Political marketing

Not only does marketing exist in selling products or services, but it also appears in politic. Electioneerings have been always related with big meetings and advertising posters, but nowadays they are introducing more and new elements with the goal of achieving better results. In this post I will explain some of those new factors that politicians must take into account when they want to get better results.

1. Social Networks

Social networks (such as Twitter or Facebook) are essential if you want to "connect with voters". But we must remember that, as they can be fundamental in achieving new voters, we can lose some of them if we don't use them correctly. Politicians should take into account that the number of followers or the number of "likes" don't mean potential voters.

Joan Roselló, who is the director of Public Affairs Experts S.L, argues that "being in social networks doesn't mean winning elections, but without them we can't win."

2. Interviews

More than advertising, conceding interviews in different communication media is essential. Politicians or parties that decide not to speak with certain journalists or channels usually have a bad image.

3. Closed to people

"Looking to voters' eyes, hearing them and knowing their names is crucial" Joan Roselló remarks. 

Being close to people hasn't been a usual technique until the last few years. But now, people is fed up of hearing politicians, they just want to talk with them. This is known as "Proximity Policy", and is being more common in Spanish politicians.

4. Think before acting

I have talked about this before in this post, but I would like to conclude that we can't go back in social networks: any tweet or any comment will be in the cloud forever. It is also important to be clear and don't lie in messages, because we can anger possible voters.

Mercadona's pricing strategies

Mercadona is a spanish supermarket company founded in 1981 in Valencia, when Juan Roig bought a company of meat to his parents. Juan Roig transformed the shops into supermarkets and expanded them to the rest of the country. Nowadays, Mercadona is the leader in its sector, with anual revenues of 19.000 million euros, 1400 shops and 74.000 employees. It is known as a company with low prices, but it hasn't always had the same policies.

At the beginning, Roig considered the possibility of establishing a reduction in prices complemented with strong advertising campaigns, in order to attract new customers. But the results were not the  expected ones: with te revenues obtained by selling the products he could not finance the process of advertising. So he implemented another policy...

The new pricing policy started in 1993, and it consisted in "Always low prices", what allows customers to buy products of a high quality and at the lowest prices. By this method, Mercadona satisfies the 5 components of the company: customers (The boss), suppliers, employees, society and capital.

Because of the bad experience investing in advertising, Roig distrusts in it. Promotions are not usual in this company as prices are always low.

Finally, I have to say that competitors have increased in the last few years, and they have also implemented policies of low prices. Will Mercadona be able to maintain its position in the market without decrease the quality of the products?

A T-shirt made of recycled plastic

On November the 26th, Real Madrid played a soccer game against Sporting de Gijón, a match corresponding to the Spanish League. Everything seemed as usual, but there was a special detail that made this match unique: Real Madrid t-shirts were made of recycled marine plastic.

Adidas is the brand that sponsors Real Madrid's clothes, and, collaborating with the firm Parley, it has launched a campaign that tries to raise awareness about the problems of pollution. As a part of this campaign, two of the most important football teams of Europe sponsored by Adidas (Real Madrid and Bayern Munich) wore recycled T-shirts.

In the neck of the T-shirt we can read a sentence: "For the oceans". According to recent studies, more than 250,000 tons of plastic are thrown to seas and oceans, and the animals that live there are affected by this problem. Millions of them die every year.

This campaign that Adidas has just designed can be included into the Marketing 3.0, because the aim of this operation is not just increasing sales, but focusing on values and society. Adidas may be seen now as a company concerned in global warming and pollution, and it will carry along a strong position in the market.

The Rise of Primark

Primark is an Irish clothing retailer that operates in nearly 10 countries, including Spain. It was founded in 1969, and, since then, its revenues have rocketed. In Spain, the first shop opened in 2006, and last year's profit increased by 36 % from the previous year, reaching a profit of 971 million euros. How is it possible that, being relatively new, a company like Primark can earn so much money?

1. Low operating costs

Primark offers clothes made of artificial materials, what reduces the expenditure of the production process. Moreover, economies of scale allow the company to realize volume purchases, reducing prices too.

2. Price for consumers

Some marketing analyzers agree that price is the most relevant factor that has contributed to the success of Primark. Primark has opted for a winning equation: "I buy something, I use it and I throw it. It's so cheap that it doesn't matter throwing it." The product is cheap but is not of bad quality, it is right because of the selling price. As I said on the previous paragraph, the fact that the company doesn't use expensive materials affect the price.

3. Low investment in advertising 

When it opened a new shop in Gran Via, Madrid, the brand promoted itself in a few occasions and just with informative messages. We could only see them on the nearer underground stations (Gran Via, Callao...). The absence of investment in advertising means saving in costs and an orientation to the "mouth-ear" as a platform to reach consumers. Social networks have also been important mediums of publicity in recent years.

4. Merchandising 

The cheapest products are usually located in the entrance of the store, and have a function as elements of "calling effect".

5. Expansion in recession period

The economic situation contributed to end with the belief that cheap clothes were bad.

The success of Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is nowadays one of the most famous and prestigious brands all over the marketing world. Its logo is known by everyone, and it appears everywhere (TV, newspapers, sports events, ...). But, how has this company reached the top?

1. Intouchable Logo

Coca cola was founded in 1886, and the company established its logo in 1923. They decided that, in addition to the recipe, the logo should also be fixed. That is how a logo that is recorded in everyone's mind was born. Nevertheless, the packing has been changing over the last century.

2. Same prices

It is very common that new companies start offering their products or services very cheap or for free, and by the time price increases sharply. Coca-Cola also used this strategy; however, they offered a bottle for the same price (5 cents) during 70 years. In 1959 the price changed.

3. Pioneer in merchandising

In the last years of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th, Coca-Cola was much more than a drink, it was a consumer brand, and it carried out different marketing strategies. Between 1987 and 1920, 10% of the products were given for free, in order to create brand awareness. Some other free products such as watches, calendars or decoration items were given to retailers. That is how Coca-Cola was the first one to set the brand in articles not related with the product, what we know as "Merchandising".

4. Property of bottles

In 1915 they launched a contest for a new design of bottle. The Root Glass Company of Indiana participated in the contest, and they found a curious picture of a cocoa plant. Although Coca-Cola didn't have anything in common with the cocoa, the plant had a significant and attractive shape. The Root Glass Company designed a bottle taking into account the shape of the cocoa plant, and they won the contest. The company has been promoting the bottle of Coca-Cola as an icon over the last decades.