Marketing Communication in Morocco - PowerPoint Presentation Example

? Marketing Communication in Morocco Advertising and Promotion SPRING Nawfel Bennis & Hicham kabbaj This report will give an overview of the marketing communications tools and techniques used within the Moroccan advertising environment as well as giving a critical reflection and recommendations. ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION Marketing Communication in Morocco Table of Content Introduction 3 Theoretical framework of marketing communication 3 Advertising in Morocco 4 Morocco has a history of poor relations which affected its economic performance for decades. However, the opening of the country to the globalised world has seen an improvement in the country’s different sectors of the economy. Advertising has witnessed a “remarkable boom in this country given that both multinationals and local start-ups are raking in the profits of a sector that has almost been spared by the financial downturn in Morocco,” (Rami, 1).The global economic crisis that was witnessed in 2008 did not impact severely on the advertising industry in Morocco and this is the reason why there have been signs of growth of this sector. However, there are different factors that affect the advertising industry in this particular country. 4 Advertising media in Morocco 5 Advertising content in Morocco 8 Legal framework for advertising in Morocco 9 Recommendations 9 Conclusion 10 Works cited 10 Pickton, Broderick. Integrated Marketing Communications. London: Pearson Education, 11 2005. Print. 11 Rami, Aziz . MAP.Advertising in Morocco:embryonic but 11 promising.http://www.yacout.info/Advertising-in-Morocco-embryonic-but-promising_a417.html, April 22, 2009, Accessed13 May, 2012. 11 Introduction Advertising and promotion are considered as the most important elements of a business’s marketing communication strategy and it can be noted that there are different tools of communication that can be used to reach different masses of consumers located in different geographical areas.In view of this notion, it can be seen that advertisers have a role to appeal to the interests of the customers in order to enhance the viability of their businesses. As such, this report is about advertising in Morocco and the marketing communications tools and techniques used in this particular country. The report starts by explaining the meaning of marketing communication in order to gain a full understanding of the whole concept. This will be followed by an outline of advertising in this country as well as anevaluation of the structure of advertising with regards to laws that exist in this nation. The last part of the report will outline the recommendations that can be implemented in order to improve the situation regarding marketing communications within Morocco. Theoretical framework of marketing communication In order to gain a full understanding of the concept of marketing communication, it is imperative to begin by explaining what marketing communications is all about with regards to advertising and how it influences the customers to buy certain products. Basically, marketing communications can be defined as, “the process of presenting an integrated set of stimuli to a market target with the aim of raising a desired set of responses within the market target and setting up channels to receive, interpret and act on messages from the market to modify present company messages and identify new communications opportunities,” (Lancaster & Reynolds, 149). The company can influence the customers to buy its products given that it can assume the role of both sender and receiver of messages that are related to different market factors. These messages are specifically tailored to appeal to the interests of as many customers as possible in a bid to enhance the company’s viability in its operations. Therefore, it can be seen that marketing communication is one major element that influences the consumers to buy certain products offered through responding to messages disseminated to them about various products offered by different organisations. Marketing communication strategy is also called the promotional mix which is comprised of the following elements: advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing, publicity and sponsorship. However, this report is particularly concerned with advertising and the report will specifically focus on how advertisements are portrayed in Morocco as well as their impact on targeted consumers. Advertisements are mainly concerned with making promises to the potential customers about the products offered and they are designed in a fashion that is suitable to the advertiser. Basically, advertising can be defined as any form of paid communication in the media targeted at a number of recipients and paid for by a sponsor (Pickton, 205). Advertising is mainly concerned with fulfilling the following aims: imparting information to potential consumers, develop positive attitudes among the consumers and to cause desired action by the advertiser among the customers. Theoretically, it can also be noted that advertisers are concerned with raising awareness about a particular product or service and ultimately stimulating a positive response from the targeted customers. Furthermore, advertising can be regarded as selective communication whereby the marketers in a position to choose what they want to convey to the potential customers. Basically, advertising is part of the marketing communication where it can be noted that different communication tools are used to reach the targeted consumers. However, there are various factors that shape the advertising industry in any given country. As such, this part of the report seeks to evaluate the structure of advertising in Morocco. It will look at different factors that influence advertising in this country which include the laws and channels of communication available. This part covers the structure of the media, culture as well as the legal framework in this country since these factors have a significant impact on the nature of advertising in a particular country. Advertising in Morocco Morocco has a history of poor relations which affected its economic performance for decades. However, the opening of the country to the globalised world has seen an improvement in the country’s different sectors of the economy. Advertising has witnessed a “remarkable boom in this country given that both multinationals and local start-ups are raking in the profits of a sector that has almost been spared by the financial downturn in Morocco,” (Rami, 1).The global economic crisis that was witnessed in 2008 did not impact severely on the advertising industry in Morocco and this is the reason why there have been signs of growth of this sector. However, there are different factors that affect the advertising industry in this particular country. While the state continues to dominate the broadcast, media, it can be seen that there is a rising number of private outlets.Indeed, the total circulation of print media is more than one million and there are 600 registered publications.While the majority of publications