Innovation And Product Development Of Nokia - Research Paper Example

Innovation And Product Development Of Nokia Executive Summary Nokia started their operation in Australia in the year 1985. In 1993, they commenced introducing mobile handsets to the customers. They have become a recognised and reliable brand name and also one of the most preferred one. This paper looks to develop a strategy for Nokia’s integrated marketing communication unit. The target market of Nokia products are people mainly in the age group of 25-45 years. The business men and women are the prime target market for catering their products. The products of Nokia such as smartphones, N-Series, E-Series are a few of the featured phone which are specially prepared for the target consumer segment. The price of the products also vary in range, though the high-end consumers generally like to provide price a second determining factor in their purchase decision while giving quality, features availability a prime significance. Nokia’s ‘connecting people’ tagline and websites are main draws of attraction for people. The key competitors of Nokia are Apple and HTC. Brand awareness and customer loyalty are the two most significant features of Nokia, which are distinct to themselves. The competitors are either capable of catering to a particular segment like for HTC who mainly targets business people and also Apple who are close on the heels of Nokia in terms of features, appearance but lacks the brand loyalty. These features along with quality, reliability, and efficient software usage have enabled Nokia to gain competitive advantage. The websites, television advertisements are the two prime targets for brand contact strategy. Social network can also play a major role to attract young consumer segment towards the product. In terms of gaining customer perspective the future research activates such as survey, focus group play a major role to gain an insight into the consumer segments interest and taste and preferences. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 1.0 Problem Identification, Research and Decision Making 4 1.1 Key Stakeholder Target 4 1.1.2 Demographic Segmentation 5 1.1.3 Geographic Segmentation 5 1.1.4 Psychographic Segmentation 6 1.1.5 Behavioural Segmentation 7 1.1.6 Key Findings – Hot Button 8 1.1.7 Description of Key Target 8 1.2 Brand and Product Personality 9 1.2.1 Product Range 9 1.2.2 Research and Description of Product 9 1.2.2.1 Product Benefits (Actual Vs. Perceived) 10 1.2.2.2 Product Differentiation 11 1.2.2.3 Product Design Evaluation 11 1.2.3 Research and Description of Brand Personality 13 1.2.4 Key Findings – Hot Button 14 1.3 Competitive Frame 14 1.3.1 Competitive Framework 15 1.3.2 Competitive Offerings and Communication 17 1.3.3 Market Evaluation of Competitors 19 1.3.4 Competitive Advantage 20 2.0 Application and Evaluation 20 2.1 Competitive Consumer Benefit (CCB) 20 2.1.1 Target Market Justification 20 2.1.2 Product Justification 21 2.1.3 Competitor Justification 21 2.2 Message Strategy 22 2.2.1 Message Strategy Statement 22 2.2.2 Message Strategy Approach 23 2.2.3 Message Execution: Appeal and Execution 23 2.3 Brand Contact Strategy 24 2.3.1 Company created contacts 24 2.3.2 Customer Created Contacts 26 2.3.3 Intrinsic contacts 27 27 2.3.4 Unexpected Contacts 27 2.3.5 Media Selection and Schedule 29 2.3.6 Media Selection and Schedule Table 30 2.4 Future Research 31 References 33 Bibliography 38 Appendices 39 1.0 Problem Identification, Research and Decision Making 1.1 Key Stakeholder Target 1.1.1 Product Category Nokia can be described as the world leader in the segment of mobility, driving the transformation and also growth of the congregating internet and also communication industries (Nokia, 2010). Nokia has developed and established itself as leader in the global telecommunication sector. Nokia although present in the world business industry for over 100 years, they have primarily established their stranglehold in the telecommunication industry after the boom in the use of mobile phone in around 1992. They have made the mobile phone sector their core business. In the last decade Nokia have emerged as a success due to its ability to pioneer and develop new technologies. They have in recent times continued with this trend by launching 3rd Generation mobile phones, Ovi, a new internet service based brand (Appendix 12). They have been recognised in 2007 as worlds ‘5th most valued brand’ (Nokia, 2010). As of 2009, around 1.2 billion people are able to connect with each other by the use of Nokia manufactured devices (Nokia, 2009). Nokia has always targeted the people as the target market for their products. “Connecting people” have always been their vision for future and in every aspect of the strategy development. They also have a wide assortment of outstanding devices and unmatched geographic reach and scale (Nokia, 2010). 1.1.2 Demographic Segmentation Nokia’s offers a wide assortment of products targeting a large number of customers comprising of different demographic segment. From the conducted survey provided in appendix 1 it can be seen that around 58% of male and around 42% female respondent’s were the buyer of Nokia mobile phone. In terms of age group of the buyers around 25% of them are in between 18-25 years, while around 36% and 33% buyers were in between the age group of 25 to 45 years. From the study findings it can be seen that a wide age group of customers prefer to buy Nokia phones instead of others. Nokia has been able to capture a wide demographic consumer segment especially by offering products to the consumers in a variety of price range. There are products offered for high income group, low income group, business people, college and university goers, music lovers and also people requiring high memory space. Due to the wide spectrum of offering, Nokia have been able to capture people of varied demographic (Scribd, 2006). 1.1.3 Geographic Segmentation Nokia offers their product in around 160 countries worldwide. Their R&D is present in 16 countries (Nokia, 2009). The device manufacturing is done in nine countries (Authorstream, 2010). Nokia in terms of geographic presence from the statistics provided in Nokia’s website it can seen that around 22% of net sales are generated from the Asia-Pacific region in which Australia is one of the key contributors (Nokia, 2010). In terms of Asia-Pacific market China is a major part of Nokia’s success. Australia though has played a key role gaining significant position in this market. In Australia, Nokia had a gone for an equipment supply agreement with Vodafone Hutchinson (Nokia, 2010). In Australia, Nokia basically operates as a sales and marketing based organisation. They are mainly present in Sydney and Brisbane in Australia (humanresourcesmagazine, 2008). Headquarter of Nokia in Australia is located in Sydney. They have offices, and Nokia Care Centres in each of the state capital for specially serving the needs of the wide spread consumer base of Nokia. There are also 6000 retailers present in the country who sell the products manufactured by Nokia (Nokia Australia, 2010). From the results of gathered through interview of the respondents it can be seen that around 85% of them tend to purchase Nokia mobile phones. The respondents usually prefer to purchase Nokia products from Optus Shop (Appendix 1). 