Strategy Formulation and Implementation - Fairfax Media - Case Study Example

Fairfax Media Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 Alternative Strategies 4 Gap Analysis 4 Factors to be changed in the current marketing strategy 5 Expected results 7 Implementation of the alternative solution 8 Extent to which it will solve the problem 8 Recommendations 9 References 12 Executive Summary The Australian media industry is highly vibrant; according to the industry analysis the threat of new entrants is very low, the bargaining power of suppliers as well as consumer bargaining power is very high, and the rivalry between different players is very stiff. Fairfax Media is one of the main players in this industry offering products such as print, audio, and online products. The company’s sales have been depreciating over time. According to extensive studies, it was established that the current technological changes are the main challenge that has caused the company sales to deteriorate. With this regard, the company resorted to solve this problem by integrating its distribution channel in order to address this issue. The alternative solutions that the company can use in order to accomplish this objective are concentrating on online publication while introducing numerous online payment means together with discounts that will be vital in attracting more consumers. Secondly, the company should consistently be providing online abstracts of their articles to entice customers to purchase their products (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2009). Following this observations, this report discusses these two alternatives by providing a gap analysis, identifying factors that should be changed in the current company strategy, and the expected results. Similarly, the report will discuss the implementation of these alternatives, the extent to which the problem will be solved, and finally the paper will give recommendations that Fairfax Media should implement in order to achieve the objectives of the new strategy. Alternative Strategies Fairfax Media major problem to be solved is aligning the company’s technological capabilities with the distribution channel, which is a strategic step towards addressing the falling product sales. Following this critical identification of the main issue to be solved, the following two alternatives are the best means through which Fairfax Media can leverage itself from this troubling marketing situation: i. Concentrating on online publication and introduce numerous means of payment plus some discount that enables attracting of more customers ii. Consistently provide article content abstracts through different promotional avenues with the main objective of attracting end users to purchase the content Gap Analysis The above proposed alternatives are in line with Fairfax Media marketing strategy; for instance the company has strong technological capacities (Belch et al., 2011). Similarly, the company is comprised of skilled personnel that will be very instrumental in developing free article contents together with article content abstracts that will be vitally significant in influencing customers to purchase company products (Jain, 2008). Furthermore, the highly skilled and qualified personnel will aid the company in aligning their technological superiority in the industry with their distribution channel (Percy, 2012). Given the fact that the company has an established online presence, having various services and products payment platforms, the gap between the proposed solutions and the entire company strategy is minimal. However, despite of the above discussed technological capabilities, the company has outdated publishing equipments coupled with the ever changing distribution and technological methods and increased operational costs exhibits that there is a slight gap between the proposed alternatives and the current Fairfax Media marketing strategy. Factors to be changed in the current marketing strategy The current Fairfax Media distribution channel must be improved or changed in order to increase the company’s overall sales. Having an online distribution channel is always instrumental in allowing any company to market its products not only to the surrounding community, but also to the global consumers (Jonathan and Smith, 2004). Digital distribution involves the delivery of products without the use of physical media or conventional distribution methods. For this matter, the company that develops its own marketing and sales website enables customers to access and download their products (Trehan and Trehan, 2009). Similarly, this website give the company an extended opportunity to provide abstract article contents to customers which are extremely essential in influencing customer to buy the entire article. Integrating their marketing and distribution channel with specialist networks, which are also referred to as content delivery networks, automatically empowers the company to distribute their product’s contents over the internet as well as ensure both high availability and high performance (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2007). By using peer-to-peer file sharing technologies, the company will allow different customers from across different market segments to share company content which will on the other hand improve the overall company sales thus profitability. The content delivery platforms have the ability to create as well as syndicate content remotely, thus they act as content management systems. Fairfax Media upgrading their equipments as well as its operating systems helps it to keep up with the rapidly changing technological advancements. Having digital magazines and newspapers will allow customers from across different market segments to access these contents from their hand held digital access gadgets like PDA’s and Smart Phones. This new strategy will see the company increase its revenues tremendously hence making the company to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. With regard to this explanation, integrating its traditional products with digital ones is vital in expanding company’s market capture (Australian Securities Exchange, 2013). Equally