Marketing strategy Essay Example

Marketing strategy Essay This unit entitled Marketing requires me to produce a marketing strategy for a new or existing product. The product that I have chosen to devise a strategy for is the forthcoming video games console, Nintendo Gamecube, which is released in Europe on May 3rd 2002. I will have to carry out research about the principles of marketing; the way that close competitors will compete when the console is released; the strength of the brand name; possible marketing models/strategies; analysing the possible implications of external influences, etc. in order to produce a powerful strategy that will ensure that the product will do well in its market. OBTAINING INFORMATION Information that will help me to complete this report can be obtained from a number of different ways. Some obvious methods that will be used throughout the report for obtaining data and information towards the formation of the marketing strategy are: * The Internet: this method has become one of the most popular in finding information since there are many search engines available on the Internet as well as websites of the Nintendo company itself and many other sites designed by fans and video game players from around the world. The information provided is secondary data, but it can be very informative on enriching my knowledge about Nintendos console and marketing via the abundant sites devoted to Business Studies such as Biz/ed (www.bized.ac.uk) and Business Teacher (www.businessteacher.co.uk). We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing strategy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer * Primary Data: this type of data can be collected through observation and by carrying out primary research methods such as questionnaires, telephone interviews and personal interviews. These will be useful as specific information can be extracted from the public. * Information From Books: lots of information can be found in books about businesses and marketing. It is useful to extract knowledge from more than one book, since no one book will contain all information required. One book may cover something in more depth than another. For example, the Business Studies book by Carlo Raffo et al. is more detailed and easier to understand than the Marketing textbook by Ian Swift, but the book by Ian has more analytical and evaluative technique, which are essential in this report. In order to prepare for the coursework, background information will need to be read from textbooks. The information can then be applied to the product and business being investigated. WHAT I PLAN TO DO What I plan to do for this coursework is to collect as much information as possible about my product to understand about it first. Reading product reviews from the Internet, buying game magazines and talking with my friends about it will carry this out. I can then read the theory about marketing and the various aspects on the topic and apply the theory to what I know about the Gamecube and the market that it is running in as well as the competitors it faces. Strategies for the product will consequently be developed for the product throughout the report with the aid of analysing other firms strategies and by collecting primary data and secondary data. PROBLEMS ENOCUNTERED The main problem that was encountered in this report was time constraints. The obstacles that were present were revising for exams and the Swiss exchange, which both reduced the time I had in completing the project. I therefore had to work faster with this report and ensure that deadlines were met, even if it meant handing some areas a few days after! Extra time was also devoted to completing areas of the report due to the time constraints. This was certainly a new experience and something that I can learn from in the future. I found out how stressful it was in completing this report with about 4 other things to do at the same time! In addition I have realised that all this could have been handled slightly better if I planned out my plan and tasks more carefully! ACTION PLAN Throughout the report, I kept a log and task plan to refer to. This allowed me to monitor how far I was in the completion of different tasks and also how much time I had left in completing it. It was especially useful during when the Swiss exchange was in action, as I could see how much work I had to still do and catch up on, in order to be on schedule. If I had not kept a log, I would have had to constantly read through the work I had done to see where I was and what I had done last. ACTION PLAN FOR UNIT ONE REPORT Dates: Task: Comment: Apr. 8, 2002 * Choose the product for which the marketing strategy will be based on. * Start gathering background information from the Internet and magazines/newspapers about the company that is manufacturing the product and also about the product itself. * Start reading some theory about marketing from textbooks, worksheets, information sheets, and from the Internet. The product that I have chosen to produce a marketing strategy for is the Nintendo Gamecube. I have chosen this product as I am very interested in video games and am going to purchase the console when it is released so I thought it worthwhile to use a product that I am interested in! I have started to do some general reading about the product and the company by visiting some websites like www.nintendo.com, www.gamespot.co.uk, www.cube-europe.com and by reading some of the magazines such as the Nintendo Official Magazine and the NGC Magazine. In addition, I have started reading some theory on marketing by reading the Introduction to Marketing section from the Marketing book by Ian Swift, the What is Marketing section in the Business textbook by Carlo Raffo et al., and The Principles and Functions of Marketing section in the Advanced Business Textbook by Dan Moynihan and Brian Titley. Apr. 10 * Create a plan for the report and an action plan to show how the report will be completed and the tasks that need to be fulfilled throughout the duration. * Produce a