1.1.4 Psychographic Segmentation From the survey of consumers it can be seen that the purchasers of the Nokia mobile phones are of a wide age group level. The age group range varies from 18 to 55. This scenario means that a varied lifestyle preferring consumers are purchasers of Nokia mobile phones. Nokia website has been visited by around 61% of the survey respondents. They also provide product related advertisement in internet, newspaper, magazines, television. This varied set of method is employed by Nokia to capture the imagination of its wide spectrum and lifestyle of buyers. From the facts gathered in appendix 2, it can be seen that Nokia has been able to capture the business man and woman in the age group of 25-45. Nokia’s high-tech intelligence well-designed mobile phones have become a basic necessity for this lifestyle of people. They are a prime choice for this segment. Nokia’s features providing email checking facility on the move, 3G facilities, schedule preparing facility and many more such features have attracted a large plethora of buyers. Nokia’s stable software utilisation and after sales service has been a major appeal for the purchasers of the cell phones. They have also been able to offer products like Smartphones, Touch screen phones, E Series, N Series which have been an eye catcher for a wide segment and lifestyle of people. (Appendix 6, 7, 8). 1.1.5 Behavioural Segmentation In terms of behavioural segmentation it can be seen that around 85% of the consumers have or tend to buy a Nokia phone. The results also show that 72% of them have at least a single mobile phone, while around 22% have claimed that they have two mobile phones. This statistics show that majority of consumers who have mobile phones are likely to purchase a Nokia Brand phone. The respondents have also replied on the reason for them going for a particular mobile phone over the other. The main two reasons being appearance (70%) and brand (55%). Nokia has been able achieve a dominant position in these two front which has made them a prime choice. (Appendix 1) The study also shows that in terms of usage type 76% of the users use the mobile phone for business purpose. Nokia has got an advantage in this aspect as the high tech functionality and various applications have made it a prior choice for business man and also woman (Appendix 1 & Appendix 2). In terms of preferred models advanced E-series model is a major choice of around 47% of the users. Other prime choices are Touch and business N series. In terms of purchase or change scenario for Nokia phones, it can be seen that every one year (42%) and when a phone dies (37%) have been the major reason. Optus shop has been the main purchase location of Nokia products (Appendix 1). Brand loyalty, strong customer base are Nokia’s strengths. Nokia’s ability to come up with an application that the consumer want and need has been able to make a lasting difference in terms of Nokia’s stranglehold (Appendix 3). Nokia has become a market leader in the smartphone segment keeping Apple behind them by providing high class technology. They are also a market leader in the World’s handset provider segment, leaving behind their competitors far behind and with lots a catch up to do (Appendix 11). 1.1.6 Key Findings – Hot Button The consumer hot button is ‘I want a world class, distinctive, and high performing product- at a varied price range of which I can rely upon’. 1.1.7 Description of Key Target The target consumer of Nokia brand purchase most of their mobile phones particularly business purpose. The appearance, brand, quality, value, application is the major catch for the major business minded consumer segment. The high tech technology, software usage is a major requirement for the prime target consumer segment who tend be always on the move and prefer high tech facilities on their phones which are generally provided by Nokia. The key target stakeholders are primarily a wide age group range i.e. 25 to 45 years (Appendix 2). Nokia phones have created such a brand image among the consumers that they also look to repurchase Nokia mobile phones. The prime user for the mobile phones is business users who generally look for quality and application rather than price as phone in the segment of $500 and also $1000 are predominant choice of mobile phones purchases (Appendix 1). 1.2 Brand and Product Personality 1.2.1 Product Range Nokia’s dominated and prime product range involve Smartphone, Touch, Business N-series, and advanced E-series (Appendix 1). A very stable, high-tech software and tremendous appearance has made these products a prime choice of users. The ‘connecting people’ message and Nokia website have helped Nokia immensely in displaying their range of products among the users (Appendix 1). 1.2.2 Research and Description of Product The study will analyse Nokia’s high class mobile phone’s i.e. Smartphone, touch, N-Series, and E-series. These mobile phones have been the major draws for the target consumer segment as they possess different demanded and required facilities of the target users. Smartphones have become one of the major attractions for the business users. It is provided with Symbian Operating System (Appendix 9). The Symbian OS along with 3G facility, Nokia platform support; multitasking has enabled it to become a favoured product (Forum Nokia, 2009). Nokia’s E71 product is prepared keeping in mind to target consumers into business and sending SMS’s (Nokia Australia, 2010). . The N95 mobile phone is featured with online facilities especially attracting university students who are into chatting, and surfing internet (Nokia Australia, 2010). 1.2.2.1 Product Benefits (Actual Vs. Perceived) Nokia mobile phones have always evolved and maintained a customer focused approach in producing their products. Actual benefits from the Nokia products are push mail, design, performance, imaging, navigation, high-end technology, multimedia computer, vibrant visuals, easy internet connectivity, number of useful applications like widget, home screen facilities and many more (Appendix 6, 7, 8). The smart phones have acquired certain actual benefits such as mobile TV, web search, news info bar, music listening facility on mobile phone (Appendix 13). They have emerged as both communication and computing facility equipped gadget (Appendix 14).The touch screen design facility has provided consumer easy usability and attractive view (Appendix 16). These have made Nokia handset a sought after gadget and a world leader in among the handset providers (market share) (Appendix 11) and also a product of re-purchase (Appendix 2). In terms of perceived benefits, Nokia provides its users with high class appearance, an association with a world famous brand name which are the major factors which the consumers are looking for while purchasing a mobile phone (Appendix 1). A benefit for the consumers occur in terms of business activity front by using Nokia phones, as the handsets play a significant role in business users daily life. They also provide beneficial after sales service which provides adds significant shine to Nokia’s product (Appendix 2). 