PROJECT REPORT ON

MARKETING STRATEGY OF PARLE COMPANY

In the partial fulfillment for

Bachelors of Management Studies (BMS)

SUBMITTED BY

VIRENDRA SINGH

Roll No :- 75

TYBMS Semester V (2016-17)

SUBMITTED TO
UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Prof. Mrs. BINU MENON

LORDS UNIVERSAL COLLEGE,

TOPIWALA MARG, GOREGAON(W).MUMBAI

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 Executive summary

The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing products. The marketing mix is often
synonymous with the 'four Ps': 'price', 'promotion', 'product', and 'place'. However, in recent
times, the 'four Ps' have been expanded to the 'seven Ps' with the addition of 'process',
'physical evidence' and 'people'. The term "marketing mix" was coined in 1953 by Neil Borden
in his American Marketing Association presidential address. However, this was actually a
reformulation of an earlier idea by his associate, James Culliton, who in 1948 described the
role of the marketing manager as a "mixer of ingredients", who sometimes follows recipes
prepared by others, sometimes prepares his own recipe as he goes along, sometimes adapts
a recipe from immediately available ingredients, and at other times invents new ingredients
no one else has tried.

The term became popular in the article written by Neil Borden called “The Concept of the
Marketing Mix.” He started teaching the term after he learned about it with an associate.

The prominent marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a Four P classification in 1960,

which has since been widely used by marketers throughout the world.

MARKETING STRATEGY

1.1) INTRODUCTION

The marketing mix is a part of marketing strategy and probably the most famous
marketing term. Its elements are the basic, tactical components of a marketing plan. Also
known as the Four P's, the marketing mix elements are price, place, product, promotion,
people, process and physical evidence. The concept is simple. Think about
another common mix - a cake mix. All cakes contain eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. However,

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you can alter the final cake by altering the amounts of mix elements contained in it. So for a
sweet cake add more sugar!

It is the same with the marketing mix. The offer you make to you customer can be
altered by varying the mix elements. So for a high profile brand, increase the focus on
promotion and desensitize the weight given to price. Another way to think about the
marketing mix is to use the image of an artist's palette. The marketer mixes the prime colours
(mix elements) in different quantities to deliver a particular final colour. Every hand painted
picture is original in some way, as is every marketing mix.

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 Some commentators will increase the marketing mix to the Five P's, to include
people. Others will increase the mix to Seven P's, to include physical evidence (such as
uniforms, facilities, or livery) and process (i.e. the whole customer experience e.g. a visit the
Disney World). The term was coined by Neil H. Borden in his article The Concept of the
Marketing Mix in 1965.

1.2) HISTORY

The marketing strategy is generally accepted as the use and specification of the
Seven Ps describing the strategic position of a product in the marketplace. One version of the
origins of the marketing strategy starts in 1948 when James Culliton said that a marketing
decision should be a result of something similar to a recipe. This version continued in 1953
when Neil Borden, in his American Marketing Association presidential address, took the
recipe idea one step further and coined the term 'Marketing-Mix'. A prominent marketer, E.

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Jerome McCarthy, proposed a 4 P classification in 1960, which would see wide popularity.
The four Ps concepts are explained in most marketing textbooks and classes.

1.3) SCOPE OF MARKETING STRATEGY.

Marketing strategy is typically seen as the task of creating promoting and delivering
goods and services to consumers and businesses .marketing involved in 6 types of marketing
and they are:
1. Goods
Physically goods constitute the bulk of most countries “production and marketing effort.
Each year Us companies alone market billions of canned and frozen foods products and
various other main stays of a modern economy. Not only companies market there product but
it can be marketed through internet also

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2. Services

As economies advance a growing proportion of their activities is focused on production of

service. Service includes the work of airlines hotels barbers and repair people .at the pure
service end would be listening to a patient or a quarter performing at another level it would be
telephone cal. It is supported by a huge investment by both product and a service.

3. Experience

By orchestrating several service and goods it can create a stage and market experience.
There is also a market for customized such as spending a week at a basketball camp with
retired basketball greats for a few minutes and climbing Mount Everest.

4. Events

Marketers promote time base events such as Olympics company anniversaries major
trade shows sports events. There is whole professional of meeting planners who work out the
Details of the events and make sure it comes out properly

5. Persons

Celebrity marketing is a major business. Today every major film has an agent, a
personal manager and ties to public relation agency. People like Madonna and late Andy
Warhol have done a masterful job of marketing themselves. Management consultant tom
peter himself a master at self branding has advised each person to become a brand

6. Information

Information can be produced and marketed as a product. This is essentially what

schools and universities produce and distributes at a price to parents, students and
communities. The production packaging and distribution of information is one our society
major industries

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 1.4) MARKET DOMINANACE IN MARKETING STRATEGY.

Market dominance is a measure of the strength of a brand, product, service, or

firm, relative to competitive offerings. There is often a geographic element to the competitive
landscape. In defining market dominance, you must see to what extent a product, brand, or
firm controls a product category in a given geographic area. There are several ways of
calculating market dominance. The most direct is Market share. This is the percentage of the
total market serviced by a firm or brand. A declining scale of market shares is common in
most industries: that is, if the industry leader has say 50% share, the next largest might have
25% share, the next 12% share, the next 6% share, and all remaining firms combined might
have 7% share.

Market share is not a perfect proxy of market dominance. The influences of customers,
suppliers, competitors in related industries, and government regulations must be taken into
account. Although there are no hard and fast rules governing the relationship between market
share and market dominance, the following are general criteria:

 A company, brand, product, or service that has a combined market share exceeding
60% most probably has market power and market dominance.
 A market share of over 35% but less than 60%, held by one brand, product or service,
is an indicator of market strength but not necessarily dominance.
 A market share of less than 35%, held by one brand, product or service, is not an
indicator of strength or dominance and will not raise anti-combines concerns of
government regulators.

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 Market shares within an industry might not exhibit a declining scale. There could be
only two firms in a duopolistic market, each with 50% share; or there could be three firms in
the industry each with 33% share; or 100 firms each with 1% share. The concentration ratio
of an industry is used as an indicator of the relative size of leading firms in relation to the
industry as a whole. One commonly used concentration ratio is the four-firm concentration
ratio, which consists of the combined market share of the four largest firms, as a percentage,
in the total industry. The higher the concentration ratio, the greater the market power of the
leading firms

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 1.5) INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING MIX

INTRODUCTION

The basic task of marketing is the delivery of the products to the consumer so that
their needs are fulfilled and the organizational objectives are also achieved. This involve
several important decision, e.g. Deciding about the product or products which should be
offered sale, price of the product, market where product may sell and the means of
communication with the consumer for the sale of the product. All these decisions form part of
marketing-mix.

Marketing mix describes the specific combination of marketing elements used to

achieve organizational objectives and satisfy the target market. It is customary to accept that
marketing mix is made up of seven P’s

 Product
 Price

 Promotion

 Place

 People

 Physical evidence

 Process

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 DEFINITION OF MARKETING MIX

The marketing mix approach is one model of crafting and implementing marketing
strategies. It recognizes that marketers have essentially four variables to use when crafting a
marketing strategy and writing a marketing plan. They are price, promotion, product, place,
people, physical evidence, and process. They are sometimes referred to as the seven p's.

A marketing mix is a combining of these seven variables in a way that will meet or
exceed organizational objectives. A separate marketing mix is usually crafted for each
product offering. When constructing the mix, marketers must always be thinking of who their
target market is. Mix coherency refers to how well the components of the mix blend together.
A strategy of selling expensive luxury products in discount stores has poor coherency
between distribution and product offering.

In the long term, all seven of the mix variables can be changed, but in the short term it
is difficult to modify the product or the distribution channel. Therefore in the short term,
marketers are limited to working with only half their tool kit. This limitation underscores the
importance of long term strategic planning.
C. Jones_Ph.D.

