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MMMSubject: (401) BRAND MANAGEMENTEnd Term Examination Semester IV ________________________________________________________________________ Date: 25/03/09Time: 10:30 to 1:30 Marks: 70.N. B. 1.

Answer any five questions2. All questions carry equal marks

Q1.What is a product mix? Discuss how product mix can be altered?

Product mix is a combination of products manufactured or traded by the same businesshouse to reinforce their presence in the market, increase market share and increase theturnover for more profitability. Normally the product mix is within the synergy of otherproducts for a medium size organization. However large groups of Industries may havediversified products within core competency. Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Godrej, Reliance in Indiaare some of the examples.One of the realities of business is that most firms deal with multi-products .This helps a firmdiffuse its risk across different product groups/Also it enables the firm to appeal to a muchlarger group of customers or to different needs of the same customer group .So whenVideocon chose to diversify into other consumer durables like music systems ,washingmachines and refrigerators ,it sought to satisfy the needs of the middle and upper middleincome group of consumers.Likewise , Bajaj Electricals.a household name in India, has almost ninety products in i8tsportfolio ranging from low value items like bulbs to high priced consumer durables likemixers and luminaires and lighting projects .The number of products carried by a firm at agiven point of time is called its product mix. This product mix contains product lines andproduct items .In other words it’s a composite of products offered for sale by a firm.

Product Mix Decisions

Often firms take decisions to change their product mix. These decisions are dictated by theabove factors and also by the changes occurring in the market place. Like the changing life-styles of Indian consumers led BPL-Sanyo to launch an entire range of white goods likerefrigerators , washing machines, and microwave ovens .It also motivate the firm to launchother entertainment electronics. Rahejas, a well-known builders firm in Bombay, took amajor decision to convert one of its theatre buildings in the western suburbs of Bombay intoa large garments and accessories store for men ,women and children, perhaps the first of itskind in India to have almost all products required by these customer groups Competitionfrom low priced washing powders (mainly Nirma) forced Hindustan Levers to launchdifferent brands of detergent powder at different price levels positioned at different marketsegments .Customer preferences for herbs, mainly shikakai motivated Lever to launch blackSunsilk Shampoo ,which has shikakai .Also ,low purchasing power. and cultural bias againstshampoo market made Hindustan Lever consider smaller packaging mainly sachets , forsingle use .So, it is the changes or anticipated changes in the market place that motivates afirm to consider changes in its product mix.

Q2. What is a product?

The noun

product

(prod'

kt or-ukt) is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort"

[1]

or the"result of an act or a process"

[2]

,and stems from the verb

produce

(pr

doos' or -dyoos') from theLatin

prōdūce(re)

, (to) lead or bring forth. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred toanything produced

[3]

. Since 1695, the word has referred to "thing or things produced". Theeconomic or commercial meaning of product was first used by political economistAdamSmith

[4]

.Inmarketing, a product is anything that can be offered to amarketthat might satisfy a want or need

[5]

. Inretailing, products are called merchandise. Inmanufacturing, products are purchased asraw materialsand sold asfinished goods. Commodities are usually raw materials such as metals and agricultural products, but a commodity can also be anything widely available in theopen market. In project management,products are the formal definition of the project deliverablesthat make up or contribute to delivering the objectives of the project.In general usage, product may refer to a single item or unit, a group of equivalent products, agrouping of goods or services, or an industrial classification for the goods or services.

Discuss how product strategies would change over the Lifecycle

Businesses will attempt to use extension strategies to prevent their product fromgoing into decline. They will have to spend money in research and development totry and retain periods of growth and maturity for as long as possible in order tomaximise sales. There are various strategies that a business could employ:• Finding new uses for the product, e.g., the basic technology in hot hair strippers isno different from that of a hairdryer;• Targeting new market segments with the existing product, e.g., sports clothesmanufacturers now advertise their products as street wear rather than just sportswear in the hope of achieving more sales;• If the product is marketed as a new brand with a different use, e.g., Lucozade wasoriginally sold as a product to assist those recovering from illness, by selling it as asports drink a huge increase in sales has been achieved;• The business could make minor cosmetic changes to the product, for example,Manchester United frequently make small changes to their kit in the hope of increasing their replica shirt sales.

Q3.New Products can prove to be competitive strategic differentiators.” CommentDiscuss different positioning strategies.It is in Separate fileQ4. What are the different Brand Extension strategies.Give examples from currentmarketing scenario on how Brand Extensions have been effectively used by