4.5 The 4 P’s (product, price, promotion, place)

Assessment Objectives
A product life cycle	AO4
The relationship between the product life cycle and the marketing mix	AO2
Extension strategies	AO3
The relationship between the product life cycle, investment, profit and cash flow	AO2

• Revision Presentation - Marketing & the Product Life Cycle

• The Apprentice and the Product Life Cycle

• Revision Quiz - Product Life Cycle

• Video Case Study - Product Life Cycle of the Standard Light Bulb

• Apple's iPod: is the end nigh?

Assessment Objectives
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix on an organisation’s products	AO3, AO4

• BCG's Growth-Share Matrix – take a quiz regarding the BCG Matrix.

Assessment Objectives
The importance of packaging	AO3

• Importance of Product Packaging in Marketing – the importance of packaging explained for small businesses.

• The importance of packaging – a brief article from the South African business community explaining the importance of packaging.

Assessment Objectives
The following aspects of branding: Brand awareness Brand development Brand loyalty Brand value	AO2
The importance of branding.	AO3

• What physics taught me about marketing – physics and marketing don't seem to have much in common, but Dan Cobley (marketing director at Google) is passionate about both. He brings these unlikely bedfellows together using Newton's second law, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the scientific method and the second law of thermodynamics to explain the fundamental theories of branding.

• Personal branding – A to Z of personal branding.

• Case studies – case studies on branding.

Assessment Objectives
The appropriateness of the following pricing strategies: Cost-plus (mark-up) Penetration Skimming Psychological Loss leader Price discrimination Competitive (predatory)

• Pricing Strategies – a brief description of pricing strategies.

• Pricing Strategy – more detail on pricing strategies and how it relates to the marketing mix and external environment, and organisational objectives.

• Pricing Strategies – a description of a number of pricing strategies with examples. Note that some go beyond the requirements of this course.

• What You Need to Know About Pricing – Entrepreneur magazine explains what you need to know about pricing as an entrepreneur.

Assessment Objectives
The importance of place in the marketing mix	AO2
The effectiveness of different types of distribution channels	AO3

• Expanding Distribution Channels by Thinking Outside the Box – SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel rethinks distribution.

• What Channels of Distribution Affect Marketing? – a brief article describing the channels of distribution (retail, wholesalers, distributors, and direct sales) that affect marketing.

• Selecting Distribution Channels

• Which Channel Would You Choose?

Assessment Objectives
The following aspects of promotion: Above the line promotion Below the line promotion Promotional mix	AO2
The impact of new technology on promotional strategies (such as viral marketing, social media marketing, social networking)	AO2
Guerrilla marketing and its effectiveness as an innovative promotional method	AO2

• Life lessons from an ad man – a TED talk by Rory Sutherland. Advertising adds value to a product by changing our perception, rather than the product itself. Rory Sutherland makes the daring assertion that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider “real” value – and his conclusion has interesting consequences for how we look at life.

• What is viral marketing – Seth Godin explains viral marketing.

• Guerrilla Marketing – Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of guerilla marketing, describes the term in his own words.