Strategic Marketing (Discussion Questions)
Order Description
Strategic Marketing (Discussion Questions) each discussion question response should be 1 page and have between 250 – 275 words. Provide 1 or 2 references/sources per discussion.
Discussion: Branding in the Digital Age
Branding strategies are changing due to the popularity of the Internet and changing consumer behavior. There are various functions of branding. Branding is not only utilized to differentiate the focal brand from the competing ones, but also to increase brand/product awareness, change consumer attitudes, and encourage purchases. On the other hand, consumer brand experience and online consumer reviews are increasingly influencing branding strategies in the digital age.
Read the following articles:
Edelman, D. C. (2010). Branding in the digital age: You’re spending your money in all the wrong places. Harvard Business Review, December, retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/12/branding-in-the-digital-age-youre-spending-your-money-in-all-the-wrong-places
Anderson, M. (2014, July 7). 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendation. Retrieved from http://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803
Please address the following issues regarding online consumer reviews and brand management in the digital age.

Discussion: Competitive Advantages through Online Promotion
According to the following article, about 77% of luxury advertisers are expected to increase their investments in online marketing in 2012: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2012/8806/luxury-brands-boosting-online-marketing-spend#ixzz28gVdyP98
In addition, Manta’s Small Business Survey found that 78% of surveyed online small business achieved at least 25% of their new business leads via online and social channels in 2012.
Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2012/8966/9-in-10-online-small-businesses-network-online-8-in-10-gain-new-business#ixzz28gWpw1hh
What do you think of the effectiveness of online marketing? How could the firms use online marketing channels to gain competitive advantages?

Discussion: Online Distribution
The Discussion for Module 3 explores online distribution. First, check out the following news articles on Amazon’s online grocery service.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100916844
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/companies-and-industries/a-new-threat-for-big-grocery-2/
Then, answer the following questions:
1. What do you think of Amazon’s move to online grocery delivery? Does it give the company a competitive advantage?
2. Identify one of your favorite grocery stores. What attracts you to it? Can you think of anything the store has done to draw your patronage and stop you from buying online? Is there anything further they could do to retain your loyalty?

Discussion: Free Offers and Pricing
A survey from MARC Research found that among a variety of holiday specials and shopping tactics, store coupons and free-shipping offers were the two incentives most used by shoppers during the fourth-quarter 2009 holiday-shopping season.
Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2010/3542/shoppers-seek-coupons-and-free-shipping-offers#ixzz28gf7i57W
In addition, read the article below on the importance of “free” in online commerce:
http://www.marketingprofs.com/short-articles/2555/the-importance-of-free#ixzz28gdt7f4u
Based on these articles and other readings you may find, what do you think of the “free” offers used by online retailers or marketer? Do you think the “free” offers would be more effective than coupons? Use some concepts you learned from this module, as well as other modules to discuss these issues.