Read the following case study and answer question.

Ranvijay is an entrepreneur who has set up his enterprise with the manufacturing of an innovative product i.e. GPRS glasses with Al feature which is going to help the blind people in navigation and identifying places and people in front through voice. He has given a unique name to his product "Elinir". For all the usage instructions to reach to the consumer, he got them printed over the packaging which is made up of biodegradable material. He wants to get it advertised by some celebrity but fears that the cost of product may increase with the involvement of celebrity and will make it unaffordable. He is also planning to open his own outlets and his own website in order to sell the product.

Printing instructions over the package to reach customers is which element of product mix?

Labelling

The correct answer is option (3)- Labelling.

Printing instructions over the package to reach customers is an element of the product mix known as labelling.

Labelling- A simple looking but important task in the marketing of goods relates to designing the label to be put on the package. The label may vary from a simple tag attached to the product (such as in case of local unbranded products like sugar, wheat, pulses, etc.) indicating some information about the quality or price, to complex graphics that are part of the package, like the ones on branded products. Labels are useful in providing detailed information about the product, its contents, method of use, etc. It is an important function of labeling to provide information required by law. For example, packaged food articles must have list of ingredients declaration regarding vegetarian or non-vegetarian food additives and date of manufacturing or packing on the label. Such information is required on processed foods, drugs and tobacco products. In case of hazardous or poisonous material, appropriate safety-warning need to be put on the label.

OTHER OPTIONS

• Advertising- Advertising is perhaps the most commonly used tool of promotion. It is an impersonal form of communication, which is paid for by the marketers (sponsors) to promote some goods or service. The most common modes of advertising are ‘newspapers’, ‘magazines’, ‘television’, and ‘radio’.

• Packaging- One of the most important developments affecting the business world in recent years has been in the area of packaging. Many products, which we thought could never lend themselves to packing because of their nature, have been successfully packed e.g., Pulses, Ghee, Milk, Salt, Cold Drinks, etc. Packaging refers to the act of designing and producing the container or wrapper of a product. Packaging plays a very important role in the marketing success or failure of many products, particularly the consumer non-durable products.

• Branding- One of the most important decisions that a marketer has to take in the area of ‘product’ is in respect of branding. He has to decide whether the firm’s products will be marketed under a brand name or a generic name. Generic name refers to the name of the whole class of the product. For example, a book, a wristwatch, tyre, camera, toilet soap, etc. We know that a camera is a lens surrounded by plastic or steel from all sides and having certain other features such as a flash gun and so on. Similarly book is a bunch of papers, which are in a bound form, on which some useful information about a subject is printed. Thus, all products having these characteristics would be called by the generic name such as camera or book. If products were sold by generic names, it would be very difficult for the marketers to distinguish their products from that of their competitors. Thus, most marketers give a name to their product, which helps in identifying and distinguishing their products from the competitors’ products. This process of giving a name or a sign or a symbol etc., to a product is called branding.