Holistic or sustainable marketing

A marketing strategy that is developed by thinking about the business as a whole, its place in the broader economy and society, and in the lives of its customers. It attempts to develop and maintain multiple perspectives on the company's commercial activities. Holistic marketers engage in a host of carefully planned, interconnected marketing activities and satisfies an increasing broader set of constituents and objectives. They also consider a wide range of effects of their actions.
Holistic marketing includes the following -

Sustainable marketing methods adopted by Post It - 

1. Offering an electronic sustainability training program for sales that touches on trends and products.
2. Providing a tool kit to assist 3Mers in sharing our story externally which includes presentations, videos, catalogs and gift boxes featuring sustainable products. 
3. Educating on sustainability issues and trends through a monthly web series. Past speakers have included 3M executives, customers and noted academics.
4. Integrating sustainability into corporate and product brand positioning. 
5. Focusing on sustainability during 3M's recent brand re invigoration work. 3M's sustainability key messages and positioning for product and corporate communications were enhanced to align with this approach.
6. Embedding sustainability education into global brand workshops.
7. Participating in external sustainability organisations such as Net Impact, the Corporate Eco Forum and Sustainable Brands to connect with customers and other stakeholders around 3M's sustainability approach.

Branding

According to American Marketing Association, A brand is defined as a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's goods or service as distinct from those of other sellers. The legal term for brand is trademark. A brand may identify one item, a family of items, or all items of that seller. If used for the firm as a whole, the preferred term is trade name.
Post It is a product of 3M and was launched in 1977. This was an entirely new product in the market. On year after its launch it raked in more than US $2 million in sales.

BRAND NAME - POST IT
TAGLINE - Organize and prioritize at home, school or the office.
LOGO -

Why this brand name?

Point of Parity - In a particular product category, the features that are similar between the product and its competitors. 

Point of Difference - In a particular product category, the features that differentiates a brand with its competitors. 

POP and POD of 3M and other sticky notes (Big Logonotes, Stick it or not notes, Sticky Notepads, etc) - 

Points Of Parity - 

1. Both are sticky notes.
2. Same target group.
3. Same pricing strategy.

Points Of Difference - 

1. Global brand.
2. Quality is better (Post It).
3. Comparatively more variants.

Brand Equity - 

According to American Marketing Association, brand equity is a phrase used in the marketing industry to try to describe the value of having a well known brand name, based on the idea that the owner of  a well known brand name can generate more money from products with that brand name than from products with a less well known name, as consumers believe that a product with a well known name is better than products with less well known names. 

Brand asset valuator model - This model suggests that there are four key components of brand equity.

Energised differentiation - Measures the degree of which the brand is seen differently.

Relevance - Measures the appropriateness and breadth of the brand's appeal.

Esteem -  Measures the perception of quality and loyalty.

Knowledge - Measures the brand awareness. 

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Segmentation - This partitions the business sector into overall characterized cuts. It comprises of a gathering of clients with comparative needs and needs. Marketeers distinguish proper gathering/portion of business sector to focus on. To portion a market, 4 significant gatherings are utilized.

Geographic - This is clear and relates to where your clients live and work together. It is conceivable that there geographic area assumes a part regarding their social cosmetics and purchasing propensities yet these are investigated in different classifications.
Demographic - This stands for age, sex, size of family, instruction, wage, occupation, financial class, occupation, religion, ethnicity and dialect.
Psycho graphic - This compares to the mental qualities of your clients including traits, for example, identity, convictions, values, lifestyle, state of mind et cetera.
Behavioral- This asks questions about how your customer behaves and what motives are included.
Post It market segmentation -
Geographic - Global
Age - 18-60
Psycho graphic - Organised and work oriented.
Behavioral - They buy the product because it aids in effective communication and helps in arranging things.

Targeting - The purchasers the organization needs to offer its items to, and to whom it steers its promoting deliberations to. Recognizing the target business is a fundamental venture in the advancement of an advertising arrangement. A target business might be differentiated from the business sector in general by geology, purchasing force and demographics, and also by psycho design.

