The Promotional Mix

Answer the questions below as comments posts.

Sample Promotional Mix
Company: Pampered Pets Pet Sitting Service Employees go into people's homes to feed pets, take them for walks, change litter boxes

Target
Market: People who work long hours and don't have enough time to take care of their pets
People who are going on vacation and don't want to put their pets in a kennel and don't have anyone who could stay at their house
Elderly people who are unable to care for their pets but want to keep them

Communication
Objectives: We need to:
introduce our service to the public
create awareness of our service
get people to use our service, not our competitor's
get veterinarians to recommend our service
have at least one veterinarian agree to treat our clients' pets on an emergency basis, a feature that competitors don't offer
Design Message
Content: If you care about your pet's welfare when you aren't home, then you will use our services/It's so convenient and reasonably priced that you can't afford not to use our services

Format: Fliers, brochure, ads in local newspapers and Yellow Pages

Promotional
Methods: Advertising
Yellow Pages, local newspapers
Sales Promotions
Coupons that can be punched out 1 punch per day, after 20 punches, get one day free or at discounted rate
Public Relations
Not applicable at this time. As business grows, we plan to offer to contribute part of customers' payments to an animal shelter.
Direct Marketing
Fliers in mailboxes throughout local neighborhoods, to veterinarians, apartment complexes where elderly live, to pet shops. As business grows, we will send a newsletter to customers.
Personal Selling
To veterinarians, pet shop owners, travel agents, apartment/condominium management to refer people to our services. This only requires existing personnel time, no added budget cost incurred here.

Budget: Five hundred brochures for display in pet shops and veterinarian offices will cost $150. As business grows, we will expand to two-color pieces. Fliers can also be created inexpensively. Two hundred fliers will cost $20 to copy on colored paper (distribute in spring and summer). Yellow Pages ad will be limited to an informational in-column listing, 1 inch for $300 for the year in the local book. This book is sufficient. Small ads in the local newspaper will cost $300 for two placements. Rolodex cards will cost $160 for 500. Five hundred punch-out cards will cost $27.
Total promotional budget: $977

Promotional Mix: Advertising 61% $596
Sales Promotions 3% $29
Public Relations 0% $0
Direct Marketing 36% $352
Personal Selling 0% $0
Measuring Results
It's now one year later and Pampered Pets is evaluating its promotional mix:

Communication Objectives:

We successfully introduced our service to the target markets and have a steady base of customers. We have the support of several veterinarians and were able to form an emergency services agreement with two in the area. This year, we will expand into certain areas of the neighboring county while enlarging the current customer base.

Promotions Channels:
Advertising:

Yellow Pages: Response is slow but steady. We will renew as is ($350).
Local Newspapers: Steady advertising will be put on hold as word-of-mouth referrals are fairly strong. We will place two small ads before the summer and Christmas holiday seasons ($425).

Sales Promotions:

Punch-out Cards: These have proven a success. This year we will add a special discount coupon to attract new customers and to thank customers for their referrals (one free day for every five referrals who become customers) to replace last year's 21st day free program. ($55)

Public Relations:

When a pet we cared for died, a small donation was sent to the local branch of the ASPCA. The owners were touched and sent a thank-you note. They also told their friends, which resulted in more referrals. We will continue to do this and also send cards when client's pets have surgery. During the holidays, food and supplies were donated to the ASPCA, and our picture was in the newspaper, which generated more referrals for the holiday season ($100).

Direct Marketing:

The fliers were successful, so we will continue to use them and increase the number of mailings from two to four. The Rolodex cards and letters were successful; but because we ordered such a large quantity last year, we don't need to order more. We also have brochures left from last year, so we don't need more. I plan to launch a newsletter on our Web site in six months ($180).

Personal Selling:

Total Budget: $1,110
New Promotional Mix:
This Year Last Year
Advertising 70% 61%
Sales Promotions 5% 3%
Public Relations 9% 0%
Direct Marketing 16% 36%
Personal Selling 0% 0%

1. What percent of their total marketing budget is advertising?

2. What was their direct marketing effort for the first year?

3. Why do you think Pampered Pets increased it's advertising budget in year 2?

4. What is the new sales promotion that Pampered Pets is doing in the second year?

The Art of Advertising

After watching the Old Spice commercial answer the questions below as comment posts:


1.What type of media is being use for this ad?




2. Do you think the ad is effective? Explain your answer either way.





3. What is the main selling message for this ad?




4. Who is the target audience for this ad. Be specific.

Big Money for the Big Dance

Read the article and answer the questions below as posted comments.

