1. Understanding the principal methods and techniques used in marketing and public relationships
Marketing:
Whyis it important in marketing to understandingyour clientsand their requirements?
It is importanttofindoutyour clientsrequirements sothatyouknow how to market yourproduct.
Knowingasmuch aboutyour audience aspossiblegivesyouthe bestchance at targetingthem
properly. Youmaywant to findoutgeneral information aboutthem,liketheiraverage age, theirsocial
classgrade or where they mightlive. Thesefactorscangive youindications astohow much they
would be willingtopayfor yourproduct, who to aimyour advertisingatandwhere would be the best
place to sell yourproduct. You mayalsowant to findoutmore detailed information, likehow often
they mightbe interested inbuyingyourproduct, ormaybe otherproducts that they buy.
Whyis understandingthe market you are working in important? What techniquesandtools could
be usedto helpsomeone understandtheir market?
It is importanttohave an understandingof the marketsothat youcan identify whereyoumight
standagainstyour competitors, orfill agap. Fillingagap inthe marketcouldbe betterthanjoiningan
already full marketasyoudon’thave any competition, meaningthatyourconsumers don’thave an
alternative wayof obtainingyourproduct. Youcan alsoidentify normsinyourmarket, suchasdesign
style, oradvertisingstyle.
In orderto findoutabout the market, youmightlook at data put outby your competition. Youcould
alsolook intotheiradvertisements, the press thatthey’ve hadandtheirproducts. Youcouldalsofind
out some information onyourmarketthroughgovernmentdata.
What is a SWOT analysis?Why are theyare theya useful tool?
SWOT is aboutlookingatpotential strengths thatyouoryour business ideahasandhow thiswill
benefityou. The weaknesses of youoryour ideaandhow you can resolve these. The opportunitiesin
the market, such as a gap that youcouldpotentially fill withyourbusiness. It’salsoaboutlookingat
the threatsfrom competitors, andhow youwill tackle them. DoingaSWOTanalysis of yourbusiness
givesyouthe bestchance at success. Knowingandaddressingissues early onmeansthatitis less
likely thatthe issues will be detrimental tothe business.
What is audience profiling?Whatsort of informationmight be includedin an audience profile?
Audience profilingisaboutfindinginformation aboutyouraudience. Bylookingatkey information
such as age, genderandsocial classyou can findoutwhoyour average audience is. Differenttypesof
people needtobe targeted indifferentways, asthey act differently, andhave differentinterests.
Findingoutinformation onyouraudience, andstereotypingthem, allowsyoutothendevelop away
of marketingtailoredtothe type of audience thatyouhave.
Selecta magazine and findtheir audience profile:
2. Lookingat the mediapack forAnOthermagazine, theiraudience typically hasasocial classgrade of
ABC1. 49% of themare agesbetween 25-44, and 32% are over 45. 72% of these peopleare women.
The average income of theiraudience is£88,279. They say that 82% of theirreaders have a degree.
Lookingintothe more detailed information, theirtypical readerisn’tinterested incelebrity gossip, is
interested indesigninnovation andisconcerned withthe environment. They alsosaythat61% of
theirreaders shopindesignerboutiques more than3timesa month.
Explainin detail the 4 differentelementsof the marketing mix.
The 4 elements of marketingmix are product, price, place andpromotion. Youare lookingatthe
productyou are offering, how itlooksanditsfeatures, the price thatyourcustomers would be willing
to pay, how yourproduct isbeingpromoted, andwhere yourcustomers canbuyyourproduct.
Lookingat the type of audience youare aimingat,youcan assess whetherthese 4aspectsare suited
to youraudience. Perhaps anaudience thathasa higheraverage income wouldbe more willingto
spend more money onyourproduct. Also, peoplewhoshopmore frequently online thanthey doina
brickstore wouldbenefitmore fromavailable accesstoyourproductonline.
Selecta publication, product or audience and explainthe range of marketing materialsthat they
use.
VICEhave a wide range of marketingmaterials. They have several YouTube channels, they have VICE’s
mainchannel where they postavariety of contentsuch as interviews, anddocumentaries. They have
VICENews where they postnewsfromaround the worldonkeyevents. They alsohave VICESports,
where they postvideos onaverity of sports. VICE produce a physical magazine, andadigital versionof
theirmagazine withavariety of contentsuchas art, culture andnews. Vice alsohave arecord label.
Artistssuchas ActionBronson, and Justice are ontheirlabel. VICEare on a range of social media, such
as Facebook andTwitter. These are placeswhere themandtheirreaders/viewers cancommunicate
directly withthem.
Provide your own definitionof advertising.
Advertisingisaway in whicha company or organisation cancommunicate themselves, ortheir
productto theirtarget audience. Itisaboutconvincingthe targetaudience todoas the company/
organisation want, inordertobenefitthem. Advertisingcanbe done inmany differentways.
Traditionally ithasbeen done through TV, film, newspaperormagazine, thoughwiththe growthof
the digital world, alotof advertisingisgoingonthere now. Forexample before YouTubevideos, or
webbanners. PRstuntscouldbe calleda formof advertising. Thismeanstodosomethingforthe
purpose of gettinginthe news, inorderto draw attention toyour company/ organisation. Thismaybe
to raise awareness of somethingelse thatyourcompany/ organisation maybe doing.
