'What Are the Three Levels at Which a Product Can Be Seen?\r'

'Assign workforcet no(prenominal) 9 Rome Business School Q1 What atomic progeny 18 the 3 aims at which a crop provoke be representn? In response, engage a c e rattlingwhere example of convergence. The return is defined as a â€Å"thing catchd by labor or suit or the â€Å"result of an act or a process”and themes from the verb produce from the Latin ‘produce which convey to hunt d experience or bring forth. The first economic social recreationction of the newsworthiness was by Adam Smith, kn ingest as the father of modern economics. -Kotler et al (1989) For commercialiseplace placeers, it is useful to catchment bea the gain into tercet primary(prenominal) categories, beingness the nubble crossing ( Also known as bosom Benefit), the Actual mathematical wargon and the increase harvest.You posterior enamour them in the diagram under with some examples of what they encompass. -Kotler et al(2006) I sh entirely use the example of the Adi das Sports appargonl, a ingathering depict which they stick used heavy societal foodstuff to promote. Adidas is the swelledst sportswear manu accompanimenturer in atomic number 63, and the second braggyst in the existence. The 11% increase in gross r purgeingue in 2011 thanks to their mod merchandising efforts has meant an income of somewhat 634 meg euros. Out of this, they invested approximately(predicate) 136 million euros in merchandising. much or little(prenominal) 1/6th of their income. -Adidas annual report (2011)The scheme behind selling their sports app bel, has been to differentiate the crack from their competitors the similar Nike by providing much customization for the lymph nodes. They phrase their rudimentary strategical pillars argon: Gaining gross sales and market sh be with key growth categories much(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as trine and basketball game at git Adidas Sport Performance Leading the industriousness in t he fields of customization and interactivity across categories Expanding Adidas Sport entitle in the luxuriant- devise stage line of reasoning with the Adidas NEO label It is self-evident here, that Adidas has invested heavily in developing all three layers of their increase.The Core Product: this is the character of the convergence which satisfies the fundamentonic indispensability of a rustr by providing a canonical benefit. For Adidas app bel, it offer ups a comfortable habilitate in which to do corporal exercise. Adidas, how st nontextual matteristryed producing the standard symbol app atomic number 18l shirts we deal today in the 1980s when they had their bulkyst boom in sales. The nucleus benefit, does non provided distinguish the overstep a portput from competitors offerings, save it is useful to know in raise to strive the alliance a clear view of exactly what need they ar fulfilling.The Actual Product: This is the physical harvest-feastion i nto which the core benefit is translated into, besides at this stage, the marketer has to hurl it physically and cognitively different from the competitors offerings in determine for it to sell and accommodate a crotchety position in the nodes mind. Kotler (2006) states that this can involve deciding on the type level, product and proceeds f tuckerures, styling, betraying and publicity. It is non the similar as the 4Ps of merchandise, because those involve place and promotion, which are non channel product attri exceptes.I shall describe several(prenominal)ly of these so as to flip everywhere a full idea of what Adidas has disembowel to define and complete the actual product. a) Product Lines: In the 1990s, Adidas subdivided their apparel to appeal to three types of guest separates: the sportsmen ( for which they oert Forever Sport), this was found on the original idea of the grease by founder Adi Dassler . He do Adidas to stand by athletes perform at the peak of their ability, and this goal continues to drive the differentiate’s activities today. Adidas performance is rivet on bear oning the performance needs of all athletes.Forever Sport products are â€Å"engineered to perform”, bringing high-level, performance-oriented products and advanced(a) technologies to the market. Forever Sport is structured into five chief(prenominal) sports categories: running, basketball, football, tennis and nurtureing for sport. The nock-followers in the modus vivendi market- or which they blossom outed the style- commission Adidas Originals . The originals line involves the place NEO. The Label centrees on to a greater extent accessible expenditure even outs, importanttaing a superior to competitors. From a geneder split point of view, adidas NEO is tar get in the main the girls who composition for devil-thirds of the business.The Original division allows adidas to increase its submit into the lifestyle market, w ithout losing sight of its recollective heritage as the original performance filth. The Original division is adapt specifically toward consumers who may be less alert sports get downicipants, provided who are style setters and style leaders. It is these pile who set the trends which are later adopted by the mass market. Originals speak to the needs and determine of the lifestyle consumer with concepts that are smart, cool, irresponsible, modern and alive. Adidas Originals are the perfect jointure of heritage sport au pastticity and global avenue style.Lastly, for the sports-elite Adidas opened Adidas Sports course . Adidas defined the last mavin as the â€Å"Future of sportswear, which includes the labels Y-3 , Porsche Design, Adidas SLVR and Adidas NEO. Their positioning statement was â€Å"Style your life” . The overall market statement that ties these three product categories is â€Å"Adidas is in all”. They made these product lines for the general pu blic, plainly the main focus was on supplementing the sports wear of the major sports , focusing on football, tennis, basketball, cricket and athletics and rugby. ) Manufacturing level: Adidas owns quartet factories in china, the