapter 20 Page 590

Print Ad Evaluation Criteria

In judging the effectiveness of a print ad, marketers should be able to answer yes to the following questions about its execution:

• 1. Is the message clear at a glance? Can you quickly tell what the ad is all about?

• 2. Is the benefit in the headline?

• 3. Does the illustration support the headline?

• 4. Does the first line of the copy support or explain the headline and illustration?

• 5. Is the ad easy to read and follow?

• 6. Is the product easily identified?

• 7. Is the brand or sponsor clearly identified?

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After choosing the message, the advertiser’s next task is to select media to carry it. The steps here are deciding on desired reach, frequency, and impact; choosing among major media types; selecting specific media vehicles; and setting media timing and geographical allocation. Then the marketer evaluates the results of these decisions.

Chapter 12 Page 348

Product Life-Cycle Marketing Strategies

A company’s positioning and differentiation strategy must change as its product, market, and competitors change over the product life cycle (PLC). To say a product has a life cycle is to assert four things:

• 1. Products have a limited life.

• 2. Product sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities, and problems to the seller.

• 3. Profits rise and fall at different stages of the product life cycle.

• 4. Products require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life-cycle stage.

Chapter 4 – page 118 – see Table 4.3 below.

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• 1. Mission: What are our advertising objectives?

• 2. Money: How much can we spend and how do we allocate our spending across mediatypes?

• 3. Message: What should the ad campaign say?

• 4. Media: What media should we use?

• 5. Measurement: How should we evaluate the results?

Chapter 20 Page 590

The two main print media—magazines and newspapers—share many advantages and disadvantages. Although newspapers are timely and pervasive, magazines are typically more effective at building user and usage imagery. Newspapers are popular for local—especially retailer—advertising. On an average day, roughly one-half to three-quarters of U.S. adults read a newspaper, though increasingly online. Print advertising has steadily declined in recent years.18Although advertisers have some flexibility in designing and placing newspaper ads, relatively poor reproduction quality and short shelf life can diminish the impact.

Radio is a pervasive medium: Ninety-three percent of all U.S. citizens age 12 and older listen daily and for about 20 hours a week on average, numbers that have held steady in recent years. Much radio listening occurs in the car and out of home. To be successful, radio networks are going multi-platform with a strong digital presence to allow listeners to tune in anytime, anywhere.

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