The Advertising Strategy That TOMS Need to Adopt after Considering Their Target Market - Case Study Example

Table of Contents Introduction 2 Information about the organization 2 Customer Profile 2 Objectives of Media Strategy 4 Media Strategy Development 5 Development of Media Ads 10 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction Advertising holds an important aspect for all business as it helps to spread awareness about the product which helps to develop a pool of loyal customers. While looking to develop advertising strategies the organization has to devise a mechanism through which the brand image improves. This report analyzes the advertising strategy that TOMS need to adopt after considering their target market. In addition to it, the report also analyzes the different advertising medium and campaigns which TOMS look towards implementing. This will help to understand the media advertisements so that better awareness can be created. On the whole it will multiply the effectiveness of TOMS and help to improve the brand image. Information about the organization TOMS is an international brand which provides shoes, eye wear and other trendier products for customers in the age of 14 to 54 years of age. The company based on quality products has grown their market and has ensured maximum reach. The company to improve their brand image and awareness is looking to strengthen their advertising mechanism and looks towards spreading the name of the brand by developing advertising strategies based on the needs and requirements of the organization. Customer Profile TOMS looks to attract people of all ages but are predominantly looking towards targeting people based on income and life style. This will help to achieve the required target group of customers who will purchase the products. TOMS as a result looks to tap customers between the ages of 18 – 54 years and have developed products suiting their requirements. To attract customers based on their product offering TOMS has looked towards developing marketing strategies which will help them to decide the different advertising channels which will help them to target the selected customer base. This is as follows Age 18 to 24 years: This section of the targeted population doesn’t have a very high disposable income but constitutes the major force and has the highest demographics with regard to internet media consumption. This age group looks to gather information from magazines and online sites rather than listening to radios. People under this age look to use websites to gather information and thereby has to targeted and appealed through technological developments and gadgets (Chen, 2003). Age 25 to 34 years: The media consumption pattern of people belonging to this age group is not very different from those in the age group of 18 to 24 years. People in this age group take the help website to gather information but along with it listens to radio, television and reads newspaper. People within this age group prefer to purchase products after looking at it through television advertisements. Since, they have a higher disposable income and will constitute towards a large portion of TOMS sale so the segment has to be tapped carefully (Chen, 2003). Age 35 – 44 years: People within this age group are mere spectators of website and are found to use different social networking websites like Facebook. People prefer to use traditional media and based on the different advertisements being broadcast determine their purchasing habits. They look to match people with newer generation but are more likely to read newspaper and watch television. TOMS has to look towards developing advertisements which are broadcasted over their preferable option and will thereby help to improve the penetration level in the market (Chen, 2003) Age 45 – 54 years: This segment of the customers uses social media networking sites but don’t look to participate in social media activities. Instead they rely on traditional form of media like newspaper, radio and television. This segment of the customers have a high purchasing power and is rapidly growing. This provides an opportunity for TOMS to develop advertising message which becomes effective and helps to target the customers’ towards the product (Chen, 2003). Thus, TOMS have been able to segregate their entire targeted customer base into different divisions which will highlight the different form of media that has to be used to spread awareness about their products. Objectives of Media Strategy TOMS has looked towards using different form of media to attract customers of all age groups. The objective of using media is to create awareness about the product and look towards molding the customers to purchase the product. Along with it media advertising will help to develop a brand name of the product and will increase the reach due to the deep penetration level that media has. This will act as a path through which TOMS will be able to develop a pool of loyal customers and will look towards increasing its market share (Sherrington, 2009). Using media as a strategy to penetrate the market will also help TOMS to understand the market requirements. This will help to bring changes in the strategy of TOMS through which better future strategy to capture a larger chunk of the market can be developed. The entire process of using media as a process to attract customers will provide long term returns and will help the organization to be effective and provide better services for a longer period of time (Sherrington, 2009). Media Strategy Development TOMS based on the customer profile and targeted market has determined the different form of media which has to be used to attract people from different age groups. Care and precaution has to be taken as each media form has an effect on a certain group of customers which requires proper selection of the media and eyeing the correct targeted customers to improve their market share (Palmer & Adrian, 2000). The media strategy development by TOMS thereby proposes to use the following Newspaper: Newspaper will help to attract people of all age group especially people belonging within the age 34-54. Ads will be placed in leading newspaper so that the circulation is high and will help to reach at places which would otherwise not have been possible. Full page color ads will be placed will be placed in the newspaper so that it captures the attention of the reader and helps to provide maximum information about the product. Along with it ads will be placed in leading college newspaper. These ads will help college students, graduated alumni, faculty and staff as they are regular reader of the college newspaper. Full page color ads will be placed will be placed in the newspaper so that it captures the attention of the reader and helps to provide maximum information about the product. The advertisements placed in the newspaper will be done on a weekly basis so that the image occupies a place in the mind of the readers and they are able to visualize the same when they come across products from TOMS (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). Magazine: Advertisements placed in magazines will give a new direction to the advertisement campaigns as it will help to target a specific market and will ensure that the circulation is done on a national level. Two advertisements will be placed in magazines according to the targeted audience which will focus on spring collection, school collection and Christmas collection. The main aim of magazine advertisements will be tap the women customers who purchase the product for their households or people who look to support different causes and people prefering to purchase and spend time outdoors. TOMS has a view that women and the younger generation will purchase the products being offered by the company which will multiply the importance of advertising through magazines (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). Radios: The advertisements through radios will be broadcasted on radio stations which has the highest viewership. The advertisements will be broadcasted for 2 months and 3 times a week and twice daily. TOMS has looked towards determining the time when people commute and look towards having advertisements in the morning when people go to work, school and colleges and while they return back. This form will ensure that they are able to reach to the maximum