Marketing Essentials Report: Marketing Strategies for Cosmos Holidays

This report provides a detailed analysis of marketing essentials within the travel and tourism industry, specifically focusing on Cosmos Holidays. It begins by outlining the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function, including brand management, promotional material creation, social media management, and market research. The report then explores how these marketing roles relate to the wider organizational context, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between the marketing, sales, administration, and customer relationship management departments. Furthermore, the report compares the marketing mix strategies of Cosmos Holidays with those of its competitor, First Choice Holidays, analyzing their approaches to product, price, place, promotion, people, processes, and physical evidence. Finally, the report culminates in the development of a basic marketing plan for Cosmos Holidays, designed to meet specific marketing objectives of the organization.

Marketing Essentials
(Travel and Tourism)

Table of Content
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Explain the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within a selected
tourism organisation...............................................................................................................3
P2 Discuss how roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organisational
context....................................................................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3 Compare the ways in which different tourism organisations apply the marketing mix to the
marketing planning process to achieve business objectives...................................................6
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
P4 Produce a basic marketing plan for a travel and tourism organisation to meet marketing
objectives of the organisation...............................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is considered as a key operative function of businesses running in any form of
industry. Hospitality industry has four factors that are accommodation, food & beverages, travel
& tourism and recreation. All the sectors of hospitality industry requires effective marketing
campaigns and promotional activities to be included in the operations in order to maintain their
brand and sell their products in the market (Pike, 2020). The present report is developed over
travel and tourism sector of hospitality industry in which choosing company is Cosmos Holidays
which is formerly denoted as Cosmos Tours in the market. The company was established in 1961
and it is UK’s independent tour operator providing a range of package holidays to customers.
Also the company is England with international Globus travel group. The headquarters of
Cosmos holidays are in Bromley, United Kingdom. The project will be focusing upon three
broad factors that are key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions and their
interrelationships with other organisational functions. Moving along marketing mix of Cosmos
Holidays is compared with one of its competitors in order to understand the marketing planning
process of both the businesses. Furthermore, at the end of the project a marketing plan is
developed for Cosmos Holidays in order to meet marketing objectives of the organisation.
TASK 1
P1 Explain the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within a selected tourism
organisation.
Marketing is defined as an activity which is conducted by a company in order to promote
the buying or selling of a product or a service which is offered by the brand and the organisation.
In regards to the modern business environment marketing function has gained huge importance
and value in the market which lead towards the development of marketing departments in
businesses and large organisations. Every business irrespective of their size and scope
conductive marketing practices by undertaking different marketing plans and techniques. Large
businesses most often end up by developing a separate Marketing department for their company
in which number of professionals work on a regular basis looking over the promotions and
popularity of their brand (Cooper, 2020).
Cosmos Holidays is also a significant travel and tourism organisation operating in the
United Kingdom from past several decades. The company also looked towards its marketing

actions and phenomenon's with the help of performing several different activities to keep their
brand popular and accessible in the market. There are certain specific roles and responsibilities
which are performed by the people working on the marketing team of Cosmos Holidays. These
roles and responsibilities are specified and elaborated underneath:
Roles of Marketing Functions: Defining and managing brand of Cosmos Holidays- The very important which is the
part of work performed by marketing team of the company is determining What is
Cosmos Holidays?, What the company stands for?, What company is reflecting about
itself through its offerings? and What and how Cosmos Holidays acts? These are some of
the questions which are answered by Marketing department of a company through its
campaigns and promotion plans which actually defines the experience Cosmos Holidays
is willing to present to their customers and to their stakeholders (Aung, 2019). Producing marketing and promotional materials- As marketing relates with promoting
the brand and the company and other very important role which is performed by the
marketing function of Cosmos Holidays is creating the materials that are potential
marketing campaigns and drives which actually describes and promotes the core
offerings of the company. Along with developing the marketing campaigns it is the
responsibility of marketing function to make sure that these campaigns are updated with
the evolution taking place within the organisation and in the offerings of Cosmos
Holidays.
Responsibilities of Marketing Functions:
 Monitoring and managing social media- A very important responsibility in the present
modern working environment of a business for a marketing department to be conducted
is managing the social platforms of the company. The marketing function of Cosmos
Holidays is highly entirely responsible for maintaining and managing social media pages
as well as website of the company by carefully keeping a watch over all the social media
posts and content being uploaded online (Tripon, 2018).
 Conducting customer and market research- In into the role of marketing function that is
conducting marketing campaigns it is important for them to understand the requirements
of the target markets and opportunities available with Cosmos Holidays in the market.
Thus, another very important responsibility which is performed by marketing function of

