Moet & Chandon - Integrated Marketing Communications - Essay Example

? Moet & Chandon -Integrated Marketing Communications Plan Moet & Chandon is a French winery and one of the most prominent producers of champagne. The company has been in existence for 268 years. It was started by Claude Moet as Moet et Cie (Moet & Co.) and has since changed its name following a series of acquisitions and mergers. At the moment, it has over a thousand hectares of vineyards, and has an annual production of about 26 million bottles of champagne. The company’s main products are Imperial, Rose Imperial, Nectar Imperial and Grand Vintage (Moet & Chandon). These are sold all over the world through company retail outlets, franchises and establishments in the hospitality, entertainment and sports industries. Over the years, the company has used brand ambassadors to popularize their champagne, with the current ambassador being the tennis icon, Roger Federer. However, the company has not realized its sales growth potential due to myriad factors including financial crises and growing competition. At times, there have been changes in the market that have presented the company with an opportunity to push its sales further. At the moment, the company hopes to maximize on the findings that “people are (beginning to become) fed up with austerity and are thus looking for indulgence. Indulgence represents a chance for wine makers and more so champagne makers’ such as Moet & Chandon in the UK. The focus here is to develop an integrated marketing communications plan that would help in capitalizing on the changing market orientation towards indulgence and thus offering a chance for Moet & Chandon to further grow in the UK market. The plan focuses on establishing a name, and placing Moet & Chandon at a competitive position within the next twelve months. Context Analysis-SWOT Analysis Strengths Moet & Chandon though a French company has made it to establish itself as a global company. This is evidenced by the availability of is famous champagne brands all across the globe. This is one of the company’s strengths and one that has helped in establishing the company as the market leaders in the champagne business, at the moment Moet & Chandon has claim to 25? of the global champagne market. The flagship luxury champagne brands are well established and easily identified. The company also benefits from a firm support. This support comes from independent parties within various retail segments who have over the years sold the company’s champagne as the ideal and most preferable and even classy champagne. The other strength is adapted product the company has made it to adapt its products to various consumer needs and this has informed its growth and preference by a huge and frequent number of champagne users all over the globe. Lastly, the company’s champagne has what can be referred to as a good health of luxury sector. The company’s champagne is identified as the mark of luxury and is a renowned accompaniment of luxurious events or experiences. This is particularly important as it epitomizes indulgence which has been identified as a trend in the near future. Weaknesses One of the weaknesses and one which is not unique to Moet & Chandon is that the production of champagne is dependent on seasons. There might be times when the market demand is high but the overall production is curtailed by the season dependent vineyards. The other weakness is that there is always a need to have a lot of stock, this is not easy and is in the long run very expensive. Lastly, there are fluctuations in the market demand (market volatility) meaning that there lacks consistency in sales (seasonality of sales). Opportunities Going forward, the company identifies a host of opportunities which would guarantee growth if at all the company develops a proper and realizable plan while taking advantage of its strengths. One of the opportunities is close relations with customers. This is a great opportunity as the company is able to fast introduce its products to customers who understand the company’s great feat and prowess in the winery filed. The next opportunity is potential in new countries which were traditionally not renowned for their indulgence such as China and the Korean market. These new markets present the company with a chance to expand sales. The last opportunity is a policy of environment production winery is a largely environmental friendly business. One concerned with the weather patterns and one that seeks to ensure environmental friendly productions means. Thus as countries show great leniency to environment friendly means of production it is likely that the company will benefit at the expense of other alcohol producers who employ aggressive means of production. Threats Businesses in the luxury market are largely susceptible to economic fluctuations as consumers always find it easy to do away with luxurious products and concentrate on basics as a means of cutting cost (austerity measures). This depicts the champagne business as one faced with a volatile demand. The other threat is the aging brand image. This maybe a threat as the emerging markets (as represented by younger people) may want to use products associated with their generation as they want to feel a difference between their parents’ indulgence and their preferred way of indulging. The last threat is over representation of the brand. At the moment, Moet & Chandon faces competition from Veuve Cliquot (LVMH), Remy Cointreau, Boizel Chanoione Champagne and Mumm. Plan Summary of Context Analysis Following the context analysis, it is possible to establish that Moet & Chandon is the most prominent champagne maker in the world. The four flagship products are widely stocked and are easily identifiable among frequent champagne users. Al the same, the company is faced with a need to rejuvenate its aging brand. It is also crucial for the company to establish a way of cautioning itself against demand volatility. Perhaps the best way to achieve this is by maximizing on the market opportunities. This will ensure that the company posts adequate sales when the economic situation is favorable. This is important as the company cannot control the economic cycles. One way of maximizing on the market opportunities is adequate preparation in terms of production, sales activity and brand awareness every time there is a perceived opportunity, such as the current situation in the UK market. Communications Objectives The plan focuses on achieving for objectives within the one