Understanding the Functions of Marketing and PRUse 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

Explain what market research is, how it can be carried out and why it could be important.

Market Research is an organised effort to gather information about customers, target audience and target markets. Market research includes both social and opinion research. When carrying out market research you need to first choose which sources of data you want to use, which included Primary, Secondary or both. Primary research means that the company finds the information itself, this could include focus groups. This is an effective type of research because it is reliable in that you will know the results are real because you carried the research out yourself. Secondary research is when you find information that has been done for you so the results are there, for example over the internet or another company doing it. This research is not always reliable however it benefits a company because it is away of finding research out very quickly.

Market research is carried out in many different ways including:Focus groups: a focus group could include potential customers that could discuss the pros and cons of the product, about the design of the product and what improvements could be put forwards to gain more success for the product.

Cold calling: cold calling means you call potential customers over the phone or the general public to ask a few questions about their product. This technique is not the best and is often frowned upon because it causes annoyance.

Interviewing (person): interviewing potential customers is away of carrying out market research. Volunteers can be interviews either individually or in groups and get asked about the design concept. A promotional video is either shown or the product on display.

Internet online questionnaire: potential customers are asked the amount they would pay for a product usually. The questionnaires come up on the website theyre browsing which is usually in link with the product. This is a good way of market research as the internet is an easy way to ask for peoples opinions and gets lots of replies. The results can usually be discussed in a focus group.

The importance of this is that it provides information for analysis and identification of the market need and competition. It is very important for a company to maintain competitiveness over competitors.

Explain market analysis. Why is it done and who could carry it out for you?

Understanding how your market works and your customers needs is vital for any company, it allows you to identify your customers and keep your competitive edge. Market analysis is what happens when you have collected all the primary and secondary data from your Market Research. If you analysis it right and to the best way possible it will make the outcome of your product good. This is why it is so important because it holds together the market. It analyses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a company. By finding out this information it can make a company gain more success because they will know what to improve.

David A. Aaker outlined the following dimensions of a market analysis:

Market size (current and future)Market trendsMarket growth rateMarket profitabilityIndustry cost structureDistribution channelsKey success factorsKey success DetailsThe goal of a market analysis is to determine the attractiveness of a market, both now and in the future. Organizations evaluate the future attractiveness of a market by gaining an understanding of evolving opportunities and threats as they relate to that organization's own strengths and weaknesses. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_analysis)

Explain marketing strategy using examples.

Dictionary explanation An organization's strategy that combines all of its marketing goals into one comprehensive plan. A good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain the business. The marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan.

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing-strategy.html#ixzz3NxfKWXfK

Marketing strategy is the goal of increasing sales and achieving sustainable competitiveness. When talking about your business youre promoting it, which means that having a market strategy is important, it tells you when to speak about it and who to speak about it to in order to get the most sales and success. Time is critical which means that knowing this information will improve on your timings. Marketing strategy: objectivesThis focus on how you increase sales and keep your customers.Marketing strategy: knowing your customersThis is important and you will become successful with knowing your customers. By having a good market strategy it allows you to persuade your customers to buy from you and what they need. Marketing strategy: making a planA marketing plan allows you to put your strategy into place by setting deadlines and budgets, it also includes how youre going to talk to your customers whether its through advertising, networking, trade shows or direct marketing.

Why is advertising so important to an organisation? Use examples to help you explain.Advertising is a huge important part of any company/organisation because it means showing of their product to the public and especially their target audience, it is crucial to place any advertisement on the right format that is suitable for your target audience and at the right time of day because it will be more likely for them to view it that way, thats why market research is also a massive importance to this as well, to study about the target audience to get the best outcome and success. There are different ways to advertise media to communicate with customers including:Local, Regional, National or international: You not only need to figure out the size of your target market but also the location, your product could not only influence the country you are based in but also all around the world. Television marketing is mainly used for this because you can use dubbing over the television by putting different languages onto the advert to use for different locations. This could also be done with national newspapers, magazines and also radio. Satellite television: there are many different channels on the TV now including Kids, Music, Entertainment and sport, which makes finding the right programme to place your advertisement on a lot easier. Coronation street and the X Factor attract a lot of people around the world, which means that the advertisements are well known. Internet: internet is a way of communicating with an audience and showing advertisements and a relatively cheap way, compared to the more traditional methods of advertising. Depending on the scale of the website depends on how much the costing will be, and also if it needs a lot of maintenance. It is an easy way to communicate with those of a younger audience depending on what your website is. A younger audience is mainly targeted on social networking sites, which is a very cheap way of promoting any product. Talk Talk sponsors X Factor and has done for a long time, which has made it well known and increasingly popular, it is shown on X Factor because it has a large audience which is of all ages, especially middle aged, which is who Talk Talk are mainly targeting (people who on their own house). This is essential that they have put it on a programme such as this to gain a high profile.

