The following appeared in a memorandum from the new president of the Patriot car manufacturing company.

“In the past, the body styles of Patriot cars have been old-fashioned, and our cars have not sold as well as have our competitors’ cars. But now, since many regions in this country report rapid increases in the numbers of newly licensed drivers, we should be able to increase our share of the market by selling cars to this growing population. Thus, we should discontinue our oldest models and concentrate instead on manufacturing sporty cars. We can also improve the success of our marketing campaigns by switching our advertising to the Youth Advertising agency, which has successfully promoted the country’s leading soft drink.”

In the memorandum, the new president of Patriot car manufacturing company says that they should target the newly licensed customers and increase their sale of cars. Moreover, they should change their cars’ old-fashioned models to new sporty cars. The president also suggests changing their advertising agency to Youth Advertising, which was successful in promoting the leading soft drink, in order to improve their marketing campaigns. However, a careful look at the changes suggested in the memorandum show that these suggestions are not proper. There are better ways of increasing the sales of the car than those suggested in the memorandum.

First of all, it is incorrect on the part of the president to assume that the newly licensed drivers do not own cars. According to the memorandum, the company should be able to increase its sales by targeting this growing population of the newly licensed drivers. However, it is likely that these drivers already own cars and have just obtained their licenses recently. Moreover, considering that most of the new drivers are youngsters, it is possible that their parents are not interested in giving them independent vehicles. Hence, it would not result in an increase in the demand of cars and the company may not observe the kind of sale that it expects.

In order to increase its sales, the president also suggests changing the old fashioned models of its cars to new sporty cars. However, if this change will be profitable or not is an issue that time will decide. While it may be a good decision, it is equally likely that this turns out to be a blunder. Firstly, the model of Patriot car may be old-fashioned but it may still have many takers. Old models are appreciated for their beauty. Moreover, if the car gives good service and needs lesser maintenance, people will buy it despite its model. Secondly, if sporty cars are popular or not, depends greatly upon the composition of the population of customers. If the customers are old or middle aged, they will prefer a family car, which may not be sporty. A sporty model of a car is liked more by youngsters. Thus, if there are very few youngsters to buy cars, the change to a sporty car model may not be successful. Changing the model of the car involves a lot of initial costs and this decision must be made by carefully thinking about the consequences.

It can further be said that it could be a wrong decision to change the advertising agency in order to improve its marketing campaign. The president suggests hiring the Youth Advertising agency, which had successfully campaigned for the country’s leading soft drink. It can be argued that there is a great difference the products being compared here. If the company has shown success in the marketing of a soft drink, it may not be as successful to sell cars. There is not only a difference in the products but it also requires a careful study of its customers and their needs. The president does not show any dissatisfaction with its existing advertising company. Thus, it can be said that the existing company is doing a fairly good job in marketing their cars. The memorandum mentions that a change is required only to ‘improve’ their success in marketing. Therefore, it cannot be denied that the existing agency has also been successful in its advertising. On the other hand, this change may prove to be unsuccessful due to the above-mentioned reasons.

Clearly, the memorandum fails to give valuable suggestions to increase the sale of cars. There could be a number of ways to improve the sales other than those mentioned in the memorandum. The above discussion weakens the suggestions given in the memorandum and hence the company should consider other options, which are logical and foolproof.