Marketing Communication Plan - Report Example

Marketing Communication Plan Contents Context Analysis 3 Context 3 Internal Context 4 Business Context 5 External Context 6 Communication Objectives 6 Marketing communication strategy 7 Integrated promotional mix 8 Scheduling and implementation 10 Evaluation and Control 11 References 13 Appendices 14 Appendix 1 14 Appendix 2 19 Appendix 3 19 Appendix 4 20 Context Analysis Customer Context BMW Group is considered to be one of the most successful companies across the globe in context of automobile production. There are three important brands encompassed within this group such as MINI, Rolls Royce and BMW. BMW cars are for a particular target market segment. The company do not prefer to compromise on its quality and offers high ended products to consumer market. Main target market segment belongs to upper middle class and upper class segment. The age group of these customers in UK market ranges from 25 years to 60 years. However target market should be narrowed down by BMW group in order to provide quality products as per customer taste or preference. It can be stated that target group ranges from generation X to mature traditionalists. The company owns a high involvement product and has been able to spread awareness across target group. Figure1 highlights customer response for BMW cars in comparison to some well known competitors. Figure 1: Customer Response (Source: Maignan, 2008) As per figure1, greater percentage of shares and comments in wide array of activities has been identified in context of Mercedes Benz. BMW has a high customer response rate in comparison to Audi and Mercedes Benz. Further elaboration on customer context is given in Appendix 1. Internal Context UK market is a highly competitive industry mainly for automobile manufacturers. In comparison to its competitors there is less investment done by the firm in various forms of marketing communication activities. The main issue for marketing team is to develop a well structured media plan within budget of £27m in a time span of two years. From 35 years the firm is collaboratively working with a well known agency known as WCRS and this venture has delivered some award winning media campaigns. Issues related to internal context has been further elaborated in Appendix 1. Business Context Competition in UK market can be well analyzed on basis of figure2. Figure 2: Auto Market Share in UK (Source: Alba and Hutchinson, 2008) Marketing strategy of the company is to acquire maximum market share in relation to other players in UK market. Market leadership is the main focus of the company. Porsche and Volkswagen Group acquire 19.6% of the total automobile market share. The other two main players in UK market are Ford (13.4%) and Chevrolet & Vauxhall (13.6%). BMW & MINI occupies 10.0% of the total auto market share. The range of products and its associated benefits should be communicated well to customers. This aspect has been further elaborated in Appendix 1. External Context The key stakeholders are encompassed within this context and they play a major role in fulfilling set objectives. Segment characteristics of target market provide valuable insights in terms of determining key stakeholder characteristics. Brand awareness along with adoption of suitable marketing media is the key issues for the group. Stakeholder communication needs can only be addressed efficiently when pull and push strategies are utilized appropriately. The main focus will be on communicating product benefits effectively to target market. Innovative media strategies shall facilitate acquiring attention of each consumer market segment. Communication Objectives Communication objectives lay the foundation on basis of which marketing strategy is formulated by a company. The major goal of BMW is to expand its market share in UK and to become a leading producer in context of offering premium products or services. Brand awareness of BMW is comparatively less in relation to other players in UK market. However formulating certain achievable objectives makes accomplishment of goals easier. The three communication objectives for the firm are- To increase total customer base in UK market by 12% at the end of two years media campaign To acquire quick customer response in comparison to some well known brands such as Mercedes Benz and Audi. To implement innovative advertisements that can attract customer attention and sustain in customer minds for long term. All these objectives are well aligned with common goal of the company which is to become market leader in the industry. UK market is an intensely competitive market with wide range of players operating in luxury car segment. Since target market is similar for all the brands, advertisement needs to be unique for achieving customer’s TOMA. It is expected that at the end of two years campaign the firm will occupy a strong market leader position. These set objectives will not only help to increase overall brand awareness but would even expand on the customer base. Proper marketing strategies will be developed by the firm so as to attract new customers as well as retain existing ones in UK market. Marketing communication strategy There are basically three forms of marketing strategies known as pull, push and profile strategies. Pull strategy is all