1.2.2.2 Product Differentiation The prime attributes which creates a differentiating factor for Nokia with respect to their competitors are its quality, reliability, appearance, brand name, features. The very strong software, numerous business applications are also a differentiating factor for Nokia (Appendix 2). Nokia’s key competitors are Apple, RIM, HTC, and Motorola. Smart phone by Nokia has created a major attraction and also has created a significant differentiating factor for Nokia over its competitors (Appendix 10). The facility such as WLAN, 3G, and Symbian OS availability is a single gadget has made the product different from others (Cha, 2005). 1.2.2.3 Product Design Evaluation The product design of Nokia has been created keeping in mind solely the consumer view point. The different model of mobile phones produced by Nokia have been provided keeping in mind different segment of users such as business users, university students, middle income group and other users. The mobile phones design with easy accessing capability of emails, 3G connectivity, WLAN connectivity, alarm facility, schedule maintaining capability have been a major attraction (Appendix 2). Nokia have provided and have come up with varied product design as per consumer need such as providing two way communications to its users which has enabled them to illustrate their tagline ‘connecting people’ literally (Appendix 3). 1.2.3 Research and Description of Brand Personality The brand personality of Nokia is high class product with reliability, quality, high brand awareness, and loyal consumer segment (Appendix 4). The consumer perspective i.e. providing products according to their varied consumer need and want is a prime objective of Nokia. ‘Connecting people’ have been their endeavour over the years. The company have been able to become very successful and also recognised brands (Nokia Australia, 2010). Brand loyalty is a major strength of Nokia. The brand personality from the company perspective is a customer oriented brand which always looks to provide the customer with high tech and intelligent functional equipped cell phones (Appendix 2). 1.2.4 Key Findings – Hot Button The product related key findings are like the most preferred Nokia product among the consumers are advanced E-series, business N-series and smart phones from Nokia (Appendix 1). The high quality functionality, strong software, appearance, reliability have been the major attraction for Nokia’s products. Hot Button for Product range: ‘A world class brand, with magnificent appearance, along with value, quality, reliability and capability’. 1.3 Competitive Frame Nokia belongs to the mobile telecommunication business framework. It has become a leading name for providing enterprise products and service, mobile technology, and also network infrastructure (Nokia Australia, 2010). In terms of competition Nokia has left all others behind by the shear strength of its products like Smart phones, E-series, and N-series. Nokia have secured the primary slot in the mind of the consumers forcing Apple iPhone as a second option (Appendix 2).Symbian Operating System which is used for Nokia made Smart Phones have been the most used ahead of iPhone OS, Blackberry OS, and Windows OS (Appendix 9). The smartphones vendor provides that Nokia are market leader in this mobile phone segment ahead of competitors like Apple, RIM, HTC, and Motorola (Appendix 10, 11). In terms handset market share worldwide as per 2008 statistics, Nokia was at 39%, the highest followed by Apple, RIM, HTG and others at 19.7% and then Samsung at 16.4% (Appendix 11). The smartphones global growth has touched around 24% in 2010 (Appendix 15). 1.3.1 Competitive Framework According to Analyst group IDC’s forecast, Apple iPhone in recent times have shown that they can displace Nokia’s smartphone’s and gain the number 1 spot in terms of SmartPhones. iPhones Australian market share has increased by 10.2%. The gap between them and Nokia is meagre 5% now. RIM’s blackberry has lost 4% of market share. The global market for the smart phones has been predicted to reach up to 1.7 billion by the year 2014. iPhone has experienced a really strong demand in the Australian market. The shipment of 2009 had grown by larger than 230 per cent basis year on year. Blackberry has kept up the competition by taking a somewhat different strategy of shifting their appeal to a wider section i.e. from only executives to now the entire mainstream consumers. iPhone has gained recognition by also the products ecosystem along with its features (Moses, 2010). Smartphone platforms in Australia Mobile OS (vendor*) Q1 '09 market share Q1 '10 market share Change in units shipped Symbian (Nokia, Samsung) 66.6% 45.2% 7% Mac OS (Apple) 10.2% 40.3% 523.1% BlackBerry OS (RIM) 12.8% 8.9% 10.1% Windows Mobile (Samsung, HTC, Palm) 9.5% 3.4% -43.1% Android (HTC, Motorola) 0.6% 2.1% 410% Others 0.3% 0.1% -17.6% *List of vendors not exhaustive. Source: IDC Australia (Colley, 2010). Nokia has been a Smart phones giant company over the past few years. They are poised to launch three business oriented smartphones in 2010, to regain back their market share from competitors such as Apple, Google, and HTC. The learning from mistake and constant innovation has been the key mantra for Nokia in 2010 for launching new smartphones. IDC have predicted that one of the competitor software makers of Nokia, Android’s market share would jump from existing 16.3% to 24.6%. They have been predicated to be better than Symbian, which could result in the fall of their market share to 32.9% from present 41% by 2014 (Stafford, 2010). 1.3.2 Competitive Offerings and Communication The prime competitors for Nokia are Apple, HTC, Motorola, and RIM. In terms of Nokia’s incorporated software Symbian, the competitors are iPhone OS, Blackberry OS, Windows mobile (Appendix 9, 10, 11). Apple iPhone has been recognised as undisputed second placed mobile phone. They possess unique design and also MAC brand name support. They also have planned to provide internet usage for the mobile phone which would enable it to become more cost effective (Appendix 2). Apple iPhone have become a close competitor of Nokia Phones. They have endangered the supremacy of Nokia. The touch design of Apple has helped them to gain larger amount of market share (Appendix 5). The high price of the device hasn’t been a detractor in the venture of increasing sales of Apple phones. In terms smart phones sell the Apple’s product have grown by around 27 percent in the second quarter (Ricknas, 2009). iPhone have also strategised to introduce new features which would enable them meet greater amount of business requirement and also to compete with Nokia. Apple iPhone 4 have been prepared to be more powerful, indispensable and easier to use (Apple, 2010). Apple’s launched product Apple iPhone 3GS had met with high enthusiasm and sales of 1 million units (Snol, 2009). HTC has gained positive feedback from the consumers due to its reliability and operation systems. Microsoft’s Windows mobile operating software has been used in HTC which has enabled them to notch up sales revenue up to $2.2 billion in the year 2005, an increase of 102% from 2004 sales. It has been listed as one of the ‘fastest growing tech company’ in the Business Week’s Info Tech 100. They have provided business travellers a beneficial way to work efficiently (Appendix 4). Targeting resellers have strengthened their standpoint in the industry. HTC have combined with Tegatech Australia, and have used the partnership to deliver compact design, sleek functionality, and also business travellers a product which would enable them to effectively work when they are on the move (Tegatech, 2007). HTC have recently launched smartphones at $599 with high level of usability along with compact and unique design (HTC, 2010). 