The Media Campaign to be Undertaken for RACV Renters Insurance - Case Study Example

Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV). 28% of nationwide households are renters according to research. In Victoria, this translates to nearly a million renters, yet only a third of these are insured for the contents of their houses. This compares unfavourably with 86% who insure their cars. The most receptive demographic to insuring their households are the 25-39 year olds, who have been earning an income long enough to accumulate significant property and are more receptive to the idea of insurance as well as being able to afford it. The following media campaign brief is intended to come up with marketing strategies and outline advantages of subscribing to the renters’ insurance for receptive markets. Background Information The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria offers various benefits to members. These comprise of among others, the RACV Show Your Card and Save program which offers discounts and special bargains at participating establishments as well as preferential rates for accommodations all through Australia. In the last year, the over 500,000 members of RACV managed to save $17million dollars through this scheme alone. The Years of Membership Benefits program attaches discounts to the colour of membership card with a maximum of 20% on insurance as well as other packages. There are also discounts to Cobram Resort, Cape Schanck Resort, Inverloch Resort, Noosa Resort and Queensland Royal Pines Resort for members. Within the RACV organisation, there is a three-year initiative themed “Membership in a Connected World”. This seeks to reinforce the club’s commitment to put members first and acknowledge the desire for members to interact with the club in different ways. It involves developing various methods of communication including phone, online, physically or by slow mail. This development will be propped up by the second phase of the web-based member relationship business systems. The support of the wider community of Victoria is a priority for RACV. Corporate Social Responsibility is more important than ever to the club, nearly doubling its contribution for the past year. Members are expectant of a high calibre of service when they get in touch with RACV. In these hard economic times when it’s necessary to be careful with spending, it is fortunate that there are a lot of services to assist in the saving of money. Figure 1: An RACV advert that outlines savings made with insurance Recommended Strategy There are over half a million renters in Victoria without renters’ insurance. There is a large untapped market that may be waiting for just the right messages to get on board. One of the chief concerns of modern day living is managing finances in a way that will enable derivation of maximum savings. Should the marketing of renters’ insurance address this concern, it is possible to increase its popularity amongst this age group and others. If these savings can be demonstrated in a practical manner, then communicated to the general public in a way that they can get the message; this will result in growth in sales. The target age group that is 25-39 are not as techno savvy as the younger generation but they do utilise social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter as well as other e-communication vehicles like email, instant messaging services and Google. Many occupations require constant internet usage and therefore it should be the principal vehicle for advertisement. Advertisements should focus on the financial benefits of renters’ insurance vis a vis, significant savings in the event of loss of property and other savings derived from utilising the service. Furthermore, the security of their deposits illustrated by the financial strength of RACV and its stability in these uncertain times is a huge selling point. RACV turned a profit of $63.5million last year. According to the Managing Director the commission from insurance policies was $64.4million for the year, an increase of $5.9million from the previous year. The popularity of home as well as car insurance continues to grow, with 1.7 million policies currently active, representing a growth of 4.2%. This implies that there is reliability to this insurance package that makes it a safe option for the renter looking to protect their property from theft, environmental upheaval and other natural and man-made disasters. With the upheaval occasioned by such disasters as the tsunami in Japan, it is important to have a fall back, should the same occur in Victoria. Another selling point is the reputation of the RACV brand; one which is renowned and esteemed by a majority of Victorians, 70% of whose households contains members. Wallis Consulting Group recently found that 92% of Victorians are in agreement that the brand is trustworthy, 96% perceive it as successful, 94% are of the opinion that it is professional and 93% feel that they are responsible, friendly and approachable. Therefore a blitz of media campaigns should focus on appreciating the effort that potential clients have exerted in accumulating what property they have. This should be followed by an undertaking to secure the client’s future by ensuring that in case of loss of this property, they will be adequately compensated. The clincher comes in by assuring that the cost of this insurance is vastly affordable, with a minimum payment of $20 for property valued up to $10000. The vehicles for these messages should include social media; on facebook, these advertisements should be targeted using age group, interests and location. This is applicable as well to Google ads which can be targeted using the criteria of interests and age demographic as well as location. Off line, the Royal Auto magazine, which is already received in 70% of Victorian homes monthly and is read by the two million members of RACV. This is a good place to start to reach renters within the desired demographic. The RoyalAuto is the largest circulated publication as well as most read in Victoria according to the Circulation Audit Bureau (Sep, 2010) and the Roy Morgan Research (Sep. 2010). The Theory of Advertising Social marketing is an approach to mass media campaign that utilises a conceptual approach. It has been defined as; “the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behaviour of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society” (Andreason, 1995 p.7.) In the case of renters’ insurance, we have an audience disinclined to purchase insurance for various reasons. Some are of the opinion that it’s too confusing