Marketing Communications: Communications Opportunity Analysis and the Communication Strategy - Research Paper Example

Table of Contents Communications Opportunity Analysis 2 Application of Theories to Practice 2 The Communication Strategy 4 Creative Ideas 5 Media Strategy 5 Below-the-line Communications 7 Direct and Digital 7 Campaign Evaluation 8 Reference 10 Communications Opportunity Analysis The objective of Communication Opportunity analysis is to find the effective way to communicate with the customers to address the different issues facing the product and plan strategic campaign accordingly to increase its market share. Communication Opportunity Analysis includes developing communication objectives for the product of the firm, designing a budget for the product promotion and advertisement, designing communication strategy for the company and finally matching the tactics with the strategies designed. The campaign objective for Beck’s Blue should follow the SMART acronym i.e. to be SPECIFIC - the objective should be clear what the company is trying to achieve through the communication program. MEASUREMENT of the objective is the next essential step to be followed by the firm to understand the result of the campaign. It should be evaluated whether the campaign objective designed are ACHIVEABLE for the people involved in the process. The next step is analysing the resources to check whether the program is REALISTIC or not. Finally the TIMING of the entire project should be framed to understand the effectiveness of the campaign from time to time (NSW Government-b, n.d.). Beck’s Blue Alcohol-Free variants need to be designed an integrated marketing campaign to overcome the existing problem with the product. The non-alcoholic beer offered by the company is not very popular amongst the customer for its inferior taste. The integrated campaign will help the company to re launch its product with an effective and creative approach and gain market share from its existing products from the same market. Application of Theories to Practice Building communication between the product and customer is one of the essential elements for the company for launching a product in the market in an effective manner. Through the line communication can be very effective to accomplish this purpose of the company and build brand awareness and amongst the customer and drive sales to the company. The rationale of brand name and brand mantra are the very first step for building the relationship between the manufacturer and the end user. A powerful brand name can even signify a whole category of product as for example Xerox signifies the photocopy category of product (Marconi & American Marketing Association, 2000, p. 4). On the other hand, according to K. Keller, Brand mantra depicts the features of the product with a short phrase added to the name. This phrase gives the idea about the product and helps to identify the target audience for the particular product (Keller, 2008, p. 144). By the author, brand element and brand attributes gives the general information about the product in the market and gives a brief idea about the characteristics of the product (Keller, 2008, p. 163).These are very important for the company to decide what to highlight in the products to attract the target customers. This makes the product to be distinctive from the market and give an extra edge in the competitive environment. These are the major areas to concentrate to build the above the line communication to identify the target market for the particular product. After analyzing the above the line communication identifying the below the line communication is one of the major areas to be concentrated by the firm. As stated by Hiebing & Cooper, identification of target market can give huge potential for the product and the company can implement their strategies effectively according to the particular need of the customers (Hiebing, Hiebing & Cooper, 2004, p. 163). By the author Boone & Kurtz, the very first step of identifying the target market is the understanding of the classified market in which the product will be offered, i.e. whether it’s a Business to business product or Business to Customer product (Boone, Kurtz, 2010).It gives the idea to the company to concentrate on the particular market segment to put its marketing effort and establish the communication with the end users. Marketing communication is designed finding the needs of the customers and understanding the feasibility of the products in the market. This requires the need of market research and finding the opportunity in the market. According to the author Kumar and Phrommathed in the book ‘New product development: an empirical study of the effects of innovation strategy, organization learning, and market conditions ’ various methodologies are used in understanding the market potential through survey like literature review, statistical analysis and industrial analysis (Kumar, Phrommathed, 2005, p. 43). It gives an idea of the target market and the market potential of the product. Promotional activities and other communication techniques can be designed according to the trend in the market and also identifies the behaviour of the customers towards the product. The communication strategy development is highly dependent on the market trend and the behaviour of the customers. As Trott mentioned, product testing is also required which gives the consumer buying pattern statistics and help to improve the product to be offered to the target market (Trott, 2008, p. 489). Market review reveals the flaws in the design of the product and the problems related to it. Creative idea generation is most effective in winning the race at this stage of the product. Communicating