Advertising and PR Campaign Used by Emporio Armani - Case Study Example

 Advertising and PR Campaign Used by Emporio Armani The company under consideration is Emporio Armani (dreamers). Emporio Armani Company has separate divisions used to attain high sales. The business environment in the fashion industry is changing fast and companies that lack innovation, creativity and responsiveness perform poorly in the competitive landscape. Therefore, every company that aspires to remain strong in the market must devise creative ways of reaching and convincing the customer to buy from them. Emporio Armani Company has used various strategies to promote its products. They include sales promotions, advertisement and public relations. The approaches have been successful and the company has continued to sustain and increase its market share both locally and abroad. Globalization has made the company to increase their sales significantly due to the use of internet. An evaluation of the promotion methods used. According to Schultz et al (1998), promotions involve marketing and communications activities that intend to alter the price or value relationship of a product or service. It involves communicating with the public in an attempt to influence them toward buying company’s products or services. Most organizations apply promotional mix to help generate prompt sales and even more so modify long-term brand value. Promotional products are unique. They are designed to arrest customers’ attention and influence them to buy in order to retain organizations’ market share in a competitive environment. The customers will always remember the branding that adorns the product of the company. This is different from the traditional business marketing materials, which include brochure or print advertisement. Emporio Armani has always promoted their products adequately. The company has allocated its resources among different elements of promotion. Sales promotion Sales promotion is an activity that intends to increase direct sales of a product or service. Unlike other methods of promotion, sales promotion is all about action. It stimulates customers to buy the product on the spot. It does not inform as advertisement do. Emporio Armani employs different kinds of sales promotion to boost its wide accessories of clothing. They included use of contests, sweepstakes, discounts and e-coupons. Emporio Armani requires entrants to register and demonstrate their various skills. Customers who demonstrate their best skills and win in any area are rewarded with the company’s products. Emporio Armani also used sweepstakes to promote their sales. Different individuals participate to win prizes and cash. Both contests and sweepstakes are promotional tools that help promote the brand of the company. All Emporio Armani customers who wish to participate can register online for contest and sweepstake or both. The use of the above sales strategies has increased the sales of the company. Thirdly, Emporio Armani uses e- coupons. E-coupons have made it possible for the company to conduct its sales promotion through the internet. This is one of the most effective sales promotion strategies because it allows for wider access to customers from different geographical areas globally. E- Coupons have created higher demand for the company’s products. The internet sales promotion helps Emporio Armani to keep their Web site and offline shops with steady flow of online customers. Emporio Armani offers discounts through e-coupons on different products each day and seasons. In addition, e-coupons also increase the number of new customers coming to redeem the discount on products they receive in offline stores with printed coupons. The fourth method used by Emporio Armani is price promotions. Also known as, price discounting. Emporio Armani watches are rated among the finest in the market. Each watch offer the best quality and has a designer appeal. These attract customers looking for perfect watches. WatchMad stock are officially watches and offered to their customers at lowest prices possible. This makes these watches affordable and sought after by many potential customers. As a result, the sales of Emporio Armani increase steadily. All the above involves direct marketing and enables the organization to sale its product directly to its customers through mail order, internet and personal sales. Therefore, Emporio Armani is able to keep in touch with customers and eliminate intermediaries thus keeping their customers satisfied and the product prices low. Emporio Armani products include eyewear, watches, perfumes, handbags and other different type of clothing. The above products are also available online. The methods of advertising used in the specific market. The elements of promotions are advertising, public relations or publicity, sales promotion, and direct marketing. Emporio Armani employed different forms of advertising as a way of promoting its products to the public. To promote their sunglasses, they used symbolism. The metal bridge of the eyewear has a brand of the famous Emporio Armani eagle. The eagle symbolizes luxury. The eagle symbol appears on the hinge between the arm and the temple. The eagle symbol influenced most customers to purchase the sunglasses. This is because customers hold the belief that they will get recognition from the society as having high regard for fashion and quality. In promoting its underwear products, Emporio Armani uses selected models that have ideal body size. Naturally, most people will love to have an ideal body size that exhibits good health and proper physique. Good body size emanates from vigorous exercise and diet. Emporio Armani’s tact to use people with best body physique has attracted most people to buy the underwear. The advertisement successfully captures deepest desire of customers and boosts their self-esteem. Although the buyers know they are not like the models, they like associating with the models because of their good physique through wearing the underwear. According to Petley (2003), advertising is a way of promoting goods and services to the public. Advertising help the company to inform its current and potential customers about the products or services that are available in the market. It focuses on a particular product or service. Different products or services utilize different advertising