section titled, Information Gathering to analyse secondary sources used during the course of the report. * Start writing up an introductory section about Nintendo and the Nintendo Gamecube. This plan and log was created. However, it is very liable to changes throughout, if some tasks are unable to be completed due to time constraints. At this time, I am already aware of two time constraints: the first is that I am involved in the Swiss Exchange and the Swiss students are coming over for a week from April 24 to May 1; the second is that the AS examinations are very close (the first one being on May 13) and so revision time will also need to be taken into consideration. It is too early to predict how these constraints will affect this report and I will comment on them later on in this log. Like the unit one, I have started producing an Information Gathering section to analyse the sources that I have used. In addition, I have managed to start typing up the section about Nintendo and Gamecube using information from the Internet and promotional leaflets from HMV, Bluewater and Dixons, as well as magazines. Apr. 13 14 * Commence writing up an Introduction to Marketing section, detailing the principles of marketing and a summary of some key features. * Read theory on market research from textbooks, books, worksheets, etc. * Talk with friends about their views about the Gamecube and Nintendo in general. After reading the theory behind the basic ideas of marketing, I started to type up this section. I found the terms fairly easy to understand and concepts used, quite accessible. This is probably because I recently bought a handbook called The Complete A-Z Business Studies, which I have found very useful for quick reference of terms and jargon. I also began reading the theory behind market research. Reading this part was fairly straightforward, as I have taken part in many of these, including telephone interviews, questionnaires and customer surveys. I have also managed to talk with friends at school about what they think about Nintendo and its latest console, during lunchtime in the canteen and during free periods. Some of the information I have picked up can possibly be used in the presentation, and also in the decision of an appropriate strategy. Apr. 15 * Start typing up section on market research. * Plan a rough questionnaire that could be used to collect primary data from the public. * Decide on an aspect of the marketing strategy to present to the class via a PowerPoint slideshow presentation. Start reading some theory for this aspect. I started to type up this section on market research, but have to leave gaps, while I decide which methods of field research to carry out. At the moment, the only confirmed method is the use of a questionnaire, as this is a very popular method and can obtain answers and data to specific questions. For my presentation, I have decided to choose price as my aspect of the marketing strategy. This is because I think price is a very important factor in the video games industry because of the amount of competition in this market. Apr. 27 28 * Start putting together some slides for the aspect for presentation. * Produce the final questionnaire on computer, print it out and photocopy 25 sets, so that 25 members of the public can be asked. * Find a marketing strategy for a service or product by interviewing an senior employee from companies such as Sony or Playstation, and judge it with reference to the principles of marketing. This week (Apr. 22 26) has been quite difficult for me, because my Swiss exchange partner came over on Apr. 24 and will be staying here until May 1. I therefore had little time to do a lot of what I had intended to do, because I had to go on trips with the Swiss party and entertain them during the weeknights. I have only managed to put together a couple of slides for the presentation, which is to be done on Monday Apr. 29. I intended to have filled the slides with a lot more information then I have done. However, I know what I want to say and I can add more to the slides on Monday before the presentation, as I have time during the day. Overall, I was fairly satisfied with my presentation, but personally believe that it could have been one of higher quality if it were not due to the time constraints. Due to the Swiss exchange, I did not have time to print out the final questionnaire and photocopy it. Nor did I have time to find a marketing strategy to judge. Apr. 29 * Gather data using my questionnaire from people at school who have an interest in video games. * Read the theory on marketing strategies such as market penetration, market development and diversification as well as the use of the Ansoff Matrix and the Boston Matrix to make judgements about products sold by the business. Again, due to time constraints of the Swiss exchange, I could not do these tasks. Instead, I had to complete the unfinished tasks from the weekend, i.e. I managed to complete the questionnaire on computer and print it out. I also managed to photocopy 20 (not 25, due to insufficient paper!) copies of the questionnaire. I have also found some details on the Internet about the marketing strategies of X-Box and Nike. However, due to time constraints and pressures of exam revision, I could not carry out my original intention of interviewing senior employees from Sony or Microsoft about their marketing strategy. I think, that if I did this, the information would be a lot more detailed and specific to what I need than the information obtained from the Internet. May 2 * Start typing up the section on marketing strategies, analysing each one in turn and then deciding which one best suits Nintendo for its latest console. * Analyse results from the questionnaire, by displaying them in graphical format and by looking at peoples opinions overall. Today, I managed to gather data for the questionnaires produced from friends at school during a free period. The majority of my friends wanted to fill in the questionnaire as they are fans of video games and thought it exciting to have a