Marketing Communications, Application of Theories to Practice - Assignment Example

 Marketing Communications Table of Contents Communications Opportunity Analysis 3 Application of Theories to Practice 3 Traditional Parameter Mix 4 Supplier Initiated Marketing Communication 5 Multiple communication Objectives 5 The Communication Strategy 6 Creative Ideas 7 Media Strategy 7 Below the line Communications 9 Direct and Digital 10 Campaign Evaluation 10 Reference 12 Bibliography 12 Communications Opportunity Analysis The two major objectives of communication are “to be understood and to be believed” (Taillard, 2001, p.1). Both of these acts are of equal importance as far as persuasive communication is concerned. The project aims to throw light on the different modes of marketing communication and tries to develop and present a communication plan for Gu Chocolate Puds. Before developing the plan, it is important to explore the opportunities in London. The project makes a study of the external environment. The external environment looks favourable, especially because the world has been gradually moving out of the recession. The most favourable situation is the rapid technological advancement across countries. The use of internet has increased drastically over the years and thus has become the most popular medium of communication by most organisations. Also, there have been an increasing number of teenagers using the internet which makes the internet the most effective medium of marketing communication for brand development (Neuez, 2003, p.4). It is also seen that teenagers are the largest consumers of chocolates. The conventional method of marketing communications in the chocolate industry in UK has been the electronic media. However, the chocolate market in UK looks bright. There is also a high demand for fast food in the nation. One of the close competitors in the field is Cadburys. However, the market share of the company has recently fallen. “Data from Nielsen, the market research company, showed Cadbury’s chunk of the chocolate market by value slipped 1.7 per cent to 29.8 per cent last month, the first time that it has fallen below 30 per cent all year” (Boyle, 2009). This situation could be used to the company’s advantage. However, there is one drawback that it would be confronting with. It might confront with a dip in the demand for chocolates as majority of the population greatly suffers from obesity. Application of Theories to Practice Scholars and marketing practitioners have been abandoning the approach of marketing mix and increasingly focussing on the process of relationship marketing and marketing communication strategies. Relationship marketing is defined as the process of establishment, development and maintenance of successful relationship exchanges. The activities involved focuses on decreasing exchange uncertainties and creating customer collaborations and commitment by gradually developing and adjusting with the mutual norms and routines (Andersen, 2001, p.168). If the customers can be retained over a number of transactions, both the sellers and the buyers may gain profits resulting from the previous transactions. The aim lies in the attempt to maximise profits as much as possible through the increase in the customer’s lifetime spending instead of generating profits from a single transaction. Thus the process of development of buyer and seller relationship is considered to be the numerous phases in which the trustworthiness of buyers and suppliers are put to test and “mutual norms governing exchange activities are developed” (Andersen, 2001, p.168). Scholars agree that communication is the fundamental aspect in relationship development. Communication is considered to be the quintessence behind the coordination of behaviour in an organisational setting. The entire inter-organisational distribution channel is held together by the process of communication. Communication is defined as the way in which a message is transferred to others and also giving it an understandable meaning for everyone. The definition primarily focuses on the way in which communication can produce the desired result, rather than the frequency with which information is exchanged. In the approach of marketing relationships, communication helps in the provision and understanding of each partner’s capabilities and intentions. This provides the basis on which the relationship is developed. Information sharing and the quality of the same determine how successful the relationship would be. Moreover, communication plays the role of informing the actors about the partners’ intension of exchange. Thus designing of the communication means and process plays a pivotal role in the marketing process (Andersen, 2001, p.169). Traditional Parameter Mix In the approach of traditional parameter mix, marketing communication primarily uses persuasion which is a one-way mode of communication. However, in marketing relationships communication plays a greater role than mere persuading. The other roles include informing, listening and even answering which requires two way communication and interaction. In addition to this the task of communication does not remain confined to small number of marketing personnel. Essentially all the supplier personnel who deal with customers serve the purpose of marketers in the process of relationship marketing communication (Andersen, 2001, p.169). This is the reason why the model of marketing communication involving a one way transfer of information process by the active sender and a an inactive recipient has become obsolete. The extent of committing resources depends on the extent of trust formation. To meet the individual demands, dialogue and interaction are required for building expectations. “Moreover, as regards the forming of expectations, only overly rational models of decision makers see communication as the exchange of purely factual information” (Andersen, 2001, p.169). In case of information settings which are incomplete, inactive elements like character judgement is required. This abides by the basic beliefs in classical rhetoric philosophy, which uses persuasion or influences people through language usage. In the context of relationship marketing, the building of trust and developing credibility are considered essential for building a collaborative atmosphere (Andersen, 2001, p.169). Supplier Initiated Marketing Communication Although the approach emphasises on