possible customers and will be able to create a positive impact. The advertisements will also look towards participation from customers and answering the questions rightly will be awarded gifts and other products from the TOMS product range. This will help to increase the market penetration and will act as a method through which maximum viewership will be developed through radio communication (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). Television: This form of media advertisement has the highest penetration and looks to each every noon and corner of the country will be very effective. Thirty second advertisements for a span of half a year will be telecasted across all major channels so that awareness can be created. This will help people to become aware about TOMS message and offerings. The advertisements will also be timed during program which have a high audience viewership so that maximum possible targeted customers can be attracted. Along, with it sports channel and other form of channel which will help to increase the reach and attract a large part of the targeted customers will be focused on. This will help TOMS to capture a large chunk of the market and create a long lasting impression on the mind of the customers (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). Mall Floor Graphics: This form of advertising will use 4 X 11 inch footprints which will direct the customers to the stores which deal in TOMS products. This form of advertising will be used in shopping malls and will help to directly catch the attention of the viewers visiting the malls. The company plans to have such installations at different locations which have a high customer footfall so that the chances of converting those into final sales increase. This method of advertising will not only help to create brand awareness but will also have a direct impact on the different promotional activities which are used over different periods. Attention will be pad to ensure that such form of advertisements is used during special occassions and festivals when the flow of customers to shopping malls rises (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). Bus Shelter: This form of advertising will use 47 X 68 inch displays on the shelter of buses on prominent routes. The advertisement will run for a couple of months and will be done during the month when outdoor activities from TOMS are high. This form of advertisement will catch the attention of passerby and will help to provide immediate results as the advertisements will take during priority months and will have a direct effect on sale (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). SMS: This form of marketing is being used by TOMS because it has over 88% penetration level and reaches to customers spread over different regions. The high level of penetration that this medium provides along with word of mouth advertising will help to multiply productivity for TOMS. The company looks to send messages about new launches, offers, discounts and special previlege that customers will be able to enjoy (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). Mobile Games: This is one of the fastest growing aspects in the mobile world. TOMS with regard to advertising looks to use mobile games as a platform to run advertisements. The company looks towards having ads in the beginning and at the end which will provide customers with an interface and an opportunity to know about the brand. This will also prove effective as it will help to target all people from the age of 14 to 54 (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). Online Ads: Banners, displays and pop up ads are continuously increasing and is the second most widely used medium to advertise a product. TOMS proposes to use this medium to attract people as the targeted customers prone to this kind of ads fits the targeted customer segment of TOMS. The company looks to use banners, skyscrapers, and looks to attract customers based on demographics and psychographics. This will have a large impact and will help to attract customers from different sectors towards the brand (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). You Tube: The company proposes to have videos uploaded on you tube which will provide a complete description about their products, values and process in which they work. Along with it videos from customer which will highlight the satisfaction of customers along with their comments will be uploaded for future viewing. This will help to target individual customers and create a halo effect about the brand in their mind. Care has been taken to ensure that the videos will be short but provide most information that the customer is looking for. This will thereby be effective and help to attract customers (Microsoft Advertising, 2013). Social Networking Sites: TOMS proposes to develop pages which will be linked to social networking sites. This will enable the user to become part of the company and pass on comments and other things about the company. This will also help TOMS to understand the manner in which viewership is growing as more and more customers become affiliated would translate into increased awareness. This will help to improve awareness about the product and will have an effect on the long term future prospect of the company (Microsoft Advertising, 2013) TOMS has thereby looked towards working on different alternatives which will help them to spread brand awareness about their products. TOMS based on the customer profile and targeted market has determined the different form of media which has to be used to attract people from different age groups. This will ensure maximum penetration and help TOMS to be effective in choosing corrective medium through which awareness is spread about the different products which are being offered. Development of Media Ads The media ads to be developed by TOMS will ensure that the advertisements are developed keeping in mind that complete information is provided to the customers. The advertisements have to be developed in such a manner that it provides details pertaining to the offers, products and highlights some of the products. Along with it color and graphics chosen has to be such that it doesn’t create a bad image but instead multiplies the pleasure of watching the advertisements (Cook & Dave, 2004). The company also proposes to use strategies where they will use common people along with renowned personalities. This will have an impact as it will create a positive impact and will make people purchase the products. The overall effect from the media ads will be such that it creates a long term impression and multiplies the effectiveness of communicating the message desired by the company (Cook & Dave, 2004). TOMS has looked towards using different form of media to attract customers of all age groups. The objective of using media is to create awareness about the product and look towards molding the customers to purchase the product. Along with it media advertising will help to develop a brand name of the product and will increase the reach due to the deep penetration level that media has. This will act as a path through which TOMS will be able to develop a pool of loyal customers and will look towards increasing its market share. This will thereby ensure that the media ads which are developed and used provide maximum productivity and will help to create a better brand image. Conclusion This report highlights the advertising strategy that TOMS need to adopt after considering their target market. In addition to it, the report also analyzes the different advertising medium and campaigns which TOMS look towards implementing. This will help to understand the media advertisements so that better awareness can be created. On the whole it will multiply the effectiveness of TOMS and help to improve the brand image and will thereby ensure that the organization is able to increase their market share. References Chen, I. (2003). Understanding Customer relationship management: people, process and technology. Business Process Management Journal, 9 (5), 672-688 Cook, D. & Dave, D. (2004). Structural element of service quality product. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 6 (2), 189-207 Microsoft Advertising. (2013). Multi-screen Campaign is Perfect Fit for TOMS Shoes.” Editorial. Microsoft Advertising. Retrieved on April 1, 2013 from Read More