The term marketing mix refers to the primary elements that must be attended to in
order to properly market a product. Also known as The 7 Ps of Marketing, the marketing mix
is a very useful, if a bit general, guideline for understanding the fundamentals of what makes
a good marketing campaign.

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 1.6) 7 P’S OF MARKETING MIX

PRICE

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There are many ways to price a product. Let's have a look at some of them and try to
understand the best policy/strategy in various situations.

PLACE

Another element of Neil H.Borden's Marketing Mix is Place. Place is also known as channel,
distribution, or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods and/or services are
moved from the manufacturer/ service provider to the user or consumer

PRODUCT

For many a product is simply the tangible, physical entity that they may be buying or
selling. You buy a new car and that's the product - simple! Or maybe not. When you buy a
car, is the product more complex than you first thought? The Three Levels of a Product . . .

A. The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is based upon the biological life cycle. For example, a
seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it shoots out leaves and
puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity); after a long period as an adult the
plant begins to shrink and die out (decline).
B. The Customer Life Cycle (CLC) has obvious similarities with the Product Life Cycle
(PLC). However, CLC focuses upon the creation of and delivery of lifetime value to the
customer i.e. looks at the products or services that customers NEED throughout their
lives

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PROMOTION

Another one of the 4P's is promotion. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer
for 'marketing communication'. As with Neil H.Borden's marketing mix, marketing
communications has its own 'promotions mix.' Think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients
are always the same. However if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final
outcome is different.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.

Physical Evidence is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no physical
attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues. There are many
examples of physical evidence, including some of the following:

PEOPLE.

People are the most important element of any service or experience. Services tend to be
produced and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the customer experience are
altered to meet the 'individual needs' of the person consuming it.

PROCESS.

Process is another element of the extended marketing mix, or 7P's.There are a number of
perceptions of the concept of process within the business and marketing literature. Some see
processes as a means to achieve an outcome, for example - to achieve a 30% market share
a company implements a marketing planning process.

1.7) STRATEGIES OF MARKETING MIX

A) Pricing Strategies.

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 There are many ways to price a product. Let's have a look at some of them and try
to understand the best policy/strategy in various situations. See also marketing Price.

Premium Pricing.

Use a high price where there is uniqueness about the product or service. This
approach is used where a substantial competitive advantage exists. Such high prices are
charge for luxuries such as Canard Cruises, Savoy Hotel rooms, and Concorde flights.

Penetration Pricing.

The price charged for products and services is set artificially low in order to gain
market share. Once this is achieved, the price is increased. This approach was used by
France Telecom and Sky TV.

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Economy Pricing.

This is a no frills low price. The cost of marketing and manufacture are kept at a
minimum. Supermarkets often have economy brands for soups, spaghetti, etc.

Price Skimming.

Charge a high price because you have a substantial competitive advantage. However,
the advantage is not sustainable. The high price tends to attract new competitors into the
market, and the price inevitably falls due to increased supply. Manufacturers of digital
watches used a skimming approach in the 1970s. Once other manufacturers were tempted
into the market and the watches were produced at a lower unit cost, other marketing
strategies and pricing approaches are implemented.

Premium pricing, penetration pricing, economy pricing, and price skimming are the
four main pricing policies/strategies. They form the bases for the exercise. However there are
other important approaches to pricing.

Psychological Pricing.

This approach is used when the marketer wants the consumer to respond on an
emotional, rather than rational basis. For example 'price point perspective' 99 cents not one
dollar.

Product Line Pricing.

Where there is a range of product or services the pricing reflect the benefits of parts of
the range. For example car washes. Basic wash could be $2, wash and wax $4, and the
whole package $6.

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Optional Product Pricing.

Companies will attempt to increase the amount customer spend once they start to buy.
Optional 'extras' increase the overall price of the product or service. For example airlines will
charge for optional extras such as guaranteeing a window seat or reserving a row of seats
next to each other.

Captive Product Pricing

Where products have complements, companies will charge a premium price where the
consumer is captured. For example a razor manufacturer will charge a low price and recoup
its margin (and more) from the sale of the only design of blades which fit the razor.

Product Bundle Pricing.

Here sellers combine several products in the same package. This also serves to move
old stock. Videos and CDs are often sold using the bundle approach.

Promotional Pricing.

Pricing to promote a product is a very common application. There are many examples
of promotional pricing including approaches such as BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free).

Geographical Pricing.

Geographical pricing is evident where there are variations in price in different parts of
the world. For example rarity value, or where shipping costs increase price.

Value Pricing.

This approach is used where external factors such as recession or increased

competition force companies to provide 'value' products and services to retain sales e.g.
value meals at McDonalds.

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 B) Place strategy

Place, distribution, channel, or intermediary.

A channel of distribution comprises a set of institutions which perform all of the

activities utilized to move a product and its title from production to consumption.

Bucklin - Theory of Distribution Channel Structure (1966)

Another element of Neil H.Borden's Marketing Mix is Place. Place is also known as channel,
distribution, or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods and/or services are
moved from the manufacturer/ service provider to the user or consumer.

There are six basic 'channel' decisions:

 Do we use direct or indirect channels? (e.g. 'direct' to a consumer, 'indirect' via a

wholesaler).
 Single or multiple channels.
 Cumulative length of the multiple channels.
 Types of intermediary (see later).
 Number of intermediaries at each level (e.g. how many retailers in Southern Spain).

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  Which companies as intermediaries to avoid 'intrachannel conflict' (i.e. infighting
between local distributors).

Selection Consideration - how do we decide upon a distributor?

 Market segment - the distributor must be familiar with your target consumer and
segment.
 Changes during the product life cycle - different channels can be exploited at different
points in the PLC e.g. Foldaway scooters are now available everywhere. Once they
were sold via a few specific stores.
 Producer - distributor fit - Is there a match between their polices, strategies, image,
and yours? Look for 'synergy'.
 Qualification assessment - establishes the experience and track record of your
intermediary.
 How much training and support will your distributor require?

Types of Channel Intermediaries.

There are many types of intermediaries such as wholesalers, agents, retailers, the Internet,
overseas distributors, direct marketing (from manufacturer to user without an intermediary),
and many others. The main modes of distribution will be looked at in more detail

1. Channel Intermediaries - Wholesalers

 They break down 'bulk' into smaller packages for resale by a retailer.

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  They buy from producers and resell to retailers. They take ownership or 'title' to goods
whereas agents do not (see below).
 They provide storage facilities. For example, cheese manufacturers seldom wait for
their product to mature. They sell on to a wholesaler that will store it and eventually
resell to a retailer.
 Wholesalers offer reduce the physical contact cost between the producer and
consumer e.g. customer service costs, or sales force costs.
 A wholesaler will often take on the some of the marketing responsibilities. Many
produce their own brochures and use their own telesales operations.

2. Channel Intermediaries - Agents

 Agents are mainly used in international markets.

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  An agent will typically secure an order for a producer and will take a commission. They
do not tend to take title to the goods. This means that capital is not tied up in goods.
However, a 'stockiest agent' will hold consignment stock (i.e. will store the stock, but
the title will remain with the producer. This approach is used where goods need to get
into a market soon after the order is placed e.g. foodstuffs).
 Agents can be very expensive to train. They are difficult to keep control of due to the
physical distances involved. They are difficult to motivate.

3. Channel Intermediaries - Retailers

 Retailers will have a much stronger personal relationship with the consumer.
 The retailer will hold several other brands and products. A consumer will expect to be
exposed to many products.
 Retailers will often offer credit to the customer e.g. electrical wholesalers, or travel
agents.
 Products and services are promoted and merchandised by the retailer.
 The retailer will give the final selling price to the product.
 Retailers often have a strong 'brand' themselves e.g. Ross and Wall-Mart in the USA,
and Alisuper, Modelo, and Jumbo in Portugal.

4. Channel Intermediaries - Internet

 The Internet has a geographically disperse market.