plans. The more an organization invests on advertising, the more it creates awareness to consumers about its products, services or both. It also provides exposure and legitimacy of company’s products. Normally, consumers purchase products from a company they know rather than buy from a company that they are not familiar with. Through Advertising, favorite name brands and preferences are created and nurtured. There are several methods of advertising and some organizations apply all approaches while other companies use one or two approaches. The greatest objective of the company is to maintain its good image in every mode of advertisement used. Emporio Armani is known for using dark colours to advertise their clothing especially the official ones. Emporio Armani colors have rich lighting and their themes contrast. This colouring approach has high visual impact. The contrasting colours are more likely to appeal to the human brain because it attract the eyes faster and has a lasting impression. Visual appearance ought to attract more as compared sounds only. Use of audio and writing promotes the strength of colours. According to Kurtz (2008), big-budget organizations invest billions of their resources on color market research, packaging and development of products. When color is used appropriately with content, it appeals to the eyes of the customers more and customer’s attention is arrested by the advert. An article with appropriate colour design encourages readers to read to the end. Colour makes objects and items appear nicer and help to influence the behavior of a person. In advertising, it is important to have knowledge about colors and their implications. Using advertiser’s viewpoint, it helps conclude that colours have the possibility to determine buying habits of consumers. Black, blue, red and orange attract consumers who shop with impulse, while dark blue and blue attracts non-impulse buyers. Emporio Armani use good colour combination in their logo and advertising to help convey the right message to consumers. The message that Emporio Armani convey about their product is that of popularity, beauty and success. Emporio Armani watch advert, manipulate its audience by making them think that the watches will always maintain its stylish appearance irrespective of age. In using advertising campaign, targeted customers ought to be recognized before designing an advert. The advertisers should use colours that display customers’ personal favorites to attract the customer’s attention. Emporio Armani puts lot of effort to gain recognition as the best brand with the best products and quality in the market. This perception helps to satisfy a demanding consumer. The company aims to reinforce this concept in its products by conveying positive images and writings into the mind of the consumer to maintain its brand awareness at all times. Emporio Armani has used various appropriate symbols, language, colours, and imagery to create value for its brands. The company has also used the right body language in nearly all its adverts. Body languages that the company has used to convey its messages include head tilts, shifting hips, bending ones knee, and even hand gestures. This conveys positive messages about the company’s products. The body language can be associated with love, happiness, sadness, or anger and represents the purpose of the product. Considering Emporio Armani’s watch advert, female face is more to the side and focuses forward. This tells the customers that the watch is straightforward and one will not have problems with it. Advertising symbolism is used extensively especially in the media. Emporio Armani eyewear has eagle symbol at the metal bridge. People will be attracted to buy because they associate the symbol with fashion and quality. The eagle also symbolizes luxury. It appears on the hinge of the eyewear between the temple and the arm. The fantastic eyeglasses of the company are sold in different subtle and unique colours. Emblem of the eagle is also used dramatically to emphasize on the boldness of the wearer. Emporio Armani sunglasses are designed in a stunning mask style and cannot be mistaken because of its frame. The frame of the eyewear has the eagle cut into it hence distinguishing the company’s sunglasses from that of the competitors. This form of advertising helps to engrave style and fashion in minds of the customers. They will buy the product because they feel fashionable in the eyes of the world. Therefore, they can stand apart from other members of the society because they value recognition. Emporio Armani use models with ideal body physique and size to advertise its underwear products. The advertising strategy attracts most people because everyone likes to be associated with good body looks. However, the ideal body size and shape is attainable through dieting and exercise. Good body looks contribute to higher levels of self-esteem in most people and customers prefer the underwear from the company because they like associating with models who look good. The male buyers are deeply convinced that putting on the underwear attracts beautiful women to them. Most men will buy the underwear because they feel good putting them on. On the other hand, women perceive that that they can attract handsome men and will feel good wearing the Emporio Armani products. This suggests that people wearing the advertised underwear hold the belief that they have attained the dream of having a good body. This happens because men are dreaming to be like models. Though it might not be possible to them, they can just have it in form of a dream. Moreover, one will act cool and perceive to attract girls by wearing the underwear. The advert brings out the sense of love between the man and woman effectively. Another important factor is that perfume advertisements use masculine and rough looking males. This is unlike the feminine and smoothened models featured in the company general advertisements. As a result, men look aggressive and daring in the adverts. There are cultural barriers that exist because Emporio Armani is Italian and the barriers should be addressed. Most advertisement use European looking people and scenes. As a result, it may not appeal to some people from other countries. However, some people may like the advertisements irrespective of the cultural barriers. This gives the company an