Ch. 7 - Business Marketing

What is business marketing?  The key characteristic distinguishing business products from consumer products is intended use, not physical form.  Seeing how ESPN is a sports broadcaster program, the heart of ESPN i intended for consumers, primarily males 18 to 49.  Going back to ESPN's mission statement, shown below.

This clearly displays ESPN's intent for marketing.  However, looking from the outside in, business's such as professional sports leagues, NFL, MLB, NBA, etc will use ESPN for its use of business marketing.  This is because, ESPN's key characteristics for its business use regarding serving sports fans serves for a business market such as professional sporting leagues.  In reference to Marketing, 5th edition by Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, one key definition when discussing business marketing is, reintermediation.  Reintermediation is defined as the reintroduction of a intermediary between products and users.  Using ESPN as the example for reintermediation, ESPN is the source for reintroduction of a intermediary (professional sports) between its products (highlights of professional sports) and its user or consumers (sports fans).  In a nut shell, ESPN is trusted by professional sports to play the highlights to their shared target markets, sports fans all around the world.

This brings us to the next use of ESPN's business marketing.  Relationship commitment.  Relationship commitment is a firm's belief that an ongoing relationship with another firm is so important that the relationship warrants maximum efforts maintaining it indefinitely.  Simply put, the relationship between ESPN and all professional sports requires maximum efforts to sustain ESPN's identity.  Without ESPN's business agreement with professional sports, professional sports would not get their message to their target market and without professional sports, ESPN wouldn't have anything for sustain its company indefinitely.

Discussing business marketing and ESPN has proven to be extremely difficult because ESPN's main mission is to their consumer.  However, ESPN is indeed a business company, therefore, must acquire and maintain business marketing to survive.  Which is why, joint demand plays another vital characteristic for ESPN and business marketing.  Joint demand is simply the demand for two or more items (NFL,MLB and NBA) used together for a final product (ESPN). 

In conclusion, ESPN looking from the outside in, looks as if it was self sustaining and has no need for business marketing because their intended use is for us, the consumer of sports.  However, without ESPN's proper use of business marketing and all its characteristics, the media giant known as ESPN would not be.  Therefore, business marketing plays a pivotal role and the success and survival of ESPN.

In summary, its who you know as well as what you know.  And never burn bridges because you never know when these bridges will come into play with business marketing.

Ch. 8 - Segmenting & Targeting Markets

For the first time all semester I believe ESPN is a great example of whats being discussed this week.  Through my examination of ESPN's empire, it seems as if they're a "typical" business when it comes to segmenting and targeting their markets.

So far I've discussed most of ESPN's products that make up their product lines.  Just like a good company who dominated its market, ESPN covers almost all market segments.  What is market segments?  Market segment is a subgroup of people or organizations sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product needs.  ESPN is a sports broadcaster who serves sports fans wherever sports are watched, listened to, or debated.  This is why ESPN's product line covers all subgroups that share the sports characteristics in their products.

As shown above, ESPN's product line.  This illustrates ESPN's ability to position themselves in the sports news market, and extremely thorough I might add.  Probably, one of the reasons ESPN's media awareness remains at 97%.

ESPN's use of marketing segments brings us to a second reason why ESPN is a typical business who is extremely successful in segmenting and targeting their markets.  Concentrated targeting strategy.  ESPN thoroughly takes one segment of the sports news market and targets their marketing efforts in that direction to ultimately control the market as a whole.  Once again, examine the picture above.  Take ESPN mobile as a example.  ESPN mobile provides an accurate and convenient way to stay up to date on all your sports needs, especially for those business oriented males who are always on the run and have very few time to stay in touch with their favorite team.  Or try ESPN radio, ESPN radio is broadcasted locally in your geographic region which allows a "home team" bias to take place.  This ensures your reaching your target sports fan market in that region rather than talk about the Champion New York Giants in the slums of New England. 

