Background
You've learned the four variables-product, promotion, price, and distribution-that the marketer can select to achieve specific goals within a dynamic marketing environment. This exercise will give you an opportunity to analyze the marketing strategies of some well-known companies to determine which of the variables received the most emphasis to help the company achieve its goals.
Task
In groups of three to five students, discuss the examples below and decide which variable received the most emphasis.
1. Product
2. Distribution
3. Promotion
4. Price
1. Starbucks Coffee began selling bagged premium specialty coffee through an agreement with Kraft Foods to gain access to more than 30,000 supermarkets.
2. Skype is a software application that allows consumers to make telephone calls over the web. Calls to Skype subscribers are free, while calls to land line and mobile phones cost around 2 cents per minute.
3. Amid great anticipation, Apple released its iPad, selling more than 3 million within three months. The slim tablet computer is a major step forward in reading e-books, watching movies, and playing games.
4. After decades on the market, WD-40 is in about 80 percent of U.S. households-more than any other branded product. Although WD-40 is promoted as a product that can stop squeaks, protect metal, loosen rusted parts, and free sticky mechanisms, the WD-40 Company has received letters from customers who have sprayed the product on bait to attract fish, on pets to cure mange, and even on people to cure arthritis. Despite more than 200 proposals to expand the WD-40 product line and ideas to change the packaging and labeling, the company stands firmly behind its one highly successful and respected original product.
5. Southwest Airlines makes flying fun. Flight attendants try to entertain passengers, and the airline has an impeccable customer service record. Employees play a key role and take classes that emphasize that having fun translates into great customer service.
6. Hewlett-Packard offered a $100 rebate on a $799 HP LaserJet printer when purchased with an HP LaserJet toner cartridge. To receive the rebate, the buyer had to return a mail-in certificate to certify the purchase. A one-page ad with a coupon was used in USA Today stating, "We're taking $100 off the top."
7. Denny's, the largest full-service family restaurant chain in the United States, serves more than 1 million customers a day. The restaurants offer the Build Your Own Grand Slam Breakfast for about $7.15, lunch basket specials for $4-$6, and a value menu with prices ranging from $2 to $8.
Which variable received the most emphasis? Why?