Marketing
Gap Inc. marketing communication mix comprises print and media advertising, sales promotions, events and experiences, public relations and direct marketing as discussed below. Advertising Gap Inc. uses print and media advertising extensively as one of the main tools to communicate the marketing message to the target customer segment. In 2015, the company spent USD164 million on measured media in the U.S., a 26.4% decline over 2014[1]. The most popular platforms used by Gap Inc. include magazines and journals, TV, radio and banners on city centers. In 2016, Gap’s Athleta brand released its first TV advertisement with the campaign ‘Power of She’ focused on female empowerment supporting the debut of the Athleta Girl apparel line, which targets ages six to 14.[2] Moreover, viral marketing represents an important additional tool within Gap Inc. marketing strategy and the company has a history of using viral marketing in a controversial manner. Specifically, the company’s Twitter campaign included an image of “two white girls in poses that look quite painful, next to a third white girl using a smaller black girl as an armrest”[3] The campaign caused a massive controversy and debate attracting thousands of retweets and likes, the story being covered by more than 214 news articles.[4] Another instance of Gap marketing campaign involved an image of a happy interracial family, causing debates on social media platforms about the issue of interracial marriage. Sales Promotion As a fashion, apparel and accessories retailer, Gap Inc. uses various sales promotions techniques. The use of sales promotions by Gap has the following patterns: 1. Loyalty cards– Each brand within Gap Inc. portfolio – GAP, Old Navy, Banana Repubic and Athleta offers its own gift card, as well as, electronic gift card. A gift card by any above brand can be used across all Gap Inc. sites and…
Gap Inc. segmentation, targeting and positioning practices refer to ways in which the fashion and accessories retailer identifies specific groups within the population to sell their products to and increases the attractiveness of its products to this specific group of buyers. Segmentation includes dividing population into groups according to certain characteristics, while targeting implies choosing specific groups identified as a result of segmentation to sell products. Positioning refers to the selection of the marketing mix that is the most attractive for the target customer segment. Gap Inc. uses multi-segment type of positioning and accordingly, the company exploits more than one customer segment with different brands within its portfolio. For example, Gap brand targets individuals interested in American casual style, whereas the target customer segment for Athleta includes fitness-minded women. The company also uses imitative positioning style occasionally by imitating the design of luxury clothing brands such as Ralph Lauren Corporation, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Louis Vuitton and others. The following table illustrates Gap Inc. segmentation, targeting and positioning: Type of segmen- tation Seg- Men-tation crite-ria Gap Inc. Target Customer Segment Gap Banana Republic Old Navy Intermix Athleta Geogra-phic Region North America Asia, Europe North America Asia, Europe North America Asia North America North America Den-sity Urban, Rural Urban, Rural Urban, Rural Urban Urban Demog-raphic Age 3 – 45 18-40 3 – 40 18 – 45 16 – 50 Gen-der Males & Females Males & Females Males & Females Males & Females Females Life-cycle stage Bachelor Stage Newly Married Couples Full Nest I Full Nest II Bachelor Stage Newly Married Couples Full Nest I Bachelor Stage Newly Married Couples Full Nest I Bachelor Stage Newly Married Couples Full Nest I Bachelor Stage Newly Married Couples Occupation Students, employees, professionals Students, employees, professionals Students, employees, professionals…
Gap Inc. 7Ps of marketing consists of product, place, price, promotion, process, people and physical evidence elements of the marketing mix Product Gap Inc. portfolio comprises five distinct brands and the table below illustrates the main categories of products sold under each brand. Brand Main products GAP all things denim, tees, button-downs, and khakis, must-have trends Banana Republic clothing, eyewear, jewelry, shoes, handbags, and fragrances with detailed craftsmanship and luxurious materials Old Navy a wide range of clothing products Athlete apparel and gear for a range of activities from yoga to strength training and running, as well as seasonal sports, including skiing and tennis Intermix Clothing, shoes, bags and accessories Gap Inc. brands and respective products Products belonging to Gap Inc. portfolio are designed and positioned as ‘cool’ and ‘trendy’ and they are used by the target customer segment to express their individuality. The company offers an extensive variety of range in terms of size, colors and design. Place The retailer uses online and offline sales channels in an integrated manner. There are 3,721 company-operated and franchise store locations within Gap Inc. portfolio and most stores are open seven days a week.