Skip to main content

Marketing

1. The company's logo, and how effective you think the logo conveys their mission and vision (4 points)

The PPG Paints logo is clean and simple, the tag line more seems to symbolize their mission and vision of PPG's Vision, Mission, Strategy and Values. “Our vision is to be the world's leading coatings company by consistently delivering high-quality, innovative and sustainable solutions that customers trust to protect and beautify their products and surroundings.” PPG takes their logo very seriously, complete with legal paperwork to make sure it is available, but should remain free of anything disparaging for the company. “The undersigned agrees not to use PPG and NEXA AUTOCOLOR® brand logos and images in any manner that may disparage or impair the validity, scope, title or goodwill of PPG.” They have a 50-page document on every detail of their many logos, including color scheme and dimensions (PPG, 2017). Their clearly stated vision is: “We protect and beautify the world”

2. Who is the CMO of the company? What do you think her/his job is? (3 points) 

Christopher (Max) M Wetzel is the current vice president of global marketing and architectural coating at PPG (Governance, 2018). There is no one listed on their web sites as a CMO. He was appointed on July 1st, 2016. His role, clearly spelled out in a June 27th, 2016 PPG exclusive is that he:  “will build a global marketing strategy for architectural coatings across the U.S. and Canada; the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region; and the Asia Pacific region, and he will report to Jean-Marie Greindl, PPG senior vice president, global architectural coatings, and president, PPG EMEA. Additionally, Wetzel will continue in his U.S. and Canada roles as chief marketing officer for all sales channels and as general manager for the home centers channel (including The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards and Walmart accounts), and he will continue reporting to Dave Cole, PPG vice president, architectural coatings, U.S. and Canada, for these responsibilities.” (PPG Announces, 2016). His predecessor Judy Smydo created PPG’s new mass marketing campaign that essentially brought new life into PPG with a new Logo, tagline, multimedia advertising, and a simplified marketing identity (PPG Updates, 2016).

3. Their marketing strategy (4 points)

PPG’s marketing strategies are broken down by: marketing objectives, Marketing segmentation, targeting strategy, positioning, revised talent sourcing, and new advertising activities. Their marketing objectives are comprehensive things like: Expanding store traffic, increasing brand awareness, and increasing their sales talent in stores. Their target marketing has shifted to the more 20-40 years old, starting with the millennial to generation X DIY types. They will always market to professional painters of course. The above mentioned age group shift is directly linked to their targeting strategy. PPG plans to do that by hiring more millennial talent to expand their sales floor presence in retail stores. PPG is positioning themselves better in the market by improving their sales floor talent, rolling out new advertising campaigns, having summer interns, and making online ordering for instore pickups available. Talent sourcing for millennials is getting easier with social media as a tool. PPG also uses campus recruiting for their internships. Some of the new advertising activities include their “celebrate the color” campaign that encouraged painting as an activity or fun event rather than a tedious chore. They’re also looking into sponsoring posts on social media. Occasionally they also have promotional offers. (Bursic, 2017)

4. Their marketing mix (the four Ps) (4 points) 

Products: 
Back in 2005, PPG was a very diversified company with 55% of their earnings coming from paints, but 23% coming from Chemicals, while the remaining 22% was from glass. Their net sales that year were approximately 10.2 billion. After a few major company sales and purchases (like purchasing SigmaKalon in 2008, AkzoNoble NA in 2013, and Comex 2014/15), PPG has taken hold of their identity as primarily a paint and coatings company. As of 2016, 97% of their net sales has been in paint with the remaining 3% being in glass. That year, their net sales were 14.8 billion (PPG Investor).
PPG’s products include a broad range to include primers, topcoats, paint strippers, and even clear coats for aerospace, automotive use, commercial buildings, marine use, and of course their well-known (at least in Pittsburgh) residential paint line (Color). Their glass products include Solarban 90 which is a solar control glass, Starphire which is an ultra-clear glass, Blue-Green and Gray-Bronze which are performance tinted glasses, and Interior glass (Vitro Glass). All of these products are adequately meeting the needs of their target audience as PPG has reported Quarterly dividend increases for the past 45 consecutive years (PPG Investors).

