Advertising Campaign of AlcoSense - Report Example

A Report on the Advertising Campaign for AlcoSense Table of Contents Introduction 2 Brand positioning 3 Creative approach 5 Media strategy 6 Target audience 7 Effectiveness 9 Conclusion 10 References 10 Appendices 13 a)Number of people killed in road accidents 13 a)Images of AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers 15 Introduction Traffic or road accidents have been a major cause of concern across numerous countries in the World ever since the mid 1990’s, which was further escalated by the fact that there was an increasing number of people owning private vehicles (Leibling, 2008). Particularly, in the United Kingdom, there were astonishing number of road accidents fatalities during the 1990’s as compared to other less developed countries at that time such as South Africa, which had few motor vehicles on the road and therefore, the rate of traffic accidents was obviously low. However, statistics released by the UK’s Department for Transport on traffic fatalities, casualties and related road safety data, which is represented in the table attached to the appendix section, show that since the 1970’s there has been a steady decrease in the number of traffic accidents across the UK. (Great Britain., & Great Britain, 2010). However, the situation in Kenya is totally different since a report published by the World Health Organisation under the title “WHO Status Report on Road Safety” showed that approximately 3,000 to 13,000 Kenyans die as a result of traffic accidents. The report attributed the persistent levels of traffic accidents in Kenya to the lack of a legal framework to discourage against unsafely habits on the Kenyan road. For example, under the Kenyan constitution there are no clears laws that require helmet wearing for cyclists, secondly, there are no clear laws that stipulate on blood alcohol concentration levels for drivers and in circumstances where there are these laws, they are poorly implemented (Bartley, 2008). One of the leading factors in traffic accidents across in Kenya is drunk driving, and as part of strategic measures to reduce the fatalities arising from this reason, Kenyan Police and The National Transport and Safety Authority of Kenya have introduced the use of breathalysers tests that gauge the amount of alcohol in someone’s breath. These breathalysers test gadgets are been used by traffic police officers to curb the number of drivers who are driving under the influence of alcohol and above the legal drinking limiting that has been stipulated under the law. The introduction of breathalyser test kits has created a ready market in Kenya for other related alcoblow gadgets, which range from small size breathalyser that are designed as key holders for individual use to coin-operated breathalysers that are designed for use in public facilities where alcohol is served (Marshall et al. 2010). This paper seeks to present an advertising campaign for coin-operated breathalyser machines that are designed for use in entertainment facilities. The chosen target market for this coin-operated breathalyser machine is Kenya in East Africa, which was selected because it is unsaturated and a ready market for the machines. An in depth, justification on the selection of the product and even the target market will be presented under the sections of brand positioning and target audience respectively. Apart from these justifications, this paper will discuss the creative approach in terms of the campaign strategy that will be used, secondly, the media strategy that will be employed in the advertising campaign and lastly, the effectiveness measures of the advertising campaign that will be employed. Brand positioning With reference to the book that was written by (Sengupta, 2005, pg 23), the term brand positioning has been described as “the manner in which a product is perceived in the mindset of consumers in relation to other related brands that are available within the market.” In this book, positioning is described as the act of placing a particular brand in the mindset of consumers in a manner that outshines the characteristics and benefits of other competing brands. An alternative description of the term positioning was given by Kapferer (2008, pg 55) who stated that, “positioning refers to the act of developing the image and offerings of a company in a manner that will occupy a distinctive place in the mind of target consumers.” Further readings on the concept of positioning revealed that positioning is not primarily, what is done to the product but rather what the marketers do to the minds of target consumers. In this regard, Sengupta (2005) stated that marketers could undertake positioning on the basis of the benefits that the products/ services offers, the high-tech image that is attached to the company, the type of consumers who use the product/ service, and comparison with competitors. It is important to note that brand positioning is only deemed effective if the advertising campaign is able to identify and communicate the value, uniqueness, and differentiation of the product (Shah & DSouza, 2009). This advertising campaign sets the stage for promoting the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalyser, which is a product manufactured by the AlcoSense Company that is based in Maidenhead, Berkshire in the United Kingdom and it is part of the Now Group UK Limited. The company is revered for producing a wide array of breathalyser machines but for this particular study, the chosen products that will be advertised in the Kenyan market are the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers with a screen and one without a screen. These two particular product brands of the AlcoSense Company have been chosen because of the fact that presently in Kenya, reports indicate that there are no coin-operated breathalysers machines being used in entertainment facilities across the country expect for those used by the Kenyan police to gauge drivers’ alcohol level (Limo, 2014). Limo (2014) attributed this to the fact that the use of alcoblows by the Kenyan police was only legalised