teachthe4ps.com - For instructors of marketing.

This Wall Street Journal article “Pizza Chain Seeks Slice of Bicultural Pie” (December 29, 2010 non-subscribers may have to click here) describes the 100 store Pizza Patrón restaurant chain’s changing marketing strategy.  The firm has focused on a Spanish-speaking target market, but now looks to reach out to new target markets that includes whites and African-American youth.  The article describes Pizza Patrón’s marketing research and some of its strategy plans.

The article provides an interesting strategic counter-attack when you consider all the companies trying to appeal to the growing Hispanic market.  The example also fits with a discussion of segmentation, marketing strategy planning, and even market research.

I cannot imagine the theater business is an easy one these days.  Better home theater experiences and cheaper video rentals from Netflix and Redbox have reduced demand – while high fixed costs mean they still have to cover investments.  When a customer decides to attend a show, how do you get them to choose your theater?  Hollywood has helped by producing more big budget movies – many using new 3D technology that has yet to move into many homes.  Now many theaters are doing their part to make the viewing experience more upscale with more comfortable seats, fancy food — even cocktails.  To read about this effort, see ”Double Feature:  Dinner and a Movie” (Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2011, non-subscribers may have to click here).

The examples in this article highlight sources of differentiation.  It might be fun to go through the 4 Ps and talk about how each might be enhanced for a more upscale target market.

We love the Nintendo DS and Wii!  It is such a great example to use for market segmentation — and we use it as a chapter opening case scenario in our segmentation and targeting chapter (chapter 4).  Nintendo found a market segment, the casual gamer, that was under-served.  They designed products for this market and soon was selling more game consoles than Sony and Microsoft which targeted hard-core gamers.  Now things are changing.  Sony and Microsoft are attacking the casual gamer market as “Nintendo Goes for the Hard Core with Its 3DS” (Bloomberg Businessweek, October 28, 2010).  Read about it here.

This shows new product development, but also how a product category is moving from growth to maturity.  Nice supplement to segmentation and targeting — and an update to chapter 4 if you are using one of our books.

This article, “How to Adapt Products for Different Markets,” (Inc., October 1, 2010) offers several interesting examples of small firms adapting current products to enter new markets.  The examples show that such re-targeting efforts often require changes to the whole marketing mix.  More good examples to show when teaching  marketing strategy planning, segmentation and targeting or new product development.

The photo to the left is for one of the products mentioned in the article — Violight’s Zapi Toothbrush Sanitizer.

This short article, “Why Harley Is Showing Its Feminine Side” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, September 20, 2010) is a great example that includes many different concepts.  From opportunities (women riders represent only 12% of Harley sales — up from 2%) and a 53% market share lead among female riders.  Harley Davidson has seen declining sales lately — down 41% since 2007 — so it needs to find new growth markets.  Harley has adjusted its marketing mix to appeal better to this new target market — with adaptations to product, place, and promotion.

This article would be a great example to use when talking about marketing strategy planning (chapter 2 in our books), segmentation and targeting, or product.

UPS is leaving its “What can Brown do for you?” campaign behind.  The new campaign – “That’s Logistics” – targets small and medium size businesses that “love” logistics.  See this article, “UPS Leaves ‘Brown’ for New Love (Wall Street Journal, September 13, 2010 or click here if the link to the article doesn’t work) for more details.

Package-delivery giant United Parcel Service Inc. is launching a global ad campaign to promote its expanding logistics business to small and medium-sized businesses that want to sell their wares globally.

Of course I love logistics — but most of my students find it kind of boring.  This ad might be used when you discuss logistics, organizational buying, or segmentation and targeting.  It is always nice to have a few B2B examples.

This article “The iPad Leads Apple to the Elderly” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, August 12, 2010) describes how the ease of use of the iPad appeals to the elderly. The examples are mostly from Japan — where a fast growing elderly population make it a prime target market. The examples here work when talking about opportunities (chapter 2 in our books), demographic trends or market segmentation.

You might ask students:  What else Apple could to do make the iPad more appealing to senior citizens?  Encourage them to think about each of the 4 Ps.  [NOTE:  This article has also been posted over at our “Learn the 4 Ps” blog for students.

Here is the latest take on the ethics of marketing to disadvantaged consumers.  Nestle has begun sailing a “supermarket barge” down the Amazon River and its tributaries.  The company has adapted some of its products with cheaper ingredients and smaller packages — to offer them at prices low-income shoppers can afford.  Sounds like good marketing — adapting the marketing mix to fit the needs of a target market.

Not so fast.  The program has drawn criticism from many corners — showing the power of a few prominent voices on the internet to influence public opinion.  This article in the Atlantic “Nestle Barge to Ply the Amazon, Bringing Ice Cream and Rage,” (June 21, 2010).  The debate raises interesting ethical and social responsibility questions.  It also raises questions about Nestle’s strategy and implementation of this project.

This issue might be discussed one one of the first few days of school around issues of micro- and macro-marketing (we cover these in chapter one of our books — along with social responsibility).  It also provides a nice ethical debate to have in the segmentation and targeting chapter.

Frank Cespedes and Ben Shapiro have had a big influence on how I look at B2B marketing.  I often use cases and articles they have written when I teach my MBA classes, and their ideas have influenced my research program and text book.  This article “Yes, You Can Raise Prices in a Downturn,” (Harvard Busienss School Working Knowledge, July 26, 2010) is an interview with the two Harvard professors about pricing.  This might be a bit much for undergraduates in the intro marketing class, but the reading would work well in an advanced marketing class or with MBA students.  Plus, you can certainly glean ideas to bring to your undergraduate discussions of pricing.

This short post “Marketing Online – Men and Women Use the Internet Differently” (About.com:  Marketing, June 27, 2010).  It might be interesting to report the findings from this study and then ask your students how this might influence a marketing strategy targeting either gender.