Week 8 HW

Week 8
Product Life Cycle Homework

Directions:
Using the structure below [and you may need more bullets for each marketing mix element], find a real world [non-text] example for each stage of the product life cycle and identify the marketing mix elements for that stage.

Introduction Example: Smart Car

Product Strategy Engineered and designed to help you master your city “Fun wheel drive”- targeting young, environmentally conscience adults, interested in spending less on gas and more on “fun”
Build your own smart car and compare across the types of coupes available—make it your own

Pricing Strategy:
Not very expensive- range from 12,500- 20,000
Finance plans available

Place/Distribution:
Selective distribution—available exclusively online or you can stop in to a car retailer to compare the different types of smart cars

Promotion:
Promoting by building awareness; i.e. gas prices rising, more fuel efficient the smart car way
Creating interest by providing an alternative to regular cars

Explain how mix elements demonstrate PLC stage. The Introduction stage is all about getting the consumer interested and also about getting the consumer to trust you. At this point, Smart Cars are still relatively new. They started by being sold only through the Smart Car dealerships. The prices are low to get buyers interested. They are desperate to create interest. Their differences between real cars and their product is all that will sell. They have to get the buyer interested. The idea of a car that doesn’t run on gas is also new. When the smart car came out, gas prices were so high. With gas prices low now, I’m interested to see how Smart Car will change their product strategy and/or promotion.

Growth Example: Apple iPhone 6

Product Strategy
Designing and creating a more powerful, more efficient phone—a new generation of iPhone that’s better by any measure
Increased battery life so you can do more, longer than ever
3X faster speeds on Wi-Fi than any other iPhone- faster LTE download speeds too
Your wallet- without carrying around a wallet- with Apple Pay

Pricing Strategy:
199-499
Different GB (16,64,128) / size (regular or plus), different price

Place/Distribution:
Sold online through Apple or through Apple stores across the world
Also sold through selective phone companies- AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon

Promotion:
Apple is already one of the most successful companies worldwide, iPhone 6 was the next generation of iPhone
Promoted on their site as the newest and best creation from Apple
Creating interest in better features, viewing display, pictures, and new apps included Explain how mix elements demonstrate PLC stage. Apple is a well-known company, clearly. The iPhone 6 is pretty new but it was entered right into the growth stage. The features are better and more impressive than the last phone. The prices are higher than any other phone on the Apple market. The distribution is broad to get as many buyers as possible. The promotion is similar to how they promote every product that’s come before—the technology really speaks for itself. It’s the newest and greatest product and it’s only growing!

Maturity Example: Apple Mac

Product Strategy
All Mac models guarantee the greatest technology, all are ready to help you do amazing things “right out of the box”
Latest technology, updates, software system
Choose the Mac that works for you and customize it in a way that fits your needs

Pricing Strategy:
Expensive—but for quality
Range from 900-3000

Place/Distribution:
Available on Apple website or in Apple retail stores

Promotion:
Macs almost promote themselves at this point—Apple Mac has proved to be reliable, sturdy, and technologically advanced. They are sleek and efficient
Promote new software, new designs, for example the retina display
The choice is made to be yours—they give lots of options so that you can choose the Mac to fit you

Explain how mix elements demonstrate PLC stage. The Apple Mac has been around for a while now, and although they still make new models- most people would agree the models are all pretty similar, and you can’t really go wrong. The price and product strategy have not faltered—price remains high with earliest models decreasing slightly, and technology continues to amaze. The distribution is true to Apple- they like to keep their products sold by their brand. Promotion isn’t as fancy as when it was first released. Apple brand promotes itself in the name. It is known to be a very rewarding investment.

Decline Example: Apple iPod

Product Strategy iTunes to provide all the music you love and will love, synched directly to your iPod device
Engineered for maximum “funness”
Targeting kids who aren’t yet allowed to have a phone, which also holds music
Built in apps on the iPod touch, all apps included in the iPhone

Pricing Strategy:
49-299
iPod nano starting at 49 to the iPod touch, with all features of an iPhone, starting at 199, depending on GB

Place/Distribution:
Available on Apple website or through Apple retail stores

Promotion:
Promoting the more “fun” side of the iPhone features rather than the “practical” features a businessman or woman would need
Also available in the color (red) to promote the fight against AIDS

Explain how mix elements demonstrate PLC stage. The Apple iPod used to be a huge deal in middle school. But as I’ve grown up, I use my iPhone for my music and I think most others do as well. Also, kids are getting iPhones at a younger and younger age now. Especially since the iPod touch has messaging and calling, like a phone, why not just purchase the iPhone? The iPod is talked about less and less. Apple hasn’t created a new iPhone in a long time. It’s definitely a dying out product line for Apple. But no worries, that doesn’t mean Apple is dying out at all—quite the opposite!