BAA Airports In the UK - Business Plan Example

BAA airports – Communications plan Introduction The development of any area that is going to serve the public has to be examined carefully makingsure that no threat of the public interests will occur in the future as of the use of this area or the material/ plans used throughout the development process. In the case of airports, the most common problem regarding their primary establishment or their expansion is the potential risk for the environment. In the case of UK, it could be stated that the potential consequences for the environment in areas around airports is lagged behind the needs of local market and of the local (but also the national) economy. Moreover, overseas holidays of people in UK can be served only through the airports cited across the country. The specific issue, i.e. the benefits from the operation and the expansion of airports across UK compared to the consequences of the operations taking place in these airports in the above country, is examined in the report with a special reference to the BAA airports cited across UK. It can be stated that the establishment and the operation of these airports across UK overweighs the consequences of these activities for the environment. A relevant Communications plan is suggested in order to help the local authorities as well as the British government to understand the importance of the existence and the operation of BAA airports across UK. 2. BAA airports – communications plan 2.1 Marketing communications theory Different views have been stated in the literature regarding the appropriateness of marketing practices used by firms in order to develop their communication with their clients. In accordance with Aufreiter et al. (2000, 53) ‘when traditional marketers think of organization, they mean structure: distinct product, channel, and customer groups focusing on specific functional tasks’. Focusing specifically on the importance of marketing communication for modern firms, Dobie et al. (2003, 289) noticed that ‘marketing communications are an important element of any marketing strategy as it is essential to inform potential and existing customers regarding product/service availability and application’. In other words, the development of communication is a significant part of marketing focusing on the promotion of the firms’ presence within their market. However, it is necessary that appropriate ethics are applied during the development of the various marketing plans introduced in markets internationally. Firms’ managers have the responsibility for the choice of the most appropriate strategy when developing their firms’ marketing plans. Regarding this issue Griffin et al. (1997, 24) made clear that ‘in conducting marketing communication operations, firms have several options for sourcing the various communication activities as it is a make or buy decision: source from within or externally’. As for the effectiveness of the methods used by firms in order to develop their communication with the customers through the marketing, no specific proof exists in the literature that this effectiveness can be precisely measured or evaluated. On the other hand, Hall (2002, 24) stated that ‘consumers "change their minds" about a product, then they change their attitude, and then they act’. In other words, even if carefully planned marketing projects can fail to meet the standards set by marketers around the world. 2.2 BAA airports - Communications plan in general Taking into account the issues presented above but also the needs and the characteristics of the particular areas – in which BAA airports are cited – an effective Communications plan would provide to the authorities and the public all the necessary info on the activities of the firms that use these airports but also on the consequences of the facilities and the establishments of these airports to the environment. Such a plan could be consisted from the following stages/ steps (the cost analysis related with these stages will be analyzed in the section that follows): Communications plan for BAA airports (see also Appendix section, Figure 2) ◊ Stage 1 Presentation of the benefits from the operation of BAA airports for the British economy, the enterprises across UK – especially in the regions cited around BAA airports – but also the overseas holidays. The press and the media will be used for the promotion of the relevant advertising material to the public ◊ Stage 2 Communication with the relevant governmental authorities in order to retrieve the necessary verification for the quality of the services provided through BAA airports across UK – the communication will be in the format of letters while meetings with the representatives of the above authorities are also possibly to be held. ◊ Stage 3 Improvement of the communication with the customers – questionnaires will be distributed in BAA airports across UK in order to identify the public view on the operation and the potential expansion of these airports – the value of these airports for daily human activities could be also identified through