Buyer Behavior Analysis - Essay Example

?Buyer Behavior – Summative Assignment Table of Contents Buyer Behavior – Summative Assignment Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Aims and Approaches of the Campaign 3 Perception of the Campaign 5 Buyer Process 6 Involvement Levels/Risk Perception 6 Marketing Mix Elements 7 Product 7 Pricing 8 Place 8 Promotion 8 Critique and Recommendations 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction An advertising campaign is a chain of commercial messages that is shared to the public for representing a single marketing theme or an idea. An ad campaign takes up its formation by way of different media, which is carried out in a specific frame of time (Breaking Travel News, 2013; Roger, 2010). In this study, the main idea pertaining to a latest ad campaign launched by British Airways will be summarised and discussed upon in a formative manner. In relation to this particular ad campaign, the study will specifically highlight the target consumers, services offered, the location of the campaign, the timing of the launch and various other factors. Aims and Approaches of the Campaign Whenever an ad campaign is launched by a company, it marks certain factors related to marketing expansion. This factor also provides new opportunities for the target consumers to enjoy new variances and options pertaining to the products and services of a particular company. Behind every ad campaign there are certain aims and objectives. Correspondingly, the ad campaign of British Airways possesses certain aims and certain approaches behind it. As British Airways’ main service areas represent the airline services, its main priority lays on delivering the best flight services to the passengers. The particular campaign launched by the company i.e. ‘To Fly. To Serve’ advertising campaign’s broad aims comprise making the travelling experience of customers a very friendly one. The advertisement has been targeted to the customers itself and there are quite a few variables or services that are being offered to the customers. This campaign illuminates a different array of services. Its primary services include a detailed showcase of the overall customer experience on board. The campaign was launched by way of a television ad which showcased the different modes of care treatments that the consumers received in the in-flight mode. The ad has proved to be very beneficial as it has provided the opportunity to all the consumers to view the in-flight experience of other consumers. This aspect would thus prove to be very effective while choosing the services in British Airways. This particular campaign was televised throughout the ‘England versus Moldova’ World Cup qualifier on 6th of September, 2013. It is launched in that particular period as there would be maximum television viewership during that period. The campaign has been launched for the particular purpose of attracting maximum number of viewers so that utmost level of publicity of the campaign is achieved. In relation to the launch of the campaign, it can be regarded that seasonality is involved to a certain degree. The advertisement is positioned in a very unique way. It has reflected upon the broad aspects of the services that are offered to the customers. The campaign has been positioned in an innovative way and has presented the variable benefits of on-board experience through the medium of television. This marketing strategy has been applied with the objective of creating a positive impact in the minds of the consumers. This factor is considered to be the initial stage for making the consumers’ aware of the services and thus is considered to have the primary importance. Based on the approach of British Airways, it can be apparently understood that the company is informing about its services for the sole purpose of selling these services. The campaign is launched for the purpose of promotion of the services and also for attracting a plethora of consumers by way of providing utmost consumer awareness (Breaking Travel News, 2013). Perception of the Campaign For the successful launch of the campaign, certain effective marketing strategies had been adopted. The best strategy that was used entailed the launch of the program in the particular season of a grand football event. On the other hand, the televised ad campaign comprised timely framework and represented the best in class services that are on offer in British Airways. Most importantly, the campaign provided all the details of flying backed up with close up shots of the customers enjoying the services. The best thing about the campaign was that it was going to run for at least one month. During that particular period, it was showcased by way of social media, outdoor media, TV, cinemas, digital media and the press. This particular campaign got the flavour of celebrity endorsement in the first place which helped it in receiving recognition to a very large extent. The ad campaign ran with cinematography of Anthony Dod Mantle, who received an Oscar in relation to his magnificent cinematic contribution in an Oscar winning movie i.e. Slumdog Millionaire. The directory was set to run in a number of international markets of airlines industry. The markets included India and the United States of America. In relation to this particular campaign, it used an array of bright colours and text to transmit the message to the consumers that they will enjoy a differentiated in-flight experience on broad with British Airways. In terms of making an analysis of the approach which was followed by the company, it can be stated that its approach was appropriate and it could fetch positive results in the long-term future (Breaking Travel News, 2013). Buyer Process With regard to proper analysis of the ad campaign, it can be stated that the company aimed at forming the buyer process by way of attracting the customers with the help of highlighting the array of services which is on offer. It wanted to attract the consumers by way of meeting their psychological and other needs for providing services accordingly. Thus, for providing the services, the company aimed at showcasing the broad benefits of the services by way of this particular ad campaign. The company understands the consumer behaviours and their needs and based on these particular aspects it had designed the services. It was realised by the company that the buying process will be fulfilled as the customers will get attracted towards the services which are offered by it. Moreover, the stage that the company is aiming at is final purchase i.e. service usage which would reflect from the part of the consumers (Breaking Travel News, 2013). Involvement Levels/Risk Perception Concerning the facet of risks associated with the ad campaign, it can be assumed after an analysis that there are significantly low