the company is of conducting market and customer research in order to liaison all the
available opportunities as well as positive responses from customers in order to provide a
potential output to them and keeping them satisfied.
P2 Discuss how roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organisational context.
Marketing department is not the only function which is the part of the entire organisation.
It is true and actual that Marketing department to provide a significant contribution in a company
to make it a success and attain its mission but conducting all the work according to the vision.
But there are other departments as well in a company which takes it closer to success. It is
essential and important for an organisation belonging to any industry that all the different
operational functions that are present in the organisation are working by making collaborative
efforts and mutual steps (Pike, Pontes and Kotsi, 2021).
Cosmos Holidays is a tour operator providing travel and tourism services through
different packages to their customers in Europe. The company has other operational functions
which are working within the same workplace as marketing team such as Customer Relationship
Management, Sales and Administration department. All these departments or functional units
are as important as marketing. But essential aspect attach to into it is all these separate functional
units of Cosmos Holidays needs to work collaboratively and together in order to attain success
for the brand. The interrelationship of all the three different departments highlighted above
which marketing of Cosmos holidays is discussed below:
 Sales and Marketing Functions- Sales department of Cosmos holidays as every other
company's function focuses upon meeting the revenue targets of the organisation and
providing regular cash flow. The interrelationship between sales and marketing function
plays a very important role as the marketing department act as a communicator between
the company and the customers. In the same time the sales department act as a link
between the customers and the company offering people the potential packages and
valuable offerings as per the requirements (Pappas, 2017). It is important that the sales
and marketing department of Cosmos holidays work together in order to develop
appropriate communication and link of customers with the brand as well as making sure
that the customers are being provided and their needs are satisfied as per the campaigns
and promotions used for attracting them towards the brand.

 Administration and Marketing Functions- The administrative department of Cosmos
Holidays number of roles and responsibilities such as developing budgets, itinerary
preparation for the clients, handling different enquiries and managing all the meetings if
essential. The marketing and administrative department of the company collaborate their
activities while developing budgets and itineraries for the customers. The marketing
campaign which are used by Cosmos Holidays are always developed as per the allocated
budget and needed to be completed in the respective amount of money only both the
departments work together in order to develop effective budgets and accordingly the
marketing campaigns. Along with many customers itineraries are developed by the
administrative department the need to communicate with the marketing team in order to
make sure that all the offerings which are promoted through the campaigns are being
included in the package of a customer (Mahrous and Hassan, 2017). Customer Relationship Management and Marketing Functions- The customer
relationship management function is a responsible team which handle all the complaints
and queries from clients as well as other related parties to Cosmos Holidays. The
marketing department and customer relationship management function work together
while dealing with the queries of the customers to look over the specific of the plans and
packages promoted in order to provide significant solution to each and every client. The
customer relationship management function also held responsible for the healthy
relationships that are developed between the company and the customers and in order to
maintain them the marketing team needs to be communicated about the different
requirements that are recently highlighted by the customers in their queries.
TASK 2
P3 Compare the ways in which different tourism organisations apply the marketing mix to the
marketing planning process to achieve business objectives.
Marketing mix of 7 P’s of marketing is define to certain actions and tactics used by
businesses in order to promote their brand and their products in front of the respective target
audience and in the respective marketplace (Pike and Ives, 2018). Earlier there were 4 P’s of
marketing mix that our Product, Price, Place and Promotion but with rapid changes and
revolutionary components which exist in the market three more components are added into the

