Exam 2
- Why is brand tracking so important? Additionally, why would a large company, such as Proctor & Gamble want to use brand tracking.
Brand tracking involves considerable effort of the brand manager to assess the level of brand awareness, brand associations of key indicators and customer satisfaction. Brand tracking allows assessing were the efforts to build the brand in the long term consistent. Brand tracking is a method for measuring and evaluating the most important thing for marketers, namely brand values. It is not a single study, but the constant pursuit of the brand, analysis and measurement of all aspect, which affect marketing performance of a brand and a business performance as a result. Proctor & Gamble requires brand tracking because it provides continuous marketing advertising and information activities. Brand tracking studies are necessary, where there is a continuous rapidly changing market process that requires constant monitoring by the brand owner (Mora, 2010). Procter & Gamble controls more than a hundred brands. It is much diversified company. Therefore, the company needs brand tracking in order to monitor its market share, quantitative indicators of recognition and recall, as well as the loyalty among consumers and buyers, positioning accuracy for a specific target group in each segment of its products’ operation.
- Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative research methods, and to the best of your knowledge determine which method best fits the marketing environment.
Quantitative research involves conducting various surveys, based on the use of structured questions of close type by a large number of respondents. The main objective of quantitative research is to obtain a numerical estimate of the market or the respondents’ reactions to an event. Such studies are used when there is a need for accurate, statistically reliable numerical data. Depending on the tasks of research the proposed methods are flat, street and telephone surveys, expert interviews, desk research and retail-audit (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012).
Qualitative methods involve collecting information in free form; they focus not on statistical measurements, and rely on the perception, clarification and explanation of observed statistics, are a basis of assumption creation and productive ideas. The task of qualitative research methods is to get searching information, not quantitative sharing of views. Qualitative methods in order to explain and interpret the concepts use not numbers, but words. They do not answer the question “how much”, but “what”, “how” and “why”. Depending on the tasks of research the proposed methods are comprehensive interviews, semi-formalized dialogues, focus-groups and the purchase support (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012).
There is no single approach to the marketing research, so it is better to use mix-methods like hall test, home test and mystery shopping.
- A few years back, Disney entered into a long-term agreement with Mc Donald’s that included, among, other things, joint promotions. From Disney’s perspective and what you know about the two brands, was this the right decision? Is there any downside? Would you want to conduct any research to inform the decision? If so, what kind?
For 10 years, the legendary Walt Disney Studios and the world’s largest fast-food chain McDonald’s worked in close partnership. McDonald’s used Disney characters in advertising, and Walt Disney considered McDonald’s restaurants as friendly network of 30,000 advertising sites for their cartoons. The conclusion for both companies to sponsor each other was right (Marr & Grey, 2005). However, there is no need to conduct any research because now the variety of fast-food restaurants is wide as well as the number of movie studios, therefore, companies can choose among the diversity.
- Contrast the branding strategies and brand portfolios of market leaders in two different industries. For this question, contrast the approach by Anheuser Busch and its Budweiser brand with that of Kellogg in the ready-to eat cereal category.
- Competent strategy of advertising. By 1980, Budweiser was the only brand on the planet, which has become a significant factor in the culture of consumption almost in all countries on all continents. It could find its clients by attractive images, bring customers their promises and promote its own products through professional television commercials and sponsorship of significant sporting events.
- Work on the global market. Budweiser has devoted many time and spent huge money on advertising of its own products in different countries that has brought awesome results. Shelves, virtually of anywhere in the world, are filled with this beer and consumers having fun dismantled bottles.
As for Kellogg, before the modernization strategy launched in 2012, Kellogg as a trademark does not represent anything other than as a producer of corn flakes. Many consumers do not even know that Kellogg owned “Frosted Flakes”. Its slogan “The best to you each morning” obviously required an explanation of what exactly the best. In the absence of this explanation Cheerios or cheaper generic versions of the product had the battle for market share (Rooney, 2012).
- Try to think of additional examples of brands that adopted either a “back to basics” or “reinvention” revitalization strategy. How well did they work?
