Social Marketing

Using the Four Ps to Market Indiglo Wristwatches
To better understand the four Ps, let’s look at a straightforward, big-budget campaign by Timex® to market
a watch with a new feature: an Indiglo dial that lights up the entire face of the watch. Marketing in the
commercial world often means big budgets for audience research, advertising and other costs. But the
principals are the same as those applied to social marketing.
The goal: In the world of marketing wristwatches, there already exists a high demand for watches, so you
do not need to sell consumers on the benefit of owning a watch to keep time. Instead, the marketing chal-
lenge is to gain a share of a crowded market. Here’s how the company did just that for Indiglo watches:
The audience
Timex had a great new gimmick. To sell it, they first had to know who was most likely to want this feature
in a watch. Timex looked at the entire audience of potential watch buyers and chose a lifestyle segment:
people who like and buy gadgets.
The action
In commercial marketing, it is easy to see the bottom line. Unless the marketing plan results in lots of watch
purchases, Timex has failed. The marketing department knew exactly what they wanted the audience to
do. It didn’t matter whether they helped the audience feel warm and fuzzy, know all about it, or have better
access to it. None of these factors mattered unless they caused the audience to buy the watch.
Behavioral Determinants
- Promoting the benefit: Timex can build on a long reputation of durable and reliable watches. So the
campaign did not have to convince the audience about the quality of the watch. The tangible benefit that
Timex was promoting was the actual feature of the watch. Timex also marketed intangible benefits, such
as slick, rugged, athletic, outdoorsy, fashionable, high-tech, and hip.
- Minimize the barriers: Timex had to minimize the barrier that Timex is a no-class brand. It did this by
relating the new watch to hip activities, raising the price a bit, and making glossy ads.
The Results
Timex addressed each of the four Ps:
- Product: a watch with a new twist: Indiglo night-light illuminates the entire dial.
- Price: high enough to trust it, low enough for the mass market.
- Place: low-end department stores, discount stores.
- Promotion: sold to retailers first (so they would promote it), advertised on TV, in stores, and magazines.
All of these decisions were based on evidence. Timex did not make a move without checking with the
target audience on issues such as the product design, the name “Indiglo,” and ad ideas. And, Timex moni-
tored sales. With so much at stake in potential sales and the company’s new image, absolutely no choices
were made on a whim.