Events MarketingWeek 3 – Marketing Mix, Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Today’s session

• Explore the basics of market research and its links to segmentation, targeting, positioning and overall marketing communication efforts

• Discuss the marketing mix for events

• Contextualise the concepts of segmentation, targeting and positioning within the events industry

• Discover how the Marketing Mix can be used in order to successfully target chosen audience(s)

Context for Marketing Communications

Research and Analysis

Marketing objectives

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Implementation, Evaluation and Adjustments

Market Research & Analysis

Links the organisation with the environment in which it operatesIn-house vs. Outsourced market researchPurpose and process of market research?

Specify the

problem

Gather relevant

data

Analyse & interpret

data

Facilitate decision making

Market Research Process

Problem definition

Research objectives

Planning the researchBrief & Plan (Data Collection)

Adapted from: Brassington & Pettitt (2006) Principles of Marketing, 4th Edition

Data Collection

Types of market research– Exploratory / Descriptive / Causal (Predictive)– Primary vs Secondary research

• Types of data– Qualitative vs. Quantitative

Sources of information – Internal vs. External sources– Sampling

Market Research Process

Problem definition

Research objectives

Planning the researchBrief & Plan (Data Collection)

Conducting the research

Analyse & Interpretinformation

Prepare & present report

Adapted from: Brassington & Pettitt (2006) Principles of Marketing, 4th Edition

Situation Analysis

• Focuses on external and internal environment and stakeholders

• PEST/LE, SWOT (what you did last week)

• Feeds into aligning the organisational market offering (product/service/event) to the needs of the stakeholders and corporate objectives

Marketing Mix

What is the marketing mix?

‘Understanding the nature of customers and their needs and wants is only the first step… The organisation needs to act on that information in order to develop and implement marketing activities that actually deliver something of value to the customer. The means by which such ideas are turned into reality is the marketing mix.’

Brassington and Pettitt (2003:27)

Marketing Mix

• Originally developed in the 1960s (Borden, 1964; McCarthy, 1964)

• Marketer as a ‘mixer of ingredients’

• ‘set of strategies on the supply-side’ that meets ‘a set of needs on the demand-side’ (Rosenbloom and Dimitrova, 2011)

The ‘original’ Marketing MixPrice: • Costs• Profitability• Value for money• Competitiveness • Incentives

Product: • New product development• Product management• Product features/benefits• Branding• Packaging • After-sales service

Place: • Access to target market• Channel structure• Channel management• Retailer image• Logistics

Promotion • Developing promo mixes• Advertising mgmt• Sales promotion mgmt• Sales mgmt• Public relations mgmt• Direct marketing

Source: Brassington & Pettitt (20014:27)

Four Ps

• Static concept

• Marketing is a dynamic process, which needs an alternative conceptualisation of core elements

• 4Ps do not always adequately reflect the nature of a company’s market offering particularly in the service/events sector

Extensions of the Marketing Mix

4Ps (McCarthy, 1964)

5Ps (Judd, 1987)

6Ps (Kotler, 1984)

7Ps (Booms and Bitner, 1981)

15Ps (Baumgartner, 1991)

ProductPricePlacePromotion

ProductPricePlacePromotionPeople

ProductPricePlacePromotionPolitical powerPublic opinion formation

ProductPrice PlacePromotionPeopleProcessPhysical evidence

Product/servicePricePlacePromotionPeoplePoliticsPublic relationsProbePartitionPrioritizePositionProfitPlanPerformancePositive implementations

Source: Gummeson (1994)

Marketing Mix for Events/Experiences

4Ps (O’Sullivan and Spangler, 1998)

9Ps (Getz, 2005)

10Ps (Allen et al, 2005)

4Ps (Raj, Walters and Rashid, 2009)

8Ps (Bowdin et al, 2011)

Parameters of the event experiencePeoplePeripheralsPer-info-com

ProductPricePlacePromotionsPeopleProgrammingPackaging and distributionPartnershipsPositioning and branding

Product experiencePricePlacePromotionPeopleProgrammingPackagingPartnershipsPhysical settingProcesses

ProductPricePlacePromotion

Product experienceProgrammingPackagingPricePlacePromotionPeoplePartnerships

Product

Promotion

Price

Place

Core/tangible/augmented/potential

Costs – time/psychic/physical/sensory

Product experienceProgrammingPackagingPeople and Partnerships

Integrated Marketing Communications

Free entry, donation or ticket?

Physical settingProcesses

Market Segmentation in Events

• What is the purpose of market segmentation?

• How many customers can you identify with any particular event?

• What is the basis of segmentation?