1.3.3 Market Evaluation of Competitors A perceptual map will be prepared for Nokia and its competitors Apple iPhone and HTC. The main attributes which play a major role in tilting the balance of purchase towards a particular brand of mobile phones over the other are appearance/features, and brand along with brand loyalty (Appendix 4 & Appendix 5). In terms of position in the perceptual map in concerned, Nokia (Blue) is situated in the high brand awareness segment along with competitive price segment. Apple iPhone (Red) has comparatively low brand awareness to Nokia, but they provide high quality features which are in some cases comparable to Nokia’s offerings. HTC (Black) provides features like memory capacity, design, Wi-Fi, windows mobile system which is targeted at business customers. They tough lack the loyal customer base and brand awareness (Appendix 4 & Appendix 5). High Appearance/ Features Low Low Brand High 1.3.4 Competitive Advantage The competitive advantage of Nokia emanates from brand loyalty, and also high brand awareness of the consumers. The consumers of Nokia are generally brand conscious, repeat purchasers. The significant amount of purchasers is business purpose buyers who generally look for brand, quality and available features instead of price while making the decision to buy. Nokia’s after sales service, very strong software support, ability to interpret and produce a range of different products have enabled them to gather a substantial competitive edge (Appendix 1, 2) 2.0 Application and Evaluation 2.1 Competitive Consumer Benefit (CCB) The competitive consumer benefit of Nokia is: Nokia is a provider of wide variety of products for different consumer segment along with reliability, quality of product, after sales service. 2.1.1 Target Market Justification From the key target insights the CCB can be justified. As it can be seen that the target market wants a reliable, quality product along with varied range from which they can choose from. The user experience has been a major added advantage of Nokia which has enabled them to capture a significant market share. They also provide consumers ‘inspired human technology’ (Nokia, 2005). 2.1.2 Product Justification From key product insight it can be seen that product of Nokia provide world class products, with quality, reliability, value, appearance (Appendix 2). The products prepared by Nokia are prepared keeping in mind the customers as target market and to increase as well as create brand loyalty. 2.1.3 Competitor Justification As per the 1.3 competitive frames, the key attributes which creates a differentiation are brand loyalty, provided features and appearance along with high brand awareness. Apple doesn’t have the brand loyalty as compared to Nokia but they have got high prestige, usability and features as per the new demand of the consumers (Appendix 5). In case of HTC the products are specially targeted at business customer segment with suitable features (Appendix 4). Nokia have always looked for diversified design to stay ahead of its competitors and have come up with varied assortment of handsets according to the want and need of their large number of consumer segment (Appendix 3). 2.2 Message Strategy 2.2.1 Message Strategy Statement Message strategy is a part of creative strategy development. This strategy helps to guide the execution of the processes which are part of the creative approach (Roberts & Berger, 1999). For the consumers aged between 25 to 45 business men and also women who require flexibility in the different applications of the mobile phone along with quality product (Ref Appendix 2). Who wants a world class, distinctive, and high performing product- at a varied price range (Ref 1.1.6 – Key finding – Hot Button). Our product is a reliable, quality product which provides a number of business applications, and a strong software base (1.2.2.2 Product Differentiation). That provides a wide variety of products for varied consumer segment with reliability, quality, and notable after sales services (Ref. 2.1 Competitive Consumer Benefit). Unlike Apple products such as iPhones which provides products but offer less variety and price flexibility and have less brand awareness, and also HTC who are generally providing cell phones for particularly business user consumer segment (Ref. 1.3.3 Market Evaluation of Competitors). Our product is a collection of high quality, reliable, with high-tech intelligent software facility product along with remarkable appearance which has been able to distinguish itself in the market by its brand image (1.2.4 Key Findings – Hot Button). 2.2.2 Message Strategy Approach A brand related message strategy is the most significant strategy for differentiating Nokia’s products from its competitors. According to 1.3.4 Competitive advantage and also in order to communicate the brand’s main competitive consumer benefit (2.1 Competitive Consumer Benefit) this strategy is significant. This strategy helps to create an image of the Nokia’s product with respect to its competitor brands like Apple. This strategy helps to create that significant differentiating factor which enables Nokia to attract a customer ahead of the likes of Apple. 2.2.3 Message Execution: Appeal and Execution In case of brand image related message strategy, emotional and rational appeal has to be used. This helps to attract and also influence consumers feeling and attitude towards the product. The Nokia products are prepared and handled among the consumers as a brand name and they like to look for consumer need and want for catering products. The business user segment is appealed by highlighting the features and benefit that it will provide them. The N-Series mobile phones are targeted to appeal the rational senses of buyers such as university goers who indulge in the frequent usage of mobile phone for social networking. The tagline of ‘connecting people’ has been taken to another level by Nokia by providing not only facility to connect with the use of meagre use handset but also with the use of software support and online information (Appendix 3). 