 The main benefit of the Internet is that niche products reach a wider audience e.g.
Scottish Salmon direct from an Inverness fishery.
 There are low barriers low barriers to entry as set up costs are low.
 Use e-commerce technology (for payment, shopping software, etc)

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 C) Product strategy

The Customer Life Cycle (CLC) and CRM.

The Customer Life Cycle (CLC) has obvious similarities with the Product
Life Cycle (PLC). However, CLC focuses upon the creation of and delivery of lifetime value
to the customer i.e. looks at the products or services that customers NEED throughout their
lives. It is marketing orientated rather than product orientated, and embodies the marketing
concept. Essentially, CLC is a summary of the key stages in a customer's relationship with an
organization. The problem here is that every organization’s product offering is different, which
makes it impossible to draw out a single Life Cycle that is the same for every organization.

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 Let's consider an example from the Banking sector. HSBC has a number of products
that it aims at its customers throughout their lifetime relationship with the company. Here we
apply a CLC. You can start young when you want to save money. 11-15 year olds are
targeted with the live cash Account, and 16-17 year olds with the Right Track Account. Then
when (or if) you begin College or University there are Student Loans, and when you qualify
there are Recent Graduate Accounts.

When you begin work there are many types of current and savings account, and you
may wish to buy property, and so take out a mortgage. You could take out a car loan, to buy a
vehicle to get you to work. It would also be advisable to take out a pension. As you progress
through your career you begin your own family, and save for your own children's education.
You embark upon a number of savings plans and schemes, and ultimately HSBC offer you
pension planning (you may want to insure yourself for funeral expenses - although HSBC
may not offer this!).

This is how an organization such as HSBC, which is marketing orientated, can recruit
and retain customers, and then extend additional products and services to them - throughout
the individual's life. This is an example of a Customer Life Cycle (CLC).

Another important point is that a lifetime CLC is made up many shorter CLC's. So, for
example, Volkswagen Cars retains a customer for many years and one can predict the
products that meet a customers needs throughout his or her family lifetime. However the
purchase of each car will in itself be a CLC with many Customer Touch Points. The consumer
may need a bigger vehicle as his or her family expands - so they visit VW's website and
register.

The customer reviews models and books a test-drive with her or his local dealer. He or
she decides to buy the car and arranges finance. The car is then delivered from the factory,
and returns every year for its annual service. Then after three years, the customer decides to
trade in his or her car, and the cycle begins again. The longer-term life cycle is simply the
shorter-term life cycles viewed consecutively.

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 CRM is a term that is often referred to in marketing. However, there is no complete
agreement upon a single definition. This is because CRM can be considered from a number
of perspectives. In summary, the three perspectives are:

 Information Technology (IT) perspective

 The Customer Life Cycle (CLC) perspective
 Business Strategy perspective

Three Levels of a Product.

For many a product is simply the tangible, physical entity that they may be
buying or selling. You buy a new car and that's the product - simple! Or maybe not. When you
buy a car, is the product more complex than you first thought? In order to actively explore the
nature of a product further, let’s consider it as three different products - the CORE product,
the actual product, and finally the AUGMENTED product.

These are known as the 'Three Levels of a Product.' So what is the difference between
the three products, or more precisely 'levels?'

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 The CORE product is NOT the tangible, physical product. You can't touch it. That's
because the core product is the BENEFIT of the product that makes it valuable to you. So
with the car example, the benefit is convenience i.e. the ease at which you can go where you
like, when you want to. Another core benefit is speed since you can travel around relatively
quickly.

The ACTUAL product is the tangible, physical product. You can get some use out of it.
Again with the car example, it is the vehicle that you test drive, buy and then collect.

The AUGMENTED product is the non-physical part of the product. It usually consists
of lots of added value, for which you may or may not pay a premium. So when you buy a car,
part of the augmented product would be the warranty, the customer service support offered
by the car's manufacture, and any after-sales service.

The Product Life Cycle (PLC).

The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is based upon the biological life cycle. For
example, a seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it shoots out leaves

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and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity); after a long period as an adult the
plant begins to shrink and die out (decline).

In theory it's the same for a product. After a period of development it is introduced or
launched into the market; it gains more and more customers as it grows; eventually the
market stabilizes and the product becomes mature; then after a period of time the product is
overtaken by development and the introduction of superior competitors, it goes into decline
and is eventually withdrawn.

However, most products fail in the introduction phase. Others have very cyclical
maturity phases where declines see the product promoted to regain customers.

Strategies for the differing stages of the Product Life Cycle.

 Introduction.

The need for immediate profit is not a pressure. The product is promoted to create
awareness. If the product has no or few competitors, a skimming price strategy is
employed. Limited numbers of product are available in few channels of distribution.

 Growth.

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 Competitors are attracted into the market with very similar offerings. Products become
more profitable and companies form alliances, joint ventures and take each other over.
Advertising spend is high and focuses upon building brand. Market share tends to stabilize.

 Maturity.

Those products that survive the earlier stages tend to spend longest in this phase. Sales
grow at a decreasing rate and then stabilize. Producers attempt to differentiate products and
brands are key to this. Price wars and intense competition occur. At this point the market
reaches saturation. Producers begin to leave the market due to poor margins. Promotion
becomes more widespread and uses a greater variety of media.

 Decline.

At this point there is a downturn in the market. For example more innovative products are
introduced or consumer tastes have changed. There is intense price-cutting and many more
products are withdrawn from the market. Profits can be improved by reducing marketing
spend and cost cutting.

D) Promotion Strategy

Another one of the 4P's is 'promotion'. This includes all of the tools available to
the marketer for 'marketing communication'. As with Neil H.Borden's marketing mix,
marketing communications has its own 'promotions mix.' Think of it like a cake mix, the basic
ingredients are always the same. However if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients,
the final outcome is different. It is the same with promotions. You can 'integrate' different
aspects of the promotions mix to deliver a unique campaign. The elements of the promotions
mix are:

 Personal Selling.

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  Sales Promotion.
 Public Relations.
 Direct Mail.
 Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.
 Advertising.
 Sponsorship.

The elements of the promotions mix are integrated to form a coherent campaign. As
with all forms of communication. The message from the marketer follows the
'communications process' as illustrated above. For example, a radio advert is made for a
car manufacturer. The car manufacturer (sender) pays for a specific advert with contains a
message specific to a target audience (encoding). It is transmitted during a set of
commercials from a radio station (Message / media).

The message is decoded by a car radio (decoding) and the target consumer interprets
the message (receiver). He or she might visit a dealership or seek further information from a
web site (Response). The consumer might buy a car or express an interest or dislike
(feedback). This information will inform future elements of an integrated promotional

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campaign. Perhaps a direct mail campaign would push the consumer to the point of
purchase. Noise represents the thousand of marketing communications that a consumer is
exposed to everyday, all competing for attention.

The Promotions Mix.

Let us look at the individual components of the promotions mix in more detail.
Remember all of the elements are 'integrated' to form a specific communications campaign.

1. Personal Selling.

Personal Selling is an effective way to manage personal customer relationships. The

sales person acts on behalf of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the
approaches and techniques of personal selling. However sales people are very expensive
and should only be used where there is a genuine return on investment. For example
salesmen are often used to sell cars or home improvements where the margin is high.

2. Sales Promotion.

Sales promotion tends to be thought of as being all promotions apart from

advertising, personal selling, and public relations. For example the BOGOF promotion, or Buy
One Get One Free. Others include couponing, money-off promotions, competitions, free
accessories (such as free blades with a new razor), introductory offers (such as buy digital TV
and get free installation), and so on. Each sales promotion should be carefully costed and
compared with the next best alternative

3. Public Relations (PR).

Public Relations are defined as 'the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to
establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics'
(Institute of Public Relations). It is relatively cheap, but certainly not cheap. Successful
strategies tend to be long-term and plan for all eventualities. All airlines exploit PR; just watch
what happens when there is a disaster. The pre-planned PR machine clicks in very quickly
with a very effective rehearsed plan.