in December 2013, and therefore, the concept is still new in Kenya, which means that it is untapped market for coin-operated breathalyser machines. The justification for the choice of the brand is pegged on the fact that since the legalisation of the use of alcoblows by the Kenyan police there has been an increased conviction of drunk drivers of which majority are nabbed simply because they were not aware they had surpassed the legal drinking limit. Therefore, the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalyser presents entertainment facilities within Kenya with an opportunity to make some money whilst saving their customers from embarrassment that is associated with conviction of drunk driving. In terms of competitive positioning, AlcoSense will ensure that entertainment facilities within Kenya are aware that they are the number one genuine manufacturers of coin-operated breathalysers with more than 6 years of experience. Secondly, in terms of brand positioning, AlcoSense will emphasize on the fact that AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalyser with screen offers the company an additional avenue for generating income by selling the advert space that is available on the screen. Thirdly, as part of the positioning strategy that is focused on the differential approach, AlcoSense should emphasize to the Kenyan market that they are the only non-police manufacturers of breathalysers in UK who hold product efficiency insurance, which guarantees the effectiveness of the company’s product performance. Kapferer (2008) stated that a brand positioning strategy, which focuses on competitive advantages as well as the differential features of a product, is likely to set a brand at favorable position within the minds of consumers who will not sway their perception of the product even with the entry of new rivals. Therefore, considering that AlcoSense will be the first company in Kenya to provide coin-operated breathalysers it will have a solid mark in the market, which will make it difficult for other competitors to venture into the market. Creative approach First, Yadin (2001) defined creativity in his studies as the ability to cause things to exist or give rise to things and it is characterized by imaginations, originality, and expressiveness. In terms of advertising, creativity is described as a ‘big idea’ that is unique and it dramatizes the selling point. In the studies conducted by Ishikawa and Tsujimoto (2008), they listed three creative approaches that are normally employed in advertising campaigns, which comprises of the rational approach, emotional approach, and endorsement approach. Ishikawa and Tsujimoto (2008) described the rational creative approach as an approach that is suitable in target markets whereby the advertising goal is to create buffers that guard against attitude change and they focus on putting the facts related to a product straight to the target audience. The emotional creative approach mainly relies on emotions that are elicited through advertisements in order to create a desired product/ brand position (Shah & DSouza, 2009). Under the emotional creative approach, the advertising campaign refers indirectly to the benefits/ attributes of a product. In the endorsement approach, advertising campaigns use experts, celebrities, satisfied customers, and announcers to promote the product by associating the product to the characteristics of the personality who is admired and/ or well respected by the target audience (Smith & Taylor, 2004). For this particular advertising campaign, AlcoSense will integrate the emotional and endorsement creative approaches in order to market AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers that have a screen and also the ones that do not have a screen (the images of these two products have been attached to the appendix section). Under emotional approach, the AlcoSense will develop an advertising campaign that highlights on the dangers of drunk driving, and even the deaths and injuries that have been caused by drunk driving. The subsequent message in the advertising campaign will be for entertainment facilities to protect their customers by ensuring they leave their establishments while knowing their alcohol level and thereby judge if they are fit to drive themselves or call for a cab. Under the endorsement approach, AlcoSense will develop an advertising campaign that will use the face of a prominent rally driver in Kenya who will encourage the use of the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalyser in entertainment facilities in order to prevent against accidents or convictions caused by drunk driving. The integration of these two creative approaches is expected to create a synergy that is posed to increase the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. Media strategy In the writings by Young (2010), he described media strategy as the plan of action or the manner in which marketing/ promotional messages are brought to the attention of the target audience by appropriate media channels. Young (2010) further added that media strategy involves initial undertakings of identifying the target audience as well as their characteristics, and thereby, be able to tell the type of media that is appropriate for use in delivering the marketing/ promotional messages, which are expected to influence the behavior/ attitudes of the target audience. In the present context, media strategy can be described as the plan of action that will be implemented by AlcoSense to ensure that the advertisements reach the target audience in Kenya, which comprises of entertainment facilities and consumers of alcohol. The overall objective of the media strategy will be for the target audience to embrace the idea of using coin-operated breathalysers machines before leaving an entertainment facility. In particular, the media strategy that will be applied by AlcoSense as they venture into the Kenyan market is the integrated marketing communication. According to Chitty (2011), the main underlying principle of integrated marketing communication is that in order to understand how promotion works