Marketing and Finance in Hollywood Films

Role of Marketing

• Marketing is a total system of interacting activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute products to customers.
• Strategic role involves long-term decisions that impact business functions.
• Increasing market share keeps competitors from taking customers.
• Improving customer satisfaction builds brand loyalty, leading to repeat sales.
• Increased sales revenue through effective 4Ps improves profit maximization.

Interdependence with Key Business Functions

• Marketing relies on Finance for budget allocation.
• Marketing relies on Operations to produce high-quality, timely products.
• Marketing relies on Human Resources to acquire and manage skilled employees.
• Businesses work in coordination with each other (Finance, Operations, and Human Resources) to achieve their goals.

Types of Markets

• A market is a group of individuals or organizations wanting a product and have the resources to buy, are willing and authorized to buy.
• Resource Market: raw materials are sold/purchased by Businesses (mining, agriculture, fishing).
• Product Market: involves the trade of products/services used in production of products or other services.
• Industrial Market: where products are traded for other products use in production by businesses.
• Place Market: where goods are traded in a certain place by sellers and purchasers such as marketplaces, shops, etc.
• Intermediate: wholesale markets for resales and resellers
• Consumer: direct consumers buy from retailers/businesses
• Mass: products are in high demand with large customers base like general products
• Niche: Small segmented markets where highly specialized products & services are sold to specific customers.

Influences on Marketing

• Psychological:
  • Perception: how people perceive products influences buying decisions
  • Motives: buying reasons influence choices (comfort, health, safety, or personal growth).
  • Attitudes: overall feelings about a product can affect purchasing decisions
  • Personality: consumers' self-images and characters affect choices
• Sociocultural:
  • Family: different family members are influential on buying decisions.
  • Peer Group: customers behave or change based on peer influence.
  • Social Class: buying behaviours change based on customers position in the class structure (luxury vs essential).
• Economic:
  • Booming economy increases spending and consumer confidence, influencing buying decisions.
  • Recessionary periods reduce spending, focusing on essential items and value.
  • Government policies, like subsidies, impact consumer spending and purchasing behavior.

Consumer Law

• Consumer laws protect consumers in their dealings with businesses.
• Australian Consumer Law (ACL) prevents businesses from misleading consumers.
• Misleading advertising: misrepresenting product qualities/properties
• Bait and switch: advertising products that are not available or are in short supply
• Unconscionable conduct: taking advantage or unfair business practice
• Penalties for breaching ACL can be fines or even criminal legal actions
• Enforcement of laws by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), involving investigations.

Deceptive and Misleading Advertising

• Dishonest Advertising: product claims that are inaccurate or misleading.
• Bait and Switch: advertising products that are not available in promised quantities or are very limited.
• Fine Print: important information is hidden in small or confusing print.
• Greenwashing: making false or misleading environmental claims
• Country of Origin: making false or misleading claims about where a product originated from.

Price Discrimination

• Occurs when businesses charge different customers different prices for the same product due to the cost of delivering to different locations of customers or other factors.
• Pricing may be lawful if factors including the cost difference in delivering goods or services in their different locations (e.g, rural or city) to customers or differing product specifications.

Implied Conditions/Consumer Guarantees

• Consumers have rights based on assumed promises, whether explicitly stated or not. These are called implied conditions or consumer guarantees.
• Implicit conditions are guaranteed standards of quality, performance, and usability.

Warranties

• Warranties are promises to repair or replace faulty products within a specified time.
• Warranties are distinct from guaranteed standards, these are more likely to be associated with marketing and promotional activity rather than being guaranteed legal consumer rights.

Ethics

• Ethical considerations relate to moral standards and values in marketing.
• Ethical standards differ from legal ones.
• Ethical criticisms often involve stereotyping, sex in advertising, product placement and privacy invasion due to the use of technology.

Marketing Process

• 1. Situational Analysis: understanding the business's current position in the marketplace and its competitive environment. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is used here.
• 2. Market Research: gathering and analyzing information about the target market to identify their needs and wants.
• 3. Establishing the Objectives: clear, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound marketing objectives.
• 4. Developing Marketing Strategies (4Ps): detailed plans to implement
  • Product: features, design, branding, packaging
  • Price: cost, competitiveness, pricing strategies
  • Promotion: advertising, public relations, sales promotions
  • Place (Distribution): how products reach customers.

Product Lifecycle

• The life cycle of a product reflects its level of sales and popularity over time (introduction, growth, maturity, decline)

Competitive Strategies

• Businesses use various promotional strategies to achieve their marketing objectives and compete effectively.
• Market segmentation: dividing the market into groups with similar characteristics (demographic, psychographic, behavioral).
• Product/service differentiation: distinguishing a business offer from competitors’ (quality, features, service).
• Positioning: creating a distinct image/identity for a product/service compared to competitors.

Pricing Strategies

• Businesses use various pricing methods (cost-based, market-based, competition-based) and pricing strategies to achieve product sales objectives
• Price skimming: high initial pricing to capture early adopters before lowering prices later
• Penetration pricing: low initial prices to attract a large number of customers quickly
• Loss Leaders: set a low cost-price to lure consumers and ensure higher margin profits are made

Global Marketing

• Companies develop an effective marketing approach for a worldwide product.
• Global Branding: creates one identity that will ensure product recognition around the world.
• Standardisation: approach to market certain products or services uniformly worldwide.
• Customisation: approach of adapting the marketing mix to meet the specific needs and demands of different countries or segments of consumers.

Communication Process

• Importance of effective communication for successful business promotion.

This quiz explores the crucial relationship between marketing and finance in the film industry, specifically focused on the Barbie movie. It covers key concepts such as budget allocation, target markets, and the roles of different departments in marketing strategies. Test your knowledge on how these elements interact in Hollywood's marketing landscape.