2.3 Brand Contact Strategy 2.3.1 Company created contacts Corporate Branding- According to one of the definition of Brand “Companies create products, but customers buy brands” (Brandt, 2000). Nokia’s strategy for the new campaign can include corporate branding strategy. Nokia worldwide have been able to create a niche for them by creating a brand identity. The survey feedback also suggests that around 55% of the new purchasers of mobile phones look towards brand identity for purchasing (Appendix 1). Customers have identified purchasing Nokia products as an experience as they are generally prepared as per the needs of the customers (Appendix 3). Therefore Nokia can leverage this advantage to create their place in among the consumers in the new campaign. Brand Identity Creation- Nokia can look to create brand identity of their products as they have done globally by employing strategies like brand personality creation, product design and also positioning. Nokia’s products human technology factors can be emphasised to the customers. The trust and also consideration which Nokia has got for its customers can create an instant recognition and can lead Nokia’s new product to a successful launch. Nokia’s brand identity like a trusted brand can be utilised (Branding Asia, n.d.). Public Relations- This plays a significant role in case of Nokia. They are a trusted and recognised brand. Therefore PR can be a tangible IMC strategy from the company side. The already identifiable brand image of Nokia can be further enhanced by highlighting the positive measurable factors to the public. Online PR can also be as in among the entire target market customers of Nokia there are primarily business users and university students (Appendix 2, 3) who are internet savvy and also from the survey it is seen that around 61% of the respondents have seen Nokia’s website (Appendix 1). Therefore online PR campaign can enable them to highlight the benefits of the product to the target market. Advertisements- In terms of advertisements it is seen that in the target market different types of advertisement media’s are preferred by the customers. These are magazine, internet, newspaper, TV (Appendix 1). These various noticeable advertisements can be employed by Nokia to popularise their products. They can look to utilised popular magazines related to mobile phones and technical gadgets to advertise their product. The prime news channels, most preferred TV channels can be utilised to give Nokia’s product related advertisements. The internet can be employed to target their prime demographic customers who are in the 25-25 age group as they relate to internet for performing their work. Newspaper advertisements can also be handy to attract the target customers. 2.3.2 Customer Created Contacts Product Discussion Forum- The website can play a major role in this factor. The website of Nokia has been recognised by 61% of the survey respondents (Appendix 1). Therefore it can be believed that they like to visit the website for getting product related information from the website. New product campaign can utilise this factor to create brand awareness among the customers. The consumers can be provided facility to interact with each other through the utilisation of the website by creating blogs and sharing their personal gains and opinions from and towards the Nokia product. Discussion forum will enable Nokia to know about the updated and the very latest taste and preferences of the customers which would enable them to devise their product related strategy accordingly. Customer Feedback Form- It can be used successfully to receive feedback from customers who have used Nokia products. This would enable them to amend any flaws in the campaign according to the received feedback and would enable them to evaluate accordingly. Social Networking sites can be used by Nokia as a large section of their product buyers are university goers who like to spend time by social networking (Appendix 3). The queries and suggestions of the customers can be highlighted in this process and Nokia can look to satisfy their needs. Customer Satisfaction Forum- This can also be created in Optus Shop and 3 Shop (Appendix 1), where the prime purchase of Nokia mobiles is done. A questionnaire can be prepared and handed over to the target customers to get their opinion and measure product satisfaction level. This would immensely enhance the IMC strategy as it would help in better understanding the customers. 2.3.3 Intrinsic contacts Store Displays- The Optus Shop, 3 Shop can utilised to display the new product to all the customers. The PR campaign (Refer to 2.3.1 Company created contacts) and along with the brand popularity of Nokia can attract lots of customers who can be targeted by highlighting the value of the new product in this contact strategy. Leaflets and Nokia Care Centres- Leaflets can play a significant role to reach out to a wide segment of target audience. Nokia Care Centres along with Optus Shop, 3 Shop can be utilised to hand over leaflets to the customers visiting these shops. This would help to create awareness of product and would help to create interest among the target audience. 2.3.4 Unexpected Contacts The various contact points have to be monitored to trap all positive and also negative messages from the customer end. The company controlled messages and factors highlighted in their campaign have to in tandem with product based messages. This would enable them avoid any confusion from the customer end and would eliminate brand damage. The customer reviews, online reviews, magazine reviews have to be monitored by the company to avoid any dispute and damage to the brand. The awareness on the part of the company would enable them to quickly rectify and tackle any unexpected scenario. 2.3.5 Media Selection and Schedule In terms of media selection, the websites and television are the two prime significant sources. The websites of Nokia are being visited by a host of visitors and they are aware of Nokia. The product and their features can be aptly displayed through this medium. The social networking has become a strong source of product promotion, as many young people and also others are indulging in social networking. The television advertisement can also be a source of communication to a large number of audiences (Appendix 1). The IMC campaign would start from a month before the New Year. This would enable the new product to leverage benefits from Christmas and New Year shopping spree. The time of this launch can benefit Nokia as the consumers at this point of time look for variety and change at times. Thus the new campaign can be very fruitful. Advertisement campaigns, PR campaign, store displays can also start at this point of time which would enable Nokia to demonstrate the benefit of their product over the others. The online discussion forum and also the website can be launched accordingly to check the product related feedback and customer opinion in the month of January. Social Networking can also be started to use as a medium of communication throughout the period of product launch and beyond. ‘Connecting People’ message association of the target customers can be used to link the new products benefits along with the benefits of the previous products of Nokia. 