US, Ger galore(postnominal) and Japan, as well as sharing manufacturing with 863 an early(a)(prenominal) factories worldwide, 60% being in Asia. For the Y-3 product lines, they occupy used harmy materials at snips such(prenominal) as kangroo strap ( football office with kangaroo leather were pinched by david bechkam in 2006) , and some(prenominal) tog in the SLVR style, overly stick camel fur and the softest of fabrics operable on the market ( which inevitably drives the price up) . nearly of their apparel, especially for the sports shirts is made of a polyester/cotton blends. c) Quality level and Pricing: Adidas strives to â€Å"Make athletes better” , and then the prize of their apparel has been produced to mirror that stateme nt. The fact that their shirts are worn by the beat athletes ( and celebrities) in the world such as Rafael Nadal in tennis, David Beckham in football and Suresh Raina in Cricket provided prooves the fibre of the apparel they sell. In their own lyric Ensures Adidas material quality meets or exceeds client waitations Ensures Adidas takes a leadership role in the indus elbow grease in terms of material quality and color concern Leads material quality in the pursuit for continuous product and process better” -Adidas (2011) In regards to pricing, Adidas is whitewash adopting a price s experience dodging on their new products. For example, shoes in the Y3 and SLVR line cost about 300-700 USD. The price decreases with more than than economical patsy aligns such as the Adidas originals, but still remains higher than the competitors like puma and Nike.They do in addition energise used however penetration pricing, especially in their new strategic markets like central Russia and china, to insure their products stay belligerent at the point of sale. d) Styling level : The style of Adidas has been focused approximately being a â€Å"young” for the type of clients which were the main users of the apparel: upcoming sports men , or heap who want to be in var. ( in that locationof tonus younger). They rate the design of their habiliments should be â€Å" elegant, timeless, h iodinst, inspiring and courageous”.To ensure they recruited the trump out designers, they opened their own design academy with schools in Tokyo, New york and London, as well as hiring what is in all likelihood the worlds scoop youth designer, Japanese Yohji Yamamoto . e) Branding: hotshot of the biggest merchandising arrive atments I think has been that of Adidas’s denounce management, where they established almost unparalleled instigant identity. They say their brand mission was to â€Å"be the leading sports brand in the world” and th ey set forth their brand protects to be â€Å"Authentic, passionate, mod, inspirational, committed and h unmatchedst.Adidas believe that consumers want choice. Therefore, the meeting downed a multi-brand system, which allows them to niftyise on opportunities from some(prenominal) perspectives, as some(prenominal) a mass and a niche player. According to that, the brand is able to backing a unique identity and focus on its core competencies, whilst concurrently providing the assort with a bighearted spectrum of products. multinational market is crucial for the group in its quest to generate substantial pelfs; as survival depends on their established nominal head on the global world market.Their strategy was to concentrate on specific customer needs and wants. As they puzzle it â€Å" Only by identifying and understanding consumers’ misdirecting habits, their fittingness level, their motivations and goals for doing sport and their respective(prenominal) li festyle, can we hit purposeful products, dishs and experiences that build a pertinacious model” To do this , they divided each product segment e. g the Adidas originals into various brands which focused on pose-specific wants as as to generate groovyer customer loyalty.Each brand is responsible for the execution of its own strategic focus ( DE-centralized management approach) by creating a constant water elbow room of ripe and inspiring products and generating communication strategies that represent each brand and category in an engaging and make modal esteem. Their major brands are: NEO, SLVR, Y-3( high price range), Reebok ,Adidas originals, Adidas golf game and CCMHockey. Reebok is an especial success story of their brand because it didnt stem rom them, but was acquired as secernate of a global expansion strategy in It occupies a specific market which then reinforcing stimuluss Adidass brand strategy instead of cannibalizing it. Its market is similar to that of the Adidas Originals, Reebok is suppose to make the consumers â€Å"fit for life”. Innovation at the brand is rooted in developing technologies and concepts that enable consumers to train at their best every day, whether they are running to keep fit, exercising in the gym or air divisionicipating in separate fittingness activities.Reebok Classics leverages the fitness attitude and roots of the brand into the lifestyle segment. Reebok therefrom focuses in-between the two ends of the consumer spectrum as you can come across in the diagram below To give the product a brand identity, the focused on getting Brand ambassadors within sports as well as sponsoring many team shirts and events. For example, they teamed up with FIFA, clothing most of the worlds football teams including Manchester unify, Barcelona, Argentina, and recently gestural up Manchester united get throughger Nani as their new brand ambassador.It is to be noned, they do not only surrender one, but seve ral brand ambassadors for their different apparel product categories. For example, they employ NBAs champion Kobe Byrant to reinforce Adidas’s support of the â€Å"best of the athletes” and as well their design credentials. f)Packaging †Adidas helps customers distinguish between the fakes and the originals with the help of its packaging. Most enclothe bought even in the shops feature several tags with manufacturing details, composition, designer information, history of the item, washing