Principles of Marketing

According to the chapter, design affects marketing in many ways. The marketing of a product is dependent on the design. The product has to be able to live up to its marketing scheme. For example, a product that is marketed as "high-tech" cannot only have two functions on it, since it will be promoted to a group that is capable of handling the technology. I feel that the choice of including or excluding product mix is the most important element in terms of marketing. Companies that only sell one type of product are able to focus on that one and create a specific marketing scheme. As time goes on and the popularity of a company rises, they have to find an innovation, which is where the new products come in, introducing a new consumer group to the rest of the products. One company that does a good job of this would be Dominos. They are known for the pizzas, but with the introduction of the oven-baked subs, they were able to attract a new crowd of people. The people that go to Domino's for the pizza are now able to get a variety of things, which can boast up the number of orders.

The discussion of branding is similar to Tom Kelley's design of experience because both depend on innovation. The experience architect has to figure out how to make sure that their product, whether it be a restaurant, space, or electronic, memorable. Marketing directors have the same job when promoting their product. They need to associate their product with something positive, so that consumers will be able to benefit from it.

Kalamazoo College is branded as the small liberal arts school of the city. It is the opposite to Western Michigan University, which is the typical big party school. In order to fight against it, the party scene must be toned down, to keep the prestige. Also, the school is promoted as a strong study abroad school, so it must continue to add in study abroad programs and encourage students to join in them.