Concepts and Challenges of the National and International Communication Planning Process in Marketing Agencies - Case Study Example

Concepts and Challenges of the National and International Communication Planning Process in Marketing Agencies Subject / Course Date Table of Contents I. Introduction .............................................................................. 3 II. Five Major Modes in Marketing Communication Mix ................... 3 a. Advertising ................................................................. 4 b. Sales promotion ......................................................... 4 c. Public Relations and Publicity .................................... 5 d. Personal Selling ......................................................... 5 e. Direct Marketing ......................................................... 5 III. Concepts of National and International Communication Planning Process ...................................................................... 6 a. The Common Communication Platform ....................... 6 b. Eight Steps in Developing an Effective Communication 8 b.1 Identifying the Target Audience .......................... 8 b.2 Determining the Communication Objectives ........ 9 b.3 Designing the Message .................................... 10 b.4 Selecting Proper Communication Channel .......... 13 b.5 Establishing a Total Communication Budget ....... 13 b.6 Decide on Communication Mix .......................... 13 b.7 Measuring the Communications’ Result(s) ......... 14 b.8 Managing an Integrated Marketing Communication Process ................................... 14 IV. Other challenges of International Communication Planning Process 15 V. Conclusion ................................................................................ 16 References ......................................................................................... 17 - 18 Introduction Globalization has caused a lot of local and international businesses to face a tight competition over the domestic and global markets. In line with this matter, businessmen have realized the importance of role of marketing in enabling a company to grab a bigger share of the market and retain its current customers. Marketing communication, also known as ‘marcom,’ is an essential part of marketing which enables the marketers to communicate effectively with its target market using related media such as the integrated fields of advertising, brand communication, direct / database marketing, graphic design, packaging, promotion, public relations, publicity, social marketing, sponsorship, sales promotion, online marketing or e-communication. In the absence of a strategic national and international communication planning process, it would be too difficult for marketing agencies to effectively deliver a good marketing communication to the current and potential stakeholder and the general public. For the purpose of this study, the researcher will discuss about the basic concepts and challenges of national and international communication planning process. In line with the challenges in each scenario, the researcher will highlight some recommendations to enable the marketing agencies to successfully maintain an effective national and international communication. Five Major Modes in Marketing Communication Mix Upon going through a national and international marketing communication process, it is necessary to know more about the five major modes in marketing communication mix, also known as promotional tools, being classified as: advertising, sales promotion, public relations and publicity, personal selling, and direct marketing.1 Advertising is basically any paid form of promotional activities like print and broadcast ads, motion pictures, brochures and booklets, posters and leaflets, billboards, videotapes, etc. This form of marketing communication is designed to capture a wider range of potential buyers as viewers of advertisements. In choosing the best advertisement for a company, it is essential to consider the budget allocated for this type of marketing communication. Large companies such as Coca-cola and Nestle would prefer to invest on television advertisements because it could provide the company the opportunity to use artistic video, sound, and colour to attract the attention of the consumers. On the other hand, small scale businesses with limited budget may prefer to invest on newspaper advertisements. Sales promotion is a short-term incentive given to a group of potential buyers. Normally, this type of marketing communication is conducted prior or during the first period of introducing a new product to the public. It could be in a form of distributing s sample product, discount coupons, rebates, tie-ins with existing items, etc. within a limited geographical region. This type of marketing communication style is designed to enable a company to communicate the quality and affordability of their product to the public. Along with inviting the target market to patronize the promoted items, the sample products or coupons given to the target consumers could also serves as an incentive to them. In most cases, a lot of multinational companies are using this type of sales promotion in order to draw a stronger and faster buyers’ response. Public relations and publicity could be any programs such speeches, seminars, annual reports, publications, press kits, community relations among others that are designed to promote the company’s name or a specific product.2 This type of marketing communication tool can be used to establish a very high credibility on a specific company, a product, or an institution in the form of new stories as well as special features. In most cases, the use of public relations could be more effective on target consumers who are avoiding having a direct contact with salespeople and advertisements. Personal selling is usually applied as the most effective tool during the later stage of the buying process. In general, personal selling involves a face-to-face interaction with a customer or a group of potential consumers for the purpose of presenting the quality of a product and answering relevant questions prior to purchasing a product. Direct Marketing involves the use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, or the internet to communicate directly or solicit a direct response from the prospective target market. Regardless of the tools used in a direct marketing, the marketer is always assumed to address the marketing messages directly to a specific person. In this case, the message to be communicated has to be customized, up-to-date, and interactive.3 Concepts of National and International Communication