1. Understanding the Functions of Marketing and PR
Use this work book to help you explain the functions of marketing and public relations. You
should ensure you use additional examples to support your explanations.
Marketing
Market research is much like a strategy to gather information about target markets,
customers and demographics. It can be important in gaining competition over
competitors in business, with good market research companies can identify all the
areas including their market size, which can be a good factor in creating the actual
product and controlling the target market. Market research can be carried out in all
kinds of ways including socially in media and surveys to homes this is done primarily
and is classed when research is carried out to the demographics and looking at the
market size etc. When dealing with customers rather than a specific target market,
getting a good survey with good responses is customer satisfaction, these surveys are
more likely to be seen and heard over the phone or face to face, depending on what
product is being sold and or what the competition is like. Getting more in depth with
the way market research is carried out; a second way of market research is focus
groups as usually they involve physical presence this is normally where meetings
occur in companies with specific research in order not to disturb to the participants of
the meeting. If a product is going in to a shop, one of the many ways could be
observational research i.e. seeing how many people going into the store daily or a
weekly basis and what attracts them first, there are sometimes surveyors outside
supermarkets which have different methods of the type of research. I think that
surveys are the most commonly used because of how easily accessible they are and
also they are useful for looking at the demographics and the attitudes of the
audience/target market, if you want specific answers to a yes or no questionnaire this
is also the one.
Explain market analysis. Why is it done and who could carry it out for you?
Market analysis is like further investigation exploring the dynamics of a specific market
or industry. Through this analysis strengths and weaknesses are also researched
alongside the threats of competing businesses. Market analysis can also look at the
purchasing side of things including promotional activities and work force. The analysis
is done to determine the market size and trends to accompany the demographics
previously researched, it is to further widen the sources and information to then try and
get the promotional ball rolling. There are different segments to market analysis with
most of them being involved with profit and the costs beforehand. It is also consumer
analysis, considering on behaviour. A market research report is one of the first steps
into market analysis although they do need careful interpretation especially if it is
focused on specific demographics including behaviour. There are teams designed
specifically for looking at analysis and researching that could work together to create a
promotional or profitable outcome.
Explain marketing strategy using examples.
The marketing strategy is solidly a plan of what methods to use when advertising and
so forth, it looks at long -term objectives and some of the basic methods to get an
advantage early on. Some of these strategies can be fundamental to reach needs and
the objectives discussed earlier. Taking the marketing trends into context with the
demographics some of the strategies are partially planned however mostly unplanned
because of the customer value and how much it changes over time. Most of the
analysis takes place externally looking at competitors, customers and target markets.
A mix in the market is also what’s looked in to in case an irrational product is released
by an opposing business. The long term objectives are the main examples, if a
2. company has a goal to bring out the product in so many weeks, how many they want
to profit and how successful the target market reacts to it. The strategy is an
explanation of what you want whereas the plan is how you’re going to achieve those
things and it’s the application of your strategy. Most big companies have a strategy in
place, clothing stores will implement this about their long term objectives to keep the
chain running which will be the main one and to invest in the market to see what
products are still popular – although this leans more towards the plan.
Why is advertising so important to an organisation? Use examples to help you explain.
Advertising in the modern world is the primary front for an organisation. Social media
at the minute has the biggest influence on advertising and this could be with or without
celebrity endorsement, companies can pay to have things promoted on Facebook and
Twitter. Without advertising consumers and the target market wouldn’t see or hear
about potential product, advertising can be found everywhere, in social media,
magazines, newspapers and billboards, as the digital era takes over companies are
turning to the internet to grasp their audience, if it appears in their news feed they are
more likely to read it. To fit an example into this and social media, companies will be
aware of interests in the people that you follow and vice versa, this can be anything,
ranging from food to clothing and novelty, it is mainly promotion although it can get
ignored when people are scrolling on mobile phones etc. Advertising also gives
companies the chance to explore their target market more and what approach they
want to take in getting their message across. The way advertising speaks to specific or
your audience can change their opinion in a matter of seconds this can depend on the
wording and or the graphics so understanding your target market before advertising is
pivotal. Depending on what your audience is also helps in what way you should
advertise, whether they watch television at specific times, what products they buy
regular and all the other details. Some of the techniques that organisations use is
repetition, these are likely to be TV adverts, the other is claims, where the organisation
claims that there is something extra in the product to make it more appealing. An
association can also connect with the target market on an emotional level, like models
in beauty adverts and sports stars appearing in sports equipment advertising. More
and more celebrities seem to be the fundamental value of advertisements globally
because they sit on a level with the target market and when companies see this, this is
where they also see profitable demands.
What is brand promotion and what methods could you use to promote a brand?
Brand promotion is kind of like endorsement where the company links up with another
company or celebrity to promote the brand. Some of the most common include alcohol
products in films. Overall this sort of promotion ties with the marketing strategy, as it is
intended to boost customer loyalty, sales, company value and the biggest factor –
competitiveness. One of the methods to brand promotion is building a loyal client
base, the company needs to make sure the customers/target market are well aware of
their key selling points and the company portrays their merchandise or services to a
higher standard, once a foundation is set with the customer it then starts a chain of
buying the product more frequently and raising sales. Much like brand promotion is
endorsement and advertising it seems that endorsement is becoming more
widespread in promotion taking in to consideration how the target market starts to
differ, sports stars are at the centre of sports equipment promotion and are selected to
offer the attention of the intended customer and can end in surprising results
especially if the demographics are quite young like Addidas or Nike for football boots.