2.3.6 Media Selection and Schedule Table Media Schedule Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Company Controlled Website Magazine Public Relations Television advertising Product discussion Forum Customer Feedback Forum Customer Controlled Social Networking Reviews 2.4 Future Research The future research can be divided into short term research i.e. pre-campaign launch, medium term research i.e. launch to 1 year, and long term i.e. 1 year plus time frame. In terms of short term research it can be stated that early stages of the development of a concept, concept testing is conducted. This stage involves taking the interview of the focus group of the product. This strategy is developed to judge the feasibility of the concept in the particular marketplace. Influence of peers which occur in this case is a limitation of this strategy. The response of respondents is vital in this case as they are the most crucial component to judge the key target market. A confirmatory testing has to be conducted to analyse the final feasibility of the market. The limitation such as shorter span of attention, biased selection of respondents is certain crucial factors in this stage. In the short term concept testing would be done on the specific demographic section i.e. especially 25-45 age group people belonging to bossiness segment users and university goers. This would help to gather consumer response towards the message and campaign of the new product. As customers prefer online sources, therefore online survey would be conducted of the target market to enhance the understanding. Pre-testing campaign can utilise the feedback received from this part to amend and make necessary changes before final product launch. In case medium term research monitoring the campaign plays a crucial role along with utilisation online survey. Nokia can look to utilise such approach to compare the competitors product based feedback along with the own products (Schöttler, 2007). The strategy would also look to employ procedures like direct observation of the strategies employed by the competitors, content analysis, unexpected contacts monitoring to be in touch with latest happenings in terms of the product context. A Day-after recall test could also benefit the new product launch. In case of long term approach IMC audit is a crucial determining factor to determine the position in terms of market place. The current and also potential strategy evaluation is a major part in this stage. Understanding the key target market and developing products as per consumer needs and wants are crucial step to create brand loyalty (Appendix 1, 2). The constant tracking if industry developments along with new software development in the market would be done to keep in touch with the need of the market. Along with it re-evaluation of competitors as per the then market share and industry scenario would enable Nokia to move ahead successfully in future. These strategies would enable the product to keep the customer loyalty at present and in future. In case maintaining a stable position in the market Nokia needs to keep on constantly developing their products along with keeping in view the consumer interest. References Apple, (2010). iPhone. Features. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.apple.com/au/iphone/features/ Authorstream, (2010). Nokia Marketing Strategy (plan). Presentation. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/rohit7jan-238784-nokia-marketing-strategy-plan-business-finance-ppt-powerpoint/ Brandt, M., (2000). Building World-Class Brands for Competitive Advantage. Pdfs. Retrieved Online on October 19, 2010 from http://www.probrand.com/pdfs/compadvbrands.pdf Branding Asia, (No Date). Nokia - Building a Powerful Technology Brand. Cases. Retrieved Online on October 19, 2010 from http://www.brandingasia.com/cases/nokia.htm Cha, B., (2005). Nokia's E series takes on BlackBerry. Mobile Phones. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.cnet.com.au/nokia-s-e-series-takes-on-blackberry-240057621.htm Colley, A., (2010). Surging iPhone hot on the heels of Nokia as Australia's No 1 smartphone. Australian IT. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/surging-iphone-hot-on-the-heels-of-nokia-as-australias-no-1-smartphone/story-e6frgakx-1225879621669 Forum Nokia, (2009). Symbian OS. Article. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://wiki.forum.nokia.com/index.php/Symbian_OS humanresourcesmagazine, (2008). Making your mark with employer branding. Articles. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/7F/0C05707F.asp?Type=60&Category=880 HTC, (2010). HTC Launches Compact Smartphone – HTC HD mini. News Releases. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.htc.com/au/press.aspx?id=138942&lang=1033 Moses, A., (2010). Apple threatens Nokia's dominance. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/apple-threatens-nokias-dominance-20100521-w0f7.html Nokia, (2010). About Nokia. Nokia Corporate. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia Nokia, (2010). Story of Nokia. Company. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia/company/story-of-nokia Nokia, (2009). Nokia Sustainability Report 2009. Pdf. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://nds1.nokia.com/NOKIA_COM_1/Corporate_Responsibility/Sustainability_report_2009/pdf/sustainability_report_2009.pdf Nokia, (2010). Vision and strategy. Company. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia/company/vision-and-strategy Nokia, (2010). Graphs. Key data. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia/financials/key-data/graphs Nokia, (2010). Interim Report. Results. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.nokia.com/results/Nokia_results2010Q2e.pdf Nokia Australia, (2010). Nokia in Australia. Company. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.nokia.com.au/about-nokia/company Nokia Australia, (2010). Nokia N95. Find Products. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.nokia.com.au/find-products/all-phones/nokia-n95 Nokia Australia, (2010). Nokia E71. Find Products. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.nokia.com.au/find-products/all-phones/nokia-e71 Nokia, (2005). Inspired human technology. Press Backgrounder. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.nokia.com/NOKIA_COM_1/About_Nokia/Press/White_Papers/pdf_files/backgrounder_inspired_human_technology.pdf Ricknas, M., (2009). Apple impresses as smartphone sales grow. Article. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.techworld.com.au/article/314678/apple_impresses_smartphone_sales_grow Roberts, M. L. & Berger, P. D., (1999). Direct Marketing Management. Prentice Hall. Scribd, (2006). Nokia Segmentation. Doc. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/15025159/Nokia-Segmentation-on-the-basis-of-lifestyle-segmentation Stafford, P., (2010). Nokia launches three new phones – but can it stop its market share falling? Information-Technology. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.smartcompany.com.au/information-technology/20100915-nokia-launches-three-new-phones-but-can-it-stop-its-market-share-falling.html Snol, L., (2009). Apple more profitable than Nokia. Tech World. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.techworld.com.au/article/325903/apple_more_profitable_than_nokia Schöttler, J. S., (2007). Innovation and New Product Development: Launch Strategy and Market Plan for the New Product "Click and Drain". GRIN Verlag. Tegatech, (2007). HTC defines mobile computing with introduction of Shift. News. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.tegatech.com.au/news/press_releases/Tegatech-HTC-Shift.pdf Bibliography Belch, (2003). Advertising and promotion: an integrated marketing communications perspective. Tata McGraw-Hill. IBISWorld, (2008). Nokia Australia Pty Limited. IBISWorld Company Profile Reports. Retrieved Online on October 14, 2010 from http://www.ibisworld.com.au/enterprisefull/default.aspx?entid=5453 Appendices Appendix 1: Primary Research: Survey and Results Q1 Do you have Nokia phone or tend to buy one? Yes No 85% 15% Q2 How many phones do you usually have? One Two More than 2 72% 22% 6% Q5 What are the specifications you are looking for when purchasing a new phone? Appearance Touch screen Brand Camera Battery capacity Memory Data network Speed Easy to use 70% 15% 55% 25% 40% 35% 20% 15% Q6 Please, rank the followings in order of importance: Calls/ SMS Multimedia / camera internet GPS Memory 1st 63% 19% 6% 6% 6% 2nd 22% 67% 11% 0% 0% 3rd 10% 10% 80% 0% 0% 4th 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Q7 What is your usage type? Business Personal 76% 24% Q8 On a 1 to 10 scale, how reliable do you think are Nokia’s products? Basic Medium Advanced 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0% 0% 0% 0% 15% 10% 25% 30% 0% 5% Q9 What price range you are looking after? > 100 $200-$500 $500< $1000>   6% 19% 57% 18%   Q10 Amongst its competitors, which company of the following do you think is the most likely to be similar to Nokia? Apple iphone HTC Black Berry         63% 31% 6%         Q11 What model are you after? Touch Business N series Advance E series 26% 27% 47% Q12 How often do you update/change/buy new Nokia phone on average? Every New model Every one year Every two year When your phone dies 5% 42% 16% 37% Q13 On a 1 to 10 scale, what type of users do you rank yourself? Low Medium Heavy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0% 0% 0% 6% 2% 0% 21% 21% 41% 7% Q14 What is your gender? Male Female 58% 42% Q15 age group 18-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55-65 65+ 26% 36% 33% 5% 0% 0% Q16 In which media are you most likely to take notice of Nokia advertisement? Internet Newspaper Magazine TV Billboard friends 14% 11% 21% 25% 0% 4% Q17 Have you been to Nokia’s website? Yes No 61% 39% Q18 On a 1 to 10 scale, how would you rate it overall? Bad Good Excellent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0% 0% 0% 7% 21% 21% 21% 21% 0% 7% Q19 What would you change if you could? N/A Camera and good Internet speed 37% Good looking 17% Improve of software 33% Cost of internet to use 13% Q20 Where do you usually buy your Nokia product? Optus shop Vodafone 3 shop Online Overseas market 53% 5% 21% 11% 11% Q21 Do you recognise “Connecting People” communication message refers to which company? Yes (Nokia) No (I’m not sure) 87% 13% Appendix 2: In Depth Interviews: Target Market Interview Questions The following questions have been asked: Age and occupation? How often do you use the phone? How many Nokia handsets did you have before? Why did you choose Nokia? What particular function do you need? Is it for business? Which function is the most important or essential for business? Where do you seek for support, information and software update? Have you ever had any bad experience? In what way do you think Nokia smart phone need to improve? Which other brand do you think is very competitive to Nokia smart phone and why is that? Why did you still choose/not choose Nokia in the end? Is the price a concern? Are you a Nokia loyal customer? Would you recommend Nokia handset to your friends? Results As a successful business man/woman aged between25-45, a high-tech intelligence functional cell phone is the basic necessity. Nokia is prior choice. They are consistently checking email and spend most of their time away from the office and need to sync or have access to e-mails, contacts and appointments, mainly for business purposes or high level of public relation contacts. Normally accessing emails, 3G connection, easy schedule make and alarm are the most particular functions to be used. Although Nokia has a very strong software and after-sales service, but as these phones get complicated the more chances they can be slower. Majority of the customers will repurchase Nokia based on the pervious good experience. Business users are usually seeking for value, quality and capability; price is not a major factor for their concerns during phase decision. They are very picky on the reliability of the handset because handset plays a major part for their business operation. Application to Marketing Most people will consider apple iPhone as their second option because of its unique design and being MAC users, as well as some iPhone plans already include internet usage for their mobile phone plans, therefore this is more cost effective. Appendix 3: In Depth Interviews: Industry Professional Interview Questions Which brand are you selling the most? Is Nokia a leading brand of smart handsets? How do you see Nokia’s position in the industry? Who is your key competitor? What advantage does Nokia have over other brands? How do you see the market is going and in is the plan in the next 6 month? Results Nokia is still the leading brand in the mobile phone industry, they have very strong customer base and brand loyalty. Smart phone is only one of their ranges, to targeting different type of business customer; even the smart phone range has some many different models to suit different age categories. For example E71 is targeting people who are doing business and sending a lot of SMSs, whereas N95 just for casual business operation even just for university students who need a handset to go online. Different models have a range of different price range; the variance is for targeting different age groups. Nokia understands customer’s needs and wants since they are still the leading brand; they are consistently improving their handset features to meet more customers’ requirements. Nokia often come with many different designs for the diversity of options. Application to Marketing Nokia does not see apple iPhone as their key competitor in the smart phone category, because they don’t see iPhone as a smart phone, they are only selling good because of its design. Nokia is still sending the message of “Connecting People”, customer is not just buying handset to connecting with other people, but in a two-way communication they are trying to connecting with other customer via online information and software support. Since the majority of the handsets are sold with a plan in telecommunication store, Nokia is not just selling to public, but this is also a b2b framework. To increase