For 2023, in this ad, you can't add Bud Light to the right of the bottle. I found this ad from the American Marketing Federation (AAF) in my teaching files. The ad goes back to 2001, and includes the line "Advertising. The way great brands get to be great brands."
Unfortunately, there is much more than advertising and in the real world, Bud and BudLight have stumbled. Under Planning and People in the 9P's of Marketing, a brand looking at segmentation can't be all things to everyone and everybody.
At the end of May, shares of Bud Light’s parent company are now down more than 20% in the past two months since the beer delivered "personalized" memorabilia and cans to transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Then the media uproar. KidRock shooting beer and the right-wing "woke" backlash. Not sure Budweiser is the "king." Not sure "king" is the right word to promote?
It will take more than advertising to bring their sales back. It will take many tool in the Nine P's toolkit.
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I am a senior Forensic Marketing Expert, Advertising expert, Advertising/Marketing consultant with Londre Marketing Consultants, LLC.
I created the 9P's of Marketing.
I own a copyright for the Nine P’s/9 P's of Marketing ©2007 concepts and Marketing practices, which augment the 1960's Marketing Mix (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) or the 4P’s by the American Marketing Association (AMA), Neil Borden and Jerome McCarthy in the study and practice of Marketing.
The Nine P's/9P's of Marketing help identify marketing problems in a number of strategic areas and help develop profitable marketing’s objectives, strategies, tactics and solutions. The 9P's are insightful. They were created for the digital age.
In Marketing, the "customer," or potential consumers should be the center of the universe or "king," but they are missing in the 4P's. I feel from my study and research that there needs to be more focus on the "Customer," or "People." "People" or market segments, which utilize demographics, geographics, psychographics, behavioral characteristics and technographics, are vital, learning components of the 9P's.
I consult and teach using these Marketing concepts and practices of the Nine P's/9P's of Marketing.
In the study and practice of Marketing, brand, advertising and marketing managers develop plans, strategies and tactics. The Nine P’s include these important concepts, practices and components:
- People (Segmentation and Targeting)
- Beer drinkers are not one segment and are not united.
- In my 9P's, I stress that firms need to look and analyze potential, new, existing and repeat customers and users.
- It's a special way at looking at diversity, if you review your gender, racial and other factors to your employees, customers, management, talent, board of directors, suppliers, partners, agencies, production and more.
- To understand your "People" or market segments, you will need to or may need to utilize many characteristics, including demographics (such as age, family size, family life cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, race, culture, generation, nationality, and social class), geographics, psychographics (buyers are on basis of psychological/personality traits, lifecycle, values), behavioral characteristics (needs and benefits, decision roles, user and usage-related variables, occasions, user status, usage rate buyer-readiness stage, loyalty status, attitude and multiple bases) and technographics (potential buyers may or may not have the software and computer skills. Think employees here too, which may be a vital component or components of the 9P's of Marketing.
- Look at your actual customers. Then once a target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target a market segment or market segments
- It’s easy to market toward demographics, but brands can’t connect with people unless they learn how they think. By developing mindset-based marketing strategies, brand decision-making can better resonate with these segments, targets and audiences to increase consumer loyalty.
- Brand managers need to look at at their customers and/or potential users. Do you understand your potential customer's purchase and usage touchpoints, their habits and how they engage with your brand? Competing for their attention?
- Place "consumers," "People" or "potential buyers" in the middle of a circle. Find information or data on them. Add the other components in the other nine P's.
- Post Covid 19 pandemic, I'm seeing "People" want an exceptional buying experience, which includes ethics and the company’s values. People are caring about convenience, comfort, ethics, and sustainability. Look at home delivery of meals and everything on Amazon and Walmart or Target.
- “People” or consumers prefer to buy “Products” from brands that share their values and “purpose-driven” movements.
- Targeting mindsets allows brands to connect with consumers on an emotional level, which positively affects brands’ bottom lines.
- Consumer and shopping data, plus first-party data can also help brands identify what people find valuable and important. You need to know where they live, how they work and play?
- "People" or targeting has almost always been left out of the traditional "Marketing Mix," almost every diagram includes the four P's with Product, Promotion, Place and Price.
- In Marketing, from my education, training, research and analysis plus testimony, there needs to be greater focus on the buyer, "customer," or "People," in both planning ad implementation.
- Product and Services
- For Bud the product line is suffering. In declining sales.
- Under the 9P's, it's the goods and service combination the firm offers to the target market, including variety of product mix, features, branding, designs, packaging, sizes, services, maintenance contracts, warranties and return policies.
- A product (service) is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need.
- Place (Distribution)
- Price:
- I’m finding that “People” or potential customers in my 9P’s, actual consumers are no longer buying “Products” and services based solely on “Price” and product quality.
- An IBM study found that Nearly six in 10 consumers ("People") surveyed are willing to change their buying habits to reduce environmental impact. They found that over 70% would pay a premium of 35%, on average, for brands and products that are sustainable and environmentally responsible.
- Planning
- Promotion:
- There are eight (8) major, strategic components or communication elements which are personal and non-personal communication activities.
- The activities that communicate the merits of the overall product include:
- Personal Selling/ Sales Force: Sales persons
- Listen more than you talk. People who listen more, learn more, plus helps you position your service/product/solution or offering.
- Advertising: There's an expression "It is only creative if the product or service sells." I wanted to add "It is only good media spending if it sells."
- Sales Promotion
- Collateral Materials
- Direct Marketing (also referred to as Action or Direct Response Advertising)
- Interactive/Internet/Web, Digital Media, Social Media:
- Events and Experiences
- Public Relations/PR
- With inflation at increasing higher levels, we are seeing brick and mortar retailers needing physical traffic to survive. Gas prices at record levels are keeping customers from driving more. One stop shopping is more important than ever.
- Partners
- Presentation:
- Passion
For more on ideas, concepts and Marketing solutions: Go to LondreMarketing.com and look under “Articles and Resources” and the 9P’s/Nine P’s ©2007. Specifically you will find them detailed at 9P’s/Nine P’s.
Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts: Go to Marketing Trivia with 54 stimulating questions and answers at Londre Marketing Consultants, LLC. Here to help. All the best.
