PR & Marketing

1. PR & Marketing • Prime facets of marketing The prime facets of marketing are made up of research, merchandising, advertising and sales promotion. Refer to page 44/45 of Handbook of Public Relations and review the six facets of marketing. • The role of Public Relations Marketing and Public Relations are the major exterior functions of a company. These two functions complement each other if you refer to the diagram on Market Mix on page 46 of Handbook of Public Relations. Public Relations must be a part of the campaign from the onset. There must be a constant liaison between Public Relations and marketing. • Market attitude and product publicity In building publicity, launching a product can be done through advertising, including direct mail, promotions and etc. Combining Public Relations in a co-ordinated exercise to ensure the desire impact and thereafter maintaining the publicity momentum. Public Relations can also use an advertising tease campaign as a hint to stimulate publicity.

2. Segmentation, positioning and the market mix According to Doyle (2002:62) the market consists of consumers and these consumers can be the segment of the market and targeting one or more of these segments require specialized offerings. A market segment is a customer group within a market that has special characteristics which are significant for marketing strategy. Perreault & McCarthy (1996:94) state that good segments meet the following criteria: o Homogeneous (similar) within – the customers in a market segment should be as similar as possible with respect to their likely responses to marketing mix variables and their segmenting dimensions. o Heterogeneous (different) between – the customers in different segments should be as different as possible with respect to their likely responses to marketing mix variables and their segmenting dimensions. o Substantial - the segment should be big enough to be profitable. It must be feasible. o Operational – the segmenting dimensions should be useful for identifying customers and deciding on marketing mix variables.

3. Marketing communication This area is or can become very expensive for marketing people. The cost of advertising is continually increasing and these advertisements reach the same target audience as the previous years by the use of the same media. pg 48 – 50 of handbook summarise the following: o Product launches o Sport sponsorships o Packaging, presentation, and product utility o Customer education o The non-advertised position o Relations between dealers and distributors dealers and distributors o Customer complaints o Employee attitude o Positioning

4. Integrated marketing communication The practice of integrated marketing communication is emerging as one of the most valuable tools companies can use to gain a competitive advantage. Advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, and Public Relations practitioners are finding common ground to meet the future challenges of selling to individual customers rather than marketers. The following lists what a successful marketing communication model requires: • Building a database of information on both customers and prospects. What are their demographics, psychographics, and purchase history with you? Are they loyal users of your brand? • Formulating a contact management policy. This will be communicated about the product or service and the conditions under which the communication will be delivered.

5. Developing a communication strategy. This involves in deciding how the message will be delivered, given the context (contact management) in which it will appear. • Setting marketing objects. These vary between brand-loyal customers and competitive users, but each can be measured and quantified. • Selecting the various techniques to achieve the established marketing and communication objectives. These include direct marketing, advertising, sales promotion, Public Relations, and sponsorships.

6. The impact of the internet The internet has changed the way marketing is conducted and it has also changed the face of Public Relations. This technology no doubt provides limitless opportunities such as removing geographical boundaries to provide us the global village. The following are the most commonly used, please refer to page 51-56 and what their roles are: o The World Wide Web (www) o Electronic mail (e-mail) o Newsgroups