important, the traditional marketing strategies that involve traditional promotional strategies like over relying on TV and radio advertisement should be changed or integrated to integrated marketing communication. This will provide an interactive podium where customers will interact directly with the company suggesting the best ways that they need to be served. Nevertheless, the company will be able to tailor their products to specific customer needs. These proposed alternatives will have an automatic effect on the market segments; for instance, initially the company targeted conventional market segments that are accustomed to consuming physical media products including printed magazines and newspapers (Keillor, 2007). The proposed strategy targets technologically sound customers who have access to the internet. Similarly, the targeting strategies; instead of relying on traditional targeting strategies, the company will have a digital customer targeting strategy. In the same line of argument, the company will strategically position itself in the industry as an electronically sound company providing a myriad of electronic products (Kotler and Amstrong, 2010). The 4Ps will also be affected because the company products will not only be able to offer printed content, but also digital content including physical newspapers and magazines and having all these products in digital form. Expected results The use of the proposed alternatives will result into various strategic abilities that will ensure the success of Fairfax Media main objective of providing news and other entertainment reads to their audience (Hunt, 2002). For example, that company will be able to provide killer content to its customers; for instance, having interesting and appealing content on the company’s website will encourage customers to frequent the site (Vega, 2001). Social syndication is another key result of the new strategy; for instance, the company will be able to share its content on social media sites, bookmarking sites together with ping dictionaries to their customers (Fairfax Media, 2012). This will allow readers to share with other thus marketing the company’s products directly and indirectly. The company will also be able to provide their products in different formats due to realization that consumption of information is independent to each person (Australian Securities Exchange, 2013). In this regard, digital as well as printed content will be readily available to all customers across different segments. Fairfax Media will also be empowered to follow consistently an editorial calendar; this on the other hand will ensure that the company generate and produce content regularly for their customers to follow. Significantly important, the company will be enabled to provide downloadable content; development of free content including e-magazines, e-newspapers, together with audio podcasts will be readily available and downloadable on portable electronic devices like PDA’s and Smart Phones. The bottom line of the new strategy is to build lasting relationship between the company and its customers (Fairfax Media, 2013a). The use of integrated communication marketing will create a massive network of relationships between customers and the company as well as amongst customers. Implementation of the alternative solution The online distribution channel can be successfully implemented through the use company website, social media, social bookmarks, news wires and search engines (Burrow, 2008). The development of the company website the company will be empowered to attract customers or the target audience (Burrow, 2011). Building different or separate landing pages will not only optimize the search engines to get found, but also offer the company a direct link to use on their social networks, and sales collaterals (Kant, 2011). For instance, the landing page will direct customers, drive visitors to access, and download the company’s content. The use of news wires is normally done by sending optimized press release announcing the abstract details of the company’s content (Yeshin, 2006). The social media help in vastly spreading information and content. The company can post a link on the content of the landing page on the company’s Facebook page as well as the Twitter account, and the visitors can use company content to answer related questions. Social bookmarking on the other hand will enable user to organize and share interesting information or useful content found on the internet. Extent to which it will solve the problem The new strategy will help the company to reach a wider customer audience while also offering its products in both digital and print formats (Australian Securities Exchange, 2013). Consequently, the use of integrated marketing communication tools will enable the company to align customer needs with their products (Yeshin, 2012). Given this capabilities, the company will have a wider market for its products. For this matter, it provides an extended opportunity for the company to increase its sales and revenues. Recommendations Fairfax Media will only be able to achieve the benefits of the new strategy by only and only implementing the following recommendations: 1. Fairfax Media should develop an online distribution channel; this can be realized through the development of the company website (Koekemoer, 2010). From the above explanation, company website will give Fairfax Media a vital opportunity to sale its products to a wider customer base. For example, the company will develop downloadable content that will then be posted on this website thus allowing customers from across the globe to access and download the content. Similarly, the website empowers the company to provide consistently abstract article contents that will be frequently uploaded to this site; this abstract content will influence customers to have an in-drive to purchase both online and physical company products. 2. The company should also integrate its marketing distribution channel with content delivery networks or specialist networks, which will be instrumental in ensuring that the company distributes its products over the internet (Koekemoer, 2008). Furthermore, this undertaking will dictate the company’s online availability while at the same time ensuring high performance (Shimp, 2010). Hand in hand with this, using peer to peer file sharing technologies will empower Fairfax Media customers to share the company’s content thus optimizing the overall company sales. 