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Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment
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2. You will need to create a data collection form so that the same information is collected
from each restaurant. For example, you will want to include the name, address, and phone
number for each restaurant. Think of other information that would be helpful.
3. Divide the restaurant list your team generated in activity 1 so that each team member is
responsible for collecting information from a certain number of restaurants. Consider
dividing the list geographically so that each team member can visit an assortment of ethnic
restaurants. If your budget allows, eat at a few of the restaurants in addition to collecting
the information. After you have all the information, meet to review and compare your
findings.
4. Was there a meal or type of food that you particularly liked or disliked? Which type of
ethnic restaurant seemed most foreign to you? Why do you think that was?
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to give those students who have had only minimal
exposure to cultural differences an opportunity to experience those differences through the
common element of food. Students will create a basic ethnic dining guide for restaurants in their
area. The guide is not meant to be a rating guide. It is simply meant to be an informative guide.
Setting It Up: If your college or university is in a larger metropolitan area, you will probably
have a greater variety of ethnic restaurants nearby. If, however, you are in a more remote
location, you can adapt the exercise for the Internet. Simply have students search for a variety of
ethnic restaurants in a larger city, like New York, Atlanta, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Ask
students to look for restaurants apart from the usual (i.e., Italian, Chinese).
This application exercise is based on the following Great Ideas for Teaching Marketing:
Mark Andrew Mitchell, University of South Carolina—Spartanburg
The Guide To Ethnic Dining
Introduction
The importance of cultural understanding cannot be overstated, especially in today’s global
marketplace. Americans tend to be rather ethnocentric; that is, quick to prejudge other cultural
norms as wrong (or of lesser significance) simply because they differ from American practices.
Universities have a responsibility to develop the students’ appreciation of other cultures and their
understanding of coupled global markets.
Purpose of the Project
The purpose of this project is to expose students to other cultures by examining the foods typical
Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment
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of that culture. Students identify and profile ethnic dining establishments in their local service
area. Further, descriptions of each ethnic dining category are written to develop the student’s
appreciation of the differences in diets and dining habits among cultures.
The purpose is consistent with current university efforts to “internationalize” programs,
personnel, and curriculum. The finished product (The Guide to Ethnic Dining in your area) is
distributed across the region to your community partners, such as the Chamber of Commerce,
Office of Travel and Tourism, Visitor’s Bureau, hospitality marketers, and your university’s
office for international studies. This allows the institution to fulfill its service mission. It must be
noted that the finished guide is meant to be descriptive and not a rating service for possible
patrons. The development of a rating service may create adversarial relationships with some
restaurateurs in your community—not an enviable position for the university.
Student Application
This project can be administered in a Principles of Marketing, International Marketing,
Consumer Behavior, or Marketing Research course. This class provides professional services to
area chambers of commerce, travel and tourism personnel, hospitality marketers, and university
personnel.
Proposed Process for Successful Completion of Project
The following is an action plan to guide the preparation of “The Guide to Ethnic Dining” in your
market:
• Identify ethnic dining categories for analysis.
• Profile ethnic dining habits within each category.
• Identify ethnic restaurants in your area.
• Develop a data collection form.
• Divide the restaurant list among students.
• Collect information from restaurants.
• Compile collected information.
• Report the findings to community partners.
• Enjoy personal use of the guide!
• Take pride in the public distribution and use of your work!
Information Collected
As noted earlier, the guide is meant to be descriptive and not comparative. The following
information is suggested for inclusion in your guide:
• Name of the establishment
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• Translation of name (if applicable)
• Location and directions
• Days/hours of operation
• Self-reported specialties
• Price range
• Availability of ethnic entertainment
• Availability of children’s menu
• Credit cards accepted
• Availability of alcoholic beverages
• An invitation from the owner or manager, possibly in his or her native language
Division of Labor
After you categorize the types of ethnic dining available (i.e., Mexican, Italian, Greek) in your
area, develop a list of applicable restaurants. (You can use the ethnic dining categories to
construct specialized teams to conduct the project.) Each student is then assigned responsibility
to contact particular restaurants to secure the desired information. This process allows you to
avoid duplication of effort. Students submit the collected information using a common word
processing software package supported by the institution. The students’ collective works are then
compiled for printing and electronic distribution.
Ethics Exercise
Gary Caplan has developed a new energy drink designed to burn calories while sleeping, which
he intends to market to grossly overweight consumers. According the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 20 percent of Americans are obese. Gary’s mother, a doctor, argues that
it’s unethical to target the obese—that they are as vulnerable a target market as the elderly and
children.
Questions
1. Is Gary targeting a “vulnerable” market?
Students’ responses may vary. For example, some students might argue that Gary is not
2. Does the American Marketing Association (AMA) Statement of Ethics address this
issue? Go to http://www.marketingpower.com, and review the statement. Then write
a brief paragraph on what it contains that relates to Gary Caplan’s marketing
Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment
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decision.
The American Marketing Association (AMA) Statement of Ethics does address this issue
Video Assignment: GaGa’s Inc.
