Examines the Marketing Mix, segmentation, targeting and positioning from an event management perspective

1. Events Marketing
Week 3 – Marketing Mix,
Segmentation, Targeting and
Positioning

2. Today’s session
• Explore the basics of market research and its
links to segmentation, targeting, positioning
and overall marketing communication efforts
• Discuss the marketing mix for events
• Contextualise the concepts of segmentation,
targeting and positioning within the events
industry
• Discover how the Marketing Mix can be used
in order to successfully target chosen
audience(s)

3. Context for Marketing Communications
Research and
Analysis
Marketing objectives
Segmentation, Targeting
and Positioning
Implementation,
Evaluation and
Adjustments

4. Market Research & Analysis
Links the organisation with the environment
in which it operates
In-house vs. Outsourced market research
Purpose and process of market research?
Specify
the
problem
Gather
relevant
data
Analyse &
interpret
data
Facilitate
decision
making

5. Market Research Process
Problem definition
Research objectives
Planning the research
Brief & Plan (Data Collection)
Adapted from: Brassington & Pettitt (2006)
Principles of Marketing, 4th Edition

6. Data Collection
Types of market research
– Exploratory / Descriptive / Causal (Predictive)
– Primary vs Secondary research
• Types of data
– Qualitative vs. Quantitative
Sources of information
– Internal vs. External sources
– Sampling

7. Market Research Process
Problem definition
Research objectives
Planning the research
Brief & Plan (Data Collection)
Conducting the research
Analyse & Interpret
information
Prepare & present
report
Adapted from: Brassington & Pettitt (2006)
Principles of Marketing, 4th Edition

8. Situation Analysis
• Focuses on external and internal environment
and stakeholders
• PEST/LE, SWOT (what you did last week)
• Feeds into aligning the organisational market
offering (product/service/event) to the needs of
the stakeholders and corporate objectives

9. Marketing Mix
What is the marketing mix?
‘Understanding the nature of customers and their needs and
wants is only the first step… The organisation needs to act on
that information in order to develop and implement
marketing activities that actually deliver something of value
to the customer. The means by which such ideas are turned
into reality is the marketing mix.’
Brassington and Pettitt (2003:27)

10. Marketing Mix
• Originally developed in the 1960s (Borden, 1964;
McCarthy, 1964)
• Marketer as a ‘mixer of ingredients’
• ‘set of strategies on the supply-side’ that meets ‘a
set of needs on the demand-side’ (Rosenbloom
and Dimitrova, 2011)

11. The ‘original’ Marketing Mix
Price:
• Costs
• Profitability
• Value for money
• Competitiveness
• Incentives
Product:
• New product development
• Product management
• Product features/benefits
• Branding
• Packaging
• After-sales service
Place:
• Access to target market
• Channel structure
• Channel management
• Retailer image
• Logistics
Promotion
• Developing promo mixes
• Advertising mgmt
• Sales promotion mgmt
• Sales mgmt
• Public relations mgmt
• Direct marketing
Source: Brassington & Pettitt (20014:27)

12. Four Ps
• Static concept
• Marketing is a dynamic process, which needs an
alternative conceptualisation of core elements
• 4Ps do not always adequately reflect the nature of
a company’s market offering particularly in the
service/events sector

13. Extensions of the Marketing Mix
4Ps
(McCarthy,
1964)
5Ps
(Judd, 1987)
6Ps
(Kotler, 1984)
7Ps
(Booms and
Bitner, 1981)
15Ps (Baumgartner,
1991)
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
People
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Political power
Public opinion
formation
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
People
Process
Physical
evidence
Product/service
Price
Place
Promotion
People
Politics
Public relations
Probe
Partition
Prioritize
Position
Profit
Plan
Performance
Positive
implementations
Source: Gummeson (1994)

14. Marketing Mix for Events/Experiences
4Ps
(O’Sullivan and
Spangler, 1998)
9Ps
(Getz, 2005)
10Ps
(Allen et al,
2005)
4Ps
(Raj, Walters
and Rashid,
2009)
8Ps
(Bowdin et al,
2011)
Parameters of the
event experience
People
Peripherals
Per-info-com
Product
Price
Place
Promotions
People
Programming
Packaging and
distribution
Partnerships
Positioning and
branding
Product
experience
Price
Place
Promotion
People
Programming
Packaging
Partnerships
Physical setting
Processes
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Product
experience
Programming
Packaging
Price
Place
Promotion
People
Partnerships
Product
Promotion
Price
Place
Core/tangible/augmente
d/potential
Costs –
time/psychic/physical/se
nsory
Product experience
Programming
Packaging
People and Partnerships
Integrated Marketing
Communications
Free entry, donation or
ticket?
Physical setting
Processes

15. Market Segmentation in Events
• What is the purpose of market segmentation?
• How many customers can you identify with any
particular event?
• What is the basis of segmentation?
• Twofold application:
– Conceptualizing and launching a new event
– Promoting an existing event

16. Market Segmentation
We are all different but have some
needs in common:
biological needs - food, shelter etc.
acquired needs - shaped by culture,
education and our experiences
These commonalities = market segments
Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into subsets of
consumers with common needs or characteristics
Schiffman et al. (2012:6)
Schiffman L, Kanuk L & Hansen H. (2012) Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook. Pearson,
Harlow

17. • B2B vs B2C segmentation
• Segmentation criteria:
– Geographic/Demographic/G
eo-demographic
– Psychological/Psychographic
– Sociocultural
Approaches to market
segmentation 1