• Twofold application: – Conceptualizing and launching a new event– Promoting an existing event

Market SegmentationWe are all different but have some needs in common:biological needs - food, shelter etc.acquired needs - shaped by culture, education and our experiences

These commonalities = market segments

Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics

Schiffman et al. (2012:6)

Schiffman L, Kanuk L & Hansen H. (2012) Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook. Pearson, Harlow

• B2B vs B2C segmentation• Segmentation criteria:

– Geographic/Demographic/Geo-demographic

– Psychological/Psychographic– Sociocultural

Approaches to market segmentation 1

Approaches to market segmentation 2BenefitHybrid – Values Attitudes Lifestyles (VALS)http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/Primary vs Secondary vs Tertiary segments

Use related/ Usage – situation

Segment name Segment characteristic Marketing action

LoLows Low current share, low consumption customers StarveHiLows High current share, low consumption customers TickleLowHighs Low current share, high consumption customers ChaseHiHighs High current share, high consumption customers Stroke

Segmenting consumer markets

• Why do people attend events? – Excitement & thrills, socialization, entertainment, event

novelty, family togetherness (Formica & Uysal, 1996)– Cultural exploration, novelty/regression, recover equilibrium,

known group socialization, external interaction/socialization, gregariousness (Crompton & McKay, 1997)

– Local culture/identity, excitement/novelty seeking, party, local attractions, socialization, known-group socialization, ancillary activities, desire to see artists perform (Faulkner, 1999)

– External interaction/socialization, novelty/uniqueness, variety, entertainment/excitement, escape, family (Nicholson and Pearce, 2001)

Segmenting business markets

Criteria: – Industry (sub)sector (e.g. pharmaceuticals, fashion, film,

etc.)

– Company size and scale of operations (multinationals, large national companies, SMEs) or annual turnover

– Geographical location (e.g. companies within London, South-East, Europe, EMEA, etc.)

– Attractiveness of products/services offered by the company (basic goods vs luxury goods, etc.)

– Reputation

Segmenting media markets

Criteria:

– B2B vs B2C

– Publication/channel profile (print, digital, outdoor,…)

– Circulation numbers (how many people can they reach)

– Profile of their target audiences

– Speed/frequency at which the message can reach audiences (e.g. daily, monthly, weekly, etc)

Some examples

What criteria would you use to segment the market for the following events:

– One-day conference on digital marketing– A local secondary schools sporting competition– Product launch of the new luxury car

What type of event would appeal to: – Professional, pregnant, single women in their early 30s– Middle-aged, divorced, professional men in their 50s with a very

strong interest in “all things male”– Young couples (late 20s–early 30s) with small children– Extreme sports enthusiasts – male and female – Elderly couples approaching retirement

5 W’s

• Five Ws of Marketing– The basis of the marketing message

• Why? – links to motivation, needs & satisfaction• Who? – links to segmentation• When? – links to seasonality• Where? – links to distribution• What? – links to product/Event Experience

Positioning 1

What is the basis of positioning?

1) Knowing the target audience’s needs, attitudes and preferences

2) Effective design of the Marketing Mix (4Ps, 7Ps, 8Ps, 9Ps, 12Ps...) to address these

3) Efficient use of resources in promotion

Positioning 2The way in which the event is defined by consumers, or the “place it occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing products” - PERCEPTIONMarket share vs mind-share vs heart-sharePositioning can be done:

– Based on specific product/service attributes– Against an existing competitor

When positioning an event consider

LocationAttention spanCompetitor pricesProgramme (content)

Competitive advantage

Positioning 3 - focus

Market Focused

Fully focused

(Service and Market

focused)

Unfocussed (everything

for everyone)

Service focused

Numbers of Markets served

Many

NarrowWide

Few

Breadth of service offerings

Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011:84

https://www.c-h-w.com/future-old/event-2015-registration/

http://www.international-confex.com/page.cfm/link=1

Positioning 4

Criteria for positioning in the events industry:

– Existing reputation (e.g. Olympic Games)– Charisma of the event director (e.g. Duncan Reid)– Focus on event programming (e.g. Trafalgar Square

Festival)– Focus on performers and “theatre”– Emphasis on location or facilities (e.g. Wimbledon)– Price or quality (e.g. The Three Tenors)– The event category or product class– Multiple attributes (a combination of any of the above)

Positioning 5 - maps Serious runners

Less expensive

Expensive

Fun runners

Virgin Money London Marathon (£35)

BMW Berlin Marathon (98 Euros)

Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011:94-99

New York Marathon (£229)

Edinburgh (£54)

Targeting Strategies

• What does targeting mean?• What is the purpose of targeting?

Undifferentiated (mass) marketing

Differentiated (segmented) marketing

Concentrated (niche) marketing

Micromarketing (local/individual) marketing

Summary

1. Events face active competition2. To succeed marketers need to develop value

propositions that stake a defensible position against competitors

3. Events when considered as services offer a number of possibilities for competitive differentiation e.g. location, luxury/exclusiveness, scheduling, calibre of personnel/guests and options for customer involvement.

4. Most Events will pursue a focus strategy

Useful Resources

Market research, Segmentation, Targeting & PositioningMasterman and Wood (2006)

– Chapters 2 & 3Brassington and Pettitt (2004)

– Chapters 5, 6 & 20 (pp 840-865)O’Sullivan, E.L. and Spangler, K.J. 1999. Experience Marketing: Strategies for the New Millenium, Spon PressRosenbloom, B. and Dimitrova, B. (2011) The Marketing Mix Paradigm and the Dixonian Systems Perspective of Marketing, Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 3 (1), pp. 53-66• Thompson, K. and Schofield, P. (2009) Segmenting and Profiling

Visitors to the Ulaanbaatar Naadam Festival by Motivation, Event Management, Vol.13, pp. 1-15