teachthe4ps.com - For instructors of marketing.

We all know how difficult it can be to change consumer behavior.  Try selling razors in India, where only half of men shave at home (the other half shave at barbers — and then not everyday).  Is this a threat or an opportunity? P&G India saw this as an opportunity — hundreds of thousands of men who were not using its product.

So last year P&G launched its “Women Against Lazy Stubble” campaign — see TV commercial below for one of the early ads. The campaign reflects subtle changes in P&G’s marketing strategy under new CEO Bob McDonald which is described in “Why Procter & Gamble Needs To Shave More Indians” (Bloomberg Businessweek, June 9, 2011).

The article and television ad (you can find more ads in the campaign by searching YouTube) could make a great example to use in a number of different class sessions.  For example, you could start a class session on consumer behavior by giving your students shaving data from the article and then ask how P&G could encourage more Indian men to shave at home.  The case might also work to show how consumer behavior differs around the world — or in international marketing or advertising and promotion.

Amazon sells two variations of its Kindle e-book reader.  You can get a $25 discount if you are willing to put up with “special offers and sponsored screensavers.”   It appears that customers don’t mind the ads — or at least many will tolerate the ads in exchange for the lower price.  The ad-supported model outsells the ad-free model.  This could be the beginning of a new business model.   Read more about it at “Discounted Kindle points to future of ad-supported electronics,” (CNN, July 1, 2011).

Amazon’s strategy could stimulate a discussion of advertising, pricing, or business models.  You might ask students if they would be willing to put up with advertising to save money on an electronic gadget.  You could ask them what price would buy their willingness?  Also, what other products might be good candidates?  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Here are two very powerful examples of how marketing that helps make the world a better place.  The first one (an ad created by Ogilvy, Dublin, Ireland) is especially hard to watch — but as you will see that is the point.  I don’t want to say anymore, because the ad and video explain themselves, and need no further introduction.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

My students love Nike — when I survey them about their favorite brands it consistently ranks #1.  My point – Nike examples play well in class.  Of course any example should be relevant to marketing and this one could work well with a discussion of segmentation, new product development or advertising.

Nike is aggressively going after youth action sports like skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, trick-bicycling and others – see “Nike Tries to Enter the Niche Sports It Has Missed” (New York Times, June 1, 2011).  Nike’s tactics in these markets are in many ways similar to those it has used in other markets — employing top athletes in each sport to endorse the brand and support it ith dynamite advertising that appeals to its target market.  The video below was released on Facebook (where Nike has specialty pages for various sports) even before it launched on network TV (during the NBA finals).  Nike created the Nike 6.0 sub-brand (see its Facebook page here) just for the action sports market.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

I just like the long version of this advertisement for a newly launched cell phone by NTT Docomo.  The phone is made of domestic woods produced from a Japanese forest.  A fun example of using advertising for positioning.  The ads embedded in the video make watching it a bit annoying.  Hmmm.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Audi probably doesn’t have the same reputation as its more well known competitors — BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus — in the luxury car market.  Comparative advertising can be a good strategy for a less popular brand.  I think Audi has done a nice job with this ad — it is simple yet effective.  What do you think?  With the Microsoft-Apple and Verizon-AT&T comparative advertising battles a bit stale by now, maybe this new ad can be shown in class when you talk about competition or types of advertising.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Volkswagen’s global market share is about 11% — but it sits at only 3% in the world’s largest auto market — the United States.  Volksagen’s managers hope to change that, so they are re-doubling marketing efforts.  This article, “Volkswagen Rediscovers America” (Bloomberg Businessweek, May 19, 2011), offers some insights into its strategy — but mostly gives a few interesting nuggets of information.  For example, I was surprised to read that as compared to its European counterpart, the U.S. Passat has more legroom, larger control buttons, and a better air conditioning system.  And the U.S. customer gets these extras for for a price of about $8000 courtesy of lower U.S. wages and simplified product design.  VW has just opened its first U.S. manufacturing plant since 1988.

The article offers some examples that can be used when you teach international marketing (product adaptation) and the local factory turns a weakness into a strength.

VW’s 2011 Super Bowl commercial (“The Force” see below)  was one of the most popular — though I must confess I was not a fan.  While I found the ad cute, I didn’t think it said anything relevant about the brand.

We have previously posted about Ace Metrix’s method for measuring advertising.  Sometimes it is nice to show students ads that score well on some objective measurement criteria (see the Ace score components here)– then use the example as a segue to a discuss the challenges of measuring advertising.  That connection could be made using Google’s recent “Dear Sophie” ad (1:32) when you talk about market research or advertising.

We have been watching in-store promotion efforts (sometimes called “shopper marketing”) grab an increasing share of consumer products firms promotion budgets for years now.  In fact, Joe is conducting some academic research in this area.  The recent editions of our text books have also ramped up coverage here.

This short article “In-Store Marketing on the Rise” (Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2011, non-subscribers click here) includes excerpts from an interview with Dina Howell who heads up Saatchi & Saatchi X, a unit dedicated to shopper marketing.  Howell previously worked in this area at P&G an early leader in point-of-purchase and other in-store promotion.  One of her key points is the importance of making sure in-store is consistent with other mediums — integrated marketing communications.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

This ad from the Philippines demonstrates something universal — or at least common between the U.S. and this Asian island nation.  The ad doesn’t even need translation.