in an effective manner is most important to reach to the customers in a different way from the competitors place the product with a positive impact in the mind of the customers. As the author S. Sengupta mentioned, with right implementation of the positioning strategy the company can get the maximum benefit which is the primary objective of every company (Sengupta, 2005, p. 15). For an effective positioning strategy and implementing strategies in a right manner the awareness amongst the customer is very essential for the company. Advertisement and promotional techniques are the major weapons for the firm to establish this relationship. Of the various promotional mixes as mentioned in the source the most effective promotional mix for the company can be Advertisement, Direct sales promotion and digital methods of communication (Promotional Mix, 2011). To reach to the target customers companies implement several strategies. Media strategy is one of the major communication strategies amongst many. Different forms of media are used in the communication process like television, radio, prints etc. According to John Wimshurst and Adrian Mackay these conventional forms of media are mainly in the category of above the line communication through which the companies conveys an idea or special offering to the customers for promotion (Wilmshurst & Mackay, 1999, p. 127). On the contrary as mentioned by Jefkins Frank the unconventional way of communication i.e. below the line communication are the promotional strategies like direct marketing, sales promotion, printed media without motion pictures and point of sale methods. Though public relation is sometimes considered amongst below the line communication technique but according to Frank public relation is a separate entity which has no relation to below the line communication technique. It has its own personnel with separate budget from the company (Frank, 2009, p. 145). According to the need of promotional techniques the companies implements several strategies to reach out to the customers. But in the modern world trend individual communication techniques are not enough for the development and success of the product. By the author Raul Danny Vargas, in the modern world the concept of developing an integrated model is more required than individual ones. Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) consists of several steps for the understanding of the market and developing the communication strategy. These steps can be like Target audience identification, developing objectives, designing massage contents, budgeting and measuring the effectiveness of the implemented strategy. Vargas mentioned that effective integrated model is very required to understand the needs of the firms (Vargas, n.d., p. 1). IMC is an effective and comprehensive approach to identify the needs in the market as well as promoting the product but after the implementation the company need to evaluate the different departments from time to time for an effective positive impact on the mind of the customers. The Communication Strategy After selecting the target market for the particular product the next step for the company is to develop the communication strategy for the product to secure a strong position in the mind of the customers. The main messages to be communicated to the customers are developed. Strong branding message is very important for the customers to recall the brand name. Selecting the target market is the next step for the communication strategy development process. The message from the Beck’s Blue for its non-alcoholic drinks for the promotional campaign is developed keeping in mind the feature of the product. It describes how people will behave fine in spite of drinking beer. This message can influence a large group to try the product and continue drinking. This message will not only help the customer to recall the advertisement but also build a brand name with social responsibility. Market research is the next step to be conducted through interview to understand the perception of the customer regarding the product and the awareness of the customer about the product. Making the people aware of the product is the main objective of this communication strategy. From the market research conducted for Beck’s Blue it was found that most of the people in the market do not like the inferior taste of the product and many are unaware of the product offering from the company (NSW Government, n.d.). Thus setting an objective of promotional activity which emphasizes on the taste and advertise the superiority of the products from the other competitors is very essential for Beck’s Blue. The taste can be compared to other products with similar taste but popular amongst the customer can be an effective strategy to adopt. This can have a positive impact on the mind of the customer to try the product. Another issue which the company need to address is the supply chain system for easily availability of the products everywhere in the market for better presence in the mind of the customers. Creative Ideas In order to successfully position a product in the mind of the customer the most important aspect is approaching the customer in a creative manner. Creative advertisement is the biggest weapon to for the company to make people recall a product while buying similar products. Beck’s Blue should concentrate on developing advertisement and campaigns related to low or non-alcoholic feature of the beer. Targeting towards the young generation the company may develop commercials showing the trouble of consuming alcoholic drinks. Funny commercials are always remembered by customers in most cases during purchases. A friend and family party with a sudden trouble