depend on state funding, it can be noted that there is a handful of private media which have become commercially viable. Advertising in Morocco is on an increase given that there are some reforms currently being implemented by the government and these are meant to promote media diversity. For instance, a new Amazigh (Berber) channel was launched in 2010 after three years of development according to the above mentioned website. This channel specifically caters for about 30 % of the people who speak the language. As such, the people who speak this language are the ones who also place advertisements about various products and services they offer. It can be seen that this kind of development in the media fraternity has significantly contributed to an increase in advertisement. Furthermore, over 492 million dollars was realised in Morocco in 2008 through advertisements and this places on top of other Maghreb countries. Sigma Conseil, a research department that specializes in advertisement and media, carried this survey. It was also projected that advertising was set to increase by about 10 percent in 2009 as a result of developments taking place in the media industry in this country. Compared to other Arab countries, the development of media in Morocco is significantly higher though the advertising industry is facing other challenges that can be attributed to other factors. For instance, specialists posit to the effect that advertising in this country is “crippled by the low purchasing power of the Moroccan consumer and the lack of communication policies within companies.” However, it is anticipated that the industry is set to grow faster as a result of the technological boom. This assertion has also been supported by a survey that was carried out by the Moroccan Advertisers Group (Groupement des Annonceurs du Maroc – GAM), which suggested that the advertising sector had great potential for expansion and it also suggested that the telecoms should remain the largest advertising segment. Other sectors of the economy such as retail, automobile and real estate are also regarded as potential sources of advertising, which provides the advertising companies with new opportunities. According to the information gathered, “with ad spending up to $ 562.1 million, or 17.6 dollars per capita in 2009, Morocco is considered as the largest advertising market in Africa given that it has grown by an average of 10% during the last 5 years.” The growth in advertising in Morocco can be attributed to a number of factors such as the development in new information and communication technology. The internet for instance has significantly contributed to the growth of advertising in this particular country given that it is accessible to a large number of people. However, it can be noted that economic crises also have a bearing on the performance of the advertising sector. For instance, advertising was negatively impacted by the global economic crisis between 2008 and 2009 according to the above mentioned survey. However, the crisis does not severely impact on the advertising sector. Advertising media in Morocco We can affirm that television remains the major means for advertisement in Morocco. It according to different studies, it has been noted that television advertisements takes between 50 to 55 percent of the market share. This notion has been supported by a recent survey by Morocco’s BMCE bank which showed that advertisers mostly trust television and this communication tool is widely used than other forms of adverting in this particular country. In the northern Africa region, studies have found that Morocco grabs 72 percent of the TV advertisement market and it generates about 825 million Dirhams /75 million Euros (Rami (2). These statistics show that Morocco is far ahead of Algeria which has(16 percent) and Tunisia (12 percent) of the market share in the region. Some experts suggest that TV viewers are more than newspaper readers as a result of various factors. TV can reach a wide range of viewers from diverse backgrounds hence the advertisers prefer it because it reaches a large number of potential viewers. TV is a very popular form of media because it has various advantages over other tools of marketing communication. The major notable advantage of using TV is a vehicle for advertising is that it is capable of combining both images and audio and the adverts are designed in an attractive manner which appeals to the interests of the audiences. A television advertisement can be designed using the preferred language of the targeted consumers that makes it easier for them to grasp the context of the advertisement. Television advertisements can also be consumed by anyone who understands the language used. Unlike other advertisements in print media which require one to be literate in order to read the message being conveyed, television does not require one to be able to read given that the advertisements are designed using real images of people hence they are easy to understand. Television advertisements can also serve an entertainment function hence they are likely to appeal to the interests of many viewers. This entertainment function is very effective in that it viewers can subconsciously consume the advertisement which can also appeal to their interests in order to try the product being advertised. Creative advertisements that are comprised of more music are very effective since they serve different purposes. The pie charts below show the statistics market share of advertising by different media in France and Morocco. Source: http://www.marketing-au-maroc.com/ However, other forms of advertisement means are also gaining considerable ground in Morocco. For instance, outdoor advertisement is a fast growing segment of advertising in this country and it promises to continue growing as a result of its visual attractiveness. According to studies, outdoor advertising covers about 17 percent of the market share and it closely follows the press, which has 25 % of the market. Radio has 8 % of advertisements and this can be attributed to the ownership structure of the media in this particular country. There have been few actors in the electronic media such as radio given that the government before awarding a license to the prospective broadcasters considered various factors. However, as a result of media reforms in this country, it can be seen that there are more radio stations now operating as a result of opening of the airwaves by the government, which has increased the potential for advertising to different listeners. Another notable form of media that is significantly gaining prominence is the Internet.Online publications are growing in Morocco and they also support advertising content. However, this segment is still young and it is not regulated and presents a lot of untapped opportunities. According to Chassang (2) Internet-media advertising market Forgot Moroccan / Internet media is now operated as Morocco with only 1.7% of advertising spending in 2011. This method of advertising though untapped has vast opportunities given that it has many advantages. , opening of great opportunities to advertisers