When I teach marketing at NTU, I always make it real for the students. Last Friday, I took the CS2058 class (Integrated Marketing Communication) to Jurong Point mall for some window shopping.
Shopkeepers stared suspiciously as we paused in front of their stores, while I explained how the 4Ps (Product, Price, Promo and Place) manifest in the real world.
We explored how every inch of a mall can become an advertising surface. We observed the manifestation of the old retail trick “stack ’em high and watch ’em fly” at the Fairprice supermarket. We discussed how brands choose which products to showcase in the shop window and how offline translates to online marketing. We also saw how LED panels are poorly utilized due to fleeting marketing content.
Almost everyone shops at retail, but there is a risk of retail marketing knowledge being lost in the e-commerce age of impressions, clickthroughs and cart conversions. I have seen too many marketers who know everything about online marketing, but so little about offline marketing.
That’s why I always encourage people to get out a bit more 🙂