[1] Customers have an opportunity to find the address of the nearest store to their location from the official website of the company. Starting from recently, the company has been attempting to increase the extent of utilization of online sales channel. In a notable move, Gap’s CEO Art Peck “told shareholders that Gap is open to selling its merchandise on Amazon or other third parties in the U.S.”[2] The company also offers online shoppers to the opportunity to purchase multiple brands within its portfolio from a single website into one shopping card. Price Gap Inc. pricing strategy integrates the combination of psychological and product line pricing techniques.…
eBay marketing communication mix integrates various forms of print and media advertising, sales promotions, events and experiences, public relations and direct marketing. Advertising Advertising expense of the company totaled USD1.0 billion, USD1.0 billion and USD844 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.[1] eBay engages in print and media advertising in an occasional manner to increase the level of brand awareness among the target customer segment. eBay advertising strategy primarily focuses on the use of online platforms such as paid search advertising, online banner advertising and viral marketing. As it is illustrated in figure below, eBay marketing message stresses the wide range of products available in its Marketplace and accordingly, the company’s target customer segment is vast. Patterns of eBay print and media advertising Sales Promotion EBay rarely engages in sales promotions in order to attract more sellers in its Marketplace. Nevertheless, there are many sales promotions going on at any time in eBay marketplace and these are conducted by sellers, not eBay Inc. Specific types of sales promotion techniques employed by eBay sellers include order discounts, codeless coupons, shipping discounts, sale events, accessory discounts and others. Various forms of sales promotions techniques are applied frequently to promote StubHub and gifts cards are adopted as the most effective tool for this purpose. Specifically, StubHub offers eGift Cards and Plastic Gift Cards that can be used to treat friends, relatives or employees to a night out on the town for a discounted price. Additionally, there are many discount websites such as www.couponcabin.com, www.retailmenot.com, www.groupon.com and others that offer StubHub coupons. The company does not engage in frequent sales promotions in order to sell its Classified services… eBay Inc. Report contains more detailed discussion of eBay marketing communication mix and marketing strategy. The report also illustrates the application of…
eBay segmentation, targeting and positioning relate to marketing decisions and efforts associated with the identification of specific group within the population that eBay aims to sell its services to. Segmentation involves dividing population into groups according to certain characteristics, whereas targeting implies choosing specific groups identified as a result of segmentation to sell products. Positioning refers to the selection of the marketing mix the most suitable for the target customer segment. eBay services can be divided into three categories and segmentation, targeting and positioning patterns vary according to the type of the service. Marketplace refers to an online marketplace available at ebay.com. The company uses multi-segment type of positioning for the marketplace and accordingly, exploits more than one segment with different service packages. StubHub represents a platform to purchase tickets to the games, concerts and theatre shows and to sell tickets. The positioning strategy used for StubHub can be described as adaptive and the company periodically repositions its services according to changes in the segment Classifieds platforms include a collection of brands such as Mobile.de, Kijiji, Gumtree, Marktplaats, eBay Classifieds and others. eBay uses multi-segment positioning to sell its classifieds services. The following table illustrates eBay segmentation, targeting and positioning: Type of segmentation Segmentation criteria eBay target segment Marketplace StubHub Classifieds Geographic Region International International USA Density Urban/rural Urban/rural Urban/rural Demographic Age 16 – 60 16 – 40 20 – 60 Gender Males & Females Males & Females Males & Females Life-cycle stage Bachelor Stage Newly Married Couples Full Nest I Full Nest II Full Nest III Empty Nest I Empty Nest II Solitary Survivor I Solitary Survivor II Bachelor Stage Newly Married Couples Full Nest I Full Nest II Bachelor Stage Newly Married Couples Full Nest I Full Nest II Full Nest III Empty Nest I Empty…
