1. Understanding the Functions of Marketing and PR
Use this work book to help you explain the functions of marketing and public relations. You
should ensure you use additional examples to support your explanations.
Marketing
Explain what market research is, how it can be carried out and why it could be
important.
Market research is where you look into existing products that are currently available on
the market, as well as gathering information on the market as a whole. It can be
carried out by conducting primary research such as doing surveys and questionnaires.
It is hugely important because it allows you to get an idea of what other companies are
doing and how the consumers are interacting with them, be it in a positive or negative
way. This gives you insight into what sort of things may be good and what may not be
so good.
Explain market analysis. Why is it done and who could carry it out for you?
Market analysis is the process of looking into a current market and looking at things
such as the sales figures and revenue of a company or product that is involved in the
market which you are looking at, in order to see what kind of potential there is for that
market and how it behaves. It also can involve looking at things such as the size of the
market, expected trends and any big competitors that are to be found within the
market. This is essential so that a company knows how to plan what it needs to do
next in order to succeed. Market research companies or agencies could carry out this
sort of thing or if your company has a market research department then they would
carry this out.
Explain marketing strategy using examples.
Marketing strategy is essentially deciding how you are going to enter the market
successfully and what you are going to do to succeed. It can include thinking about
things such as your strengths and corporate goals. It can help you decide your
marketing objectives and how to achieve them. Different types of marketing strategy
include; market penetration, new product development, market development and
diversification. Market penetration is where a firm tries to sell more units to its existing
customers. New product development is the process a firm goes through of actively
creating new products in hope of gaining more sales. Market development is the
process of offering existing products to new customers. A way in which this is possible
is by expanding overseas. Diversification is where a firm offers new products to a new
audience. Diversification is risky but if successful it actually reduces the risk because it
is operating in two different markets so if one fails the other may allow the company to
succeed still.
2. Why is advertising so important to an organisation? Use examples to help you explain.
Advertising is extremely important; the reason for this is because depending on the
type of company or product which they are selling it is most likely that potential
customers come into contact with the product through the use of advertising. It is
essentially how you get your product out there; as someone can’t buy it if they don’t
know it exists. For example if you were selling a new football boot it would be a good
idea to place adverts for it on TV on sports related channels or at half-time of a match.
The reason for this is that your target audience is more likely to see it that if you put it
on after bingo or something.
What is brand promotion and what methods could you use to promote a brand?
Brand promotion is a marketing strategy that aims to increase customer loyalty, overall
company value, sales and product awareness. In order to promote a brand you could
make use of things such as celebrity endorsement. Celebrity endorsement is
essentially where you pay a celebrity to endorse a product or brand. The reason for
doing this is that it may cause some viewers to buy their product because the like the
celebrity that you have chosen, it may also be a form of expert endorsement, like
when they get dentists to endorse toothpaste, if for example it was a footballer
endorsing football boots then they could also been seen as an expert in this field.
PR
What are some of the key principles involved in managing the message?
Some of the key principles involved in managing the message are; to communicate early and
to communicate regularly, also to communicate as soon as possible e.g. what you know when
you know it. Do not be afraid to say “I don’t know” providing you follow that up with “...but I’ll
find out and get back to you as soon as I do.”, let everybody know what is happening, the
reason for it, and what they can do to help. Always reinforce what is staying the same as you
discuss what may be changing. Create multiple, targeted approaches to reach your various
audiences. Try to always communicate openly, honestly, and frequently as things continue to
change to ensure the best way of managing the message. Establish feedback mechanisms
from those affected by the changes, to those in leadership to inform your ongoing decisions.
Share with those concerned and/or affected about the early progress of your change efforts
and equally be sure to communicate your initial results. Ensure you make a conscious effort to
acknowledge and thank everyone who helped and contributed to your success, and finally,
continue to communicate well after the changes occur, and for as long as the transition
continues.
What is positive publicity? Find an example of it to help explain.
Positive publicity is good references and reviews, created and generated by the
media. A good example of positive publicity would be an article about a music album,
written by a magazine that promotes the album and speaks of it highly (publicises it
positively).
Positive publicity is a good and very welcome thing for a service or business, as it is a
good way to advertise positively.
3. In public relations terms, what is spin? Find an example to help you with your
response.
Spin is a sort of propaganda where an interpretation of something is provided in an
attempt to persuade public opinion either in favor or against something.
An example of spin would be if bad news were to be released late on a heavy news
day to reduce negative response. Chosen journalists may then be given information
exclusively to ensure a more positive slant.
Why might a person or a company engage in damage limitation? Using an example
will improve your grade.
A person or company may engage in damage limitation to minimise the amount of
damage that may occur if a mistake is made or another action which may cause
damage. Obviously it is in the company’s best interest to make sure there is as little
damage as possible in terms of their reputation. An example where damage limitation
may be applied is if a company make a mistake and then issue a statement
apologising and they may offer something back to the customers such as a discount in
order to encourage customers to continue using their products or services.
What benefit could there be to an organisation to create an event? Use an example of
a marketing or PR event to support your responses.
There is huge potential for an organisation to benefit from creating or hosting an event.
It allows potential customers and supporters to directly interact with the organisation
and it allows the organisation to control the environment so that they are shown in a
positive way. They have full control over everything because it is their event and they
are the centre of attention instead of just an aspect of it.
An example of an event would be if a record label hosted an event in a club or other
venue and had some of the artists featured on their label playing. This allows fans to
see artists that they like directly and is likely to make them more inclined to buy their
records.
What is lobbying and who is most likely to be influenced by it?
Lobbying is where an individual or organisation tries to influence another persons or
organisations opinion or outlook on something. It is generally a term used in politics to
describe an individuals or organisations attempt to influence the opinions of MP’s and
Lords. Anyone can lobby an MP or lord, such as individual members of the public,
local businesses, organised campaigners, commercial organisations etc. a lot of the
time the people lobbying are seeking for a Lord or MP to vote a certain way on a
specific subject, such as things regarding new laws and regulations.