advantage because Americans look towards Europe for the current trends and fashion. Use of words to accompany symbols and writings make the advertisement highly effective because it makes it highly appealing. Words like envisage and discovery are added on the lighter areas of the advert. This will help to give connotation as well as private and emotional conception that an individual experiences through feelings that words invoke. Inclusion of the two words in the advertisements gives more power to the message and enables the reader to imagine the possibilities, discover the unknown and even dream for what they have always wanted in their lives. Emporio Armani use imagery of three models posing and each staring in separate directions (Coad 2008). This indicate that each person is unique and posses different preferences. Gender persuasion is also used in the advertisement of sunglasses. A powerful picture of unshaven stylish man is used. This attracts potential customers to look him in the eye. By looking, a customer spots the sunglasses, which is the main product being advertised. To make it appealing, simple words can be added on the advert, but it should not be too flowery. According to Tellis (2004), men shy away from excessive usages of words because they fear passionately to be labeled sissified. Ego gratification is clearly portrayed in the advertisement. This is directed to consumers who are perceived as having the need of exceeding high self worth and reaching to the highest form of egocentrism. Moreover, the need for power is clearly portrayed in the imagery used and especially the one appearing in the rough looking style (Chadha & Husband 2006). The Emporio Armani use imagery in advertising perfume to persuade the potential customer to go for the product. The use of wide-open and glaring eyes of the model brings out the message clearly. According to Chevalier and Xiao Lu (2009), the company used Jin Chengwu who is Taiwanese-Japanese movie star to advertise its products in China. The movies star is used to radiate good looks and success. However, the company is implementing its advertisement strategies in china with a lot of caution. This is because china is in its early stages of social revolution. The company uses Beyonce to advertise the Emporio Armani Diamonds. Beyonce is musical icon that exhibit strong willed, sexy and confident woman. Emporio Armani uses the approach of cognitive consistency in its advertisement to make its adverts more effective. The use of PR in the campaign The use of public relations to improve the image require better understanding of the public that the company plan to create sustainable good relationships. Public relations also demands constant contact with leaders and other important members of the society who helps in communicating good image about a company (Crifasi 2000; Wilcox et al 2002). Emporio Armani use celebrities like David Beckham to boost the organization’s sales. At one point during the advertisement, David Beckham physically distributed the pants and many of his fans got an opportunity to meet him (Gemzies 2010). As a result, the company made significant quantities of sales at the time and most customers have become loyal to the company’s products. In PR, Emporio Armani sponsored David Beckam to carry out positive stories about the organization and its products. According to Center and Patrick (1995), public relation, involve using the news or business press to carry out positive stories about the company and its products. It involves description of methods, which organizations uses to circulate messages about its products, services and overall image to its customers, employees, suppliers and other interested members of community. The main aim of public relation is to make public have favorable perception concerning the company and its offerings. The key tools of public relation include news release, press conferences, speaking engagement and community service programs, Media Tours, Sponsorships, Employee Relations, Special Events, and Newsletters (Davis 2003; Shilbury et al 2003). Like advertising, it plays major roles of promoting and gaining public acceptance of the company’s products and activities (Cutlip et al 1994; Grunig& Hunt1984). The two differ in that advertising has the goal of generating sales while the goal of public relation is to generate goodwill. Good public relation effect reduces the gap between how organization view itself and how it is perceived from outside. Public relation is two-way communication. It is between the organization and the public in general. Organization has to listen to the constituencies it depends on, at the same time analyse, and understand the audience behaviours and attitudes. Emporio Armani used sponsorship as their public relation tool. The organization sponsored David Beckham to make rare public appearance in different places on behalf of the company. The public relation strategy helps create positive stories about the company because David Beckham is a gifted footballer and has support from his many fans. He is unique and his success in football appeals to different people in the world. He has become his own brand, which is so powerful especially when used with others. Emporio Armani use Beckham to create a business admired by the public. This happens because the brand always creates strong ties with the icon. This kind of experience provides public relation stage that is great and hence extends the organization’s campaign to greater heights. Magazines were also used in different fashion capitals. Emporio Armani sends positive messages of Cristiano Ronaldo succeeding David Beckham as official face of Emporio Armani underwear. This will boost the company’s campaign, as potential customers will have favorable thinking towards Emporio Armani and its offerings. Therefore, it would be able to generate more sales for the company. The effectiveness of all the above can be established. Largely, Emporio Armani has been successful in most of its promotional campaigns to increase its company sales in a culturally diverse environment. In a competitive world public relation, advertising and sales promotions are appropriate for most organizations. Sales Promotion Emporio Armani has implemented various sales promotional activities including the use of contests, sweepstakes, e-coupons and discounts to