Marketing story analysis - Essay Example

?Marketing story analysis Introduction The story under analysis is “When marketers capture the moment” by David Benady. It was posted in the Guardianon 13th November 203. This piece explains the impact of real time marketing. The author argues that consumers today are more demanding from advertisers. They require witty but relevant messages, which must be delivered in real time. Companies like BMW, biscuit maker, Oreo and Betfair have used this strategy to capture new markets. These businesses have revolutionised consumer reach through social media. Nonetheless, one must invest considerable resources to achieve any clout. Literature review Consumer behaviour The consumer decision model is quite useful in explaining consumer behaviour. Blackwell (2001) explains that consumers often engage in a seven-step decision process. First, they recognize their needs, search for information, evaluate alternatives, buy, reflect upon their purchase and divest. Sometimes stimuli could alter this process. The stimuli may be internal or external. International influences include the knowledge, resources, personality or attitudes of the buyer. External influences involve social class, family, culture or certain situations. In this regard, consumers are active thinkers and planners. Erasmus (2001) disagrees with the above writers by stating that consumer behaviour is not always rational. Sometimes individuals may behave in a non conscious manner. Consumer behaviour is sometimes opportunistic and even disorderly. Using rational approaches may discount the relevance of emotions and other dynamics. 7 Ps The 7Ps marketing mix is a conceptual framework in which key decision makers configure their offerings in order to mach customer needs (Andersson, 1992). Palmer (2004) explains that the tools are useful in short term tactics as well as long term strategies (Chaffey et. al., 2000). Moller (2006) likens the elements of the marketing mix to ingredients of a cake. Their proportions can be changed in order to prepare the perfect cake (Patterson and Ward, 2000). The marketing manager must attempt to trade off benefits of one concept with gains from the other (Peattie, 1997). A company’s marketing philosophy comes from its allocation of resources within the 7Ps (Egan, 2001). This approach separates marketing from the rest of the organisation and allows for delegation of marketing duties to specialities (Ingram et. al., 2007). Some authors disagree with the above sentiments by explaining that not all parts of the 7Ps need to be given equal attention; certain aspects are more critical than others (Stratten, 2010). Furthermore, most companies regard product as a distinct component (Jobber, 2010). However, some companies sell a series of products, each of which is connected to the other in the mind of the consumer (Pride and Ferrell, 2010). When implementing the marketing mix, one may consider marketing as culture, as a strategy, or as a tactic (Rafiq and Ahmed, 1995). Communications mix The 4Cs are a fundamental framework used to explain how companies select marketing communications. Scholars posit that this could be done on the basis of control, costs, credibility and communications (Gilliland and Johnston, 1997). If an organization feels that it needs to control message delivery, then it may opt for personal communication mixes (Balmer and Gray, 2003). The financial resources that a company has may affect its ability to exert leverage over the third party that is transmitting the message (Mohr and Nevin, 1990). Credibility in communications is often ascertained through a third party that seems objective in order to distract consumers away from the actual intention of selling (Houston and Gassenheimer, 1987; Houston and Gassenheimer, 1987). Finally, the geographic dispersion of the target audience will determine how effectively the message reaches its audience (Stern and El-Ansary, 1995). Analysis In the case under analysis, the author feels that consumers in social media have raised their expectations concerning consumer brands (Benady, 2013). This has stemmed from the digital wave that has swept across most social and economic platforms (Slimani, 2013). Therefore, one can use the consumer decision making model to explain why consumers respond well to such immediate and urgent information (Kurtz, 2013). External stimuli may affect the consumer decision making process. Social engagement has become part of consumer culture, so it is not surprising that companies like BMW are making waves (Heaton, 2012). On the flipside, one may also use criticisms of the consumer decision making model to explain consumer behaviour in the article. When Oreo sent a message to facebook and twitter users during the US Super Bowl, it elicited unwarranted responses. Consumers were impressed by the caption, “You can still dunk in the dark”, yet this was really nothing special. In fact, the author asserted that not all real time messages will create a buzz. It may be stated that emotions and other non rational decisions may have caused this interest in the adverts (Safko, 2010). The article under analysis has shown how real-time marketing may be used in various ways by organisations. Sometimes, it may be used to defend reputations, introduce a new product to the market, increase product sales and build relationships with clients. Any of these ideas may be classified under the three perspectives of the marketing mix. When companies employ real time marketing to defend their reputations, they are using it as a tactic. When it is used to build relationships with clients, then this is a long term strategy (Gronroos, 2004). Alternatively, when real time markets introduce new products to the market, then they are thinking of marketing as culture. The 7Ps of marketing have been intertwined in this approach because some aspects are promotional, others emphasise product, while others dwell on people. All the 4Cs of a communications mix seem to apply to real time marketers in the article. The author mentioned costs as one of the impediments to use of the tool because it requires constant updates (Benady, 2013). He also cited several social media platforms that are relied on for their reach and the fact that they are managed by third parties (Tuten and Solomon, 2013). Aspects of credibility and geographical access have been mentioned. Nonetheless, because of the personal nature of social media, then real time marketing also has accommodated features of control in the 4Cs framework (Beckwith, 2001). Conclusion The article has found a way of merging traditional generic marketing concepts with a modern day marketing approach known as real time marketing. It seems to abide by most of the elements of the 4cs framework of communication mix as well as the 7Ps of marketing. It also highlights consumer behaviour in accordance to theory. References Andersson, P., 1992. Analysing distribution channel dynamics. European Journal of Marketing, 26, (2), pp. 47–68. Balmer, J.M.T. and Gray, E.R., 2003. Corporate brands: what are they? What of them? European Journal of Marketing, 37(7/8), pp. 972–97. Beckwith, H., 2001. The invisible touch - the four keys of modern marketing. Texas: Texere Publishing. Benady, D., 2013. When marketers capture the moment. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/13/when-marketers-capture-the-moment?INTCMP=mic_231519 [Accessed 26 November 2013] Blackwell, R., 2001.Consumer Behavior.9th ed. Orlando: Harcourt. 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Intelligence & Planning, 13(9), pp. 4-15. Safko, L., 2010. The social media bible: Tactics, tools, and strategies for business success. Hoboken: Wiley. Slimani, T., 2013. Concepts and Tools for Marketing Intelligence Development. International Journal of Innovation in the Digital Economy, 4 (3), pp. 15-34. Stern, L. and El-Ansary, A., 1995. Marketing Channels, 5th edn. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Stratten, S., 2010. Unmarketing: Stop marketing and start engaging. West Sussex: John Wiley. Tuten, T. L. and Solomon, M. R., 2013. Social media marketing. Boston: Pearson. The 3 key marketing concepts The seven consumers’ decision-making processes The seven Ps marketing mix The 4Cs framework of selecting marketing communications Read More