Integrated Marketing Communication at Volvo - Assignment Example

? Context Analysis and IMC Recommendation Table of Contents PART-A 3 Introduction 3 SWOT analysis for VOLVO MOVE 4 Integrated Marketing Communication(IMC) 5 Target Customer for VOLVO MOVE 5 Selection of IMC Technique 6 Conclusion 7 Works Cited 8 PART-B 8 Introduction 8 Brief Description about the Store 9 SWOT Analysis for the Cornish pasty Shop 9 Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) 10 Target Customer for the pasty shop 10 Selection of IMC Technique 11 Conclusion 12 Works Cited 13 PART-A Introduction Swedish car giant VOLVO has recently launched their new car MOVE. VOLVO MOVE is a multi purpose vehicle (MPV). The purpose of the report is to demonstrate how VOLVO can generate awareness among the target customers for taking a test drive. VOLVO is trying to create awareness by means of using various marketing communication techniques. Mainly Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) technique will be used to serve the purpose. Different techniques of marketing communication can be used by VOLVO, but selecting a communication strategy which has right blend of clarity, large communication impact and consistency can be a challenging task. The next half of the project will discuss about the features of the product. VOLVO MOVE is a seven-sitter MPV which has already won NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) status according to European safety standard. Fuel consumption rate is very low for this car and applications like satellite navigation and park assist facilities are also offered along with their standard model. Moreover, the product is also priced at an affordable rate of ?24, 995. VOLVO has also successfully positioned itself as a car that offers safety and durability to the customers. SWOT analysis for VOLVO MOVE Strength VOLVO is perceived as a reliable and durable brand that manufactures durable cars. The company gives high value for safety and. Likewise in the process of manufacturing MOVE; the company has implemented all such measures. VOLVO has already created a group of customers who strive for safety and in the same way their new product can target the families and elderly people. Weakness Factor like traditional design can create a negative image in the mind young people and unknowingly VOLVO is de-marketing their product for their target young customer (D'Amico, “Demarketing e turismo sostenibile”). VOLVO lacks the technology to design stylish cars which is the reason why they cannot compete with the car brands like BMW, Cadillac and Lexus in terms of style quotient. Opportunity VOLVO MOVE can change its marketing strategy by using social media marketing to fulfil the primary intention of spreading their message for test driving. VOLVO MOVE can enhance technical features along with better design. VOLVO can use their previously satisfied customer groups to generate word of mouth promotion via online social interaction. Threat VOLVO is not a premium car brand and rather it competes with car brands like Infinity, Lexus and others. VOLVO MOVE has to change their marketing communication strategy constantly otherwise their competitor can copy their move. VOLVO MOVE needs to improve their research and development program on a regular basis to match with customer’s requirement. There is a threat for the car brand in the form of its old fashioned design. However it needs to change with respect to time. Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) IMC is a strategic marketing communication technique and it represents four types of marketing communication modes. 1. General Advertising-General Advertising creates awareness about the brand and provides information to customers about different aspects and applications of the product. 2. Direct Marketing- This is an approach to create relationship with customers and delivering information about products to the customers. Direct marketing also helps to close sales cycle in a structured manner. 3. Sales Promotion-It is not a long term process. Incentives are there for both consumers and traders. 4. Public Relation- Companies can go for organizing public events or news paper editorial about their new product (Jones, “Creative Strategy in Integrated Marketing Communications”). Target Customer for VOLVO MOVE Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) is mainly used for three major purposes by the consumers. 1. Transport goods and people from one place to another place. Normally families use MPV in this manner. 2. MPV can be used to transport goods on a contract basis. Revenue from this type of transportation is calculated on per kilometre distance travelled. 3. Young and adventurous people use MPV as style quotient. Young people can use MPV in a two way approach. A-Personal Vehicle and B-Family Vehicle. VOLVO MOVE can target young peoples and also families with large number of members for test drive season. Safety is an issue for families and style is another issue for young peoples and both of the requirements can be satisfied by VOLVO MOVE. Selection of IMC Technique VOLVO MOVE will face a complex situation to select right communication strategy for their target customers. Right strategy for VOLVO will be to select General Advertising to create awareness for test drive. There are two reasons for that, 1. General Advertising through Television commercials and also below the line promotion can create awareness among huge number of potential customers. Other modes (direct marketing, sales promotion, and public relation) of IMC cannot create such an impact. 2. VOLVO is already using social media as advertising platform. In 2011 the car company launched ‘A Way of Life’ campaign via social media and it has positioned VOLVO as a brand which can deliver a sheer driving experience. VOLVO MOVE can position itself as technologically superior car with elegant design. Social media marketing is required to capture the attention of youth. Facebook and other social networking sites give ample opportunity to promote any brand in a creative manner. VOLVO will not get this kind of facilities like promoting their brand in a creative manner in the available three types of IMC techniques (Zi Liang, “Transformation Happens”). Conclusion VOLVO has to change their communication strategy if they want to reposition their brand as youth oriented and flexible. Marketing strategy for VOLVO MOVE needs to be stable and well balanced with respect to IMC promotional mix. Works Cited D'Amico, Augusto. “Demarketing e Turismo Sostenibile.” Econpapers, n.p., 2007. Web. 09 Aug. 2012. Jones, Susan. “Creative Strategy in Integrated Marketing Communications.” The-Dma, n.p., n.d. Web. 09 