Planning Process National and international communication process usually takes place during the pre-selling, selling, consuming, and post-consuming stages. In line with this matter, it is essential for marketing agencies to be aware of the importance of an open communication such that the marketers should be able to determine specifically how to reach the target consumers; and how the marketers could make the target consumers be able to communicate back. The Common Communication Platform As part of the concept of national and international communication planning process, marketing agencies should be familiar with the common communication platform. (See Figure I – Common Communication platform on page 7) A typical communication, regardless if it is intended for a national or international communication, has to go through the common communication platform. In order for the marketing agencies to communicate effectively with their target consumers, the marketers have to clearly understand the nine fundamentals elements behind the common communication platform wherein the ‘sender’ or the advertiser and ‘receiver’ or the target consumers represents the major parties in a communication process; the ‘message’ and the ‘media’ represents the two major communication tools; and the Figure I – Common Communication Platform ‘encoding’, ‘decoding’, ‘response’, and ‘feedback’ as the four major communication functions in a common communication platform. The ‘noise’ which represents the competition in sending marketing communication to the target consumers highly affects the effectiveness of the marketing communication.4 To be able to send an effective marketing communication to the receiver, the sender should be able to determine exactly what the consumer wants to hear and how they want to receive the message. It is a challenge for the sender of both the national and international communication process to effectively encode a message that is appealing, understandable, and de-codable by their target consumers. In line with this matter, the sender must choose a proper media and follow the eight steps in developing an effective communication on order that the marketing message could reach the market agency’s target audiences. Eight Steps in Developing an Effective Communication The eight steps in developing effective marketing communication include: (a) identifying the target audience; (b) determining the communication objectives; (c) designing the message; (d) selecting proper communication channel; (e) establishing a total communication budget; (f) deciding on the preferred communication mix; (g) measuring the communications’ result(s); and (h) managing the integrated marketing communication process.5 Identifying the Target Audience In identifying the target audience, the marketing agencies should know by heart the potential or target buyers of a company’s product(s), its existing users, and the influencers or the buying decision makers. In line with the target audience, the company should position itself in such a way that it will be able to create and establish a corporate image that is widely acceptable by the target consumers. Being able to establish an acceptable corporate image could enhance the marketing communication between the buyer – target consumers and the seller – the manufacturer / the company. For example, Starbucks Coffee identifies is target audience as coffee drinkers. Therefore, Starbucks aimed at creating and establishing a brand name that is acceptable by the global coffee drinkers. Determining the Communication Objectives As soon as the target market has been identified, the marketing agencies should effectively decide on their desired audience response. To do so, the marketing agencies should be able to seek a combination of cognitive, affective, and behavioural response from its target audiences. This stage is a critical process wherein the marketers should carefully plan on their communication objectives. Following the original Hierarchy-of-Effects Model by Lavidge and Steiner (1961), the marketing agencies should be able to develop product ‘awareness’ and ‘knowledge.’6 In the case of Starbucks Coffee, Howard Schultz was able to effectively build product awareness and knowledge by investing more on coffee shop outlets expansion. Studying the Philippine markets alone, Starbucks managed to open as much as 93 outlets within the short span of 10 years.7 Upon developing the Cognitive stage, Starbucks Coffee focuses on building the Affective stage in communication model which is composed of ‘liking’, ‘preference’, and ‘conviction.’ Starbucks Coffee is successful in building a strong connection with the target market by keeping its coffee shops clean with outstanding customer service. The pleasant atmosphere within Starbucks Coffee shops enable the target consumers to like the place and eventually become the most preferred coffee shops by most people. To those prospective consumers who have not built a strong conviction about the place could eventually be persuaded by their friends and associates to visit Starbucks Coffee shops once in awhile. In the end, most of Starbucks target consumers end up purchasing at least a cup of coffee or other beverages with each visit. (See Figure II – Hierarchy-of-Effects Model below) Figure II – Hierarchy-of-Effects Model Designing the Message When designing the message, marketing agencies should consider their desired audience response. Ideally, the message should be able to capture the audiences’ attention, hold their interest, arouse their desire concerning a company’s product, and eventually enable them to elicit an action as suggested by the AIDA model by E.K. Strong (1925).8 (See Figure III – AIDA Model below) Figure III – AIDA Model In the case of Starbucks Coffee, the company was able to capture the target consumers’ attention since the shops are readily accessible in almost anywhere in the world. The positive experiences most of the consumers have had with Starbucks Coffee enable the company to win their personal interests which eventually arroused their desire to consume more of Starbucks Coffee each day. In general, to create an effective marketing communication message, marketing agencies should focus and carefully analyze the message content, structure, format, and sources. According to Michael Solomon (1996), incorporating fear appeals to marketing communication could be very effective when the source of information is highly credible especially when it promises to relieve a pain or other health related concerns.9 Sometimes it is also possible that the use of other positive emotional appeals related to humor, love, joy, and pride can be used in marketing