Post It target market - the target market for Post It is - 

1. College students - Help college students in their studying.
2. Office workers - Help office workers in their day to day activities.

Positioning - Positioning means actualizing the target market. Business sector situating is the control of a brand or group of brands to make a positive observation according to the general population. In the event that an item is generally situated, it will have solid deals. Creating a situating method is an essential piece of innovative work for the brand. Brand situating relies on upon the accompanying components.

Post It positioning - It has been positioned as a product that when a person uses it, he projects a responsible outlook. They have set prices that provide genuine value to the customer segment that is being targeted. 

Sales Management

According to American Marketing Association, sales management is defined as the planning, direction , and control of the personal selling activities of a business unit, including recruiting, selecting, training, equipping, assigning, recruiting, supervising, paying, and motivating as these tasks apply to the sales force. Sales management involves 3 inter related processes -

1. Formulation of a strategic sales program.
2. Implementation of the sales program.
3. Evaluation and control of sales performance.

Functions of sales management - 

1. Sales planning.
2. Recruiting/Staffing.
3. Training.
4. Controlling/Directing.
5. Evaluating.
6. Effectiveness/Efficiency.
7. Compensation.

The impact of effective sales management - 

1. Increased sales revenue and profitability.
2. Decreased variability of revenue due to inaccurate forecasting.
3. Increased sales productivity.
4. Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
5. Increased salesperson motivation.

Post It in sales management -
Since Post It doesn't have a direct selling methodology, the major areas that is covered in the sales marketing of Post It includes logistics, supply chain management, etc.

Logistics - Planning, execution, and control of the procurement, movement, and stationing of personnel, material, and other resources to achieve the objectives of a campaign, plan, project, or strategy. It may be defined as the management of inventory in motion or at rest.

Supply Chain Management - Management of material and information flow in a supply chain to provide the highest degree of customer satisfaction at the lowest possible cost. Supply chain management requires the commitment of supply chain partners to work closely to coordinate order generation, order taking, and order fulfillment. They thereby create an extended enterprise spreading far beyond the producer's location.

Promotions

The promotions for a product can either be Above the Line or Below the Line.
Above the Line(ATL) - Above the line advertisements use broad communications routines. It incorporates print, online media, TV and film publicizing. It is hard to indulge a particular gathering through above the line advancements. This is on account of it is seen by mass group of onlookers through changed tastes and needs. Over the line advancement is additionally costly.
Below the Line(BTL) - Below the line methods are very specific, memorable activities focused on target groups of consumers. They are under the control of the organisation. The purpose of this is to create brand awareness and branding. Below the line methods include -

• Sponsorship
• Sales promotion
• Public relations
• Personal selling

The various communication techniques such as advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and product publicity available to a marketer that are combined to achieve specific goals.
The success of Post It has been a result of sound product quality, continuous developments in the product and astute advertising. In the stationary business, marketing and product quality are the keys to success.
The promotion strategy of Post It is a combination of -

• Television commercials
• Ads online
• The brand's website
• Social Media

The campaign launched by Post It has an estimated budget of $10 million. 

The theme of the campaign being "Go Ahead" encourages consumers to come up with their own nontraditional uses for post its. A very effective use of a strategy called Open Source or Crowdsourcing. The campaign is being created by the Grey Group which is owned by WPP. The innovative ideas used in this include - 

• Blanketing a window of an empty store in Cambridge.
• Post It wars waged by office workers in buildings in cities like Paris and Seattle.
• Use of Post It products by teachers to enliven their classroom lessons.

This campaign also highlights the Customization strategy, which refers to younger consumers being expressive and personalizing mass market good.

Research indicated that people had a more emotional relationship with the product.
The TV commercials used for Post It include -

• Using Vignettes and taglines like "go ahead, keep the honeymoon going.
• Promoting it in college campuses with taglines like "Share on a real wall".
• A young man covering a wall with Post Its and creating art out of it.
• They used taglines like "Go ahead, Post It brand" . The use of "Brand" in this statement indicates that the brand owner is worried about the brand losing its originality. 

Post It has a legacy of 30 years and now consumers have figured out various creative ways to use it.

