Marketing And Communication Strategies Of Samsung And Cadbury

Background of the Organizations

Describe about the Marketing and Communication for Samsung and Cadbury.

The following assignment is a case study of the marketing strategies of Samsung and Cadbury. The two companies are one of the major players in their segments and can be considered to be one of the companies that have gained from the strategy that have given them a competitive edge over the other players. While Samsung has gained from their policy of competitive pricing above all else, Cadbury is one of those brands that have built momentum through their process of differentiation of products. As such, the two brands have had a long run in the industry and continue to be one of the primary players that have kept ahead of their competitors in the competition. This assignment aims to study their major strategies that have been employed by these two brands over the years. Given the case scenario, there can also be an idea of their future steps that these brands aim to take. In such a case, an assessment of the strategies that they create in order to keep up in the market competition is also important.

Samsung is one of the major players in the tech industry. What originally began as a trading company has now taken hold of a huge chunk of the technology industry and is one of the leading brands with the most number of customers. While Samsung has a huge presence in the entire tech sector, it is the smartphone industry that is currently the flagship of the Samsung brand. In its initial phase, Samsung wasn’t as popular in this field and struggled to keep up with its competitors(Barney and Hesterly, 2006). So much so, that they also once decided ot opt out of the smartphone market and focus on other areas. However, the subsequent changes in marketing strategies would drive its growth to such an extent that it is currently the major competitor of the leading smartphone manufacturing brand Apple. Cadbury, on the other hand, has always been one of the leading brands ever since its inception(Cadogan, 2009). The main strategy of the brand has been to create a brand value and a brand image that would help it in attracting customers from across all the sections of the population. Also, Cadbury has stressed on the quality of products and have resorted to a policy of intensive advertising that would help strengthen its customer base. Also, this has led to a brand awareness among the population that would further drive its growth, a process that is continuing till today.

Marketing Strategy of Samsung

To understand the marketing strategy of Samsung, we have to first understand the Marketing Mix that Samsung utilizes in its policy.

The pricing strategy of Samsung is one of the most important features while understanding the strategy of Samsung. The first feature that we see in the pricing policy of Samsung is that they use a policy of skimming prices(Ferrell and Hartline, 2005). This means that whenever they have a competitor in the market that offers similar features in their smartphones, Samsung lowers their prices in order to gain maximum market share. Also, it has been seen that Samsung tends to price their products competitively. This is because Samsung aims to gain hold of the market right when it enters.

The place of Samsung is also very important while understanding the reason for Samsung’s popularity. Samsung utilizes channel marketing to make its place in the market. As a result, there are service dealers who retail to corporate buyers. Also, the brand value of Samsung is one more of the factors that make it important for the various retailers to include Samsung in their list of offerings(Gerzema and Lebar, 2008). The distribution channels of Samsung are many and they penetrate the most parts of the globe and owing to the brand value and recognition, they are also always high in demand.

The quality of the products must be taken into account whenever we need to understand the reason for Samsung’s popularity. The products of Samsung are all required to go through a strict quality control in order to make it to the market(Luther, 2001). Each and every product that comes out of the factories is checked for consistencies and Samsung makes it a point that their products are of high quality whenever the question arises. Other than that, product variation is also an important part in the products of the brand. The product variation means that Samsung products have a distinct identity that adds to their brand value.

Samsung has always been one of the brands that have laid a great stress on advertising their products. The advertising policy has always been one where they employ various measures to gain the attention of their existing customers as well as potential customers(Paley, 2007). Also, Samsung sponsors various popular sports events and other events that have a wide reaching effect. This has worked quite well in Samsung’s favor as Samsung is now a household name.

Marketing policy of Cadbury

The marketing policy of Cadbury can also be determined by understanding their marketing mix(Richter, 2002). The marketing mix of Cadbury is one of the most interesting as they have focused on an aspect of building a strong brand value that would help them gain a huge share of the market.

Cadbury has a huge line up when it comes to products. This ensures that they are always a part of the game in one sphere or the other. While the primary focus of Cadbury was in chocolates, it soon expanded its horizons to other arenas such as biscuits and energy drinks as well(Van der Westhuyzen and Van der Merwe, 2001). Also, the most important feature of the products is that they are targeted towards all age groups and genders. In such a case, Cadbury is bound to keep its market share.

The prices of Cadbury products range from high to low. This ensures that they have a presence across all economic groups. Although the products of Cadbury are primarily luxury products, it is important to notice that they still manage to penetrate across all the income groups. As the quality of the products is high, some of the products are also highly priced(Walker, 2006). However, they do not affect the sales of any of those products as they have a strong brand image that attracts customers towards them(Wood, 2005). Also, the various price segments ensure that the brand has customers across all the income groups. In such a case, Cadbury has a consistent presence in the market.

The distribution channels of Cadbury are quite widespread. It can be seen that Cadbury has distribution centers as well as presence in most retail shops in all the major cities as well as smaller towns(Westwood, 2011). Cadbury has a weak rural marketing but that is not much of a concern as the demand in the rural markets is also quite weak. Also, the presence of Cadbury in all the channels means that the customers have easy access to the products. This prompts the customers as well as potential customers to buy Cadbury products more frequently.

Cadbury has utilized a strategy of brand recall while promoting their products. This is, Cadbury has taken their brand image to such a level that people would recall the name of Cadbury whenever they think of chocolates or other such products that are offered by Cadbury. Cadbury has always utilized a strategy of intensive advertising that have made Cadbury a household name(Wood, 2003). It is quite natural that Cadbury would have such a huge market share after we find out the kind of promotional activities that Cadbury has undertaken.

Conclusion

Samsung and Cadbury are two of the major players in their respective fields. This is mainly because of the marketing strategy that these bands have utilized in their policies. A strong marketing is thus the key to an organization’s success. While Samsung has utilized a policy of competitive pricing, Cadbury has utilized the brand value to reach out to maximum customers. However, what we find common in both these brands is the intensive advertising procedures that these have undertaken. In such a case, it is the promotional activities of these brands that have benefitted them the most and helped them create such a strong market for their products. 

References

Barney, J. and Hesterly, W. (2006). Strategic management and competitive advantage. 1st ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Cadogan, J. (2009). Marketing strategy. 1st ed. London: SAGE.

Ferrell, O. and Hartline, M. (2005). Marketing strategy. 1st ed. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-Western.

Gerzema, J. and Lebar, E. (2008). The brand bubble. 1st ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Luther, W. (2001). The marketing plan. 1st ed. New York: AMACOM.

Paley, N. (2007). The marketing strategy desktop guide. 1st ed. London: Thorogood.

Richter, T. (2002). Marketing mix standardisation in international marketing. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Van der Westhuyzen, B. and Van der Merwe, J. (2001). The marketing mix. Observatory, South Africa: Future Managers.

Walker, O. (2006). Marketing strategy. 1st ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irvin.

Westwood, J. (2011). How to write a marketing plan. 1st ed. London: Kogan Page.

Wood, M. (2003). The marketing plan. 1st ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Wood, M. (2005). The marketing plan handbook. 1st ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.