What is brand promotion and what methods could you use to promote a brand?

The intention of Brand Promotion is for product awareness, customer loyalty, competitiveness, sales and overall company value, it is an important marketing strategy. The focus on brand promotion is key selling point for example mascara is focused on they eyes and lashes, which make the longer. For shampoo its focus is hair and to keep it healthy and shiny. Brand Promotion uses a variety of techniques to show of their product including radios to get their product head about. A good technique for radio is having a jingle, because this is usually remembered after a few listens and becomes well known and catchy, for example we buy any car or drive like a girl. Companies promote their brands to keep customer loyalty, so that a buyer is more likely to purchase their product again. Sponsoring concerts/gigs/festivals is another way of promoting a brand this is more aimed at a younger audience.

PR

What are some of the key principles involved in managing the message?There are 11 key principles that are involved in managing the message including:1. Communicate early, communicate often2. Communicate what you know when you know it3. Dont be afraid to say I dont know as long as you follow that up with ...but Ill find out and get back to you as soon as I do.4. Let everyone know what is happening, why, and what they can do to help5. Reinforce what is staying the same as you discuss what may be changing6. Create multiple, targeted approaches to reach your various audiences7. Communicate openly, honestly, and frequently as things continue to change8. Establish feedback mechanisms from those affected by the changes to those in leadership to inform your ongoing decisions9. Communicate the initial results and early progress of your change efforts to everyone 10. Acknowledge and thank everyone who helped contribute to your success11. Continue to communicate well after the changes occur and as long as the transition continuesA key element is remembering to stick to the future and tell the audience what they need to hear, otherwise what they do not hear they will only make up themselves.

What is positive publicity? Find an example of it to help explain.PR campaigns publicise your business and gives it a good reputation, done well PR crates positive publicity and drives sales. A positive mention in an article is very good for any business and their PR. Because a mention from editorials shows trust and creates good credibility. Charities are a good way to get positive publicity and also help those charities that are in need, either donating money from your company or creating events that those of your company can work on to raise money for charities are ways that companies can get very positive publicity because it is a very good cause. For example the company red bull have an official charity called wings for life which is raising money for spinal cord injury research. This includes a run which if you take part in and raise at least 300 for you have a chance to run with the world championship winning team and also a gym session with the people who help mark Webber stay in shape. This Charity hosts all kinds of events to raise money for the charity which makes a massive positive publicity on Red Bull the Company whilst helping a good cause.

In public relations terms, what is spin? Find an example to help you with your response.

"I would define spin as the shaping of events to make you look better than anybody else. I think it is . . . an art form now and it gets in the way of the truth." (Benjamin Bradlee, executive editor of The Washington Post, quoted by Woody Klein in All the Presidents' Spokesmen: Spinning the News, White House Press From Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush. Praeger Publishers, 2008)

Why might a person or a company engage in damage limitation? Using an example will improve your grade. Damage control/limitation is part of a public relations department; their job is to minimilize the effects of a bad event or series of events. For example, when a celebrity is caught doing drugs or saying bad things then there manager has a job to try and make it better towards the public to try and decrease hatred.

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.

There are many important benefits that can come from companies organising an event to promote their work. It is a good way of making sponsors to get your work shown out in the world, it is also good for helping advertise your organisation. If celebrities/famous people are seen wearing your logo or showing of your work, their fans will most likely follow it as well and become a fan of your work, this is why celebrity endorsement can really help. For example drinks like Lucozade and red bull host events containing celebrities and these events help advertise their drink and company.

What is lobbying and who is most likely to be influenced by it?

Many different people do lobbying and organised groups, it is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, the government officials and congress are most likely influenced by this. Lobbying can also be linked with advertising to influence.