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4. Direct Mail.

Direct mail is very highly focused upon targeting consumers based upon a database.
As with all marketing, the potential consumer is 'defined' based upon a series of attributes
and similarities. Creative agencies work with marketers to design a highly focused
communication in the form of a mailing. The mail is sent out to the potential consumers and
responses are carefully monitored. For example, if you are marketing medical text books, you
would use a database of doctors' surgeries as the basis of your mail shot.

5. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.

Such approaches are very good for making new contacts and renewing old ones.
Companies will seldom sell much at such events. The purpose is to increase awareness and
to encourage trial. They offer the opportunity for companies to meet with both the trade and
the consumer. Expo has recently finish in Germany with the next one planned for Japan in
2005, despite a recent decline in interest in such events.

6. Advertising.

Advertising is a 'paid for' communication. It is used to develop attitudes, create

awareness, and transmit information in order to gain a response from the target market.
There are many advertising 'media' such as newspapers (local, national, free, trade),
magazines and journals, television (local, national, terrestrial, satellite) cinema, outdoor
advertising (such as posters, bus sides).

7. Sponsorship.

Sponsorship is where an organization pays to be associated with a particular event,

cause or image. Companies will sponsor sports events such as the Olympics or Formula
One. The attributes of the event are then associated with the sponsoring organization.

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 E) Physical Evidence

Physical evidence as part of the marketing mix.

Physical evidence is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are
no physical attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues. There are
many examples of physical evidence, including some of the following:

 Packaging.
 Internet/web pages.
 Paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and dispatch notes).
 Brochures.
 Furnishings.
 Signage (such as those on aircraft and vehicles).
 Uniforms.
 Business cards.
 The building itself (such as prestigious offices or scenic headquarters).
 Mailboxes and many others . . . . . .

A sporting event is packed full of physical evidence. Your tickets have your team's
logos printed on them, and players are wearing uniforms. The stadium itself could be
impressive and have an electrifying atmosphere. You traveled there and parked quickly
nearby, and your seats are comfortable and close to restrooms and store. All you need now is
for your team to win!

30
 Some organizations depend heavily upon physical evidence as a means of marketing
communications, for example tourism attractions and resorts (e.g. Disney World), parcel and
mail services (e.g. UPS trucks), and large banks and insurance companies (e.g. Lloyds of
London).

F) People

'People' as part of the marketing mix.

People are the most important element of any service or experience.

Services tend to be produced and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the
customer experience are altered to meet the 'individual needs' of the person consuming it.
Most of us can think of a situation where the personal service offered by individuals has made
or tainted a tour, vacation or restaurant meal. Remember, people buy from people that they
like, so the attitude, skills and appearance of all staff need to be first class. Here are some
ways in which people add value to an experience, as part of the marketing mix - training,
personal selling and customer service.

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Training.

All customer facing personnel need to be trained and developed to maintain a high
quality of personal service. Training should begin as soon as the individual starts working for
an organization during an induction. The induction will involve the person in the organization's
culture for the first time, as well as briefing him or her on day-to-day policies and procedures.
At this very early stage the training needs of the individual are identified. A training and
development plan is constructed for the individual whom sets out personal goals that can be
linked into future appraisals. In practice most training is either 'on-the-job' or 'off-the-job.'
On-the-job training involves training whilst the job is being performed e.g. training of bar staff.
Off-the-job training sees learning taking place at a college, training centre or conference
facility.

Personal Selling

There are different kinds of salesperson. There is the product delivery salesperson.
His or her main task is to deliver the product, and selling is of less importance e.g. fast food,
or mail. The second type is the order taker, and these may be either 'internal' or 'external.'
The internal sales person would take an order by telephone, e-mail or over a counter. The
external sales person would be working in the field. In both cases little selling is done. The
next sort of sales person is the missionary.

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 Here, as with those missionaries that promote faith, the salesperson builds goodwill
with customers with the longer-term aim of generating orders. Again, actually closing the sale
is not of great importance at this early stage. The forth type is the technical salesperson, e.g.
a technical sales engineer. Their in-depth knowledge supports them as they advise
customers on the best purchase for their needs. Finally, there are creative sellers. Creative
sellers work to persuade buyers to give them an order. This is tough selling, and tends to o
offer the biggest incentives. The skill is identifying the needs of a customer and persuading
them that they need to satisfy their previously unidentified need by giving an order.

Customer Service

Many products, services and experiences are supported by customer services teams.
Customer services provided expertise (e.g. on the selection of financial services), technical
support (e.g. offering advice on IT and software) and coordinate the customer interface (e.g.
controlling service engineers, or communicating with a salesman). The disposition and
attitude of such people is vitally important to a company. The way in which a complaint is
handled can mean the difference between retaining or losing a customer, or improving or
ruining a company's reputation. Today, customer service can be face-to-face, over the
telephone or using the Internet. People tend to buy from people that they like and so effective
customer service vital.

G) Process

Process as part of the marketing mix.

Process is another element of the extended marketing mix, or 7P's.There are

a number of perceptions of the concept of process within the business and marketing
literature. Some see processes as a means to achieve an outcome, for example - to achieve
a 30% market share a company implements a marketing planning process.

Another view is that marketing has a number of processes that integrate together to
create an overall marketing process, for example - telemarketing and Internet marketing can
be integrated. A further view is that marketing processes are used to control the marketing

33
mix, i.e. processes that measure the achievement marketing objectives. All views are
understandable, but not particularly customer focused.

For the purposes of the marketing mix, process is an element of service that sees the
customer experiencing an organization’s offering. It's best viewed as something that your
customer participates in at different points in time. Here are some examples to help your build
a picture of marketing process, from the customer's point of view.

Going on a cruise - from the moment that you arrive at the dockside, you are greeted;
your baggage is taken to your room. You have two weeks of services from restaurants and
evening entertainment, to casinos and shopping. Finally, you arrive at your destination, and
your baggage is delivered to you. This is a highly focused marketing process.

Booking a flight on the Internet - the process begins with you visiting an airline's
website. You enter details of your flights and book them. Your ticket/booking reference arrive
by e-mail or post. You catch your flight on time, and arrive refreshed at your destination. This
is all part of the marketing process.

At each stage of the process, markets:

 Deliver value through all elements of the marketing mix. Process, physical evidence
and people enhance services.
 Feedback can be taken and the mix can be altered.
 Customers are retained, and other serves or products are extended and marked to
them.
 The process itself can be tailored to the needs of different individuals, experiencing a
similar service at the same time.

Processes essentially have inputs, throughputs and outputs (or outcomes). Marketing
adds value to each of the stages. Take a look at the lesson on value chain analysis to
consider a series of processes at work.

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35
 1.8) MARKET SEGMENTATION

Understanding Different Customer Needs

Imagine you're flicking through a glossy women's fashion magazine. You wouldn't be
surprised to see an advert for a premium shampoo that featured a very attractive woman in
an expensive gown, showing off her beautiful, shiny hair.

Now imagine you're looking at the type of magazine aimed at mums. It probably
contains some recipes, some craft ideas, and some true stories of family life. An advert
for that same premium shampoo might show a mother laughing, and stroking the heads of
her two happy children.

Finally, imagine that you're turning the pages of a men's magazine. You turn over the
pages discussing the latest cars, interviews with the star of a recent action movie, and so on.
An advert for that same premium shampoo might feature a man with strong, healthy-looking
hair, playing tennis.

So what's going on here? The same product has been advertised in three completely
different ways. The answer is that the shampoo manufacturer is using market segmentation.

36
 Market segmentation involves dividing up the potential market for a product into
groups of people who have similar needs, and then addressing these needs in a focused
way.

