Marketing Management — DU B.A. (Hons.) Business Economics (BBE) Previous Year Question Papers

Now HUL wonders - should they spend more on exciting new brands or protect their profitable old ones? (i) Study HUL’s product mix. How do new skincare brands differ from detergents in growth and market position using BCG Matrix? (9) (ii) Suggest BCG strategies for HUL’s old vs new brands. Which brands should get priority investment? (9) : B.A. (Hons.) Business Economics (BBE) 2. The question paper has three sections. 4. Please pay due attention to the instructions provided at the beginning of each section. 1. (a) Explain the importance and scope of marketing in today’s digital economy, highlighting how it differs from traditional selling. (9) (b) Compare the five company orientations toward the marketplace, giving advantages and limitations of each. (9) 2. (a) Discuss the four main bases for segmenting consumer markets, with two examples each. (b) Define positioning and differentiate between Points of Parity (POP) and Points of Difference (POD), using an illustration of a consumer brand. (9) 3. (a) Outline the four unique characteristics of services and their marketing challenges. (9) (b) Discuss the components of the promotion mix and explain how Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) coordinates them effectively. (9) 7. Hindustan Unilever sells products in almost every Indian home - soap, shampoo, detergent, snacks. Recently they bought some trendy skincare and wellness brands popular with young city people. These focus on natural ingredients, different from HUL’s usual mass market items. By 2026, HUL reaches nearly a billion people daily but must decide where to spend money. Their laundry detergent makes good steady profits to fund new ideas. Shampoo and facewash grow well with city customers wanting better quality. Ready meals show promise but compete with big noodle brands. The new skincare brands excite young buyers on line but still small compared to established natural brands. Some old bar soaps lose sales to cheaper local options. HUL sells daily items through neighborhood shops across India. Premium brands go through big stores and on line platforms. TV ads promote regular products while Instagram influencers push the new beauty lines. However, with the introduction of smartphones, particularly the iPhone in 2007, the demand for standalone music devices began to decline. Smartphones offered multiple functionalities, including music playback, internet access, and communication, making devices like the iPod increasingly redundant. Recognizing this shift, Apple gradually reduced its focus on the iPod and redirected its innovation efforts toward the iPhone. Eventually, the iPod was discontinued in 2022. This case highlights the strategic decision of embracing innovation and self-cannibalization rather than protecting a declining product. (i) Map the iPod’s journey across all PLC stages with key strategic decisions at each stage.