Integrated Marketing communication plan of Honda Civic in the US - Assignment Example

?Executive summary This IMC plan for Honda seeks to outline the communication strategies that can be implemented by Honda to introduce its new Honda Civic Natural gas. This plan specifically focuses on communication strategies that can be implemented in order to introduce the new generation Honda Civic GX car to the targeted audience. The plan specifically looks at various promotional styles such as the advertising, PR and promotion in a bid to appeal to the interests of many potential customers. The main goals of the IMC strategy is to appeal to the interests of as many people as possible in a bid to fulfil the broad objectives of satisfying the needs of as many people as possible. As such, this report seeks to outline the IMC strategy that can be adopted by Honda in order to satisfy the needs of the potential customers. Table of contents 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Target market analysis 4 2.2 Psychographic segmentation 6 2.3 Positioning of Honda Civic 6 3.0 SWOT Analysis 7 3.1 Internal factors 8 3.2 Weaknesses 8 3.3 External factors- Opportunities 8 3.4 Threats 8 4.0 IMC objectives 9 5.0 IMC strategy and techniques 10 6.1 Setting total promotional budget 13 7.0 Evaluation of IMC strategy 13 8.0 Conclusion 14 9.0 Bibliography 15 1.0 Introduction Communication plays a pivotal role in determining the success of an organisation in as much as marketing of the product offered is concerned. It can be observed that modern communication technology has made dramatic changes in the contemporary marketing communication landscape given that the consumers are now able to evaluate the choice of the goods they want. On the other hand, the marketers are also aware of these indispensable changes brought about by new information and communication technology and these have compelled them to adopt the use of an integrated marketing communication plan in their operations. An integrated marketing communication (IMC) plan is ideal for Honda Civic in the US. In order to outline the communication plan that can be used by Honda, it is important to begin by explaining the meaning of IMC concept in order to gain a full understanding of it. Basically, an integrated marketing communication can be defined as, “a concept of marketing communication planning that recognises the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines such as advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations, sponsorship,” (Cant, 2000 p.285). These communication channels are integrated and coordinated to deliver a clear, consistent and compelling message about the organisation and its products. Kotler & Armstrong, 2004 also posit to the effect that all the corporate messages, positioning and images, and identity are coordinated across all marketing communication venues which reinforce the image and identity of the organisation. The main objectives of marketing communication mainly depend with what the company seeks to achieve through the integration of different communication disciplines. As such, Honda’s IMC plan should include the effective use of advertising, personal selling, public relations, direct marketing as well as sales promotion. In this case, the aim of the IMC will be to create loyal customers through giving them the right information about a particular product or brand offered. Against this background, this report seeks to develop an IMC plan for Honda Civic. According to AutofairHonda (2011), the 2011 Honda Civic GX is powered by natural gas and it does not use fossil fuels like other conventional vehicles. This model of car was developed after the realisation that the environment also needed to be protected given that carbon gas emissions from vehicles significantly contribute to global warming which is seen as an environmental concern across the whole world. Honda Civic 2011 is a luxury vehicle which is environmental friendly. However, of notable concern is the fact that this particular type of vehicle appeals to a unique segment and this is the reason why an IMC has to be developed to promote the sales of this environmental friendly vehicle. According to Jessica Fini, the Senior Environmental Specialist with Honda (2011), Honda Civic GX is definitely a niche vehicle that appeals to a very distinct segment of the population. Its existence will certainly impact on the auto mobile industry hence the need to carefully plan an IMC with the aim of promoting its performance in the market. Therefore, this paper is concerned with developing an IMC plan for Honda Civic in the US and it starts by identifying the market segment then followed by a SWOT analysis for the company. The main body will look at different IMC strategies that can be implemented by this organisation. 