SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND LANGUAGES 1

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
C19MC
Tutorial 3

COURSE NOTES: TUTOR CODE TITLE

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND LANGUAGES 2

C19MC Marketing Communications - Tutorial Three

Title: “Cravendale – Milk Matters” Minicase

Fill, C. (2013). Marketing Communications: Brands, Experiences and Participation,

United Kingdom: Pearson (pp. 142-143).

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the tutorial students should be able to:

 Actively think and consider what marketing strategy, tactics and planning are.
 Explore and understand the merits of the four approaches to marketing
communication strategy (Fill, 2013, p.148, see figure 5.1).
 Critically analyse and apply theoretical concepts to practice as outlined in the
case.

Required Reading:

 Caemmerer, B. (2009) The planning and implementation of integrated marketing

communications, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 27(4), pp. 524-538.
 Fill, C. (2013) Marketing Communications: Strategies and Planning, in C. Fill (ed.)
Brands, Experiences and Participation, United Kingdom: Pearson (pp. 139-171).
 Haley, R. I. (1968). Benefit segmentation: a decision-oriented research tool, The
Journal of Marketing, 32(3), pp. 30-35.
 Mintzberg, H., & Waters, J. A. (1985) Of strategies, deliberate and emergent,
Strategic Management Journal, 6(3), pp. 257-272.
 Mohr, J., & Nevin, J. R. (1990) Communication strategies in marketing channels: a
theoretical perspective, The Journal of Marketing, 54(4), pp. 36-51.

Background:

This topic considers issues relating to strategy, tactics and planning in a marketing
communications context which is a challenge as the academic literature tells us that it is
a clearly undefined area. Nevertheless, the intention is to explore concepts as they are
more often than not, contextually based. Strategy, in this instance, refers to the overall
emphasis of the activity whether the focus is on consumers, intermediaries or
stakeholders. There is a strong management view that positioning is the essence of
strategy formulation and direction. Fill’s (2013) approach is to combine both
perspectives into a 4-pronged framework. The marketing communications strategy of
Cravendale allows for consideration of the application of the 4-pronged approach.

COURSE NOTES: TUTOR CODE TITLE

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND LANGUAGES 3

Requirements:

Students are required to:

1. Read the case study in preparation for the tutorial

2. To work in small teams of two/three/four maximum
3. Discuss the case and answer the assigned questions
4. In their teams, choose a ‘voice’ to represent their team in the following class
discussion. Despite this, all group members should be prepared to make a
contribution
5. Relate the class topic to their own experiences and wider marketing themes

Questions:

Within your group you are required to apply the principles of each of the 4-prong
approach presented in Table 5.1 (Fill, 2013, p. 148) to the Cravendale mini-case. Upon
completion, you will present your findings to the tutorial towards answering which of the
four interpretations of strategy explain the success of the Cravendale brand most
effectively.

1. What factors rendered the milk market attractive to new entrants such as
Cravendale?

2. Weigh-up the merits and applicability of the four approaches to marketing

communications strategy and discuss its use within the case of Cravendale

3. Explain in detail the key characteristics associated with a pull strategy.

COURSE NOTES: TUTOR CODE TITLE