one need to understand the behaviour of consumers, their psychology, the nature of the marketing campaign, and also understand the relationship of these factors. The effect of marketing communication is seen as a continuing relationship, with consistency and habit standing out as integral part of consumer’s behavior. The justification for the choice of integrated marketing communication is pegged around the fact that AlcoSense will be targeting two distinct consumer segments with the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers. The choice of marketing communication tools will be influenced by factors such as the cost of the communication tool, the extent of control that is desired in the delivery of marketing messages, the level of credibility for marketing communication tool, and the geographical dispersion of target audiences (Smith & Taylor, 2004). Because of the fact that AlcoSense will be introducing a new product in the Kenyan market, it will first commence the marketing campaign with viral marketing, which spreads the marketing message at an exponential rate (Allen, 2008). Tools that will be used for viral marketing are e-mail messages to entertainment facilities, twitter and Facebook posts that are expected to create awareness of such machines and thereby accord the audience with a pre-knowledge about the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers. After the viral marketing, AlcoSense will officially launch in Kenya by holding a public event that will attract all stakeholders in the entertainment industry from liquor manufactures, to regulators, owners of entertainment facilities, and revelers/ alcohol consumers. The company will use this event to directly engage and market the product to the target audience, who will be shown how to use the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers and their potential advantages. It is important to note that this event will be used as a public relations strategy whereby the company will debunk all the myths associated with breathalysers (Narasimha, 2010). After the official launch, AlcoSense will undertake advertisements and sales promotions jointly. However, the sales promotion will only last for a limited period of three months whereby entertainment facilities that will buy the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers will receive free installation services and a year supply of straws that will be used for blowing air (breath) into the machines. As for advertisements, the company will place adverts on radio stations, television stations, and on Facebook, which will seek to convince alcohol consumers to visit entertainment facilities that have installed AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers and use them to know the level of alcohol in their body system and thereby avoid conviction or traffic accidents related to drunk driving. From the writings by Chitty (2011), it is correct to state that the integrated marketing communication will effectively cover the entire market and it will have distinct messages that will be relayed through various mediums that are appropriate for the two different target consumer segments. Target audience To start with, the Kenyan market was specifically chosen because with the introduction of alcoblow gadgets by the police there have been an increased number of convictions related to drunk driving, and worse is the fact that revelers are unable to tell whether they are below or above the legal limit. Moreover, by the fact that Gathura (2011) stated that Kenyans consumes the highest amount of alcohol in the East Africa region it means that there are high number of entertainment facilities within the country, which means a possible high turnover of sales in Kenya. The target audience for the advertising campaign will comprise of two groups that include entertainment facilities and alcohol consumers. Entertainment facilities will be targeted as the main consumers of the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers, and they will be expected to buy them and then install them in their premises for use by their customers. AlcoSense, strategically target alcohol consumers in the advertising campaigns so that they can develop a new attitude and perception whereby they will request the management of entertainment facilities to install the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers so that they can avoid conviction and traffic accidents arising from drunk driving. By targeting alcohol consumers, AlcoSense intends to create pressure on entertainment facilities for them to purchase AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers since their customers will be demanding for the machines, as they will already have knowledge about their existence in the Kenyan market and their potential benefits (Allen, 2008). Therefore, it is expected that once alcohol consumers embrace AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers, owners of entertainment facilities will have no option but to equally embrace the machines and install them in their facilities in order to remain competitive in the market. In terms of behavior and attitudes the entertainment facilities are likely to be a bit resistant to the idea of using coin-operated breathalysers in their facilities since they will assume it will enable the revelers to control their alcohol consumption and therefore, they will not sell so many alcoholic beverages as they did before (Mullin, 2010).. Alcohol consumers are equally expected to a bit resistant to embracing the idea of using coin-operated breathalysers as they will perceive it to be a waste of money and ‘fun police’ in the sense that it will be discouraging them from drinking further and hence, having more fun. Because of these two perceptions amongst the two distinct consumer segments, it will be important to employ various mediums of marketing communication to address the concerns of the target consumers in order to change their perceptions about breathalyser machines (Macnamara, 2010). Effectiveness According to Busch et al. (2007), any marketing plan or advertising campaign must have