2.1) INTRODUCTION OF PARLE COMPANY

Parle Products has been India's largest manufacturer of biscuits and confectionery, for
almost 80 years. Makers of the world's largest selling biscuit, Parle-G, and a host of other
very popular brands, the Parle name symbolizes quality, nutrition and great taste. With a
reach spanning even the remotest villages of India, the company has definitely come a very
long way since its inception.

Many of the Parle products - biscuits or confectioneries, are market leaders in their
category and have won acclaim at the Monde Selection, since 1971. With a 40% share of the
total biscuit market and a 15% share of the total confectionary market in India , Parle has
grown to become a multi-million dollar company. While to consumers it's a beacon of faith
and trust, competitors look upon Parle as an example of marketing brilliance.

Parle Products Ltd, the findings of a recent study conducted by ACNielsen afforded the
perfect opportunity to set up an interface with Indian consumers and speak to them about the
popularity of flagship glucose biscuit brand, Parle-G. An opportunity that Parle Products and
Everest Integrated Communications - the agency handling the Parle-G account - grabbed
with both hands. The result? A five-commercial ‘testimonial' campaign that underlines the
findings of the ACNielsen study: that Parle-G has emerged as the world's largest selling
biscuit brand.

A cursory look at the commercials, just to get a hang of the campaign. The first
commercial (‘boarding school') is about this girl recounting her first experience of boarding

37
school. She talks about the anguish that comes from leaving a big, well-knit family, the alien
atmosphere of the boarding school, the tears of distress… ‘Phir maine papa ke diye hue jhole
ko khola,' she says. ‘Pata hai usme kya tha? Parle-G… Wahi pehchaani khushboo, wahi
swaad. Aisa laga jaise main ghar par baithke Parle-G kha rahi hoon…' The spot ends with
the voiceover: ‘Barson se apna sa swaad. Parle-G.

Every nation dreams of a better tomorrow. And every nation’s tomorrow lies in the
hands of its children; children who make the nation proud in every aspect; the young
geniuses who shape the future of the nation. So it’s important to nourish these young minds,
for after all it’s a question of the nation’s future. Filled with the goodness of milk and wheat,
Parle G is a source of strength for both body and mind. Treat yourself to a packet of Parle-G
to experience what has nurtured and strengthened the minds of millions of genius Indians for
over 65 years. It’s more than just a biscuit. A meal substitute for some, a tasty and healthy
snack for many others. Consumed by some for the value it offers, and many others for its
taste. Little wonder that it’s the Largest selling Biscuit Brand in the world.

The automatic biscuit production line, with original design, compact structure and high
automation, is developed on the base of adsorbing Japanese technology. All working
procedures that from feeding, calendaring, sharping, wastage recovering, drying to cooking
can be accomplished automatically. Hundred of moulds and dozens of technology formulas
make it possible to produce various kinds of popular biscuit such as cream biscuit, sandwich
biscuit, calcium biscuit, chocolate biscuit, soda biscuit, multi-vitamin biscuit, vegetable biscuit,
etc.

Parle began its production in 1939 even before India’s independence. Today Parle
enjoys 40% of the total biscuit market and 15 % of the total confectionary market in India.
Besides Parle G, Parle offers Parle Monaco, Parle Krackjack varieties in biscuits and in
confectionary items it offers melody, kismi, pop pins and mango bite.

The Parle brands have been constantly honored internationally with the awards at the
Monde Selection.

38
 Very rightly described as “SWAD SE BHARA, SWASTHYA SE BHARA” means full
with taste, full with health “.

2.2) HISTORY OF PARLE COMPANY

In 1929 a small company by the name of Parle products emerged in British dominated
India. The intent was to spread joy and cheer to children and adults alike, all over the country
with its sweets and candies. The company knew that it wouldn’t be an easy task, but they
decided to take the brave step. A small factory was set up in the suburbs of Mumbai, to
manufacture sweets and toffees. A decade later it was upgraded to manufacture biscuits as
well. Since then, the Parle name has grown in all directions, won international fame and has
been sweetening people's lives all over India and abroad.

Apart from the factories in Mumbai and Bangalore Parle also has factories in
Bahadurgarh in Haryana and Neemrana in Rajasthan, which are the largest biscuit and
confectionery plants in the country. Additionally, Parle Products also has 7 manufacturing
units and 51 manufacturing units on contract.

A long time ago, when the British ruled India, a small factory was set up in the suburbs
of Mumbai city, to manufacture sweets and toffees. The year was 1929 and the market was
dominated by famous international brands that were imported freely. Despite the odds and
unequal competition, this company called Parle Products, survived and succeeded, by
adhering to high quality and improvising from time to time.

A decade later, in 1939, Parle Products began manufacturing biscuits, in addition to

sweets and toffees. Having already established a reputation for quality, the Parle brand name
grew in strength with this diversification. Parle Glucose and Parle Monaco were the first

39
brands of biscuits to be introduced, which later went on to become leading names for great
taste and quantity

2.3) BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF PARLE COMPANY

Designation Name
Chairman and Managing Dheeraj Kumar
director
Executive Director Zuby Kochar

Executive Director Devendra Dass Kochar

Non Executive Director M R Sivaraman

Non Executive Director Shiv S Sharma

Non Executive Director T K Choudhary

2.4) BRAND STORY OF PARLE G

40
 In the hit Bollywood movie Welcome, actor Nana Patekar, in a passing reference to
Parle-G, notes that even biscuits command respect and have to be addressed with a ji (a
term of respect in Hindi). His remark, while made in jest, is not far off the mark.
“It is a heritage brand. We sell over 25 crore packets every month. That should reflect the
stature of the brand,” says Praveen Kulkarni, marketing head at Parle Products Pvt. Ltd.

Parle’s mantra has always been about repositioning the brand without tweaking the
look and feel of the product. “The brand is clearly an Indian brand and it straddles all
economic strata. The fact that it is a staple for everyone in the house keeps it going,” says
Nirvik Singh, chairman and president, Grey Global Group, South and South-East Asia, the
agency that handles the Parle-G account.
There was a time when Parle-G’s dominance was threatened by rival brands,
especially the Tiger brand from Britannia. “We found out that Tiger was getting stronger in the
kids segment, and we decided to change our positioning,” says Kulkarni.

Later, when the company sponsored the television show Shaktimaan on Doordarshan,
it literally rescued Parle-G. The brand also had some innovative commercials involving young
children with a new punchline, G means Genius, which was an instant hit.

While rivals have signed on celebrities, Parle-G has managed to retain its leadership
position with just a simple white-and-yellow striped wrapper with a picture of a baby on it. “We
don’t need celebrities as the brand equity is so strong,” says Kulkarni. “The biggest concern
is that the brand shouldn’t become outdated as it is a historic brand. The brand has managed

41
to retain its leadership position because it has evolved its campaign with every consumption
trend,” says Singh. “

2.5) COMPETITORS OF PARLE COMPANY

It's a story that has been repeated any number of times in the corporate world: an
unchallenged market leader rests on its oars; competition emerges out of the woodwork; and
almost at the blink of an eyelid, swamps the champion from all sides. That's precisely what's
happening to the Rs 1,587.5-crore Britannia Industries. To be fair to the company, it is still
holding on to its market leader status, but only very tenuously. Over the last couple of years,
Britannia, which was once considered a generic name for biscuits, has seen its share of the
Rs 4,500-crore per annum market fall from 48 per cent to 40 per cent.