the most bold. Compared to other forms of communication media, online marketing through internet has a variety of benefits to the advertisers and the targeted consumers. This communication tool is very convenient and it can be accessed by different people easily. The internet is instantaneous and it reaches a wide range of people. The other advantage of the internet is that it is cost effective and it allows a two way communication channel between the advertiser and the consumer. This method of communication has great potential if fully harnessed. Studies have shown that about twelve million Moroccans go online every day. Research has shown that there are no figures for advertising through cinemas in Morocco. This can be attributed to the fact that there are very few theatres operating in this particular country. Advertising content in Morocco Most advertisers choose to be conservative as they are afraid of conveying messages that are against the interests of the people. Religion in Morocco is Arabic and the citizens in this particular country follow the dictates of this particular type of religion. There are some aspects which are which are viewed as taboo in this particular country hence they are not included in the advertising content. The culture of the people in this country is responsible for shaping their behaviour and this goes on to include the advertisements they consume from the media. The advertisers in Morocco always want to play it safe as they are afraid that if they are over creative, the adverts can go against the interests of the people. A good example can be drawn from the print advert in Morocco which is shown below. People are allowed to advertise anything as long as it confines with the Arabic culture. Legal framework for advertising in Morocco The Arab culture is mainly conservative and this is the reason why the advertisers too are also conservative in their operations. It can therefore be seen that an element of culture has a bearing on the nature of the advertisements. Legal framework for advertising in Morocco The advertising sector lacks the legal framework that regulates the relationship between advertisers and communication companies, as well as the relationship between these groups mentioned and the state. In other words, there is no legislation that is concerned with imposing regulations of this particular sector, which may have an impact on its operations. It has also been observed by researchers that the number of communication companies is constantly improving and these need to be regulated in order to ensure that they comply with the standard expectations of the industry. The law is also expected to play a significant role in segmenting the market as well as giving a clear explanation of a communication firm. The mushrooming of communication firms is a cause for concern given that there are likely chances of other bogus actors in this sector who may take other people for granted while they are bent on getting money from unsuspecting people. Regulation of this particular industry is also important given that it is similar to other forms of industries. The policies of these advertising companies should comply with the legislation of the country in order to be able to control and monitor their operations. It becomes difficult to control such an industry in the absence of a legal framework. The other weakness of not having a regulatory framework is that it may be difficult for the government to control aspects such as the pricing system for the advertisements. This may result in other advertisers charging exorbitant prices for their services and products, which can negatively impact on the people who use these particular products. However, the Council for Responsible Advertising has been on the cards with the aim of regulating this particular sector. Recommendations From the findings of the report about advertising in Morocco, the following recommendations have been made: The legal framework, which guides the operations of the advertising firms in Morocco, should be reviewed in order to control the operations of the players involved in this sector. Failure to regulate their operations may result in lack of order of this particular sector of the economy. There is also need to empower local media given that international media carries the bulk of the advertisements. These may not appeal to the interests of the local people given that they are often designed using a different language. The Internet boom has dramatically changed the operations of various sectors of the economy across the spectrum. It is therefore recommended that advertising firms should utilize the Internet since it is effective in communication and it can also reach a wide range of people. Conclusion Over and above, it can be noted that advertising and promotion are considered as the most important elements of a business’s marketing communication strategy. It has also been seen that there are different tools of communication that can be used to reach various masses of consumers located in different places. The report specifically focused on advertising in Morocco and it found that television is the most popular communication tool that is used in this country for advertisements. However, the development of other communication media such as the internet is significantly gaining prominence and these can improve this sector if carefully harnessed. It has also been observed that the content of advertisements in this country is shaped by the Arabic culture which is conservative. The absence of a legal framework to control the advertising industry is a cause for concern in Morocco. It has therefore been recommended that the legal framework should be reviewed in this particular country in order to streamline the operations of different advertising agencies so that they comply with the set rules and regulations. Works cited Cant, Michael. Marketing Management, 4th Edition. CT: JUTA and Co Ltd, 2000. Print. Casablanca. http://www.hem.ac.ma/evenements-de-hem/autres-evenements-grand-public/la-publicite-au-maroc-quelles-tendances ND, Accessed, 13 May 2012. Chassang Mathieu, The advertising market in Morocco in 2011: characteristics and opportunities,http://www.marketing-au-maroc.com/, 2011, Accessed, 13 May 2012. Faisal Metaoui, Algiers,In the Maghreb, the market foradvertisingis mostly Moroccan, 14-03-2010. Kotler, Philip. Kotler on Marketing: How to create, win and dominate Markets, London: Free Press, 1999. Print. Lancaster, Reynolds. Introduction to Marketing: A step by step Guide to all the tools of Marketing, London: Kogan Page, 1998. Print. Oxford Business group.Media and advertising, The Report: Morocco 2011. http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/product/media-and-advertising-22 Accessed, 13 May, 2012. Pickton, Broderick. Integrated Marketing Communications. London: Pearson Education, 2005. Print. Rami, Aziz . MAP.Advertising in Morocco:embryonic but promising.http://www.yacout.info/Advertising-in-Morocco-embryonic-but-promising_a417.html, April 22, 2009, Accessed13 May, 2012. Strydom, Joanna. Marketing. 3rd Edition. CT: JUTA & Co Ltd, 2004. Print. Read More