2.0 Target Market Analysis “Integrated marketing communications involves identifying the target audience and shaping a well coordinated program to elicit the desired audience report,” (Kotler & Armstrong, 2011, p. 471). A successful communication plan mainly depends on the ability to identify the targeted audience as well as their interests and this is commonly referred to as market segmentation. Smith (1991) defines market segmentation as the process of identifying and grouping customers who share common characteristics and interests that make them different from others into a similar category. The target audience for Honda Civic GX is mainly the young as well as the affluent people hence all communication efforts should be aimed at giving the relevant information that is likely to impact positively on them. As such, it can be seen that careful selection of the position for the product will greatly influence the company to implement an effective IMC strategy. According to AutofairHonda (2011), the target audience for this niche market include the young and well educated people with a good career and these are often conscious about the environment. In a bid to evade the rising costs of oil as well as the need to protect the environment through the use of green automobiles such as the Honda Civic GX, there has been a steady increase in the demand for cars which use compressed natural gas. As such, Honda can segment the market in North America of the following basis. 2.1 Geo-demographic segmentation Basically, geo-demographic segmentation is primarily concerned with converging geography and demographics of a particular group of people in an identifiable area (Nelson, 2001). Consumers are grouped according to characteristics such as age, household structures, level of income as well as interests in particular products. In most cases, the neighbourhoods are divided into groups on the basis of similarities in aspects such as education, level of income, attitudes towards products as well as their tastes and preferences. In this particular case, a suburb comprising of high income earning people can be targeted since these are mostly interested in trendy and flashy cars like Honda Civic GX. It becomes easier for the marketers at Honda to target these specific audiences since they will be sharing a lot of common interests towards this new offering in the market. Normally, a cluster system can be used to identify people who share the same interests and they can be reached using local media such as magazines, newspapers direct e-mail campaign. There will be likely chances that the customers will positively respond since they will influence each other towards this particular Honda brand. 2.2 Psychographic segmentation Kotler (1999) posits to the effect that psychographic segmentation is mainly concerned with dealing with characteristics such as attitudes, personality, opinions and lifestyles of people residing in an identifiable location. These characteristics have a bearing on the behaviour of the people and they somehow provide insight into how the marketers can tailor their communication to the chosen segments. Though psychographic segmentation may not be perfect, it is one viable way of trying to identify the behaviour of the people in a particular segment. According to AutoFairHonda (2011), the consumers in this niche market are seeking energy saving luxury cars which are environmental friendly. Other consumers in this niche market are also concerned about the need to protect the environment hence the marketers at Honda can use any of the above mentioned aspects that can characterise the interests of the potential clients of this particular product. 2.3 Positioning of Honda civic The Honda Civic GX is positioned in the category of luxury car and it is primarily meant for people who have keen interest in fashionable and trendy cars which are energy savers. The consumers characterising this market are mainly people who are concerned with environmental protection through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as well as keeping pace with stylish vehicles. As noted, the Honda Civic GX will mainly focus on affluent young consumers between the ages of 25 to 45 years in North America (AutoFairHonda, 2011). 3.0 SWOT Analysis “A SWOT analysis is a useful instrument for helping managers to identify internal strengths and weaknesses of a business and external opportunities and threats facing it,” (Strydom, p. 31). Basically, SWOT stands for strengths (S), weaknesses (W) while on the other hand the external environmental factors are regarded as either opportunities (O) or threats (T). This analysis is very important to the managers as it allows them to focus on key strategic issues based on the notion that an effective strategy fully utilises the strengths and opportunities of a business and strives to minimise the weaknesses and threats. This strategy allows the managers to draw an effective strategy that can be used to turn around the fortunes of the organisation. In this particular case, a SWOT analysis for Honda is going to be carried below. 3.1 Internal factors- Strengths Honda is one of the world’s renowned automobile manufacturers and it offers a wide range of popular brands to different consumers across the globe. It has been named for the seventh straight year in a row as the “Greenest vehicle of the year” by the American Council for an Energy Efficient (ACEEE) which is a major strength (AutoFairHonda, 2011). The other strength is that the vehicle is very efficient given that it uses compressed natural gas which is readily available in all states in the US. This brand also has an advantage of enjoying high market share. 