Britannia's loosening grip on the market has allowed challenger Parle to come within
striking distance of its crown (Parle, in fact, is the market leader by volume, but still trails
Britannia marginally in value terms); and given smaller players like Bisk Farm, Priya Gold,
Anmol, Marico and Duke space to carve out regional satrapies all over the country. The year
2003 marked the inflexion point for the biscuits industry. That was when ITC entered the
market with its Sun feast brand and grabbed an 8-10 per cent market share, Parle increased
its market share from 34 per cent in 2003 to 38 per cent now and regional brands and the
unorganized sector together wrested about 10 per cent. All this while, the market grew at a
rate of 10 per cent per annum even as the market leader's share dwindled. Britannia brushes
aside any suggestion that its position is under siege. "We believe that more activity in the
biscuits market creates more opportunities for us, and we are very well placed to tap it.
Britannia leads the overall market in terms of value and, in fact, our brands lead in six of the
eight market segments," says Vinita Bali, CEO of the company. Meanwhile, the challengers
are using different strategies to consolidate their positions. For Parle, it's price. "The market
for biscuits is extremely price-sensitive," says Kunal Motwani, an analyst at
Equitymaster.com, a Mumbai-based research firm. "With Parle holding the price of its 100
gram pack of glucose biscuits at Rs 4, no competitor can afford to increase prices by even 25
paisa. This is putting pressure on margins and affecting growth," he adds. Glucose biscuits

42
account for 57 per cent of the Indian biscuit market and Parle G commands a 50 per cent
share of this segment. Incidentally, the brand, which sells 4,000 tones per annum, is the
world's largest by tonnage. So how does it cope with rising costs?

2.6) PRODUCTS MANUFACURED BY PARLE COMPANY

BISCUITS
Parle biscuits are linked with factors of power and wisdom providing nutrition and
strength. Parle biscuits are indeed much more than a tea- time snack, they are considered by
many to be an important part of their daily food. Parle can treat you with a basket of biscuits
which are not only satisfying but are also of good and reliable quality. Parle biscuits cater to
all tastes from kids to senior citizens. They have found their way into the Indian hearts and
homes.

 Parle - G
 Hide and Seek
 Krackjack
 Hide & Seek Milano
 Magix
 Digestive Marie
 Monaco
 Parle Marie
 Kreams
 Milk Shakti
 Parle 20-20 Cookies
 Golden Arcs
 Nimkin
 Kreams Gold
 Chox

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  Monaco Jeera
 Hide & Seek Bourbon

CONFECTIONARIES.

Right from candies to toffees, the sweet 'n' treat category of the Parle product range is
a genuine treat for every snack lover. This category can satisfy one's taste and at the same
time create a desire for more. These confectioneries are a sheer delight to the taste buds and
have a universal appeal. Parle Biscuits and confectioneries, continue to spread happiness &
joy among people of all ages.

 Melody
 Kismi Gold
 Mango Bite
 Orange Candy
 Kaccha Mango Bite
 Xhale
 Poppins
 2 in 1 Eclair
 Kismi Toffee
 Golgappa
 Kisme Toffee Bar
 Melody Softee
 Mazelo
 Parle Lites

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SNACKS

Salty, crunchy, chatpata and crispy caters to the bunch of Parle snacks. You can now
treat your loved ones with this yummy lot.
Parle snacks are a complete delight to the taste buds and can create the desire for
more and more. These snacks will not only satisfy your tummy but will also sustain a feel in
your mouth to associate you with the bond of Parle.

 Cheeslings
 Musst Stix & Musst Chips
 Sixer
 Sixer Zeera
 Monaco Smart Chips
 Musst Bites
 Jeffs

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 DIFFERENT STRATEGIES OF PARLE COMPANY.

3.1) PRODUCT STRATEGY.

Parle re-launches Marie biscuits brand

Parle Products has decided to relaunch its regular Marie brand and also hike its price
by Rs 2. The company has also changed the name of the product from Marie Choice to Parle
Marie. Parle has also been trying to grow the Marie category with its value-added premium
variant - Marie Digestive (priced at Rs13 for 200 gm).

According to the company, the Marie category is growing at 20 per cent and the new
variant has not eaten into the share of the regular Marie. The company also has no plans of
hiking prices for the rest of its biscuit brands, including its largest selling glucose brand -
Parle G. Incidentally the price of Parle G has not been changed in the past 12 years. The
price of Parle G continues at Rs 4 for 100 gm.

A shopkeeper is summoned and instructed to quit selling "saadharan" (regular) Marie

biscuits. When he asks why, the bureau explains Parle Digestive Marie's (PDM's) plus points
- high fiber, low calorie and low fat content. Newspaper headlines scream "Anti Marie Bureau
does it again".

Cut to a dingy restaurant, where the restaurant owner betrays another regular Marie-
eater. The podgy man has been clandestinely munching on regular Marie biscuits, hidden
inside a lunch box.

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 The Anti-Marie bureau led by its chief, storms in. As the man looks on, the Bureau
points to a product shot while Kajol rattles off its benefits. The now-converted biscuit eater
gratefully reaches out for the new snack. Kajol flashes a pack of PDM, declaring "yahi Marie,
sahi Marie" (this Marie is the right Marie).

PDM's minute-long launch commercial hit TV screens in early January, a few weeks
after two teasers of 20-seconds were aired. Ad agency Everest Brand Solutions, with whom
Parle Products shares a 60-year-old relationship, created the campaign. Everest's recent
work for Parle includes the "G for Genius" Parle G campaign.

Ad-film production house Black Magic shot the PDM commercial in five days across
Mumbai's Famous Studio, Mukesh Mills and central suburb, Bandra.

The brief given to the agency was simple: highlight PDM's unique selling points - high
fiber, low calorie, low fat and a light feeling on regular consumption - to existing Marie eaters.

And convince them to switch to PDM. "We didn't want to launch PDM on the taste
platform because all Marie biscuits taste alike. So we opted for the superior fiber platform,"
says Vijay Chauhan, chairman and managing director, Parle Products.

Chauhan's simple strategy made PDM stand out in the crowded Marie market.
Currently, the core biscuit - including Marie and the popular glucose varieties - segment
makes up 55 per cent of the Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) biscuit segments. That works out
to a significant Rs 2,200 crore (Rs 22 billion).

The remaining Rs.1,800 crore (Rs.18 billion) is shared between cream biscuits, savory
biscuits and variants. The market's been growing at a robust 12-14 per cent a year since
2001 (source: KSA Technopak). This, when FMCG as a category has been languishing. Parle
Products commands a 33 per cent market share in the total biscuit industry, just behind
market leader Britannia's [Get Quote] 38 per cent.

There's been a healthy appetite for Marie, too. The Rs 490 crore (Rs 4.9 billion)
segments have been growing consistently at 10-12 per cent. But Marie Choice, Parle's

47
decade-old brand, hadn't been expanding its share of the market for a while. If the company
were to revive an interest in the product, it had to innovate. So Parle blended the high fiber
content of digestive biscuits like McVitie's Digestive, into a regular Marie biscuit.

Even the name was tinkered with to reflect the change - Digestive Marie. PDM claims
to have has five times more fiber than the regular 0.7 per cent fiber content in biscuits like
Sun feast Marie Light. It's also the low-fat alternative, apparently: 10 per cent compared to 22
per cent in regular digestive biscuits.

Naturally, Parle needed to generate consumer interest - and a celebrity endorsement

does translate into greater initial awareness and conviction. Hence, Hindi film stars Kajol.
"Kajol is a good ploy," agrees Sunil K Alagh, chairman, SKA Advisors. He's better placed than
most to pass judgment: Alagh is a former managing director and CEO of Parle's arch-rival
Britannia Industries.

Ad agency Everest, of course, had its own reasons for its choice of celebrity. "Kajol
has credibility, seriousness and Masti. She and Anti Marie Bureau were a perfect fit," declares
Vijay Lalwani, creative director, Everest Brand Solutions. "And PDM's so much better and
healthier than other Marie, that consuming any other Marie would be 'criminal'." That sparked
off the Anti Marie Bureau idea.

The ad has already achieved one objective: it's got people sitting up and taking notice.
That's critical in a nearly-commoditized segment like Marie biscuits, especially since "Marie"
is not a trademarked brand. "It's important for every Marie player to establish itself as a
brand. And Parle has caught everyone's attention by giving a product plus brand and
communicated it well," says Alagh.

