This is composed of the four ‘Ps’ – Defining People, Product, Place, Promotion – which characterize the basis of any marketing strategy.

People – The brand’s defined target
Product – The actual product which the brand is selling and its points of difference versus its competition
Place – The brand’s distribution strategy – priority markets, channels, off-trade vs on-trade
Price – The brand’s price positioning versus its competition.

Example of Use: ‘A marketing strategy can only be defined if the four Ps are addressed. No brand can succeed if one of these are ignored and not defined. The strategy can not move ahead. ‘

Indie Bartender Understanding: We all need to know who we are, who we are talking to, what about and where … and brands are the same. Our venues are also the same. Each P is important to define the mix and then the strategy.

This is when brands build relationships with consumers by improving product perception and emotional affinity to be more meaningful to consumers’ desires. It is one of the ways we can understand consumer loyalty thanks to research.

Example of Use: ‘This brand’s level of meaningfulness has increased and can be the reason why consumer loyalty is increasing.’

Indie Bartender Understanding: Meaningfulness is a deep marketing concept and they could talk about it til the cows come home but its basically what it says, its about how meaningful to a consumer the brand seems to be

Money, or A&P Budget, which is spent on media to communicate to consumers – Media may be newspapers, radio, tv or out-of-home billboard advertising, but also on digital channels. Communicating in the media may be decided for different reasons and the messages with different content, but is generally agreed in marketing that this ATL spend is designed to influence consumer perception and image of the brand.

Example of Use: ‘The media spend of the brand on TV has increased and thanks to consumer research we can see people’s impression of it is evolving.’

Indie Bartender Understanding: Brands spend piles of money on different types of expenditure. They need to know where their spending is going and as part of the A&P budget, different lines are created of which Media Spend is one.

MPOs are common in many markets and are composed of groups, small or large, who own several hospitality outlets and venues. The expression is particularly used in the UK where pubs of all types, sizes and concepts exist.

Example of Use: ‘MPOs may be under the same brand and concept, or each may have their own positioning. A typical MPO may own an estate of traditional pubs as well as a chain of funky concept bars …’

Indie Bartender Understanding: A technical term for groups which own and operate several hospitality venues. Used particularly in the UK.