The Impact of the Advertising and Marketing for the Brand Sainsburys - Case Study Example

Advertising & Promotions Introduction: Sainsbury’s is one of the most well known brands ever known in London and it is one of the main retail storesin London. It is one of the oldest retail stores in London. Sainsbury’s was founded in 1869 with one flagship store in a Drury Lane, one of the poorest areas in London. With the help of quality products and customer friendly services, the Sainsbury has become one of the prominent retail stores in London with more than 800 running stores. Today the Sainsbury’s is having more than 500 supermarkets and more than 300 convenience stores in their total retail module. (Company overview. Nd). There some important questions to be answered and discussed to understand the impact of the advertising and marketing for the brand Sainsbury’s. “Explain the structure, role and relationships between parties in the communications industry”: Communication is the main important factor for any marketing activity. Marketing is basically pre sale activity which helps the brand to be known to everyone. The marketing communication is the force which drives the brands towards the success. Most of the customers, clients or consumers get affected by many advertising stimulants everyday and the main fact or the main functional activity responsible for these effects is the effective communication process. The main entities involved in this effective communication process are the brand, advertising, packaging, sales promotion, personal communication, corporate communication, brand endorsement and so on and on. (Copley, 2004. P. 1). The structure of the communication process is consisting of three main functional entities and they are the brand itself or the company which owns the brand, the advertising agency or the communication agency and the media industry. The main parties involved in this whole process are these three entities. For a brand like Sainsbury’s the influence of media is very important, as the retail sector is basically for the mass. So the TV and Radio advertisements are very much important to put the stimulus advertising effects to the each and every customer. There are basically 3 kind of agencies operate in the advertising and communication industry and they are full service agency who provides 360 degree advertising and communication activities, the limited service agencies who are expert is some parts like media relation, creative art or may be effective communication and PR . “Identify current trends in advertising and promotion and evaluate their impact”: The advertising trends are always ever-changing as the tastes of the people are changing with the changing financial and socio-economic changes as well as the environmental changes. There are many ways of advertising a brand and with the ways are always in a changing mood as the positive effects of the advertisements depend on the panoramic mood of the customers. There are many ways of advertising have come to the picture and at the same time there are many types of agencies have come to front to provide many innovative advertising campaigns. The traditional advertising campaign in mass media like TV, Radio and news papers are always important but some new media where the importance the brand become so focused are also working as a new trend. There is one agency in UK, Quiet Storm films; they describe themselves as the film and video producers. They focus on promoting brands in televisions and cinema ads; content advertising in TV programs; information and demonstration films accompanied with the branding of the required brand, viral advertising; that is the over the mouth advertising which is very much effective today.( Springer, 2007. p. 301). For a brand like Sainsbury where the branding is very important as the Target Group (TG) is basically the mass, the 360 degree adverting and marketing approach is very important and the new advertising methods are very much important for these retail brands. Another recent trend in advertising is advertising in internet, the September report on 2005 estimated that more that 950 million people use internet globally and the top 10 countries to go online include the United Kingdom. The online end users in UK are more than 35 million in 2005 and the promising penetration rate was almost 60%, which was eye popping. (Schumann & Thorson. 2007. p, 289). “Use models to assess the impact of advertising and promotion on customer behavior”. There are many effective models which can be followed for the proper advertising methods for the brand like Sainsbury’s as it is the brand which should focus to each and every person in London as it is the brand for the mass. One of the main advertising models would be the DAGMER model. The DAGMAR approach is basically the hierarchical model of communication process. This model is basically consists of awareness, comprehension, conviction and action. In one sentence it can be understood, that before buying a brand the customer should know that the brand is well developed and trustworthy to buy. (Leitner, 2007. p, 4). The Nash equilibrium model is also important for these kinds of advertisings, the Nash equilibrium model is basically based on two strategies, one is open loop equilibrium and other one is the close ended equilibrium. The open loop equilibrium in a category where the advertising is a function mainly of time, while the closed loop equilibrium, signifies the advertising is a function of not only time but also the critical state of the environmental and statuses. (Erickson. 1991, P. 11). Another important model is the dual mediation model (DMM), this model could be considered with the respect of the present situation as it can be stated as the attitude towards advertising models. (Swoboda, Morschett, Rudolph, Schnedlitz & Schramm-Klein. 