guidelines and a hologram with the logo that can be seen clearly.The packaging as well as helps to communicate the brand values of sustainability. The packaging for the shoes for example comes from 100% recycled material, and to save on fire costs, the weight on packaging has decreased by 33% since 2006. g) Service Features †Adidas tries to help its customers find the counterbalance product for them, and most of their function is c inscribeed close to this. In- retenti veness they comport back trained staff that can debate customers what is the best product depending on the sport they do, or what they want to achieve fitness wise.They besides fix stylists which in their major stores can help a someone re-define their style. Lately, they set up a VFW( a Virtual Footwear Wall) . Its the first in the world and can be found at its flagship store on Londons Oxford Street, which uses advanced touchscreen technology and received-time 3D rendered products to allow customers to find out more about products before they buy. They can rotate footwear, view it from sixfold angles, zoom in to see details, etc. The Augmented Product: this part of the product is the non-physical part of the product.It usually consists of lots of added value, for which you may or may not pay a premium. It may include the warranty, the customer wait on support offered , Installation, delivery, financing help and after-sales gain. The increase product is an important wa y to tailor the core or actual product to the needs of an individual customer. The features of augment products can be converted in to benefits for individuals. For Adidas, the augmented product of their apparel is that it provides a sleep together solution for the exercising needs of the individual.Through their marketing efforts, they collapse performd an Adidas sports community to make the customer really feel as past of a group when they barter for the apparel. Adidas provides the customers its brand as a way of interpretation of the self, as one aspires to harbor the brand causa-to-faceity. It therefore can be used as an group identification tool , for the group that one belongs in, and one that they aspire to be. To help in this, Adidas offers heavy customization of the product as well as the possibility of intention and ordering team shirts.In their websites miteam. adidas. com , they really try to create a sense of â€Å"team spirit” with their brand, and oft times those who curb bought their shirts get invited to events such as their catwalk portas. tog is to a fault waranteed for 6 months after procure, with the possibility of returns if the client is not satisfied with the product. Q2. Provide examples of the iv types of consumer products and how varies the way in which they are marketed. The United States Consumer Product sentry go Act has an extensive definition of consumer product, which begins:Consumer Product-The term ‘‘consumer product’’ means any article, or component part thereof, produced or distributed (i) for sale to a consumer for use in or around a permanent or temporary business firmly or residence, a school, in recreation, or differently, or (ii) for the own(prenominal) use, inlet or enjoyment of a consumer in or around a permanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise; but such term does not include†(A) any article which is not customarily p roduced or distributed for sale to, or use or consumption by, or enjoyment of, a consumer,Kotler et al(2010) describes five main types of customer products as you can see bulleted below 1) Convenience Products are those that customers buy a great deal, nimblely and with a minimum of comparison and buying effort. e. g candy, clips and fast food 2) Shopping products are less frequently purchased and it is those that customers compare carefully on the basis of suitability, quality, price and style. prototypes are furniture, clothing, used cars, hotel and airline go. ) Specialty products are those with unique characteristics or brand identification for which a significant group of buyers is leave aloneing to make a special purchase effort . 4) Unsought product are consumer products that the consumer either does not know about or knows about but does not usually think of buying. Most major innovations are undesired until the consumer fuck offs aware of them through advert. Class ical examples are funerals and melody donations to the red cross. These products require a lot of publicizing, personal selling and marketing efforts. ) Industrial products are those bought by individuals and organizations for further processing or for use in conducting a business. The three main groups are materials and parts, capital items and supplies and serves. I take a shit chosen four customer products, starting from the cheapest to the more expensive. I shall describe the marketing for these four consumer products: 1) tip chick orchard apple trees. ( Convenience Product) The tip lady apples come from a variety called â€Å"cripps apples”, before bred by tush Cripps which made them an especially wassail and fruity variety.The apple variety is owned by the DAFWA( Department of Agriculture and Food,Western Australia) and run by IPLA ( International pick apart lady alliance) which is a large ingathering of apple farmers that have special rights to cultivate the apple worldwide. beg brothel keeper brand apples must(prenominal) meet certain trade mark quality specifications. Criteria for the specifications include wampum content, firmness, blemishes and color. Inspections are unconstipatedly performed to ensure both the quality and traceability of the apple from the orchard to the shop.This is part of their marketing as the Origin is an important point of product specialization. It brand started when one of the producers offered the apple to his wife for valentine, olibanum came the idea for the romantic theme of the apple and its main slogan â€Å" ping doll-so much more than an apple”. Product: The main product features (part of the actual product) are : Its s elegant : with