an evaluation mechanism that provides an actual measure of progress and therefore, provides a mechanism that enables marketers to know if they are on the right track or not and whether they need to implement corrective measures or not. In this particular context, the first measure of the effectiveness of the advertising campaign is whether there will be a buzz in the Kenyan market in regards to the introduction of AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers. This can be measured by using analytical software that can check for the number of mentions of AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalyser within various social media sites. If there are a high number of mentions in Kenyan’s Facebook post or tags in Twitter then it will mean that the advertising campaign was able to get the attention of the target audience. The second measure of effectiveness of the advertising campaign is if there is a change in behavior and attitude by alcohol consumers in Kenya (Mullin, 2010). This can be measured if a consumer survey undertaken by use of questionnaire directed to the Kenyan public indicates that alcohol consumers in Kenya have embraced the idea of coin-operated breathalysers and they would prefer to frequent entertainment facilities that have coin-operated breathalyser machines. The third and most critical measure of effectiveness for the advertising campaign is whether there are high sales for the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers. If the subsidiary of AlcoSense in Kenya posts high sales turnover within the first quarter of the financial year then it would mean that the advertising campaign has been very effective. However, a low sales turnover would mean that the advertising campaign was not fully effective and thus there is need to introduce corrective measures to ensure full effectiveness of the advertising campaign (Shah & DSouza, 2009). With reference to the writings by Gelder & Woodcock (2003), they recommended for the use of SMART objectives in order to gauge the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. The table below will present the SMART objectives for the advertising campaign in Kenya. Description Smart Goal Specific Venturing into the Kenya Embrace of the idea of use of coin-operated breathalysers Measurable Getting demand for AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers Sale of 100 units within the two months in Kenya Action oriented The company’s marketing team will roll out the advertising campaign Each marketer will be give a target of selling 10 units of the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalyser each month Realistic and relevant Sales will start being achieved after 3 to 4 weeks after the official launch After the first month company should expect to receive an order 30 to 50 AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers Time based After the 1st month in Kenya the company should have a sizeable to work on After 30 days of advertising campaign the company should receive 30 to 50 orders Conclusion The advertising campaign for AlcoSense has provided a road map through which the company can venture into the Kenyan market and thereby commence its expansion project to the East African region. Through the advertising campaign, AlcoSense will seek to promote and establish a market for the AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers that have a screen and those that do not have screens. In conclusion, AlcoSense will use the emotional and endorsement creativity approach in the advertising campaign and in regards to the media strategy, the company will employ the use of integrated marketing communication in order to effectively advertise to alcohol consumers in Kenya and even entrainment facilities within the country. References Allen, K. (2008). Viral marketing 100 success secrets. Lulu.com Bartley, G. P. (2008). Traffic accidents: Causes and outcomes. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Busch, R., Seidenspinner, M., & Unger, F. (2007). Marketing communication policies. Berlin: Springer. Chitty, W. (2011). Integrated marketing communication. South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning. Gathura, G. (2011). Kenyans are ranked the top beer drinkers in the East Africa region. The East African. Retrieved from: http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Kenyans+ranked+top+beer+drinkers+in+East+Africa/-/2558/1108584/-/2xfsa0z/-/index.html. Accessed on [22.04.2014] Gelder, D., & Woodcock, P. (2003). Marketing and promotional strategy. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Great Britain., & Great Britain. (2010). Drink and drug driving law: First report of session 2010-11. London: Stationery Office. Ishikawa, A., & Tsujimoto, A. (2008). Creative marketing for new product and new business development. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific. Kapferer, J.N. (2008). The new strategic brand management: Creating and sustaining brand equity long term. London: Kogan Page. Leibling, D. (2008). Car Ownership in Great Britain. Royal Automobile Club Foundation for Motoring. Retrieved from: http://www.racfoundation.org/assets/rac_foundation/content/downloadables/car%20ownership%20in%20great%20britain%20-%20leibling%20-%20171008%20-%20report.pdf. Accessed on [22.04.2014] Limo, L. (2014). 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Creative marketing communications: A practical guide to planning, skills and techniques. London: Kogan Page. Young, A. (2010). Brand media strategy: Integrated communications planning in the digital era. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. World Health Organisation (2012). WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety Report. Violence and Injury Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/countrywork/ken/en/ Accessed on [27.04.2014] Appendices a) Number of people killed in road accidents Source: Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2008 – 2011 a) Images of AlcoSense WM1 coin-operated breathalysers With Screen Without Screen Source: http://www.alcosense.co.uk/alcosense-wm1.html Read More