say in this report! I also managed to start reading some theory on marketing strategies and the Ansoff Matrix. This section was new to me, so I had to read it a few times and compare information provided from different books with each other to fully understand it. Unfortunately, I have not managed to complete the tasks that were set for today. As a result, these tasks have been put back until next time! May 4 5 * Read the theory and start typing up the section on external influences and how these will affect the Nintendo Gamecube. I have managed to type up quite a bit of the section on marketing strategies. Analysis of the questionnaire has also been started, using Microsoft Excel to draw charts and graphs for the data collected. The decision of a strategy and control of the marketing mix can therefore be related to these findings. I have not managed to type up the section on external influences, but have had some time to read into the topic, as I have covered some of this information in unit 2 with Mr. Glover. Therefore, I already had some knowledge in this area, but here, I would have to apply it to the real world. May 11 12 * Complete typing up the section on external influences. * Look into areas of the marketing mix. I have started to type up the section on external influences and have noted how any of these would affect Nintendos marketing strategy for their new console. I have also started to read about the different aspects of the marketing mix. May 14 * Type up the marketing mix section I have managed to start typing up the aspect of price and also write a brief introduction about the marketing mix and its importance to a products success in a market. I also managed to find the Sony Corporate site on the Internet and have sent them en e-mail (see appendix for evidence) asking them some questions on their marketing strategy such as how they decided to market the Playstation to consumers. May 15 Today, I got an e-mail reply from the Sony site concerning the questions I asked them about their marketing strategy. They said that they were not allowed to send this sort of sensitive information through the Internet and therefore offered to send me a marketing information pack through the post. I took the offer and replied with my postal address. Shortly afterwards, they replied saying that they would dispatch the information as soon as possible. May 17 19 * Continue typing up the marketing mix section I have nearly finished the aspect of price and have started the aspects of promotion, placing and distribution. The aspect of promotion was easy to understand as it is everywhere and we see it wherever we go. However, the aspect on distribution was slightly more difficult as I had never learned anything about it before. Consequently, I had to read a few textbooks about it and refer to a business dictionary to understand some of the jargon used by the sources. May 21 * Continue typing up the marketing mix section and any other areas that have not been completed I have nearly finished the marketing mix section, although the aspect of promotion took longer to write up than originally thought! However, I have not yet received the information pack from Sony that I requested for last week and they have not sent any e-mail to me concerning any problems over it. Therefore this piece of information cannot be used in the report, but I believe that it would have been very useful in helping to decide the overall strategy for the Gamecube. In any case, I have included the e-mail contents between myself and Sony in the appendix. May 23 Hand the report into Mr. Glover Hand the report into Mr. Glover 2.0 INFORMATION GATHERING Type of secondary source: Textbook Title: Marketing Edition: First Edition 2000 Company: Hodder and Stoughton Authors: Ian Swift This textbook was used throughout the report as a guide and aid for analysing and evaluating various aspects of marketing. Compared with the other sources, it did not contain as much detail about aspects of marketing such as the four Ps of the marketing mix. However, I found the way it showed me how to analyse and evaluate conditions in marketing very useful. This source is reliable as Business Studies examiners have written it for A level students, so the information would be useful. In addition, it was a recommended book by Mr. McCool, which made it even more reliable and helpful! Type of secondary source: Business Handbook Title: The Complete A-Z Business Studies Handbook Company: Hodder ; Stoughton Authors: David Lines, Ian Marcousà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and Barry Martin This Business Studies dictionary was extremely useful for quick reference throughout the report. If there was a business term that I did not understand like market capitalisation, I could just flick to the appropriate page and find a definition and explanation of the term and sometimes, there were diagrams to make the explanations even more clearer. The source is reliable as it has been written by two A level examiners and a University Head and has been designed for students doing A levels, GNVQ and a degree level in Business Studies. Type of secondary source: Textbook Title: Advanced Business Company: Oxford Authors: Dan Moynihan and Brian Titley This was one of the main textbooks that were used in the completion of this report. The textbook was easy to use, because the information was easy to find as it is laid out in chapters and then sub-chapters. I found the key words boxes through the unit sections very useful as it helped me understand the information they provided. It also made me familiar amongst the terms and vocabulary associated with businesses. A feature that I found beneficial was that they provided some appropriate websites to visit at the end of each chapter in the units, which allowed me to carry out additional research and background reading. When I cross-referenced this book with the Business Studies Book by Carlo Raffo et al., I often found that this Oxford textbook was slightly vague on topics such as the aspects of the four Ps. It