Advertising and Promotion - The Purpose of Brands and Branding - Essay Example

?Running Head: Advertising and promotion Advertising and promotion Advertising and promotion Part One Section A: Brands and branding The main purpose of branding is to convince customers in to choosing the company’s brand over other brands which makes that brand stand out from other brands. Branding informs customers on what to expect form the brands and ensures that brands are fully differentiated from those of the competitors and also increases the level of customer loyalty (Clifton, 2010). Branding helps to connect the brand with consumers, and this is done through the creation and identification of unique brand name, logo, typeface, slogan and the design of that the company which owns the brand. Different brands are differentiated by the creation of unique brand logos, brand names, brand values and brand designs as well as typefaces. The first step towards development of a brand is the assessment of the business, how it operates, and the kind of messages to be sent to the consumers. The company should work out its product competencies, assess the existing and potential customer, and find out the feeling of the customers about the brands after which the company considers the development of a new brand within its current customer perception. This is then followed by putting all elements together and creation of the brand (Clifton, 2010). A good example is Reebok from Adidas Group and Jordan Brand from Nike Inc, both which are sports wear brands. Creation of the Reebok brand was inspired by its fitness and its commitment to consumers by empowering them to be fit for life. The success of this product is based on its courage to challenge convention in innovative products development and in the creation of new markets. The Reebok brand comes with different designs, color and strap lines. Despite of these different designs, the brand is highly differentiated with features which persuade customers to love it and even come more loyal to the brand. The Reebok brand and the entire Adidas Group are highly focused on the environment as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility. The company has developed an effective strategy to manage environmental impacts and risks from its brands, and this has promoted its brands value. The creation of Jordan Brand from Nike Inc was inspired by the dynamic legacy, vision and the direct involvement of Michael Jordan. The brand comprises of apparel, footwear and accessories. The creation of the brand was based on the assessment of the existing and the potential customers and the definition of the core competencies of the company. Different brand design, color, different brand names under the shelter of Jordan Brand and strap lines are parts of the Jordan Brand and its different images. The different designs of the Jordan Brand attract different consumers depending on their needs. With the use of different designs, the company is able to persuade different customers to love and like the brand and even increase brand loyalty. The brand values of Jordan Brand are indicated by its Corporate Social Responsibility towards investing in the community in sectors like creativity, sport and education. The engagement of the Jordan Brand in the community has mad the brand to remain active in the market as it has promoted the brand value. Section B: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Market segmentation is the process of subdividing the larger market into segments with similar wants, needs and market characteristics. It involves the identification of market portion which are distinct from each other in order to better satisfy all the needs of the consumers. Market segmentation can be achieved by dividing the market geographically, demographically, in terms of their behavior and psychology (Cant, Strydom and Jooste, 2009). Targeting is the process of selecting a certain group in the market in which the company intends to focus its advertising efforts. Targeting can also refer to a group of like minded individuals who are inclined towards similar products and who respond to similar promotional schemes and marketing techniques. Targeting can be achieved by first understanding the market in terms of its needs. The basis for the target market marketing depends on gender, age, needs, occupation, geographic location and interests (Charles, Hair and McDaniel, 2011). Market positioning refers to the efforts of influencing the perception of the consumers towards a certain brand relative to other competing brands. Positioning is also referred to as the manipulation of a brand in order to crate a positive perception in the market. Market positioning can be achieved by the development of a positioning strategy which distinguishes the company brands from those of the competitors (Cant, Strydom and Jooste, 2009). This will ensure that a picture of the brands is created in the minds of the consumers after which the marketer/company strives to create a first impression of the products in the consumer’s minds. Demographic date, geo-demographic data and psychographic data are used in targeting to create a group in highly differentiated markets. Demographic data includes data on age, gender, religion, family size, income, occupation, generation and social class. For example, a brand may choose to target students wanting a certain type of mobile tariff. The location of the stated students represents that geo-demographic data. The marketer will able to meet the needs of those students if they are living in a certain locality (Cant, Strydom and Jooste, 2009). Young mothers with young babies or toddlers are defined market for targeting. Homeowners who are looking for a certain type of mortgage or the over 50 years of age Saga type individuals indicates the social class variable of the demographic targeting. It also represents psychographic data which the company can use to target the market depending on the consumers lifestyles. The use of this data on age will be useful as the relevant organizations will be able to determine the kind of strategy to use in promoting their products to the target market (Charles, Hair and McDaniel, 2011). Perceptions of quality of a product versus the price of the product in the market are quite significant in market positioning. The pricing strategy used in the market has high implications on market positioning as it influences the brand perception. Premium pricing is where an organization uses a unique brand in a market where it enjoys a competitive advantage. In this case, the organization is safe in the fact that they can charge a higher price for the products. A good example is luxuries hotels and holiday places like Disneyland. When the price of the products and services is high, brand perception increases (Charles, Hair and McDaniel, 2011). High price reflects the products exclusiveness which then attracts large numbers of customers. Economy pricing is where all the costs used in the promotion of a product are kept minimal. This pricing strategy is helpful in creating a brand perception in the market for new products and helps to attract customers. The middle pricing strategy is where prices of products and services are set a low point in order to gain a market share after which the prices are increased. This has a positive impact on brand perception. Once the organization attains large number of subscribers, the prices increase. Part Two- Section C: Marketing Communications (Advertising & Promotion) Task A In the launching of a new environmentally friendly car, it would be recommendable to use advertising as the marketing communication campaign. Advertising is a mass media approach which is used in promotion and brand awareness (John, 2007). It would also be recommendable to use Television, magazines and newspapers as the media of advertising for the launch of the product. For a high campaign budget of ?45million, it would be recommendable to use Television ads. Market targeting is evident in this case and it is only the high class people; people who are able to afford the launched car to be launched are targeted. The budget set aside for advertisements depends on the media to be used. The higher the cost of advertisements, the higher is the efficiency. The use of television ads though expensive will ensure that the message reaches the target individuals. The use of TV ads will also help the company to acquire a mass coverage in UK for their new flagship brands of hybrid car given that television are owned all over. However, a mix of marketing communication methods will be more effective in terms of reaching a diversified number and categories of people. Task B The best advertising campaign to use in the marketing of a soft non alcoholic drink or a fruit juice will be direct marketing, outdoor advertisement and personal selling (Chris, 2009). However, the best method to employ is the use of direct marketing where the messages about the products are taken directly to the clients. Direct marketing at the point of sale is the best marketing campaign for drinks as the customers will get first hand information about the brands. At the point of sale, the consumers will get special offers which would include sales discounts, gifts, free samples and price discounts. Direct marketing campaign has been implemented by soft drinks like Coca-Cola Company where the company has several outlets where point of sale and communication of a new soft drink product in the market to the clients takes place. To ensure a thorough advertisement of the soft drinks, the company’s should make use of a mix of marketing communications like the use of direct marketing, outdoor advertisement and personal selling. This will increase efficiency, and a large number of people will be reached. References Cant M.C, Strydom J.W and Jooste C.J, (2009). Marketing Management. Juta and Company Ltd Charles W.L, Hair J.F, McDaniel C.D, (2011). Essentials of Marketing. Cengage Learning Pricken M, (2008). Creative advertising: ideas and techniques from the world's best campaigns. Thames & Hudson Clifton R, (2010). Brands and Branding. Profile Books Chris F, (2009). Marketing Communications: Interactivity, Communities and Content. Financial Times Prent. Int John E, (2007). 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