Zeus Jones, an agency is Minneapolis is working on its online creativity, digital strategy and social engagement strategies.

The 3M company has earned $991 million or $1.41 a share, up 3.9% from a year earlier and Post It and other office products have played a major part in this. Revenues have risen 4% to $7.39 billion. The net income has risen 3.8% to $4.44 Billion or $6.32 a share.

Integrated Marketing Communications

According to American Marketing Association, integrated marketing communications is a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service. or organisation are relevant to that person and consistent overt time.
The objective of the IMC for Post It is reminding customers, and their own employees that everything starts with 3M innovation and connecting ideas.
Campaign - The Devil Wears Prada.
Objective - Add impact and emotion to the boring world of stationery and paper supplies.
Aim - To drive the sales of Post It notes and appeal to a mainly female audience.
Method - Used a standard formula of gift with reward.
Result -

1. A response rate of 8%. 
2. 48% of applicants applied more than once. 
3. Sales were up 27% Quarter on Quarter.
4. 3M was seen as cool and fashionable.

Campaign - Project runway Canada.

Objectives - 

1. Engaging target customers.
2. Send consumers to the retailers.
3. Demonstrate the innovation of the brand and elevate top of min awareness.
4. Activate the partnership with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation beyond product contribution.
5. Increase the brand spend from 3% of sales to 10% of sales over period of 5 years.

Budget - A budget of $410000.

Target audience -

1.  Women between the ages of 25 and 54. 
2. Women who were heavy stationery product users.
3. Married women with children and leading very busy lives.

Integrated Marketing Communication plan - 

1. A national public relations campaign.
2. Online advertising.
3. A facebook page and plan.
4. An online game.
5. A consumer contest.
6. Employee and customer events.
7. Activation of Post It's breast cancer sponsorship.
8. In store displays.

Distribution

Distribution Channel -

A channel is the pipeline through which a product flows on its way to the consumer. The manufacturer puts his product into the pipeline or marketing channel and various marketing people move it along to the consumer at the other end of the channel.
According to American Marketing Association - a channel of distribution or marketing channel, is the structure of intra company organisation units and extra company agents and dealers, wholesale and retail through which a commodity, product or service is marketed.
For a big organisation like 3M, the business hugely depends on the distribution channel and the consumer attitude towards the product. In a distribution channel retailers play a very important role. While making a product a Stock Keeping Unit of the shop, retailers think about the Gross Margin Return On Investment and they promote the brand which provides them the highest. They expect return in the form of profit margin, company schemes, window display and reference of the shop. Among these, company schemes make the difference and are the highest source of motivation after the profit margin. Retailing demands a constant push from the company.
3M products are sold through various distribution channels, including directly to users and through numerous wholesalers, retailers, jobbers, distributors and dealers in a wide variety of trades in many countries around the world. Management believes the confidence of wholesalers, retailers, jobbers, distributors and dealers in 3M and its products  - a confidence developed through long association with skilled marketing and sales representatives - has contributed significantly to 3M's position in the market place and to its growth.
3M has 157 sales offices worldwide, with 9 in the United States and 148 internationally. Many 3M products are available online directly from the company. 
Marketer needs to use advertising and brand building strategies to address the discerning buyers and retail push to in different buyers. The manufacturer should understand consumer behavior because retailers cant help quality and price.
Functions of channel intermediaries -

• Reconciling the needs of producers and consumers.
• Improve efficiency by reducing the number of transactions and creating bulk transportation.
• Improve accessibility.
• Providing specialist services.

Channel distribution foe consumer goods - 

1. Zero level channel : Manufacturer --------- Consumer. Direct marketing includes use of personal selling, direct mail, telephone selling and internet.
2. One level channel - Manufacturer --------- Retailer --------- Consumer. It is economical for producers to supply directly to retailers than through wholesalers.
3. Two level channel - Manufacturer --------- Wholesaler --------- Retailer --------- Consumer. Wholesalers buy in bulk from producers and sell smaller quantities to retailers.
4. Three level channel - Produce dedicate this task of selling to to agents who sell their products to wholesalers and get commissions in return. 

