Marketing Activities of Team Members, Timelines for Campaign, Required Networks, and Brainstorming - Example

Undertake Marketing Activities Name Course Name and Code Date Table of Contents Overview of Situation for Decision and Plan of Action 3 Set Goals 3 Allocating Roles and Responsibilities to Individual Team Members 3 Required Resources 4 Realistic Timelines for Campaign 4 Obtaining Budget Figures and Actual Costs 5 An Agenda for the Inaugural Team Meeting 6 Promotional Activities and Advertising Methods 7 Opinion of Inappropriateness 8 Setting Up Relationships with Relevant Groups and the Identified Targeted Groups 8 Required Networks to Assist In the Promotion 9 Brainstorming and Importance 10 References 10 Overview of Situation for Decision and Plan of Action The aim of the new animal training school is to increase market share through opening new branches and after ten years to have establishments in America. It is important to understand the Australian market since the business is located in Brisbane and the short term strategies is to expand into major cities in Australia. It is achieved through conducting a market research and engaging the owners of the new animal training school to enable creating an effective marketing strategy and development requirements. After collecting the general information from the client and reviewing the market including business establishment requirements, it is possible to create an effective strategy. These processes require a team that is able to collect the information from the client and customize the messages to reflect the situational conditions. Set Goals Since the client has specified the short term and long term expectations (goals), the goals of the advertising agency are to analyze the different markets, determine whether appropriate resources are available, and analyze the contribution or limitations of different stakeholders, resulting in the creation of a conclusive document. The goals are to understand the different markets and how the marketing strategies can be customized to fulfilling the client’s objectives and goals. Allocating Roles and Responsibilities to Individual Team Members Analyzing the capacities and competencies of the individual members is important. It includes identification of expertise and skills, which enables the advertising agency to allocate duties (Thackeray et al. 2008). The aim is ensuring an individual assigned to a position has specific competencies and capability to accomplish the duty. In addition, timelines and milestones will be considered in allocating the duties because delays can be caused by overloading and overworking the employees (Roberts & Zahay, 2012). The tasks and duties assigned to the individual members should be balanced in that the employees cannot complain. The individual members will be informed of the importance of teamwork and supporting each other in achieving the goals. Hence, apart from focusing on the individual members, the teamwork perspective should be incorporated. Required Resources Different resources will be required, and the important is financial. The finances will be used to acquire supportive resources and even hire the team members and compensate the team members. The resources can be grouped into tangible and intangible (Avraham & Ketter, 2008). The tangible resources include the equipment and technological tools to complete the marketing activities such as computers, printers, and stationeries. The intangible resources include software, and the human competencies and capacities. Criteria should exist that balances these different resources to support the strategic requirements. Realistic Timelines for Campaign The team is supposed to have different experiences in different communication platforms and are able to create messages targeting these outlets. Some of the fundamentals the team has to appreciate are numerous. Continuous engagement with the customers is important because it improves awareness of the product and can also be used to cement the views of the customers towards the training facilities. The following are the short term timelines: Create a permanent promotional framework in social media for marketing purposes and communication requirements (Vorhies, Morgan & Autry, 2009) Create specific messages concentrating the in the development of brand name and run in the social and Internet platforms (digital marketing), and it will run for six months Messages and content development to be run in traditional media such as radio, television, and newspaper in the next six months (Vorhies, Morgan & Autry, 2009) Purpose to attend at least three animal related events in the next six months with the purpose of marketing the product and service Participate in social responsibilities and institutions advocating for animal protection and support: at least should associate with one animal advocating organization The long-term strategies in terms of timelines include: it is a challenge to propose long-term timelines because the short term timelines success are integral in influencing the long-term requirements: Creative a positive imagine in the market capitalized in the short term strategies Reviewing the international markets and determining the viability after analyzing the internal organization processes. This will be done after one year These different components require an effective team that has marketing strategic capabilities, understanding of traditional media, understanding of digital media, brand development and marketing capacities, and ability to evaluate the marketing strategic outcomes. Obtaining Budget Figures and Actual Costs Benchmarking and estimations are some of the strategies to determine the cost of marketing activities. It enables obtaining the budget figures since it is possible to estimate the cost of social media since some companies have employed similar approach (Vorhies, Morgan & Autry, 2009). After obtaining the general information, the budget is customized based on the requirements and expectations of the new school (Roberts & Zahay, 2012). The budgeting process will require skilled individuals who can obtain estimates from the targeted channels and combine these costs in different areas. For instance, it is easier to obtain the digital costing and even the traditional expenses (Tsimonis & Dimitriadis, 2014). The events and social contribution is sometimes a challenge, but through the use of historical costing, it is possible to estimate the costs and create a budget that integrates these budget strategic requirements. An Agenda for the Inaugural Team Meeting Meeting Agenda Objective: Strategize for the New Client Date: 25th October 2016 Location: Room 6 Time: 9:00 am Meeting type: Introduction Call in Number: 12 Call in Code: CVCVFJ12 Called by: Manager Facilitator: Manager Timekeeper: JK Note Taker: PL Agenda Items: 1. Call to order by JK 2. Introduction by Manager 3. Roll Call by PL 4. Review of any previous meetings by Manager 5. New business a. Current proposal from the customer by Manager b. Discussion on customer’s requirements and expectations by Manager 6. Additions to Agenda a. Brainstorm on