Big Dollars Likely to Lead to Bigger NCAA Tournament

CNNChris IsodoreMarch 18, 2010 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)
Who's going to win this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament? Your guess is as good as ours. Probably better, actually.

But here's one March Madness guarantee you can count on: the wildly popular tournament is going to generate tons of cash for the NCAA. And that's why an expanded tournament is likely, possibly as soon as next year. The 65-team tournament will bring in roughly $650 million for the NCAA this year -- with the vast majority of that coming from broadcast rights payments from CBS.

That money basically funds the entire operation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and is the financial lifeblood of many smaller schools' athletic departments.
The big schools get most of that money. And more often than not, the more profitable programs make it to the Final Four over so-called Cinderellas. But profits aren't a guarantee of success. There are plenty of big money schools not in this year's tournament.

Big dollar schools staying home. North Carolina, last year's champion, finished second to only Louisville in terms of revenue and profits for its basketball program last year according to figures filed with the Department of Education. It didn't make the tournament this year though.
Neither did three other schools in the top 10 in basketball revenue -- Illinois, Indiana and Arkansas. Still, those teams are certain to get more cash from this year's tournament than smaller schools that made it to The Big Dance.

About $167 million of the proceeds from the tournament is split among all the NCAA conferences based on the number of games each conference's teams played in over the last six years. That money is then typically divided evenly between members of the conference.
So North Carolina and their hated rival Duke will both see the same payday from the tournament, even if No. 1 seed Duke is the one cutting down the nets on April 5.
And because the payments are based on a six-year period, even if a Cinderella team from a smaller conference does well this year, that won't significantly increase the payout for smaller schools.

More teams mean more dollars. That's why it's very likely, if not certain, that this is the last year only 65 teams will be invited to the tournament.
There's too much potential for a lot more money if the tournament is expanded -- and too many smaller schools need more of the big money.

The most discussed expansion scenario is to have a field of 96 teams. The teams ranked 1-32, which are primarily the big-dollar schools from the six major conferences, would wait while teams ranked 33 through 96 would play each other for the right to challenge the Goliaths.
The extra games would be shown on cable and on the Internet, which are the two fastest growing sources of new rights money for sports broadcasts.

The NCAA is expected to opt out of the last three years of an 11-year, $6 billion deal with CBS after this year's tournament and seek a new long-term broadcast and Internet rights deal.
With more games to air in the week before the round of 64 begins, there is the likelihood of a much bigger payday, said Neal Pilson, a sports television consultant.
"I personally am not that excited about extending the tournament to 96 teams," he said. "But it likely will result in more money for the colleges. The NCAA has a fiduciary responsibility to at least find out what a new deal would be worth."
Pilson thinks Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500), with its combination of ABC and ESPN might be the front runner in the bidding for the NCAA. But he thinks CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) will fight hard to retain it, even if it means teaming with a cable network operator to make the bid. There are reports CBS is looking at a joint bid with Turner Sports, which like CNNMoney is a unit of Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500).

Big win for the little guys. Who will benefit most from the additional dollars a new deal could bring? Surprisingly enough, the smaller schools.
In the current 65-team tournament, about half of the teams are from the six major conferences. But if you look at the RPI rankings of schools this year, a ranking that is widely considered to be what the tournament selection committee relies heavily upon, nearly two-thirds of the teams that could be added to a bigger tournament might come from the smaller conferences.
And since those schools would not have to play a top-ranked team in the first round, they would stand a much better chance to win at least one game. That would only help their programs and increase their future payouts.
Those small schools are far more dependent on the NCAA money than the major conference schools, which typically have their own TV deals and huge arenas.

Yes, far more of the tournament money flows to the Big East (about $27.5 million) than to the lowly Big West (about $4 million). But the Big East schools average revenue of $8.5 million and a profit of nearly $3 million annually.

By contrast, the Big West schools average just over $1 million in revenue and typically lose $80,000 each on basketball. Who do you think needs the extra money more?
So if you're struggling to fill out a 96-team bracket this time next year, you can blame the unusual combination of big money schools and the Cinderella teams.

1.Why would the NCAA want to expand the tournament from 65 to 96 teams?

2. Do you think this would be a good or bad idea? Why?

3. By allowing more teams to participate, does the tournament become more or less competitive? Why?

4. Who do you think would benefit the most from the possible change?

5. Do you think the money made through the tournament should go directly to schools or to their conferences and divided evenly? Why?

