intermediaries of direct marketing

ProActiv uses the intermediaries of direct marketing and selling to distribute their products. ProActiv is exclusively distributed because you cannot purchase it from stores. It can only be purchased online, over the phone, mall kiosk or from a vending machine. ProActiv products are not on the same shelves in the stores which prevents consumers from comparing them side-by-side, which gives it distinctiveness from its competitors. The vending machines are strategically located in the larger (mostly international) airports and malls. The location within the airport is after the security check points. This can be an advantage because travelers are not checked for the amount of fluid on their person but a disadvantage is that a person trying to purchase ProActiv and doesn’t have a flight will not be able to access the products. However, it is unlikely for someone to pay for parking at an airport just to purchase ProActiv. For more people to have access to ProActiv products, the vending machines can be advantageously placed in some of the less prominent shopping malls and smaller airports (Lucas, 2009).

The focal point to make changes in the distribution marketing strategy should increase the male market base and share and are dependent on the locations that ProActiv is marketed and the images that it portrays as the face of the company. The ProActiv advertisement images will incorporate more male models and clients to give the product a more masculine appeal. The website currently only displays pictures of females. The advertisements will be seen in more male-dominated periodicals. The free newspapers, Wall Street Journal, business journals, men’s fitness, sports, and car magazines, as well as billboards on and around public transportation increases the chances of more men seeing the product. ProActiv should switch advertising commercials from the time slots of show like Glee to NBA basketball games and NFL football games. Images of professional male athletes will keep the men’s attention.

ProActiv experimented with selling its products to a general-merchandise retailer through the Costco warehouse club. The distribution channel is different. The way it works it that there is a sample size kit in the display in Costco, and then you are given a code to redeem the rest of the 120 day supply kit online. There are no extra charges once going through the online site because the- shipping was included with the original purchase amount.