its characteristic glow and perfect complexion… It’s tidy enough to eat ! It is sensual :with its voluptuous charm, subtle fragrance, delicate and drear flesh, it is the most glamorous of apples.It denotes pleasure :its crunch combine with the subtle aromas of wild strawberries, vanilla, litchi and rose give this fruit a unique and long lasting orientation! It is the perfect balance of sweet and meagerly tart. - tip apple. Com Their marketing campaign was aimed at increase the apples sales and positioning it as an apple of better taste and higher quality than competitor products . They succeeded, especially in Italy where 97% of the customers thought it was a higher quality apple than the others.They as well as highlighted the products attributes, and marketed it for its nutritional quality, having high amounts of Vitamin C, antioxidants and fiber. An initial campaign featuring Audrey Hepburn, heroine of cool girls the world over, propelled ping Lady toward becoming the most popular girl in school. Marketing campaigns revolved around female-centric holidays , Valentines Day, mothers Day, and worthy, trendy causes (breast crabby person research). To market the apple they have done the undermentioned: ) Bran ded it with appealing heart shaped stickers: Most competitors have products with round poorly visible stickers, but Pink Lady has put larger sound heart shaped stickers to entice the customers to buy the product in-store b) promotional material: Television campaign: One of the few apple companies that launched a very successful tv commercialized to highlight the romantic nature of the apple . Their main target market is obviously women who care about their bodies and want to eat healthy nutritious but also great tasting apples.They also released a couple of arty Posters, featuring people eating the pick apartish apple in Paris, worthy of bedroom decoration. Pink Lady has undertaken also a wide range of initiatives to get ahead the brand and consumption in the U. S. , forming alliances with other groups such as the American Cancer Council and Sherwyn Williams. The last mentioned has been an important promotion strategy called ‘paint it criticise’. Where the cust omers were encouraged to paint something pink in their life, and then they could submit the picture to the Pink have-to doe withion via their website and win cash prizes.They have also been involved in flash mob dances and enlisted Biggest Loser eminence Ali Vincent as a Pink Lady spokesperson. It is hoped that other initiatives including pre-mix cocktail increment and mark sliced apples could also move on the brand in the future. They have also aligned with Walt Disney companies to produce â€Å"Pink-Kids”, that will in the future not only sell apples that have a higher sugar content than the ones for adults, but also make pre-packaged snacks .Pink lady also uses heavy occasion-marketing , offering customers discounts, apple recipes, acquaint bouquets with roses and apples as well as cards with pink lady cartoons as a part to boost sales for occasions like Valentine and Mothers day. Online, through their website Pink lady offers many , recepies, competitions like the food picture taking award, customer opinion blogs. They use other websites such as facebook and twitter to promote awareness of the brand.They also organize and take part in events such as the Vitality show ( wellness and fitness exhibition in the UK), The Virgin London battle of Marathon and the Valentines day bonanza, where the winner this year won a new FIAT 500. c) Elite Pricing: Pink Lady apples cost on average 3. 20 Euros per kilo, which is about 1. 50 euros more than their competitors. They distinguish their product through this, thus appealing to the more rich health-conscious customers. They target the generation X and baby baby boomer females, who have more disposable income on luxuries.As John Reeves, the CEO Says â€Å"The Pink Lady is high priced even when it’s on promotion” d) Place: Pink lady apples are not sold instantly by the high society but via upmarket retailers such as Coop supermarkets in Italy, or Waitrose and Sainsburys in the UK . Their ma rketing campaign recently has been aimed at increase sales in developed countries of the world. Here, is an example of a couple of countries. They have started marketing with retailers in Brazil, India, China (giving import licenses in Shanghai and Shenzhen)and Russia.They do this by organizing B2B exhibitions and meetings, with potential wholesalers and retailers who then push the product to the customer through in-store promotions. For their invest customers, Pink lady utilise the concept of Experiential marketing . They opened many kiosks on the high streets of the big cities like London, gave bleak apples away at offices, talked face to face with the customers and went into schools to regulate the romantic foundation story. This really encouraged the customers to try the apple and then buy it. )Customer Relationship management : This was designed for email marketing to the 8,000 strong Pink Lady Club data stern to engage with Pink Lady loyalists, to promote the weekly compet ition www. pinkladysunshine. co. uk/your-sunshine-moment/ and encourage them online to enter the main competition. It also kept track of online poles, customer surveys and general comments posted about the apple online. Overall, the Pink lady has differentiated itself from its competitors by positioning itself as an apple for women who was both nutritional and sensual to eat.The augmented product included the membership that one could have to the Pink club, the competitions one could enter, as well as the information one had on its production and origins. The in the first place societal marketing approach aimed to increase sales in the Northern hemisphere before wretched onto the southern hemisphere worked incredibly well, letting them be the no. 1 favored apple of Europe by 2012 and providing them with a sustainable competitive emolument. 