The following is a description of the four elements of marketing mix and their application
to a particular product. The product of choice in this case is Heineken, which is a beer
brand of the Heineken Company, which is located in the Netherlands, but it is a major
exporter of beer brands all over the globe. To explore the marketing mix this essay will
provide the details of the marketing mix applied by the company. The essay discusses
how the four marketing mix elements affect the development of the organizations
marketing strategy. The second part of this essay describes how each of the marketing
mix elements are implemented within the company to ensure successful marketing that
results into high sales volume and continued brand loyalty.
The product
The product of focus is Heineken beer brand. This is an alcoholic drink manufactured by
the Heineken Company in the Netherlands. Heineken beer first manufactured in the
1890 has and has ever since been in the market. The product is made up of barley,
sugar, 5% alcohol, and malt. The company has strived to maintain the beer product with
the original ingredients that its founder used to make the beer. The product has a
worldwide acceptance due to be high quality, low alcohol content as well as the
customers’ perceived value that they have on the beer. The beer company has an
objective of being the best beer in the market and it is oriented towards has increasing
cut a niche in emerging and new markets such as China and Brazil.
The price
The pricing of the product is a key component of the marketing mix. This is because the
price affects the perceived value that the consumers have about the product. Although

the product was initially designed for mass consumption, the beer has never been sold
on low prices compared with other alcoholic products in the market. Heineken beer
brand has cut a niche or created a brand in the market, which is perceived to have a
higher value than most of the existing beer products mainly because of its ability to
maintain consistency to the consumers for a long period without changing the initial
contents of the beer brand. This has created a fanatical following whereby those who
consume the product can pay any price for the beer. The beer price is higher in
comparison with other beer brands. Currently, a 500 milliliter bottle costs $50 in the
United States of America as the retail price of the beer. The price communicates the
value of the product, maintaining the perceived value of the product while making the
product competitive is important as an element of marketing.
Promotion
The other element of marketing mix is that of promotion. Promotion is imperative in
marketing and any marketing strategy cannot be effective without promotion. Promotion
is the process of creating awareness about the product. The intention of promotion is to
arouse desire in the prospective consumers of the product so that they can take action
and buy the product (Armstrong & Kotler 2011). It is communicating the value of the
product and its benefits to the potential consumers of the product to ensure that there is
positive perception about the product. The contribution of promotion to the Heineken
Company is critical as promotion deals with activities such as advertising, public
relations, and other integrated marketing communication activities. The marketing and
promotional activities in Heineken consumes a third of the company’s budget. This is
because the company has to promote its products in the new markets. Since the 1950’s

the company has been expanding its export market and currently three quarter of the
company profits emanate from the export markets. This shows that the company must
reach out to the global market. Currently, the company advertises using the electronic
media especially cable television and mainstream television. The company also
sponsors activities such as the NBA seasons, which enable the company to
interconnect with the different players in the market. The company in its promotional
activities has also enrolled the use of social media and the internet as part of the
promotional activities by using face book and twitter to interconnect with people who are
in different places (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius 2011).
Place
The element of place is also critical to the marketing activities that Heineken Company
does to promoting its major brand. The company has now gone global and it has to
establish has a good distribution network, which will enable the potential consumers to
access the beer conveniently. The place as an element of marketing mix contributes
positively to the marketing strategy of the company by providing a mechanism on how
the company will take its products to where the consumers are. Previously the company
has been using the traditional beer company of sales such as pubs and restaurants
where people drink for leisure. However, with increased rise in family shopping
experience, the retail stores have provided another distribution mechanism where the
company can place its products. The place enables the consumers to access the
product conveniently. When dealing with place it is imperative to define the place in
terms of the country. In this case, the country of choice is the United States of America
where Heineken has a huge market share. The rules and regulation pertaining to

taxation, licensing, and regulations affect the marketing activities of the company. For
instance, the regulation pertaining to advertising of alcohol products may affect the
advertising strategies as well as promotional activities of the company (Armstrong &
Kotler 2011).
How the company implements each element
Concerning price the company has a pricing method, which applies differently to
different countries. For instance, in countries where the country has its own breweries
the prices are lower in comparison to countries where the company exports the beer
directly. The company applies price as a marketing strategy by creating a perceived
value, by making the product to have a higher price than the existing beer brands and
then communicating the value of the product to the consumers (Kotler & Keller, 2012).
Customers perceive value when the price of a product is higher than the existing similar
products in the marketing. Lower prices diminishes the value of a product by creating
high demand for the mass market, yet consumers of Heineken product consume it due
to the unavailability, higher price and the class that it offers to the consumers.
In applying the product into the making strategy, the company has maintained a
constant recipe for the Heineken beer brand for a long period. The company has
therefore created loyal customers. Any change to the ingredients of the brand would
disappoint loyal consumers who have consumed the drink for all their lifetime. The
company uses this longevity and constant recipe of the product to create loyal
consumers who the company can rely on at a time when the beer industry has become
very competitive and difficult to have loyal customers due to the sophistication of
consumers (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius 2011).

The company has also not compromised on the marketing campaigns, as they are
critical in successful marketing and brand positioning in the market. The promotional
activities such advertising have enabled the company to communicate the value of their
product to the consumers. Communicating the value of a product involves telling the
benefits of the brand to the consumers. Heineken brands itself as the beer of quality,
tested beer, as well as a stimulating beer that has the lowest alcohol content of 5%
whereas other beer products have alcohol content of 15%. It also communicates its
resonance and its responsibility to the community through its acts of charity and energy
conservation initiatives. This gives the company publicity and avenues of brand
positioning in the market. About the place, the company has consistently used the
distributers and retailers as their mode of distribution by focusing into bars, restaurants,
and places of leisure. However, lately the company has changed this mechanism to
accommodate the retail stores as part of distribution (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius 2011).
Conclusion
With increased competition in the beer industry, companies that will thrive in this
industry must carefully analyze their marketing mix and its integration into their overall
marketing strategy. To market and promote the product successfully Heineken has
incorporated marketing activities in every aspect of the company’s operations from
production to point of sale by ensuring that the product meets the specified quality
standards and that it is promoted creatively. The product is also well priced to beat the
competitors and available to the consumers at their convenience.

References
Armstrong, G., & Kotler, P. (2011). Marketing: An introduction (10th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., & Rudelius, W. (2011). Marketing (10th ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2012). Marketing management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.