explained the theory well and concisely, but I found the approach of using diagrams to re-enforce what the theory explains by the Business Studies book by Carlo Raffo more appea ling. Then again, this source contained a lot of relevant information to the report, which was especially useful. This source is quite reliable since it is a school textbook specifically targeted at the AVCE course that is being studied and has only been published recently. It covers all the necessary units of the course and is written by examiners. Although at time, it can be simple and vague, it generally provided interesting and useful information. Type of secondary source: Textbook Title of book: Business Studies Company: CPL Authors: Dave Hall, Rob Jones and Carlo Raffo This textbook was extremely useful. It was very informative and there were lots of diagrams used to help illustrate the concepts, such as the one illustrating the different stages of market research. The information it provided was very detailed as it discussed the advantages, disadvantages, effects, and consequences of various aspects of business such as the different types of management styles that could be adopted. The main areas that were used from the book were information on: the four Ps, market research, the product life cycle and a table comparing advantages and disadvantages of different methods of promotion above the line. Most of the information was relevant to this unit, although the book was really aimed at AS/A Level students. I was able to understand the information they provided as they defined all the technical terms at the end of each unit and gave examples of what it meant through diagrams and case studies. This textbook was also strongly recommended by Mr. McCool and therefore shows that it must be a very good source of information. 3.0 INTRODUCTION TO NINTENDO AND GAMECUBE Nintendo is a Japanese video games company and is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than one billion video games worldwide, created such icons such as Mario and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend Of Zelda and Pokà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½mon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems, including Nintendo 64 and Game Boy the worlds best-selling video game system. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendos operations in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American households own a Nintendo game system. Nintendo Gamecube was originally unveiled at Tokyos Space World show back in August 2000 and now, 18 months later, Nintendos new home consoles is UK bound. Initially codenamed Project Dolphin, Gamecube is a games-only machine. It uses Nintendos own anti-piracy optical discs, while up to four people can plug in and play. But it does not end there. The console links up with Game Boy Advance has broadband capabilities and two console colours, purple and black, which will be available at launch. The infrastructure for online gaming is still in its early stages, but Gamecube is prepared. Underneath the console are two ports, one for a 56k Modem Adaptor and one for the faster Broadband Adapter. The main Gamecube controller will come in two different styles, depending on the colour of the machine that you buy. There will also be an additional controller thats half purple, half clear. But what makes Gamecubes controller different? Well for starters, theres a built in rumble pak allowing you to feel every bump and scrape. Nintendo has also added another analogue stick, so in Luigis Mansion for example, you can move with one stick and control Luigis torch with the other. Character and vehicle control will also be further enhanced thanks to the controllers two analogue shoulder buttons. Depending on how hard the buttons are pressed down, they will cause characters to move faster or slower. A new dimension in gaming will arrive alongside the Gamecube as Nintendos home console will also connect with Nintendos handheld, the Game Boy Advance. Using a special link up cable that slots into a Gamecube controller port and the top of the Game Boy Advance, youll be able to control games on your television using Nintendos portable games machine. Titles like Sonic Advance and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle will even allow you to swap data between the two machines. This means that you do not have to your TV and Gamecube to continue developing you characters and their skills. With Gamecube and Game Boy Advance you can do this on the move. The specifications of the console and the freedom of creativity it gives game designers when producing games for the console, has attracted many third-party developers. For example, THQ (who created WWF No Mercy for the Nintendo 64) have joined with Yukes (a Japanese based company that created the Smackdown! series on the Playstation) to produce Wrestlemania X8, a Gamecube exclusive; and Capcom, have been working on Resident Evil: Biohazard, also a Gamecube exclusive. (Sources used: the Nintendo site: www.nintendo.com, free Nintendo Gamecube leaflet from HMV and the May 2002 edition of the Nintendo Official Magazine) 4.0 AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING Some definitions of the term marketing often suggest that it is the same as advertising or selling. This is far from correct, as selling is, in fact, just one of many marketing functions. One definition from The Chartered Institute Of Marketing that has gained wide acceptance is the following: Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer requirements profitably. The definition places consumers at the centre of an organisations activities, which is what marketing is all about. Marketing should be seen as a business philosophy, as it is this philosophy that business organisations exist and prosper by satisfying customer demand. The above definition can also be illustrated in a diagram, as shown below: (An Ingredients Of Marketing Diagram from Page 1 Marketing: Everybodys Business, Second Edition by Dave Needham and Rob Dransfield)