Above the Line Advertising - Research Proposal Example

Above the Line Advertising Implications for Agencies ATL or Above the Line advertising is a technique that is commonly used when trying to build a brand on the basis of mass appeal. This can be seen in examples like Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nokia and others. ATL Technique: Brand Positioning through Market Segmentation and Targeting Marketing in above the line advertising is an arena where the basic norm is to promote visibility. Visibility, in turn, depends on positioning which again depends on branding and the equity commanded by the same. (Aaker, 1991) This has promoted advertising agencies the world over to study and implement strategies that will accentuate brand equity as this is the greatest indicator of, and the base for, the calculation of returns on investment. While the consumer's awareness of a brand, and the reasons for choosing an associated product may depend on various factors including peer reference, peer approval, or other social factors beyond the direct control of the brand's investor, the brand's marketing mix is definitely within the investor's control, and something that demands big budget investment. Therefore, investor's and researchers are always concerned about the actual effects and results of marketing components including advertisement, sales promotions, and company emblems - upon the consumer's perception and their consequence upon brand equity. In the last decade, a lot of research has been dedicated to conceptualizing and measuring customer-based brand equity. However, apart from putting forth various influencing factors, no integrative framework has so far been developed to account for the complex psychological processes underlying the formation of customer-based brand equity. In this context, this paper attempts to propose such a framework by drawing on the theory of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. (Kotler, 1997) This simple reason as to why ATL marketing is not used at all, or not used beyond the launch of a product, by popular brands is that these brands need to retain exclusivity in terms of the outreach and target audience that they are catering to. This generally implies a younger crowd which is constantly on the lookout for things that define their personalities in the most unique way, and in ways that they will not find anywhere else. Implications for Advertising Agencies A decade or so ago, branding meant little to people. Branding until then simply involved designing a logo or creating a corporate profile that will help identify it and differentiate it from other brands. In the past decade, things on the branding front have undergone a sea change due to above the line advertising. There is now a strong emphasis on brand building through the explicit communication of a vision in the whole organisation where strong brands are more than mere trademarks that people recognise. In the generation of a branding idea and implementation of the same to build a brand profile, organisations behind the strong brands have managed to build a brand identity. "Brand identity should help establish a relationship between the brand and the customer by generating a value proposition involving functional, emotional or self-expressive benefits" (Aaker 1991). In this context, a brand has risen beyond the contemporary demarcations where it was merely a name. The brand has come to signify the value addition in terms of the facts that it carves an identity for the organisation. Through this holistic approach, the designer's role in the arena of brand building may be explained from three different perspectives. Here the designer's primary designation is that of a problem solver or a decorator. He or she shows how the brand identity can be represented in products, commercials or graphics. The second task of the designer is as a strategist where he or she shows how a simple understanding of the brand as a product or a symbol in the organization can be achieved. This perspective has great significance as far as controlling the brand identity is concerned. Finally, the third job of the designer is to promote social values by demonstrating how brand building can do the society any good. This has been firstly discussed in the case of the Coca Cola Company. A soft drink giant, the Coca Cola company shifted its strategy from mass marketing to product variety market and then to target marketing so as to cater to the growing market for soft drink products. Its strategy can be studied under the elaboration likelihood model as it wanted to be a forerunner in the market where soft drink brands were emerging with each passing day. The choice of the Elaboration likelihood Model was one that came directly from the consumer oriented characteristics of brand equity and brand knowledge. Elaboration Likelihood Model identified message relevance as one of these factors. According to this model, when message relevance is high, individuals will actively process and evaluate the information in the advertisement when forming or changing attitudes. (Aaker, 1991) When message relevance is low, individuals will not actively process the information in the advertisement, but will instead rely on peripheral message cues to form or change attitudes. Brand Identity is that element of customer perception and awareness which has its focus in the results of a certain kind of projection through the brand equity building measures. This calls for an integrative model which will combine the basic elements of the brand identity and brand equity concepts so as to create a platform for the effective discussion of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. This has been of special relevance for the Coca Cola company as far as its foray into target market and product variation is concerned. (Kotler, 1997) An integrative model will serve the following purpose: - provide as detailed summation of the various factors that influence the end user to add to the brand equity; and - study these factors in context of the psychological process taking place in the mind of the consumer as he is exposed to advertisements and other brand identity elements. The following is the theoretical framework within which ELM operates to fulfil the above functions: Source: www.wikipedia.com According to the above diagram, the ELM creates a speration of the two roads to persuasion. These are the central route and the peripheral route. With it requirement for a more demanding thought process to predominate under conditions that promote high elaboration, the central route processes involve careful scrutiny of a persuasive communication (e.g., a speech, an advertisement, etc.). This helps determine the merits of the arguments to expose an individual's unique cognitive