Megamarketing concepts

2. DEFINITION
Management activity that involves (in addition to the typical marketing activities) other elements of a firm's
external environment such as government, media, and pressure groups.
The PUBLIC RELATIONS element of Mega marketing
focuses primarily on businesses familiarizing themselves
with the surrounding community, prior to actually
entering a desired market.
The POWER element of Mega marketing examines the
means by which marketers go about incentivizing third
parties, such as government organizations, in order to
circumvent entry barriers.

3. CONCEPTS
• Markets characterized by high entry barriers can be called Blocked
or Protected Markets.
• Megamarketing takes an enlarged view of skills and resources
needed to enter and operate in certain markets.
• Megamarketing is strategically coordinated application of
economic , psychological, political, and public relations skills to gain
the cooperation of a number of parties in order to enter and/or
operate in a given market.
• In Blocked markets, the established Participants or approvers have made it difficult for
companies with similar or better marketing offers to enter or operate.
• Megamarketing is directed not at the primary customers, but at the third parties that impact
customers’ perceptions and ability to buy a company’s products. These include politicians, civil
servants, regulatory agencies, special interest groups, national media, and opinion leaders.
• In a potential market, there are some groups opposed to a business, some which support it,
and many other which are uninterested. The megamarketing campaign aims to appease or
persuade the opposition, rally supporters, and turn uninterested but potential supporters into
allies.

4. CHALLENGES
As Markets mature, Markets acquire fixed set of :
Suppliers, Competitors, Distributors & Competitors
Are supported by : Government Regulatory Agencies, Labor Unions, Banks , NGOs and
other bodies
May erect : Taxes, Tariffs, Quotas and Compliance requirements.
Barrier may also include : Discriminatory legal requirements, political favoritism, cartel
agreements, social or cultural biases, unfriendly distribution channels and refusals to
cooperate.
There are also :
•protectionist tariffs
•government regulations designed to favor incumbent businesses against new ones
•additional regulations that limit the number of options acceptable to both buyers and
sellers
•non-party groups (such as reform organizations and activist groups) that reject the new
business
•popular lack of understanding of benefits to potential buyers

5. DEVELOPMENT OF CAMPAIGN
• Lobbyists are specialists at representing a
company’s interests to the appropriate
government officials and agencies that affect
that company’s business.
• Public relations refer to marketing that seeks
to change the perceptions and opinions of the
larger public.
• Relationships with government agencies can
be especially profitable in highly regulated
areas, as it may enable companies to partner
with agencies in the development, testing, and
implementation of new regulations.
• Inducements and/or bribes. In countries with
corrupt governments, market access may
require both initial and ongoing bribes, which
must be factored into the cost of doing
business there.
• Political industry alliances can increase the
overall power of a group of companies in order
to open markets (or keep them closed for their
protection); the benefits of this activity will be
divided among all participants.
• Political contributions significantly impact
politicians’ decisions, but also carry some risk
of backlash from a public that decries their use
in politics.

6. ENTERING THE MARKET
PepsiCo represents a textbook example of megamarketing in India (a market Coca-Cola had been pushed
out of in 1977). In the 1980s Pepsi began a campaign directed at multiple levels of the Indian government,
which had a variety of regulations and outright barriers that blocked made it difficult for foreign companies to
enter or invest in the Indian market. Their first proposal to India involved facilitating the export of Indian
drinks in exchange for the right to import Pepsi. After this was rejected in 1985, PepsiCo offered additional
incentives to promote India’s economic growth. After three years of campaigning (including some 20
Parliamentary debates, 15 committee reviews, and 5,000 articles in the press), they finally obtained access to
the Indian market.
PepsiCo’s megamarketing efforts did not there, however. In 1990, it actually lobbied for India against
proposed trade restrictions in the United States. The U.S. backed off, and PepsiCo gained further goodwill
with the Indian government. The company also continued to invest in establishing wells and other clean-
water drinking sources throughout India.
However, the Indian government did not represent the only barrier to success. Just as recently as 2010, a
political activist began a campaign attacking PepsiCo, claiming that the company served Indians poisoned
drinks that they would never sell in other countries. Megamarketing efforts continue—involving now not only
the government, but the Indian media and opinion leaders—in an effort to counter such attacks.

7. MARKETING v/s MEGA MARKETING
MARKETING MEGAMARKETING
Marketing Objective To satisfy customer demand To gain market access in order to
satisfy customer demand or to
create or alter customer demand
Parties involved Customers, Distributors, Dealers,
Suppliers, Marketing firms , Banks
Normal parties + Legislators,
Government Agencies, Labor
Unions, Reform groups, General
public
Marketing tools Market Research, Product
Development, Pricing, Distribution
Planning, Promotion
Normal tools + use of Power and PR
Type of Inducement Positive and Official inducements Positive Inducements (Official +
Unofficial) and Negative
Inducements ( Threats)
Time frame Short Much longer
Investment Cost Low Much higher
Personnel involved Marketers Marketers + Company officers,
lawyers, PR and public affairs staff

8. Soumya Singh
Roll No. – 55
Sec- B