Integrated Advertising, Promotion and Marketing Communications 5th Edition by Kenneth Clow,Donald Baack

تمرين 17

Peerless Marketing
In the United States, the majority of homes have indoor plumbing. Sinks, faucets, toilets, and other pieces of hardware are largely taken for granted. Only in two circumstances are they prominently in the minds of customers. The first is when a plumbing product is being purchased for the first time, such as when a home is being built or an area is being refurbished. The second is when an item is defective and must be replaced.
Manufacturers try to make certain consumers will remember a company's brand and that it will be preferred by builders and plumbers. The products must be placed in stores such as Home Depot or Lowes in ways that makes them easy to find and always accessible.
One of the major players in the plumbing fixture marketplace is Delta Faucet Company. A strange path brought the company to prominence. In the 1920s, an immigrant named Alex Manoogian founded Masco Company, which provided auto parts. Twenty-five years later, Manoogian was contacted by an inventor who had created the first washerless faucet. Although it was not related to his current business, Manoogian saw the potential and refined the item, which was first sold out of the trunks of salesmen's cars, as the first Delta Faucet. The name was chosen because a key part of the product resembled the shape of the Greek letter delta.
The Delta Faucet Company became a separate part of the original Masco Company and relocated. Over the next two decades, it expanded quickly to an entire line of products. Currently, Delta Faucet Company is a multinational firm with four primary locations: Indianapolis, Indiana; Jackson, Tennessee; London Ontario, Canada; and Panyu, China. It sells over 1 million faucets per month. The overall Masco Company now sells door hardware and locks, cabinets, and glass products in addition to faucets.
The Delta line includes two other names: Brizo and Peerless. Brizo is the high-end line of faucets, Delta is the flagship and primary brand, and Peerless is the lower-end line of items.
The primary advertising challenges appear to exist in four main areas. First, company leaders must make sure that one brand does not cannibalize the others. The brands must remain as distinct products offered to separate sets of consumers. Second, the brands must be viewed as the primary choices and must be remembered by consumers when the time comes to buy a plumbing fixture. Third, there cannot be brand confusion. Builders and plumbers must believe that the fixtures are distinct along several lines, including quality and durability, ease of installation, and strong warranties, but they must also be perceived as being fashionable. Fourth, innovation has become a new part of the plumbing fixture industry. A wide variety of options exist. Delta's products must compete with all the new faucet variations and retain its position as a manufacturer.

The Delta Faucet Company offers the Peerless brand.
Complications occur due to differences in markets and customers. Many contractors and builders are simply looking for a low-cost option, especially when lower-end rental properties and similar units are being developed. Plumbers may be willing to install a wide variety of products. They will consider the costs of a product but also want something that will be easy to install and that will be durable. Individual consumers are the most likely to be interested in other product qualities, such as novel features and the look of the product.
1. What type of message strategy should Delta Faucet Company utilize Should it be the same for all of the brands and in all of the markets (builders, plumbers, consumers)
2. What leverage point makes the most sense for Delta Faucet Company advertising
3. What type of executional framework should be used in traditional advertisements aimed at consumers
4. What type of executional framework should be used for print advertisements aimed at contractors, builders, and plumbers Why might it be different (or the same) from ads aimed at consumers
5. Should the company use a spokesperson If so, which one of the four types should be used Justify your answers.
Source: www.deltafaucet.com (accessed April 20, 2012)