Domino’s Pizza is a huge international company that specializes in the fast food industry and has more than 10,000 branches throughout the world. In 2008 Dominos faced a problem, when people while tasting their pizzas feeling cardboard and, consequently, sales decreased. The company had collapsed to last among the state pizza chains. However, it decided to admit its failure and promised customers to change the taste. After the comprehensive consumer research Domino’s Pizza unveiled a new recipe with healthier and improved quality components. Thus, the company applied an open and sincere approach to the resonated marketplace (Buchner, 2014).
Another example of reinvention is Western Union, which was extremely popular in telegrams in 1929. However, due to rapid increase of Internet services, the company had to catch the tendency and due to its various interests, it began wire money transfer business in 1871. Then in 1935 Western Union launched a fax service, in 1974 introduced the first commercial communications satellite and in 1982 launched EasyLink, one of the first commercial e-mail services. Currently, the company is the world’s largest money transfer service and its final telegram was sent in 2006 (Roos).
6. Contrast Coke and McDonald’s global branding strategies. How are they similar and how are they different? Why are they so well-respected?
McDonald‘s and Coca Cola Corporations are the most successful global companies around the world. They have used effective management and global expansion strategies to enter new markets and gain a share of the foreign fast food and soda market.
Coca-Cola recently announced its ambitious new content marketing strategy. While its key values and message — to “refresh” and “create moments of optimism and happiness” — remain the same on a global scale, the substance of its content will vary among cultures.
According to Levitt, globalization is a concept that describes much more than just an increase in economic exchange across borders; it describes a change in the character of those exchanges, which then transforms the societies engaged in the exchange.
In 1983, Theodore Levitt published a provocative Harvard Business Review article entitled “The Globalization of Markets”, where he stated that a new global market, based on uniform products and services, had emerged. He asserted that large scale companies have stopped emphasizing the customization of their offers to provide globally standardized products that are advanced, functional, reliable and low priced. He argued that informed customers were heading toward a “convergence of tastes”; thus corporations should exploit the economics of simplicity and he maintained that the future belonged to global corporations that did not cater to local differences in taste but, instead, adopted strategies that “operated as if the entire world (or major regions of it) were a single entity; such an organization sells the same things in the same way everywhere. If a company forces costs and prices down and pushes quality and reliability up while maintaining reasonable concern for suitability customers will prefer its world-standardized products (Levitt, 1983). Everywhere everything gets more and more like everything else as the world’s preference structure is relentlessly homogenized. In his article, Levitt used a lot of examples that represent the definition of globalization like Coca Cola, Pepsi, McDonald’s; and that made the article even more credible.
McDonald’s is another good example of a company that successfully adapts its message, as well as its menus, to different cultures. The same slogan, “I’m lovin’ it”, is used globally, but on the Swiss site it’s paired with an image of a woman relaxing, alone, listening to music through headphones. On the more colorful Indian site, the same slogan is associated with a family enjoying an outing to the supermarket.
References
AdBrands (n.d.). Budweiser | Bud Light: Brand Profile. Retrieved from http://www.adbrands.net/us/budweiser_us.htm
Buchner, A. (2014). 5 brands that have successfully reinvented themselves in the digital age. Retrieved 24 February, 2014 from http://www.trinityp3.com/2014/02/brands-reinvented-in-the-digital-age/
Kotler, Ph. & Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of Marketing, 14th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall.
Levitt, Th., (1983). The Globalization of Markets, Harvard Business Review.
Marr, M. & Grey, S. (2005). McDonald’s Woos New Partners As Disney Pact Nears End. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 June, 2005 from http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB111801423636651312
Mora, M. (2010). Brand Tracking Studies – How To Design Them. Retrieved 15 April, 2010 from http://www.relevantinsights.com/brand-tracking
Rooney, J. (2012). Kellogg’s Completes Major Brand Overhaul. Forbes. Retrieved 10 May, 2012 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferrooney/2012/05/10/kelloggs-embarks-on-major-brand-overhaul/
Roos, D. (n.d.). 10 Companies That Completely Reinvented Themselves. Retrieved from http://money.howstuffworks.com/10-companies-reinvented-themselves.htm#page=0
