Marketing Essentials: Puma Company Analysis, Strategies, and Mix

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of Puma's marketing strategies, exploring key roles and responsibilities within the marketing function, assessing the marketing environment, and examining its interrelationship with other departments. It delves into various marketing concepts such as product, production, selling, and marketing concepts, illustrating their application to Puma's operations. The report further provides a comparative analysis of Puma's marketing mix (product, promotion, place, and price) with its main competitor, Adidas, highlighting the tactics employed by Puma to achieve its business objectives. The report also provides a detailed analysis of marketing elements such as research, strategy and planning. In conclusion, it underscores the importance of integrated marketing efforts for Puma's long-term success.

Marketing Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Activity 1.........................................................................................................................................3
Elucidate key roles and responsibilities of marketing function...................................................3
Analyze roles and responsibilities within marketing environment and their interrelationship
with other departments................................................................................................................4
Critically analyse key elements of marketing function and their relationship with other
organisational functions...............................................................................................................6
ACTIVITY 2...................................................................................................................................7
Application of marketing mix to ac business objectives along with comparison with
competition..................................................................................................................................7
Tactics applied by Puma to attain organisational goals and objectives.....................................10
Strategic marketing plan to attain overall marketing objectives...............................................11
Activity C.......................................................................................................................................12
Covered in PowerPoint Presentation.........................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is defined as process of management as well as examination of exchange
relationships. Basically, it is a process of creation of affirmative relationship with customers and
accomplishment of their needs (Akbar and et. al., 2017). It is art and science of exploring,
creating and delivering value services to their customers through which demands of target
market can be accomplished along with generation of high profits. It is identification of
appropriate methods and techniques through which organisation can market their products by
which maximum response from customers can be attained. This report is based on Puma which is
a multinational company based out in German which manufactures and design casual as well as
athletic footwear, accessories and apparel. They are headquartered in Bavaria Germany and
Puma is third largest manufacturer of sportswear in the world. Furthermore this report contains
details about roles and responsibilities of marketing with reference to marketing environment
along with assessment of key elements and interrelation of different functional departments of
organisation. Apart from this, comparison has been made on the basis of marketing mix of two
different organisation.
Activity 1
Elucidate key roles and responsibilities of marketing function
Marketing denotes one of the most critical activities that are conducted by an organisation. By
making effectual use of this, Puma can formulate effectual relationship among their customers.
For this, organisation needs to carry out their operations by having in-depth analysis of market
(Duffett, 2017). This will assist them to formulate and furnish services as per demands of
customers. Apart from this, it also aids them to generate their services through which profits can
be maximised and make sure that sustainability for longer period of time. Various marketing
concepts exist in market and knowledge is gained with respect to current and future trends which
exist within market. Some of these are elaborated below:
 Product concept: Liking of customers in context of services and organisation depends
on quality of services which are being offered to customers (Dioko, 2016). For this Puma
needs to have effectual marketing strategies through which quality of services can be
improvised. Along with this, uniqueness of services is the reason for drawing in large

number of customers. Features of marketing depend on products which are furnished to
customers as this act as a major driving forces.
 Production concept: It is the oldest concept which aims at production of products and
services that are being furnished by an organisation. Puma focussed on reduction of cost
of production by which they can enhance sales of their products. Apart from this, it will
enhance preferences of customers for going for products which are rendered by them
(Gillespie and Riddle, 2015).
 Selling concept: It aims on strategies which provided by organisation for selling their
services and products. It has been analysed that firms such as Puma needs to emphasise
more on promotional activities which will automatically make people aware about their
products. This will cause relevant impact on their sales. In this concept Puma will aim at
number of sales which have been incurred rather than formulation of relationship with
customers.
 Marketing concept: In this aspect, customers are the major resources which are taken
into consideration. Management of Puma need to adopt certain strategies through which
they lay focus on needs of customer. They can make use of pull strategy by which they
can become preferred brand for their potential customers. They aims at rendering
products which are able to accomplish requirements as well as provide satisfaction to
customers (Griffitts, 2016).
It is indispensable for Puma to opt for concept of marketing within effectual manner by
which they can attain long lasting success as well as build a strong image and position within
marketplace.
Analyze roles and responsibilities within marketing environment and their interrelationship with
other departments
It is important for Puma to recognize marketing roles responsibilities. They have been
elaborated below: Creating strategies: Marketing environment consists of different factors which
comprises of internal as well as external factors. Each has their own significance on
organisation (Groucutt and Hopkins, 2015). An example can be taken with respect to this
like customers are vital resources which firm posses and without them there is no worth
for making investments in other resources. Internal resources comprises of stakeholders,

