Accounting a New Arrival - Case Study Example

Answer Strategic marketing plans are crucial part of promoting products and services of an organization. bmi, the second largest airline of UK, waslaunching a low cost subsidiary airline to compete against the Easyjet, Go, Ryanair and Buzz airlines which were already offering low fare flights. Hence, bmi needed to be focused in its marketing communication objectives for its new airline which could be described as follows; The new airline offers quality service at low fare that guarantees customer satisfaction The new airline must project friendliness through a strong brand image that is backed and supported by parent company. The brand image of the new airlines must have clear cut differentiating element that would provide it the requisite leverage to compete against its rivals in the same business. 'Brand building is needed because products are the same' (Kotler, 2005). The brand image must be able to make a distinct position in the market by targeting segmented market. Advertisements are the most effective means of creating brand image and promote the launch of new product and services in the new market. It must be realized that technological advancements have brought forth an explosion of information that is easily accessible to public through the internet and other media like television, radio, mobile phones etc. The internet has made it easy for the customers to become aware of the product details including its availability at competitive prices which has precipitated the need to develop a whole new perspective for a new marketing technique. Today the markets have been designed to cater to the system as a whole rather than exclusively to the customer. The more innovative the product and fancier the promotional techniques, the higher are its chances of capturing market space. Thereby, asserting that brands, advertising, and promotional techniques are very important tools of marketing and the company must use all the available sources for maximum impact. Answer 2 The advertising agencies play major roles in promoting products and services of a company. In the launch of bmibaby, the BDDH, the advertising agency had significantly contributed towards creation of a brand image that was distinct and which had helped to exploit the personal preferences of the people to influence their behavior as a consumer of goods and services that they wish to sell. According to Campbell, '..companies are building strong brands using a corporate vision and "a way of doing business" approach. Customers identify with their attitude and promise to deliver..' (Campbell, 1999). The agency was involved right from the inception of the creation of the brand name and had successfully created an advertising campaign in different media that had made it an instant success. There are various advantages and disadvantages of using external agencies to promote one's goods and services. Advantages The external agencies have expertise in their area and can offer huge range of alternatives for promotion of the services. They also have better information about demographic segmented market. Using the services of the external agencies is not only cost effective but the company is also able to better focus on its core competencies. The advertising is a complex process that requires coordinated networking of the various elements within the system so that unique advertising campaign can be introduced within the prescribed time limit for maximum impact. This is the major reason that advertising of the products and services are taken up by external agencies. Disadvantage If the goals and objectives and the creative ideas are not properly communicated to the agency, it would not be able to deliver the desired results at the crucial time. The Company may not be able to get the bargain and discounts from the various inter-related linkages that are separate but intrinsic part of the advertising campaigns. The delivery schedule is at the hands of the advertising agency which may sometime become crucial factor in the launch of new schemes. Answer 3 All the advertising and promotions for goods and services require comprehensive feedback system so that appropriate measures could be introduced to improve and improvise the performance outcome of the same. BDDH's advertising campaigns and market strategy of Bmi need to be evaluated for the factors that may be detrimental for the company in the long run. The proper use of SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis needs to be taken up. Awareness of strengths and weaknesses in the company's resources facilitate and match the opportunities and threats so as to provide a competitive edge to their rivals. SWOT analysis is an important tool to up grade internal strengths of the company to meet the external opportunities and exploit them in a manner that would provide the companies with cutting edge advantage over their rivals. Whenever new products are to be launched, it is important that trend in the customers' needs and requirements are studied in advance so that appropriate strategy could be developed. Advertisements are the most prolific example of segmented marketing where the contents of advertisements are decided by the target group. A comprehensive feedback system would ensure the changing preferences of the customers and identify the features within the advertising campaigns that carry maximum and minimum influence so that effective measures or changes could be timely and efficiently implemented. Answer 4 Since the Bmibaby's Sales and Marketing Manager has been appointed from outside the Bmi corporate body, the concern of BDDH is legitimate. As the advertising partners to Bmibaby, BDDH has considerable stake in the promotion of the airline. Apart from the financial considerations and the increasing expenses involved in the creation and building of creative advertising campaigns, the BDDH's Account Manager would have reasons for genuine concern if the new manager lacked understanding of the various issues and compulsions of the new launch. Bmi is an established and reputed airlines company that has recently introduced low fare subsidiary airline, Bmibaby. The initial success of Bmibaby does not guarantee future success also. In the fiercely competitive market, it is important to maintain a competitive edge over their rivals and that is only possible if the Marketing and Sales Manager is able to work in tandem with the advertising agency that would require regular inputs from him. Hence, BDDH's Account manager would like to be reassured of the continuous support of the Bmibaby's Marketing Manager. Till date, the Bmibaby advertisements have displayed extraordinary creativity. It is important to realize that 'the credibility of a company's promise of value results from persistence and consistency' (Ward et al. 1999). Hence, if the agency is to continue to promote highly indigenous and innovative advertisements, the two managers must be able to understand each other and communicate effectively to add value to the existing and emerging new paradigms in the promotional techniques and contents of the advertisments. Reference Campbell, Amy. (1999). 'Brand Achitecture: A Method to the madness'. Available from: [Accessed 14 September 2008]. Kotler, Philip. (2005). "Toward Stronger Marketing". unpublished presentation to the ARF, "Future of Advertising" Conference, Chicago, 10.24.05. Scott Ward, Larry Light and Jonathan Goldstine. (1999). 'What High Tech Managers Need to Know About Brands'. Harvard Business Review, pp 85-94, July-August 1999. Read More