Lastly, another prime example of ESPN's used of segmenting and targeting their markets is their use of geodemographic segmentation.  I believe this is what ESPN does best and one of the reason they're an empire.  It goes more into detail about ESPN radio, however, ESPN takes this strategy with their business as a whole.  If you go to ESPN's website, you'll see right on the top you can pick a city.  Either, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas or Los Angeles.  In order to remain a top competitor in the sports broadcasting realm, ESPN can't just broadcast generic sports news nation wide, even globally.  You have to cover that areas sport team niche.  Furthermore, ESPN is a global empire and serves sports fans in Latin America as well as Europe.  In these continents, soccer or futbol to their native tongue, is their primary sport of choose.  Therefore, it wouldn't make sense for ESPN to play baseball (MLB) to their sports fan.

In a nut shell, ESPN has perfected the art of segmenting and targeting their markets, which allows great success and potential for growth of the empire known as ESPN!

Ch. 11 - Developing and Managing Products

For starters, ESPN, nor any other companies have produced a new product.  In the world we live in, everything is just a "mine is" better complex.  Which is why my next statement is the keys to success when dealing with development and managing products.  Ready?  When everybody zigs, you zag.

Confused?  You shouldn't be.  Now a days, everyone sees a company produce a "innovative" products in response to a market opportunity, these are the questions asked to develop their next product.  Can we make a cheaper version, can we make it smaller, or can we it simpler?  This standard operation procedures that every company takes leads to market clutter and product confusion.

ESPN is no different in this regard with development and managerial decisions towards new products.  However, is on a mission to become dominant in a smaller niche market known as sports mobile products designed to give the sports fan a simplex platform to get all their sports needs thru their mobile device.  Because it is such a small niche, and one ESPN dominates already, they can ease their way to being the powerhouse by answering simple questions such as can we make it simpler?

If you look at this ESPN mobile product list, you see they have many products to manage yet they cover almost every sports fans needs via mobile devices.  Whether its fantasy sports, or sports discussion to watching sports live through your phone, ESPN manages and covers it all.

Again, the best strategy when dealing with developing and managing products is to zag when everybody zigs, this allows you to be radically different thus making you a powerful contender to the market your after, however, if your big enough like ESPN, and your after a small niche such as sports mobile products, you could just always flood the market with everything needed and just watch as your brand name separates you from all the competition.

LONG LIVE ESPN!

Ch. 16 - Integrated Marketing Communications

When discussing integrated marketing communications, we must examine ESPN's promotional advertising.  However, before we look into ESPN's publicity and advertising, the best way to measure success is to adapt the AIDA concept.  AIDA stands for, A - Attention, I - Interest, D - Desire, A - Action.

ESPN's has great success in achieving their promotional goals while getting their message across to their target market, watch ESPN!

ESPN's strategy is closely followed by AIDA.  Shown here, ESPN grabs attention and interest instantaneously while using predominate figures in multiple sporting worlds.  And once ESPN has grabbed your attention and interest by their use of "wacky" commercials they sustain your desire by humiliating or over board tactics of your favorite sports players.  End state?  You take action by watching ESPN.

Again, ESPN is a sports broadcaster, therefore for success of their empire, their media awareness must stay sharp so their ratings prove worth.  This is vital because other companies will use ESPN as a channel to advertise and promote their sales.  Publicity is key!  If you clink this link, you'll see some testimonies from other corporate giants who have found success while using ESPN to mass communicate to their target market.

Few goods or services will survive in a market place without effective promotion.  This is why integrated marketing communications is a must for success of your company.  In a whole, ESPN has a competitive advantage from their competition which allows ESPN to remain superior!

Ch. 17 - Advertising & Public Relations

ESPN is one of those companies who spends a great deal of time worrying about their media awareness, and with proper justification.  Therefore, advertising and public relations is always a constant concern for a company who tops the charts at a 97 percent media awareness.  Media awareness becomes advertising in a simplex world.  In order to achieve media awareness, you advertise to create awareness of your brand.  In this case, ESPN stands alone in the sports broadcasting realm.  Take a look at ESPN's commercials that never fails to be current and up to date advertisements.

Public relations are essential for success as well.  Don't burn bridges is what comes to mind when we discuss public relations.  When I picture ESPN, I picture a giant elephant sitting quietly in the corner.  Not having pour relations with other companies especially in sister markets, ESPN with NFL or ESPN with NBA is quit a feat in itself.  However, having a positive relationship is the boost most giant brands are looking for.  Synergy is a good way to sum this up.  When ESPN and NFL, arguably two top 5 names when talking about American sports, work together, it only boost advertising and sales to have a good working relationship.