18. Approaches to market
segmentation 2
Benefit
Hybrid – Values Attitudes Lifestyles
(VALS)
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.c
om/vals/
Primary vs Secondary vs Tertiary
segments
Use related/ Usage – situation
Segment name Segment characteristic Marketing action
LoLows Low current share, low consumption customers Starve
HiLows High current share, low consumption customers Tickle
LowHighs Low current share, high consumption customers Chase
HiHighs High current share, high consumption customers Stroke

19. Segmenting consumer markets
• Why do people attend events?
– Excitement & thrills, socialization, entertainment, event
novelty, family togetherness (Formica & Uysal, 1996)
– Cultural exploration, novelty/regression, recover equilibrium,
known group socialization, external interaction/socialization,
gregariousness (Crompton & McKay, 1997)
– Local culture/identity, excitement/novelty seeking, party, local
attractions, socialization, known-group socialization, ancillary
activities, desire to see artists perform (Faulkner, 1999)
– External interaction/socialization, novelty/uniqueness, variety,
entertainment/excitement, escape, family (Nicholson and
Pearce, 2001)

20. Segmenting business markets
Criteria:
– Industry (sub)sector (e.g. pharmaceuticals, fashion, film,
etc.)
– Company size and scale of operations (multinationals, large
national companies, SMEs) or annual turnover
– Geographical location (e.g. companies within London,
South-East, Europe, EMEA, etc.)
– Attractiveness of products/services offered by the company
(basic goods vs luxury goods, etc.)
– Reputation

21. Segmenting media markets
Criteria:
– B2B vs B2C
– Publication/channel profile (print, digital, outdoor,…)
– Circulation numbers (how many people can they reach)
– Profile of their target audiences
– Speed/frequency at which the message can reach audiences
(e.g. daily, monthly, weekly, etc)

22. Some examples
What criteria would you use to segment the market for the following
events:
– One-day conference on digital marketing
– A local secondary schools sporting competition
– Product launch of the new luxury car
What type of event would appeal to:
– Professional, pregnant, single women in their early 30s
– Middle-aged, divorced, professional men in their 50s with a very
strong interest in “all things male”
– Young couples (late 20s–early 30s) with small children
– Extreme sports enthusiasts – male and female
– Elderly couples approaching retirement

23. 5 W’s
• Five Ws of Marketing
– The basis of the marketing message
• Why? – links to motivation, needs & satisfaction
• Who? – links to segmentation
• When? – links to seasonality
• Where? – links to distribution
• What? – links to product/Event Experience

24. Positioning 1
What is the basis of positioning?
1) Knowing the target audience’s needs, attitudes and
preferences
2) Effective design of the Marketing Mix (4Ps, 7Ps, 8Ps,
9Ps, 12Ps...) to address these
3) Efficient use of resources in promotion

25. Positioning 2
The way in which the event is defined by consumers, or the
“place it occupies in consumers’ minds relative to
competing products” - PERCEPTION
Market share vs mind-share vs heart-share
Positioning can be done:
– Based on specific product/service attributes
– Against an existing competitor
When positioning an event consider
Location
Attention span
Competitor prices
Programme (content)
Competitive
advantage

26. Positioning 3 - focus
Market
Focused
Fully focused
(Service and
Market
focused)
Unfocussed
(everything
for
everyone)
Service
focused
Numbers of
Markets served
Many
NarrowWide
Few
Breadth of service offerings
Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011:84
https://www.c-h-
w.com/future-
old/event-2015-
registration/
http://www.inter
national-
confex.com/pag
e.cfm/link=1

27. Positioning 4
Criteria for positioning in the events industry:
– Existing reputation (e.g. Olympic Games)
– Charisma of the event director (e.g. Duncan Reid)
– Focus on event programming (e.g. Trafalgar Square
Festival)
– Focus on performers and “theatre”
– Emphasis on location or facilities (e.g. Wimbledon)
– Price or quality (e.g. The Three Tenors)
– The event category or product class
– Multiple attributes (a combination of any of the above)

28. Positioning 5 - maps
Serious
runners
Less
expensive
Expensive
Fun
runners
Virgin Money
London
Marathon
(£35)
BMW Berlin
Marathon (98
Euros)
Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011:94-99
New York
Marathon (£229)
Edinburgh (£54)

29. Targeting Strategies
• What does targeting mean?
• What is the purpose of targeting?
Undifferentiated
(mass) marketing
Differentiated
(segmented)
marketing
Concentrated
(niche) marketing
Micromarketing
(local/individual)
marketing

30. Summary
1. Events face active competition
2. To succeed marketers need to develop value
propositions that stake a defensible position
against competitors
3. Events when considered as services offer a
number of possibilities for competitive
differentiation e.g. location,
luxury/exclusiveness, scheduling, calibre of
personnel/guests and options for customer
involvement.
4. Most Events will pursue a focus strategy

31. Useful Resources
Market research, Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
Masterman and Wood (2006)
– Chapters 2 & 3
Brassington and Pettitt (2004)
– Chapters 5, 6 & 20 (pp 840-865)
O’Sullivan, E.L. and Spangler, K.J. 1999. Experience Marketing: Strategies
for the New Millenium, Spon Press
Rosenbloom, B. and Dimitrova, B. (2011) The Marketing Mix Paradigm
and the Dixonian Systems Perspective of Marketing, Journal of Historical
Research in Marketing, 3 (1), pp. 53-66
• Thompson, K. and Schofield, P. (2009) Segmenting and Profiling
Visitors to the Ulaanbaatar Naadam Festival by Motivation, Event
Management, Vol.13, pp. 1-15