Integrated Market Communication - Case Study Example

Executive Summary

Worldwide, the use of integrated market communication is applied on a large scale. Consequently, this paper will try to explain the role of the IMC, the difference between the traditional practice and IMC, and finally its impact on the market dominance. The advantage of IMC approach is its orientation towards the consumers rather than the firm, that is, its places focus more on the customers as opposed to the organization (Wilson and Gilligan, 2013, p. 775). The results of the application of the theory of IMC are associated with the positive results such as an increase of sales, high profitability, and cost saving among others. Even though there are some barriers towards the implementation of the marketing principle of IMC, there are some obstacles towards the realization of the full potential the theory (Keller 2001, p.8).

The goal of Integrated Market Communication is aimed at the generation of the short term returns on the financial investment, with the long term aim of increasing the value of the brand. The identity of a brand is a combination of several factors such as name, logo, design, symbol, performance and image that comes to the consumers’ mind any time the product is mentioned. For the cult-like love for a product to be achieved, IMC play a significant role in the development and sustaining brand identity and equity (Quinn, 2009, p. 253; Keller 2001, p. 8).

The background of the RFL dates back to the period of inception of National Rugby Football League in England. The RFL is the governing body of the game nationally with the aim of developing and growing the Rugby League at all the possible level. RFL is tasked with the administration of teams in English Rugby League, the challenge cup known as Ladbrokes, Unity Super League and Kingdom Press League Championship (Collins 2000, p. 71).

Important historical events of RFL include the year of inception of the league which was in 1895 when a total of 21 clubs broke away from the English Rugby Union. Another important historical event is the introduction of Rugby Hall of Fame back in 1988. The main idea of the establishment was to commemorate the number of retired and greatest players in the UK League. For the upcoming event, we can use some of the unforgettable memories to advertise the event to source for a large crowd (Collins 2013, p. 153). An example is the use of up to three individuals recently honored by the hall of fame to urge fans to make it to the Summer Bash Event; the famous names can include but not limited to Garry Schofield, Mick Sullivan among others.

Creating Marketing Communication Objective for RFL

A look at the current marketing practice requires more than developing a particular brand pricing. Modern marketing calls for communication between the company and their customers, real and potential. Branding of the coming Summer Bash event can only survive if the communications in the form of advertisement are intensified (Low 2000, p. 28). It is important for the group tasked with publicizing the RFL event to make good use of the sales promotions mechanisms used in branding for the success of the occasion since the market will be penetrated well (Beck and Bosshart 2003, p. 1).

Integrated Market Communication play a significant role in building up a brand equity, which can be applied in the case of RFL. The Rugby Union should employ programs which are related to the channels that include production, pricing, and the distribution. The mentioned are necessary for the creation of a brand image, which will undoubtedly influence the customers’ position on the upcoming event (Hackley and Hackley 2014, p. 81). To achieve this, the marketing communication mostly through advertisements is much needed. For the dealers to realize the success of promotion as far as RFL is concerned, then they can test their achievements by gauging the consumers mind. A well-marketed event will lead to a high consumer based brand equity and develop a long-standing relation with the customer.

Brand awareness can be created through simple steps which when correctly followed will make the upcoming Summer Bash one of the greatest in the recent past. The key to effective branding is having a creative director to run the game. In event promotion, the person tasked with coming up with ideas on the how to market the affair will be the same person tasked with advertising.

The number one step towards achieving a home name is by knowing your customer. The promoter of the RFL event should set the targeted market and try by all necessary means to reach them. When coming up with the promotion ideas, the group should be kept in mind; this will influence the pricing, the venue where the games will be held the time with which the event will be promoted. We should also think about the lifestyle of the targeted group, their social and economic status of coming up with an advertisement mechanism. By the time the promoters understand all the mentioned the communication with the customer will be enhanced which will have an impact on the creation of awareness (Abratt 1989, p. 63).

The second step in effective branding has an effective branding story. An excellent brand story will leave the customers to talk about your products more before the event come to pass and even more after the main event. The branding company can use different stories to touch on the emotion of the targeted customers like how the countries come together under RFL once a year by a significant player who are retired given time to encourage the unity of United Kingdom under the beautiful game of rugby (Brownlie & Saren 1992, p. 34).