information exchange, dialogues and communication in marketing relationships, however the role supplier initiated marketing communication have remained low. The contributions are also of a descriptive nature which allows limited usage for the marketing practitioner. Moreover, communication is also considered to be an independent variable required for the establishment of trust, development of the partnerships and for the mediating of a relationship atmosphere. The contributions are said to neglect the dynamic aspect of the relationship marketing and also the ways in which the strategies of communication are adopted in the phases of the marketing process. Certain normative contributions are there which are required to address specific aspects of the relationship management (Andersen, 2001, p.169-170). Multiple communication Objectives The modern theories of marketing communication rely on the benefits of multiple objectives of communication and also believe on the usage of various communication practices for the process of relationship building. In the modern theories, the dialogues with the customers are bound by particular contexts and also depend on prior beliefs and intentions of the parties engaged in conversation. The Communication Strategy The following paragraph would mention some of the strategies that the company would implement to attain its SMART goals and objectives, i.e., goals which are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound (Meyer, 2006, p.1). The setting of goals is primarily done because it allows the company to focus on results that it plans to target. Firstly the goal should be absolutely specific. This means that the company should be specific as to which kind of chocolate it would produce, ex., chip cookies, bar chocolates, etc. Goals should also be measurable. This would include the specific amount of chocolate that it would produce. It should have a yardstick to measure the outcomes. This would give an idea as to what extent the company is successful in producing the units it had targeted to produce. The goals should also be attainable (Meyer, 2006, p.1). It would not be wise of Gu Chocolate to set a target that is not be attainable or would be very difficult to attain. It would important to draft goals which would be realistic. This means that if the company would plan to emerge as the dominant brand in the market in a year, this would neither be a realistic nor attainable approach. Rather, it should focus on particular competitors, like Cadbury’s, Chocolate Truffle Company etc. Gradually it should aim to expand and diversify in the market. It is important that the company’s goals are relevant. There should be consistency between the different goals of the company and that each goal should align with the long run objectives of the company. It is assumed that the company targets the population between 20 and 30 years. It is seen that milk chocolates and cookies are more popular among the population between 10 and 15 years while bar chocolates are more popular with the elder generation. Thus, if the company aims to target the former, production of milk bars and cookies would be irrelevant. Lastly and most importantly goals should be time bound (Meyer, 2006, p.1), i.e., if the company aims attain a particular share of the market; it must also specify by what time it would do so. Creative Ideas Creative strategy plays a key role in the entire process of marketing communication. It would include what actions would be taken to communicate with the audience, what the messages would communicate or say. It would also require execution of the creative tactics. This primarily involves the media considerations, the advertisement designs, kind of packaging, press release and so on. The company could implement a customer centric planning process. Since the target market is the population aged between 20 and 30 years, the electronic media, online advertisements, sales promotion and direct marketing would be the most effective modes of communication. It could highlight on a particular product benefit. Health benefit factors like sugar-free, fat-free chocolates which could be easily consumed by the people suffering from diabetes could be produced. Generally, the concerned population range is found to be conscious of their health and looks. Public relations and press releases would have to concentrate on these factors in order to attract the population. The focus would be sell ‘one big idea’ through the advertising campaign. Media Strategy The media strategy would include both above the line and below the line communications. The former would be targeted towards the mass audience while the latter would be towards specific masses to meet their individual needs and requirements. Initially, the company would target the mass audience through the newspapers, radio and television. The following Gantt chart has been developed with regard to the media strategies that would be undertaken by the company to reach its target audience. There are three phases which have been elaborated and each phase provides the different steps that would be undertaken. Figure 1: GANTT Chart Phase 1 would focus on the spreading of awareness among the mass audience about the product. This would be primarily done to gain the favourable view of the audience about the same. The advertising strategy at this stage would not be very aggressive. It would mainly concentrate on letting people know that a new product would be launched in the market. The next phase would use the advertising strategies aggressively for the audience. The use of public relations, hoardings and campaigns, the online media would be used mostly in this phase. It would be used for highlighting on specific aspects of the product and the benefits that it would be offering to the target audience. In this case, the fat-free, sugar-free components would be highlighted towards the audience between 20 and 30 years of age. The last stage would comprise of taking feedback from the audience. This could include getting their views through online and mobile messages. Their requirements and needs would be considered and what are the changes they were looking for. Based on the feedback, the advertisement strategies would be modified and re-implemented. A record would have to be taken as to the extent it was being able to target and influence the customers. This evaluation would give insight as to how the strategies would be