Charlie Roberts
IMG Year 2 Portfolio
Marketing History Research
For this section of my research, I plan to try and find the different types of marketing that have been used over the years / during different time periods.
I plan to carry out this research via online website, and maybe even by marketing books if I feel more is needed.
By carrying this out this section of research, I'm hoping that I will have a greater understanding as to what options I have when it comes to creating my own marketing piece for this project.
Estaa marketing (2018) Marketing in Antiquity [Online] Available from: https://www.esteamarketing.com/marketing-basic/marketing-in-antiquity/ [Accessed 2 January 2019].
Marketing in Antiquity
Through archaeological research evidence has been found for forms of advertising from antiquity (the distant past). However, these forms of marketing / advertisement are not as advanced as you'd see in today generation, which is to be expected. This advertisement was mainly in the form of labels and branding, which is still a widely used form of marketing even today.
"In Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum, archeaological evidence also points to evidence of branding and labelling in relatively common use. Wine jars, for example, were stamped with names, such as "Lassius" and "L. Eumachius;" probably references to the name of the producer."
For most products now, you'll find that there's a label with a brand name / logo. This logo is typically used so once the brand becomes popular, by just having the logo on a product people will know who the product is by. This itself is an improvement from the past, since some remember a brand easier by an image, rather than a name.
However, this sparks the question as to when it became necessary for products to be labeled.
"David Wengrow has argued that branding became necessary following the urban revolution in ancient Mesopotamia in the 4th century BCE, when large-scale economies started mass-producing commodities such as alcoholic drinks, cosmetics and textiles."
This explains that the change came around due to the mass production of commodities. The reason for the increase in labelling could be due to sellers wanting their products to be known as theirs, and not to be mistaken among the increasing number of others that were starting to be sold by other sources.
Estaa marketing (2018) Marketing in the Middle Ages [Online] Available from: https://www.esteamarketing.com/marketing-basic/marketing-in-the-middle-ages/ [Accessed 2 January 2019].
Marketing in the Middle Ages
The main form of marketing that emerged (in England) during the middle ages was market towns.
"In England and Europe during the Middle Ages, market towns sprang up. Some analysts have suggested that the term, 'marketing,' may have first been used in the context of market towns where producers used the term to describe the process of carting and selling their produce and wares in market towns."
This type of marketing is still somewhat visible in some towns / areas in today's generation still makes use of dedicating decently large areas for market stalls (whether the stalls are selling clothes, or even food). However, for the most part, there are a lot more actual shops compared to market stalls in towns.
Estaa marketing (2018) Marketing in the 17th and 18th century [Online] Available from: https://www.esteamarketing.com/marketing-basic/marketing-in-17th-and-18th-century-europe/[Accessed 2 January 2019].
Marketing in Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Europe
During this time a number of marketing strategies had been formed and where in use. But there were still new strategies being formed.
Josiah Wedgewood used various marketing techniques that are still used to this day, such as catalogues and direct mail.
"English industrialists, Josiah Wedgewood and Matthew Boulton, are often portrayed as pioneers of modern mass marketing methods. Wedgewood was known to have used marketing techniques such as direct mail, travelling salesmen and catalogues in the eighteenth century."
Additionally, during this time, Wedgewood inferred that selling products at a decreased price would gain more interest / potential buyer, which would eventually mean that higher profits would be able to be generated.
"Wedgewood also carried out serious investigations into the fixed and variable costs of production and recognised that increased production would lead to lower unit costs. He also inferred that selling at lower prices would lead to higher demand and recognised the value of achieving scale economies in production. By cutting costs and lowering prices, Wedgewood was able to generate higher overall profits."
Estaa marketing (2018) Marketing in Antiquity [Online] Available from: https://www.esteamarketing.com/marketing-basic/marketing-in-antiquity/ [Accessed 2 January 2019].
Estaa marketing (2018) Marketing in the Middle Ages [Online] Available from: https://www.esteamarketing.com/marketing-basic/marketing-in-the-middle-ages/ [Accessed 2 January 2019].
History Cooperative (2018) The Evolution Of Marketing – From Trade to Tech [Online] Available from: https://historycooperative.org/the-evolution-of-marketing-from-trade-to-tech/ [Accessed 2 January 2018]
Marketing in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
When the nineteenth century arrived, marketing had began to change, and further advance.
During this time, marketing had started to become much more competitive, meaning further strategies needed to be used. "Starting in the early twentieth century to the late 1940s competition in the business world became intense. The need to increase selling by using marketing techniques became an essential part of being competitive."
Strategic Branding
During the late nineteenth century companies began to realise the benefits of selling higher quality products, and building a brand.
"Companies began to realize they could focus on selling more high-quality products and build a better brand for them. This resulted in companies experiencing an improvement in their margins, but also expanded their reputation."
Due to the reputation gained from selling higher quality products, companies could expect an increase in sales. This would be expected because if a product of a high quality was being sold, the buyers / consumers would be likely to go back and purchase them once again. Additionally, if good news spread about a particular brand and raised in popularity, it would be likely to continue becoming more popular and having more sales.
"It also increased the awareness of the brand they had created. Some companies with a private label were able to improve their market share by more than 49 percent."
Online Marketing
Once it became more of a normality to own a computer, online marketing started to become an effective method of marketing. Up until this point in time, it wouldn't have been as effective since it would have been a minority of people that owned their own computer.
"During the late 1990s, simple company websites that were text-based began to flourish. They were initially utilized to provide information about a company’s products or services."
To this day online marketing is massive and plays a vital role for many different companies, being that a large portion of their products are sold online.
Relevant Research - Advertisement Using Posters Throughout the Years
Posters have been a form of marketing that have been used for over a century. Although there are a number of noticeable differences to the posters from today's age, to the posters from many years ago, they all have the same goal, being to advertise something.
British Army Propaganda
The poster shown was created in 1914 with the goal of advertising/raising awareness of the British army, and increasing the number of people trying to join the army.
The poster itself is rather basic, making use of primarily text, with the additional use of an image. This was likely important for the goals of the poster, as they were to inform people about the army, and try to get them to join, meaning text would explain better than an image.
The poster does, however, stand out, as the text is bold bright (at least the red text) and stands out from the background.
Modern Dy advertising Poster - Breath of the Wild
There is a clear difference between the visuals of the two poster.
This poster makes use of a multitude of bright, contrasting colours that would likely make the poster noticeable wherever placed.
Additionally, the scale of the advertisement poster is rather large, and much larger than most posters of the past. The poster shown in the image takes up the side of a building, meaning anyone who passes the building can't miss the advertisement.
This poster in particular makes little use of text, only using it to state the games name, platform, age rating, and company.
However, there are similarities to the previous poster looked at, being that, when text is used, it is shown in bold (at least for more important parts of the text). Not only that, but both,of course, had the goals of advertising.