year (twelve months). The first objective is to create brand awareness, even though Moet & Chandon is quite an established brand it is important to rejuvenate the brand and ensure it stays as fresh in the consumers mind. Two important aspects of brand awareness are brand recall and brand recognition (Fill, 2009.p.35). Brand recall defines the consumer’s ability to retrieve the brand from their memory. Brand recognition represents the consumer’s ability to confirm a brand before exposure. Meaning they are able to recognize whether a brand is a new brand they have not seen before or an old brand they have not seen before (Egan, 2007.p.79). Brand awareness is important given the growing activity by the company’s main competitors who are also keen in capitalizing on the changing spending habit (austerity to indulgence). The second objective is building brand image, a company’s brand image is represented by consumer’s perceptions of a brand. The idea in building a brand image is to develop a favorable perception one that prompts consumer’s to opt for Moet & Chandon’s champagne every time they think of indulgence. The third communications objective is enhancing attitudes and influencing intentions. The UK market is one of the traditional wine markets and thus the acceptance of wine as part and parcel of daily lives and as a symbol of jubilation is wide. However, within the UK market there are people whether immigrants or people of diverse beliefs who still consider wine as a typical alcoholic drink such as a beer or liquor. This has negatively affected their attitude towards champagne. To this group of people the communications plan seeks to distinguish between these classes of alcoholic drinks with champagne, most importantly it aims at marketing champagne as a celebratory and functional drink. In regard to influencing intentions, the communication plan hopes to prompt purchases of champagne by influencing people seeking to indulge to buy Moet & Chandon champagne as opposed to other champagnes or other alcoholic drinks. This plan will majorly rely on product advertising which is a non-personal method of selling goods or services. The chosen method will bear in mind the product life cycle, mainly the fact that Moet & Chandon champagnes have been in the market for a while and are largely in the maturity stage. Given this fact, the plan will rely on persuasive advertising, comparative advertising and reminder-oriented advertising. Persuasive advertising is considered the best method in improving the competitive nature of a product. It is preferred for products already in the maturity stage of the product life cycle, as most of the Moet& Chandon’s champagnes are at the moment. It is expected to leap from a product’s longstanding status and the created brand awareness (Ferrell & Hartline, 2011.p.172). In any case, it pushes a brand further so that people who still do not recognize it can further develop their knowledge on the brand. Even though persuasive advertising, just like the name suggests, is intent in getting people to trust and stick by the product it also creates brand awareness. The most effective form of persuasive advertising is comparative advertising. Comparative advertising makes direct comparisons with competitive products. Over the years, comparative advertising has been used to great effect. An example of the most effective application was in advertising Pepsi-Cola. Blind folded people were asked to taste Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola. The majority of these people chose Pepsi-Cola as the true and distinctive Cola taste. Even though Coca-Cola still remains the brand to beat in the soft-drink market, the Pepsi Challenge helped in pushing sales to a great level. Such a concept can be employed in advertising Moet & Chandon champagnes. A champagne challenge where people taste champagnes from different competitors’ and ultimately choose the Moet & Chandon champagne would be effective in underlining the supremacy, distinctiveness and true taste of champagne. A similar concept can further be used in people who are celebrating, these would be served with different champagnes, the idea would be to show that those who were served with Moet & Chandon champagne had the ultimate experience and their celebrations cannot be matched. Such forms of advertising would help capitalize on the anticipated demand. The good thing with advertising is that it jointly creates brand awareness and build band image (Fill, 2009.p.710). Notably, these were the two most prominent communication objectives. Additionally, inclusion of themes relating to champagne as the ultimate mark of celebration also helps enhance attitudes and influence intentions, which were yet another communication objective. The last form of advertising is reminder oriented advertising this is another effective approach in creating brand awareness as it attempts to keep a product’s name in front of the consumer. It is also fashioned to constantly remind consumers of the value or importance of a product in their activities, in this case, Moet & Chandon champagne can be advertised as a must have in every functions or celebration. Such is a reminder of the importance of the particular champagne in ensuring utmost celebration. Communications Mix Given the promotional strategy, it is important to have a mix that incorporates the visual as well as the print aspects of the advertisements. One of the most critical considerations is the market segment. Champagne users are mostly in the upper middle class and upper class segments. Therefore, it might not be as effective employing media such as newspapers and radio (Egan, 2007.p.149). It is obvious that these have a greater reach but do not necessarily deliver tailored messages for the aforementioned segment who obviously want to be distinguished from the rest. This leaves magazines, television and internet as the most preferred means. Starting with magazines, there are different magazines designed for different audiences (Egan, 2007.p.337). There are magazines tailored for the corporate world, celebrities, entertainment and sports. This communication plan intends to capitalize on these magazines this is because their specific audiences largely represent the population that frequently uses champagne. This is because they have events every now and then, they understand the essence of celebration and most importantly they can afford to be indulgent. The idea here is that when the growing population or the population which is fast becoming fed