Marketing Report: Analyzing Marketing Issues and Strategies

This report delves into the multifaceted world of marketing, exploring critical economic, legal, and ethical issues that companies face. It examines how marketing strategies are shaped by factors such as input costs, inflation, and global economic slowdowns, using Hindustan Unilever Limited as a case study. The report further investigates legal challenges, particularly focusing on the Nestle Company and the Maggi noodles controversy, highlighting issues related to food safety standards and brand endorsements. Ethical dilemmas are explored through the example of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), analyzing how companies navigate consumer health concerns and maintain brand reputation. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of proactive marketing strategies and ethical considerations for long-term organizational success. It highlights the need for companies to adapt to changing market dynamics, address legal and ethical challenges, and build strong consumer relationships through responsible marketing practices.

Running head: Marketing
Marketing

Marketing
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Economic Issues..........................................................................................................................................3
Legal Issues..................................................................................................................................................4
Ethical issues...............................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................6
Appendices..................................................................................................................................................8

Marketing
Introduction
Marketing gives main focus on choosing and targeting different markets and also it gives
emphasis on enhancing the good relationships with the consumers in the market. The marketers
are responsible for taking into consideration different markets that set the plan and strategies
which are based on the information. They also give focus on analyzing the needs and wants of
the customers, so that the organization can easily accomplish its goals and objectives. Marketing
is a process by which the organization promotes their products in the market by communicating
with the potential customers. It consists of all types of advertising. Organization invests a huge
amount of money on marketing by which the sales of the product is enhanced and it gives direct
impact on the society and the environment.
Marketing creates a positive contribution to a common good and the main role is of the
marketer that takes into consideration society and environmental factors. Marketers are
responsible to secure the natural environment through conservative and sustainable practices.
Marketing is one of the method by which the society is informed about the products in the

Marketing
market and also it search for the needs and wants of the consumers. It is an effective method that
search customer needs and also assist the consumers to take corrective decision regarding the
purchase of product. Marketer’s gives focus on protecting the natural environment by
considering the sustainable practices. Marketer has a great role in identifying the needs and
wants of the consumers. By marketing, the products and services are promoted and it gives
positive impact on the society.
Let’s consider an example: When dominoes introduced new product in the market, the
promotion or marketing strategy is adopted that makes the product popular in the market.
Marketing is an important aspect for every organization. Without marketing no organization can
survive for long. The marketer should see that the product that are introduced in the market
satisfy the needs and wants of the consumers. So, marketing gives a positive contribution and the
marketers are also serious about the environment stewardship.
Economic Issues
Economic problems are concerned with the insufficient resources that do not satisfy the
needs and wants of the consumers. By taking into consideration Hindustan Unilever limited it is
seen that the company faced the issue that is related with the input cost. In this the company
faced issues with the enhancement in the input cost due to the increase in the price of the raw
material. The impact was on the company due to the rise in inflation, freight cost and raw
material. At the time of inflation the company has to enhance the marketing strategies, so that the
consumers can easily buy the product. With the inflation there can be fluctuation in the tax rate,
which gives direct impact on marketing the products. It is seen that the enhancement in the price
of the raw material and also the uncertainty in the commodity movement increase the operation
cost of the company (Hollensen, 2015).
The issue that was faced by the Hindustan Unilever limited enhances the input cost and
operation cost because there is rise in the cost of the raw material and also in the spurious
products. The slowdown is seen in the global economy and the issue that started in the financial
sector increased rapidly. There are many sectors that are affected which include country’s export
performance and FMCG sectors. The price of raw material contributed in enhancing the prices of
crude oil (Kaur, 2013). The company has a large brand portfolio in which numbers of brands are

Marketing
involved. To overcome the issue the company gave focus on reducing the advertisement cost
and then focus was given to increase the price of the raw material. Price inflation has given a
major impact on marketing, as the environmental stewardship has been taken into consideration
by the company. At the time of price inflation the company should use better marketing
strategies so that the products can be easily promoted without giving the negative impact on the
sales (Gupta, 2014).
Marketing strategies helps the organization to take into consideration various tools that
can be beneficial for the company. The initiatives that are concerned to minimize the operation
cost can help to gain the competitive advantage. The company also needs consistent
advertisements and also the promotional effects that stay for long in the mind of the customers.
Also the company cannot enhance the cost of the raw material when they have the choice of
optimizing the methods of procedures. Hindustan Unilever limited has a good brand portfolio
that involves many brands. It is very difficult to manage the large brand portfolio by any
company. The company needs a good management by seeing the current scenario related with
the intense competition and the prices of raw material (Dinnie, 2015).
Legal Issues
There are various legal issues that are faced by the company. In the recent scenario
business ethics is considered as a major issue in the global business arena. In this the legal issue
is discussed by taking into consideration the Nestle Company. The company faced many legal
issues that are concerned with the safety standards that should be followed by the MNC
Company. The legal issue is concerned with the controversy with respect to the Maggi noodles
(Solomon, 2014). In this case the ingredients like Monosodium Glutamate was high and the issue
has taken into consideration by Food safety and standard authority of India under the provision
of food and safety standard Act. The sample of the Maggi noodles were collected by the food
safety and drug administration and in the product the lead was present and on the package there
was misleading information. The content of Monosodium Glutamate was found at high level
above the dangerous mark. Due to the misleading information and the ingredient that was
involved in it, the product was banned by the state government (Ford and Richardson, 2013).