amounts of risks involved in this respect. It can be perceived that similar campaigning strategies may be adopted by other competitor companies. In such cases, British Airways may face issues pertaining to high amount of cut-throat competition which may very well provide the company certain risks. Therefore, it needs to consider all the long-term along with short-term risks associated with the competitors such as United Airlines and Deutsche Lufthansa among others that can pose variable amount risks to the company. Apart from these mentioned risks, there were no major risks that were identified on the basis of the overall analysis of the campaign. However, the risks relating to competition is needed to be given the primary importance and the company needs to formulate even better strategies to cope with these issues in the near future (Breaking Travel News, 2013; British Airways, n.d.). Marketing Mix Elements The term marketing mix generally refers to the different sets of tactics or actions that are utilised by a company for the primary purpose of promotion of its products and its overall brand in the market. The 4P’s of marketing mix comprises Promotion, Place, Product and Price. However, the concept of marketing mix nowadays seems to include certain other Ps namely Positioning, People, Packaging, and even Politics which can be regarded as vital elements of marketing mix. Product British Airways’ products entail unparalleled services that it delivers to its passengers. The main purpose of the campaign was to familiarise the consumers with the upgraded services that the company is going to deliver to the target customers. The services elaborated in this campaign include broad features of high life entertainment that comprise proper facilities pertaining to music. The company also promotes its digitalised cinema experience along with gaming that it offers to the customers in the in-flight mode. Thus, these features can prove to be very beneficial for the customers as it would help them to undergo a wonderful travelling experience. These aspects can lead to even high amount of benefits to the company as well. The advertisement has been able to effectively communicate the brand and the various components of the services of the campaign (Breaking Travel News, 2013; Codita, 2011; British Airways, n.d.). Pricing The ad campaign did not showcase any factors relating to price of the products/services that are on offer. This is probably owing to the fact that the company did not desire to disclose the prices of the products/services because it may be against the terms and conditions for a company to disclose each and every aspect in the initial stages i.e. ad campaign. Information pertaining to pricing is generally discussed at the final stage i.e. the buying process (Breaking Travel News, 2013; Codita, 2011; British Airways, n.d.). Place In relation to the distribution strategies, there were no such aspects that were discussed in the advertisement. However, there are certain distribution strategies that can be effectively utilised in this industry. Expansion of the online sales and distribution of airline services by way of local franchises can very well lead to growth of the overall industry. It can also take place by way of making global shifts. This particular aspect can be accomplished via making expansions in international markets. In this way, it will not only benefit the company to diversify in the business but will also lead to the improvement in its distribution channels (Breaking Travel News, 2013; Codita, 2011; British Airways, n.d.). Promotion With regard to the analysis of the ad campaign, it has been realised that the company’s main objective behind the promotion was to make the consumers aware of the latest services which are on offer by the British Airways. As British Airways is a well known brand and delivers excellent in-flight services, the campaign has proved to be quite successful. The wide array of services has proved to attract an assortment of customers. Owing to the fact that the company is well known for delivering the most consumer friendly services, it can very well receive even large amount of consumer responses, if it launches similar campaigns in the near future. In relation to the choice of media for the promotion strategy of the company, it is felt that the company chose the best media i.e. social media, outdoor media, TV, cinemas, digital media along with the press. These components can establish a broad reach to the consumers by a considerable extent (Breaking Travel News, 2013; Codita, 2011; British Airways, n.d.). Critique and Recommendations In relation to the ad campaign that was launched by the company/advertiser, it has been affirmed that the company has been able to cite out the benefits of the services which are on offer to a very large extent. The campaign is found to be of high-quality as it represented a different approach of providing maximum awareness to the consumers. Moreover, the campaign helped in deploying a clear-cut idea of the broad array of services that the consumers will be benefitted by if they choose the airline service of British Airways. However, there are certain aspects that can be improved. The company was not following any distribution strategy. In this similar context, it can be recommended that if the company is able to expand its distribution network then not only it will be benefitted in terms of high profitability but it will also provide great aid to the company in reaching an even larger base of customers (Roger, 2010). Conclusion From the overall analysis, it has been determined that British Airways has been able to launch its new ad campaign in a well-grounded manner. Based on the approach followed in the campaign, it has evident that the company is marching towards a positive direction. It has also been realised that the organisation utilised effective components of media in the overall process. However, a recommendation has been made to the company in relation the distribution strategy. Thus, it can be said that the differentiated approach followed by British Airways’ ad campaign can provide the company greater reach to a larger section of desired target customers. References Breaking Travel News, 2013. British Airways Unveils New Ad Campaign. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/british-airways-launches-its-next-to-fly.-to-serve-advert/ [Accessed October 31, 2013]. British Airways, No Date. Ba.Com Homepage. To Fly. To Serve. [Online] Available at: http://toflytoserve.britishairways.com/ [Accessed October 31, 2013]. Codita, R., 2011. Contingency Factors of Marketing-Mix Standardization: German Consumer Goods Companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Springer. Roger, K., 2010. Strategic Marketing Problems: Cases and Comments, 12/E. Pearson Education India. Read More