Integrated Global Marketing Promotion for McDonalds and BMW - Case Study Example

INTEGRATED GLOBAL MARKETING PROMOTION FOR MCDONALDS AND BMW By Student’s Name Code + Name of Course Professor/Tutor Institution City/State Date Integrated Global Marketing Promotion for McDonalds and BMW Integrated marketing communications applies several methods of communication to reach out to the target clients of the firm. Advertising via mass media such as TV and newspapers are the most popular methods of communications applied in integrated marketing communications (Clow 2007, pg. 5). Advertising is an effective integrated marketing communications method because of the wide reach of mass media such as TV channels and newspapers. Advertising can use an audible, written, or visual message channelled by the business to potential and present customers. The objective of advertising is to pass information about the services and products of the business to the customers in order to persuade the customers to choose the commodities and services of the business and to establish and reinforce the brand of the product by positioning it in the customer’s minds. Brand positioning is the way in which a firm positions its services and products in the customer’s minds. With increased globalization, more countries worldwide have opened their economies and eliminated barriers to flow of resources and trade (Shimp & Andrews 2013, pg. 11). As a result, companies such as McDonald’s and BMW have increased their international network like never before. A restaurant chain firm like McDonald’s is even operational in war-ravaged countries such as Bosnia and Iraq. This reach is attributable to global advertising. In global advertising, firms customize and standardize their products in order to appeal to other cultures (Clow 2007, pg. 6). Standardization in marketing campaigns suggests using a similar message in an advertisement across several countries. Customized advertising suggests a company using various adverts in different states. In customization, the message of advertising is modified or disintegrated region wise and country wise. Customization in adverts is often done if the firm perceives that the same advertising message will not succeed in diverse countries because of variances in brand positioning and target audiences’ culture (Shimp & Andrews 2013, pg. 12). Cultural variations have a very crucial effect on the decision of customization or standardization. In situations where there are significant variances in culture and positioning in two global markets, then customization in may be the best strategy. This essay will examine international marketing campaign in advertisements used by The McDonalds and BMW companies by analysing their degree of standardization, copy, visualization, choice of delivery mode, and message appeal. This essay will furthermore justify the degree of standardization for the international marketing campaign used by the companies. McDonalds is a household trademark in the USA and globally.  It is the leader food-service retailer worldwide with more than 30,000 restaurants in 120 countries. The firm continues being a leader in its market by providing an extraordinarily constant client experience whilst still giving room for domestically service variation and relevant menu. Maybe the most motivating component of McDonald’s combination of marketing is its application of promotion (Vignali 2001, pg. 97).  The firm’s promotion comprises of five main tools: advertising, personal selling, PR, sales promotion, and direct marketing. Even though the compelling power behind the company’s promotion is to market its international image, the firm still pays attention on the society’s needs they are venturing. McDonald’s undertakes dual adaptation. This refers to the process of operating various promotional and advertising campaign in diverse national markets referred as communication adaptation. In many instances, companies transform both their promotional campaign and commodities as they spread around countries (Sandler & Shani 1992, pg.19). McDonald customizes its products and promotional campaigns. For instance, it does not offer beef burgers in a country like India where eating beef in a Hindu community cultural taboo. McDonalds offers kosher products only in Jewish Israel. In adjacent Islamic countries, McDonald’s sells products from material products that are not taboo in Islam. The dual adaptation strategy is a major reason for McDonald’s success in its international operations. McDonald’s product, promotional, and pricing strategy combines both customization and standardization. Standardization in international advertising has particular advantages such as ensuring the company’s message is not diluted across different countries. Apparently, a lot of customization in advertising may dilute the image of any brand resulting in the creation of diverse perceptions concerning the brand in various markets (Kotler & Armstrong 2010, pg. 17). Therefore, customization in international advertising should not be done in a manner that dilutes the competitive advantages and brand image of the firm. An intact and strong brand image at the international scale can be one of the major strategic assets for a firm. In its adverts, the company delivers one overall image with diverse personalities in dissimilar cultures. For instance, in East Asia, the company’s advertisements target children, to whom it tributes much of its accomplishment in that region (Hargrave-Silk 2006, pg. 16). Standardized global promotion can also be less costly compared to a customized one because of economies of scale. Advertising comprises a big part of marketing companies’ budgets. During periods of economic slowdown, firms cannot afford to be waste their adverts. Many companies opt to cut down costs in adverts is through cost controlling in promotions. Customized advertising serves well the exceptional sensibilities of a certain market. Customization may also be necessary whenever the advertising promotion uses celebrities. A celebrity in one region may be may be unfamiliar in another (Vignali 2001, pg. 99).  