(3) Marketing Titles from TVChoice listed for information only

New Releases:

THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING (30 mins, 2001) 

WHAT IS MARKETING? (35 mins, 2001) 

Marketing influences all our lives - but what is it? Do the traditional "4 Ps" - Product, Promotion, Price & Place - apply now with the Internet? Using examples from McDonalds, Virgin and others, this looks at marketing through the eyes of marketeers, experts, consumers - and critics. It traces the development of marketing, looking at the critical impact of TV advertising in the early 1950s. It gives examples and explanations of quantitative and qualitative research, including focus groups. It considers the concept of the brand. The most powerful brand is one that is not so much linked with a product as with an idea, a lifestyle - e.g. Nike and Virgin. Marketing is closely connected with the relentless move towards globalisation - but what are the social and environmental impacts?

MARKETING ON THE WEB (30 mins, 2000) 

Companies are pouring money into internet marketing. But do people really want to buy online? This film explains how two UK firms are using the web to market themselves and their products: Madaboutwine, a wine retailer, sells its wares exclusively through the web and the bookseller WH Smith. We cover web site pros and cons, the key role of interactivity and user-friendly design which can mean the difference between success and failure. When the fuss about e-commerce settles down, what are the hard commercial benefits companies are looking for from the internet?

THE TV ADVERT: Lucozade and Lara Croft (32 mins, 2000) 

Lucozade began life as a drink for the sick. Now its makers want to sell it as a cool, high-energy drink. So they have turned to Lara Croft, the computer-animated cartoon heroine. This is the story of the making of the TV advert.

COACHING IN CUSTOMER CARE (37 mins, 1999)

Making sure staff give good customer care is a difficult management challenge. One approach is to coach staff but what exactly does coaching in customer care involve? We explore this question using a series of case studies set in an insurance firm.
CASE STUDY 1: Receptionist Janet is taking an off-hand tone with customers. Alex, her manager, wants her to change her ways. The problem is, Janet thinks she's just picking on her.
CASE STUDY 2: John is a good and experienced salesman, but Peter, his manager, thinks his customer contact technique is slipping. Peter ticks John off in public and there is an angry confrontation.
CASE STUDY 3: Cheryl is failing to make eye contact with her customers. Her manager Frazer tries to put her straight but ends up confusing her with a mix of praise and blame. He finds more success with demonstrating to her how to do it.

1. Marketing a Service (30 minutes, 1999)

What does it take to successfully market a service? This video looks at the experience of three well-known organisations marketing very different types of services: the Automobile Association, the Co-op Bank and Amnesty International. Service marketing, it's claimed, requires attention to details beyond the conventional marketing mix: such things as the user-friendliness of its procedures and the behaviour of its staff. But how does this work in the real world? How do customers really respond to their advertising and the service they get? How does it benefit the customer?

2. Niche marketing in the Sportswear Business (35 minutes, 1999)

The world of sports and leisure wear is dominated by a handful of big companies like Nike, Adidas and Reebok. In this world of cut-throat competition, UK firms struggle for profits and, in many cases, for survival. For many smaller companies, the way ahead is niche marketing: going after customers whose needs have been neglected by the larger companies. But how do they attract these customers? How do they organise their production lines to produce just what the customers want and at a price they'll pay? This video takes a down-to-earth approach, explaining in clear and simple terms the most important aspects of modern business practice.

3. MARKETING DECISIONS (30 minutes) (1998)

Case Study 1: The Advert. Design company Apex is considering boosting its business with an advertising campaign. But will advertising work for them? Could they spend the money better on something else?
Case Study 2: A Change of Image? Mail order company Simco is losing market share to its larger competitors. Marketing manager Harriet proposes a change of image to stop the rot. But do they risk alienating established customers?
Case Study 3: Falling Sales. Photocopier firm Comtex is suffering from falling sales. Sales director Tony Spence urges drastic measures: sack staff and hard sell. But sales manager Sharon Andrews argues for a more careful approach, based on market research.

4. THE MARKETING MIX AT CADBURY'S (35 minutes) (1998)

This is the story of how Cadbury launched a new chocolate bar. The video explains how they found a gap in the market and tried to create a personality for their bar. An innovative TV advert is devised, but some critics think it's "silly". A public relations firm helps launch the product and the video explores the response of the retailers and general public. It seems to be a great success, but what about the health implications? Do we really need another chocolate bar?

5. MARKETING A THEME PARK (35 minutes) (1998)

Alton Towers, the UK's most famous amusement park, plans to terrify its customers - and make them pay for the privilege. This video shows how they launched their new ride "Oblivion" and its key role in the marketing mix. Promotioal offers, coach operators and "pester power" all have a big part to play. We see how the marketing team devised a TV advert for the ride and a PR strategy. The idea is to win back the thrill-seeking teenage market. But do they risk alienating young family customers?

6. WHAT IS MARKETING RESEARCH? (27 minutes) (1996)

Every day new products appear, promising to make life better. Marketing research plays an important part in this - but what exactly is it? This video clearly explains, with examples, what quantitative and qualitative research are. It also eavesdrops on a very popular source of information: the focus group.