What is the purpose of sponsorship?Support your answer with detailedexamples.
3. Sponsorship isarguably aform of advertising. Itisdone inorderto raise awareness of abrand.
Sponsorship isaboutshowingsupportfinancially of anevent, activity, person ororganisation. Bydoing
so, they show theirsupportback, andyour brandgets promoted. Thisalsomeansyougetto buildup
an association withsomethingelsethatyouraudience maybe interested in, andtherefore maythink
betterof your company.
Often, companies will sponsorTV channels orspecificTV shows. Thatcompany will paytohave a short
advertisementshowingtheirbrandname andmaybe a logoshownon theirchannel orbefore/ aftera
TV show. Anexample of thisisMentos sponsoringE4.The shows that they sponsorinclude, Virtually
Famous, Youngers, Rude Tube, Rude(ish) Tube, Troy andGlue.
What is the purpose of endorsements? Explaina range of differenttypesof endorsementsand use
examples.
Endorsements are done inorderto make a product seemappealingtotheiraudience. There are afew
differenttypes of endorsements.
Firstly there iscelebrity endorsement. Thismeansthatacelebrity willsupportthe brandbyusingthe
product, or beingfeatured intheiradvert. Companies will typically look forcelebrities thattheir
audience mightlike. Forexample, PeterAndre isfeaturedinthe Icelandadverts. They have chosen
himbecause he isa personthattheiraudience mightlike. A quote fromthe advertis“That’swhy
Petershopsat Iceland.”Thiscouldmake theiraudience wanttoshopthere, asthey mightaspire tobe
like him.
There are alsocaseswhere anexpert(orsomeone posingasanexpertforthe advert) will endorse a
product. Thisis done inthe hopes that theiraudience will trusttheiropinion, andthink thatthe
productis the bestone out there because someonewhoisanexpertinthe productrecommends it.
Thisis commonly done intoothpaste andtoothbrush adverts. They will getadentist(orsomeone
actingas a dentist) tosaythat they use the product andthat they recommend it.Forexample, the
Sensodyne toothpaste adverts.
Anothertype of endorsementisendorsementfromregularpeople. Thisisdone tomake their
audience feellikeif itsgoodenoughforthatperson thenthey should give ita go. A company will
chose a person to endorse theirproduct, basedonthe likelihood thattheiraudiencewillbe able to
relate tothat person. Theiraudience are more likely torespond welltosomeone thatthey canrelate
to, andmore thenmore likely topurchase the product.
Whycould holdingan eventbe a good marketingstrategy? What are some of the opportunitiesand
threats of holdingan event?
4. Holdinganeventcan be beneficialtoa business. Eventscanhelptoraise awareness of the brand,
helpingtoincrease the amountof customers, andthe amountof profit. Itcan alsohelpthe customers
to feel more involved withabrand. Thiscould make themmore loyal tothe brand, andso want to
purchase products inthe future.
Eventsare sometimes usedtopromote anew product. By holdinganeventupon the release of that
product, it couldmake people more excitedaboutit.If the eventgoeswellthenthismightencourage
people toattendfurthereventsformore productlaunches, andencourage themtopurchase more
products in the future.
New iPhone launches are alwaysmade tobe a big deal. There are alwayslarge crowds of people
queuingtogetone, and the staff all cheerto getthe crowdexcited. Thiscouldmake people feel more
involved andexcitedaboutAppleproducts overotherbrands.
Howeverthere are thingsthatcouldgo wrongwithholdinganevent. Dependingonthe type of event,
it can cost a company quite a bitof money toholdan event. If the company doesn’tmake enough
profitfromthe eventthey mayendup losingmoney, andmaybe unable todo an eventinthe future.
What is merchandising?Use detailedexamplestohelpexplain.
Merchandisinginvolves acompany developingfurtherproducts tosell thatpromote them. Thiscould
be clothingwiththe brandlogoon it, or toys would be easily recognised asbeingassociatedwiththe
brand.
For example amusician mightdevelop clothing, suchasT-shirts, thatfeature a recognisable designon
themor that has theirname onit. They mightsell these T-shirtsatlive shows, orontheirwebsite. By
developingproducts formultiple media, itgivesthe artistopportunity tomake more money. Fans
mightfeel more involved witthe artistbyhavinganitemof clothingthatdisplays theirdesign/ name.
Fans mightwantto buy a T-shirtfromthat artistso that they can display tootherpeople thatthey like
thisartist, whichmay leadothers tomake positive assumptions aboutthemandtheirotherlikesan
interests. Sometimes artistswill sell T-shirtsexclusively alongwithanalbum. Itmayencourage people
to buythe album, asthey will be gettingaT-shirtwithitthat wouldn'totherwisebe available.
For example, DeathGripshave arange of T-shirtswithrecognisable designsonthem. They have also
done an albumandT-shirtbundle forthe albumNoLove DeepWeb.
PublicRelations:
What is the purpose of a pressrelease?Whatsort of thingsshould a good press release contain?