and therefore they do not understand the concept, or don’t believe it applies to them or it’s too expensive and they are unlikely to need it. These are misconceptions brought about by ineffective communication, therefore the goal is to provide information in a way that the target audience will be able to relate to, and enable them to change their attitude and perceive this insurance as a benefit to their lives. The pertinent doctrines of social marketing are that; i. They aim to alter the behaviour of the target audience. ii. There is leveraging of resources. iii. The marketing plan and campaigns are audience-centred. iv. The Four P’s of marketing are utilised; these are Promotion, Place, Price and Product. v. Research is carried out to understand the target audience. vi. They are then grouped in units bearing common traits. vii. Competition is taken into account (Andreason, 1995) According to Wikipedia, the average age of Victoria’s residents is 37 years old. About a quarter of the population is over sixty years old. The number of females is slightly more than that of males. This implies that a campaign targeting age demographics between 30 and 50 would target a significant section of the population and an ad campaign emphasising safety and security would appeal to female audiences. This age group also has accumulated sufficient property to consider it worth insuring as well as not wanting to deal with the hassle of starting again from scratch in the event of some misfortune. A look at “The Theatre of Consumption” with an examination of structure and content of advertisements and their socio-cultural effect used both semiology and content analysis to reach the following conclusions. Jhally’s doctoral dissertation analysed TV commercials derived from sporting programmes whose audience is predominantly male, and prime time programmes with a more female audience. The aim of the study was to highlight the ‘differentiated codes’ that advertisers utilised in their communiqués depending on the sex of the targeted audience (Jhally, 1986, p. 176). Hence security and safety will appeal more to the female demographic. Leiss and Kline also conducted a study, which comprised the historical analysis of magazine advertising from 1908-1984, looking for the development and application of audience codes. A crucial trend that was perceived involved the steady decrease in use of copy or text and a rise in use of illustrations and displays thus reinforcing the assertion of Boorstin (1962), Debord (1975) and Baudrillard (1975;1983) on the amplified significance of images in modern culture. There has also been a shift away from touting particular product data in adverts and instead promoting social and symbolic messages about the product. This is illustrated in figure 2 below. Figure 2: Advertisement for RACV Schanck resort. Full graphics, no text Dissemination of this information should be done using the Two Step Flow theory which claims that the flow of information from media shifts in two separate phases. The first phase involves opinion leaders who are at the forefront of receiving media messages. They then interpret these messages. Thus the phrase ‘personal influence’ was coined to encompass the gap between media dissemination and audience reaction. The role of opinion leaders is to influence behaviour change in consumers since the audience can relate to them and follow their lead. The two step flow process is a way to explain how decision-making is influenced by the mass media. Figure 3: Conceptual Model. SOURCE: Katz & Lazarsfeld (1955)     Budget Information The budget for this ad campaign is $50,000. For the success of the ad campaign, the planning, processing and implementation must be well thought out. A sales objective must be set, which is realistic for Victoria, the population targeted and the current economic climate; as well as the investment of funds. When done in the right way, the finances invested in advertising reap dividends and thus are more closely seen as an investment rather than an expense. When done in a way that is unsuitable to the market however, it can be very costly to the firm. The best way to plan for an advertising campaign is to run several ads over a time period rather than one big one. The cost of the ad will depend on the objectives i.e. what is the ad supposed to accomplish for RACV? Is there a short term benefit to running the ad? What are the long term benefits? What is the expected revenue of this ad? Are there comparative ads being touted by the competition? What are the timelines for attaining your objective? It is important to be able to evaluate how well your ad is working. Social media sites such as Facebook and Google ads have inbuilt statistical trackers that let you know how many people have seen the advertisement, but the true test is how many of these people who see the advert, actually get to buy the insurance. Other types of media may require the keeping of a tracking sheet for each type of ad, whether TV, radio or print. The advertising budget of $50000 should be split between these three types of media in a 20:10:20 percentage ratio respectively with the remaining 50% going to e-advertising. Conclusion The RACV brief outlines the media campaign to be undertaken for RACV renters’ insurance. However, it limits itself in terms of potential clientele and the relative importance of a good reputation in attracting new clients. By stating that there is no niche in which it excels it implies a mediocrity that does not correspond to being in business for 100 years or turning a profit that grows yearly in this harsh economic climate. Hence my conjecture that expanding the age bracket of the target audience and selling the brand as secure and safe, is a huge selling point and likely to bring in significant new business. . References Andreason, A. (1995). Marketing social change: Changing behaviour to promote health, social Development and the environment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Baudrillard, Jean. (1975). For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign. St. Louis: Telos Press. Baudrillard, Jean. (1983). Simulations. New York: Semiotext {e}. Boorstin, Daniel. (1962). The Image. New York: Harper & Row. Debord, Guy. (1975). Society of the Spectacle. Detroit: Black and Red. Jhally, Sut. (1987). Codes of Advertising: Fetishism and the Political Economy of Meaning in the Consumer Society. New York: Saint Martin's. Leiss, William, Kline, Stephen and Jhally, Sut. (1986). Social Communication in Advertising: Persons, Products, and Images of Well-Being. New York: Metheuen. Read More