Product
This term, as part of the 4 Ps of Marketing Mix, essentially refers to the tangible item that is being marketed or advertised. It is the thing that the consumer demands or expects. In some cases, this may also pertain to services being offered by a company. Either way, a product has to be tangible—must have an independent physical existence. In the case of Nike, the product that the company was marketing was its golf clubs. An interesting marketing mix concept to include here would be the life cycle of a product. This concept basically suggests that each product has a lifecycle. It may fall into any one of the following cycles: beginning (i.e. early stages), growth, and maturation—ordered from first to last. In the case of Nike, judging from their level of aggressiveness when it comes to marketing their products, it may be safe to say that its golf club business segment is on the growth stages. This can be evidenced by the fact that the company is still associating its golf club (i.e. the product) with some of the most popular celebrities, or in this case a sportsman (i.e. Tiger Woods), in the industry. Now, if I am the one in charge of marketing Nike’s golf clubs and I know for a fact that the company is still in its growth stages, I would have done the same.
Pricing
This term, from a marketing perspective, basically refers to the amount of resources, often cash that a person or a consumer has to pay in order to obtain a certain product or receive a service. What makes this part of the marketing mix important is the fact that it is a variable that directly affects how attractive the product or service ought to be to its target market and how big the profit of the company would be. In Nike’s case, it would be safe to say that its products are priced at a premium. That is, their products are priced higher than current market value or higher than what their competitors offer. This is only normal because Nike invests a lot for the marketing and advertising of its products. However, given the chance to manage the company’s marketing campaign, I would first price its newly introduced products such as its golf clubs on par with the market price and would consider adjustments later on when a stable or preferably solid market base has already been established.
Promotion
This basically refers to the communication strategy that the marketer uses to deliver relevant information to the target market. In this case, Nike evidently uses print media advertisements to lure customers into buying its golf clubs. This is an old school promotion strategy. Given the chance to make changes, I would make use of digital and more contemporary means to promote the company’s products—i.e. the golf clubs. Examples would include social media marketing, television advertising, and even internet marketing.
Placement
Placement basically refers to the distribution channels—the objective of which is to make the product as accessible to consumers as possible. In the case of Nike, it has partnered with various distributors regionally and internationally. Because of this, selling its products has become so easy. Given the chance to make changes though, I would have included internet sales distribution channels to minimize costs and to increase the company and its products’ exposure to a larger market.