5. I press release isoftenusedtopromote orgive information onsomethingnewsworthy thata
particularperson or groupare doing. They mightbe done to change peoples opinionof themor
maybe to encourage peopletobuysomething. Forexample apress release mightbe done inthe lead
up to an albumrelease oraise awareness of it, getfansexcitedaboutitandencourage themtobuyit
when itcomesout.
A goodpressrelease will containkey information suchaswho, what, when, where, why. Thisiskey
informationthatwill make the story cleartothe reader. The pressrelease will probably alsocontain
some background information suchasotherthingsthatperson/ grouphave done. There mayalsobe a
picture to go withthe story to illustrate theirpoint.
What is the purpose of an electronicmediapack? What sort of things shoulda good electronic
mediapack contain?
An electronicmediapackisan easy way to getinformation aboutapersonor groupout to many
differentpeoplewhocouldbe beneficial tothem, suchasjournalists. Itmightbe thatthe person/
grouphave done or are goingto do somethingnewsworthyandyouwantto promote itas soon as
possible. Bycreatingamediapackit meansthat youcan get outall of yourkey information toas many
journalistsquickly.
A mediapackshould include key information aboutthe person/ groupsuchas whothey are and what
they do. It shouldalsoinclude some information onsomethingnewsworthy thatthey have done or
that they are goingtodo.
What is the purpose of a PR briefing?Whyshouldyou create one?Explain some of the areas a brief
shouldcover.
PR briefings are very important to a business. Giving a PR briefing makes sure that everyone
knows what they are doing, and so everyone is on the same page.
A PR briefinghighlights whatthe planof actionisto getthe rightpublicity, andwhateveryone’s rolein
that is. You needeveryonetoknow where they standsothatsomeone makesanymistakes. Itcould
make the business look badif someone makesamistake anditgoespublic. People whodon’t
understand the PRstrategy couldendup sendingouta message thatyoudidn’twantyouraudience to
read.
What is the purpose of a pressconference? Whymight you holdone? Use specificexamplestohelp
you with your response.
Press conferences are held in order to give someone a way of speaking to the press and
public about their thoughts and plans. It gives the press the chance to ask lots of questions
to that person. Press conferences are often held with sports players, politicians or police
officers. It gives them the opportunity to share their thoughts on relevant matters such as
sports events, elections or criminal investigations. Celebrities might also be asked to hold a
press conference perhaps after a negative story about them has been published. This gives
the press the opportunity to get more information about them to publish, and gives the
celebrity the opportunity to clear their name.
Whycould hand-outs be useful whenmanaging a PR event?
6. Hand- outs are a good way of getting a message out to the media quickly. You might
include a media pack, or a press release in a hand out. A good hand out will highlight all of
the positives about the individual or company, and promote their plans and ideas.
A handout can allow someone more control overthe message thattheiraudience isreceivingfrom
the media. They can make sure that the only thingthat the journalistgetholdof ispositive
information thatwill benefitthemortheirbusiness. A handoutalsoenables people tofurtherthe
amountof promotion they are getting, meaningwiderspreadknowledgeof them.
What are some of the advantages of holdingan interviewinsteadof a press conference?
As an interview is just a one to one experience usually, that means that it is easier to
control the situation. At a press conference there are many, many journalists there to ask
questions. This makes it unlikely that you would be able to read any of the questions that
they might ask, and assess what you’re going to say, or be able to ask them to change any
of the questions. At a press conference they might ask questions that are designed to make
you look bad. With an interview, it is more likely that you would be able to see the
questions prior have so you would have more time to consider them.
Whydo people setup filmand picture opportunities? Use examplestohelp our response.
Film and pictures are good opportunities for promotions. It gets your face onto a variety of
media such as social media, magazine and newspaper, or even TV. This means a wide range
of people will see your picture or video. This is going to make you better known and
recognisable, and perhaps remind people of things that you are doing.
It isbestif the filmorpicture represents youinagood lightbyshowingyoudoingsomethinggood.
Thiswill meanpeople are more likely tohave apositive view of you. Forexample, if the CEOof a
company isrepresented inagoodlightinthe mediaand people take notice, thenitwould be more
likely forpeopletoseek outthe business anduse theirservices orbuytheirproducts, makingthe CEO
more money.
Whyare contacts and networkingimportant in marketingand PR? What kindsof contacts couldbe
useful?Provide detailsof a PR contact from at leastone organisation.
It is very important for a company or individual to have some marketing and PR contacts in
order to be able to control the message that is getting out to their target audience
effectively. Having contacts in marketing and PR will mean that you can ask them to release
some positive publicity about yourself to benefit you or your business. This will mean that
their target audience will see you in the media, and have a positive view of you and will
therefore be more likely to use your business.
Havinga contact in marketingorPR isalso goodfor promotion. Itiseasiertogeta promotion of
somethingyouoryour business isdoingif youhave acontact inthose fields. They will be able tomake
sure that your audience seeswhatyouoryourbusiness isdoing, ensuringyoumake aprofit. Itis also
cheaperto advertise yourselfthrough the media, ratherthanhavingtodesign anadvertfor
yourselves.