Canadian Museum for Human Rights - Research Paper Example

Canadian Museum for Human Rights Introduction With the changing nature of society, there also have been changes in human activities. The concept of marketing in current age has become vast. Traditionally, marketing was used to be considered as a tool for business organizations to enhance their sales revenues. Unlike the traditional concept, marketing is now used for multiple purposes. Currently, marketing is an important activity for profit-making as well as non-profit making organization. Primary aim of marketing is to understand, attract, communicate, and to maintain relationship with the target audience and hence, marketing is useful for the task where target consumers are important. This paper will attempt to frame a set of plausible marketing strategy for Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) for attracting large of visitors including domestic and foreigners. This is the national museum of Canada to be established by the Canadian Government. Currently, this museum is under construction, and the task for establishment was started from August 10, 2008 after the Parliamentary amendments of Museum Act on March 13, 2008. It is supposed to open from 2012 and will aim to offer the world a platform for engaging in discussions about serious issues like hate, oppression and suppression (Canadian Museum for Human Rights-a, 2010). The marketing activity for CMHR is communicating with the target audience for promoting its value and for understanding of human rights. This will help it to meet the commitments of Canadian Government to support “democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law” (Canadian Museum for Human Rights-b, 2010). SWOT Analysis Strengths The biggest strength of the museum lies in its location based advantages. Canada being one of the developed nations, adds to the popularity of the museum. It also helps in garnering funds as the government has provided full support for the museum. Another major strength of the organization is the unique concept by which the museum has been conceptualized. The noble and unique nature of the museum helps in increasing the awareness of the individual’s on the aspect of human rights (Canadian Museum for Human Rights-a, 2010). The uniqueness of the museum also lies in its innovative, interactive and high technology environment that would enable interactions such as debates with regard to human rights. Any person can submit his/her story about human rights violations and the museum would provide a platform for sharing it across the globe (Krell, 2009, p.50). Weakness Lack of awareness about the concept of the museum amongst the target audience seems to be the most formidable weakness of the museum. This lack of awareness leads to generation of considerable weakness as people may not be aware of the museum. This would hamper the very basic intention of setting up the museum. Opportunities Being located in a developed nation and set up with a noble and unique concept generates large scale opportunity for the museum to draw visitors. The museum also provides opportunity for individuals to highlight their stories about human rights violations to showcase their problems on a global platform. Human rights violations form one of the most burning issues and there have been numerous issues of human rights violations which remain unreported due to lack of a proper platform. The museum with its unique concept would help in generating large scale opportunities that would help in drawing large crowds and make it a success story. Threats There have been certain controversies regarding the site of the project as many claim it as a land that has historical significance and building a structure over it may undermine the importance of the place and its sacredness. Target Market In the process of market, it is very necessary to identify and categorize the target audience. The effectiveness of implemented target largely depends on identifying the proper target group of audience and market. In this respect, the marketers must try to understand the available potential consumers. Generally, the target market can be determined on long-term and short-term basis. However, in case of the CMHR, it must go for the long-term target market segmentation, as the primary aim of this museum is not materialistic gain but it is for a noble cause towards humanity. CMHR should try to define a focused audience group by categorizing into different segment. However, target market for this museum can be categorized into two major groups i.e. primary and secondary target market. The primary target market mainly includes the population of Canada. The Canadian Government will aim for their own population by promoting the basic understandings of human rights. The secondary target market is the potential target consumers from the multiple world economies. The focus for the secondary target market will be on neighboring countries like USA, Mexico, and Iceland etc. Points of Difference The most important point that segregates the museum from the rest is the very basis behind its conceptualization. The museum is the only one of its kind serving to highlight the issues of human rights. The museum is also the first of its kind to be set up outside the national capital region in Canada. Unlike other museums, The Canadian Museum for Human Rights provides a platform for individuals to engage on a debate over issues of human rights and its violations. This unique feature is not present in any of the museums and constitutes the most important point of difference. This point of difference has also generated large scale opportunities for the museums with regard to its ability to draw crowds and make it a success story that would encourage the setting up of such institutions in other parts of the world that would ultimately help in serving a noble cause. Product Positioning Positioning constitutes one of the most important aspects of marketing as it determines the image of a product or a brand in the mind of the target customers. This aspect is vital as the success of the brand image largely depends upon a successful positioning strategy of the organization. The aspect of positioning assumes considerable importance for the Canadian Museum of Human Rights as it would define the fulfillment of the purpose for which the museum was created. The museum would be positioned as a center that not only helps in the enhancement of knowledge about human rights but also provides a platform for generating live debates with regard to the aspects of human rights. The museum’s high technology background as well as good location based advantages would also serve for generating a favorable positioning of the museum in the minds of the target audience. Achieving a good positioning would help the museum to not only draw domestic crowds but would also encourage foreign tourists to visit this museum. It would also emerge as a center for learning and enhancement of knowledge and would also encourage the setting up of museums on similar lines in other regions of the world which would help in spreading the awareness and the importance of human rights. Marketing Mix Marketing mix plays a very important role in the development of brand image and brand equity for an organization. The elements of marketing mix include product, price, place and promotions. In case of services, the existing product mix has been extended by adding three more aspects of people, process and physical evidence. These have been done mainly on the account of the fact that services are largely intangible in nature which makes it different from products. Considering various aspects, the marketing mix for The Canadian Museum for Human Rights would also include the additional three