Introduction to Marketing Assignment - Essay Example

? Marketing Report d: July 20, Synopsys: The music industry of UK was running at full throttle for a considerable period of time. The mediumof physical CDs/DVDs was considered convenient until the advent and spread of the internet paved new ways to acquire and own music. Most of this, however, was through illegal means. The boom of the internet was accompanied by an increase in piracy and illegal downloads, resulting in the availability of latest music for free and proved to be a fatal blow to the traditional way of selling music. Such companies usually thrived on advertisement revenue of third parties due to internet user visits rather than selling music. Most of these companies sold music without any copyrights from the authentic Electric and Musical Industries Ltd. The phenomenon of illegal downloading spread like wildfire due to ease of access and zero cost. This resulted in huge losses for the music industry. The industry had to act quickly as sales at retail CD/DVD shops plunged at an unprecedented speed. It could either fight against the latest technology, or adapt to it. The initial response was of resentment. Representatives of the music industry stormed to fight against this latest innovation which, according to them, threatened the very existence of wholesale and retail CD/DVD shops and stores. However, they soon realized that the internet served as a huge opportunity for private owners to reach a much wider audience if they channelize it properly. Consequently, attempts were made by the music industry to offer all the music tracks through internet by creating legal websites in order to make sure that the consumers could access them anytime from anywhere and avoid the dilution of the music industry resulting from illegal downloads. Online albums of renowned artists were made available through legal websites. The availability of music online via legal means proved to be the saviour for the music industry which had suffered considerably as a result of piracy. Hindrances: Despite this bold step, the music industry failed to gain expertise on how to utilize full potential of the internet as a result of technical difficulties. Formats of music files varied and website owners who had supplementary products provided a format of music only compatible with such supplementary product, e.g. the Apple iTunes store provided music formats that were only compatible with the iPHONE. Songs of other file formats were needed for other music players resulting in significant inconvenience. The Way forward for EMI: 1) Availability, Security and Adaptability:- EMI must overcome the issue of incompatibility if it is to prosper in the online music sales business. The instinctive suggestion is to ensure availability of music in all formats; however, with significant patent laws and legal intricacies in place, it is important for EMI to measure each step when moving forward. The first step is to ensure an online facility that has a fully functional payment system, a method to keep a count of sales, consistent checks on potential violation of patent laws across the internet, and availability of technical personnel to ensure proper functioning of the system and availability of songs in all formats. Such technical people may include college graduates or free lance workers who have the expertise to toy with file formats and convert a specific file into a highly compatible and generic form. 2) Marketing and Promotional Mix: - The internet shall be the main medium to market EMI’s online facility due to convenience and a lower cost. Several specific modes such as social networking websites and viral marketing is extremely essential to attract customers who are hooked to pirated songs. EMI shall also take steps to move towards a gradual transformation towards the internet in terms of remitting official patented songs along with DVD/CD stores. This step is extremely important as the entire functioning of the music industry hinges upon it. Steps shall also be taken in collaboration with representatives of the music industry to curtail the availability of pirated music on the internet. 3) Feedback : - Feedback is an essential aspect of any business in the modern world. The internet is a medium where customers from all over the world can comment, communicate, review and rate the performance of any specific firm without a hassle. It is this aspect of the internet the EMI must cash on by creating forums where loyal customers can discuss their views about the website and how it can be improved further. Topics of all forms shall be welcomed and this shall serve as the official feedback forum of the company along with social networking websites such as Facebook and twitter. 4) The Threat of Peer to Peer Networks: - Peer to peer networks, such as napster.com or emp3world.com, are the main threat facing the music industry. Unlicensed and unauthorized music is ubiquitous and hampers sales. Collaboration and legal action are the two plausible answers to this problem. EMI can partner with these website and stop them from promoting pirated music, rather sell them licensed music at subsidized rates and create a win win situation, or it can take the matter to the court and sue such companies. Harbouring the Evolution: - This situation has resulted in a huge decline in sales of CD/DVD shop owners and increased their risk of falling behind. It is hence, important for EMI to encourage these owners to move with technology and form websites that sell music legally. (Chris T., et. al, p. 493-504) The Current State: - The state of a common consumer in UK is that of confusion. There