re-implemented. The feedback is also valuable for knowing the kind of audience could be influenced and what were the components in the media that they using. For, example, the teenage audience would be mostly using the internet or the online media. A large proportion of the population also use television as the most critical source of information collection. These facts would assist the company in reformulating its strategies. Below the line Communications A major budget of marketing communication would have to be allocated to below-the-line activities. Advertising campaigns, sponsorship, event marketing and public relations would be the prime activities. Such activities would be targeted towards to the particular target market to meet their specific requirements. Since the online media has evolved as the dominant channel of communication, it would find maximum usage in the process. Since the target audience ranges between 20 and 30 years of age, it would also be preferable to use the online media. It would be an efficient and cost effective method of targeting a small target group of the market. It could use mails and e-mails as one of the conventional modes of communication. This would be targeted towards a list of prospective customers. A customer database would be useful to identify the population who have been using the online media aggressively. Another below-the-line activity would include trial use of the new product launched in the market. The product would be primarily sold at the retail outlets. Sales-personnel could be appointed at the retail stores who would allow customers to undertake trials before purchasing the product. The customer would be allowed to have taste of the product before the purchase. At this time he could also be asked to five his feedback regarding the quality of the product. He could be asked to give his views regarding the price of the products or the product attributes. This would help the company to establish one to one relationship with its target customers. Sponsorships would be an effective mode of communicating with a large proportion of the audience at the same time. The benefit of using this method is that it would allow reaching a large customer base within a short span of time. Direct and Digital The digital media has gained immense popularity and usage over the last few years. The internet has become a popular item among people of all ages. Both the internet and mobiles services could be used as the tools of marketing communication. As already mentioned, e-mails could be sent to a list of potential customers about the product and the product attributes. It would also illustrate the benefits that were being offered. The customer database would have to be created to identify he appropriate customer base. The mails would be especially sent to this audience. For people who had already consumed the product, they could be asked to provide their opinions about the same. This would give a measure about the popularity of the product and the extent of success of the communication campaigns. They could also be asked to give their preference among a variety of brands. This would allow marketers to know their market position and identify the brands which were popularly used in the market. Finally, the mobile services could be used as it has emerged as the most popularly used product in the market. It also allows an easy way of communication. It could be used as a popular mode of advertising. It could be used not only for spreading awareness but also to gather customer views and opinion. Campaign Evaluation Communication campaigns include the media, messages and a wide set of other communication activities for generating desired outcomes in the target customers within a particular time span. They are targeted to shape the customers’ behaviour towards the desired outcome. Campaign evaluation is critical for choosing the kind of campaigns that would be the most appropriate. The application of the right methods for assess their evaluation is also required. The modes of the communication that has been used are the print media, online and electric media. The most important modes of communication would include messaging and e-mailing. The outcomes could be specifically by identifying the changes in attitudes, behaviours and knowledge. Assessment of the saliency, norms, attitudes, self-efficacy, behavioural patterns and intensions, skills and behaviours would determine the success of the campaigns. The likelihood that a person’s behaviour would be in alignment with the campaigns’ goals would determine the extent of the campaigns’ success. Process evaluation would include newspapers, television, radio tracking, monitoring of web sites and assessment of advertisements. Outcome evaluation would include direct tracking of responses, framing analysis, and the rolling of sample surveys (Coffman, 2002, p.4). Reference Andersen, P. H. 2001. Relationship development and marketing communication: an integrative model. [Pdf]. Available at: http://5361invention.pbworks.com/f/Evans_1.pdf. [Accessed on February 13, 2011]. Boyle, C. 2009. Cadbury’s share of UK market slips below 30% for first time in a year. [Online]. Available at: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article6959667.ece. [Accessed on February 12, 2011]. Coffman, J. 2002. Public communication campaign evaluation. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.mediaevaluationproject.org/HFRP.pdf. [Accessed on February 14, 2011]. Meyer, P. J. 2006. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.oma.ku.edu/soar/smartgoals.pdf. [Accessed on February 12, 2011]. Neuez, S. 2003. Communication Strategy: Coca Cola Communication Plan in UK. [Pdf]. Available at: http://sophie.neuez.free.fr/Rapports/Rapport_comm.pdf. [Accessed on February 12, 2011]. Taillard, M. O. 2001. Persuasive communication: The case of marketing. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/publications/WPL/00papers/taillard.pdf. [Accessed on February 12, 2011]. Bibliography MacRury, I. 2009. Advertising. Routledge. Gordon, G. N. 1975. Communications and media: constructing a cross-discipline. Hastingshouse/Daytrips Publ. Ranchhod, A. & Garau, C. 2007. Marketing Strategies: A Contemporary Approach. Financial Times Prentice Hall. Schultz, D. E. & Schultz, H. F. 2004. IMC, the next generation: five steps for delivering value and measuring returns using marketing communication. McGraw-Hill Professional. Read More