marketing mix framework which are People, Processes and Physical Evidence. All these 7
components when combined makes a effective marketing mix which is used in marketing
planning and implemented in the process that are used by the company for promoting its
offerings and goods. In regards with Cosmos Holidays its marketing mix is analysed in the table
below along with a comparison made with one of its competitor which is a subsidiary brand of
TUI and known as First Choice Holidays limited.
Marketing mix of both the brands is compared and contrasted in the table below by
looking over all the 7 strategies and the tactics that are used by the businesses in order to keep
their offerings promoted in the market.
7 P’s of Marketing Definitions Cosmos Holidays First Choice
Holidays Ltd.
Product The first component is
product which
elaborates and signifies
the offerings which are
promoted by the
company in the market
(Tripon and Cosma,
2018).
The product
offering of Cosmos
Holidays is tours,
cruisers and rail
journey e services
in over 40
countries as well as
flying services
from up to 27
United Kingdom
airports.
The product offering
of First Choice
Holidays Ltd is
offering chartered and
scheduled passenger
airlines, package
holidays, cruise lines,
hotels and resorts.
Price The next factor of the
marketing mix refers to
the pricing strategies
and structures that are
followed by the
companies. It
specifically signifies
the price of the
products that are being
The pricing
strategies that are
used and
implemented by
Cosmos Holidays
is customised and
more customer-
focused. That is the
brand attracts
The pricing policy of
First Choice Holidays
Ltd is premium pricing
as a company focuses
towards attracting
Liam and luxury
customers through its
online services and
travel operations. The

offered by the brand
(Preko and et. al.,
2020).
different segments
of customers
therefore the prices
of their holiday
packages are
developed to as per
the requirements
and personalized
services they
require in their
packages.
company is a
subsidiary of TUI, UK
and as per the parents
brands image in the
market the company
adopts premium
pricing as well as
personalised pricing
techniques in there
structures.
Place The third factor of the
marketing mix is place
which signifies and
refers to words the
distribution sentence
and processes used by
the organisation.
Cosmos Holidays
is an organisation
which deals and
operates through
both physical and
online office or
presence in the
market.
On the other hand
First Choice Holidays
Ltd only deals through
online platforms as it
is an online travel and
tour operator
headquartered in
England.
Promotions The next step of the
marketing mix talks
about the promotional
strategies and
processes used by
businesses (Wu and
Shimizu, 2020).
Cosmos holidays
make use of both
traditional and
modern marketing
techniques by
which should the
company focuses
upon conducting
promotions
through new
creative online
content as well as
As determined above
that First Choice
Holidays Ltd is an
online travel operator
it clearly represents
that the company only
uses internet and
social media for
conducting promotions
through its website
and other platforms
available.

by using
newspaper
advertisements and
brochures.
People This factor
concentrates upon the
workforce which is
engaged with the brand
and their skill sets.
Cosmos Holidays
is a group with the
workforce of 200
employees which
categorises it as a
medium sized
entity.
In comparison to
Cosmos holidays the
First Choice Holidays
Ltd only has 10
employees which false
it under an SME
bracket. But reason
behind having such
small workforce is the
company having only
online presence and no
physical presence in
the market.
Processes This factor identifies
and determines the
business processes that
are used by
organisations for
conducting their day-
to-day operations
(Ranasinghe and et. al.,
2020).
The company make
use of both
physical as well as
online that is help
of internet for
conducting its day
to day operations.
On the contrary First
Choice Holidays Ltd
as a brand only use
online that is internet
processes to conduct
its business and daily
functions.
Physical evidence The last but not the
least is the factor of
Physical evidence
which talks about the
authenticity of the
In order to refer
with the physical
evidence of
Cosmos holidays in
the company has
On the other hand the
physical evidence of
the brand is
represented through its
website and the

