Advertisement Campaign for an Expensive Chocolate - Essay Example

Research Proposal Advertisement Campaign for an Expensive Chocolate Introduction Advertisement is an indispensable part of marketing strategy of any firm in the modern competitive business world. Advertisement is being used not by business organizations but, service organization as well to promote their services. Originally, advertising was evolved to disseminate the product/service knowledge to the consumers and the public at large. But, over the years, because of growing competition and increased number of identical products in the market, it has become a necessity rather than a luxury. Today, no product enter the market before a formal and well planned product launching and advertisement campaign. Regardless of the media or method selected, the main aim of advertisement is to convince the target audience that they have a need for the product. Through advertisement, the suppliers are trying to create an image about the product with the help of linguistic and artistic elements. The present research paper looks on how an advertisement campaign for an expensive chocolate be planned and implemented effectively through television channels to reach its target audience. The paper takes a narrative approach for explaining the various aspects of advertisement campaign and its effectiveness to the business. Advertisement Campaign Planning Everything requires planning for effective implementation and controlling. In advertisement also, a well planned campaign can do a better job than one which does not. Planning gives a detailed blue print of what and how it is done at various stages of campaign. The present campaign is planned to be conducted during the period from November 08 and Easter period in Mar 09. This is based on the logic that the target audience is expected to spend more during this period for purchasing chocolates. The Company The company is a chocolate manufacturing firm in the U.K. which has been in existence for some time in the market doing similar business. The new product is an addition to company's product lines, all of which have a sound customer support and brand equity. The new product which focuses on the customers, who are in the age group of 24 to 65, uses an innovative imported technology and it is going to capture the market in the next six months. The product and Brand name The product is chocolate, which has exceptional features than that available in the market. The company claims that the content of chocolate is highly recommended for the health of 24 to 65 age group. The brand name decided for the product is Igma. The brand name 'Igma' is registered and trade mark for the same has already been sanctioned by the authority concerned. The word 'Igma' is written using special letters, which the company developed in consultation with the advertisement agency. Objectives of Advertisement Campaign The objectives of advertisement campaign cannot be separated from the marketing strategy of the firm, which in turn is associated with the overall objectives of the firm. However, the present advertisement campaign has the following specific objectives: 1. To disseminate knowledge about the company, its values to the customers and to the general public. 2. To pass message about the brand, price, other promotions and distributions (Setting the advertising objective, p.2) 3. To create awareness about chocolates in general and Igma in particular 4. To create a distinct brand image apart from other similar brands 5. To stimulate the customers to purchase the product Target Audience The company has already fixed the target audience for Igma. They belong to the age group of 24 to 65 men and women. Normally, this group does not take chocolates as a habit. But, in certain occasions like birth day celebrations, at new year party, and festivals such as Christmas, they prefer chocolates to other traditional snacks for consumption as well as for offering gifts. Setting the Advertisement Budget The budget deals with finance part of campaign. It is more important in the sense that finance is rightly called the life blood of business. Therefore, utmost care must be given while spending for advertisement. The advertisement budget is more concerned with how the objectives of advertisement can be achieved with available fund. The cost of media, the remuneration to human power in the advertisement segment and many other expenses are to be evaluated in terms of advertisement objectives and feedback. Many methods of budget preparation are in operation such as Percentage of Sales Method, what is affordable approach; Best Guess Approach etc. are some the common methods. (Setting the advertising budget, p.3) The present campaign is based upon the first method, i.e, Percentage of Sales Method. This method requires either the past sales data or forecasted sales data. The annual advertisement allocation is, therefore, determined as a percentage of sales proceeds. Media Selection This stage calls for an understanding of the relationship between the effectiveness of advertisement and media selected. Messages can be disseminated through various ways, but the most important point is how effective the media chosen is' For Igma, no doubt, the selected media is television, which is more popular and appropriate for advertising product of this kind. It is also important to consider the media market reach while selecting the media. The market reach can be measured in two ways, namely the geographical scope and the channel served. (Media Market Reach, p. 6 ) The selection of channel is as much important as that of media. Cost of channel is not going to be a major constraint for the company since Igma is an expensive chocolate and it is targeting on matured consumers having their own source of income. The most popular channel like business or entertainment channel is selected for the campaign and advertisement is planned to be telecasted during the period between November '08 and Easter period in Mar '09. Brand Ambassador It has become a common practice in marketing that a celebrity is chose for advertisement of brands. The company can also think of using the popularity and image of a celebrity from film or sports to promote the sales of Igma. Advertisement Message This is also important as the very existence of company's image and product in the minds of consumers depends upon the type of message used for advertisement. The message is comprised of visuals, audio and /or text. The message must be simple, easily comprehensible and memorable. Sine, Igma advertisement campaign is done during the period of Christmas season, it is better to use something connected with the festival. Since Igma belongs to food category, there is a possibility to attract the attention by focusing on the health aspects of consumers. Managing responses and monitoring the Campaign To know the effectiveness of campaign program, the company can use feed back from the pubic and/or consumers by using a standard enquiry form. The response from consumers about Igma and the company is very valuable and can be used for further improving the campaign program. Conclusion The research paper on advertisement campaign for an expensive chocolate tried to review the campaign and its effectiveness to increase the sales. Since, no economic data are available for the quantitative analysis, descriptive analysis alone is made. Maximum effort has bee made to explain all the aspects of campaign and find ways to improve its reach. References Setting the advertising objective. Managing the advertising campaign: Principles of Marketing. Viewed 5 December, 2008, Setting the advertising budget. Managing the advertising campaign: Principles of Marketing. Viewed 5 December, 2008,< http://www.knowthis.com/tutorials/principles-of-marketing/managing-the-advertising-campaign/2.htm> Media Market Reach. Managing the advertising campaign: Principles of Marketing. Viewed 5 December, 2008, Managing responses and monitoring the campaign. Advertising: the basics. Practical Advice for Business. Viewed 5 December, 2008, http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail'r.l1=1073861169&r.l3=1073902778&r.lc=en&r.t=RESOURCES&type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073790764&r.i=1073790763&r.l2=1073858811&r.s=m Planning an advertising campaign. Oxford shire. Viewed 5 December, 2008, http://www.communigate.co.uk/oxford/headingtonforum/page39.phtml Business Notes Advertising. Time U.S. Viewed 5 December, 2008, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960538,00.html Best Corporate advertisement/Campaign (2006). Medical Marketing and Media. Viewed 5 December, 2008, http://www.allbusiness.com/medicine-health/diseases-disorders-eye-blindness/10553616-1.html Mackay Adrian, John Wilmshurst (1999). The Fundamentals of Advertising. Butterworth-Heinemann. Page No. 78 &79. Read More