Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Introduction to Marketing What is Marketplace ? Cheryl Ward Simulated business environment Application of marketing concepts A game!

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Marketplace is a Fun Way to Learn About Marketing! It is learning by doing. Strengthens decision making skills Gains experience in working and cooperating with groups Make mistakes now so that you don’t make them in the “real world!”

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte It is Realistic You do what your real-life counterparts do –Select a target market –Design brands to meet needs/wants of customers –Design ad copy & schedule media –Set selling prices (competitive, but profitable!) –Hire and train sales people

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte It is Organized The game scenario follows the logical process of starting up a new product line. You are guided through the decision- making process. Detailed help files are available at the touch of a button.

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte The Marketplace simulation is available via the Internet at: marketplace6.com

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte The Task List leads you through each step of the game, and helps to illustrate the logic of the marketing process.

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Game Scenario You work for a large international electronics firm & Corporate Headquarters wants to enter the personal computer business. You have been selected to head up the new marketing division to sell computers into Asia, North America, and Western Europe.

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Game Scenario Several other international firms are entering the market at the same time. You are selling to businesses, not individuals.

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Game Scenario Your team will make a series of 6 decisions; your goal is to improve performance over the course of the game. First decision is selecting a target market that will be focus of company efforts (3 customer segments). Goal is to meet the needs/wants of selected customer segment.

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Market Segments (Market Structure) Price Performance Work Horse Traveler Mercedes

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Each market segment has its own set of needs.

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Select one segment to target initially. As the game progresses, you will select a second segment.

Target Market Selection In Q1, you will review market research reports to decide which segment to target:  Needs & Wants  Price Willing to Pay  12-Month Demand by City You will select 1 segment to target in Q1; you will add a 2 nd target segment in Q4 (however a new “model” may be added to 1 st segment in Q3—remember that, it’s important)

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Once you select a segment, you must design a brand to meet the needs of that segment.

Marketing Mix: Brand Design Design a product that has features that meet important needs & wants of your target market. Aim is to strike balance between giving customers what they want and doing it competitively and profitably!

Marketing Mix: Pricing After designing brand, set selling price and rebate. Set price high enough to cover costs but not above price willing to pay!

Marketing Mix: Advertising Advertising decisions include:  Designing copy (text) for print ads  Scheduling ads to run a designated number of times during a quarter

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Design ads to appeal to your target segment. You select the benefits to mention in the ad and indicate their order of priority. You decide which brand will be featured in the ad.

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte As the quarters progress, you decide how you want to expand your international market coverage.

Marketing Mix: Sales Channel Sales channel pertains to decisions involving:  Selecting cities for sales offices  Staffing sales offices with salespeople and customer service support personnel  Adjusting number of employees as business grows

Copyright 2001 Ernest R. Cadotte Before you Wrap Up your decisions, a quality check is done by the independent auditor to help prevent common mistakes.

Growth: The Key to Success Growth is essential to increased market share and profits. Growth Options: 1.Geographic growth (opening sales offices in new cities) 2.Customer segment growth (selecting market with good opportunity; adding 2 nd segment in Q4) 3.Maximizing sales within your targeted segments (adding a 2 nd brand a possibility, Q3)

Tracking Performance After deadline passes for wrapping up a decision for a quarter, you may access next quarter to assess previous quarter’s results and make plans for current quarter.

Financial Performance You can check net profits of your company by reviewing previous quarter’s income statement. This is a measure of financial performance.

Market Performance You can review how many units you sold to target market and see performance of your competitors, too. This is a measure of market performance.

Marketing Effectiveness You can review satisfaction with your brand design and ad copy design as well as those of your competitors. These are measures of marketing effectiveness.

What Next? After reviewing performance for previous quarter, revise strategies (brand design, price, sales channel, & advertising) based on your results and competitors’ actions.

The Balanced Scorecard Your performance will be assessed using the Balanced Scorecard. It takes into account how you did in the areas of: Financial performance (Operating Profit/$20M) Market Performance (Market Share) Marketing Effectiveness (Brand Judgment & Ad Copy Judgment scores)

Using the Balanced Scorecard Balanced Scorecard not only provides results of your performance, but it shows how you stand in comparison with rest of your industry, too.

Secret to Success Your Company Market Opponent Secret is to make decisions that please the market and at the same time outmaneuver your opponents!

Q1 Decision Highlights Name the company Analyze the market survey Choose the initial target segment Assign responsibilities to team members Schedule the opening of one sales office

Q2 Decision Highlights Design a brand for the target segment Hire salespeople for office opened in Q1 Price the brand Design advertising campaign Open new sales office for sales in Q3 if desired

Q3 Decision Highlights Review results of test market Adjust marketing mix (brand design, pricing, advertising, sales force) as needed Study competitors’ actions in test market Open new sales office for Q4 if desired Add new “model” to compete in current market segment if desired

Q4 Decision Highlights Select a second segment to target and design a marketing program to go after that segment. –Design a new brand –Price the new brand –Assign/hire salespeople for new brand –Design an ad for the new brand –Run the ad in the local media Open new sales office for Q5 if desired

Q5 Decision Highlights Introduce “new and improved” brands with features now available from R&D efforts. Continue to review opportunities for market expansion – Sales force – Advertising Open new sales office for Q6 if desired

Q6 Decision Highlights Final round of decisions! Continue to monitor customer feedback to brand designs, prices, and advertisements and adjust as needed. Review competitors’ actions in Q5; consider what their actions might be in Q6 as they, too, make a final push to generate sales and please customers.

Grading Team Performance Final team grade will be determined by your team’s balanced scorecard score at the end of Quarter 6. Grades will be assigned as follows: 1 st Place: Guaranteed an “A” !! 2nd Place Grades will be assigned 3rd Place based on performance and distance in 4th PlaceBalanced Scorecard 5th Place scores from 6th Place 1st place team

Grading for Marketplace Your final individual grade for the simulation will be based on:  50 points = Group Grade  50 points = Peer & Professor Evaluation of Performance Simulation makes up ~20% of overall course grade

Your Team Teams will be assigned; 3-4 members per team Each team member is expected to contribute to the overall success of their “company”. To ensure that your team is effective, peer evaluations will be done at the end of the semester and are weighted VERY HEAVILY in assigning Marketplace grades. IMPORTANT: Team members who are not contributing their fair portion of the team effort may be FIRED by their teammates (just like in the real world—ask me for details.)

Your Team Team Roles (these are elective positions and do not affect the outcome of the game).  Brand Manager – Oversees development of products and product design  Advertising Manager – Oversees creation and placement of advertisements  Sales Manager – Oversees sales office location planning and office staffing

Getting Started Purchase a license to play game; available at Phillips Bookstore or at game publisher’s web site (buying directly from website with debit/credit card is less expensive). When teams are assigned, you will be given instructions in class how to sign up for the game and get into your assigned team. All game play is done online at

Deadlines Quarter 1: Tuesday, June 9, 11 pm Quarter 2: Monday, June 15, 11 pm Quarter 3: Wednesday, June 17, 11 pm Quarter 4: Monday, June 22, 11 pm Quarter 5: Wednesday, June 24, 11 pm Quarter 6: Monday, June 29, 11 pm

Need Help? Technical Support : –Phone: (865) – simulation.com The support hours are 8AM to 9PM EST Monday through Friday, and 10AM to 7PM EST on Saturday & Sunday.

GOOD LUCK! If you have questions about playing the simulation at any time, please ask! Goal is to strengthen your “marketing muscles,” take advantage of this opportunity to grow.