Exam 11: Part 1: Product and Promotion: Creating and Communicating Value

There are two basic components to a firm's promotional mix: advertising and publicity.

Products fall into two broad categories: consumer products and business products.

Marketers can influence publicity but cannot control its use.

Effective product promotion requires that everyone who creates and manages promotional messages have free access to information about the customer,the product,the competition,the market,and the organization's strategy.

Unsought products are those goods and services that consumers purchase only out of necessity.Traditionally,these products require little marketing and are quite easy to sell.

Consumer products are products intended for personal use or consumption.

Rebates,coupons,and samples are key trade promotion tools.

When Pillsbury reached an agreement with M&M's to include the candy in one of its ready-to-bake cookie dough products,the two companies were using a strategy known as cobranding.

Accessory equipment includes large capital purchases designed for an extended productive life.

Personal selling is considered the world's oldest form of promotion and involves face-to-face presentation of products and services to potential buyers.

The development of a positioning statement occurs at the beginning of the creative development process.

Determining the best promotional mix is a relatively straightforward process that involves applying three simple rules.

Companies usually have several product mixes but only one product line.

The two fastest-growing advertising media are radio and direct mail.

Three characteristics that contribute to a high diffusion rate for a new product are observability,trialability,and compatibility.

Organizations use component parts and processed materials to produce other products.

Advertising is paid,nonpersonal communication designed to influence consumer purchases.

Although e-book readers have been around for several years,Amazon recently introduced the Kindle,a new reader that features several significant improvements over older readers,including wireless connectivity based on cell phone technology.This technology allows Kindle owners to download the books they buy in less than two minutes from any location without the need to connect to a computer or the Internet.The Kindle is an example of continuous innovation.

Information used to create successful promotional messages must flow not only from the top down but also from the bottom up and laterally across divisions and departments.

Arm & Hammer has extended the profitable stages of the life cycle for its baking soda by coming up with new uses for the product.