the sales, Nokia sends out sales representatives to give store support on the technology updates and training, as well as offering staff incentives to push the sales figures, whereas at the moment there is only blackberry and Nokia that are offering staff sales incentives, that driven the sales figure, because they believe that sales person is important part to deliver the handset to customer’s hand as well as the right communication message. Appendix 4: Competitive Frame Discussion: Market Competitor (Brand Attributes and IMC Approach) HTC HTC is now a well known brand specialising in smart handset, business users generally have very positive feedback on the handset both its operation systems and reliability. The company's growth has accelerated dramatically after being chosen by Microsoft as a hardware platform development partner for the Windows Mobile operating system (based on Windows CE). HTC's sales revenue totalled $2.2 billion for 2005, a 102% increase from the previous year. It was listed as the fastest growing tech company in Business Week’s Info Tech 100. (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/toc/06_27/B399106it100.htm) The HTC try to deliver unparalleled functionality in a sleek, compact design and offers business travellers a new way to work effectively when on the move. By targeting resellers-only Tegatech has grown from strength-to-strength. Via strategic reseller partnerships that focus on vertical markets, and the corporate sectors, Tegatech is creating a groundswell of interest. (http://www.tegatech.com.au/news/press_releases/Tegatech-HTC-Shift.pdf) The key advantage HTC has over Nokia is their handsets are very pacifically targeting business customers by its design, memory capacity, window’s mobile system and Wi-Fi, where are Nokia having its large base of loyalty customers and high brand awareness. Appendix 5: Competitive Frame Discussion: Market Competitor (Brand Attributes and IMC Approach) Apple iphone Ever since Apple iPhone been launched on the market last year, all other mobile brand sales has dropped, Nokia is the number one brand been effected. Even thought iPhone was not initially positioned themselves as a business phone or smart handset, their uniqueness of the touch design and application highly driven the sales, their great IMC tools has helped to gain larger portion of the market share. The bottom line is that the other vendors still can't come up with a device that can compete with Apple's brand prestige, the iPhone's usability and large applications store. The difference in sales underscores the continued attraction that the iPhone has to consumers, who are willing to pay a relatively high price for the device and sign expensive contracts, according to Milanesi. The launch of the Nokia N97 in June was met with little enthusiasm. The iPhone continued to shine as the sales of smartphones to end users grew by 27 percent during the second quarter compared to the same period last year, according to Gartner. (http://www.techworld.com.au/article/314678/apple_impresses_smartphone_sales_grow) The advantage of Nokia over iPhone is their brand loyalty, and other features that iPhone doesn’t have, for example blue tooth file transfer between devices, and window’s software. However in the evolution of iPhone design, they are sooner includes extra features that will meets more business requirement. Next week Apple will unveil new iPhone features to appeal to business to help it to compete with the BlackBerry phone. (http://www.smartcompany.com.au/information-technology/apple-s-iphone-for-the-business market.html) Appendix 6: Nokia Smart Phone, E Series Appendix 7: Nokia Smart Phone, N Series Appendix 8: Nokia Smart Phone, Introducing Touch Series Appendix 9: Symbian as the most used Operating System (Lee, 2009) Appendix 10: Nokia Sales Vs Apple’s & HTC’s (Lee, 2009) Appendix 11: Nokia is the Smart Phones’ Market Leader http://www.cellular-news.com/story/34527.php http://www.slideshare.net/guest9ee5d48b/mobile-idate-2009 Appendix 12: Nokia’s OVI Online Store Appendix 13: Some Actual Benefits of Smart Phones http://victrixmedia.com.au/?m=200803 http://www.phoneplusmag.com/images/i691p52c.jpg Appendix 14: http://www.slideshare.net/lis186/smartphone-market-trends Appendix 15: Smart Phones Global Growth (Lee, 2009) Appendix 16: Touch Screen as a Design Factor Appendix 17: Apple’s iPhone, Using Different IMC tools http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/5th_ave_iphone_ad.jpg     http://www.keynote2keynote.com/wp-content/uploads/mac_Iphone_by_PixelShader.jpg       http://alanweinkrantz.typepad.com/3screens/images/2008/05/04/photo.jpg         http://www.apple.com/au/contact/sponsor/     http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8EKW2oLwrlg/0.jpg Appendix 18: Porters five forces market analysis Barriers to entry In case new entry of any product, the barrier to entry is high. In case of new launch of product of Nokia the success ratio of the product is average. There is equal possibility that the product will be successful to meet the demand of the consumers or it may not be successful. The other factors like brand building, proper distribution channel selection, patents, price selection of a new product. Power of buyers The bargaining power of buyers is high. The reasons are price related sensitivity, substitutes with almost similar features to attract consumers. The buyers have the options available to negotiate. Rivalry among existing firms The rivalry is high. There are players like Apple, HTC, Motorola, and RIM present in the market who are always looking to come up with similar features filled products like Nokia. Advertising and promotion is extensively used by the companies to attract consumers. Power of suppliers Power of suppliers is low in case of Nokia. As Nokia is an established brand, the suppliers required for the smooth running of Nokia are almost always ever present. They also would look to associate their name with a brand like Nokia. Therefore this scenario reduces the ability of suppliers to negotiate. Threat of Substitutes The threat of substitutes in the specific market is low to medium. From the research it can be seen that brand loyalty is quite high among the customers. They generally don’t like to switchover to any other brand. Though in recent times Apple, and HTC have started to come up with quality products, but the range of products availability makes Nokia an undisputed leader in the mobile phones category.   Appendix 19: Following table shows each of the top five smartphone vendors' market share and shipments in the second quarter (Global figures). (Units in Millions) Vendor 2Q10 Shipment Volumes 2Q10 Market Share 2Q09 Shipment Volumes 2Q09 Market Share 2Q10/2Q09 Change 1. Nokia 24.0 38.1% 16.9 40.3% 42.0% 2. Research In Motion (RIM) 11.2 17.8% 8.0 19.1% 40.0% 3. Apple 8.4 13.3% 5.2 12.4% 61.5% 4. HTC 4.8 7.6% 2.1 5.0% 128.6% 5. Samsung 3.0 4.8% 1.1 2.6% 172.7% Source: IDC http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/41841/20100809/nokia-lg-samsung-apple-motorola-htc-rim-blackberry-iphone-symbian3-google-android-n8-meego-blackberr.htm Read More