ADVERTISING

Advertising

Advertising

Introduction

In this study I will discuss marketing strategy of Ascent Solar Technologies (ASTI). Ascent Solar Technologies (ASTI) is a Business-to-business (B2B) firm that specialises in manufacturing thin film solar electric panels. They are interested in identifying the most effective marketing strategy. It has a number of options available (Morgan, 2005):

Magazines: Advertisements may be placed in about 50 different industrial magazines and trade journals. These ads would be designed by ASTI's advertising department.

Postcard decks: Publishers of various magazines and journals assemble postcard announcements of new products from a number of different companies. The postcard decks are then sent out to their list of subscribers. ASTI would pay for the postcard deck service.

Editorials: ASTI's advertising department occasionally produces editorials for magazines or trade publications and hopes that the editorial will be published. In response to the editorial, readers will occasionally write back to ASTI requesting more information. ASTI's expenses for this type of marketing are employee salaries for writing the editorial and the cost of preparing a camera-ready version of the editorial.

News releases: A news release is a one-paragraph description of a new product that typically appears in the back of a magazine. News releases are published for free by magazines that are already carrying ASTI advertisements as a courtesy to the client. Like requests for literature (below), interested readers send a postcard to the magazine, which is then forwarded to ASTI. Costs incurred for this type of advertising are employee salaries for processing requests.

Literature: Readers of magazines or trade journals may make a request for literature or more information about ASTI by circling a request number on a “bingo card” and sending it back to the magazine or journal. Requests are then sent from the magazine or journal to ASTI, which responds to the requests appropriately.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to identify the most effective type of advertising outlet for ASTI and its marketing strategy.

Significance of the Study

This study is driven by the need to provide information which could serve as the basis of future research regarding most effective marketing strategy for ASTI.

Research Question

Q.1

How ASTI company can really make a difference in its future business?

Q.2.

Why advertisment outlet for ASTI is important to compete in present market situation?

Q.3

What should be the marketing strategy for ASTI?

Q. 4

How marketing strategy and advertisement can be fruitful to generate more revenues?

Q.5

How corporate strategy and business growth works for the ASTI's business performance?

Q.6

Why marketing mix concept is important for ASTI's strategic planning framework?

Q.7

What is the level of emphasis put by ASTI on marketing strategy?

Q.8

Is marketing strategy associated with ASTI's business performance?

Hypotheses

H1. The greater the product-market extent of ASTI's business in foreign markets, the greater is the degree or amount of its value-adding activity.

H2. The more significant the product-based differentiation of a ASTI, the lower is the amount of its value-adding activity.

H3. Increasing number of advertising activities of ASTI are associated with its greater financial performance.

Literature Review

The marketing literature will replete with normative and positive theoretical and empirical research-based papers and theories ...