Cosmetic Applications

Deepika is an Assistant Marketing Communications Manager with Udaipur Cosmetics, a manufacturer of

facial cream and other skin moisturizing products. She is relatively new to the cosmetics industry, being a
recent college graduate from Pacific with limited “real world” experience. As part of her orientation, however,
she recently had the opportunity to spend one week with the Udaipur marketing research group, sitting in on
several focus group discussions with regular cosmetics users.

Today Dipin stopped Deepika in the hallway and told her to coordinate the artwork on both the new package
label design and the story boards for an upcoming advertising campaign, to reflect an increase in the
recommended application of a facial cream product from one to three applications daily. While delighted with
the opportunity to finally be assigned something substantive where she can demonstrate what she is capable
of doing, she is troubled by the directive.

Deepika recalls that in each of the four focus group sessions the week before, the majority of consumers
interviewed revealed that just one application of this product “did the job.” While changing the recommended
usage would dearly contribute to additional sales volume, what she knows about the product indicates that
such an increase would not significantly benefit consumers. On the other hand, Dipin is the Group Product
Marketing Manager, and he makes the decisions on promoting recent hires for this product.
• Sachin and Virag are two enterprising youth. They have passed out
from PIM udaipur. They thought instead of doing a job, they will
launch fresh vegetables in Indian markets. Having learnt of the future
conventional foods, they decided to venture into cultivation of
mushrooms.
• Mushrooms are known to be the best alternative food for
vegetarians. For Sachin and Virag fund raising was a serious handicap
for mass production. However, the first trial batch of mushrooms that
they produced was bought by Star Hotel in udaipur . Further, the
hotel placed orders for supply of 20 kgs every day. Now mushroom
industry is run by small entrepreneurs, like Sachin and Virag.
• Another big player M/s Ashtavinayak Mushrooms, equipped with
cold storage facility was more interested in the export market. Sachin
and Virag have set their sights high. They aim to sell mushrooms in a
very big way all over India. Mushrooms have a great market potential
and is a perishable food
• Mr. X has a distinguished academic record and excels in
sports and other extra-curricular activities since childhood.
He joined ABC as salesman. In the company it was noticed
he was conceited and his interaction with other people
was not exactly cordial. He was indifferent to suggestions
from superiors and subordinates. However, he was a star
performer as salesmen and always crossed targets, in the
time he had spent with the company. The company needs
a new regional sales manager to improve the performance
of a loss-making region, should they appoint him?
• The Hawkins Supply company is currently faced with
an inventory rotation problem. This difficulty stems
from the fact that some supplies must be used prior
to a stated expiration date. Upon receipt, a new
shipment of these perishable items must be stacked
beneath the boxes that are currently in inventory. A
substantial amount of time is consumed in restacking
the items according to their expiration dates.
• Question: The company would like to reduce the
double and sometimes triple handling of items. How
can this goal be achieved? Are there alternative
solutions which might also be effective?
• : The JAW Bottling company has recently introduced a new soft
drink to the market
• called HEAVY. It is extra high in calories. It has been developed
• specifically for those people that enjoy feeling full after only
one cane.
• The materials handling supervisors at JAW Bottlinghave been
receiving
• complaints from lift truck drivers that cases of the new HEAVY
drink are
• slipping off pallets during intra-plant movement and truck
deliveries.
 Unit test -I
• What makes one product different from other
similar products on the market?
• What made you decide to choose Particular
offer/product?
• Identify and explain the six levels of the product
hierarchy.
• What are the stages of the product life cycle
(PLC) in terms of the marketing or revenue
producing perspective? 
• Sales promotion schemes are devised to motivate the
consumer to take that last step and buy the product. This
objective has to be held sacrosanct while formulating a
promotion scheme. The soft drinks industry is organized. The
soft drinks company supplies concentrate to the bottling
company. The bottler adds water and gas to the concentrate,
packs it and delivers the finished product to the distributor.
The distributor then delivers the product to the retailer and
the retailer to the consumer. The marketing message
reaches the consumer directly from the company that makes
and markets the concentrate. But message like sales
promotion passes through three hands before it reaches
HNAL destination. Often, there are accidents on this journey.
The soft drinks company offers different types of schemes.
The schemes that offer gifts on purchase reach the consumer
because he insists on the gift being advertised. However,
those that require involvement by the consumer like turning
• This is because: (1) The consumer is not excited enough to
bite the bait. The consumer bites the bait only when his/her
perceived value of the benefit is high. A scheme like 'look
under the crown and get whatever is printed on it' will be
successful if the prizes are of extremely high value. Because,
if you announce a car or bike and do not say how many of
these prizes can be won, then you have done a half-hearted
job. The consumer is sure to calculate the probability of a
prize. He/she will note participate in the scheme, if he/she
thinks that the chance of bagging a prize is remote. Instead,
it will create hostility in the consumers mind about the brand
• The company does a callous job relaying the
information through the distribution channel.
This is often the case l with the soft drink
giants. The distribution is the weak link in
these schemes.
• The distributor’s vans and their salesmen represent
the company as far as retailers are concerned.
Retailers are enthusiastic about schemes because
they think the increase is throughout to their
profits. But the distributors salesmen seem to use
their judgments in communicating the schemes.
They often act as they are doing a favour by telling
them about the schemes. But the retailers also
watch TV and know about the schemes
• And when there is no communication from the distributor, the
retailer gets distrustful. Not just distrustful, retailers are enraged
when they learn that the scheme is not on offer in their area or has
not been communicated by the distributor’s representatives. There
are instances (not stray ones) where a retailer has no idea about a
scheme which is being offered by a neighbouring retailer. The
company cannot afford to differentiate between retailers when it is
advertising the schemes on the national channel. Bar owners are
not interested in promoting the schemes because of the profile of
their clientele. Hotel owners are one up; they always serve soft
drinks in glasses. The staff of the hotel/bar tend to be avid crown
collectors. So, the sales promotion scheme goes off-target