Price: 
Determining the price of a product is a long and involved process taking manufacturing costs, transportation costs, name brand, and many other features. PPG paints are competitive in the overall paint market. A study was done in 2017 on each major paint company’s top tier interior paints. Out of the 22 paints investigated, PPG came out in the middle with $56 per gallon of $0.14 per square foot. Other known brands such as Olympic out at $25 with $0.06 per square foot. Behr at $42 with $0.11 per square foot.Sherwin William’s at $67, $0.18 per square foot. The most expensive was EUROLUX Matte Euro gallon at $115 per can and costing approximately $0.41 per square foot (Paint, 2017).
PPG’s argument for the prices they’re chosen is along the lines of some of their costs are higher than average, but their quality is higher. For example, if a customer spends $42 on PPG paint and only $35 on a competitor, the competitor might be cheaper initially but with applying paint in a sprayer, there is a mix ratio that need accounted for (Mix). In the end, a consumer would more of the competitor’s paint to get the same sized job done.

Place: 
PPG has locations globally. They are found in North America: Canada, U.S.A., and Puerto Rico. They have locations in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, Panama, and Suriname. Countries like Austrailia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam in the Asia Pacific. And of course, many locations in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East (Worldwide).

Promotions: 
None of the promotions findable online, whether they were pro or consumer, were up to date. As far as promoting themselves, PPG has taken many opportunities to make sure their brand is out there. In 2016, PPG signed a 20-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins to be the official paint supplier of the Pens and assume the naming rights of the stadium. It is now called the PPG PAINTS arena. With the location averaging 150 events per year and with a max capacity of 19,758 people, PPG’s logo is being seen inside the arena almost 3 million times a year, not including the brand exposure as people drive by or see advertisements for events there. (Pittsburgh, 2016)

5. How the company can use certain Think with Google marketing tools to conduct their market research. Discuss at least how two tools may be used (5 points)

“We see Think with Google as a place to talk to business decision makers at brands and agencies about digital marketing strategies, emerging consumer trends and valuable tactics that will help them achieve their business objectives.” Allison Mooney Head of Insights & Trends at Google and editor-in-chief of Think with Google (Berkman, 2015).
Think google can be used by PPG in many ways. There are many tools available to anyone who would like to use it. One such tool is called Shopping insights. Shopping insights is all about trends. Think with Google has data on 7,000 popular products and PPG can use this information to see how their products trend: over time, how it is searched, with that platform it is searched with (mobile, desktop, etc), even products by region (city level data for 16,000 U.S. cities). The tool uses heat maps and graphs to demonstrate the upward and downward movement of their products. The information available goes back to April 1, 2014. This would help PPG to make better, well informed decisions about their products (Shopping, 2017).
Google Tend is another great tool available through Think with Google. It provides large scale trends of anything put into the search box. This tool is perfect for someone who wants to know the company’s universal interest over time, its interest by region, related topics once searched, and related queries. PPG can use this data to track why their tending is so sporadic or why they’re trending so high in Indonesia. Insight and perspective are always valuable tools for any company (Google Trends). Below are some examples of Google trend of PPG.

6. At least two Google Trend analyses of the company (6 points)

PPG as of 8 April 2018:
pastedGraphic.png

pastedGraphic_1.png
7. How the company may use Google Analytics for marketing purposes (6 points) (Note: Recall that you implemented Google Analytics for your own Team Project Site!)