2) Zara tog: (Shopping Product) Zara is owned by the Inditex Group.Inditex Group is a large company based out of Spain running around one hun dred stores dealing with textile design. Inditex operates over 4,350 stores worldwide with brands like Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull and Bear, Zara, Zara Home, Uterque, and Stradivarius( story of Zara, 2008) Zara is present in 71 countries, with a network of 1,475 stores located in major cities throughout the world. The group also has a scattering center in Zaragoza, called Plataforma Europa, which distributes to all the Zara stores within Europe. ” Marketline France Apparel retail industry report, 2008, pg. 20) Zaras marketing strategy has been centered around creating Zara clothing, not as a â€Å"fad” but more as a lifestyle choice for the independent working woman. They attempt to bring the major catwalk models into the ordinary life by do the design more practical and economic. To do this, they had to understand the â€Å"psychology” of their customer needs. Including, what makes the customers re-buy Zara products and how they feel when they are wea ring them. They discovered that 1/3 women dont like the way their uniform fit them.To overcome this, Zara recruited a team of designers that completely revolutionized the Product, do them â€Å"look fair” on almost every body. They did this by accentuating the style and neutralizing the body contours beneath the body. Now, the customers who wear Zara have an immediate â€Å"self esteem” boost, which is why the company boasts an undreamt of growth of about 18% per year. 1) Place . Zaras target market is the Euro-chic crowd who wants more fashionable clothes with a shorter lead time. Zara produces lower quantities of clothing, therefore the supply of their items are very scarce.Zara relies more on kettle of fish of a retail establishment rather than advertising to attract customers. Only . 3 percent of sales are spent on advertising for the company compared to that of its competitors who shed around 3. 5 percent. Zara is more concern with finding the exact retai l site that best suits the company rather than spending the particular(a) specie on luring customers into the store . They usually book the bottom floors in large shopping malls, so they are the first stores which a customer visits, and they also ensure that their spot on the high street Is in the most visible areas and install very large windows in their shops.The inside of their stores is usually moderately lit, with a minimalistic furniture and decor, and a definite â€Å"professional” vibe. This matches with Zaras brand personality . 2) Pricing: Zara has often adopted a market penetration pricing strategy by positioning itself cheaper than most of its competitors as you can see in the diagram below: c -Slideshare(2012) They give many coupons, online discounts and do frequent bargain offers in their shops. They seek to keep the prices fairly low and to provide quality. as can be seen in the diagram above). The pricing ties in with their logistics strategy to have a high turnover of clothes. Louis Vuittons Fashion withdrawor Daniel Pietter has described the brand as â€Å"the most innovative and ravage retailer in the world. Zara has a paper of disrupting the market wherever it goes. A clear brand propose has been crucial in the brand’s success. This is a great example of a brand build on a simple idea that is delivered ruthlessly and at a not bad(predicate) price” â€Daniel Pietter ,New York times(2010) ) Promotion: Zara, compared to her competitors in the haute fashion world has never been a big fan of using television commercials, but rather celebrity endorsement. The most chic considered stars like Angelina jolie, Scarlett Johanesen and Nicole Kidman have all been famous supporters of the Zara brand. To reinforce this celebrity image, all of their marketing material like their brochures glossy, expensive looking and glittery. However, they never make adverts on large billboards nor use posters. Because they do not use a l ot of TV advertising, they are spending relatively little on their marketing campaign( about 0. % of essential revenue). Therefore, their marketing strategy is focused around Zaras presence in the world and rapid expansion and distribution of its stores. With more than 1,500 stores around the world in over 70 countries, they open around 150 new stores every year. With the brand becoming world renown, the company is also focusing on sustainable marketing by opening stores which consume 30% less energy compared to the average conventional store. The new stores also save 50% of water consumption and maintains their carbonic acid gas emissions below 150 toms a year.With this said, I have to add that Zara does however organise fashion events to attract its clients. They are present in almost every international fashion show from Ethiopia to Finland. This presence not only promotes their brand amongst the elite, but also gives their designers mass of inspiration for the constant innova tion they have to deliver. 4) Product : On-top what I have already mentioned in my opening paragraph , it should be noted that Zara produces most of its clothes in-house, and rarely outsources to ensure major quality control.If they do dissolve to outsource, they move their factories to places like Romania and the Czech nation rather than the developing world. This way they also spend less on transportation and can implement a Just-in-time manufacturing approach which guarantees there is a lead time of 2 weeks between the design of the clothing and its appearance in the retail shops. It should be also noted, that Branding is not a big part of Zaras marketing like Adidas. They never place their logo on any of the clothing they make to neutralize competition from imitator products.Instead, they train their customers to have a ‘good eye on what is the real Zara product and what is a fake. Overall, with minimum marketing effort, Zara is an evokeing company because they have de mo to the world you can still have customer loyalty and grow rapidly by offering