from a drunken group can be highlighted in the commercial to show the difference with non-alcoholic beer consumption. All the poster and banner and advertisements on websites and outdoor should contain images depicting a trouble situation after drinking alcoholic beer like driving after drinking etc. This will not only keep the brand name in the mind of the customer about the non-alcoholic drink but also will build a strong brand name for being responsible to the society. This approach will focus on their daily life and funny approach will appeal for usage of the product. Media Strategy Marketing communication mainly comprises of two primary activities i.e. message creation and the second one is message dissemination. Media planning is mainly concerned with the message dissemination process of the communication. It helps in choosing the right media for the planning and implementing the appropriate channel for the process. Various media can be used in the media planning activities by the company to reach to the customers varying from television program, posters, banner ads or newspapers and magazines. The company may also implement technological process of media strategies by placing ads online in different social networking websites like Facebook, Orkut etc. The main challenge of media planning is selecting the appropriate channel to promote the product. Beck’s Blue Alcohol-Free variant is planning to launch in UK with the integrated channel of communication. The market reputation of inferior taste and limited availability are the main issues which are needed to be overcome by the company through proper means of communication with the customers. Convincing the customers with the taste is the major challenge for the company which are into the mind of the customers resulting to a negative impact for the company. The integrated media planning campaign was conducted during the time June 2011 and May 2012 at different parts of the country. Media planning not only includes reaching to the customers but also includes building the brand name in the mind of the customers. Making people aware about the product and the company profile is very essential in media planning. In order to gain reputation Beck’s need to communicate to the customers with the advantages of the product and should implement strategies to improve their supply chain management system and put emphasis on the channel development for easy availability of the product to the customers. Various factors are required before implementation of the media planning process. Through proper market research the company should understand the demographics and the psychographic nature of the country to understand the behaviour of the customers for whom the products will be offered. Understanding the taste of the people of particular region is very essential in the media planning. Identifying the target customers gives the idea of the choices and the requirement of development for the products. After selecting the target audience setting the communication goal is the important aspects which the company should look after for dissemination of the promotional activity. Setting the objective can be like a certain amount of customers will go through the advertisement on television or it may generate interest amongst a particular group of people in the market. Selecting the vehicle distribution is needed to be evaluated by Beck’s to understand the number of copies of magazine required for the promotion or people going through television channels. Then the vehicle exposure should be explored to recognize the exposure of the media vehicles. And finally the number of people who are exposed to advertisements are evaluated by the company to place ads accordingly and deciding the frequency of advertisements on the different media. To build the brand name in the mind of the customers it’s very important for the firm to increase the frequency of the advertisements so that people can easily recall the ads whenever they come across the name of the brand. Beck’s should use all kinds of media vehicle like tv, radio, magazine, direct mail, sponsorship, websites for a close contact with the customers to build a strong base and remove the negative mind set of the customer regarding the distribution and the taste of the product. The implementation of the advertisement campaign for Beck’s Blue Alcohol-Free variant will incur huge investment for the company. The company should at least invest to about 15 to 20 % of its revenue for the advertisement campaign. Since Beck’s will have to reach to a great customer base in a short time it should use most of the media vehicles which need to apply media dispersion approach from the company. The different media vehicles will have a particular capacity of reach for the company (Admedia, 2007). A recommended distribution of the total investment on advertisement is shown below for Beck’s Blue Alcohol-Free variant along with few other companies to compare with them (Admedia, 2007). Brand Television Magazine Direct Mail Internet Beck 60% 30% 10% 20% Pepzac 60% 50% 0% 0% Enerzid 0% 0% 0% 67% Below-the-line Communications Below the line Communication is a much focused approach for the firm to reach to the customers. It is more personal approach to the customers with means of public relationship, direct mail or personal sale. Below the line communication helps the customer to directly interact with the company and helps the company to understand the problems arising in the situation or the problems with the products offered. Public relation is very important for the firm to handle the customers and cope with the problems arising in the market. Failing to identify these problems will result in losing the market share