Integrated Marketing Communications Plan for Volkswagen - Research Paper Example

 Integrated Marketing Communication Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) IMC can be defined as the integration and coordination of different communication tools within an organization that has maximum impact on the customers. IMC is a combined word which is used on behalf of different intended messages aimed at building a strong brand (Duncan, 2005, p. 5). The aim of IMC is to ensure continuity in conveying the desired message to the customers through different media. IMC is an umbrella which has many parts and each part holds an important place in the IMC program to make a successful promotion for an organization. Marketing Mix and its elements are said to be the initiator in the process of marketing the product. Promotion is amongst one of the key elements which form marketing mix. Different promotional activities include sales promotion, advertising, direct marketing, and personal selling. Apart from these sponsorship marketing, database marketing, interactive marketing and public relation also forms a major part of the promotional activities. IMC can further be summarized as the integration of marketing mix tools with the different tools of promotional activities that provides an organization the edge over its competitors.  Volkswagen’s IMC Plan The Volkswagen Group is one of the largest car manufacturing companies in the world (Volkswagen, 2011). With its latest launch “Polo”, Volkswagen has come out with an innovative ad to attract large number of consumers. The IMC tools used by Volkswagen in the case of Polo have been advertising through both print and electronic media, internet marketing, online banners, direct marketing, etc (Popsop, 2011). Volkswagen’s prime IMC strategies related to the Polo car can be discussed as follows: Advertising Advertising is the form of communication which s non-personal and provides information about the services, products and the organization (G. Belch & M. Belch, 2003, p. 16). Volkswagen’s television commercial of the Polo car was to make a new beginning in the small car segment. The company through the ad campaign has tried to differentiate itself from other car makers as its television was made to attract young males while other small car makers are largely targeting females. The advertisement has been used extensively by Volkswagen to create awareness about the new Polo car and its unique features which makes it a choice for young males rather than showing females taking their cars for shopping. The ad campaign for the Polo car was on the line of “Dedicated Followers of No One”. The ad campaign has been used by Volkswagen to target people especially males who like to have their own style rather than keep changing with the trends. Internet marketing Interactive marketing or internet marketing as become the most sought after advertising prospect for the companies. With more and more people using internet the companies are getting more inclined towards internet marketing through which they can target a healthy number of people. Volkswagen has used this medium to extend its reach globally in context to the Polo car. The company has very well used internet marketing by putting ads through online banners on popular social networking sites and other websites. Further a special micro site was created to attract the target market especially the young males. The page of the website was designed as a driving game to give the people excitement of driving a Polo car. Celebrity interviews were also posted on the micro site as a tactic to attract consumers. The interactive marketing was used to further create eagerness amongst the young car lovers. Social Media Volkswagen also used social media strategy in the form of a game based on Marco/Polo. The company promoted the Polo car on a popular social networking site and giving the opportunity to the lucky ones to be driven around the city and free visit to popular clubs & pubs. This social media strategy was largely aimed at making people experience the ride in a Polo car. Apart from these some other promotional tools opted by Volkswagen for promotional activities are: Direct marketing Direct marketing largely involves promotion through direct mails, phone, emails, letters, etc (M. Trehan & R. Trehan, 2010, p. 25). Direct marketing was used by Volkswagen in its campaign to target the young men and make them aware of the theme i.e. “Dedicated Follower of No One”. Direct marketing was largely used to reach out to maximum number of target people and create awareness of the product and its features. Outdoor Billboards Outdoor billboards were also used by Volkswagen as part of their campaign on the idea of “Dedicated Follower of No One”. The outdoor billboard also depicted the same idea as was used through other forms of promotional activity. Outdoor billboards emerged as a choice by Volkswagen because of the fact that billboards are noticed by large number of people and has helped the company to create eagerness about the Polo car amongst the consumers. Online Banners The online banners used by Volkswagen have added to its advantage. The online banners placed on different websites gave the company an opportunity to attract more customers. Online banners are such that it allows the customer to access to the video or image or visit the company’s official website through the link. Use of online banners on popular sites made people visit the website and the watch the video related to Polo car. Personal selling Personal selling can be said to be a promotion where the interaction with the consumer is direct and not through any other medium. It helps an organization to convey messages to various public about its policies and products (Johnston & Marshall, 2009, p.90). Volkswagen used personal selling in its campaign to promote Polo car by making people aware of the car and its features. Personal selling being the most effective tool as it involves direct interaction made the company spread more awareness about their new car and why young males should prefer it. Integrated marketing communication is used by organizations around the world to convey same message through different channels of marketing to its consumers. IMC is the only feature which is distinguished from other marketing tools and has the potential of being offered to the large consumer base (Yeshin, 2005, p. 56). It can be noted that Volkswagen has used IMC and its different elements such as advertising, interactive marketing, online banners, etc to promote its Polo car. The different elements used by the company convey the message based on the idea of “Dedicated Followers of No One”. It can be said that the different media or elements used by the company are all part of IMC and can be considered to be an important aspect in the promotional activity of the company. Reference Belch, G. E. & Belch, M. A. (2003). Advertising & Promotion, (Ed.6). New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Duncan, T. (2005). Principles of Advertising and IMC. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2009). Sales Force Management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Popsop. (2011). Volkswagen Polo: For Dedicated Followers of No one. [Online]. Available at: http://popsop.com/34674. [Accessed on 5 May 2012]. Trehan, M. & Trehan, R. (2010). Advertising and Sales Management. New Delhi: FK Publications. Volkswagen. (2011). The Group. [Online]. Available at: http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/content/en/the_group.html. [Accessed on 5 May 2012]. Yeshin, T. (2005). Advertising. USA: Cengage Learning. . Bibliography Drummond, G., & Ensor, J. (2005). Introduction to Marketing Concepts. USA: Elsevier/Butterworth Heinemann. Shah, K., & D’Souza, A. (2009). Advertisement And Promotions: An Imc Perspective. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Shimp, T. A. (2008). Advertising, Promotion, and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications. USA: Cengage Learning. Yeshin, T. (2006). Sales Promotion. USA: Cengage Learning EMEA. Read More