3.2 Weaknesses According to the Consumer News (2011), the new Honda Civic GX is priced at $26, 155 and this price is seen as exorbitant to ordinary buyers. This is a weakness given that it may attract few customers against the backdrop of other pressing financial issues such as the just ended global financial crisis. Only the wealthy and affluent consumers can afford to buy this model. It has also been criticised for not providing all the quality features of a luxury vehicle given that the consumers have complained about its steering wheel which has been described as numb. 3.3 External factors- Opportunities The topical problem of global warming has significantly gained prominence over the recent years and it can be noted that there has been a shift in demand for cars that are environmentally friendly. Honda can harness on this opportunity given that it has been voted the Greenest vehicle by the ACEEE. Honda can also harness on the use of new information technology such as the internet to widen its market base. Honda’s innovation is seen as a big opportunity given that the demand for vehicles which save energy is constantly growing across the globe. The other opportunity is the emerging markets such as China which are seen as rapidly growing economies. 3.4 Threats The main threat faced by Honda is competition from other rival competitors in the market. These include players such as Hyundai, Toyota as well as Chrysler. These offer hybrid vehicles which are comprised of unique features which appeal to the interests of many people as well. The other threat is related to the pricing aspect given that other players offer fairly priced vehicles which are characterised by attractive features which increase their competitiveness. 4.0 IMC Objectives Integrated marketing communications involves identifying the target audience and shaping a well coordinated promotional program to elicit the desired audience response (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). As such, the main objective of this IMC for Honda is to focus on overcoming immediate awareness, image or preference problems in the target market given that this brand offered is still new and it possesses unique characters that are not found on other models of cars. Given that the customers differ, communications programs need to be developed by Honda for specific segments, niches and even individuals. Particular focus should be put on finding ways to let the customers reach the organisation given that it has just rolled out a unique state-of the-art vehicle which uses natural gas. It has been observed that Honda segments its market on the basis of the aspects discussed above hence its objective in this case should focus on raising awareness about this new brand while at the same time providing all the relevant information about this model car. In order to attract the target market, promotion should be used to emphasis the benefits that can be drawn from using the car such as its efficiency as well as the environmental friendliness features characterising the vehicle. Therefore, the broad objectives for Honda’s IMC include raising awareness among the target audience through provision of all information that can lead to knowledge generation which can stimulate their response to purchase the vehicle. 5.0 IMC strategy and techniques Communication forms the back bone of the success of any IMC strategy by an organisation. In the case of Honda Civic, The communicator has to figure out an appeal or theme that will produce the desired response among the targeted consumers. In this particular case, the rational appeal is ideal in the case of Honda Civic Natural Gas car. Rational appeals relate to the audience’s self interest and they show that the product will produce the desired benefits (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). In this case, the message should show the product’s quality, economy, value or performance. The message strategy in this case should be as follows: designed like no other vehicle on earth. By virtue of adopting this message strategy, Honda will be seeking to emphasise on engineering design, environmental protection as well as excellent performance of the car. Having designed the message, the other strategy that can lead to effective marketing communication is that the marketers must consider colour and other seemingly unimportant details carefully. In a print or electronic advertisement, eye catching images must be used in order to appeal to the interests of the potential consumers. For instance, the picture below can be used in different types of advertisements. 2011 Honda Civic GX Natural gas vehicle This picture is spectacular and it is likely to appeal to the interests of many potential customers. A person is forced to take a glance at this picture which can stimulate his or her feelings towards the vehicle after making an effort to find out more details about the vehicle on offer. Given that the Honda Civic GX is unique in that it is powered by natural gas, there will be high chances that it will appeal to the interests of many potential customers given that this is still a new product in the market. Various promotional incentives can be used as a strategy to ensure the success of the IMC strategy by Honda. Various promotional incentives that are meant to minimise the threats that may exist in the market can be used in this particular case. For instance, free test drives can be given to potential customers who could have shown a keen interest in buying the product offered. Since this brand is still very new in the market, the strategy of lowering prices can be used in order to appeal to many potential customers. Du Plessis et al (2005) posits to the effect that the strategy of lowering prices is very effective in attracting more customers to a particular