Marketing Channels in Today’s Business
Nowadays there are many more marketing channels available than there were 15, or even ten years ago. Now a company can market their products by means of a wide variety of channels open to them such as banners, video, wireless, desktop applications, etc – in addition to the more traditional marketing channels of print media and television.
Marketing is a very important function which plays a role in strategic planning as it has a direct effect upon profitability and sales. Larger businesses will dedicate specific staff and departments for marketing purposes, but it is not something that should be carried out in isolation from the rest of the business. The departments need to work together in order for strategic planning and techniques to be successful (GCSE, 2006)
Let’s take a look at how Sony may consider marketing its new PlayStation 3 (PS 3), which is to be launched in a couple of weeks in America. It has already begun the marketing campaign with a pre product launch press release, wherein it allowed journalists to test the product. This would be an effective strategy as it would enhance the mystery and curiosity surrounding the product.
I think other channels which would be most effective in the marketing of this product would be all of the new channels listed above – banners, video, wireless, desktop applications, as well as television and the printed media, as long as the programs and publications used are aimed at the younger generation. Retail outlets would also have their own promotional material such as posters and cardboard cutouts on display. Sony could refer back to successes that they had in the marketing of the Sony Playstation 2, considering that according to them, an incredible 74 million Playstation 2s have been consumed – a figure trumped by sales of the two iterations of the original PlayStation hardware, now standing at 100 million. (Spong, 2006)
References
GCSE, 2006, retrieved 26 Oct 2006 from the website http://64.37.122.55/business/gcse/marketing_role_in_business.htm
Spong, 2006, retrieved 26 Oct 2006 from the website http://news.spong.com/article/7902?cb=114