responses to the message determine the persuasive outcome (i.e., the direction and magnitude of attitude change). In this context, the message being transmitted will be accepted only if a favorable or positive thought process has been followed. On the other hand, peripheral route processes in above the line advertising are a departure from the process of elaboration of the message through extensive cognitive processing of the merits of the actual argument presented. Various environmental characteristics of the message are found to influence this process. These characteristics include the perceived credibility of the source, as well as the quality its presentation as far as the attractiveness of the source, or tag line for the brand identity, are concerned. Two other companies that have followed this kind of a strategy with a focus on the ELM theory are Pepsi and Nokia. These two brands also started out with the strategy of mass marketing before moving onto product variation and then to the arena of target market. Both these brands have created market segmentation through their brand positioning strategy so as to achieve an up market status, especially in developing countries like India. (Walter et al, 1988) While Pepsi started with mass marketing, it did more specific target marketing and market segmentation through the launch of its products like Diet Pepsi which was aimed at weight watchers. This started in America as there are a majority of obese people in this country. This helped in a psychographics segmentation of the market in terms of emotionally reaching out to people. Nokia on its part, developed a more socio economic strategy that aimed at various market segments in various ways. This adhered basically to its marketing communication technicalities. After following the trend of mass marketing, Nokia withdrew a lot of its models from the market and came up with less and more exclusive models. It lay its focus on presenting the newest technology that will suit all kinds of people - irrespective of age, sex, social background and economic standing. These changes were done after 2004 so as to retain its position as a market leader and evolve in its role as a market leader in the face of rising competition. One company that should follow this strategy is the company called Tutbury's Crystal. A family owned business that churns out the highest quality of cut glass and allied products that come under the lifestyle category, Tutbury is a name to reckon with. (Walter et al, 1988) Given its history and the prestige attached with owning pieces produced by this company, it would be a tough job to market this effectively in a region where little would be known about this exclusive brand. Tutbury's needs a higher outreach that can basically be achieved through geographical diversification or international marketing. In this regard, it is imperative to loosely define international marketing before moving on. International marketing is that sphere of activities that is aimed at introducing a product in a country or group of countries with the aim of creating sales and some amount of awareness regarding the brand. (Bennett et al, 2002). For a foray into market segmentation and brand positioning on the international front, this company will need to follow the entry point strategy. This strategy along with others that have to do with market segmentation and brand positioning for maximum customer satisfaction will be used in order to evolve a strategy that is best suited for the purpose of an entry level product in a diverse market place. The first element when entering a new market is the risk factor. For Tutbury's there has been a strategic management of risk through a change of location as well as the launch of personalised and online services. There, is a need to now focus on changing passive international sales into hardcore business. It is important to capitalise on the opportunities by undertaking risks so as to achieve organisational growth. Therefore, once the entry level mode is applied to this situation, there will be a concerted effort towards arriving at decisions that have to do with control, risk and commitment as demonstrated in the diagram below: Source: www.wikipedia.com To deal with the risk factor at an entry level, this diagram shows that the commitment level needs to be high so as to start by catering to consumer satisfaction. With effective segmentation, it will be easy to find out the areas of investment so as to find an appropriate positioning on the scale where exports start. (Walter et al, 1988) Therefore, a good entry level strategy would involve introducing the fact that Tutbury's has an international face as its products go and can be modified to cater to any kind of culture or country. In this regard, there will be long term growth through the management of the immediate and other short term risks. In this case, the main risk comes from losing its exclusivity which can be tackled through the direct investment strategy. Conclusion Tools like emblems and logos contribute to the symbolic experiences with a brand. These experiences are largely the result of indirect observations and may come in different forms. A few examples for such symbolic experiences include making contacts with brand advertising, participating in a sponsored event, observing a specific type of brand user or just simply obtaining word-of-mouth information from friends and neighbors. Distinguishing between indirect (symbolic) and direct (personal) experiences is a daunting, yet useful task when there is a need to apply an approach that deals with direct experiences. This is owing to the fact that direct experiences have a more pronounced influence on the customer's judgment when above the line advertising is being applied. Therefore, this paper shows that advertising is a measure in brand building and brand equity which may be used to bridge the gap between the customer's attitude toward the ad and his or her attitude toward the brand. In terms of influencing attitudes and carrying out effective persuasion, the above the line technique may be primarily defined as a heuristic instrument for the brand manager. This instrument can be used for mental stimulation of the effect of marketing measures on customer-based brand equity, so as to create brand equity through the right sources and a broader base of brand knowledge in context of brand identity. References Bennett, R; Blythe, J (2002) International Marketing: Strategy Planning, Market Entry and Implementation. Kogan Page. Walter, I; Murray, T (1988). Handbook of International Management. John Wiley and Sons. Aaker, David A. Managing Brand Equity. New York, NY: The Free Press, 1991. Kotler, P. ( 1997 ). Marketing management (7th ed.). 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