Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix

It’s Friday afternoon and a hard working accountant gets off after a long day. Glad that an even longer week is over, the accountant decides he will relax and watch the baseball game when he gets home. What better way to relax than with an ice cold beer. Standing in front of the refrigerators in the store can be a hassle. There are just so many choices. Well maybe for most that is true. However, he knows a Bud Light man. The price is great, every store has it and his team does great every time he has a few during the game. It is a no brainer. Although after work there were many choices of beer, for many Bud Light is the go to beer. Obviously Anheiser Busch is reaping the benefits of this dedication and loyalty to their product. However, this was not a result of just word of mouth. The Bud Light brand has a very strong marketing mix, from its “Wazzzup” campaign in the late 90’s to the over the top commercials that are played at half time of every Super Bowl. Anheiser Busch has taken the four P’s and exploited them to their favor. Their strong marketing mix has propelled them to sell more light beer than the second and third place beer combined.

The four P’s are the backbone of mixed marketing. Although there is other marketing theories the four P’s give a company detailed instructions on how to be successful with their marketing campaign. The product and or service is obviously the ground floor of this process. You cannot market a product if you do not know what it is. However, when deciding on a product there are many questions that arise. Those questions include needs the product satisfies and ensuring the right audience is targeted. Secondly would be placement of the product. For example, you would not want to market a new surf board in Iowa. If providing a service like a restaurant the old saying applies “Location, location, location. Furthermore, it is important to think about logistics. Any coastal area would be a great place for a seafood restaurant. The same does not go for Death Valley. Another very important point in placement is knowing competition. Usually when there are coffee shops across the street from each other, one does not stick around. Equally important is promotions to the customer. It is important to understand the customer. Understanding the customer allows for a company to reach their targeted audience more directly and gain attention for the product. Lastly the price of a product must be set very carefully. Although a company must turn profit, there is also the possibility over charging and losing market share. Bud Light has figured out the correct mix to achieve success.

When it comes to pricing Bud Light is very competitive with its competitors. Although the price does fluctuate from store to store one would be very hard pressed to find large deviations between Bud Lights price and that of its competitors. Truth be told the majority