Essay - Business Marketing Brand Manager Was Quoted as Saying, 'You May...

Business Marketing brand manager was quoted as saying, "You may think you define your relevant market." Comment.

Brand management, as a recognized organizational objective, is attributed to Neil McElroy in 1931, who was then a junior **********g ***** assigned to advertising Ca***** soap, and ***** later become Procter & Gamble's CEO. The intended purpose of brand management was ***** solve sales problems through the use of research to understand weakening sales in distinct markets, followed by ***** design and implementation of strategies to turn around these *****. Strategies used many marketing tools including advertising, pricing, promotion, packaging and displays (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). This desired ***** of brand management has remained the primary role of brand managers since McElroy explicitly stated his intent in 1931. However organizations ***** general, and ***** managers in particular, need to be aware that forces other than the ***** of br***** ***** will affect *****ands, including how target markets are defined.

The definition of target markets for specific brands is influenced ***** factors internal to organizations such as other products within an organization (new products, line extensions, brand ***** and co-*****), and other employees ***** an organization (***** as sales staff and senior management). External fac*****rs can also influence how markets are *****, including competitors, the distribution channel (wholesalers and retailers), the media, and consumers including consumer preferences and brand loyalty. Each of ***** factors will be briefly explored in the remainder of this paper.

Within organizations, ***** assumption can be made that all products and employees work collectively toward market domination. However competition for ***** occurs internally to *****, as well as externally. Organizational teams can develop new ***** and extend brand or product lines. The impact is that *****s ***** ex*****ting products ***** be displaced by new products, thereby reducing the ability ***** brand managers ***** solely define their markets. Other employees within an organization can supersede the brand manager's authority to define markets. Senior managers have made decisions that place products in markets that were not previously the focus of brand managers. Sometimes these ***** are strategic and fulfill a larger *****al objective, but *****ten ***** decisions are irrational and driven purely by personal motives. Sales staff can also play a key ***** in defining markets for any given brand. While sales staff generally work in cooperation with brand managers to develop and reta***** brand markets, sales staff may also circumvent the brand managers work by focusing on different ***** or ignoring desired markets. ***** end result is that players *****in organizations ***** than brand ***** alone can, and do, define relevant *****.

***** to the organization, a variety of factors ***** affect how markets ***** defined. Competitors can directly influence market definition, particularly in direct-competition situations. A competitor may change its product's image to appeal to a younger and cooler *****, *****reby implying in its advertisements that the old and uncool are left with the choice ***** adopting ***** product, or staying with ***** competition's product. ***** type of competitive strategy