GaGa’s Inc. produces a frozen dessert called Sherbetter in a variety of flavors. GaGa’s is a very
small product line. Jim King, the founder and CEO, discusses the challenges his company faces
in their product category. He also reveals other environmental challenges to his product.
1. When Jim King says that “the health department” didn’t like him making Sherbetter out of
his kitchen, he is referring to what?
a. The Food and Drug Administration
b. The Federal Trade Commission
c. The Consumer Product Safety Commission
d. His local health care organization
2. Which of the following factors does GaGa’s discuss regarding who buys its product?
a. EcoTech and ethnicity
b. Inflation and age group
c. Consumer incomes and purchasing power
d. State laws and market share
3. Requiring such large slotting fees:
a. decreases inflation.
b. forces competition for market share to be among large companies with significant
capital.
c. decreases the work that FDA inspectors have to do.
d. increases innovation by allowing new products to pay to be displayed.
Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment
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4. When Jim King discusses the factors involved in not using the wholesale distributor
CISCO or direct sales to the consumer, which category of external environment factors is
he discussing?
a. Social
b. Demographic
c. Economic
d. Competitive
5. Seasonal factors that prevented Jim King from opening a scoop shop in New England fall
into which category?
a. Social
b. Demographic
c. Economic
d. Competitive
6. The fact that GaGa’s has been able to stay in business and keeps searching for ways to
reach its customer speaks to what American value?
a. Self-sufficiency
b. Upward mobility
c. Work ethic
d. Conformity
Case Assignment: Sprint Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc.
Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment
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From 2002 through 2011, commercials featuring the tagline “Can you hear me now?” aired as
part of Verizon’s most memorable ad campaign promoting themselves as the gold standard for
network quality. Paul Marcarelli’s character, known as “Test Man,” would travel the country in
the commercials, checking that the person on the phone could hear him, even in some unusual
locations.
Fast forward to 2016, and Marcarelli is appearing in another commercial for a mobile
carrier. This time for Sprint. "I used to ask if you 'can hear me now' with Verizon. Not anymore,"
Marcarelli says in his first Sprint commercial. "I'm with Sprint now, because guess what? It's
2016 and every network is great. In fact, Sprint's reliability is now within 1% of Verizon, and
Sprint saves you 50% over Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile's rates."
Sprint’s aim with the commercial is to rebuilt their reputation. For years the brand has
been known for slow data speeds, dropped calls, and spotty coverage. But after their disastrous
merger with Nextel in 2005, Sprint has been working to turn around its network quality.
"We've invested billions of dollars in our network. Times have changed. You can barely
tell the difference [between networks] now, " said Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO. "We figured
Paul would be the best person to tell everyone all networks are the same, but only Sprint can give
you 50 percent off. He was pretty excited."
Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment
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© 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
you can see me now.” Verizon followed up with another commercial starring Foxx, focusing on
the network’s LTE coverage. Foxx stands in front of two maps comparing Verizon’s and Sprint’s
LTE coverage, explaining that Verizon had three times the LTE coverage of Sprint. Then,
“Jamie Foxx for Sprint” enters, saying that it is mostly the same coverage “if you squint.”
(“Jamie Foxx for Sprint” is shorter and less muscular than the real Jamie Foxx, and he is wearing
an ill-fitting suit with a less-polished appearance—another jab at Sprint.)
Claure responded to the new commercial on Twitter, posting, “This is how @verizon
reacts to getting beaten by @sprint every single day. Lies, lies and more lies.”
Customers paying close attention will note that the commercials are not even speaking in
the same terms. Sprint commercials speak to their reliability (whether your network is working
when it is supposed to), whereas Verizon commercials focus on their LTE coverage across the
country.
Verizon posted lower-than-expected second-quarter customer growth in 2016, while
Sprint reported better-than-expected customer growth. But with mobile devices being a must-
have for most Americans, the back and forth between mobile phone carriers is not likely to stop
soon.
Sources: D. Goldman, “Verizon’s ‘can you hear me now’ guy joins Sprint, CNN Money, June 9,
2016, accessed October 22, 2016, http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/05/technology/sprint-verizon-
can-you-hear-me-now/; D. Meyer, “Verizon continues to hammer Sprint network claims in latest
Jamie Foxx ad,” RCR Wireless News, August 8, 2016, accessed October 22, 2016,
http://www.rcrwireless.com/20160808/carriers/verizon-continues-to-hammer-sprint-network-
claims-latest-jamie-foxx-ad-tag2; “Verizon’s Jamie Foxx commercial calls out Sprint,” Kansas
City Business Journal, August 10, 2016, accessed October 22, 2016,
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2016/08/10/verizons-jamie-foxx-commercial-calls-
out-sprint.html.
TRUE/FALSE
1. Sprint’s target market with the Marcarelli campaign was Verizon customers.
© 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
2. Mobile devices are not an important part of the component lifestyle.
3. By featuring a popular nonwhite American in their campaign, Verizon was able to both market
to African Americans and maintain broad appeal.
