1.
Branding
I was very interested in branding a company, and also
rebranding. Branding is a time consuming but essential aspect that requires a
lot of thought and creativity. A catchy
slogan, an eye-catching logo, or a memorable name could set one company above
its competitors. All of these features of a company are crucial when trying to
gain and hold consumers attention. Rebranding is a time consuming and expensive
process but can be essential to keep a company’s marketing platform up to date
and relevant for their customers. Like mentioned before, branding is a
combination of the company name, logo and slogan that help identify their
products as unique. Rebranding can be a reconstruction of any or all aspects of
branding.
2.
Product
Mix
I have already discussed product mix using Husqvarna. A
company most people would associate with chainsaws and yard equipment that
actually produces a variety of products beyond that. When we look at the
product mix for any particular company, we first identify product lines and
then what makes up each of those. Product lines are determined by which
products meet the same needs or can be used together or otherwise grouped
together. Another company with a large product offering and an interesting
product mix would be Bic. Bic produces products such pens and pencils but also
razors and lighters.
3.
Pricing
When we discussed pricing, we learned about approximately 15
different pricing strategies. From
bundle pricing, selling more than one product in the same package, to odd-even
pricing, setting a price that it slightly less than an even number, there are
many approaches that can be used. Through first hand experience during a
simulation where we sold backpacks, I was able to see the affects of some of
the numerous strategies. At one point in the simulation, my team redesigned our
backpack and sold to a new target market. Upon introducing our company to a new
market, we used prestige pricing and set a price slightly higher than our
competitors. We saw some success from this. Prestige prices generally represent
a higher quality and can give you the upper hand on some consumers not worried
about getting the lowest costing item. At another point in the simulation, we
decided to lower our price. We took into account the idea of odd-even pricing
and chose $29.00. This price was not the lowest in the market but essentially a
price at market level. This price choice was in attempt to offer our backpack
at a price consumers were used to and would be comfortable with. Through the
simulation and other course work, it is easy to see that pricing is a HUGE
piece of marketing and can vary greatly depending on which strategy is being
used.