Pricing

According to American Marketing Association, Pricing is the marketing lever with the most immediate and direct business impact. Pricing is sometimes considered in isolation from the rest of marketing. The formal ratio that indicates the quantity of money goods or services needed to acquire a given quantity of goods or services. 3M's pricing strategy for its Post It was as follows -

1. Charge a price that would give a reasonable bookstore price to students and an acceptable profit to distributors and 3M.
2. Set an initially low price with the intent of bringing down the price even further later if sales were less than anticipated.

The total market for Post Its, consumer and office products was valued at $164.4 billion in 2009 and $169.8 billion in 2010. It increased to steadily to an estimated $183.5 billion in 2013.

The products are priced according to the lot size, category, and logistic charges.

Product

Components of market offering 

Value Based Prices - It is a pricing strategy which sets prices primarily, but not exclusively on the value, perceived or estimated, to the customer rather than on the cost of the product or historical prices. Thus Post It catering to a variety of uses, utilizes this fact and sets a price of Rs. 60 for a 100 leaf pad.
Product Features and Quality - A function of an item which is capable of gratifying a particular customer need and is hence seen as a benefit of owning the item. The collection of features and characteristics of a product that contribute to its ability to meet the given requirements is called the product quality. Post It provides a variety of benefits to its customers - useful in meeting, used as a bookmark for keeping quotes, useful in homes to keep things organized, etc. On top of that it has a low adhesive glue which does not leave a mark when used on a surface.
Services Mix - A selection of services developed to offer customers a choice within a particular range.Post It offers a number of services to its customers -

1. Post It super sticky notes - Available in variety of colors and sizes and they can be put on doors, walls and computer monitors.
2. Post It Memoboard - Used in classrooms, offices and homes and do not require a pin and hence safe for children as well.
3. Post It Notes - Self adhesive removable colored notes for sending across messages.
4. Post It Index and dipensers - Used for highlighting pages in books and notes and for color coding and labelling.
5. Post It meeting charts - Quality meeting charts to fit on presentation boards. Do not require tapes or pins and hence mess free. 

Customer Value Hierarchy

Core Benefit - It is the service or benefit the customer is really buying. For a Post It the customer is purchasing a product which will enable him to buy an effective way of communicating and arranging things.
Basic Product - The basic product of a Post It would include its ability to stick to surfaces and not leave residues when removed.
Expected Product - It includes a set of attributes and conditions buyers normally expect when they purchase this product. A customer would expect a Post It to catch the eye for the purpose of reminding him constantly or so that the information can be communicated to some other person in an effective manner.
Augmented Product - An augmented product exceeds customer expectations. For ex - Post It has introduced its pads in different colors and sizes and have recently launched a recyclable product.
Potential Product - It encompasses all the possible augmentations and transformations the product or offering might undergo in the future. Here is where companies search for new ways to satisfy customers and distinguish their offerings. For ex Post It has started making use of technology now for its product in the form of sticky notes on laptops and other electronic devices.

Product Hierarchy

According to Kotler, Each product can be related to other products to ensure that a firm is offering and marketing the optimal set of products. 

The product hierarchy stretches from basic needs to particular items that satisfy those needs. 6 levels of product hierarchy have been identified. Some of which are - 

1. Need family - These are the core needs that underlines the existence of a product family. The core needs being satisfied by purchasing a Post It is the assistance provided by Post It to a user of effective communication and arranging things. Thus the need family is related to the core benefit of the customer.
2. Product family - All the product classes that can satisfy a core need with reasonable effectiveness define a product family. The product family for Post It will be effective communication. It is related to the expected product for a customer in terms of the customer value hierarchy.

Marketing Mix Elements

According to American Marketing Association, the mix of controllable marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the desired level of sales in the target market. The most common classification of these factors is the four factor classification called the four P's - Price, product, promotion and place. Optimization of the marketing mix is achieved by assigning the amount of the marketing budget to be spent on each element of the marketing mix so as to maximize the total contribution to the firm. Contribution may be measured in terms of sales or profits or in terms of any other organizational goals.
The marketing mix for Post It is as follows -

PLC and ILC

Product Life Cycle - 
A commercial product undergoes metamorphic stages in life. These stages constitute the product life cycle. They illustrate the various phases like induction, growth, maturity and decline of a product in the market.
A product enters into the market owing to a lot of pre launch research. The product is under constant development and the pre launch activities are carried out with rigor. Early investors and creditors are identified.

