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The Marketing Mix - Activity

The marketing mix is the combination of elements that frame the marketing strategy for a company in relation to their products and services, in order to help them achieve their marketing objectives. Traditionally, the marketing mix has focussed on four elements:

  • Price
  • Product
  • Promotion
  • Place

However, this has been extended in recent years as certain features in relation to the marketing of services have become recognised as being important. There are an additional 3 Ps that now make up what has been referred to as the '7 Ps'.

  • Process
  • Physical Environment
  • People

Each of these elements will be important in its own way but for some products the emphasis on one or more may be stronger. This will depend in part on the nature of the product or service and the objectives of the business concerned.

The aim of this Activity is to encourage you to use your knowledge of the 7 Ps and apply them to a selection of products and services, taking into consideration the relative importance of each element in the mix to those products. You will need to think of what role each 'P' plays in the overall marketing strategy for the product and offer a brief explanation for your reasoning.

Renault F1 Car.

What is the importance of each element of the marketing mix as suggested by this photograph? © Edu Wagtelenberg, Stock.Xchng

The Task

Below is a list of links to top companies who have a variety of brands making up their business. Choose five products and services (ensure that at least two of your choices are services) and identify the relevance of the 7 Ps to the product/service of your choice.

  • Unilever - range of brands covering foodstuffs, perfumes, household cleaners, ice creams, etc. (http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands)
  • Nestlé - again, a range of brands covering food, cereals, confectionary, drinks and dairy products (http://www.nestle.com/Our_Brands/Our+Brands.htm)
  • The Mars directory (http://www.mars.com/The_Mars_directory/Brand_search_results.asp?lstCountry=134)
  • A Mercedes dealership network (http://www.mercedes-benzofcanterbury.co.uk)
  • Dell computer products (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx?c=uk&id=dimen&l=en&s=dhs)
  • NatWest - banks provide 'products' which also double up as services in most cases! (http://www.natwest.com/index.asp)
  • South West Trains - an important service for thousands of people every day! (http://www.swtrains.co.uk)
  • BUPA private health care service (http://www.bupa.co.uk)

These are just examples - you can of course select products or services of your own choosing.


Example: Stella Artois

A glass of Stella Artois.

Image source: Rodrigo David

Brief description - premium grade, relatively strong lager.

  • Price is relatively high compared to other brands, suggesting it is not as important in the mix whereas the product itself is important - it relies on a reputation of quality to justify the higher price.
  • Place is vital - the more places it is available, the higher sales are likely to be. The combination of bottles, cans, draught, etc. means it has a wider availability.
  • This suggests, with the increased methods of selling recently introduced, that process is becoming more important.
  • Promotion is high profile - using 'upmarket' events such as the summer tennis championships, sophisticated adverts highlighting its quality - emphasised by the phrase 'reassuringly expensive'.
  • People and physical environment play little part in the overall marketing mix of the product.