eBay 7Ps of marketing covers seven elements of the marketing mix – product, place, price, promotion, process, people and physical evidence. The company’s Advertising expense totalled USD1.0 billion, USD1.0 billion and USD844 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively[1] Product While eBay was once an auction site selling vintage items, today 80% of the items sold on eBay are new, and at any given time it has more than 800 million live listings[2] eBay services are divided into the following three platforms: Marketplace refers to an online marketplace available at ebay.com StubHub represents a platform to purchase tickets to the games, concerts and theatre shows and to sell tickets. Classifieds platforms include a collection of brands such as Mobile.de, Kijiji, Gumtree, Marktplaats, eBay Classifieds and others eBay commits to systematic investments to develop new products and services. Capitalized internal use and platform development costs were USD136 million and USD144 million in 2015 and 2014, respectively[3] Place Being an e-commerce business and an online platform, eBay services can be used from any part of the globe given the following two conditions are met: Customers have access to the internet Customers have access to PayPal and other payment methods allowed by eBay People from 190 markets buy from eBay and it has been acknowledged as Top 10 global retail brand[4] The company’s website at www.ebay.com and eBay app are the major sales channels for the business. The popularity of eBay app as sales channel has been consistently increasing and it has been downloaded more than 326 million times[5] The time of delivery of products represents a major point of competition between online stores and this also relates to the place element of the marketing mix. The time of delivery varies according to the nature of…
Hilton marketing communication mix integrates print and media advertising, sales promotions, events and experiences, public relations and direct marketing as discussed below in more details. Advertising Hilton engages in print and media advertising to communicate its marketing message to the target customer segment. Hilton marketing message stresses the highest standard of service provision, a high level of integration of information technology in order to maximise service personalization and the perception of status, achievement and recognition. This marketing message is communicated through a set of specific elements of advertising promotional strategy such as advertisements in newspapers and magazines popular with senior level management professionals such as Forbes, Fortune, The Economist, and Financial Times. Moreover, the communication of Hilton Hotels & Resorts marketing message is also facilitated through broadcast advertisements in selected television channels. ‘Stop Clicking Around’ is one of the recent large-scale marketing campaigns that “challenges the common misconception that third-party Web sites always offer the best prices on hotel rooms”[1]. Sales Promotion Sales promotion relates to attempts by a business to persuade potential customers to purchase products or services through introducing various incentives. Sales promotion is popular in hotel industry and this specific element of promotion mix is used by Hilton Hotels & Resorts in an intensive manner. Specifically, Hilton uses the following forms of sales promotions: HHonors loyalty programs offer discounted prices, digital check-in, free internet access, late check-out and others. Currently, there are more than 50 million Hilton HHonors members worldwide.[2] Discount vouchers are available in official website of the company and a wide range of discount websites. Hilton Hotels & Resorts gains practical advantages from using sales promotion in the forms of increasing the level of revenues and achieving utilisation of their rooms at a greater extend. However, it is important to note that by introducing…
Hilton Hotels segmentation, targeting and positioning refers to ways in which the company chooses individuals to sell its services to and positions the services to appeal to the needs and aspirations of these individuals in the best possible manner. The process of market segmentation involves dividing the market into segments or groups based on the characteristics from the specific market. In this way the most attractive or suitable segment based on the services and products can be targeted very effectively and efficiently. Generally, the market segmentation can be divided into four different groups – geographic, demographic, psychographic and benefit oriented. Geographic Segmentation Geographic segmentation involves targeting specific consumer groups according to their geographic locations in national and international levels. Hilton’s geographic segmentation strategy mainly focuses on building hotels on locations popular with the target customer segment. For example in London, Hilton hotels are found in popular business and travel locations such as Aldwych, Canary