In this assignment I am going to write about the Ford motor company. Ford is an American car company based in Michigan and was founded in 1903 by a man called Henry Ford, ever since then it has grown and expanded all over the world. Ford is currently the second largest car manufacturer in the United States and fifth worldwide based on the sales in 2010. There global revenue stands at 118. 3 billion and they have received more awards based on their vehicles more than any other car company in the world.

Even if a company has good services and products it is still vitally important for them to generate sales and profits they will do this by using a marketing technique called the promotional mix. Promotion is all about how well the company advertise their product and communicate with their customers. Promotional Mix The promotional mix is all the different ways in which a company will use to promote themselves when they introduce new products. The promotional mix and consists of a blend of advertising, sales promotions, sponsorship, personal selling, direct marketing, public relations.

If a company does all of these well they will increase their sales and profits. The main aim of a promotional mix is to raise awareness of the product to get the word out about it in order to maximise sales. Companies will want to do this by setting a place they want to be in the market and work on it to increase their market share, they will then expand and try to create new audiences for example: Coca Cola expanded by introducing Diet Coke for women then Coca Cola Zero for men, same taste just different product to appeal to different genderS.

AIDA The AIDA model is a technique used in marketing which focuses on the events which will take place when a person is selling a product or service. It was created by Elmo Lewis in 1898 and is the most successful layout which people use when selling a product. It shows the four stages which occur when a customer purchases a product the first is: Attention or awareness, this is the idea that in order to sell a product you have to catch the customers eye first.

You then have to gain their interest; this is done by focusing on advantages and benefits of the product and how it is useful and worth buying instead of focusing on the features. Desire: This is because the most important stage in this process is to convince the customer as if they are not they will not go ahead with the purchase so it is important that it satisfies their needs. The last stage is Action this is the final stage when the customer takes action and purchases the product.

Ford have recently released their new design Ford Focus 2011 model where they have spent up to 4 million on advertising, Which Ford have claimed will have more mileage and a more economical system, this car comes in two options a 2. 0 litre 4 cylinder model with a manual five speed transmission or the typical 4 speed automatic. Ford has used various different methods to promote themselves to ensure all customers are aware of the new model on offer. The types of advertising they have used include television ads both terrestrial and digital channels.

They will use this to show off the new car and all the new functions and gadgets it has as well as how its improved in order to try to persuade the customer to go and buy it, they will have only about 30 seconds on TV and will have to include all the most important things in such a short space of time. They will also use posters as a way of advertising; this will be extremely cheaper than television advertising. On the right shows a really old poster of Ford advertising the Ford 58 when it had just been released this would have been more common back when TV was just starting out however just as effective.

They have used a catchy slogan to help the customer remember them as being unique and to make them think that it is the best car around. They have used lots of outdoor poster sites through the company clear channel. They have also bought up to 3000 poster sites to help them advertise. As the internet is a growing sensation it is a good idea to advertise online and Ford have done this as well to advertise their new car, both on their own webpage and possibly on others such as Facebook, twitter and internet banners on YouTube.

The advantage of this is they can write as much as they want in as much detail, so if a customer watching television wants to find out more they can go on the website and find out as much as they want. As well as advertising on digital and terrestrial television they will also advertise in cinemas before the film starts, again this will cost quite a lot of money but they will be advertising to big audiences at a time and the reward will pay off They often advertise during football games and when sport events are shown on the TV.

They advertise on channels such as ITV, Channel 4 and 5 and they also sponsor Sky Soccer Sunday as they know a lot of families will be watching television on Sundays. Ford will also advertise in Newspapers and magazines especially car magazines as this will advertise to people in to cars who may be interested more than those reading the newspaper. Other ways in which they will advertise will be on the radio on various different radio stations.

Not only do they do that, they also send out emails to all their existing and potential customers when new products arrive offering them to come to the car dealerships and car showrooms where there will be a lot of salespeople present to try to convince them to make the purchase. Sponsorship Ford often sponsor events such as drag racing and motocross events as they know these type of events will attract a large male audience who will be more in to cars and what it can do rather than a female audience.