parameters as it falls under the purview of services which is based on the aspect of its intangibility in nature. Product Product features are the most important aspect of a marketing mix as it determines the framework of the other elements of the marketing mix. In case of Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the product mix would constitute a museum that contains ultra modern gadgets and a high technology environment that contains all the information including latest as well as historical records and artifacts regarding human rights. The museum would also have facilities that would help in generating active debates and interaction among the audience with regard to the aspect of human rights. In addition, it would also have latest audio visual aids that would help in screening videos and documentaries in order to increase the awareness of human rights. Price The museum would adopt an optimum pricing strategy. This is important because the main motive of the museum is to promote the importance and increase the awareness about human rights and their violations. Using an optimum pricing strategy would help in drawing more audience as it would bring every section of the population under its reach. Place The museum is located in Winnipeg, Canada and it is the first of its kind to be set up outside the purview of the national capital region in Canada. The place also has historical significance as the Assiniboine and Red rivers have a confluence at the proposed location of the museum. Location in a historically significant area would help to draw the attraction of tourists’ thereby spreading awareness and information about the museum. Canada is also a developed nation and it draws large number of international tourists for individual as well as business purposes. Setting up of such an intellectual museum in Canada would surely help in attracting people to experience the new concept. Promotions In order to make people aware of this new concept, the managers would use an effective promotional campaign which would use channels like internet, conferences, events as well as social networking sites to spread awareness about the museum. People AS the museum would cater to a large intellectual audience, it is imperative that the employees have high technical knowledge and a good educational as well as professional background to deliver an efficient service. A good training program would be on the cards to make the staff efficient to cater to the needs of the target market. Process The museum would have high end technologically developed gadgets that would help in providing efficient service. It would also make full use of a good website that provides link to the museum and acts as a gateway to the individuals. Web based techniques of innovation like ERP would be used to maintain high standards in the museum. Physical Evidence The museum would have an attractive campus fitted with ultra modern gadgets that would give an international feeling to the visitors. In addition, maintenance and cleanliness would also score high on the priority list so as to make the museum a congenial place for learning and sharing. Brand Strategy The concept of brand is a celebrated concept in the field of marketing. It offers an entity a unique identity that helps it to distinguish from the similar available substitute. Every marketer should try to focus on the brand development strategies. Once an organization is able to develop its unique brand identity, it is able to influence a large of target audience. CMH should also aim to develop its brand image in the mind of their target consumers to meet its primary goal and objectives. High brand perception strives to create high brand identity within the market. In this process, every organization must try to create better brand awareness among the target market. Glynn has identified that the brand awareness is the core components of brand equity and brand loyalty (Glynn, 2009, p.198). In order to develop a unique brand identity, CMHR should develop a unique brand logo and brand slogan. A popular and effective brand logo and slogan will help CMHR to develop a visual identify. Moreover, it is also helpful in advertising and promotional activities. A sample logo for the CMHR is given below. ‘Promoting Human Rights for the Sake of Humanity’ (Source: Author’s Creation) The above logo is green that symbolizes a healthy environment and CMHR is written in violet so that, it is striking to the common people. The slogan for CMHR is curved above the logo. It delivers its core message of spreading awareness about human rights. Execution of Marketing Program After the formulation of marketing strategies based on the environmental scanning, it is necessary to implement these strategies focusing on the target market. The task of pre-defined strategy execution should be done through appropriate procedure to obtain the highest outcome. Some of strategies for executing marketing programs are given below. CHRI should have primary focus on the brand developments and in this process, communication is the most crucial area. Therefore, the promotional activity should be flawless. In this case, CMHR can implement integrated marketing communication that allows target audience and organization to engage in a two-way communication system. The advertising strategy must consider the most effective medium considering the demographics of target consumers. In this process, the online medium should be given priority. To increase the popularity and create better relationship, it should develop online communities, blogs and a dedicated website where the interested people will be able to become members of CMHR. Members should be informed about the latest news and other prevailing information. To promote its objective, it should conduct programs and events. It can also sponsor the social welfare program to indicate its social connectivity. It can also publish dedicated magazine on human rights where it deliver its message to target consumers. These magazines should also be published online. Conclusion This paper has presented a marketing program for Canadian Museum for Human Right. Currently, this is under construction but it is supposed to be opened in 2012. However, to meet its primary goal i.e. promoting the understanding of human rights for better social structure, it is necessary to develop and implement its message to the target consumers. It is a unique museum with different ideas and causes. This museum is owned and developed by the Canadian government and backs on latest technology and infrastructures. The primary focus of its market plan is to deliver and to spread awareness regarding the view and ideas of CMHR. For better and effective outcome, it has categorized its two target markets i.e. primary (Canadian people) and secondary (people from the rest of the world). Moreover, brand developments strategy is also necessary for CMHR to develop its unique identity at the global scenario. Adopting such a strategy would not only help in spreading the awareness about importance of human rights but would also make it a centre for sharing and learning. References Canadian Museum for Human Rights-a. 2010. About the Museum. [Online]. Available at: http://humanrightsmuseum.ca/about-museum. [Accessed on March 31, 2011]. Canadian Museum for Human Rights-b. 2010. Mandate, Vision and Values. [Online]. Available at: http://humanrightsmuseum.ca/about-museum/mandate-vision-and-values. [Accessed on March 30, 2011]. Glynn, M.S. 2009. Business-to-business brand management: theory, research and executive case study exercises. Emerald Group Publishing. Krell, J. 2009. Canadian Museum for Human Rights. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.jasonkrell.ca/press/chrm.pdf. [Accessed on March 31, 2011]. Read More