Marketing Planning and Promotion - Essay Example

Marketing Planning and Promotion Marketing plan describes a written manuscript whose purpose is to illustrate the prevailing market stand of a business together with its marketing stratagem within the period roofed by the marketing plan. The life of a marketing plan is probably one to five years. Promotion is part of a marketing plan whereby it describes how a business will deliver its unique selling proposition to its prospective clients. Many different promotion avenues are available to a business however, what differentiates a successful and a failed promotion plan is focus. Focus provides businesses with the main and unique selling proposition that enables marketing planning to target the prospective audience. According to Barney Jopson, recession affects mostly the middle tier businesses. Therefore, this paper will seek to examine critically the current value of middle market brand and provide carefully argued recommendations about how to improve their prospects (Jopson, 2011). During the financial crisis people in the west made changes in their shopping system. Some of them believed it was an emergency response to the prevailing hard economic times whereas others reacted due to anticipated fear of it. Financial institutions have been able to bounce back from difficult economic times however; people’s habits of shopping have not yet shown signs of complete reverse to the previous ways. As such, Jopson, in his article believes that this trend is causing the middle market fashion a big deal of difficulty to handle. Following the financial hard times, most of the American and European shoppers started directing most of their expenditure at the opposite side of the retail scale. This happened because, shoppers wanted to scavenge for the lowest-prices which were available on the other end of retailers. This meant that they were able to save adequately in order to go on with splashing out on the odd lavishness (Jopson, 2011). With this respect, Barney analyzed the current value of the middle market brand as undergoing hard financial times since, as elaborated in this paragraph; shoppers are spending much on lower retail spectrum thus depriving the middle brands of their market share. Having lost market to the lower retail spectrum, middle market brands continue to record figures of wilting sales due to the crude version of financial difficulties. Nevertheless, middle market brands have depicted one fine distinction in the past three years that this category has become curiously compelling zone for ultra-hip designers. They have been able to launch what they particularly call diffusion lines by shedding prejudices as well as inhibitions. As a result, they have made middle market brands more affordable, off the rack and wear products through their so-called diffusion. With reference to Barney’s literature, the president of Loeb Associates and a veteran retail consultant Walter Loeb puts across that middle market brands are doing bridging lines because of the fact that their prospective clientele is in a saving frame of mind and hiking prices is unreasonable. The analytical sense derived from this middle market practice is that these companies want to improve the underlying system of communicating with their customers. By so doing they stand to risk big time because they might end up diluting their core brand and shoppers may end up perceiving them as dumping down. Nonetheless, for the middle industry intellectuals, this move is comprehensively tacit since it is an alternative way of extracting new revenue torrent out of the already established investment brand. By engaging in bridging lines, middle market brands are reaping benefits form the investments made while establishing and broadcasting the distinctiveness and fascination of this core brand. As a theoretical and practical method of improving customer relations, middle market brands are using influential broadcasting channels that are premiering attraction and appeal for this new core brand (Jopson, 2011). Consequently, diffusion lines have been a success story however mixed with utter reaction from different people. The number of brands practicing the diffusion lines depict it is a strategy worth trying. Generally, luxurious businesses will automatically have a higher margin of sell through compared to their parent brands, said Mr. Loeb. He meant that most of luxury businesses would sell most of their merchandise even prior they necessarily resort to the end of season price reductions. According to Barney’s analysis, this depicts luxury business blight. Some designers from the United Kingdom whom included Mathew Williamson projected bigger sales in their new brand. He has a bright trademark, which is femininely apparel and launched a diffusion line in the beginning of 2012 where he sees his brand growing three of four times greater compared to the core one. This stratagem enacted by middle market intellectuals is sealing them a greater deal of revenue as well as improving their customer relations since providing products that are affordable to their prospective customers they are infusing successful in this brand. The middle market brands are using promotional policies that are in a way uncoordinated but if made to interact they can achieve effectiveness. For instance, Mathew Williamson is using departmental stores to promote his new diffused line. Believably, if William could integrate this formula with other methods of promotion such as broadcasting, door to door, putting the line on billboards, and magazines, the results that could be realized from integrated promotion method would be tremendous. Cognitively, it is advantageous because the pioneers of diffusion brands are aggressive individuals who quill or stand up at any comparison to the fast and cheap chic fashion of competitive firms such as Maritz and Zara. Middle market brands use diffusion lines to portray that this new brand is a step-up in quality. Actually, it is entering a segment of market where most insiders of fashion nickname affordable luxury. Middle market brand can trace its roots from far where it was a no man’s land to already crowded segment of business where its designers count it as their hub market. Such brands include Coach Handbag brand and Victoria’s Secret lingerie. In spite of some fared effect in this line of brand, shake ups exist on daily bases. Even though indigenous brands have fared best in post crisis and appear as specialist who are able to keep on refreshing their line-ups, the slower moving generalists on the other end are the major victims of abandonment within the middle market. In fact, Barney found it worth noting that diffusion lines have within the market for not less than twenty years. Therefore, it seems that the promotion policies initiated by middle market brands while creating uniqueness of their diffusion lines do not have impact on their prospective shoppers. Subsequently, middle market brands need to test the face of diffusion lines by allowing this brand to tap into its prestige without getting close to its core brand (Jopson, 2011). Failure to adhere to promotional policy integration, diffusion lines of the middle market brand will remain a general slow mover. Probably, all middle market brands should follow the steps of Giorgio Armani & Dolce and Gabbana