Marketing
The legal issue was stated under FSS act, 2006. The order from FSS was available on the
public domain that withdraws the 9 products of Maggi instant noodles from the market. The
consumption of these products resulted unsafe and hazardous for the human consumption. The
authority ordered to stop the production of the product and also to withdraw the product from the
market. The legal issue is related with the liability of the celebrities’ for brand endorsement. In
this the court has asked police to register the FIR against the celebrity who are endorsing the
product through advertisements (Maggi, 2016).The act imposed the liability on celebrities for
endorsing the products that is unsafe and hazardous for the health of the public. The penalty was
imposed for misleading the advertisement. The liability of the brand endorsers is more as there
are many stakeholders who are involved in branding, starting from the agency of advertisement
and the celebrity who are the part of the endorsement. So, by analyzing the case it is seen that the
Maggi has recovered the image in the market due to its strong marketing and promotional
strategies implemented by the company. By introducing the renewed product in the market the
goodwill of the company is enhanced (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker and Brennan, 2015).
Ethical issues
There are various ethical dilemmas that are faced by the organization. The company that
is taken into consideration is Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). The company is the most
recognized brand in the fast food industry. By the enhancement in the living standard of the
people it is seen that people are related with the change in health and nutritional attitudes and
behaviors. People are now more concerned with their health and figures. The main concern is
increased because the information which is spread everywhere states that the fast food has no
nutrition, it is a junk food (Sheth and Sisodia, 2015).
This is the biggest dilemma faced by the company, as it has enhanced the image of a fast
food that offers greasy unhealthy food. The company should take into consideration strategies so
that there can be potential enhancement in the shareholder value. The company use the oil that
contain Tran’s fatty acids for cooking with the Sudan red in their new product named as Orleans
roasted Wing. It has brought negative effect in the media report and also the KFC was boycotted.
The main focus of the company is to prevent the issue related with the health and nutrition. The
management of the company should take into consideration the steps that maintain the healthy

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and nutritional food that is the requirement of the future generation to survive (Menon,
Bharadwaj, Adidam and Edison, 2015).
The company stopped using the Sudan red oil for cooking and the corrective steps are
taken into consideration to reduce the problem. The company is trying to reduce the negative
issues that are prevailing in the market. The company gave main focus on the customers, so that
the issue can be minimized by taking corrective steps. KFC made a public apology for using the
oil that consists of Tran’s fatty acids and the food ingredients for cooking with the Sudan Red.
The company committed the promise in the public, so that the goodwill can be maintained
(Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman and Hansen, 2016).
The company used the media and internet to enhance the goodwill in the market. So in this case
the company requires a creative media to spread. By taking into consideration creative
advertising the brand and product image of the company is enhanced in effective manner. The
company also established the dietician department. To clear the doubts of the consumers it is
very important to enhance the image of the company. KFC invited food inspector so that the
doubts can be cleared in a proper way. The company adopted effective promotional strategies so
that the image in the market can be enhanced. This is the ethical issue that is raised and the
company has taken corrective measures to enhance the goodwill in the market (Lehnert, Park and
Singh, 2015).
To minimize this issue the company has taken into consideration accurate measures that
have given enhancement in the image of the company. KFC made effective promotions and also
the profits of the organization are enhanced by distributing the special vouchers in the public.
The company joined many activities so that the goodwill of the organization can be improved in
proper way. Ethical issues are faced by the company and it directly impact on the working
pattern of the organization. The company should promote the right information about the product
in the public, so that the negative perception about the product cannot be created. To promote the
product in the market it very essential for the organization to take into consideration effective
marketing strategies, that will give positive outcomes. Marketing strategies help the organization
to introduce new product in the market (Foxall, 2014).

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Conclusion
By considering all the points it is concluded that marketing plays a great role to introduce
the products and services in the market. The marketer also considers all the aspects before
introducing the product. To minimize all the issues the company should take into consideration
proper marketing strategies, so that the product can be promoted in effective manner. Marketing
is very essential for expansion and growth of the organization. If the company do not adopt the
marketing strategies, then it will be very difficult to attain the goals and objectives of the
organization. In this paper the issues that are discussed are economic issue, legal issue and
ethical issue. The companies that are taken into consideration are Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and
KFC. It is also seen that every organization faces issue but it depend on the organization that
how to handle it in a corrective way. So, it is concluded that every organization should take into
consideration marketing strategies that assist in attaining the goals and objectives of the
organization.
References

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Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson
Education.
Dinnie, K., 2015. Nation branding: Concepts, issues, practice. Routledge.
Ford, R.C. and Richardson, W.D., 2013. Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical
literature. In Citation classics from the Journal of Business Ethics (pp. 19-44). Springer
Netherlands.
Foxall, G., 2014. Strategic Marketing Management (RLE Marketing) (Vol. 3). Routledge.
Gupta, A.D., 2014. Ethics in Business Practice: Marketing Management. In Business Ethics (pp.
107-113). Springer India.
Hollensen, S., 2015. Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education.
Kaur, M., 2013. Rural marketing: A case study on Hindustan Unilever Limited. International
Journal of Applied Research and Studies, 2(6), pp.1-14.
Kotler, P., Keller, K.L., Brady, M., Goodman, M. and Hansen, T., 2016. Marketing management.
Pearson Education Ltd.
Lehnert, K., Park, Y.H. and Singh, N., 2015. Research note and review of the empirical ethical
decision-making literature: Boundary conditions and extensions. Journal of Business
Ethics, 129(1), pp.195-219.
Maggi, G., 2016. Issue linkage. Handbook of Commercial Policy, 1, pp.513-564.
Menon, A., Bharadwaj, S.G., Adidam, P.T. and Edison, S.W., 2015. Effective Marketing
Strategy-Making: Antecedents and Consequences. In Proceedings of the 1997 Academy of
Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 224-224). Springer, Cham.
Sheth, J.N. and Sisodia, R.S., 2015. Does marketing need reform? Fresh perspectives on the
future. Routledge.
Solomon, M.R., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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Appendices
Picture 1: Strategy adopted by the Nestle Company to promote the product back into the market.