Business idea -
in 1968, a scientist at 3M in the United States, Dr. Spencer Silver, was attempting to develop a super strong adhesive, instead he accidentally created a low tack, reusable, pressure sensitive adhesive. For 5 years, Silver promoted his solution without a problem within 3M both informally and through seminars but failed to gain acceptance. In 1974 a colleague who had attended one of his seminars, Art Fry, came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook. Fry then utilized 3M's officially sanctioned permitted bootlegging policy to develop the idea. the original notes yellow color was chosen by accident, as the lab next door to the post it team had only yellow scrap paper to use.
Introduction -
The first sale of the product, marks the introduction of the product. The introduction stage gives weighted importance to the marketing and promotion of the product. The phase is characterized by low sales and as an outcome, low revenue and hence low profit. The product is introduced into the market and is waiting for acceptance from the consumer. This phase also sees customers known as Early adopters, who welcome new products with ease and start purchasing the the product at this stage. 3M launched the product as "press n peel" in 4 cities in 1977, but results were disappointing. People thought that the press n peel was a very expensive item compared to the ordinary, non stick scratch pads which were sold for just 7 US cents and the people who did buy it were the top executives in an organisation.
Growth -
The growth phase shows gradual pickup in sales. Revenue is generated and the product is well recognized and welcome in the market. The early majority breed of customers start purchasing start purchasing the product after the initial review showered by the early adopters. Advertising and marketing play a key role in this phase. A year later 3M instead issued free samples directly to the consumer in Boise, Idaho, with 94 percent of those who tried them indicating they would buy the product and soon it became an indispensable part of everyday life, making it as important as a ball point pen or a stapler on a table. The communication in offices became more personal and hence post it came in handy.
Maturity -
Maturity phase is where the sales are at an all time high. The market is raided by a several new players. The competition is fierce and everyone is vying for market share during this phase. The late majority group is the group of people who start buying at this stage. On April 6, 1980, "Press n Peel" was reintroduced in US stores as "Post It Notes". The following year they were launched in Canada and Europe. One year after 3M officially launched the post it note, the packs of sticky paper raked in more than US$2 Million in sales. Post It Notes are now available in 27 sizes, 57 color and 20 fragrances and generate around $1 Billion annually and dominate the self sticky note market. Research from the NPD group indicates a 13.5 percent increase between 2006 and 2007. In 2003, the company came out with "Post It Brand Super Sticky Notes", with a stronger glue that adheres better to vertical and non smooth surfaces. Until 3M's patent expired in the 1990s Post It type notes were produced only in the company's plant in Cynthiana, Kentucky. Now post it is more used by people for reminding themselves and marking important files and locations in offices rather than just as a means of communication. In technology virtual post it notes have been created for computer in the form of desktop notes. These include 3M's own "Post It Brand Software Notes", "Stickies" in Mac OS, "Sticky Notes" in windows, or other for fee applications like ShixxNote. Additionally, some web applications have developed Post it like notes for online use.
Decline -
Decline is when the product no longer finds its place in the shopping basket. The sales decline and gradually the product fades out of the market. There is still time for the Post It Notes to see a decline.

Market Structure and Competition

According to AMA "The brands that are considered as alternatives by buyers in a particular market segment; sometimes called the evoked set. Occasionally, it is used to mean a (smaller) set of products which a particular seller wishes to be competing with; more rarely; it means the full set of competitors in fact competing in a given market."
Post It faces competition from cheaper copy cat competitors and has appointed Grey London to run its advertising campaign to uplift the product again. The post it brand is one of those rare brands which has not only established an entire category but the name in itself denotes it.
The following image shows the way Post It is trying to curb the competition through its advertising campaigns -

The direct competitors for Post It include -

1. Big Logonotes.
2. Stick it or Not notes from American stationary.
3. Sticky Notepsads from Traylor Papers.
4. Office Depot Self Stick Notes.
5. Universal standard Self Stick Yellow Notepads. 

