Marketing Week 1 Book Assignment

Marketing:The Core 5/e
Kerin - Hartley - Rudelius
Chapter 1

APPLYING MARKETING KNOWLEDGE
1 What consumer wants (or benefits) are met by the following products or services? (a) Carnation Instant Breakfast, ( b ) Adidas running shoes, ( c ) Hertz Rent-A-Car, and ( d ) television home shopping programs.
A. Carnation Instant Breakfast: The consumer will receive vitamins and nutrition in a fast and time saving drink.
B. Adidas Running Shoes: The consumer will have safety and cushioning for their feet while running, and also hold a status by having a brand name.
C. Hertz Rent-A-Car: The consumer will have convenient transportation while traveling and while not having to pay for a taxi or bus service.
D. Television Home Shopping Programs: The consumer will experience convenience from not having to go anywhere to shop, and they can find good deals on all sorts of merchandise.
2 Each of the four products, services, or programs in question 1 has substitutes. Respective examples ( a ) a ham and egg breakfast, ( b ) regular tennis shoes, ( c ) taking a bus, ( d ) a department store. What consumer benefits might these substitutes have in each case that some consumers might value more highly than those mentioned in question 1?
A. A Ham and egg sandwich: It may be more appealing to a consumer to eat food instead of a drink. The meal may contain more protein and keep the consumer fuller than the drink.
B. Regular Tennis Shoes: The shoes can be used for multiple functions, and they may cost much less.
C. Taking a Bus: You will not have to deal with any part of the rental car, like papers, picking it up, and driving it back. Taking the bus can be much keeper and you will not have to find a parking spot.
3 What are the characteristics (e.g. age, income, education) of the target market customers for the following products or services? ( a ) National Geographic magazine, ( b ) People magazine, ( c ) New York Giants football team, ( d ) the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
A. National Geographic: The target would be people interested in nature and photography of any age since that is what the magazine centers around.
B. People Magazine: The target would be people who want to catch up on the latest celebrity and trending news. I think the target audience is older people, possibly teens or older, but any could enjoy this magazine.
C. New York Giants Football Team: This target audience is people interested in football. The stereotypical audience would be older males but of course females and kids like football too.
D. The U.S. Open Tennis Tournament: This would target sports fans, specifically tennis ones. There isn’t an age target here since anyone can like tennis.
4 A college in a metropolitan area wishes to increase its evening-school offerings of business-related courses such as marketing, accounting, finance, and management. Who are the target market customers (students) for these courses?
A. The target students would be people with full time day jobs, adults with full time jobs or children/family to take care of, or people who do not like to get up early for school.
5 What actions involving the four marketing mix elements might be used to reach the target market in question 4?
Promotion, Product, Place, and Price
A. Promotion: Different methods can be used to promote the night classes so people can see that they are being offered. Posters or emails could be sent out to students.
B. Product: Night time classes differ from day time ones because of the time they are taught. This will really sell the night time classes to the target group.
C. Place: The location will also help get more people involved in the night time classes. If it is convenient to any people, say right on campus, then more will sign up.
D. Price: If the price of each class is fairly reasonable, students will sign up through that school instead of a different one.
6 What environmental forces (uncontrollable variables) must the college in question 4 consider in designing its marketing program?
A.
7 Does a firm have the right to “create” wants and try to persuade consumers to buy goods and services they didn’t know about earlier? What are examples of “good” and “bad” want creation? Who should decide what is good and bad?
A. It is hard to say if a firm can “create” wants, but I would say they definitely do create them whether they mean to or not. I think they do have a right to, but to a point. They can’t force people to want something; people may or may not like it.
B. Good Example: A good example would be promoting a 100% fruit juice for children. It is healthy and tastes good. They could want it, and it wouldn’t be something harmful to their health.
C. Bad Example: A bad example would be something that is dangerous to the target audience. Like say guns or knives that are targeted for middle school children. IT can be harmful to them.
D. It is hard to say who should decide what is good and bad. If something is incredibly bad I think something of higher power should decide. Like if it is a food product then the head of the department of agriculture could decide.