customers, employees and management whereas external factors consists of political,
economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors. They are responsible for
creating strong impact of services or products that are produced by Puma. By carrying
out analysis of these factors, organisation can formulate their own strategies for
remaining competitive within market. Market research: While this aspect is taken into account, it is crucial to consider
internal and external factors also (Hugos, 2018). This denotes that research will be
carried out with respect to both affirmative and assorted impact on Puma. For an instance,
if needs of customers are not accomplished then it is obvious that they will switch to
other brand. In this case marketing function of Puma must carry out market research in
effectual manner by which they give their customers with best products. Information system: It is one of the foremost factors within marketing environment. It is
associated with both internal as well as external environment which prevails within
Puma. This leads to analysis of needs of customers and they are processed accordingly by
employees of organisation. This will make Puma to stay ahead from their competitors
within market.
Marketing is interconnected with other departments of Puma. The interrelations among
them are presented below:
 Marketing and production: These both are associated with one other. Production
department of Puma carry out research and accordingly develop the services. They make
sure that services which are developed by them are as per customer’s needs, preferences
and prevailing trends within market (Larson and Draper, 2015). They are responsible for
ensuring feasibility of needs which are being furnished by marketing team after they have
carried out market research. They will also be analysing how much time it will take for
development of particular product. Marketing function determine processes, methods and
techniques which can be utilised by production department for manufacturing of large
units of products within effectual manner.
 Marketing and Finance: Within Puma, finance department is responsible for
maintenance of incomes that are generated by firm. Marketing firm require budget
through which they can conduct their market activities. For this, they need appropriate
budget by which they can promote their products and services within market. Finance

department is responsible for cutting down the cost so as to reduce the overuse of money.
They work in collaboration with each other. By preparing budget beforehand makes it
possible for finance team to completely analyse it and make it available when it is
needed, so that performance of either department is not affected (Muller, 2019).
 Marketing and R&D: Both the departments work in collaboration with each other.
Market research is carried out by marketing department. The results attained by this are
evaluated by Research & Development department to ensure feasibility of the demands of
needs of customers. This enables them to give appropriate guidelines to other
departments by which the products can be developed through analysis of their viability.
 Marketing and Purchasing: By carrying out market research marketing department
knows about what are the needs and demands of market. Accordingly they can build up a
design which carries out all the details associated with requirements. Purchasing
department is responsible for buying raw materials which is required for building up final
products (Pappas, 2017).
Critically analyse key elements of marketing function and their relationship with other
organisational functions
There exist various elements of marketing functions which are crucial for Puma to
identify that marketing of their products and services is carried out effectively within appropriate
manner. Critical evaluation of these elements is elaborated below: Research: It is one of the essential aspects within marketing. It aids Puma to gather
information associated with customers with reference to their needs and requirements as
they are mandatory for development of services along with their marketing. As if
appropriate marketing is not done then people will not be aware about whether there
needs are met or not by Puma. It will also assist them to identify best practices which are
required to accomplish those needs (Piñeiro-Otero and Martínez-Rolán, 2016). The major
challenge is that, the outside environment is rapidly changing due to this it becomes hard
for an organisation to cope up with modifying environment. For this Puma have various
departments who look after external environment and build up policies so that growth of
organisation does not get interrupted.
 Strategy: Information that is gathered after market research is evaluated in context of
their relevancy and also different opportunities which will be provided by organisation.

Strategies are built up management of Puma consequently. It is essential as through this
organisation have specific tactics through which process of marketing can be carried out.
The strategies which are formulated must be aligned with other departments by which
effectiveness can be ensured (Rancati, Gordini and Capatina, 2016).
 Planning: Strategies are built up which needs to be well planned and implemented by
Puma. Planning comprises of sales forecast, finance distribution and interaction with
potential customers. With respect to this, long term planning can be stressful as well as
risky due to evolving changing environment. Therefore, Puma needs to have small
objectives and planning must be carried out accordingly.
It is crucial for marketing function to have consistent as well as effective interrelationship
with other departments which makes them to work like a single unit. Incorporation of these
function ensure that every step is planned and policies have been formulated simultaneously
which will result in enhancement of productivity along with profitability (Rowley, 2016). It is
necessary that all departments must work together in collaboration with marketing department by
which information related with customer’s need and requirements can be processed in an
effectual manner.
ACTIVITY 2
Application of marketing mix to ac business objectives along with comparison with competition.
Marketing mix refers to process of usage of different strategies and plan of actions by a
firm to carry out promotional as well advertisement of their products within market. It comprises
of diverse areas to aim as a comprehensive part of marketing plan. This comprises of either 4P’s
or 7P’s, in this section 4P’s of marketing mix have been analysed. They comprises of product,
promotion, place and price. This assists firm to define their status as well as tactics with respect
to prevailing products by this they can make changes to their services according to alterations
within market (Scarborough, 2016). This enables them to compete with their rivals within
market. For this, Puma needs to make a comparative analysis on the basis of marketing mix with
their competitors marketing mix. The major rival of Puma is Adidas, which is a multinational
corporation and deals in same sector as Puma. They are giving tough competition to the later in
terms of designing their shoe products. The difference between them is illustrated below:

4P's Puma Adidas
Product They furnish broad range of
sportswear, sports goods,
footwear and fashion
accessories. They are also
major producers of race suits
and driving shoes. Along with
this, sole producer of Formula
1 and NASCAR. They are the
national brand ambassadors for
promotion of their product
line. They aim at
diversification strategies which
are formulated to make
organisation profitable and
captivate more number of
customers.
They provide their customers
with wide range of products.
There primary product is
footwear is athletic and robust.
Other products which are
offered by them includes t-
shirts, sweatshirts, shorts,
jackets, accessories, shorts, etc.
They aim at providing their
customer with best footwear
which is blend of both design
as well as technology.
Price The prices which are offered
by Puma are affordable as
compared to Adidas. The
pricing strategies are
formulated in such a way that
they can be afforded by
customers along with giving
strong competition to rival
companies. They use premium
pricing strategy as they view
their brand as premium. Due to
the brand name the pricing
strategy of their products
Due to style design, styles and
promotions they make use of
skimming and competitive
prices. Higher prices points out
price quality approach, usually
customers think that high
prices denote high quality.
Therefore, Adidas rarely
decreases the price of their
products.

seems convincing most of the
times.
Place  Puma distributes their
shoes on multi brand
storefronts and their
own stores which are
found in most of the
cities. With large
network with connect
experiences and
resources, Puma is
available almost
everywhere. They have
opted for aggressive
opening of stores
throughout the world
which not only brings
them closer customers
but also creates a
strong impact on their
profits. Along with
their expansion they
have integrated their
retail stores online
(Wirtz and Lovelock,
2016).
Adidas sell their products
through retail outlets. They
have their own retail stores
which contains material
directly from the organisation.
Multi brand showrooms also
provide Adidas footwear and
apparel’s on. The last
distribution mode is online. In
this products are sold through
fashion stores and online
website of Adidas. Due to
enhanced brand equity, high
margins keep distribution
channels motivated.
Promotion The advertisement strategies
focus on generation of high
revenue by sponsoring
different events and providing
 Adidas makes use of
various marketing
vehicles but they
mainly focuses on

cricketing equipments. Puma
spends lot of amounts on
advertising and designing
creative billboards. There
promotional strategies
comprises of television
commercials, excellent apparel
packaging, online
customisation options and
engagement within corporate
social responsibilities such as
environmental pollution
control.
product and television
placements. Creative
team of Adidas pump
adrenaline in their
customers by the usage
of ads which are
creative as well as
filled up with lots of
energy. These ads are
able to attract
customers towards
brand by sending
appropriate message to
their customers (Akbar
and et. al., 2017). They
also sponsor football,
cricket teams and
several others.
Tactics applied by Puma to attain organisational goals and objectives.
The organisation Puma is dealing with and selling their products around the world which
ensures their presence within global market. They adopt and follow plan of action or strategies
through which they are able to achieve specified goals as well as attain affirmative results.
Among all these strategies, marketing segmentation is the one in which focus is on requirements
as well as wants of target customers (Dioko, 2016). In this Puma target youth and adults who are
fond of and interested to have branded as well as trendy products. Market segmentation of Puma
is presented below:
 The initial step is identification of demands and needs of their customers in which Puma
is targeting the adults and youths.

 Strategies are formulated to carry out their operations as well as captivate more number
of customers. Along with this, positioning is tactics is carried out as well as set of actions
are formulated and executed.
 The last step is to assess as well as evaluate the entire process of market segmentation.
Apart from this review or feedback is taken from customers related with products is taken
so that necessary changes can be carried out (Duffett, 2017).
Strategic marketing plan to attain overall marketing objectives
Marketing plan is defined as a document which is used for measuring and evaluation of
marketing efforts which are taken by organisation (Gillespie and Riddle, 2015). Basically, it is a
blueprint which defines the way in which organisation apply their marketing strategies and make
use of integrated resources for attaining formulated goals as well as acquisition of customers and
enhanced sales. The strategies are formulated in such a way that performance o organisation is
not hampered and they achieve their desired results. Suppose Puma is bringing out their new
product within the market then they need to formulate the strategies for this. Like they can make
use of 7P’s in which they can focus on features of products which are providing to their
customer, pricing strategies, promotional method, where they will launch their product, its
physical evidence, how they will carry out this and who are there potential customers. Along
with this, management of Puma can make use of STP, segmentation, targeting and positioning.
This will aid them to decide them to identify their segment in terms demographics, taste, salary,
etc. Within targeting organisation will focus on specific portion on the basis of segment.
Furthermore, they will be positioning there products. Apart from this, SWOT analysis can be
done to identify core strengths of their product, its weaknesses, the opportunities which
organisation have and threats, they may be from their competitors. Along with this a budget will
be prepared for illustration of prices which are require for bringing a new product within a
market from initial step to its distribution (Griffitts, 2016).

Activity C
Covered in PowerPoint Presentation
CONCLUSION
From above report, it can be concluded that marketing refers to process of making strong
positioning and establishing an affirmative relation with their potential customers. Each
department has their own set of roles and responsibilities which they have to carry out.
Marketing department is responsible for carrying out market research, and then analyse
requirements of customers, carry out promotional activities and many others for enhancing sales
margin of organisation and generate higher revenues. Marketing mix for different organisations
is carried out who render their services within same sector to identify which firm is better than
other within market. The organisation is responsible for providing their customers with exact
information by which they can gain loyalty of their customers towards products furnished by
them. This will enhance productivity as well as profitability of organisation.