The brand story should come up with the characteristics of the Summer Bash which make it different from other Rugby events that take place in the country. Once the brand story come out well and the aimed market interprets the message well, then a cult such as branding will come up which we all appreciate its effect as far as promotion is concerned (Shank & Lyberger 2014, p. 6).

To increase the sales of tickets, we can apply the use of marketing mix which is defined as a set of tools that will enable the promoter to have a clear marketing direction which passes the intended story of Summer Bash event. The market mix is famously known with the four Ps. The first P stands for the product which will be provided; in the case of RFL, it is the rugby event which should attract more customers after serious promotion. Next P is the price; efficient pricing of the game will either boost the sale of tickets for the event or if the market research and communication is not carried out well will hinder the purchase of the commodities (Bhattacharya & Korschun 2008, p. 113).

Third stands for the place or venue where the RFL function will be organized, the location can also imply the area where the customers will be able to access the tickets for the events. If the venue chose to suit the expectation of the potential customers, then you should expect an increase in the number of ticket sales. The last P stands for Promotion. When it comes to promoting the event, the advertising group should not only rely on integrated marketing communication but also use all forms of the including the traditional marketing and public relations if they reach the customers targeted (Recker 2008, p.306).

IMC Campaign Strategy

(1)

The best strategy for the promotion of the event is the identification and mastering the clear understanding of the targeted audience. It is prudent for the markers to have knowledge of the public clearly as said by (Eldering, Expanse Networks, Inc 2001, p.1) both psychographic which entails attitude, behaviors and interests and demographically. When one has a grasp of the two, they will develop and identify the best communication media to reach the customers.

(2)

Once we have reached the stage of final preparation, the message will reach the intended through an easy way to as I planned to market to the fans via their respectively loved clubs. The tickets will be strategically placed in the fans club's headquarters. Aside from the mentioned strategies, we intend to come up with a player promotion that is the key players from al the qualified clubs to promote the summer event (Underwood 2003, p. 62).

(3)

The advantage of the strategy used for promotion is that it will reach a large audience first the rugby football fans before promoting the event to the lovers but not fanatics. This is a double-edged strategy which will increase the number of attendants.

The shortcoming of the approach is that it tends to be expensive when it comes to hiring the athletes from each qualified club to urge their fans to join them for the rugby affair.

(4)

The particular theory that suits the promotion to avoid wastage of resources is segmentation. The idea is first to reach the rugby lovers across the nation then sell the tickets with no advancement. Once you are done with the first sale, you can introduce development on the cards for those who are undecided whether to attend the gathering. The identification of the segment is easily made through making the general market smaller based on the selected characteristics (Duncan & Moriarty 1998, p. 2) for this case is the rugby lovers.

Creative Briefing

For this Summer Bash, the management would go with the idea of ‘Unity in Sports’ as the central theme of the event. Coming to a just a couple of years after the failed referendum on secession, t is best if British is united under a sport that is loved by many in the country. The log for the function will have the unifying British flag which will be designed by one of the best artists in the country. As mentioned earlier, the first benefit of the event is to create a sense of belonging among the people of Great Britain. Secondly, the management of the event plans to use the proceeds from the two-day event to a partly fund children cancer center in London. The event just like the past ones will feature the essential idea of peace, sharing, and love across Britain.

IMC Implementation

After putting all the strategies in place for the event, it is now the right time for marketing the game. Publicity according to the budget will consume the hugest chunk of money allocated for the implementation. RFL event is a massive occasion which will call for advertisement in all the available media. The plan is to have a huge presence in the social media a month to the event since almost everyone uses the platform this day (Brown 2003, p. 48). When the very day is almost, we will invest in heavy presence in mainstream media. This is aimed at cutting the cost which might otherwise be high if we proceed to advertise on television immediately.

Since RFL attracts a lot of viewership, we get approached by a lot of corporates willing to sponsor the events. Sponsorship is selected based on the highest bidders according to the market dominance. That is to mean that the established firms are not grouped with the developing companies so that we spread fairness. Up to half of the money used for the event will come from corporate sponsorship. The public relation is a major factor which must also be factored in; the event will have entertainment during breaks which will be constituted of what the audience feel they are comfortable with.

Measurement and Evaluation

For effective control of the event, it is important to employ some of the measurements which will lead to the improvement and monitoring of the happenings before the event. To measure and then improve on the content that will be displayed during the event we need to have some tools in place (Madhavaram, Badrinarayanan & McDonald 2005, p. 70). The first device is measuring the unique visitors; these people can be reached based on the number who visits the company’s website during a particular period. We can use the number to tell how huge the event will be.