Google analytics tracks and reports website traffic. As web pages are as much the face of a company as people, it is important for companies to know if their web page is bringing in customers, if its consumer friendly, if the content on the page is performing to your standards. PPG can use this tool to understand their site and app users. Google Analytics can provide PPG with a comprehensive measurement an app might have. As the program is available as an app, it can be easily downloaded and accessed whenever PPG employees want to see their progress or where they need to improve.
“The Google Analytics 360 Suite combines enterprise analytics, tagging, site optimization, data visualization, market research, attribution, and audience management into a powerful measurement solution for your business. Designed to deliver a seamless user experience, cross-product data integration helps your enterprise gain useful insights and get better results every day.” (Improve).


8. How you think the company may have designed and developed new products and services (8 points)

PPG designs and develop products with color in mind. They know that color sells and as a primarily paints and coatings company, they have color in spades. More than just color, texture and color effect all come together to grab a customer’s attention (Consumer). PPG has its finger on the pulse of American society, having the need to respond in their own way to the current political times. Their DULUX Paints line for 2018 is an intentional commentary and response with Black Elegance and Golden Goose as their feature colors. “This design direction reflects consumers’ growing yearning for protection, strength and stability to feel safe during uncertain times. Simultaneously, the 2018 colours evoke feelings of grandeur, which appeal to consumers’ unwillingness to feel small or disregarded in light of current societal landscapes.” (DULUX, 2018).

References:

Berkman, Robert. (2015). A Conversation with: Allison Mooney, Head of Insights & Trends at Google and Editor-in-Chief of Think with Google. Bestbizweb. Retrieved from http://www.bestbizweb.com/thinking-out-loud/a-conversation-with-allison-mooney-head-of-insights-trends-at-google-and-editor-in-chief-of-think-with-google.

Brand Logos. (2018). PPG Industries. Retrieved from http://us.ppgrefinish.com/PPG-Refinish/My-PPG/Other-Tools/Brand-Logos

Bursic, David. (2017). PPG Paints Marketing Plan. Issuu. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/davidbursicjr/docs/ppg_presentation

Color: Global Industries. PPG Industries. Retrieved from http://corporate.ppg.com/Color/Global-Industries.aspx.

Consumer Products. Global Consumer Products. PPG Industries. Retrieved from http://corporate.ppg.com/Color/Global-Industries/Consumer-Products.aspx.

DULUX Paints by PPG Announces Colour Trends for 2018: Start off New Year with Bold, Elegant Hues for Glamourous Home Design. (2018). PPG Industries. Retrieved from http://investor.ppg.com/press-releases/2018/01-03-2018-134859893. 


Governance management team. (2018). PPG Industries. Retrieved from (http://corporate.ppg.com/Our-Company/Governance/Management-Team-(1).aspx)

Improve the Customer Experience with digital analytics. Google Analytics solutions/Analytics. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/analytics/analytics/#?modal_active=none.


Mix Ratio Price Comparison. PPG Industries. Retrieved from http://us.ppgrefinish.com/PPG-Refinish/My-PPG/Other-Tools/Mix-Ratio-Pricing-Comparison.

Paint Price Comparison. (2017). The Land of Color. Retrieved from  http://thelandofcolor.com/paint-price-comparison-2017/. 

Pittsburgh Penguins. (2016). Pittsburgh Penguins Home to Become “PPG Paints Arena”. NHL. Retrieved from https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/pittsburgh-penguins-home-to-become-ppg-paints-arena/c-282363202. 

PPG Announces Executive Appointment. (2016). PPG Industries. Retrieved from http://cpppgdev.ppg.com/Media/Newsroom/2016/PPG-announces-executive-appointment-Wetzel



PPG Updates Brand, Launches Global Marketing Campaign. (2016). PPG Industries. Retrieved from http://newsroom.ppg.com/PPGBrand. 

Shopping Insights. (2017). Think with Google. Retrieved from https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/tools/shopping-insights/.

Vitro Glass Featured Highlights. Vitro Glass. Retrieved from http://www.vitroglazings.com/en-US/Glass.aspx. 


Worldwide Operations. PPG Industries. Retrieved from http://corporate.ppg.com/Our-Company/Worldwide-Operations.aspx

Comments

Post a Comment