In Response to Melissa Moriwaki

How do you think this will effect doughnut customers? Will they still think of Dunkin Donuts when looking to find a doughnut if DD's isn't marketing towards doughnut eaters anymore? How will this effect Dunkin Donuts?

I agree with the CEO of Dunkin Donuts when he says that "beverages are the holy grail of profitability."  For most people, a trip to Dunkin Donuts means picking up their morning coffee or tea.  We, as consumers, can see the shift in Dunkin Donuts marketing to that of beverages just in their "America Runs on Dunkins" commercials.  These are focused on beverages rather than on donuts.  Although Dunkin Donuts is switching their marketing focus to beverages, I believe Doughnut eaters will still look towards Dunkins to get their doughnuts (at least in New England).  The company is automatically advertising doughnuts just in their name.  

New Englanders look to Dunkin Donuts for not only their coffee but for many of their breakfast needs on their commute to work.  There aren't many other well-known doughnut shops in the region and where customers are already loyal to Dunkins and their coffee I don't believe that Dunkins needs to advertise their doughnuts to bring in customers.  They will come no matter what, considering the reputation and legacy of Dunkin Donuts in New England.

I think that the only effect that not marketing doughnuts anymore will have on Dunkins is that they will actually be more profitable.  They will be able to spend more money advertising their coffee, sandwiches, and new products that will bring customers in, and those customers may end up buying doughnuts anyways.

Do you believe that outside of New England Dunkin Donuts will be effected by this advertising choice?  Also, do you believe that the doughnut market will ever actually become obsolete?

Promotion

Promotion is defined by our textbook as "communication by marketers that informs, persuades, and reminds potential buyers of a product in order to influence an opinion or elicit a response."  There are eight objectives of promotion which are as follows:
      1. create awareness
      2. stimulate demand
      3. encourage product trial
      4. identify prospects
      5. retain loyal customers
      6. facilitate re-seller support
      7. combat competitive promotional efforts
      8. reduce sale fluctuations.

There are several different parts that make up the promotional mix.  They are advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling, and social media.  The promotional mix is used to meet the needs of the target market and fulfill the organization's overall goals.  Organizations may use just one part of the promotional mix to reach their target market or they may use a combination of parts.

Advertising is "any form of impersonal, one-way mass communication about a product or organization that is paid for by a marketer."
Public Relations is "the marketing function that evaluates public attitudes, identifies areas within the organization the public may be interested in, and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance."
Sales Promotion is "marketing activities that stimulate consumer buying and dealer effectiveness."
Personal Selling is "a purchase situation involving a personal, paid-for communication between two people in an attempt to influence each other."
Social Media are "promotion tools used to facilitate conversations among people online."

I personally believe that companies that will succeed the most at promotion are those that utilize a combination of the parts of the marketing mix.  With different industries though, there becomes the need to be more active in one part than another.  For instance, in the auto sales industry personal selling would be the  tool that should be utilized the most by marketers, but the other tools are also important to bring in customers.  Therefore, they may focus more energy on personal selling than the other tools, but they must not forget about the others.

Do you also believe that a combination of multiple tools in the promotional mix is the best way for marketers to reach their target market or do you believe that there is one tool that is the most important no matter what the industry?  Can you find an organization that has utilized just one of these tools in the promotional mix that has been successful?