7. KEEPING THE CUSTOMER SATISFIED (32 minutes) (1996)

What is the secret of good customer care? This video describes how Avalon Travel tried to train its staff to provide total satisfaction. First impressions of a company are critical; an offhand tone on the 'phone or failing to notice a customer's presence in the shop can have dire consequences. The people we work with are also customers - internal customers. They also need good service.

8. TOURISM BUSINESSES IN THE LAKE DISTRICT (30 minutes) (1997)

For over 200 years the Lake District in the UK has been a popular tourism destination. But what kinds of tourism businesses are making money from the area's visitors? This video looks at a range of local businesses. For example, an old bobbin mill that used to make bobbins for the cotton industry now makes souvenirs for visitors, an animal park that claims it is dedicated to conserving endangered species, a hotel and a garden centre.

9. DIRECT MARKETING AND THE DATABASE (22 minutes, 1995)

Computers have made possible a new form of marketing - direct marketing. This enables companies to bypass shops and make direct contact with their customers. But how does direct marketing work in practice? Video-maker TV Choice is a leading supplier of educational videos to schools and colleges. They have worked out a direct marketing process which has improved sales. The video goes step by step through their marketing operation explaining the key issues.

10. THE MARKETING MIX IN ACTION (36 minutes) (1995)

There's a war going on in the high streets - a marketing war. Companies are spending vast sums of money battling for customers, but are they really giving people what they want? This film provides a lively introduction to what's happening in marketing today.

11. MARKETING RESEARCH IN ACTION (25 minutes) (1995)

What is marketing research and how does it work in practice? This video is a detailed case study of how a marketing research firm helps companies gather the information they need to make important business decisions. The Dohring Marketing Research Company specialises in providing marketing research for car dealers. The video follows every stage of the marketing process, from Dohring's first contact with a client to the final presentation of its report.

12. MARKETING IN THE REAL WORLD (25 minutes) (1991)

Textbooks claim that marketing is a creative science, but what happens in the real world? This case study offers a unique fly-on-the-wall view of how a new product is launched and key marketing decisions made. Richard Rose is a marketing director attempting to launch a new toy train. Sales of his company's traditional product lines have been declining and Richard trying to enter a new market: pre-school children.

13. CUSTOMER CARE ON TRIAL (25 minutes) (1993)

Everyone agrees customer care is vital to the modern organisation, but what exactly is it? With the help of a secret camera, this video explores what happens in the real world. Examples include a customer making a complaint in a hi-fi shop, someone wanting to buy a fax machine and how a bank manager handles a couple looking for a loan. This is not a guide to giving customer care: it shows what happens in the real world and provides on-screen questions to stimulate viewers to consider the issues raised.

14. THE INTERNAL CUSTOMER (25 minutes) (1993)

Customer care isn't just about the service people offer to people outside their company: good service to customers depends on goods relations between staff inside the organisation too. Staff supply services to other staff: if the quality of service can be improved, overall performance will benefit. This case study shows how water company North Surrey Water attempted to put this theory into practice.

15. HARD SELL (26 minutes) (1992)

This a provocative account of high pressure sales techniques and brutal management tactics. The video follows a photocopier sales team "cold calling" customers. The salepeople talk about feelings of rejection and the thrill of making a sale. Sales manager Tony Spence has an agressive management style which staff find terrifying and humiliating. To him, sales targets are everything. Note that this video contains bad language which has been bleeped.

16. GOING FOR GROWTH (28 minutes) (1994)

This is the story of how a company revolutionised the entire process by which it made and marketed its products, from computerising its sales reps to reorganising the factory floor. In the 1980s Californian belt manufacturer Leegin Leather found its sales stuck at just over $10 million. Then something happened. Suddenly sales began to go up and up, and are now at $64 million and rising. A key factor in their success was the decision to give portable pcs to their sales force. The increase in demand this created meant that the rest of the business has had to be transformed too.

17. THE GREEN MARKETING GAMBLE (25 minutes) (1993)

The environment has become a major selling point in business, but would a company really gamble its future on a new "green" product and scrap a market-leading brand? Swiss glue maker Ebnother did just this. This video explores the background to this story with interviews with the chief executive Gerry Leuman and his managers explaining how they managed to develop and launch the new more environmentally-friendly product. Now the battle is to get the customers to accept it.

18. MARKETING AND ACCOUNTING (17 minutes) (1993)

"There's no time for marketing in my company until sales improve." This, argues Professor Malcom McDonald, typifies the "accounting mentality" of many British managers -- a mentality which has had a dire effect on British business. One example is the UK motorcycle industry which saw profit margins as the key to success. In fact, this led to its decline. Too many managers calculate profit margins on the basis of the cost of making the product, ignoring the fact that most costs are incurred after the product leaves the factory. McDonald explains the importance in marketing of appropriate financial measures, pricing and the product life cycle.

Titles also relevant

• 1. Business Systems (32 minutes) (see 'Business Systems and IT')

• 2. The Holiday Resort (32 minutes) (see 'Business in the Economy')

• 3. The Magazine (30 minutes) (see 'Business in the Economy')

• 4. Marketing Leisure (25 minutes) (see 'Leisure and Tourism')

• 5. Managing with Teams (27 minutes) (see 'People in Organisations')

• 6. Designing for the Market (29 minutes) (see 'Business in the Economy')

Price: UKP 196 each + UKP 26 Action Pack shipping extra