these surveys ◊ Stage 4 A thorough analysis of the potential risk for the environment regarding the operation of BAA airports across Britain will be prepared and published through the media and the press – the benefits for the tourism, the entrepreneurship and the national economy will be co-presented using statistics where possible. ◊ Stage 5 Additional marketing plans like offers in flights or products sold to BAA airports (in the stores cited in the above airports) could be also incorporated ◊ Stage 6 Tours in the facilities of BAA airports for the school-children and the students across UK could be also organized A cost and effectiveness analysis of the various parts of the above plan is presented in the section that follows justifying the specific choices using the marketing communicating theory presented above. 2.2 Analysis of Communications plan - Issues that should be highlighted As presented above, the Communications plan for BAA airports seems to be achievable for the leaders and the staff of these airports. However, because there is a specific limit in the financial resources employed in the realization of the specific project, it is necessary to make a cost estimation of the whole plan evaluating also the potential effectiveness of its particular stages – as presented above. In this way, the parts that are considered as feasible in terms of their cost would be a priority when applying the above plan; the parts that are costly are likely to be applied at a later time – if such a case is found to occur in the specific plan. Cost and effectiveness analysis of Communications plan for BAA airports ◊ Stage 1 In this stage as explained above media and press will be used in order for the benefits of BAA airports to be made clear to the public in Britain. This stage is expected to be the most costly in the whole project – approximately £1,400,000 millions will be required for a well designed marketing campaign that will be promoted through all media and press in Britain (in the case of press, a potential choice of the relevant papers in accordance with their daily performance could take place). The above amount includes the salaries of employees working in the design of the advertising campaign and the cost of advertising to the media described above. This part is expected to be extremely effective regarding the promotion of benefits of BAA airports across Britain – the influence of media and press in the development of the public view – as noticed in the literature section above – cannot be doubted. ◊ Stage 2 For the realization of the second part of the plan the cost of the various activities included in this part can be characterized as limited compared to the previous one. More specifically, approximately £400,000 thousands would be sufficient for the completion of this part (salaries of employees involved in the communication activities of this part, rent of places required for the meetings arranged and purchase of material for the presentation of the relevant issues to the governmental representatives). ◊ Stage 3 The cost for the salary of employees participating in the relevant part of the plan (both those distributing the questionnaire to the public but also those working in the analysis and evaluation of the relevant results) as well as the cost of the material used for the questionnaires distributed to the public is estimated to £180,000 for a period of about 6 months. In the case that this part of the plan has to be repeated the cost of the relevant activity is expected to be average the same. ◊ Stage 4 This part of the project can be also considered as part of the Stage 1. However, it would be preferable that this part would take place at a later stage – when the benefits of the BAA airports for the British economy and the entrepreneurs across the country have been made clear it would be easier for the public to understand the lack of threat for the environment – at least at the highest possible level. The cost of this part can be expected to be average the same with that of the first part – approximately £1,400,000 millions – or else an agreement could be made between the BAA airports’ administrators and the media/ press in order for the cost of the whole project to be kept at specific levels. ◊ Stage 5 The cost of this part should be limited to 570,000 thousands in order for the marketing plan to remain within the budget available for its realization. In fact the above cost will be an ‘indirect’ cost - in real terms it will be loss of profit as a consequence to the offers made in the firm’s services. However, it should be noticed that this stage is considered to be of significant importance for the success of the marketing plan; the reduction in prices of the firm’s services is normally expected to attract customers; a potential limitation of the cost of other parts of this plan – especially of the advertising initiatives – could be decided in accordance with the response of the public to the specific part of the marketing plan. ◊ Stage 6 The cost of the specific plan could be considered as limited; only the salaries of the airports’ employees involved in this part of the marketing plan can be included in the relevant cost; no more than 50,000 thousands will be required – at least for the initial period of 6 months that this part of the marketing plan will be developed. 