3. Accordingly, upgrading the company’s equipments and operating systems will automatically give Fairfax an added ability to keep up with the rapid technological changes being experience in the market currently (Australian Securities Exchange, 2013). Current technologies being implemented in the company will allow the company to digitize their products including magazines and newspapers as well as keep up with the current market trends in this digital era (Australian Securities Exchange, 2013). With regard to this, customers will be enabled to download company content at considerable prices from the updated company website using their handheld digital access devices. Similarly, the online payment capabilities that are provided by the current company operating systems will make easier for the company to make quick sales thus increasing its overall revenue. 4. Digitization of company products is another crucial step that the company must adhere to. Having both print and digitized company products will help the company to vastly expand its market capture. This coupled with the integrated marketing communication tools will allow Fairfax Media have an interactive marketing platform, which is extremely essential in creating customer company relationships. 5. The company should also use priority keywords in order to optimize their content and the landing page to be found by target audience (Kitchen & De Pelsmacker, 2004). Including priority keywords in the company content like headlines and sub-headings in the landing page’s page title and Meta data allow search engines to efficiently delivering company content to the target audience. Similarly, this is very helpful when posting links through the company social networks and news releases; the company should prioritize using priority keywords as the anchor text. 6. The company should also use the immense power of the social media networks and community to sensitize their customers about the company products (Australian Securities Exchange, 2013). For instance, uploading abstracts of their article contents on the social media network will prompt customers from different quarters to purchase the whole content. This can be realized by posting a link of the company content landing page on the company’s Facebook page and/or Twitter account. 7. Accordingly, the company should employ the use of news wires; by sending optimized press releases that announce abstract details of the company’s products across regional or national news wires will earn the company online publicity from relevant bloggers and editors. This will automatically increase the inbound links while also generating a spike of traffic back to the company’s landing page. Through this the company will expand its online distribution capabilities, which on the other hand will earn it improved revenues. 8. Fairfax Media should use social bookmarking that are extremely essential in enabling users to organize and share information about the company with the community and the larger global customers. Bookmarking the company’s landing page particularly on social bookmarking sites will enable the company to share its content their sites. A combination of different online distribution channels will give the company the power to meet its objectives. References Australian Securities Exchange 2013. Fairfax Media Limited (FXJ). Retrieved from http://www.asx.com.au/asx/research/companyInfo.do?by=asxCode&asxCode=FXJ Belch, G., Belch, M., Kerr, G., & Powell, I (2011) Advertising & promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective (2nd ed). Sydney: McGraw-Hill Australia. Burrow, J (2008) Introduction to business: Finance, marketing, operations Sydney: Cengage Learning Burrow, J (2011) Marketing, 3rd ed. Sydney: Cengage Learning Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A (2009) Business & society: Ethics and stakeholder management, 7th ed. London: Cengage Learning Czinkota, M., & Ronkainen, I (2007) International marketing, 8th ed. London: Cengage Learning Fairfax Media (2012) Annual Report 2012. Retrieved from http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/shareholders/2012FXJAnnualReport.pdf Fairfax Media (2013) Home. Retrieved from http://fairfaxmedia.com.au/ Fairfax Media (2013a) Corporate profile. Retrieved from http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/corporate-profile/corporate-profile.dot Hunt, S. D (2002) Foundations of marketing theory: Toward a general theory of marketing. Washington: M.E Sharpe Jain, S (2008) Integrated marketing communication: Trends and innovations. New Delhi: Global India Publication Pvt. Ltd. Jonathan, T. and Smith, P. R (2004) Marketing communication: An integrated approach. London: Kogan Page Publishers Kant, K (2011) Integrated Marketing Communication. Retrieved from http://teamkuhner.com/2011/09/20/integrated-marketing-communication-imc/ Keillor, B. D (2007) Marketing in the 21st Century: Integrated Marketing Communication. V.4. Los Angeles: Greenwood Publishing Group. Kitchen, P. J., & De Pelsmacker, P (2004) Integrated marketing communication: A primer. London: Routledge. Koekemoer, L (2008) Marketing communication. New York: Cengage Learning. Koekemoer, L (2010) Introduction to integrated marketing communication. Munich: Juta Limited Kotler, P. and Amstrong, G. M (2010) Principles of marketing. Pennsylvania State University: Prentice Hall Percy, L (2012) Strategic integrated marketing communication. London: Routledge Shimp, T. A (2010) Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communication. New York: Cengage Learning Trehan, M. and Trehan R (2009) Advertising and sales management. Ambala City: FK Publications 45 Vega, G (2001) A passion for planning: Financials, operations, marketing, management, and ethics. New York: University Press of America Yeshin, T (2006) Advertising. New York: Cengage Learning Yeshin, T (2012) Integrated marketing communication. London: Routledge Read More