BUILDING YOUR MARKETING PLAN
If your j instructor assigns a marketing plan for your class, don’t make a face and complain about the work – for two special reasons. First, you will get insights into trying to actually “do marketing” that often go beyond what you can get by simply reading the textbook. Second, thousands of graduating students every year get their first job by showing prospective employers a “portfolio” of samples of their written work from college – often a marketing plan if they have one. This can work for you. This “Building Your Marketing Plan” section at the end of each chapter suggests ways to improve and focus your marketing plan. You will use the sample marketing plan in Appendix A (following Chapter 2) as a guide, and this section after each chapter will help you apply those Appendix A ideas to your own marketing plan. The first step in writing a good marketing plan is to have a business or product that enthuses you and for which you can get detailed information, so you can avoid glittering generalities. We offer these additional bits of advice in selecting a topic:
Do pick a topic that has personal interest for you – a family business, a business or product you or a friend might want to launch, or a student organization needing marketing help.
Do not pick a topic that is so large it can’t be covered adequately or so abstract it will lack specifics.
1 Now to get you started on your marketing plan, list four or five possible topics and compare these with the criteria your instructor suggests and those shown above. Think hard because your decision will be with you all term and may influence the quality of the resulting marketing plan you show to a prospective employer.
Affordable Fashion: From trendy clothing to stylish shoes
Pro: Affordable
Con: Other Companies like it
Dress for a cause: for every special event dress bought, one is donated to girls in need
Pro: good cause, many people buy special occasion dresses
Con: Price?
Spike: trendy shoes for a reasonable price
Pro: good prices for shoes, many women want to buy them
Con: Other companies, ex. Just Fab, Shoe Dazzle
Eidam Lips: Cruelty Free, All Natural, good on sensitive skin, lip products
Pro: Many women buy cosmetics, good product (all natural/ cruelty free)
Con: Many other cosmetic companies, other brands with cruelty free or all natural, ex. NYX or Burt’s Bees

2 When you have selected your marketing plan topic, whether the plan is for an actual business, a possible business, or a student organization, write the “company description” in your plan, as shown in Appendix A.
Possible Business- Eidam:
Eidam provides luxury for your lips. With lip sticks, lip gloss, lip stains, lip liners, and more. Have faith in your Eidam products. They are never tested on animals, always made with all natural products, and never harmful to those with sensitive skin. Extravagance you can see, at a price that won’t hurt your wallet. Find everything you need for your perfect lip look with Eidam.

VIDEO CASE QUESTIONS
1 (a) How did 3M’s David Windorski get ideas from college students to help him in designing the final commercial version of the Post-it Flag Highlighter? (b) How were these ideas important to the success of the product?
A. He first looked in the students’ backpacks to get a feel for what many students used on a day to day basis. He early highlighter models and interviewed students to see what their needs were.
B. By seeing what the students would use and want, Windorski was able to create a successful product. His tests and trials were put to good use, as he ditched the failed ones and improved on the successful ones.
2 What (a) special advantages and (b) potential problems did 3M have in introducing a new highlighter-with-flags product for college students?
A. Special Advantages: They created a brand new product that no one had ever used before. It could be something that only they would make money off of.
B. Potential Problems: Since the product was new, it still could not work out for them. People could not buy it as they hoped they would. In turn they could then lose money.
3 Visit your college bookstore before you answer. (a) Where would you display the Post-it Flag Highlighter in a college bookstore, and (b) how can the display increase student awareness of the product?
A. I would display it by the other school supplies. I would put it towards the front of the display so students can see it.
B. Students can see the product and buy it. Other students can see them with it and in turn buy it as well, thus increase sales.
4 In what ways might 3M try to promote its Post-it Flag Highlighter and make students more aware of the product?
A. They could put ads in magazine that are targeted to students. When students read the magazine, they will see the product and may want to buy it. Making the product available in many popular stores to buy school supplies like Walmart and Target could make it well known too, especially if it is released near back to school time. By promoting as much as the company can, more and more people will see the product and potentially buy it.
5 What are (a) the special opportunities and (b) potential challenges for 3M in taking its Post-it Flag Highlighter into international markets? (c) On which countries should 3M focus its marketing efforts?
A. They can really increase their sales of the product. They could even get people to invest in their company or start a 3M in another country. These would greatly increase their sales and make their products well known.
B. They could find countries turning them down for various reasons like already having similar products. They could run into more companies trying to take their ideas.
C. They should focus their efforts on countries that are “friends” with the U.S, staying away from countries that do not like the U.S.