is a fine line between legal and illegal downloads and at the moment, the consumer does not have enough knowledge to identify that line. They are unaware of, and indifferent to, the losses the music industry is bearing due to illegal downloads rather than purchases from CD shops. Hence immediate steps to curtail piracy and illegal downloads are paramount to ensure the survival of the music industry. Gradual transformation is unavoidable and it is important that the transformation from traditional CD/DVD shops to online shops starts sooner rather than later (Martin M., 2004, p. 662-665). This transformation would meet the consumer’s demand of ease of access. Despite its downturns, the advent of pirated songs on the internet has helped identify EMI a new distribution channel not thought of before. This channel of online sales serves the purpose of all stakeholders involved, including customers and retailers (Liu X. and Hu M., 2011, p. 58-64). The consumer gets ease of access whereas the retailer avoids fixed costs associated with distribution, traditional above the line marketing, shop and staff expenses, etc. The transformation must be accompanied by enough dissemination of information. Each and every potential customer of EMI must be aware of its future plans and the reasons behind this shift. Proper marketing must be done to meet this objective. TV commercials and radio can serve well initially due to the fact that people of all ages are fond of listening to radio channels and watching televisions as well as movies in cinemas so placing advertisements on these will be helpful for the music industry (Borden N., 1984, p. 8-11). Moreover, voluntary celebrity endorsements should be pursued, especially those of music artists, to attract fans of famous musicians (Agrawal J. and Kamakura W., 1995, p. 56-62). Viral marketing is extremely essential to spread the message effectively. EMI can hire people who as proxy employees who forward the message towards the general public. Furthermore, the creation of blogs and pages on several famous sites can further help in spreading the message across the UK. (Waterschoot W. and Bulte C., 1992, p. 83-93) On the whole, the EMI will have to mention in its advertisements that it is striving hard to accomplish the targets of satisfying the needs and wants of customers with prompt customer service involving higher levels of quality by offering legal access to all types of music tracks conveniently and cheaply on internet. In addition to this, the public should be informed of the consequences of privacy by using rational and emotional appeals in order to discourage them from using such sources (Kitchen P., 1996, p. 5-12). Event sponsorship can go a long way in increasing the brand equity of EMI. Concerts and music shows will not only serve the purpose of getting the message across but will also help create a good image of EMI. This will prevent the customers from hesitating in accepting as well as following on the vital message spread by EMI. (Gronroos C., 1994, p. 4-20)However, EMI must make its due efforts to train general store owners on how to make the shift from traditional ways to the internet way. This objective can be met by publicising its activities of training CD sellers and employing them to work for official sites EMI. Such steps can result in an increase in trust of general public which will assist in creating the goodwill of the company. (Rowley J., 1998, p. 383-387) Although the internet challenge is unprecedented and has potential to dismantle, EMI can take the aforementioned steps to weather the storm and use it for its own good. In the long run, the advent of piracy shall only serve to better the performance of the music industry in general through licensed online sales to a global audience rather than access to only a few buyers in distinct vicinities. Furthermore, EMI’s steps shall pave the way for a new breed of entrepreneurs to enter the industry and make a living along with ensuring easy availability of all kinds of music for the consumer. References Agrawal J. and Kamakura W., (1995) “The Economic Worth of Celebrity Endorsers: An Event Study Analysis”. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 59, p. 56-62, US, American Marketing Association. Borden N., (1984). “The Concepts of Marketing Mix”, Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 2, p. 8-11, New York, n.p. Chris T., et. al, (n.d.). “A Comparison of Attitudes and Emotions as Predictors of Behavior at Diverse Levels of Behavioral Experience”. Journal of Consumer Research. p. 493-504, n.p. Gronroos C., (1994). “From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing”. Management Decision, Vol. 32, no. 2, p. 4-20, UK, MCB UP Ltd. Kitchen P., (1996). “Public relations in the promotional mix: a three-phase analysis”, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 14, no. 2, p. 5-12, UK, MCB UP Ltd. Liu X. and Hu M. (2011). Umbrella Brand Price Premiums: Effects of Compatibility, Similarity, And Portfolio Size. Journal of Product & Brand Management. Vol. 20 No. 1, p. 58–64, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Martin M., (2004). “Consumer Responses to Discontinuance of Favorite Products: An Exploratory Study”. Advances in Consumer Research. Vol. 31, p. 662-665, George Mason University. Rowley J., (1998). “Promotion and marketing communications in the information marketplace”. Library Review, Vol. 47, no. 8, p. 383-387, UK, MCB UP Ltd. Waterschoot W. and Bulte C., (1992) “The 4P Classification of the Marketing Revisited”. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 56, No. 4, p. 83-93, US, American Marketing Association. Read More