Philips returns to the 4 Ps of marketing

Trust me - this is a fantastic article for business & marketing teachers. And maybe business students too. But you might want to be careful. The product in question is the “Warm Sensual Massager”...

How does a global consumer electronics brand like Philips successfully enter the marital aids market? Quite a tough marketing challenge.

The article in the Times explains how the original marketing mix chosen by Philips didnt quite work - because customers weren’t informed just what the product was all about!

A great quote from the article:

“The Philips marketing team went back to basics and considered the four “Ps” of marketing: product, price, place and promotion. All the evidence suggested the product worked and Philips wished to differentiate its massager from more common products in order to remain a purveyor of “high-end” marital aids. It would be a mistake to lower the product’s price point because of short-term economic difficulty. Place and promotion were the issues.”

Expect a few giggles in the classroom and perhaps blushing too. But you’ll have to search long and hard to find a better business studies newspaper article than this…