Therefore, an advertising promotion with a local celebrity will require customization. The most effectual strategy for advertising is one having elements of both standardization and customization. McDonald’s and many other main multinational firms depend on this strategy. In international advertising strategies, which apply both standardization and customization in their campaigns, particular attributes of the brand personality and brand image are retained as in the case of McDonald’s. McDonald’s ensures it retains its standard elements in its adverts such as the ubiquitous golden arches and the colour theme even while applying its customized advertising messages (Desker Shaw 2006, pg. 34). According to Schröder and McEachern (2005, pg. 219), one of the vital PR activities in marketing is the production of encouraging promotion for the firm and brand. In considering the firm’s public relations, McDonald’s has characteristically localized its activities. Nevertheless, the company has assumed a more international strategy in some instances. For example, in 1997, McDonald’s collaborated with Walt Disney allowing the two firms to portion special marketing privileges for all aspects from food to films in the subsequent five years. This was a very effective international PR move because WD has a global plea. McDonald’s also gets encouraging publicity using its PR is through using sports sponsorships. The firm sponsors many different sports on the global and national platform. Internationally, it improves its image by associating with the Olympic Games and the World Cup. Nationally, it associates itself with organizations such as NASCAR and the NBA (Kotler & Armstrong 2010, pg. 27). Having a powerful brand equity and brand image assists in sustaining the firm’s competitive advantage. Competitive advantage ensures that the company charges higher prices, compared to its competitors. This ensures that the company retains a greater market share than its competitors. A promotional appeal is the method used to lure the customers’ attention or to influence their feelings toward the service, product, or cause towards a product or service. Appeal moves people, communicates to their needs or wants and stimulates their interest. McDonald’s uses visual appeal in its international adverts in order to lure customers from different parts of the world (Desker Shaw 2006, pg. 36). Given the language barrier challenge in international promotions, it is not sufficient to learn language of a country written in books. Even in some nations, not all people understand the connotative implication of words through use. In handlin this challenge, McDonald’s applies pictographs in its adverts. In these adverts, the company’s employees globally can circle up transactions on machines that show emblems of Big-Macs, colas, instead of words or numericals. The company is also enthusiastically dedicated to promoting from within and staffing locally, only hiring experienced managers in the local and corporate nations in which they run. BMW BMW is a premier brand of luxury automobile worldwide. The firm derives its competitive advantage from the fact that its roots is a German company that excels in quality and engineering (Smith 2008, pg. 4). BMW is an automobile company that produces in large scale and serves worldwide with competitors such as Mercedes-Benz and Audi. To outpace its rivals, BMW has included the internet in its overall global marketing strategies. Given that 85% of its clients venture internet research before obtaining the model, the company has invested on internet through television, website, social networks, and online applications to conduct e marketing. BMW uses the internet for promotions, online advertising, direct marketingmarketing public relations, and enhancing customer relations (Mangold & Faulds 2009, pg. 357). In order to appeal to many of its international customers in adverts, the company has standardized a campaign, which basically an international print campaign. The advert markets the BMW, the electric car design of the firm. The company is running an international print promotion in which the advert of i8 features in all main print publications such as the Time and The Economist (De Pelsmacker, Geuens & Van den Bergh 2007, pg. 6). This advertising promotion is greatly standardized. BMW is running the promotion in all the main states where it has footing. The same kind of advertisement is seen in all the markets. The visualization aspect of its advert comprises a blue display of the two-seater BMW i8 against a bluish urban landscape dominated by concrete skyscrapers and neon-lit glass. This image as shown in its advertisement describes the BMW i8 as a two-seater with an open-top luxury sports car having eDrive technology. This technology is grounded on the electric motor built and developed by the company. This electric engine is reinforced by an innovative battery and intelligent system of engine management (Coe et. Al, 2004, pg. 468). The message of the image is that the TwinPower Turbo engine of the BMW i8 model can thrust one from eco- to ego- inclined in less than ten seconds. In addition, the copy of the advertisement posits, “Lower emissions and more driving pleasure. After all why resolve for a car that is only reasonable” (Coe et. Al, 2004, pg. 468). The tagline of this international advert promotion of BMW i8 is: BORN ELECTRIC. BMW I (Mangold & Faulds 2009, pg. 356). The appeal of the content of promoting BMW i8 is grounded in the innovative eDrive expertise. The message suggests that those driving the car will not only be driving a car, which is eco-friendly, but will also be going towards such a drive which will give them an ego-trip and a pleasure. BMW’s film campaign of 2001 marks a promotional campaign via online short films established overtly to direct customers visiting the BMW films website (Rugman & Brain 2003, pg.4). Visitors of the site were necessitated to register in order to view the films. Therefore, BMW was able to obtain customer information and spread the message as well. Prints, TV adverts, online advertisement, and billboards reinforced the campaign, which all directed to the similar BMW Films website thereby collectively increasing traffic. The campaign outcomes were historical to the car industries at that time with over 10 million views, 2.5 million registrations with 65 % deciding to receive more content, all at a price of about $1.20 only per individual. In addition, 95% of the