Wharf, Bankside, Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square. Demographic Segmentation A set of variables used in demographic market segmentation include gender, life-cycle stage, age, income, social class, and lifestyle. From this perspective, Hilton targets customer segment represent middle and senior aged professionals with high level of income belonging to upper social class. Moreover, Hilton Hotels & Resorts mainly target individuals that pursue luxury lifestyle, and accordingly, the company charges premium prices for its products and services perceived to be of a relevant quality. Psychographic Segmentation Psychographic segmentation “goes beyond demographics as it examines how a person thinks, feels and behaves, using personality, lifestyle and values as segmenting variables”[1]. The nature of psychographic segmentation used by Hilton involves targeting ambitious individuals who would like to express their perceived high status and achievement by staying in five star rooms offered by the hotel at premium prices. Benefits…
Hilton’s 7Ps of marketing comprises elements of Hilton Hotels marketing mix that consists of product, place, price, promotion, process, people and physical evidence. Product Element of Hilton Hotels Marketing Mix Hilton Hotels and Resorts can be classified as a full service hotel. Accordingly, the range of its services is extensive and includes meeting, wedding and banquet facilities and special event services, restaurants and lounges, food and beverage services, swimming pools, gift shops, retail facilities and other services. Generally, products are divided into three levels: core, facilitating and supporting products. Core products can be explained as a basic form of a product. To put it simply, core products are the main reasons for customers purchasing from a business. For Hilton Hotels & Resorts core product is hotel rooms that customers stay in for a specific period of time. Peripheral services can be explained as additional products and services above the core product that businesses offer to get competitive edge in the marketplace. Facilitating products involve services that assist consumers in consumption of core products. Hilton offers a set of popular facilitating products such as customer services, bars and restaurants, and online reservation facilities. Supporting products include additional products and services that are offered in order to obtain competitive advantage for the business by increasing the value of core products and services. A range of supporting products offered by Hilton Hotels include 24/7 room service, free newspapers and magazines for business travellers, concierge services etc. Augmented product is benefit offer made by businesses that consist of core product and peripheral services. Augmented products offered by Hilton Hotels & Resorts include membership discounts, luxurious room and exterior designs, high class restaurants and relaxed hotel atmosphere. Place Element of Hilton Hotels Marketing Mix The ultimate aim of the distribution strategy for a hotel firm can be specified as making available…
Red Bull 7Ps of marketing explains how the company deals with individual elements of the marketing mix – product, place, price, promotion, process, people and physical evidence, in order to make its products more attractive to the target customer segment. Product. Red Bull product portfolio is highly focused and is limited to the following: Red Bull Energy Drink Red Bull Sugar Free Red Bull Zero Calories Red Bull Editions: tropical, blue and orange editions Red Bull Simply Cola The company also sells brand-related accessories, apparel, media products, headwear and gift ideas from its official website. The company has a history of launching unsuccessful products on a few occasions. For example, Red Bull Cola introduced in 2008 and Red Bull energy shots introduced the 2009 struggled to excite consumers and retailers, thus had to be discontinued in 2011.[1] Place. Red Bull is sold in more than 169 countries.[2] Red Bull sells its beverages via distributors and resellers such as supermarket chains, bars and restaurants and other outlets. The company does not use online sales channels to sell its beverages. However, online sales channel is used to sell brand-related products, accessories and gift-ideas. Red Bull offers a free delivery and refund for up to 30 days for these products. Price. Red Bull pricing strategy can be classified as premium pricing. Red Bull beverages are the most expensive in the energy drink market, as the company charges additionally for the psychological consumer perception of ‘Red Bull Gives You Wings’. Various Red Bull resellers such as supermarket chains, bars and restaurants and other outlets also apply psychological pricing strategy with use of Price Point Perspective (PPP) 0.99 Cents. Moreover, Red Bull pricing strategy also integrates various patterns of promotional and geographical pricing strategies… Red Bull GmbH Report contains a detailed discussion of…