2009. P, 23) “Explain and demonstrate how advertising can be designed to differentiate, remind, remind, inform and persuade”. The designing of the advertisements is a very vital work for ant agency or the advertising department of any brand company. How the advertisement should be presented and where it should be presented is very important. For the brand like Sainsbury’s the TG ( Target group is basically the mass, so platform of putting the ad is basically all the media but the print media creates a good effect as the visual effects in these print ads creates a long lasting effects towards the customers mind. The eye tracking technique holds the important part any advertising design. the ad should be design as such, so the customers eyes would fall into that unconsciously. (Harris & Stephanidis, 2003. p, 399). “Evaluate appropriate uses and applications for advertising in two given situations. Use the examples from the above given company as to how they identify and apply different advertising strategy to find appropriate solutions”. The good quality of a commercial depends on the level of the reminder effect it has in it. For an example there are many advertisements a person sees in his whole life but there are very few ads which creates a space in his mind and it can be an advertisement which he might have seen in his childhood. So what is that magic effect which creates long lasting effects in viewers mind? If an advertiser can find that magic formula then all the ads would be very successful. In this particular context two examples in different scenarios can be stated. One is definitely the traditional Coca-Cola Ad with a child with a white cap with a big smile, which still creates a place in our mind and other one would be the Ford or Chevrolet ads which have a specific space in our mind. “Evaluate the role, organization and agencies in the advertising process”. The advertising agencies are very much important factors in today’s marketing world. These agencies are the middle men for creating long lasting successful advertising campaigns. For any brand or company it is very important to understand the importance of the advertising agencies, means why a company needs an advertising agency? Well, one the advertising budget is done then a company needs some creative persons who know where to invest the advertising budget, so the messages get communicated in a proper manner within a proper Target audiences. (Wilmshurst & Mackay. 1999, P, 85). There are basically three kinds of advertising agencies broadly available in the marketing and advertising industry, and they are the full service advertising agencies, Limited service agencies and the A la carte agencies. There are many brands who want more options in creating ads. To have this multi-functional facility they go for many agencies, they take services from more than one agency. But it is a matter of a time and proper coordination among the different partners. (Hughes & Fill, 2007. p, 77-78). “Differentiate between the characteristics and objectives of the various below-the-line promotional techniques”. Each and every retailer should understand why a customer would buy a branded shirt worth of several pounds while they can get the same colour and same looking shirt in a lower price or rather why a customer would buy a bottled drinking water while they get it free of cost from the tap? Here play the role of the advertising and branding activities. Sainsbury’s I a brand rather than just a retail store. The ATL and BTL( bellow the line) promotions, both are important for creating a proper impact among the customer. But for a brand like Sainsbury’s where people go for their monthly grocery shopping should have very strong BLT activities. Non Media promotions such as sales promotions in the store, leaflet insertions, direct mails and regular news letters are very much important. “Recommend the use of individual techniques in two commercial situations. As part of Sainsbury’s how you would design and apply these techniques to fit in the above real life situations”. For any advertising the recall effect is very much important. It is very important to understand that why a simple cola flavor carbonated water has become the world’s no:1 brand and that is Coca-Cola. Each and every one of the prospective customer knows the brand Coca-Cola and who ever have seen the traditional old Coca-Cola Ad that is the little man with a big smile with a white cap, while Coca-Cola company launched the Sprite brand launched in 1940 by Coca-Cola, they used this little man as the symbolic representation of the brand and after that it became the Sprite boy and many stories started floating about him and gradually the brand Sprite came to the picture. (Bell, 2004. p, 21). In other hand the TESCO the largest retailer in UK introduced the TESCO Clubcard, which was the main value added service for the stores for the registered buyer had given them the ultimate profit and the lingering branding effect. In this context it can be stated that Sainsbury’s should apply some unique advertising method by which the brand would be fixed in a buyers mind. “Explain the principles and process of campaign management”. The advertising and promotional campaigns are the backbone of any brand. For a brand like Sainsbury’s, where the target group (TG) is almost every households in London, it is very important to make a campaign which is basically a 360 degree advertising and promotion campaign. In-house sale promotion is very important. It is very important to understand why a customer would buy the same brand from Sainsbury’s while they will get it in TESCO or ASDA. Free gifts, discounts and other value added services are very much important for these retail stores. Most of the manufactures or the distributers provide heavy promotional discounts to these retail stores. These promotional allowances should be utilized in a proper way to give discounts and some value added services related to the brands to clear the stocks. (Belch, 2003, p. 547). “Combine appropriate techniques into an integrated and cost-effective campaign”. The retail stores are for everyone. So everyone should know about the brand. The effective advertising campaign should include all the Medias, such as TV, Radio, Newspapers, Hoarding, and some selective campaigns through internet and direct marketing such as in-store sales promotion campaign, canopies and obviously home delivery campaigns which very much effective. The mass media advertising campaigns are definitely important but for the immediate effect over the sales few important value added services are very much important. However it should be remember strongly that Sainsbury’s neglected the TESCO’s Club-card campaign, which would be a strong reminder effect to them for understanding why TESCO is still the no: 1 retailer in London. (Piercy. 