about communicating a common message to target audience. The most common way of implementing pull strategy is through advertisements. Essential goal of the firm is to expand customer base in UK market which can be fulfilled by adopting pull strategy. On the other hand, push strategy is more concerned towards channel intermediaries (Picton and Broderick, 2009). Products or services are taken into consideration in this strategy but main communication goal is developing distribution frameworks and relationships. This strategy is mainly incorporated so as to add tangible element to offerings with the support of partnerships. Push strategy is basically implemented in the form of direct marketing (Fill, 2013). This form of marketing strategy helps to acquire large customer base and is also a medium to communicate directly with customers. Profile strategy is related to improving brand reputation and awareness. Through this communication strategy reputation of BMW brand can be enhanced. Public relations are the most convenient approach to develop good brand image. Emotional advertising as highlighted in Appendix 3 will also be included in communication strategy. This brand shall encompass communication strategy based on pull and push techniques such as advertising, sales promotion, etc. To some extent public relation techniques will also be incorporated in strategy formulation of BMW. The main campaign will be focused towards driving attention of young professionals who have achieved desirable targets (Dahlen, 2009). Marketing campaign needs to be designed in such fashion that BMW appears to be first choice for target market in terms of meeting their high esteem needs. Integrated promotional mix The promotional mix comprises of wide range of media channels which is conveying standard marketing message. There are different promotional tools that can be incorporated by BMW. These tools will help the firm to achieve desirable targets and increase its overall market share. Sales promotion can be defined as wide array of tactical marketing techniques that helps to add value to services or products in order to achieve marketing and sales objectives. Sales promotion techniques do not only help to increase sales volume but even facilitates customer loyalty. There are different mechanisms that can be used as sales promotion. Print media and direct mail will be used by BMW as sales promotion technique (Fill, Hughes and Francesco, 2013). Apart from these techniques loyalty schemes would also be implemented by the firm so as to retain existing customer base. These schemes will encompass certain period of free car service and periodically offered discounts in order to promote new product features. Sales promotion is the most common way of communicating brand message to end users. It can be stated that direct mail will be most suitable approach since specific target market can be reached and it can even be easily evaluated. Trade shows also is an innovative procedure for sales promotion. Target group can be well attracted through such trade shows where brand new BMW models can be displayed. Public relations and sponsorships are two other media that can be efficiently utilized in terms of profile strategy. Customers, employees and financial groups are regarded as key stakeholder groups of a company (Churchill, 2009). Public relations can be of two types - one way communication technique or two way communication technique. However for BMW, techniques related to marketing communication public relations will be utilized. The company needs to work in collaboration with press so as to deliver desirable media coverage. Besides this the firm will even engage into media conferences, advertorials and publicity events. Sponsorship is another mechanism through which company can closely associate with target market. This procedure helps a firm to spread awareness and even facilitates emotional experience. There are two important factors associated with brand experience known as brand reputation and brand personality. Personality of a brand can only be developed when large number of customers perceives this brand to create high value. There are certain important steps encompassed within sponsorship technique such as building awareness, image transfer, integration and indirect communication (Fill, 2006). It can be stated that image building forms the most crucial element for an organization. However BMW group possesses a competitive advantage since it has a high brand reputation due to its experience and skills. On the other hand, sponsorship activities would help the firm to generate more brand awareness and even will serve as a medium to generate desirable funds. BMW shall implement some specific sponsorship activities such as event sponsorship, live music concert on special occasions, TV or digital advertising support. Through such sponsorship activities wide array of BMW products can be displayed in order to spread awareness and the company can even connect efficiently with customers. BMW cars as stated in positioning map in Appendix2, belongs to sporty and classy segment. Hence sports sponsorship should be another medium which can be included by the firm so as to promote its product range. This would even help to attract maximum customers from target market segment. BMW group can sponsor