who ideally conduct an exchange program called Armani Exchange aimed at exchanging predates. Additionally, middle tiers face difficulties during financial crisis most of them stay close to their core brands with the view of tapping into their prestige but end up getting things muddled for their selves. For example, the natural abbreviation of Dolce and Gabbana to D&G caused an endless confusion. This brand continues to confuse its prospective clients perpetually since it is close to its core brand. Most people find it hard to distinguish it hence end up being skeptical about. As a result, it does not sell to its maximum thus adding on to the problems faced by middle market brands. Furthermore, according to Barney’s text middle market brands face it hard during recession since their brand has limits. Middle tiers encounter the extreme of giving their diffusion lines a name that is utterly different from the core. The managing partner of Schmoozy Fox Olga Slavkina expressed skepticism regarding the merits associated with giving a diffusion line different name that does not closely relate to its core brand. What she means is that is hazardous to give a diffusion line a name completely different from the main brand since its such a big effort that middle tiers cannot afford. Obviously, there are some middle market brands, which will survive the 2012 financial crisis. However, on the other end, there are others whose termination is inevitable. Thereby, those who generate tremendous revenues will fly through and will absolutely pose serious challenges to those brands that gave birth to them. This highlights that there will be some parent brands that will not seal through 2012 financial difficulties. Those middle tiers who will fly through will moreover raise complex questions about whether the executive balance of power within the luxury corporations should consider lying with the brand guardians or with the operations that are transforming them into cash flow. This depicts that, besides fighting through a financial turmoil, there will still be questions regarding middle tier existence and the challenges it poses on its guardian brand. Organization of the various constituents of promotion policies can result to maximum effectiveness if well integrated. The reality is middle market brands require a business promotion model that is suitable in attaining maximum effectiveness. They should keep off races of innovation that creep with elegance and sophistication whose goods are expensive. Instead, they should resolve to simple innovations that enable designing of products that match their specific market. In so doing, the products can attain market flow by finding support to additional markets wherever they appear (Jopson, 2011). Investing in middle market brands with congruent promotion policies of approaching markets can revolutionize customer’s insights into buying middle tier products thus attaining success in this diffused line. The nature of middle market brands is changing due to manufacturing footprints that are likely to expand diffusion lines. In the lower part of market, the process of manufacturing may find it vital to design products to emphasize on volume and efficiency when it comes to customization. Far back along the chain, suppliers will attain rewards for minimizing on complexity as well as meeting the cost and value of expectations of middle market customers. Moreover, market planning will resolve to identify markets suitable for middle tiers and achieve intimate level of understanding different customer segments. This will help craft effective communication methods essential for tailoring value propositions that do not undermine more expensive offerings provided they bear the same brand name. Attaining right sized policies for promotion will entail of market approaches that keep costs low. Low cost will attract more investments as well as more market for diffusion lines. Thus, market executives dealing with middle market brands should bear in mind that it might require a conventional change of customer mind-set in order to tap into the top of global middle market effectively. It will also require academic underpinning of customer communication in order to change their behavior if middle tiers have to achieve market nature and environmental change. Currently, the most successful middle market brands are establishing new business units that are congruent and in line with the prevailing market trend. They are rethinking their decisions in the right way and manner hence giving their customers freedom of choice. In return, they are getting financial gains, developing talent required at such times of financial difficulties, and running their businesses at a risky but entrepreneurial environment. This depicts that the opportunities available for the middle market brands are worth the concerted efforts. Relating changes in the environment to changes in consumer behavior, this paper can argue that it is not too late to change consumer’s minds. Competition is at its peak and global aspirants, local upstarts, as well as multinational incumbents are taking place at variable speeds within different middle market firms. Some of them are at saturation point with their competitors. For middle market brands to achieve transformed consumer behavior in the same market environment, they should ensure a win of big share over the up starting and existing middle market opportunities and strive to defend them even in the future as recession does not occur just once. The fact is middle tiers will make fortunes and others will lose as this will depend on timeliness of firm’s entry into the middle market. The changes in middle market environment are influencing customer behavior as competition enters the middle tier’s homes during hard economic times. As Barney describes, these middle tiers are finding it very hard to adjust to difficult financial times. However, as this paper explains, when they do they appear competitive enough to withstand hard economic times anticipated to befall 2012. In summary, apart from customer’s behavior, some middle market brands believe that they cannot make money in emerging economies during hard economic times. As surprising a sit may be, the hard reality is making money out of emerging middle markets is almost impossible. This is because, generating income in developing middle markets is hard as opposed to making money in already developed middle markets, which are usually, priced beyond fifty percent (Jopson, 2011). Therefore, in order to change the mind-set of middle tiers customers, it is important for these brands to capability of addressing consumers’ profitability in middle market segment because this is the common ground where luxury businesses acquire their initial foothold. In addition, the cost of manufacturing diffusion lines tends to be always lower in middle market environment therefore in order to improve the current consumer practices it is vital to relate their behavior and environment. This paper has presented recommendations with premium features and benefit to middle market brands. Bibliography Jopson, B., 2011 (6). Middle market: second-tier brands tap into straitened times. Retrieved from http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a6e386fe-8dad-11e0-a0c4-00144feab49a.html#axzz1qy6Dnjcp on April 3, 2012. Read More