The way that the promotion is dealt with can underlay the companies values and like
advertising again – can build an ‘emotional relationship’ with the customers and lets
them know why it is your product they should be buying. The key selling points that
companies tend to get across are cultural functions, the fun factor and the importance
3. of the customer – for certain brand promotions like fast food chains they are situated
around showing family scenarios/bringing the family together which entices the
importance of the customer and the fun factor of eating with the family – KFC and
McDonald’s are prime examples of this. Event marketing can also tie in with brand
promoting with sponsors at live music events and so on, this could be one of the most
effective ways if the brand is a drink bottle, lets take Lucozade with their events in
festivals and sport people are going to want to buy it because of the value. Sometimes
the brand promotion doesn’t always have a direct form as endorsements in
advertisements it can come in a form of the celebrity wearing the branding without
intending to or briefing with the company first.
PR
What are some of the key principles involved in managing the message?
The main idea of messaging in PR is to instil a consistent story around a product,
person or company. It is also about getting the message delivered properly, this could
include making sure that the product or person is always seen in a positive or
influential light across all sources and in media. Most celebrities enlist the help of a PR
to help foresee their antics in the press or in the industry if needs be, although most
PR’s for the modern world aren’t really dependent on as celebrities seem to be suing
newspapers etc on their own. Public relations can’t control the media, especially with
the influence socially on Twitter with gossip constantly circulating, twitter rumours can
sometimes make the news depending on what type of views people have. One of the
key principles in PR is making sure that you talk about what stays the same and what
may change, this shows a balance and that the PR can have the upper hand or plan
what to say if the situation changes or stays the same. Discussing and reinforcing
what will stay the same – this can be for a product or a person, it is important because
people will make the rest up themselves if they don’t know any information this could
be damaging to the company as false information gets passed round and consumers
turn their noses up. Public relations relies heavily on communicating with the asked
audience and therefore being honest and open about the message can ultimately lead
to getting the message managed and delivered properly. Having a vibe about a certain
person or product can eventually seek influences and key beliefs on the public and
then gaining the right credibility, which is often classed more effective than advertising.
If the company is selling directly to the consumer, you have to be part of their direct
environment, this doesn’t entirely mean advertising it just sums up about making sure
the product or the person is in the right place at the right time and the undeserved
credit goes to you as a PR. Most PR’s now are shoved into social situations
channelled by internet marketing venues, although this isn’t the most acceptable as
there isn’t a real back and forth conversation – you can’t tell whether someone is lying
or not through a message, this comes under early communication and creating openly
as well as honestly. There can be damaging times for a PR as they need to come in if
a product becomes brand damaging as mentioned earlier the PR has to be direct
about the changes and the things that are staying the same to not hinder any more
product sales then there already is.
4. What is positive publicity? Find an example of it to help explain.
Much like the PR has to be open and honest about the product/person, the positive
publicity side is trying to find the positives in everything. One of the examples to use
was when Cheryl Cole split up with her footballer husband Ashley Cole, the positive
publicity of that was that she could focus on her singing career and how her past
singing career in band ‘Girls Aloud’ would not affect her love life previously and after
Ashley Cole. Sometimes positive publicity can be clashed with spin, as there is a need
to find the good in everything and something, with a celebrity, this includes social
media something as insignificant as an item of clothing the celebrity is wearing can
penetrate a positive publicity outburst. Positive publicity can have a knock on effect for
the product or person thus increasing sales or fans. Social media is increasing in
positive publicity with fans already spreading positive words and thus inviting new
fans. Mostly now there isn’t much positivity in newspapers however going back to
social media a tweet with so many positive replies etc. could boost the ego for the
product/celebrity and it becomes a cycle. Writing a report about someone in a positive
light brings out all the pros and highlights more other than the story they are trying to
put across. A publicity stunt could be used in this context if one was decreasing in
sales or going bankrupt – a scenario could be that a celebrity has done a charity event
and has made it onto the news and therefore that is positive publicity because he/she
is the centre of attention. In celebrity terms, they will do anything now to get on the
television screen etc. to be recognised for something good to create the positive
publicity for themselves, referring back to the PR example, they try to put the product
or person in the positive light but always work in the back ground. Positive publicity
doesn’t always come from the fans/company/celebrity themselves the press often
inject a positive story into the papers whether it be small or a big event. Most of the big
celebrities tend to get more of the publicity simply because of who they are, this could
boil down to the money aspect or just their status, in mainstream magazines it is
usually music stars. In newspapers and magazines some of us may not notice the
motive behind why a particular company appears there, again it all comes together
with market research with the added claim, which insiders will look into to boost the
whole product for up selling.
In public relations terms, what is spin? Find an example to help you with your
response.
Why might a person or a company engage in damage limitation? Using an example
will improve your grade.
5. What benefit could there be to an organisation to create an event? Use an example of
a marketing or PR event to support your responses.
What is lobbying and who is most likely to be influenced by it?
