Final answer:
Marketing channels create value through possession, form, place, and time utilities but not through quality. Quality is determined before the product reaches the marketing channel, so the correct answer to the student's question is 'c. quality'.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question asks which of the following utilities is NOT created by marketing channels. Marketing channels are designed to add value to a product by making it more accessible or desirable to consumers. These additional benefits are known as utilities. The utilities listed are possession, form, place, time, and quality. Among these, quality is not a utility that the marketing channel directly creates. Instead, quality is largely determined by the production process and inherent in the product itself before it reaches the marketing channel.
Possession utility is created when ownership is transferred from the seller to the buyer, usually facilitated by marketing channels through sales and transactions. Form utility involves enhancing the product's appeal or functionality, which is typically handled before the product enters the marketing channel. Place utility and time utility are directly related to marketing channels; they ensure that products are available where and when consumers want to purchase them. For example, a storefront display is designed to manipulate a shopper's emotions and create the image that a product confers status, relating to place utility by making products available in a setting that enhances their perceived value.
Therefore, the correct answer is 'c. quality', as it is primarily a function of the product's design and manufacturing, not the marketing channel.