Economics Exam Review - Product Insights

Economics Slide - Product Slide

• Date: Friday, January 24th
• Time: 8:20 AM
• Location: Room 207
• Exam Review: IDC4U Exam
• Parts: A- Knowledge (25 marks), B- Thinking (25 marks), C- Communication (20 marks), D- Application (21 marks)
• Total Marks: 91
• Total Weight: 10% of course mark
• Exam Length: 1.5 hours
• GDP (Gross Domestic Product): The total value of all goods and services produced within a country.
• Brand Equity: The value of a brand beyond its functional benefits, due to popularity. Steps for development:
  • Position the brand within a product class (e.g., Gatorade as a sports drink).
  • Connect the brand name to its function and create emotional connections (e.g., Gatorade helping athletes).
  • Shape consumer perceptions and feelings about the brand (e.g., Gatorade is best for athletes).
• Indirect Selling/Sales: Manufacturers use intermediaries (agents, wholesalers, or retailers) to sell to consumers. (e.g., Ticketmaster, Stub Hub).
• Press Release: An official statement sharing news or announcements about an organization, event, or product.
• Public Transportation and S&E Industry: Role of public transportation in the evolution of the sports & entertainment industry.

Competitive Parity

• Definition: Using industry trends to match promotional spending to what other companies are doing, problem is that different companies have different objectives.
• Different Company Objectives: Each company has different objectives.

Marketing Terms

• Marketing: Process of developing, promoting, distributing products/services.
• Convergence: Merging of technologies, industries, or platforms to offer a unified experience. (e.g., streaming live sports using a mobile app)
• Cross-Promotions: One industry promoting another through communication (e.g., two companies in similar market acting together)
• Product Tie-in: Using associated ancillary products to promote (e.g., McDonalds happy meal)
• Royalty: Payment made for the right to use intellectual property (trademark, patent, or copyright).
• Synergy: When different entities combine to create a greater combined effect.

Athlete Types

• Recreational Athlete: Plays for enjoyment, not competition.
• Amateur Athlete: Doesn't get paid to play (high school, college).
• Professional Athlete: Earns income from playing a sport.

Research Types

• Primary Research: Original research for a specific marketing situation.
• Secondary Research: Published data collected for other purposes.

Primary Research Methods

• Experiment
• Observation
• Survey

Branding

• Definition: How a product, service, or organization creates a distinctive identity.

Online Advertising

• Definition: Promoting products/services through digital platforms (websites, social media, search engines, apps).

Licensing

• Definition: An agreement for a company to use another's brand name, patent, or intellectual property in exchange for a royalty.

Institutional Advertising

• Goal: Developing goodwill or positive image for the company.

Sponsorship & Endorsements

• Sponsorship: A company supporting an event or team for exposure (e.g., Nike sponsoring NFL).
• Endorsement: A celebrity endorsing a product or service (e.g., Serena Williams endorsing Nike).

Sports Marketing Differences

• Focus: Sports marketing focuses on teams, athletes, and events to create emotional connections with fans, while regular product marketing emphasizes products' features and benefits.

Marketing Plan Components

• Executive Summary: Overview of goals and strategies.
• Situational Analysis: SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).
• Marketing Goals: Measurable objectives (clear targets, e.g., amount, time).
• Target Market: Customer profile (age, lifestyle, location).
• Product: Features and benefits.
• Price: Pricing strategy.
• Place: Distribution channels.
• Promotion: Marketing campaigns.

Economics of Sports & Entertainment

• Details: Broad topic, not fully elaborated within these notes.

Trademarks

• Definition: A recognizable sign, design, or expression identifying a product or service.

Sports Promotions

• Purpose: To increase awareness, drive sales, boost engagement, and create excitement surrounding a sports event or team.

Opportunity Cost

• Definition: The value of the next best alternative foregone when making a choice. Example: allocating resources (money or time) toward one alternative and foregoing another.

Discretionary Income

• Definition: Money left after covering essential expenses.

Copyrights & Patents

• Copyrights: Legal protection of creative expressions.
• Patents: Legal protection of inventions.

Core & Ancillary Products

• Core Product: The main product fulfilling the primary need.
• Ancillary Product: Additional products or services related to the core product (e.g., movie-related merchandise).

Product Line & Product Mix

• Product Line: A group of similar products from a manufacturer.
• Product Mix: The total assortment of products by a company

4Ps of Marketing

• Product: Features and benefits of the product.
• Price: Cost/value of the product.
• Place: Location/channels that product is sold.
• Promotion: Methods for raising customer awareness of the product.

Grassroots Marketing

• Description: Local community-level marketing activities.

Mass Marketing

• Description: Marketing to a broad audience with a single unified message.

SWOT Analysis

• Description: Evaluating Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats during strategic planning for a business.

Product Life Cycle

• Stages: Introduction, growth, maturity, decline.
• Characteristics: Describe the prominent features/attributes of each stage. (e.g.-- High costs, low sales during introduction)

Pricing Strategies

• Prestige Pricing: High prices to appeal to a target market that emphasizes high quality.

Bundle Pricing

• Description: Combining the sale of multiple products/services into a single package at a discounted price.

Loss Leader Pricing

• Description: Pricing an item at a very low price to attract customers to a store in the hopes of them buying other more profitable items.

Yield Management Pricing

• Description: Pricing products according to their capacity (e.g., tickets closer to the stage in a venue are higher).

Marketing Mix

• 4Ps of Marketing mix: A key concept for businesses, product (feature,design, quality), price (cost to consumer, value/competition), place (where/how to get it), promotion (strategies for the general audience).

Selling Process

• Steps: Approach, determine needs, present product, overcome objections, close the sale, perform suggestion selling, and follow up.

Co-branding

• Description: Two or more brands working together.

Media

• Definition: Types of mass communication (newspapers, magazines, broadcast, online, etc.).

Promotional Mix

• Description: Strategies for promotion (including print, broadcast, digital etc.).

Promotional Budget

• Methods: Percentage of sales, competitive parity, and objective and task.

Cross-selling

• Description: Encouraging customers to buy related products or services.

Fad vs. Trend

• Fad: Short-lived phenomenon.
• Trend: Long-lasting shift.

Demographics, psychographics, geographics

• Demographics: Age, gender, income.
• Psychographics: Lifestyle, values.
• Geographics: Location.

Publicity vs. Advertising

• Publicity: Unpaid, media coverage.
• Advertising: Paid, controlled by the company.

Prepare for your IDC4U Economics exam with this focused review on key concepts like GDP and brand equity. Understand the importance of product positioning, emotional connections, and indirect selling methods. This session will equip you with the knowledge and skills required for success in your exam.