a great value proposition instead of investing heavily in marketing campaigns. In the end, it is the customers through their own word of embouchure that promote Zara the most. 3) ING Direct Online Banking:(Specialty Product) ING Is the worlds biggest online bevel, founded in 1991 and the fastest outgrowth bank in UK history.Its main target market is the Generation X and Y who know how to sail the internet very well , who do not have time because of their busy schedule to go to a regular bank, because of their restricted opening ours and also who are interesting in prudence the coin they have. Regular bank accounts make it easier to take out money, but online banks are more geared to saving money, which is why they usually do not have a minimum deposit requirement. a) Product: ING direct offers banking services and support 24/7 for wherever you are in the world.The service aspect of their product ( the augmented product) is their biggest competitve advantage and biggest source of differentiation. Unlike other online banks and investment groups like Ally bank and convalesce Street, they assign every customer to a bank representative which stays with you for as long as your relationship may last in the bank. This is part of their CRM efforts ( Customer relationship management) and it has proven to be a big success because people feel less afraid of being just another face in the crowd, and know there is a person in the bank who knows about them and can assist them faster.The customer does not have to pay service fees as well, as in a regular brick and mortar bank and they offer low interest rates to borrowers and high rates to savers. All of this does great word-of- let out marketing for the bank, who being online relies on it more heavily than a traditional bank , cod to the fears of online scammers. Another big source of marketing for them and differentiation comes from t heir customer-specialised products.They have accounts for kids ( Kids Savings accounts), Business Accounts and for Pensioners that are more flexible than traditional banks and offer more benefits, and also a cash prize everytime someone opens an account : major way to attract clients. b) Promotion: ING Direct brands iself as the â€Å"Forward thinking” bank. It tries to deliver innovative marketing campaigns, broadly in the form of billboards, posters and television commercials to its clients. It makes an effort to associate its brand with all the number one achievers in the sports and business world.For example, has recently signed a contract with Ferrari and Formula One to turn over the major sponsor of their events. They invest also in the promotions at Football games, large billboards and Tennis championships. Recently, they launched a new brand positioning campaign which should make clients see them as â€Å"the most convenient way to do everyday banking”. For t his sey made a 60 second youtube spot, which was then viewed on select tv finance and news conduct like CNN, CBC, CTV, world-wide and TVA, as well as specialty channels including HGTV, History, TSN, RDS, Series+ and Canal D .However, a commodious aspect of their marketing efforts still is Viral Marketing . They are heavily dependent on website advertising space, you-tube video clips, facebook and twitter online presence to increase brand awareness. They also partnered with application builders to be part of the increasing app market. Now, if you download Sharebuilder app on your smart phone, you can use money straightaway from your online ING account to invest in the market. The CEO Jim Hemmer says â€Å"”ING Directs mobile banking and trading apps are innovative and reflect the personality of the brand,”Overall, INGs financial products have succeeded because it mute its customers. The money ING saved from not building physical establishments, they passed these cos t-savings directly onto the customers who now get cash prizes when they open an account, very good rates and no service fees. The marketing has been mostly online for them, even if they still do sponsor many sports events, but most significantly its a bank who has thrived like Zara on word-of-mouth, and based its biggest advertising on the actual products it offered-being more price competitive, more personalized and more appealing than the competitors offerings. ) Nomenus every quarter ( Unsought product). This magazine is the most expensive in the world ( about 2200 pounds sterling) and came out as a limited edition of 50 published pieces. It was created by the German artist Erik Madigan Heck, as an attempt â€Å" to create something of lasting real beauty”. Its publications show photographic spreads of fashions by Azzedine Alaia and Ann Demeulemeester (shot by Heck himself), as well as works by some of the art worlds great figures, including Lucien Freud and Anselm Kiefer .It has to be noted that all art in the magazine are one-off exclusive and original pieces, therefore the product offering appeals not to those who are fire only in art, but also photography and art collectionists. Price: Of course, with the price tag of over 2200 pounds, it is a magazine for the 1% elite of the nightclub who are enkindle in alternative art forms represented through painting and photography. The price does kind of a bit or word of mouth marketing for it, as it is the most expensive, and because of this, boasts quite a few online publications solely on its pricing strategy.Erik comments directly on the price saying â€Å"Let people pay the highest price, because you know what, we have the best product out there and its worth it. And it works. It sells out before it even launches. ” Packaging: The product comes in a unique black box-set laced together with a silver silk ribbon , in which inside there is the magazine. It is not only to protect it, but also t o introduce the publication. Please see the picture below, from their own website. Place: The product sells online, through its own website, or you can view it for free online! Erik calls it the Robin yob deal of marketing, that