teachthe4ps.com - For instructors of marketing.

Many of my students are interested in and knowledgeable about the sports apparel and athletic shoe.  Surveys I conduct with my students consistently identify Nike as their favorite brand — far ahead of Apple.  So it pays to be up-to-date on this product-market — in this case about Nike competitor Puma.  It also makes for a good example to use in positioning.  The article, “Puma Is No Longer a Sneaker.  It’s a Lifestyle” (Bloomberg Businessweek, May 12, 2011) describes French luxury house PPR’s efforts to reposition the brand as high fashion.  Will the strategy work?  It might be useful to ask students why Puma is taking this approach.  Clearly there are strong competitors in Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Under Armour in this market — so it may make sense to try to differentiate Puma.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Oprah Winfrey is a powerful brand and product endorser.  On May 25 Oprah ends her 25 year run on ABC and starting her own cable TV network — OWN = Oprah Winfrey Network.  This article “Brand Oprah Has Some Marketing Lessons” (Bloomberg Businessweek, May 19, 2011) touches on some of her brand power.

This long article looks at operational elements of the drive-thru window for quick-serve restaurants (QSRs). For many restaurants and especially for certain locations, the drive-thru is critical to business; at some Taco Bell locations 70% of the business was at the drive-thru window with 80% of that revenue coming in during a 90 minute lunchtime window! With this in mind, Taco Bell focuses on improving through-speed and quality of the drive-thru experience. This article, “Taco Bell and the Golden Age of Drive-Thru” (Bloomberg Businessweek, May 5, 2011) details many of those strategy changes.

The article provides a nice complement to the coverage of quality management in our text books — as well as our coverage of cross-functional collaboration (with production/operations) in Basic Marketing. Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Tupperware has been having great success in emerging markets — and in slowing mature economies like France where sales grew 17% last quarter and 19% in 2010.  This article, “In France, Tupperware Finds a Market” (Bloomberg Businessweek, May 5, 2011) describes some of the reasons for Tupperware’s success.  A higher end product line and changes in the traditional Tupperware party have helped the firm appeal better to a younger target market.  One of the bestsellers in France (and in the U.S.) is a $139 vegetable steamer (see picture to the left).  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

I have been looking for a Dilbert to finish out the semester.  Why it pays for brand managers to have some understanding of the technology behind a product.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

How does a dominant firm increase its customer base?  One tactic targets a new market with a new but related marketing mix.  Starbucks’ continues to look for growth — and is now looking for it from its Seattle’s Best brand that it acquired eight years ago.  This article “Starbucks Targets Folks Who Shun Starbucks” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, April 21, 2011) gives some insights about product, price, promotion, and place elements for Seattle’s Best.

Here is a suggestion for using this article in class or as an assignment.  Since most of our students are familiar with Starbucks, it might be fun to draw a 3 column figure — with the left column headed with “Marketing Strategy,” followed by “Product,” “Place,” Promotion,” “Price,” and “Target Market.”  Then head each of the next two columns with “Seattle’s Best” and “Starbucks.”  You could let students break into teams to complete the picture – or simply ask students to fill in the cells on the figure you draw on the board.  I find that my students learn a lot from these types of compare and contrast in strategies.  To give students more insight into the perhaps less familiar Seattle’s Best brand, you could show one or more of the three ads in the video clip below.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Here is a great case study.  This article provides the basis for a nice story to tell in class or reading to assign.  What happens when the company that holds 40% of the carrot market brings in a former Coca Cola marketer to run the company?  Well, he conducts research and then brings on big name ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky.  Together they go after new ways to increase our consumption of the orange veggie — and not promoting its healthiness.   An interesting marketing tale is told in “How Carrots Became the New Junk Food” (Fast Company, March 22, 2011).  And the story is still being written — we don’t yet know if this strategy will work and sell more carrots.

The article will allow you to talk about consumer behavior, market research, positioning, branding, packaging, promotion, and advertising.  Good stuff — and a fun example, too.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

China represents a huge potential market for all kinds of companies — vehicle sales in China grew more than 32% in 2010 to more than 18.1 million (more than in the U.S.).   As the average Chinese gains more disposable income, many are in the market for a new car.  At the low end of the market — less than 50,000 yuan (about $7500) — three out of four cars sold are domestic Chinese brands.  These brands — like the Tianjin FAW Xiali pictured here — don’t have a great reputation for quality.   Volkswagen, GM, Nissan, and Honda see an opportunity and are responding with lity with lower cost models.  So this is what many of these car makers are trying to do with stripped down variations of traditional models — with new brand names. This article “Foreign Carmakers Try Brands Just for China“  (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, March 3, 2011) provides a good example of international product adaptation.   The decision to use new brand names — instead of the more well-known Western brand names could also be discussed.

What do you do when changes in the social environment reduces demand for your core product?  That what happened to Zippo — best known for its windproof lighters.  Cigarette smoking in the United States has been declining for decades — and if you don’t smoke, you probably have little need for a Zippo lighter.  Zippo has had mixed results with various product extensions.  The article “Zippo Preps for a Post-Smoker World” (Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2011 – non-subscribers click here) provides a nice foundation for discussion the effects of social trends and for brand extensions.

With demographics you can see the changes coming from a long way off.  The oldest baby boomers turn 65 this year — and many companies are changing marketing strategies to appeal to this growing market.  This article “How to Market to an Aging Boomer: Flattery, Subterfuge and Euphemism” (Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2011 – non-subscribers click here) provides some great examples about how a diverse range of companies from ADT Security Services, to Kimberly Clark’s Depend brand, bathroom fixture maker Kohler and paint retailer Sherwin-Williams are carefully approaching the new baby boomer.  Great examples of how these companies are adapting promotion, place, and product to better meet the needs of this target market.