3. Conclusion At a first level, it could be stated that the risk for environmental pollution is closely related with the various activities of the firms that operate in the particular industry. However, the existence and the operations of airports across a specific country are also related with the economic and cultural development of the particular country. More specifically, a high level of profits for the retailers and the other entrepreneurs being established in the areas around airports is a common phenomenon. As in all industries, the marketing plans applied for the promotion of the benefits of BAA airports in UK should be based on specific principles (as developed in the literature section) taking into account the ethics held in the specific market. The response of the customers to the plan suggested above can be expected to be positive. Even if delays in the performance of all stages of the marketing plan are observed, the 5th stage, is expected to have a significant role in the improvement of the customers’ opinion (see also the views of Hewett et al., 2003 and Moore, 1995) regarding the consequences of BAA airports’ operations in the environment. Figure 1 in the Appendix proves that marketing is closely related with the market conditions but also with the entrepreneurial behaviour. In other words, the leadership practices will be expected to be crucial for the effectiveness of the plan suggested above. The conditions of the British market (referring to potential positive influence of highly performing sectors, like the housing one, but also the negative influence of industrial sectors that underperform, like the performance of specific financial products and so on) are also likely to have a crucial influence on the performance of the marketing plan presented in this paper. Words: 2008 References/ Bibliography Aufreiter, N., Lawyer, T., Lun, C. (2000). A New Way to Market. The McKinsey Quarterly, 53-58 Bruner, G., Kuman, A. (2000). ‘We Commercials and Advertising Hierarchy of Effects’ Journal of Advertising Research 2000 Diamantopoulos, A., Reynolds, N., Simintiras, A. (2003). Theoretical Justification of Sampling Choices in International Marketing Research: Key Issues and Guidelines for Researchers Journal of International Business Studies, 34(1): 80-92 Dobie, K., Grant, J., Megehee, C. (2003). ‘Time versus Pause Manipulation in Communications Directed to the Young Adult Population: Does It Matter?’ Journal of Advertising Research, 43(3): 281-295 Griffin, T., Mcarthur, D. (1997). A Marketing Management View of Integrated Marketing Communications. Journal of Advertising Research, 37(5): 19-26 Hewett, K., Roth, K., Roth, M. (2003). Conditions Influencing Headquarters and Foreign Subsidiary Roles in Marketing Activities and Their Effects on Performance. Journal of International Business Studies, 34(6): 567-590 Hills, G. (1994). Marketing and Entrepreneurship: Research Ideas and Opportunities. Quorum Books. Westport, CT Kline, J. (2005). ‘Ethics for International Business: Decision Making in a Global Political Economy’. Routledge. London Menon, G., Raghubir, P., Schwarz, N. (1997). ‘How Much Will I Spend? Factors Affecting Consumers Estimates of Future Expense’ Journal of Consumer Psychology, 6(2): 141-165 Moore, M. (1995). ‘Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government’. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, MA Obermiller, C., Spangenberg, E.R. (1998). ‘Development of a Scale to Measure Consumer Skepticism toward Advertising’ Journal of Consumer Psychology, 7: 159-188 Smith, G. (1996). ‘Framing in Advertising and the Moderating Impact of Consumer Education’ Journal of Advertising Research, 36(5): 49-60 Thomas, M.J. (1996) ‘The Changing Nature of the Marketing Profession and Implications for Requirements in Marketing Education’, in Shaw, S.A. and Hood, N. (eds), Marketing in Evolution, London: Macmillan, 190-205. Treise, D., Weigold, M.F., Conna, F., Garrison, H. (1994). Ethics in advertising: ideological correlates of consumer perceptions’, Journal of Advertising, 23(3), 59-70 Appendix Figure 1 – Market, marketing and entrepreneurship (Hills, 1994, 43) Figure 2 - Communications plan for BAA airports Stage 1 Presentation of the benefits from the operation of BAA airports using the media and the press (estimated cost 1,400,000) Stage 2 Communication with the relevant governmental authorities – meetings with governmental officials (estimated cost 400,000) Stage 3 Distribution of questionnaires to the customers – evaluation of findings (estimated cost 180,000) Stage 4 Preparation of analysis of BAA airports’ operations for the environment – use of media for publishing the relevant findings (estimated cost 1,400,000) Stage 5 Offers to the customers (estimated cost 570,000) Stage 6 Tours in the facilities of BAA airports (estimated cost 50,000) Read More