Parle also claims that sales have already picked up. But the big picture doesn't look as
appetizing. One of the bigger Marie markets is eastern India. That market is crowded with
about 30 regional players, offering lower price points. "Even Britannia has lost out there,"
says Parle's Chauhan. It can't help that PDM is more expensive than all other Marie brands.

48
 That's mentioned upfront in the ad itself. "The extra fiber costs extra money," says
Chauhan. A 200-g pack of Britannia Marie Gold costs Rs 12, while a similar size pack of PDM
is 25 per cent more expensive at Rs 15. Parle is urging consumers to try PDM through the
well-tried route of introductory discounts. At present, there's a discount of Rs 2 on both the
200-g and 400-g packs. That offer is likely to be withdrawn in a couple of months.

But Parle is not content with just a cut in price. It's also emphasizing on the brand
switch to PDM. That means it may also eat into its own franchise - Parle Marie Choice
consumers could also shift to PDM, thereby reducing Marie Choice's market share to crumbs.
But Parle claims its strategies are well-baked. Even if Marie Choice's market share crumbles,
PDM's market share will rise. So the scenario evens out.

3.2) MARKETING STRATEGY.

Parle continues with its G for Genius campaign and its targeting of Kids these ads are
all over all the kids cartoon channels. Parle G claims that it is the largest selling glucose
biscuit all over the world but it is now working to improve its image in metros and modern
areas and hence this push. I enjoy the simplicity and subtleness of these ads here enjoys the
videos of these ads. Parle are trying to remove more ads to market their product in the
marketing field .They are making their product very graceful so that people would buy there
product more and more .They are trying to produce their product all over the world so that
their product will be known by every country in world .This is a marketing strategy of Parle g
company. There product has been marketed even in rural areas and urban areas .Other than
Parle g biscuits there are more other products which are marketed by Parle g company. Parle
g company biscuits have been marketed to every place and because of this Parle g company
has earn a huge profit in there day to day life.

Parle has decided to do a makeover for pop pins and have come out with a new ad campaign
highlighting pop pins as a brand with an attitude to do this they started of with market

49
research. The research revealed that children above five years did not find the product
appealing — they considered Poppins too childish. Also, children in metros did not identify
with the brand. Parle was clear that the brand needs to exemplify an attitude they decided to
make Poppins contemporary, stylish and a brand that urban 10-year-olds felt proud to carry
and hence the theme "Doon Kya".Enjoy the ad which is quite funny to say the least.

3.3) PLACE STRATEGY.

The rural market has changed drastically in the past one decade. A decade ago, the
rural market was more unstructured and was not a prioritized target location for corporates.
Very few companies, mainly the agro-based ones, were concentrating in these markets. Their
were no innovative strategies and promotional campaigns. A distribution system did exist, but
was feeble. Illiteracy and lack of technology were the other factors leading to the poor reach
of products and lower level of awareness amongst villagers.

Gradually, corporates realized that there was saturation, stiff competition and clutter in
the urban market, and a demand was building up in rural areas. Seeing the vast potential of
75 per cent Indians living in rural areas, they started focusing on these unexplored, high-
potential areas.

Companies came up with special rural products, like Chic Shampoo sachets @ Re 1,
Parle G Tikki Packs @ Rs 2, customized TVs by LG, Shanti Amla oil by Marico. All these
brought positive results for them.

Also, campaigns like Project Bharat by Hind Lever, where trials were generated across
India in 1999, saw 30 per cent of its total personal products growing to contribute 50 per cent
five years down the line. In the first phase, they covered 11.5 million rural households and
increased awareness by 41 per cent.

50
 Project Jagruti in the second phase by Colgate Palmolive India was a village
consumer contact programmed in 2001. It increased penetration of Colgate Dental Cream by
doubling the villages from 33,000 to 55,000, reaching to a million houses. Such projects lead
to increased penetration of products in rural areas.

As a result, retail outlets have sprung up in practically all the villages that store
products of various brands and categories. Also, high congregation areas, like fairs, hats,
markets etc. are proving to be an important marketing tool since clusters of target audience
can be tapped at the same time and place.

Location plays a big role in marketing. Therefore, if a product is for kids, anganwadis
and schools are a good place taps them and their mothers. Similarly, mandis and village
influencers act as a catalyst in pushing a brand/product.

3.4) PROMOTION STRATEGY.

Marie, who was known as Parle Marie Choice until about a year ago, has released a
new campaign, which is its first after the re-launch. The communication revolves around the
simple but real idea of conversations and chitchat at tea-time, while munching on Parle Marie

51
biscuits.
The Park TVC features a bunch of retired men who, after their morning exercise, are hanging
out together and talking of fun things over tea. One of the men says that the day before, a
lady arrived at his door and asked him if he was married. All the other men ask him excitedly
what happened next. He says, nothing, because she was a “Censuswali”, who was compiling
a list of the people in his family. One of the other men then says that a call centre lady called
and asked him if he would like to go to Goa on a trip for two, and he asked her what time he
should meet her at the airport. Giving the ad a realistic touch, there’s a laughter club in the
background, which cracks up every time the men relate their funny tales. In the final shot, a
third man reaches out for the biscuit with the product shot and the tagline, ‘Baatcheet, bakbak
aur Parle Marie.’

3.5) PROCESS STRATEGY.

With the big boys in the bottled mineral water business, Coca-Cola India and Ramesh
Chauhan’s Parle Bisleri slugging it out for the top slot, Prakash Chauhan-promoted Parle
Agro Ltd is chalking out a new branding strategy to push its mineral water brand Bailley Aqua.

For starters, Parle Agro has recently relaunched its packaged water brand ‘Bailley
Aqua’ with a new packaging to give the brand a contemporary look. Says Parle Agro Ltd’s
executive-operations Schauna Chauhan: “The brand revamp of Parle Bailley is part of our
aggressive marketing strategy, which we intend to employ for Bailley Aqua in the coming
days.”

As for the rationale behind this move, Ms Chauhan explains that the main objective
was to relaunch the brand to suit the changing lifestyles of consumers in the new millennium.

But what’s going to be the USP of Bailley Aqua in the highly competitive packaged
drinking water segment? Says Ms Chauhan: “We have in-house facility for the manufacture of
PET performs to ensure high quality and hygiene standards. This gives us a distinct hygienic
edge. Since Bailley has a 30 mm cap neck now, it can not be refilled or recapped after use.”

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 According to Ms Chauhan, every Bailley bottle complies with stringent BIS norms and
undergoes 51 quality control tests and 10 physical packaging tests. “In addition, we use
modern UV treatment instead of chemical process to purify our brand Bailley. Through the
process of backward integration, we have set up a PET plant in Silvassa at an investment of
Rs 12 crore.” she adds.

As part of its marketing strategy, the company has tied up with airlines Sahara and Jet
Airways. “We are in dialogues with other domestic as well as international airlines,” says Ms
Chauhan.

Further, Ms Chauhan informs that the company is planning to extend the product
portfolio of Bailey Aqua brand very soon.

“ Currently, we are conducting extensive consumer research prior to the launch of our
new products,” she adds.

According to a spokesperson from Parle Agro, the company will soon roll out a new
variant of Bailey Aqua with health boosting additives like vitamins and minerals.

To announce the relaunch of Bailey, the company is all set to launch an integrated
marketing plan which includes advertising, retail promotions and distribution incentives.

“Everest Integrated Communications is designing our print and television advertising

campaigns and the campaign will break out...

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 MARKETING OF DIFFERNET PRODUCTS OF PARLE COMPANY

4.1) MARKETING OF FROOTI

History of Frooti

Frooti was launched in a green rectangular TetraPak as a ready-to-serve mango drink.

Although it wasn’t the first mango drink, Frooti quickly acquired a large market share. The
packaging played a major role behind its success, since it could be carried easily and
conveniently. Frooti also provided a refreshing mango taste that translated into a huge
demand for itself. The tagline “Mango Frooti, Fresh and Juicy”, helped the brand strengthen
and consolidate its position as the leader.