brand and its real
existence in the market.
its physical offices
as well as online
website and social
accounts to prove
its authenticity.
application it uses for
conducting business
transactions such as
booking packages of
customers and others.
TASK 3
P4 Produce a basic marketing plan for a travel and tourism organisation to meet marketing
objectives of the organisation.
Overview:
A marketing plan is a stepwise approach for a blueprint developed by the marketing
professionals working with the brand. This is a document which has different steps outlining the
entire marketing process. Marketing plan of Cosmos Holidays is a new campaign promoting a
new package of the company in the United Kingdom for Young travellers who are exploring the
world. This is a new package which Cosmos holidays is planning to launch with a marketing
campaign for or the travellers of age group of 18-22 who are young and willing to explore
different locations of the world (Kotoua and Ilkan, 2017).
Vison:
“No one turns dream trips into reality with more expertise and affordability than Cosmos”
Mission:
To provide travel experiences which are enjoyed, comfortable, clean and attractive. The
company aim to provide expertly planned, easy to afford holiday packages from covering every
ground on the world that is from Alaska to Australia. “Adventure is Knocking”
Objectives:
 To promote a new holiday package developed for youngsters.
 To seek attention of potential customers belonging to the age group of 18 to 22.
 To expand the sales of the company by 5% by the end of 2022.
STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning):
 Segmentation- The segmentation techniques that can be used by Cosmos Holidays are of
four types that are Demographic, Geographic, Behavioral and Psychographic. The

technique used by the brand is Psychographic by categorising the audience and customers
through their interests and psychological influences as well as priorities.
 Targeting- The target group is the segment of young customers belonging to the age
group of 18 to 22.
 Positioning- The promotional and positioning technique for marketing this new package
for young travellers Cosmos Holidays will be using social media as a potential tool
because of the mass attention company can received through it as millions of youngsters
in the world has access to internet and social platforms frequently on a daily basis.
7 P’s:
 Product- A new package developed for young travellers and explorers belonging to the
age group of 18 to 22.
 Price- The pricing technique used is of price penetration as customers are young
individuals who are more concerned with the experiences of their holidays rather than
luxury m
 Place- The physical and online platforms will be used for conducting sales of the new
package for youngsters.
 Promotion- Social platforms and social media will be used for conducting promotions
with the help of content marketing (Zhang, Cheung and Law, 2018). People- The employees who are working on itineraries and development of the new
package will be trained and provided specific information about the market gathered by
the research conducted. Processes- As mentioned that the distribution of the package will be taking place through
physical as well as online platforms, thus the process also involves active participation on
both of the platforms on the daily basis. Physical Evidence- The physical evidence of the new package will be represented by the
social media post and promotional campaign as well as the information available on the
authentic website of Cosmo Holidays.
Monitoring and Controlling:
 Benchmarking- The most relevant and valuable technique which will be used by Cosmos
holidays for monitoring and controlling its performance in regards to the new package
developed for young travellers is benchmarking. The company will be setting a particular

benchmark against its offering and will be analysing its performance in respect of those
benchmarks on quarterly basis (Rather and Hollebeek, 2020).
CONCLUSION
From the report above it is critically summarised that marketing plays a vital role in
businesses for promoting its offerings as well as for keeping in close touch with the potential
customers and targeted audiences of the brand. Marketing not only helps the business in
upgrading its brand in the present market but it also enable it to conduct potential business
processes by integrating and collaborating with other departments and supporting each other in
taking the brand towards success and attaining all the objectives. Therefore, it is critically
analysed that every business irrespective of its size and offerings requires certain level of
marketing functions and operations.

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Online:
UK escorted tours, 2021. [Online] Available Through:
<https://www.cosmos.co.uk/destinations/europe/uk/?
gclid=Cj0KCQjw8IaGBhCHARIsAGIRRYpHepfQNeea7vVEJAoZ2bOtp3wMTjMreh
UVvTmtr2eOqZT_r2HTfzkaAtNFEALw_wcB/>