registrants suggested films to others, which culminated in a viral promotion and website traffic rise by 55% to 215,000 exclusive visitors in comparison, compared to the weekly 136,000 assisting BMW to raise yearly sales by 11.5% in 2002 and thereafter reported to have attained 74%. The company’s global “Story of Joy Promotion” was the company’s 2010 promotion, which was meant to lure clients who were essentially driving fanatics as the “Ultimate Driving Machine.” The promotion combined a dedicated website, social networks, interactive adverts and games collectively used with conventional channels of marketing. An industry-particular intelligent tool of social media listening was used to establish the effect of the campaign; and was realized that the brand communications by females had risen by 21% showing a definite demographic change. The effect of the promotion was easily comprehended through internet in comparison to conventional channels because of the rich information for the users such as location, age, and gender. In general, the joy promotion was very successful culminating in a faster recovery of the firm’s net profit. The reason for the company’s use of a standard advertising promotion in all countries rather than a customized one is that it considers brand image as the most vital source of competitive merit for the company. BMW has succeeded in charging a premium charge for its products due to its superior brand image. The luxury car segment considers brand image as the most critical factor of accomplishment (Mangold & Faulds 2009, pg. 358). . Therefore, by running a standardized promotion, BMW is not jeopardising dilution its brand equity and brand image, which a customized promotion may entail. The adverts of the company are regularly run in premium print publications that are popular amongst its target clients- the upper income and affluent clients. The print advert campaign of i8 comprises the global integrated marketing communications for the company and, which constitutes advertisements on the Internet, television, and other electronic media i.e. direct sales to clients that have previously purchased BMW designs in the past and in-store promotions. The standardization in the international print ad of BMW i8 is warranted on the basis that BMW struggles to maintain the image of its brand. Having a single ad campaign in America and a different one in China would have resulted in different brand images of the BMW i8 in the minds of Chinese and American customers. BMW endeavours to maintain a single international brand image. Therefore, this brand image lingers in the minds of potential and existing customers in a similar way creating the same effect regardless of the culture or nationality to which they belong. The company gains from its powerful global brand image in increasing value developed for its stakeholders and other shareholders (Coe et. Al, 2004, pg. 469). A customized advertisement promotion would not have succeeded in delivering this goal for BMW. Diverse print ad campaigns in various regions might have caused slightly diverse brand images in the customer’s minds belonging to different cultures and nations. In addition, a standardized ad campaign has saved costs for the company because of benefits derived from economies of scale (Fan 2002, pg. 182). Having diverse ad campaigns in different national markets would have greatly increased the costs because it would have necessitated duplication of efforts and hiring numerous advertising organisations. Therefore, a standardized international ad promotion has been very effective and at the same time efficient for the company. In conclusion, Integrated Marketing Communications applies different methods of communication to reach out to the target clients of a firm. The goal of advertising is to convey a firm’s message concerning its services and products to its customers in order to persuade them to choose the commodities and services of the business. Firms have to standardize these adverts in order to penetrate all nations. This essay has established the fact that companies such as McDonald’s and BMW have increased their international network like never before. This is attributed to meticulous standardization in their marketing campaigns by using a similar message in an advertisement across several countries. Customized advertising has enabled these companies to reach out to clients worldwide. In customization, the message of the firms’ adverts is modified or disintegrated region wise and country wise. McDonald’s undertakes dual adaptation in advertising. The firm customizes its products and promotional campaigns and its product, promotional, and pricing strategy combines both customization and standardization. McDonald’s also ensures that it retains its standard elements in its adverts such as the golden arches and the colour theme in applying its customized advertising messages. The firm uses visual appeal in its international adverts in order to lure customers from different parts of the world. On the other hand, BMW, a premier brand of luxury automobile worldwide has standardized its campaign, which is basically an international print campaign. Its advert markets the BMW, the electric car design of the firm. BMW is running the promotion in all the main state where it exists. Prints, TV adverts, online advertisement, and billboards campaign tools have reinforced the firm’s campaign. The reason for the company using a standard advertising promotion in all countries rather than a customized one is that it considers brand image as the most vital source of competitive merit for the company. Therefore, the standardization of its international ad promotion has been very effective and efficient for the company. Bibliography Clow, K, E 2007. Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications. Pearson Education India. Coe, N, Hess, M, Yeung, H, Dicken, P & Henderson, J 2004, ‘Globalizing’regional development: a global production networks perspective.’ Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 468-484. De Pelsmacker, P, Geuens, M & Van den Bergh, J 2007. Marketing communications: a European perspective. Pearson education. Desker Shaw, S 2006, ‘McDonald’s links push to HK mood.’ Media, Vol. 6, 33-79. 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