Brand Communication

Over the years the brand has experienced a series of repositioning. From the original tagline
“Mango Frooti, Fresh and Juicy” to “Juice Up your Life”. Eventually, the original tagline-
“Mango Frooti, Fresh and Juicy” was reinstalled. The present ad campaigns focus on
reaffirming Frooti’s leading position across India in a confident manner.

Packaging

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To ensure convenience, Frooti is offered in size variants: 1 litre, 250ml and 200ml TetraPaks.
A consumer study revealed that the consumers needed a recap bottle that didn’t exist in the
mango drink segment. Parle Agro considered the consumer requirement strongly and
launched Frooti in a new hygienic hotfill PET bottle, making it the first mango drink to be
offered in the PET bottles.

Frooti bottle

In the old days before the arrival of pepsi and coca cola Frooti and Duke were the only two
mango drinks available in the market here. In those days Frooti was available in a small box
similar in shape to today’s tetra pack. It was very popular with children returning home from
school because it was the only take-away drink in those days other than the sip-up (ice-candy
in a cylindrical plastic cover). After drinking the juice, the children used to throw the empty
cartons onto the road just to hear the popping sound when some vehicle ran over the empty
carton.

You should also check the best before date on the bottle since in some small stores, old stock
is also kept in the shelves. (This check is necessary for all packaged food articles, not just
frooti).I think the old ’’expiry date’ concept was better than the ’best before date’ concept.

Frooti was always positioned as a fun drink and was never tomtomed as the drink containing
real mangoes or Vitamin drink or anything for the sake.

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Packing : A rectangular pack containing tempting pictures of mangoes always claimed the
attention. The tetra-pack was there since inception and no one could find any worms in it till
date ! Otherwise AB is always available to take care of Worms controversy

Digen Verma : It was an attempt by Parle to target the the young crowd for Frooti. The
country was painted with digen Varma. Unfortunately, people remembered more of Digen
Verma and less of Frooti. The poor brand manager lost his job !

New pack : The new pack of Frooti introduced a few days back is taller than the older one
and one can drink directly from it rather than using a straw.

Sensing people’s need to carry more of frooti, Parle has introduced Frooti in pet bottles.
Again a matured product, target it to make consumers consume more of product.

But its an addiction ! The harazds of colas and carbonated drinks have made us to look for
some other packaged drinks and immediately the brand equity of Frooti came to our mind.
Even it is water down, it still quenches my thirst and gives me a feeling of mango that relishes
on my tongue for long time.

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 4.2) MARKETING OF BISLERI

When we bought Bisleri mineral water from the Italian company, Felice Bisleri, in 1969 -- the
company had been unable to market bottled water and wanted to exit the market -- we too
did not see any potential for the product at that time.
As a soft drinks company, we had Thums Up, Gold Spot and Limca (cola, orange drink and
lemonade) but no soft drink company was complete without a soda. So we merely used the
name and launched Bisleri soda with two variants -- carbonated and non-carbonated mineral
water.

But three decades ago, what could we say about a category that had no market? We didn't
know our target group. Then, since bottled water is colourless, tasteless and odourless, it was
not an easy product to advertise.

Thus, the earlier brand building efforts focused on Bisleri being healthy with adequate
minerals. The Italian name added a dash of class to it. The first print ad campaign captured
the international essence and showed a butler with a bow tie, holding two bottles of Bisleri.
The punchline was, "Bisleri is veri veri extraordinari" (the spelling of the punchline was
designed to capture the consumer's attention). The campaign was successful and we were
being noticed as someone who catered to the need for safe, healthy drinking water.
However, the real boost to mineral water came in the early-to-mid-1980s when we switched
to PVC packaging and later to PET bottles. The PET packaging did not just ensure better
transparency -- we could now show sparkling clear water to the consumers. It also meant
better life for the water.

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Meanwhile, Bisleri soda was doing well but we had to discontinue production as we sold our
soft drink brands to Coca-Cola in 1993. But my interest was in building brands and not in
bottling soft drinks. That's when I started to concentrate on developing the Bisleri water
brand.

4.6) MARKETING OF MUST BITES

Parle has ventured into the new sunrise product line of snack foods. These days the snack
food market is seeing lot of action with ITC launching its Bingo range of

Snacks during the World cup.

Parle is now put its weight behind its new brand Musst Bites.

Musst Bites is a launched with a series of humorous ads. Watch the TVC here: Musst

Musst Bites is positioned as a tasty snack food too tempting to be part with. Although this
positioning is not something new ,the brand is favored by the reasonable execution. The ads
are fun to watch and simple. But there is the problem of the brand not able to differentiate
itself from the likes of the market leader Lays. In a way, the brand is taking the same
positioning as the Lays. But Lays is far too good in terms of positioning.

4.4) OUTLETS OF PARLE PRODUCT

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BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

Parle Products (Parle) is an Indian manufacturer of cookies and confectionery

(including toffees, candies, savories, and mints). The company has a 40% share of the Indian
biscuit and a 15% share of the confectionery market within the country.

The company?s major biscuit brands include Parle-G, Monaco and Krackjack; with principle
confectionery brands comprised of Melody, Poppins, Mangobite and Kismi.

Parle’s production facilities include a flagship plant in Mumbai, producing biscuits and
confectionary; while another factory at Bahadurgarh, Haryana manufactures biscuits. Apart
from this, Parle has manufacturing facilities at Neemrana, Rajasthan and at Bangalore,
Karnataka. The factories at Bahadurgarh and Neemrana are amongst the largest biscuit and
confectionary manufacturing facilities in India. In addition, to complement its wholly-owned
facilities, the company has a further 14 manufacturing units for biscuits; and five units for
confectioneries operating under contract.

The company?s distribution network is a major strength for Parle. Parle products are
made available to consumers, even in the most remote places and in the smallest of villages.
The company has around 1,500 wholesalers, serving in excess of 425,000 retail outlets. In
addition, Parle maintains a 200 strong dedicated field sales force to service wholesalers and
retailers. The company also has 31 depots and cost and freight (C&F) agents supplying
goods to the distribution network.

Parle’s marketing philosophy emphasizes catering to the masses. Consequently, most

Parle offerings are in the low and mid-range price segments. However, the company also
manufactures a variety of premium products for up-market, urban consumers.

Parle international operations consist of serving markets in the Middle East, Africa,
South America, Sri Lanka, Australia and North America. A concerted effort is made to target

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Indian expatriate communities in these countries. To further enhance its international
reputation and open up new markets, the company is in the process of obtaining an ISO
certification.

Parle to withdraw Hide & Seek variants; launch Parle Cookies

Parle Products has withdrawn the variants of its chocolate-chip cookie brand, Hide & Seek
and will bring them under the Parle franchise and sell them re-named as Parle Cookies. The
brand is currently being test marketed in the south.

According to the company, Hide & Seek has a strong association with chocolate and
has been accepted as a chocolate chip cookie brand. Consumers were not ready to accept
the butter and cashew variants. Thus the variants have been delinked from Hide &Seek and
re-introduced as Parle Cookies. The products will soon be re-launched nationally.
The company extended the Hide & Seek franchise early last year to two new flavours —
butter and cashew-badam — the biscuit major has now restricted it to chocolate-chip cookie

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 CONCLUSION

I want to conclude my project by saying that marketing strategy is 7 ps such as

product, process, people, physical evidence, promotion, price and place. These are all
important aspects of marketing strategy. Without these aspects marketing is not possible.
Marketing strategy is all about marketing a product .In these marketing mix sellers, retailers,
buyers, and wholesalers play an important role. There is lot of scope in marketing strategy.
Parle company had made huge profit by marketing there products in India and in foreign
countries.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.google.com

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www.wikipedia.com
www.parleproduct.com

Books referred
Marketing Management - Philips Kotler

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