2002. P. 711). “Present promotion recommendations in the form of a promotion plan. As part of team present and communicate appropriately your findings or recommendations”. Promotion is basically an activity which increases the sales and pushes the brand to run well in the market. For promoting a product the back plan for the branding is very important which is basically give the lingering effects in the mind of the customer but to convert that effect to real-time sales, the promotion is very important. These promotions can be in any form, the best way to promote the store would be to provide some unique services which might interest a customer to buy from Sainsbury’s. Few of the unique promotions would be over the counter promotions in store, free home delivery, heavy discount on Wednesday Shopping, free parking place and gaming arrangement for the kids. “Suggest appropriate measures for assessing campaign effectiveness. Use your critical reflection to evaluate your own work and justify valid conclusions”. It is very important to measure the campaigns in a quantitative manner as the money involved in a campaign should be justified to the higher management and definitely towards the brand equity of the specific brand. For Sainsbury’s it is vital to understand why TESCO is the number one retailer in London? What different they do be in the top? Is it possible to be in the top if Sainsbury’s replicate those steps? Well, in a branding and marketing, it is very important to understand the customer need, taste and obviously the emotional attachment with the brand. For an example as TESCO introduced the TESCO Club-Card, which gave then the tremendous success, but may be later but Sainsbury’s also introduce these value added services. Now the question is still why they are not the No: one? The answer would be the implication of the innovative thoughts with respect to the time and taste and preferences of the customers. “Sainsbury’s is in an industry where price is playing an important role in defying the competitors. How can you manage and organize an advertising and promotions plan for the stores in London, to increase the selling”. Sainsbury’s is serving the customer under the retail industry where the profit margin is not that high and the inventory cost is pretty high, so the proper pricing is very important to maintain the proper balance between the customer satisfaction and profit margin. Pricing is the only essential factor for any brand or a product to generate revenues. (Rao, 2009, p, 9). The proper pricing would make the difference among the stores in the retail sector so main magic formula would be open more store and reduce the price accordingly so the volume of the sales would go high so the as the profits and revenues. “Demonstrate creative thinking while organizing and managing the above plan”. Most of the retailers in London are selling the same brands! So the question is how to be the leader. the retailers in London are selling brands which are the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and may be few durable consumer goods, other cookeries and some of them are selling medicated products. It means the products which are sold in these modern superstores are over the counter products and which are accessible for almost everyone. So for these stores the incredible magic formula which gives immediate effect for a successful retail business is “quality product with fair pricing and value added services” which creates an emotional attachment with the brand. Referencing Bell, L. (2004). The story of Coca-Cola. Mankato:Black Rabbit Books. Belch. (2003).Advertising and promotion: an integrated marketing communications perspective. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Copley, P. (2004).Marketing communications management: concepts and theories, cases and practices. Missouri: Butterworth-Heinemann. Erickson G.M. (1991). Dynamic models of advertising competition: open- and closed- loop extensions. Berlin: Springer. Harris, D & Stephanidis, C. (2003) . Human-centred computing: cognitive, social and ergonomic aspects. London: Routledge. Hughes, G & Fill, C. (2007). Marketing Communications 2007-2008. Missouri: Butterworth-Heinemann Leitner, A. (2007). Marketing Communication. Munich: GRIN Verlag. Piercy. N. (2002). Market-led strategic change: a guide to transforming the process of going to market. Missouri: Butterworth-Heinemann Rao,V R. (2009). Handbook of pricing research in marketing. Camberley Surrey: Edward Elgar Publishing Schumann, D, W & Thorson E. (2007). Internet advertising: theory and research. London: Routledge Springer, P. (2007). Ads to icons: how advertising succeeds in a multimedia age. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Swoboda, B. Morschett, D. Rudolph, T. Schnedlitz, P & Schramm-Klein, H. (2009). European Retail Research, Volume 23. Germany: Gabler Verlag. Wilmshurst, J & Mackay, A. (1999). The fundamentals of advertising. Missouri:Butterworth-Heinemann. Nd. Company overview .Corporate website, J Sainsbury. Available at: http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=12 . accessed on August 5. 2010. Read More