Internet search engines are also important sites to inform the magnitude of the event. The traffic amount being referred to the official website is also a tool that can determine the level of seriousness the game is receiving. Last is the number of individuals visiting the page to view the events as they unfold to get the best updates? When the page views are higher than the typical outlook, then it can be said that the game will likely succeed when it is held. The tool used for measuring market effectiveness has the some shortcomings even though it is one of the most reliable (Reid, Luxton & Mavondo 2005, p.11). Number one disadvantage is that the individuals viewing the internet site might not be necessarily interested on the sight as they might be redirected. The advantage is that customers can leave inquiries and place purchase order online without much effort.

In conclusion, it takes a lot of effort and preparedness mostly in marketing for a success of an event to see the light of the day. Incorporation of integrated marketing communication and the use of modern technology, the game would most likely succeed as seen in the discussion above. However challenging the use of current advertisement may be, it bears with it significant probability for success.

Reference List

Abratt, R 1989, 'A New Approach to the Corporate Image Management Process', Journal Of Marketing Management, 5, 1, pp. 63-76, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 May 2016.

Beck, D. and Bosshart, L., 2003. Sports and media. Communication Research Trends, 22(4), pp. 1-27

Bhattacharya, C, & Korschun, D 2008, 'Stakeholder Marketing: Beyond the Four Ps and the Customer', Journal Of Public Policy & Marketing, 27, 1, pp. 113-116, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 May 2016.

Brown, MT 2003, 'An Analysis of Online Marketing in the Sport Industry: User Activity, Communication Objectives, and Perceived Benefits', Sport Marketing Quarterly, 12, 1, p. 48-55, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 May 2016.

Brownlie, D and Saren, M., 1992. The four Ps of the marketing concept: prescriptive, polemical, permanent and problematical. European Journal of Marketing, 26(4), pp.34-47.

Collins, T., 2000. From Bondi to Batley: Australian players in British rugby league 1907-1995. Sporting Traditions, 16(2), pp.71-86.

Collins, T., 2013. Rugby's great split: Class, culture and the origins of rugby league football. Routledge.

Duncan, T, & Moriarty, S 1998, 'A Communication-Based Marketing Model for Managing Relationships', Journal Of Marketing, 62, 2, pp. 1-13, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 May 2016.

Eldering, C.A., Expanse Networks, INC., 2001. Advertisement selection system supporting discretionary target market characteristics. U.S. Patent 6,216,129.

Hackley, C. E and Hackley, Rungpaka 2014, Advertising and promotion: an integrated marketing communications approach, London: Sage.

Keller, K.L., 2001. Building customer-based brand equity: A blueprint for creating strong brands. Marketing Science Institute. Report, pp. 1-31

Kitchen, P.J. and Pelsmacker, Patrick de., 2010. Integrated marketing communication. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Low, G.S., 2000. Correlates of integrated marketing communications. Journal of Advertising research, 40(3), pp.27-39.

Madhavaram, S., Badrinarayanan, V, & McDonald, R 2005, 'Integrated Marketing Communication (Imc) And Brand Identity as Critical Components of Brand Equity Strategy', Journal Of Advertising, 34, 4, pp. 69-80, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 May 2016.

Quinn, L 2009, 'Market segmentation in managerial practice: a qualitative examination', Journal Of Marketing Management, 25, 3/4, pp. 253-272, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 May 2016.

Recker, W., Jin, W.L., Yang, X. and Marca, J., 2008. Autonet: Inter-vehicle communication and network vehicular traffic. International journal of vehicle information and communication systems, 1(3-4), pp.306-319.

Reid, M., Luxton, S and Mavondo, F., 2005. The relationship between integrated marketing communication, market orientation, and brand orientation. Journal of advertising, 34(4), pp.11-23.

Shank, M.D and Lyberger, M.R., 2014. Sports marketing: A strategic perspective, New York: Routledge.

Underwood, RL 2003, 'The Communicative Power Of Product Packaging: Creating Brand Identity Via Lived And Mediated Experience', Journal Of Marketing Theory & Practice, 11, 1, p. 62, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 May 2016.

Wilson, R and Gilligan, C., 2013, Strategic Marketing Management planning, implementation & Control, London: Routledge.