the issue 7. Calendar by JK a. Meeting after one week to review the proposals on addressing the client requirements 8. Adjournment 9. Next meeting a. 1st November 2016 at 2 pm in room 12 Promotional Activities and Advertising Methods The promotional activities include: Advertising activities – it includes utilization of different platforms to engage the customers Publicity – using the media to spread messages to the consumers, giving interviews to the media and encouraging marketing through the word of mouth Sales promotions – it includes marketing the services and product through use of contests, competitions, and coupons Direct marketing – sending brochures, pamphlets, emails and letters to specific target customers The advertising methods include: Online advertising - it includes the use of websites and social media to engage the customers (Jüttner, Christopher & Godsell, 2010) Print advertising – the information can be posted in magazines, newspapers, and other publications Word of mouth advertising – word of mouth is the most important advertising strategy but depends on the quality of services offered. The argument is premised on consumer decision making process in which the consumer accesses information regarding a product or service from diverse avenues including advice from friends; hence, the importance of word of mouth. Event sponsorship and social responsibility – even though sometimes it is expensive, customers can link the operations of the organization with social benefit creating a positive image Radio and television advertising Advertising methods that may be inappropriate: Design of the communication messages Inclusion of diversity and cultural component Discriminative, stereotype and prejudice messages Accurate information/ misleading information Opinion of Inappropriateness The following are some of the inappropriate advertising activities: Ineffective design of the communication messages – the messages should not be abusive in nature and inform the stakeholders effectively (Vorhies, Morgan & Autry, 2009) The inclusion of diversity and cultural component – the marketing agencies have to appreciate the diversity and the customer behavior. It ensures the strategies implemented does not offend any of these stakeholders. The messages have to interrogate the different customer perceptions and expectations in terms of animal management and pets (Roberts & Zahay, 2012). The content of the messages, the design of the pictures, and the videos have to incorporate cultural diversity and inclusive approach. The messages should not be discriminative, stereotype and prejudice in nature. The consumers and target audiences have to understand the messages, and the information should be clear (Tsimonis & Dimitriadis, 2014). Accurate information/ misleading information – the information should be clear and supportive requests clarified. However, provision of “predatory” type of messages is the beginning of lies and affects the overall credibility of the establishment Setting Up Relationships with Relevant Groups and the Identified Targeted Groups In the marketing requirements, numerous groups have to come together and support the strategic implementation of the marketing strategies. These groups can be classified as internal and external. The internal are the departments and sectors within the new organization tasked with providing operational requirements. These includes the marketing, finance and management departments including human resources (Jüttner, Christopher & Godsell, 2010). The external groups are the government agencies, the customers, and other entities, which are beyond the organizational control. Creating positive relationships among these different groups requires effective communication. The different departments and sectors have to communicate effectively and provide information assisting in advertising objectives (Tsimonis & Dimitriadis, 2014). Respect, adherence to the law, ethics, and moral requirements are some of the fundamentals, which can be employed in ensuring the operational needs are capitalized. Therefore, balancing the different needs and requirements of the groups are important in advancing general requirements of the advertising and marketing objectives. Required Networks to Assist In the Promotion Different networks will be used for the promotion activities, which are generally classified as traditional and digital. The focus will be on digital because it is easier to implement such as the creation of a website with marketing information (Roberts & Zahay, 2012). The social media is also used because of the wider number of respondents or audiences, and it enables receiving feedback and other communication requirements. Moreover, more consumers are using social media and digital communication processes, which makes it preferable for using as a marketing platform (Jüttner, Christopher & Godsell, 2010). The traditional platform such as newspapers, brochures, radio and television will also play an integral role (Vorhies, Morgan & Autry, 2009). The strategy is balancing the different capabilities and benefits of these platforms in advancing the strategic requirements of the marketing plan. Brainstorming and Importance Brainstorming is a team creativity technique that enables the individuals in a team to present different views and approaches in addressing a specific problem (Roberts & Zahay, 2012). These views are presented on a list enabling further critique and discussions resulting in appropriate strategies to address the identified problem (Doyle, 2009). The usefulness of brainstorming is easy to implement and does not require voluminous resources, high amount of generated ideas, proposals can be refined gradually, and it improves working atmosphere among the different members (Vorhies, Morgan & Autry, 2009). These benefits make it an important component in understanding a problem and obtaining opinions and views of addressing the problem. References Avraham, E., & Ketter, E. (2008). Media strategies for marketing places in crisis: Improving the image of cities, countries, and tourist destinations. Routledge. Doyle, P. (2009). Value-based marketing: marketing strategies for corporate growth and shareholder value. John Wiley & Sons. Jüttner, U., Christopher, M., & Godsell, J. (2010). A strategic framework for integrating marketing and supply chain strategies. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 21(1), 104-126. Roberts, M. L., & Zahay, D. (2012). Internet marketing: Integrating online and offline strategies. Cengage Learning. Thackeray, R., Neiger, B. L., Hanson, C. L., & McKenzie, J. F. (2008). Enhancing promotional strategies within social marketing programs: use of Web 2.0 social media. Health Promotion Practice, 9(4), 338-343. Tsimonis, G., & Dimitriadis, S. (2014). Brand strategies in social media. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 32(3), 328-344. Vorhies, D. W., Morgan, R. E., & Autry, C. W. (2009). Product‐market strategy and the marketing capabilities of the firm: impact on market effectiveness and cash flow performance. Strategic Management Journal, 30(12), 1310-1334. Read More