Going back to the giant elephant in the corner, ESPN, other than the required relationships with professional leagues and teams, ESPN hadn't paired up or advertised much due to the fact they were in such command of the sports broadcasting market.  Which made them the quiet giant elephant who sits in the corner never talking but everyone knows is there.  However, recently ESPN starts to find their voice in the world.  ESPN and Time Warner Cable has recently paired together on an advertising campaign which should boost sales as well as their public relations with companies ESPN would normally never associate with.  This duo should be seen as a good example of product placement and sponsorship because while advertising ESPN Live with Time Warner Cable it helps improve ESPN's brand(media) awareness.  I believe this is the reason behind ESPN's sudden pairings with companies such as Time Warner Cable and Nokia to help advertise their new mobile markets, both domestically and internationally.

Without, marketing/advertising and innovation, there would be NO success in the current world for companies.

Ch. 10 - Product Concept

Once again we're to discuss products, and knowing full well ESPN doesn't have many product concepts seeing how their more of a broadcasting company who cares mostly about media awareness and ratings.  However, with that being said, ESPN is still an company and the number one rule still applies, make a profit!  Therefore, ESPN has some products for a retail sense which I will discuss but I want to prove the point that ESPN is a example of persuasive labeling because all of ESPN's products focus on the promotional theme and ESPN logo that has 97% media awareness.

Going off of ESPN's products being marketed mostly as persuasive labeling, it leads to a sense of brand loyalty.  Maybe I'm being bias but whenever I think anything sports, my mind goes immediately to ESPN.  And from the general census I believe most guys feel the same way.  This is another reason for the great success of ESPN.

Examples of ESPN's products are; ESPN radio, ESPN Magazine, ESPN live(mobile TV), ESPN mobile(apps to keep you updated on sports).  ESPN actually teamed up with Time Warner Cable which can be read here.

ESPN's apps they've started to via for mobile platforms across the world are an example of convenience products, as most apps for cell phones are invented for the "convenience" of the user.  However, this doesn't stop ESPN from getting their piece of the pie!

Ch. 18 - Sales Promotion and Personal Sales

In order to discuss ESPN and Sales Promotion and Personal Sales we must "read between the lines" as they used to say in fourth grade.  We've all gotten the point that ESPN is a sports broadcasting network, and while yes ESPN is a brand name to be marketed, it falls short on sales.  So between the lines we go.

As discussed in the global marketing chapter, ESPN's prime product is their mobile product line.  A little refresher, ESPN had launched apps to keep every sports fan up to date on their favorite team / sport up to the very last second.  As well as being a top of the line "fantasy sports" provider.  How does this all tie into Sales Promotion and Personal Sales?!?  Well the biggest thing for ESPN is media awareness seeing how they're ratings are the main source of income because they get to charge more for advertisements on their network.  What also helps is if their mobile apps are widely used, retailers will pay to advertise there as well.

With all that being said, ESPN doesn't promote sales much because its more of a close door deal with retailers to promote via ESPN.  However, in order to have 97% media awareness they must promote a little.  I'm sure any sports fan watching professional games or even just ESPN for highlights has seen examples of ESPN's use of consumer sales promotion targeting their ultimate consumer for their mobile apps.  Which in turn works as a double winner for the brand known as ESPN!

As far as Personal Sales, ESPN plays the opposite roll as they do for Sales Promotion.  If you go here you can see ESPN's shop.  They do offer regular sporting goods and ESPN gear but their primary products sold are player and league attire from all major US professional sport leagues.  They even go as far as having a "Hot Zone" for players who seem to be the hottest at the moment.  Coming back to my point, ESPN itself does NOT have the rights to privately sell these items.  However, they obtain the right to personal sell them.  Upon researching I couldn't figure out if ESPN receives any push money or if they just personally sale these leagues products as a trade allowance.

Tricky huh?  ESPN isn't much of a retailer therefore there isn't any need for Sales Promotion or Personal Sales; however, they are indeed a business and a brand name therefore they will follow the number one rule, make money!