The Press Release

Read the press release below and answer the questions as comment posts:


Global Collaboration Brings the Worlds of Sports & Music Together Like Never Before

NEW YORK—May 23, 2006—Nike and Apple® today announced a partnership bringing the worlds of sports and music together like never before with the launch of innovative Nike+iPod products. The first product developed through this partnership is the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, a wireless system that allows Nike+ footwear to talk with your iPod® nano to connect you to the ultimate personal running and workout experience.

Nike CEO Mark Parker and Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled Nike+iPod at an event in New York attended by seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe.

“Nike+iPod is a partnership between two iconic, global brands with a shared passion for creating meaningful consumer product experiences through design and innovation,” Parker said. “This is the first result, and Nike+iPod will change the way people run. Nike+iPod creates a better running experience. We see many more such Nike+ innovations in the future.”

“We’re working with Nike to take music and sport to a new level,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. "The result is like having a personal coach or training partner motivating you every step of your workout."

The new Nike+ Air Zoom Moire is the first footwear designed to talk to iPod. Nike plans to make many of its leading footwear styles Nike+ ready, connecting millions of consumers to the Nike+iPod experience. With the Nike+ footwear connected to iPod nano through the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, information on time, distance, calories burned and pace is stored on iPod and displayed on the screen; real-time audible feedback also is provided through headphones. The kit includes an in-shoe sensor and a receiver that attaches to iPod. A new Nike Sport Music section on the iTunes® Music Store and a new nikeplus.com personal service site help maximize the Nike+iPod experience.

Armstrong, who is preparing for his first NY Marathon, said, “If you can incorporate time, distance and calories burned together and make it function for both the fitness runner and the high level athlete, it will take working out to a whole other level.”

“I definitely use music both ways,” Radcliffe said. “I listen to faster music if I am doing a workout in the gym to just get the best out of myself, but I also use it to help me relax in the buildup to a big race.”

Specially designed Nike apparel, including jackets, tops, shorts and an iPod nano armband, bring together the Nike+iPod experience with waterproof pockets that accommodate iPod nano and are designed to make it easy to operate while staying tuned to your music during an active workout.

Pricing & Availability

The Nike+iPod Sport Kit is expected to be available within 60 days for a suggested retail price of $29 (US) through the Apple Store® (http://www.apple.com/), Apple’s retail stores, Apple Authorized Resellers as well as Nike.com (http://www.nike.com/), Niketown, NikeWomen stores and select retail stores in the US.

The Nike+iPod Sport Kit requires a Nike+ shoe and an iPod nano with a Mac® with a USB 2.0 port and Mac OS® X version 10.3.9 or later and iTunes 6.0.5; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional (SP2) and iTunes 6.0.5.

Nike, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan, which designs, markets, and distributes fine dress and casual shoes and accessories; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which designs and markets athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail channel.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online.

Press Contacts:Shannon ShoulNike(503) 532-7511shannon.shoul@nike.com
Natalie Kerris
Apple(408) 974-6877nat@apple.com
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1. Why would Apple and Nike or any company for that matter put out a press release?



2. Explain two things that are newsworthy about this press release.



3. Who should you contact if you want to more about this partnership?



4. If you were the marketing manager for MassMediaDistribution.com would you pick up and publish this press release? Why?

Suggestion Selling - How to get More Dollars per Transaction!

After watching the video answer the questions below as posted comments:

Suggestion Selling



1. What does the narrator mean by a soft-sell when doing suggestion selling?




2. Based on what you heard in the video why is suggestion selling so important?




3. What is the difference between suggestion selling and upselling?




4. Do you think that suggestion selling has any value to the customers.?




5. When someone tries to do suggestion selling with you do you feel pressured? Why?

What to do When the Customer Objects to Buying?

After watching the video on handling objections answer the questions below as comments posts.

Handling Sales Objections Video

1. What do you think was the most important point for handling objections mentioned in the video? Why?





2. Many experienced sales people feel an objection is nothing but an opportunity in disguise. Explain why you think this is.






3. If your wanted to attend a Lil Wayne concert and your parents said no, how would you handle their objections to going? Did the video give you some idea you might use? Explain.

What do Your Customers Want?

After you have watched the video "Ask the Customer" answer the questions below as comments:


1. Why is it so important to listen to your customers?





2. What statistic was mentioned in the video that should make the answer to the question above very obvious?





3.Ultimately what can happens if you donot listen to your customers?





4. Suppose you were tasked with a new football helmet to help prevent concusions. What type of open-ended-questions might you ask? Who would you ask?