some well known sports such as motorsports and cricket. For instance Formula1 was the best suited product in terms of sponsoring motorsports (Russell, 2009). Personal selling is another technique that can be implemented by the firm and this shall prove to be a productive tool since sales executives can directly communicate with customers. The prospects can be qualified by sales persons and proper sales pitch needs to be structured so as to influence customers for purchase. However closing a sale is totally dependent on sales personnel since it is a high involvement product and constant involvement of customers is necessary. Advertising is another communication media that would be incorporated by the firm and this serves to be productive tool in present scenario. Advertising media choices that are most suitable for BMW group are magazines, television, popular newspapers, and internet and mobile devices. There is a combination of both traditional and digital media in the advertising strategy adopted by the firm. Digital media would enable the firm to communicate message to target customers at a much faster pace. In modern world digital platform is most convenient medium to communicate with target group in comparison to traditional media (Bruner, 2007). On the other hand newspapers or magazines would facilitate the firm to portray a positive brand image in front of target customers. Billboards or outdoor posters are an efficient way to capture customer attention and this can even generate quick customer response. BMW group can acquire maximum market share in UK through these extensive advertising techniques. Scheduling and implementation The entire media schedule will be divided into four quarters for two years. Major communication channels to be utilized by BMW are direct mail campaign, event sponsorship, magazine or newspaper advertisement, facebook or YouTube advertisements and billboards. The total budget for media campaign is £27m. In quarter 1of first year the main focus will be on preparing advertisement campaign and broadcasting it on digital media as well as printing it on newspapers or magazines. Quarter 2 would encompass great deal of sponsorship activities and direct mailing so as to attract large base of customers. In quarter 3 and 4 all the mentioned activities will be repeated in smaller percentage so as to retain customer attention. The next year shall be crucial for the company since focus group study and survey will be conducted in order to evaluate effectiveness of advertisement campaign. On the other hand, promotional activities would be continued in the last two quarters of second year. Communication Channels Y1 Y2   Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 % share Direct Mail 5% 5% 2% 2% 1% 2% 2% 1% 20% Event or Sports Sponsorship 8% 5% 4% 2% 7% 2% 1% 1% 30% Newspaper and magazine advertisement 3% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 10% YouTube and Facebook advertisement 7% 3% 2% 2% 6% 1% 2% 2% 25% Posters or billboards 4% 3% 2% 1% 2% 1% 1% 1% 15% 27m Pounds = 100% Financial Implementation Evaluation and Control Marketing communications plan can be considered to be an effective tool in terms of spreading brand awareness and developing brand reputation. Evaluation is a mechanism through which effectiveness of a communication plan can be determined. On basis of set communication objectives a marketing plan for a firm can be evaluated. There were three communication objectives formulated at the beginning and all of them are centred towards increasing brand awareness and expanding customer base in UK market. Customer levels for BMW group can be easily evaluated in comparison to other parameters. This is because brand awareness cannot be evaluated efficiently since it is a time consuming process. Often it has been witnessed that companies implement focus group study or survey so as to acquire customer response in context of any new advertisement campaign. Similar strategy can be implemented by BMW group in UK market in order to identify expanded market share. Appendix 4 outlines a survey that would be conducted so as to determine effectiveness of advertisement campaign. A focus group study will also be conducted in order to evaluate brand awareness. This would even reveal the areas which needs further improvement from customer’s perspective. Accuracy of context analysis can also be judged on basis of this survey. Customer feedback is a critical element in marketing communications plan. These valuable feedbacks shall be incorporated within the process and might prove to be beneficial during designing of next advertisement campaign. References Alba, J. W., and Hutchinson, J. W., 2008. Dimensions of Consumer Expertise. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(3), pp. 411-454. Bruner, G. C., 2007. Music, mood, and marketing. Journal of Marketing, 64(8), pp. 94-104. Churchill, G., 2009. A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures of Marketing Constructs. Journal of Marketing Research, 25(4), pp. 98-116. Dahlen, M., 2009. Marketing communications: a brand narrative approach.UK: Wiley. Fill, C., 2006. Simply marketing communications. UK: FT Prentice Hall. Fill, C., 2013. Marketing communications: brands, experiences and participation, 6th edition. Harlow: Pearson Education. Fill, C., Hughes, G., and Francesco, S., 2013. Advertising, strategy, creativity and media. USA: Pearson. Maignan, I., 2008. An international review of sponsorship research. Journal of Advertising, 36(4), pp. 13-24. Picton, D., and Broderick, A., 2009. Integrated marketing communications, 3rd edition. Harlow: FT- Prentice Hall. Russell, E., 2009. Fundamentals of marketing communications. UK: AVA Publishing. Appendices Appendix 1 Context Analysis Dimension Issues Information for planning Customer Context Segment Characteristics Difference in B2B and B2C Specific age segment for BMW, mainly target group of customers ranges from 25 years to 56 years in UK market. Segment specifications do not alter in B2B or B2C market. There is a wide customer base and specific target demographics can be reached by the company. Professionals belonging to young age group and upper class segment can be targeted. Levels of perception, awareness & attitudes Medium to high level brand awareness is spread across UK market. The current perception does not state the firm as a market leader. There is a great need for enhancing TOMA or top of mind awareness for customers. BMW products are in the growth stage as per product life cycle. Level of involvement Any change during supply chain process? High level of involvement for BMW products. Extensive research done before purchase. Product needs to be tangible with the support of global partners. Types of perceived risk Two major types of risks – functional and psychological It can be addressed by designing an advertisement campaign that has long term impact on consumer mind. Decision Making Unit Individuals involved in the DMU? Friends and family involved in decision making process The best procedure is to highlight overall characteristics of product line. Internal Context Financial constraints £27m within a time span of two years Funds allocated will be sufficient for executing entire communication program Organisational identity To maintain quality standards and high end pricing Products designed needs to cater needs of multiple customer segment Culture, beliefs and values Considered as a German company. Specific mission to be leading producer of premium products or services across the globe The mission or rather goal of the firm needs to be communicated well through marketing communication campaign Marketing expertise Determining a particular media which can reach out to large number of customers Utilizing all possible media channels in order to communicate with target market Agency suitability Long term relationship with WCRS New agencies can be approached in UK market Business Context Corporate and marketing strategy and plans To become world’s leading automobile manufacturer and increased total market share of UK Market leader position can only be achieved through strategic planning Brand/organisation analysis Brand extension common strategy of the firm – motorbikes, cars and even financial services Similar brand message needs to be communicated across the market for all products Competitor analysis BMW currently lacks in customer response and market share in relation to other players Emphasis should be push and pull marketing strategies. External Context Key stakeholders Communication needs Specific demographic segment comprising of age group from 25 years to 56 years. Young professionals with self esteem needs will be targeted To be aware about innovative product line. Need for pull and push communication strategies Brand awareness can be increased through forming brand partnerships in the new market Major goal to acquire greater percentage of market share PEST analysis P – 1) Government influence on expenditure and taxation levels 2) Strict European laws associated with production of cars and carbon emission 3) Government intervention influences international trade, exchange rates, etc. E – 1) Brand value of the firm has increased by 10% over the years and now sums up to 24.62 billion dollars. 2) Fuel efficient vehicles are highly in demand due to increased prices of petrol or diesel. 3) Increased prices of raw materials and currency fluctuations affect business operations. S – 1) Different countries or markets has different set of culture, expectations and values 2) Social status is greatly associated with high value products T – 1) Technology is key selling factor for automobile manufacturers 2) Technology plays a vital role from production to distribution 3) New technology provides functionality and better quality to customers. BMW is shifting towards greener technology by manufacturing automobiles that runs only on hydrogen. BMW is targeting a stable economic zone and it plans to continue offering high ended quality products BMW takes into consideration needs or wants of different regions. The company is involved in teaching young generation new aspects of technologies and mobility BMW invests lump sum amount in qualified technology. Formula1 car was its brand new technology concerning performance, engines and safety skills. Appendix 2 Positioning Map Appendix 3 Emotional relationships build by the brand Appendix 4 Survey for BMW customers 1) Do you own a BMW? 2) Which is your favourite BMW product? 3) How did you first come to hear about BMW? 4) What is your preferred communication media? 5) Does BMW’s advertisement impress you? Read More