of the company in the market. Sales promotion is another aspect of below the line communication which helps to great extent to stimulate sale of products (Macrury, 2009, p. 78). Direct marketing is also very effect below the line communication process which enables the interaction between the sales person and the customer. The customers can easily use the product in person and demonstration helps to understand the motive of the customers also for the sales person and act accordingly for the promotional activities. Direct mail can also be used by the company to reach to a target market and focus on a particular segment of the market place the promotional activities with the need of the market demand. Beck’s Blue Alcohol-Free drinks have a negative impression on the mind of the customers which is needed to be solved by the company to build a better image of the brand and the product quality. Advertisement has a limited impact on the customers which helps to make people aware of the brand and its different activities in the market. But influencing the customer to buy a product and build proper image on the mind of the people can be very effectively done by personal interaction and focusing towards the customers with a individual approach. Direct and Digital Digital and Direct form of communication is used by the companies to interact with the customers in a more focused way. The main objective of direct communication is to understand the nature of customers and act accordingly to convince the customers for the product offered. Direct communication builds a strong brand name as well as circulates the message for the product. Direct communication includes the use of different forms of media for the interaction with the customers. It can be personal selling or can also be with the use of catalogue and ads for the communication process (Arens, 2008, p. 631). Using digital media is another form of communication for the company to reach to the customers. The company targets to a small group of customers in the market and send direct mail or promotional ads to their online contacts for promoting their products. Digital media is one of the cost effective and effective ways of communication for the target market. Though there is no direct contact with the customer in electronic mailing but the company has great advantage in reaching to the niche group instead of promotional activities for the whole mass. The primary activity of Beck’s Blue must be ensuring bold brand statement to influence the customers with the main feature of the drinks offered by the company. The non-alcoholic nature is the product should be highlighted in all the promotional activities online or through direct communication. Placing ads online on different sites like Facebook, MySpace and other social networking websites can be very effective for the company. Introduction of party songs and make aware of the digital contents on different sites can make people aware of the product and brand name. Conducting contest and promotional spot shops can be also is a very effective form of communication to give customers chance to taste the product by person. Campaign Evaluation To recognize the effectiveness of the advertisement campaign proper evaluation technique is very important for the company. This step will help the company to understand the areas which worked for the product and the areas which are consuming the investment without any return from it. It helps to compare the effect with the actual objective of the firm from the promotional campaigns. Various methodologies are used for the evaluation process and it should also be cost effective for the firm as it is included into the campaign budget. The online effectiveness can be analyzed through the statistics of page views and download of contents related to the campaign. Search engine ranking can also give an idea of the popularity of the campaign amongst the people. This will be the most cost effective way of evaluation for Beck’s Blue. Communicating with the customers directly through phone calls, direct mailing and customer relation forms from time to time can also be used by the company to evaluate the effectiveness of the firm. These techniques will give the chance for the company to interact directly with the customers and understand their behaviour on different issues. It can help to cope with the different problems which are arising regarding the product. Analysis of the quantitative data from the stakeholders of the company can also give an idea about the promotional effectiveness. Comments on different social media can also identify the consumer behaviour and attitude towards the product and the new promotional campaign (NSW Government-a, n.d.). Proper evaluation and monitoring system will help the company to identify the areas and media which are effective in driving business for the firm. Eliminating the extra investment from the ineffective media campaign can help to efficiently manage the promotional campaign program for Beck’s Blue to launch it Alcohol-Free variant. Reference Admedia. (2007). Advertising Media Planning: A Primer. [Online]. Available at: http://www.admedia.org/. [Accessed on: July 29th 2011]. Arens, W. (2008). Contemporary Advertising 10E (Sie). Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Boone, L. & Kurtz, D. (2010). Contemporary Business. John Wiley and Sons. Frank, J. (2009). Advertising. Pearson Education India. Hiebing, R., Hiebing, R. & Cooper, S. (2004). The one-day marketing plan: organizing and completing a plan that works. McGraw-Hill Professional. Keller, K. (2008). Strategic Brand Management, 3/E. Pearson Education India. Kumar, S., Phrommathed, P. (2005). 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