Aug. 2012. Zi Liang, Lexie. “Transformation Happens: Volvo (U.S) Social Media Marketing Proposal-2011.” Newmediadl, n.p., n.d. Web. 09 Aug. 2012. PART-B Introduction The primary objective of the report is to find out a suitable communication strategy that will create awareness about a store, serving Cornish pasty for its customer. This shop is not a big one and for this reasons a sound communication strategy will be developed to create awareness and to be specific with the objectives (Carlson, “Cornish Pasty Co”). Brief Description about the Store It is a shop which specializes in Cornish pasty. Location of the shop is in Fishergate near Preston. This shop serves Cornish pasty in two ways: 1-Customers can take pasty for their home through the parcel system and 2- Customers can have pasties inside the shop. The shop serves vegetarian pasties for their customers. SWOT Analysis for the Cornish pasty Shop Strength This pasty shop is focused about their offering and they can easily position themselves as food station for Cornish pasty loving customers. They have already segmented their customer as ‘vegetarian Cornish pasty loving customer’ and in future they can increase their target market by offering variants of Cornish pasty. Smart marketing strategy like segmenting market will helps to develop their brand value in the mind of customer. Weakness This pasty shop will face negative effect of too much segmenting. They may have created a market for Cornish pasty loving customers but the consumers who look for pasties with different taste might find it irrelevant. Service offered by them has limitation in terms of variety and space. They don’t have large space for customers who want take food inside the shop and it can create a bad word of mouth about their service. Opportunity Food business always has scope for creativity in terms of aesthetics, service and types of menu offered. This pasty shop can create a whole new range of food items (like non-vegetarian pasties, pasties other than Cornish pasty) in near future to enhance their market offering. They need to increase floor space to accommodate more number of customers inside the shop. They can outdo their competitors by maintaining their service at a superior level. Threats New competitors may arrive in the scenario with better products for the customers of Cornish pasty. This pasty shop which is located in Preston might face competitions from local pasty makers. Customer’s preference for Cornish pasty might change in future due to change in lifestyle. Substitutes of pasty may appear in future and also the shop needs to change their market offering regularly to satisfy customer’s taste bud on a continuous interval (Samarfield, “SWOT Analysis: An Important Tool for Strategic Planning”. Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) IMC is a strategic technique in the field of marketing communication. Four main elements for IMC are general advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion and public relation. Main objective for IMC is to create a concise and clear message (about products, company or simply to create awareness) for target customers. In today’s market scenario, companies use 360 degree promotional approaches which include digital medium, electronic medium, and social networking medium, below the line promotional activities (Gupta and Vadera, “Importance of Integrated Marketing Communication System for Enhancing Business Prospects”). Target Customer for the pasty shop This pasty has local presence in Preston. They have created a niche market for local Cornish pasty lovers. Target customers for the pasty shop can be sub divided into three parts. 1. Customers who like vegetarian pasty and loyal customers who like to eat pasties from the shop. This pasty shop has to create a good reputation for their service in Preston. 2. Couples who want to enjoy pasties in small shop and also families with three to four members who want enjoy food inside the shop. Sometimes few wandering customers can be turned into potential buyer. Pasty shop can target these wandering customers. 3. Students of local school and colleges can be a target group. Sometimes students visit food store to hang out with their friends and that pasty shop can target these types of potential customers. Selection of IMC Technique Selecting marketing communication strategy to create awareness about a local pasty shop is much of a challenging task mainly for two reasons, A- Financial resources are limited and presence of the shop is not widely known. B-Target market for the shop is small in contrast to large food chains. Sales promotion can be an ideal communication strategy for the pasty shop to create awareness among customers. Sales promotion can be done by creating point of sales display and also arranging kiosks inside locality. Starbucks spends more money on training staff rather than on advertising. A trained staff can easily satisfy an incoming customer by providing good service. A satisfied customer can produce large number of potential buyers through good word of mouth. This pasty shop can distribute free movie ticket for their every hundredth customer. Promotional kiosks should be strategically placed in near colleges and schools. IMC promotional mix like sales promotion has three benefits. a) Organisations do not need to spend huge money on promotional activity, b) Impact and reach of the promotional message can be measured easily, and c) Real time result (like increase of footfalls in the shop, daily sales volume, word of mouth) can be achieved within a short time period. This pasty shop cannot afford promotional cost (like cost incurred for television commercial and newspaper editorial) at the current situation mainly for two reasons. a) target market for the shop is small and this small customer group can be easily catered by activities like sales promotion, b) Cornish pasty shop is not a large firm which can afford to spend large amount of money on general advertising model. Conclusion Pasty shop in the above mentioned case need to select communication strategy to create awareness on the basis of their financial resource, local presence and target market. Success of the shop finally depends on three things, Q- quality of the food, S-Service offered to customers, P-reasonable pricing of food items. Works Cited Carlson, Steve. “Cornish Pasty Co.” Vegguide, n.p., 2005. Web. 09 Aug. 2012. Gupta, R.P. and Shaili Vadera. “Importance of Integrated Marketing Communication System for Enhancing Business Prospects.” Smeworld, n.p., 2011. Web. 09. Aug2012. Samarfield, David. “SWOT Analysis: An Important Tool for Strategic Planning.” Improveframework, n.p., 2007. Web. 09 Aug. 2012. Read More