The major competition for Post It is from indirect sources like -

1. Cellular phones.
2. Electronic mails.
3. Messaging.

Keeping in view the above mentioned competition, Post It has come up with products like -

1. Super Sticky Notes.
2. Post it Flags for marking, tabbing, and indexing documents.
3. The big Post It Easel pads for writing down the next big idea.
4. In 2007, 3M launched its Post It recycled notes which are made using recyclable fibers and plant based adhesives.
5. They have also started combining Post It labels with a pen, marker and a highlighter, thereby providing a complete stationary package.

Buying decision making process

Who all buy this item?

1.     Offices

2.     Homes

3.     Educational Sectors

4.     Designers and Artists.

What problem will this product solve?

1.     Useful in meetings.

2.     Used as a bookmark and for keeping quotes.

3.     Used to keep notes of meetings and important information in offices.

4.     Useful in homes to keep things organised.

5.     Can be used on calendars.

What attributes are important and why?

1.     Inexpensive Product – The price per piece can be as low as Rs.20.

2.     Inexpensive to ship – Cost isn’t a major factor when it comes to shipping.

3.     Imprint Capabilities – Several options with full colour imprints.

4.     Usefulness – It is an item that can be used on a daily basis.

5.     It is a non sticky paper and leaves no mark after it is removed.

6.     Can be put up anywhere irrespective of the surface.

If this decision is first time, how will it go and if it is again, how will it go?

The decision making for the first time for a customer would go as follows –

1.     Need - A need for a product that would serve as a reminder or the requirement of a product that can be useful in recalling a particular thought.

2.     Information Search – The customer would enter into an active information search and Post It being a product mainly used in offices and homes, the person would consult his family, friends and become aware about it through commercials.

3.     Evaluation Of Alternatives – Alternative could be the traditional way of writing something on a piece of paper or it can also be in the form of technology.

4.     Purchase Decision – The purchase decision would be based on the brand a consumer is buying, the quantity required and the payment method or the amount it costs. 3M is a trusted brand in stationary and one gets a lot of sticky notes for a minimal price.

The decision of buying it again would be entirely based on the experience one has had with Post It and the value it served despite having other alternatives such as technology or a normal paper.

Customer value and benefits

Customer Perceived Value is the difference between the benefits the customer gets and the costs he or she assumes for different choices.

Total Customer Value – The satisfaction that a customer gets on the purchase decision of a product is called as the Total Customer Value i.e. the benefit a customer gets out of the purchase. The various factors that constitute total customer value - 
Image Value - Post It is a product of 3M and 3M is a market leader. A person projects a responsible outlook while using Post It. 
Service Value - There is no particular service required for Post It. It delivers directly to the consumer.
Product Value - The product in itself delivers a lot of value. It caters to various uses such as - useful in meeting, used as a bookmark for keeping quotes, used to keep notes of meetings and important information in offices, useful in homes to keep thing organised, can be used on calendars as well.

Total Customer Cost - Total customer cost refers to the benefit a customer gets for the payment he makes for a product or a service. Here, the customer will see if there money is well spent on the particular product. Total customer cost is the cost spent on the following entities - 
Monetary Cost - (Price of the product) A user gets around 100 sheets for just 60 rupees in case of a very simple basic post it product.
Time Spent - (Time consumed to buy a product) the time spent in making it to the closest retail outlet - Kirana, a stationary shop or a Mart. Also the consumer would need to buy the product on a regular basis as it gets over with usage.
Energy Cost - (Energy spent to buy the product) The energy spent in walking or the fuel spent in walking to buy the product.

Introduction

A Post It or Sticky Note is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. A unique low tack pressure sensitive adhesive that allows notes to be easily attached, removed, and reposted elsewhere without leaving residue. Originally it came in small yellow squares, Post It notes and related products are now available in a wide range of colors, shapes and sizes.