4. Sprint’s prior marketing campaign highlighted the lower prices they offered over the
competition. This was a smart approach as the country was exiting a bad recession.
5. If a consumer’s income increases, their standard of living is guaranteed to also increase.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. For Sprint or Verizon to succeed over the other, they must do all of the following EXCEPT:
a. understand current customers
b. promote unfavorable facts about the competition
c. identify the most value customers and understand their needs
d. understand how consumer decisions are made
© 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
2. Owning a mobile device with reliable services appeals to which American value?
a. self-sufficiency
b. upward mobility
c. work ethic
d. equality
e. All of these
f. None of these
3. The population demographics for mobile phone users includes all of the following EXCEPT:
a. tweens
b. teens
c. millennials
d. Generation X
e. baby boomers
f. All of these are demographics of mobile phone users.
4. Aside from targeting Verizon customers, Sprint could pursue __________, as they make up
the largest group to use mobile devices for any type of transaction.
a. African Americans
b. Native Americans
c. Hispanic Americans
d. Asian Americans
5. If Verizon and Sprint decided to end the feud and merge into one company, they would be
required to notify the government due to which law?
a. Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976
b. Sherman Act of 1890
c. Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914
d. Celler-Kefauver Antimerger Act of 1950
Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment
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© 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
Great Ideas for Teaching Chapter 4
James S. Cleveland, Sage College of Albany
Discussion Board Topics to Encourage Participation
Discussion board questions provided to students to encourage them to engage in thinking and writing
about the content of the Principles of Marketing course usually take the form of a provocative
statement to which students are asked to respond. An example of this would be “All PR is good PR.”
Discussion topics such as this one are abstract and often require that the instructor provide an initial
reply to show students what is expected of them in their own replies. For students with limited work
experience, this approach may be quite appropriate. For adult students with extensive experience as
employees and consumers, however, the abstract nature of such topics can be frustrating.
I have developed, therefore, a series of discussion board questions to use with experienced, adult
students. These questions are designed to encourage them to use their experiences as employees and
consumers as doorways to better understand the course material. The questions also encourage
students to make their own responses more interesting to themselves and to the other students in the
class who will read and comment on them.
Each question has three parts.
1. First, there is a sentence or two from the students’ textbook introducing the topic. By using the
text author’s own words, students are enabled to locate relevant material in the text more
easily, the text content is reinforced, and confusion resulting from use of variant terms or
expressions is minimized.
2. Second, there is a reference to text pages the student should review before proceeding.
Since the goal of the exercise is for students to apply the course content to their own
experiences, reviewing the content first is important.
3. Third, there is a request for the student to think about or remember some specific situation
in their experience to which they can apply the text material, and a question or questions
for them to address in their reply.
Here are additional discussion board questions that are similar. Each is written to fit the same text
cited above but could easily be rewritten and revised to fit another text.
Series A
Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment
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1. No single business is large or powerful enough to create major change in the external
environment.
2. Review what the assumption that this is true means for marketing in section 4-1b of your
text, and review what the textbook means by the external environment.
3. Then describe whether you agree or disagree with a large company being able to change
the external environment or not.
Series B
1. By the beginning of 2012, one minute out of every five spent on the Internet worldwide
was dedicated to social networking.
2. Review the material in section 4-2c of your text.
3. Then describe how this trend affects how you see advertising material, and how the time
you spend online affects your purchasing decisions.
Felicia G. Lassk, Western Kentucky University
Utilizing an Internet Personality Test in the Consumer Behavior Course
An interactive assignment that integrates personality testing and the Internet uses the Keirsey
Temperament Sorter in a class presentation on personality. You can find the Keirsey
Temperament Sorter by searching for “Keirsey Temperament Sorter” and accessing the sorter on
the Keirsey.com Web site. The 70-item personality test is based on Carl Jung’s psychological
types. The class is held in the computer lab. Each student accesses the URL and completes the
personality test in approximately 20 minutes. This assignment enables students to learn about
their own personality type. The Web site includes information about each personality type
including leadership styles, career recommendations, and celebrities that are categorized under
each personality type. After the students print out the information, like personalities are grouped
together. These students then discuss the appropriate marketing strategies that would be
successfully utilized in marketing a product to someone with their personality type. Each group
presents their results to the class.
Kim McKeage, University of Maine
Students Practice Making Market/Product Grids on Themselves
This in-class project has students use a segmentation scheme that they have already studied. This
could include:
• VALS
• lifestyle
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• price sensitivity
• quality sensitivity
• attributes/features desired
• involvement
• demographics
• geographic region
• product usage (heavy versus light users)
If students wish to use VALS, I instruct them ahead of time to get on the Internet and access the
VALS survey online so that they can determine their type.
On the day when we do this exercise, students form groups of five to eight persons. The group is
instructed to pick a product category. I recommend the categories listed below to them as items they
might be familiar with.
Students then have to describe which market segments are represented in their group according
to the segmentation scheme(s) they choose to use. They must also develop a market/product grid
to describe how to target different products (within their chosen category) toward the different
market segments represented within their group. The product positions can be for existing
