Using The 4 Ps To Market Violence

   Marketing is a process of determining a consumer’s needs, devising a product or service to satisfy those needs, and trying to focus customers on the goods and services you are offering.  Marketing is extremely important, and a fundamental building block for business growth. Two important aspects of marketing include acquiring new customers, and the preservation and growth of relationships with current customers.  Marketing has always been viewed as a creative outlet, which encompassed advertising, distribution, and the selling of goods and services. In summation, a good marketing plan should be able to create a favorable proposition or series of benefits that a customer can value through goods or services.

   The Ultimate Fighting Championship, is the world’s leading mixed martial arts sports association.  The UFC is comprised of a competitive array of mixed martial arts events, televised on pay per view and selected cable providers both domestically and internationally.  The UFC is committed to providing high quality live events, and television productions to entertain and engage viewers in one of the fastest growing sports in the world.  Response to the UFC brand of mixed martial arts has been overwhelming, with an increasingly growing fan base that grows exponentially ever year.  Like other forms of sports entertainment, including football, baseball, and boxing, the UFC has acquired a strong foothold to compete as a legitimate leisure viewing product.

  Once the product is in place, a price can be settled upon for use of the goods or services.  The price of course is the amount a customer will pay for use of the product.  The price point is determined with a number of different factors, including market share, opposing competition, cost to produce the product, product advertising, and what a customer will sense as the product value. While touching on this key marketing mix point, the price doesn’t necessarily need to be of monetary value, it can also be an exchange for product or services; time, energy, etc.  When speaking about the UFC, the main revenue is generated by the live gate acquired at an event, and the coinciding pay per view of the said event.  Tickets are normally priced competitively to that of boxing matches, and the pay per view prices have increased with the sports popularity, and shift in technology now that events are broadcast in high definition. 

  Next Promotion can be viewed as all communication that a business will use in their given marketplace.  The UFC has become ubiquitous, appearing in all forms of advertising, including television, radio, print ads, the internet, and a very strong word of mouth.  This is quite an accomplishment when you trace back to the start of the sport.  The new management that purchased the UFC on February 23 2001, have been constantly trying to distinguish itself from the controversial stigma of just presenting a no holds barred spectacle. Ad campaigns now concentrate on the skill and athleticism of the combatants, as opposed to a mentality of two men enter, and one man leaves.  The UFC owners were smart enough to set up rules and regulations, which included weight classes for fighters, and a series of fouls to protect fighter safety.

   Lastly placement, or distribution of the product, refers to how the product makes its way to the customer.The UFC has taken full advantage of its global popularity, and expanded its horizons to include events in the United Kingdom and Canada.  UFC fights can now be viewed on cable television, the internet, and purchased at local retailers on DVD.