communication. However, Marc Weinberger et al. (1995) stated that humor could highly detract from comprehension and overshadow the product being communicated to the public.10 The message structure could also affect the effectiveness of communication process such that a two-sided message like “Listerine tastes bad twice a day”11 is proven to be more effective on educated audience than the uneducated ones.12 The message format particularly the colour, scent, texture, size, and shapes used in print ads could create a psychological impact on the viewers. The sources of message delivered to the audience could also trigger either a positive or a negative result. In most cases, marketing messages delivered by widely accepted celebrities and spokesperson could develop a positive impact on the product they endorse. Selecting Proper Communication Channel When selecting a proper communication channel, the marketing agencies should consider the benefits of using either personal or non-personal communication channels.13 Some products like health insurance could work better using a personal communication channel particularly through word-of-mouth. The personal testimonial of the consumers could effectively influence more potential consumers to trust the company more than using a plain non-personal communication channels. On the other hand, the use of non-personal communication channels such as newspaper and magazine print ads or a mass communication could work better on consumers’ products. Establishing a Total Communication Budget Determining the company’s total communication budget is usually the basis used in choosing or deciding on a preferred communication mix. When the budget is very much limited, marketing agencies could suggest the use of a cheaper source of mass communication such as newspaper or magazine print ads. On the other hand, multinational companies may choose to spend more on television advertisements where they could directly have the opportunity to reach out for more potential buyers. Deciding on Communication Mix When choosing for a marketing communication mix, the marketing agencies should consider the type of product the company is selling as well as the type of market the company is focusing. Based on the type of product, marketers should be able to decide on whether to use a push or pull strategy.14 Push strategy is basically referring to the use of sales force and trade promotion in order to sell a product. This is usually conducted by large manufacturing companies. On the other hand, pull strategy make use of advertising and consumer promotion. This type of strategy is normally used to create brand awareness and promote brand loyalty. Consumers’ readiness to buy or purchase the product being endorsed by a company as well as the product-life-cycle stage should also be considered among others. Measuring the Communications’ Result(s) After having implemented a marketing communication plan, the marketing agency should measure the impact of the chosen marketing communication program on the target audience. Measuring the audiences’ feedback will enable the marketing agencies to know which part of the communication program needs to be strengthened in order to increase the product brand awareness, etc. Managing the Integrated Marketing Communication Process The main purpose of integrating marketing communication is to combine some or all of the marketing communication strategies in order to develop a more effective communication programs. According to Garfield (2005), the use of the digital technology or Internet advertising has already made an enormous in percentage growth as of 2005.15 It is very clear that there is a change in the patterns of marketing communication over time. Due to the high cost of mass communication, the use of alternative marketing communication is becoming a very good option since it could capture the viewers’ attention on a one-on-one contact. It is necessary for marketers to be flexible enough to use the different types of marketing mediums available today aside from the traditional advertisements being played on TV or radio and printed on the newsprints and magazines so as not to be left out with the use of effective marketing communication techniques. New technology such as the use of Internet or advergaming as a communication medium should be considered as a good marketing opportunity. According to Goldman Sachs, an Internet analyst, “the advertisers will always be wherever the audience is.”16 Other challenges of International Communication Planning Process There are more challenges in designing an international communication planning process than for domestic use. First, the marketing agencies should decide on whether the product being promoted is appropriate with a target country. Second, they should ensure that the market segment they wish to penetrate is legal and customary. Third, the marketing agencies should decide on whether the style of advertisement is ethically and morally acceptable in all the prospective countries. Lastly, the marketers should decide on whether to create the advertisement either locally of at the headquarters. For example, a lot of countries like the United Kingdom and Pakistan do not permit the advertisements of beer, wine, and spirits as well as other tobacco products.17, 18 Conclusion In order for marketing agencies to be able to effectively deliver a marketing communication domestically and internationally, it is crucial for the marketers to know the five major modes in marketing communication mix or the promotional tools; the common communication platform; and the eight steps in developing an effective communication plan. It is much easier to conduct a national more than an international communication plan processes since the marketing agencies need to consider the general advertising regulations being implemented by a foreign country. *** End *** References: BBC News. (2000, May 22). Retrieved September 8, 2007, from Tobacco Giants Fight Ad Ban: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/757616.stm Belch, G. (1983). The Effects of Message Modality on One- and Two-Sided Advertising Messages. in Advances in Consumer Research. (Eds.) Bagozzi R.P. and Tybout A.M. Ann Arbor, MI: Association for consumer Research. pp. 21 - 26. Crowley, A., & Hoyer, W. (1994). An Integrated Framework for Understanding Two-Sided Persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research , 561 - 574. Strong, E. (1925). Theories of Selling. Journal of Applied Psychology , 9:75 - 86. Garfield, B. (2005). The Chaos Scenario. Advertising Age , 1:57 - 59. General Advertising Regulations in Asia. (2000, January). 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