They will sponsor drag races in particular as the audience will always be people male or female who take a great interest in cars which will also be a positive way to promote themselves. They also sponsor soccer weekend, on the Ford Sunday football league this is another one of their clever ideas in which they will focus again on the male audience as they know most men will be watching this show instead of women and similar events they will sponsor includes football games.

As well as Radio talk Sport which they hope to interest men as it is a radio station about sport. Another thing Edinburgh tattoo which is an event for families which play military bands and drums. Ford will also offer sales promotions to attract more customers the promotions include things such as free servicing and MOT, an upgrade pack, low interest rates and they even offer sat-navs and various other things.

This can be very effective as the customer is happy with the purchase because they are getting a free gift which shows that Ford care about their customers. To help make these sales they will always have a few salespeople at Ford car dealerships to try to persuade the customers why they should buy the car by telling them all the positive factors about it and the deals they have if they make the purchase. They will also have large window displays in the car shops so people passing by are aware of the new cars.

Ford will also be involved in many exhibitions to promote themselves, this will include as I said before events such as drag racing as well as Formula one races, car shows, and car demonstrations to show off the car to big audiences. The second company I am going to write about is Apple. Apple is a multinational corporation which designs and markets electronic products including iPods, Computers, Music equipment and much more. They have over 317 stores in around ten countries and they also operate online. It was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs in California.

One of Apples most recent products which they have introduced is there Apple iPad 2 which is the second campaign I am going to talk about, it was released in March 2011 and over fifteen million have been sold, but this wasn’t due to it being such a good product. They would have used many different marketing techniques in order to promote the product and sell as many as possible. Apple advertise on the television all the time but they do it in a certain way, they often include family photos with the person demonstrating all the cool new apps they have and how it is better, thinner, lighter and faster than the last model.

They will air on Terrestrial and Digital channels as well to widen the audience. They advertise in public as well on buses and bus shelters and the London underground where millions of people travel to work on each day ad are made aware of there new products. They specifically put them in places such as escalators and busy stations such as Piccadilly Circus. They also advertise in newspapers where they described their product as a magical and revolutionary product.

They may tend to advertise in newspapers which younger people read as they know it will interest them more than elderly people who are less interested in technology and papers such as Sunday Mail/ Telegraph where they know affluent families will be reading and could possibly take an interest. They will also advertise in Pc magazines which will defiantly interest the readers as people purchasing the magazine will have an interest in technology, they may even get front page as they are a well-known brand and if they make the cover eye catching it will attract people in the shops.

Sponsorship: Apple sponsor American Idol, a popular television show watched by millions in the United States and England. This programme has such a huge audience with Apple sponsoring it they know it is getting viewed by a lot of people who are in to music one of Apples specialities after designing the most popular mp3 players worldwide and continuing to expand and develop their products.

This will attract people who are enjoy music and therefore Apple can take advantage of this and advertise their computers, phones, mp3 players and much more showing off all the music technology they have developed with huge storage mass and ease to use. They also have a procedure in which they donate a certain portion of their profit from certain sales to a global charity to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.

This will encourage people to buy their products even more as they will have a good feeling like they are doing a good deed as well as getting a quality product. If a customer goes in to an Apple store and takes an interest in a certain product quite often staff in the shop approach the customer and ask them if they need any help in finding a suitable product for them, they can then suggest what they think is suitable for them and why by stating all the advantages and how it will benefit the person looking to buy the product.

They will be as helpful and professional as possible in order to make a sale. They will sometimes offer free itunes vouchers as well in order to persuade customers to go ahead with the purchase and think they are getting something for free. They will also advertise themselves on their website and others as well as sending out mail to customers informing them of new products they have out to keep them up to date.

Whenever Apple brings out a new product there is always a conference where a audience will gather and Steve Jobs the owner of the company will go up on stage and make a speech whilst demonstrating the new product and what has improved and how it has developed this results in producing good PR as well. Both Ford and Apple has successfully used the promotional mix and AIDA marketing technique over the years as well as bringing out new quality products one step ahead of their competitors, they are very professional and have both gained a good reputation leading them to be very successful companies.