is give it for free”. He understands that the real customers buy the work to treasure the collection of art which is inside, not to merely have a flip-through. The magazine can also be found at exclusive book clubs like Damien Hirst and stores around mostly London and New York. Then, there are many magazines and televison shoes who quote from the magazine, or use part of its contents, giving it free publicity. For example, Vernissage Tv-an exclusive art and fashion channel is notable for citing Nomenus quaterly and showcasing its work in a couple of short documentaries.Promotion: The magazine promotes itself through the business network of its founder, Erik, who basically does not spend anything on promotion he claims, apart from the website expenses. All of the clients of the magazines are mostly designers who know him, or connected interested peoples like Kevin Roberts , C. E. O of Saatchi & Saatchi. As a way to promote the magazine itself, its pages feature exclusive photographs of celebrities and major art figures. For example, the latest issues had photos of the supermodel Mary Katrantzou and Tilda Swinton. In conclusion, Nomenus quaterly has demonstrated that passion does pay.It breaks away from the other examples I have used, because it plays in a very niche market of the cream of the high-class, who have very specific and complex wants-especially if they need to pay that kind of price for the product. Its marketing is almost purely word-of-mouth, and has worked extremely well for this magazine that delivers beautiful original work and has in its own market no direct competitors. A completely original, innovative and eccentric consumer product that has demonstrated that via differentiation and quality, it has occupie d a very specific market niche and gained a loyal customer base for the long-term. . What is a brand? Why are there many people willing to pay more for mark products than non-branded? A brand is a â€Å"name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one sellers good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. â€Å"Branding” began as a way to regularize one persons cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp, and today its still doing the same thing- differentiating products from each other. -The American Marketing Associations vocabulary (2011) â€Å"Brands may be the most important tools for creating value and profitable customer relationships.Marketing is about building brands that connect robustly with customers. ” -Kotler et al(2010) People are more wiling to pay for a branded product than for a non branded because of the concept of Brand Equity. Brand equity is the derived function effect that knowing the brand name has on the customer response to the product and its marketing. To explain this further, I shall use the example of a couple of iconic brands. These are defined as having aspects that contribute to consumers self-expression and personal identity.Brands whose value to consumers comes primarily from having identity value are said to be â€Å"identity brands”. some(prenominal) of these brands have such a strong identity that they become more or less cultural icons which makes them â€Å"iconic brands”. Examples are Apple, Nike, Mc. Donalds and Harley Davidson. People pay more for these brands because of the deep connection these brands have been able to make with their customers. Holt (2004) identifies four main elements to creating iconic brands, which will create a bond with the customer and justify the higher prices than non branded products. Necessary conditions” †The performance of the product must at least be acceptable, preferably with a reputation of having good quality. â€Å"Myth-making” †A meaningful storytelling fabricated by cultural insiders. These must be seen as decriminalise and respected by consumers for stories to be accepted. â€Å"Cultural contradictions” †Some kind of mismatch between prevailing political orientation and emergent undercurrents in society. In other words a difference with the way consumers are and how they desire they were. The cultural brand management process” †actively engaging in the myth-making process in making sure the brand maintains its position as an icon. Kotler et al(2010) also adds that if the brand is going to be successful, differentiation from competitors is not enough. It needs to be relevant to the customers needs. The more there is a tight fit between the what the customer wants and what the brand gives and stands for, the greater chance of attaining a long term competitive advantage. To summarize, the branding done by companies makes people pay more for them because : )They have an stimulated connection to the brand- like McDonald people associate It with fun and tasty food. -relating somehow back to their childhood and family bonding. 2) It gives them a way to Express their identity through the brand image or personality. For example, buyers of Harley Davidson are usually men who want to feel more masculine and ‘rebellious. 3) They are guaranteed a certain degree of quality and bail as with the case for Parmigiano cheese, customers repeat purchases because they know what to expect in terms of taste, thus its part of a dissonance-reducing buying behavior. ) It gives customers a greater Self Esteem, for example, women who buy Fendi apparel get an immediate self-esteem boost from the purchase because they feel they are a feel closer to their aspirational group, and feel they have ‘issueed themselves in making that purchase. In conclusion, for a brand to remain successful, it must rely less on the products open attribu tes and more on creating surprise, passion and excitement surrounding a brand. It must also make sure that its brand image and personality does not suffer as the business extends its product lines or invests into new products. Q4.What are the four characteristics that affect service marketing and the additional marketing considerations for this sphere? The service sector is one whos grown is increasing greatly. They not account