increase sales of their products. The approaches that the company uses exhibit creative executions and are pre-tested to establish their effectiveness. Pre-testing system helps the company to establish strategies that are responsive to the market. Non-responsive strategies fail to achieve its sales objectives and drains company’s resources. Emporio Armani has always timed their sales promotions and good timing has brought good sales to the company. E-coupons revolutionarised sales of the company’s products because it has increased it distribution to rest of the world. Any country that has improved its internet connectivity has allowed its citizens to access the products of the company at all times. The company is able to promote and sell its products all the time irrespective of day or night. The company has also used various sport personalities to distribute its products to generate instant sales. The company has not abandon discounts or reduction in prices of its products at specific times. Discounts are amongst the traditional methods of promoting sales and have always been successful in convincing the customer to buy. The customers buy products at impulse when there are some reductions in prices (discount). Emporio Armani successfully combined various sales promotion activities to improve the sales of the company. Advertising According to Sutherland and Sylvester (2000), advertising effectiveness is the degree where objectives of an organization‘s advertising campaign is achieved. Direct measure of effectiveness of advertising campaign is increase in sales of the company. Emporio Armani has been quite successful in its advertising campaigns. It has blended the use of models and symbols to convey a message of success and affluence to the potential customers. Luckily, the company has experienced growth in sales. The use of models of both genders in advertising various products have been commendable and message is passed that they is no discrimination. Emporio Armani developed well thought plan and messages that their customers wanted to hear. The company has emphasized the products of the company in most of its advertisement campaigns. This enables the company to sell products to people who may not like the company for various reasons. The company mostly targets the young adults who are many and more concerned with fashion as well as need for recognition. The models with good physique used in the advertisement appeals to young adults the most. Their target choice was appropriate. The use of eagle symbols in the eyewear attracts the members of the society who perceives that they have become successful. Emporio Armani has used facts of the company and the business environment to construct their marketing messages. The approach has yielded growing sales in the company each year. The company has used internet to advertise its products. Internet advertisement have made it possible for the customers to receive wide variety of advertisement messages every time they access the company’s website or other advertisement sites that the company uses to advertise its products. Internet is also a cheaper way of advertising products to a large number of people in different countries. The information provided in the company’s website is adequate to allow the customers to purchase products. Unlike the media, the internet has made it possible for the company to receive feedback from the customers in real-time basis. This has allowed free flow of communication between the customer and the company. Therefore, the company is able to resolve customer issues on time. Public Relation campaign Public relations promote organizational differentiation. For reputation purposes, PR is important in an age when groups can mobilize society quickly. Variety of tools and tactics of public relation exists and different companies have different approaches to the public relations. Use of magazines and footballers to boost the image of Emporio Armani do not contradict with organizational guidelines and the laws of the land. In addition, football is a big match to watch in most countries in the world especially in Europe. Use of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo who happened to be football stars attract large following to the company and that has been evident through increase of sales of the company even during the hard periods of financial crisis. Magazines are cheaper and most enduring means of informing the people about company’s products and good activities. Unlike use of celebrities, magazines can be stored and referred to all the time the person needs to know more about the company. Magazines have longer periods of survival as compared to use of celebrities. Therefore, the company has been successful in using both long-term and short-term public relations strategies to improve its image. The above specific tactics promote effective media associations and Emporio Armani is able to create relationships with its customers and other members of the society. Emporio Armani has always established good relation with most media players. This has given them fair media covering every time they want to launch or advertise new designer clothing and other accessories. Conclusion Internet has revolutionarised the promotional activities and has promoted efficient and effective means of advertisement across several countries. The competition in the fashion industry is intense and the pace of change threatens to close down rigid fashion companies. However, Emporio Armani has been responsive to the market changes and has remained strong in the fashion industry because it embraced internet technology early. The company has realized increasing sales because it has been able to convince people from different ages and races to buy their products. Emporio Armani use e-coupons, price discounts, sweepstakes and contests to enhance their sales promotion. The company is keen to the environment in which it advertise its products to prevent causing conflicts due to cultural variations. Finally, the company uses sports personalities, movie stars and music stars depending on the environment in which it advertises. Furthermore, it uses models and status symbols to advertise their products. The company mixes well the use of celebrities to improve the sales and the image of the company. 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