offering in the market. The concept of integrated marketing communications suggests that the company must blend the promotion tools carefully into a coordinated promotion mix (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). In this particular case, Honda should harness the use of advertising, personal selling, public relations as well as direct marketing. Advertising can reach masses of geographically dispersed buyers at low cost and it enables the seller to repeat the message for several times. More often than not, advertising says something that is positive about a particular product and consumers tend to view advertised products as more legitimate. On the other hand, it can be noted that personal selling is a very effective strategy at certain stages of the buying process particularly in building the buyer’s preferences and actions (Strydom, 2004). Given that a Honda Civic GX is still new in the market, consumers can be convinced through personal selling strategy where the seller can explain some of the benefits of the car to the customers. Direct marketing which involves direct mail/email, telephone, online marketing is immediate and customised. It is likely to appeal to the interests of the customers while public relations is another very effective strategy. PR is concerned with creating a good image about this particular organisation in question. It is also important to select the channels of communication in implementing this IMC strategy for Honda Civic GX. For instance, the advent of the internet has revolutionised the communication landscape given that it is faster and can reach a lot of people located in different geographical locations. Thus, Kotler (1999) calls this marketing strategy online marketing. The internet as a medium of communication uses broadcasting and print messages and can facilitate a two way communication channel. In this case, a specially designed website should be utilised by Honda since it can attract many people. Berry (2001) calls this a pull communication strategy. The use of social sites such as Face book and twitter is also very effective since they are frequented by the targeted customers. It can also be seen that television is a very popular form of media in North America. Stations such as ABC local news as well as ABC World can be used since they are very popular among the American viewers. The print media can also be used to reach the targeted audiences and this involves the following papers: Wall Street Journal, Automobile magazine, New York Times among others. It can also be seen that billboard signs can be used since they are visible to all motorists as well as other ordinary road users. 6.1 Setting the total promotion budget A promotion budget of about $2 million dollars is ideal for the Honda IMC. This can be utilised for the next two years pending review in a bid to assess if the desired results are being achieved by the organisation. This budget can be set on the basis of percentage sales method of the forecasted sales of the product within the two year product this promotion will run. The bulk of the budget will be devoted to advertising in both print and electronic media. 7.0 Evaluation of the IMC strategy According to Kotler & Armstrong (2004), it is important for marketers to undertake a post testing analysis to establish if the campaign has been a success. This involves a critical analysis of the sales statistics of the vehicles being sold. During the two year period where this strategy is expected to be implemented, it is anticipate that there is likely to be an increase in the number of sales of the Honda Civic GX model. The response by the consumers to the IMC promotion can also be used as a yardstick to measure if their behaviour towards this brand has positively changed. As such, the use of feedback from the customers is very effective in as far as evaluation of the strategy is concerned. The response by the customers can be used to compare the current sales figures obtaining at that particular moment with the previous records. Customer feedback is very important since it helps to determine the level of satisfaction among them about the Honda Civic GX. 8.0 Conclusion In view of the argument discussed above, it can be safely said that the most effective communication plan for Honda’s IMC strategy mainly involves the identification of the targeted consumers in the market. The message for the given product is then tailored in such a way that it will appeal to the class of identified targeted customers. This will be followed by identifying the correct channel of communication such as print, broadcast media as well as the internet to disseminate the message to the targeted audiences. A distinction has to be made to ensure that the company is different from other players in the automobile industry in order to ensure it achieves its set mission and vision. In conclusion, it can be observed that the success of Honda’s IMC strategy is mainly determined by the effective use of new information and communication technology such as the internet. 9.0 Bibliography Armstrong, G. & Kotler P. (1996) Principles of Marketing, 7th Edition. London. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Autofairhonda (2011). 2011 Honda Civic GX Natural Gas Vehicle. Retrieved from: http://www.autofairhonda.com/2011-honda-civic-gx.htm [Accessed 19 October, 2011]. Berry T. & Wilson D. 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