for about 79% of USAs gross domestic product. There are two different types of services; the public ( offered by government and non-profit organizations, and the private ones ( offered by all business organizations). Kotler et al (2010) state that there are four main characteristics that define and affect services. They are: impalpability: Services are intangible and do not have a physical existence.Hence services cannot be touched, held, tasted or smelt. This is most defining feature of a service and that which primarily differentiates it from a product. Al so, it poses a unique challenge to those engaged in marketing a service as they need to attach tangible attributes to an otherwise intangible offering. Heterogeneity/Variability: precondition the very nature of services, each service offering is unique and cannot be exactly repeated even by the same service provider. While products can be mass produced and be homogenous the same is not true of services. g: All burgers of a particular flavor at McDonalds are almost identical. However, the same is not true of the service rendered by the same counter staff consecutively to two customers. 3) Perishability: Services cannot be stored, saved, returned or resold once they have been used. Once rendered to a customer the service is completely consumed and cannot be delivered to another customer. eg: A customer dissatisfied with the services of a neaten cannot return the service of the haircut that was rendered to him. At the most he may decide not to visit hat particular barber in the future . 4)Inseparability/Simultaneity of production and consumption: This refers to the fact that services are generated and consumed within the same time frame. Eg: a haircut is delivered to and consumed by a customer simultaneously unlike, say, a takeaway burger which the customer may consume even after a few hours of purchase. Moreover, it is very difficult to separate a service from the service provider. Eg: the barber is necessarily a part of the service of a haircut that he is delivering to his customer.The additional marketing considerations for this sector are that a company must acquit that increasingly what drives customer satisfaction is the level of services and the extra services offered compared to competitors, even if a company is selling a physical tangible product. E. g Sky-tv offers free installation when a customer purchases a good. This is part of the augmented product, but it also gives them an advantage point over their competitors. This said, companies must real ise that the point of service devliery is when the employees ( representatives) of the firm meet the customers.Successful companies must focus their attentions on both the employees and the customers in order to achieve a satisfied client. This is part of the Service profit chain, that is the chain that links service firm shekels with employee and customer satisfaction. For it to be successful it needs versed service quality- superior employee selection and training to support them when dealing with customers Satisfied and productive service employees- the ‘extra smiles are always passed onto the customer and adds more value to the overall service deliverySatisfied and loyal customers- if people had good service, it is more likely they will repeat purchase and give out a positive word of mouth Healthy service profits and growth: this is the final stage of the link which gives superior service firm performance. To ensure that this chain works well, marketers need to keep thei r employees happy and keep a good communication from the front-line employees to the top management. To ensure it all foes well, they have to employ a degree of Internal Marketing. Kotler et al(2010) say that midland marketing means that the service firm must orient and motivate its customer adjoin employees and supporting service people to work as a team to provide customer satisfaction,infact internal marketing must precede external marketing. An Example is the Four Seasons hostel , that invests on their human resources to motivate, reward and correct their employees when necessary , empowering them with the right motivation tools. They give a constant training in order to contentiously improve the service.This in turn, improves the quality of Interactive marketing , being the satisfaction the customer gets after being delivered with a certain quality of service. If this is successful, the customer will repeat purchase and spread a positive word of mouth. REFERENCES Kotler, Phil ip; Gary Armstrong (1989). Principles of Marketing, fourth edition (Annotated Instructors Edition). Prentice-Hall, Inc.. pp. 639 Kotler, Philip. , Armstrong, G. , Brown, L. , and Adam, S. (2006) Marketing, 7th Ed. Pearson nurture Australia/Prentice Hall. Kotler,Philip. ,Armstrong,G. (2010) Principles of Marketing 13th Ed.Pearson education. Australia/Prentice hall. History of Zara. (2008). Retrieved November 3, 2009, from Zara-Clothing: http://www. zaraclothing. net/history-of-zara/ MarketLine. (2008, July 8). Zara company profile. Retrieved from http://www. marketlineinfo. com American Marketing Associations Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-06-29. Holt, DB (2004). â€Å"How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding” Harvard University press â€Å"Harvard MA Websites: http://adidas-group. corporate-publications. com http://www. adidasdesignstudios. com/ http://www. cpsc. gov/businfo/cpsa. pdf ttp://www. freshfruitportal. com/2012/02/06/how-pink-lady-plans-to-build-n orth-americas-most-recognized-fruit-brand/ http://pinkladyapples. co. uk/story http://www. pinkladyapples. com/news/news. asp http://www. slideshare. net/preciousssa/zara-marketing#btnNext http://www. zara. com/ http://www. trulydeeply. com. au/madly/2011/06/16/zara-brand-launch-marketing-australia/ http://fashiongear. fibre2fashion. com/brand-story/zara/advertisements. asp http://www. ingdirect. ca/en/ http://www. marketingmag. ca/news/marketer-news/ing-adopts-new-positioning-unveils-new-marketing-50970\r\n'