up with austerity seeks indulgence they will emulate or copy the ways adopted by the affluent class. This will mean using the same products, spending time in defined locations and in overall adopting the lifestyle led by the affluent class. Therefore, by ensuring the products presence among the upper middle and upper class segments the company will be heightening chances of continued adaptation by those joining this segment. Televisions avail the best platform to air comparative advertising. As discussed under promotional strategy, this will be one of the most preferred means of advertising (Koekemoer & Bird, 2004.p.11). By properly timing these advertisements and choosing the best channels the targeted audience can be reached and the intended perception created. The last tactic is increased internet presence. A look through the current strategy indicates the continued reliance on social media (Facebook and Twitter) and the company’s websites. These are effective, especially for people who recognize the brand or the company. However, in the current state the reach is minimal. There is need to increase the company’s presence in the internet, it is not enough to have a Moet & Chandon page in Facebook or a Twitter handle in Twitter. The company needs to incorporate an interactive forum, where it involves the consumers, asks for their opinions and at the same time affiliates the page to the main website. Engaging consumers allows them to like, comment and share. These are important aspects of Facebook marketing as they expose the page to a large audience this is because every time a consumer does any of the above it is exposed to the friends and so on. Consequently, requiring the brand ambassadors to participate in these forums also helps as these are renowned people (like the current one, Roger Federer) and they come with a host of other admirers who also increase the activity. Additionally, having a Youtube account through which the company can upload advertisements, recorded experiences and positive opinions. These would also help in pushing the product and appealing to the new users of champagne. This would help users associate champagne with Moet & Chandon even though other wineries exist. Implementation Plan This plan will first be communicated to the marketing department. These will engage and hopefully add to the plan dependent on their past experiences and any other new developments in the wine market. Following this, the plan will be presented to the senior management for approval and to ensure the appropriate budgetary allocations are made. At this point, the marketing department would be required to have in place a team that will monitor market progress, coordinate promotional activity and engage with the media people. The team will involve all the concerned departments, the marketing department, IT personnel, the finance department, legal personnel and PR individuals (Ferrell & Hartline, 2011.p.322). This is intended to make sure that all the core elements of the plan are implemented. The team will also engage with other agencies, such as advertisement agencies that will be responsible for shooting advertisements which have been identified as a major part of this plan. The intention here is to ensure that the envisioned elements are all presents and that these advertisements create the necessary perception and properly present the brand. Once these are set, the developmental team will assume a monitoring role to ensure that the plan unveils as intended and that all the activities are properly coordinated. Activity Plan Presentation Deliberations/Engagement with the marketing team Budgeting Engagement with the senior managers Constitution of the developmental team Engagement with agencies Actual implementation Monitoring Time 1 week 1 month 1-2 Weeks 1 week 1 week 2 Months 2 Months 6 Months NB: Actual implementation involves contact with magazines and television as well as instituting necessary changes in the internet (company website, Youtube and Social media). This will start with adapting the company website, developing presence in the social media, developing material for publishing in the company Youtube account and linking these to the company website. The last tactic will be running advertisements in magazines and televisions. Budget The necessary budget will be aimed at sustaining the teams, shooting the advertisements, running these advertisements in selected media, and paying for website modifications. Budgetary Item Cost in ? (000) sustaining the teams (overtime & extra allowances) 2,000 Agency consultations 1500 Shooting and designing advertisements 5,500 Running advertisements (Media costs) 25,000 Website modifications & Internet consultations 10 Total 34,010 Control and Measurement Control and monitoring will be handled by the developmental team. This team will ensure the tactics are employed as envisioned, the budget is controlled and the agencies and the media carry out their activities as agreed. In terms of measurement, progress will be measured by the number of inquiries handled by the sales department. The second measure will be by the number of clicks on the company website. These can be easily determined as the website can be designed to take count of the number of times consumers have logged in. In this regard, Facebook also becomes a critical aspect. Facebook provides statistics such as the activity within the company’s site/page, by tallying the “likes”, and demographics. Statistics gathered by Facebook include, the number of views, the number of unique views, as well as the number of people who looked through the page content such as the posted photos, videos and audios. Facebook also allows one to track a page’s stickiness (stickiness measures popularity). A page is considered sticky if there is a greater gap between the number of daily logged-in view and unique views. This signifies that the page is generating a lot of traffic and thence more popular. Bibliography Egan, J. (2007). Marketing Communications. London, Thomson Learning. Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. D. (2011). Marketing strategy. Australia, South-Western Cengage Learning. Fill, C. (2009) Marketing Communications – Interactivity, Communities and Content 5th Ed. FT Prentice Hall Hackley, C. (2005). Advertising and Promotion: Communicating Brands, London: Sage. Koekemoer, L., & Bird, S. (2004). Marketing communications. Lansdowne, South Africa, Juta Academic. Moet & Chandon. (2012). 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