Dynamic and Static Elements of Marketing Communications - Assignment Example

Marketing Communications Q1: How dynamic and complex is the UK marketing communications environment Ans: 'Communication' as such is defined as an artof developing an understanding between people, communities, societies, civilizations etc. Communication forms a crucial part of managerial activities. Marketing communication in turn helps a company in building a brand, creating brand loyalties, increase in sales, cutting costs, etc. UK market is a very diverse market in general which caters to customers/ consumers from different walks of life, different cultures, ethnic groups and age groups. In today's market driven economy concept, the art of communication to existing consumers as well as prospective consumers takes a great deal out of the managerial brain storming sessions. The communication is said to be successful if 'a customer goes to buy the shoes of a particular brand, not for keeping his feet warm and dry but because the shoes make him/ her feel masculine/ feminine, rugged, young, glamorous etc.' This is indeed the real task for the marketing team in general and the marketing communication guys in particular. The marketing team is supposed to thoroughly understand the customer's needs, buying habits and then plan the launch of the product in the appropriate market. UK market today boasts of increasing number of young spenders. Increasing use of credit cards has further fueled these spending habits. These spending habits further vary with cities across UK because flow of wealth and income also depends upon the extent of industrialisation of the city, 'mood/ attitude' of the city etc. as flows of income and wealth correspond to such an extended system of industrialisation and stages of growth of the city. London, for example, can be classified having class, design, retailing, and a big share of the resulting income and wealth. More and more of the international corporate players prefer to make London its home and such corporations orchestrate and finance production and marketing at the expense of firms into the operations business. They take stock of the size of the market, competitor's presence, and their communication strategies. At times it is advisable to plan out the communication strategy taking a leaf out of the strategies of existing companies. This holds particularly useful for service industries, because in this case the consumer is lured with the help of innovative ideas of service delivery for example in tourism industry, market is segmented depending upon the paying capacity, existing preferences of tourists and bouquet of discounts etc. enjoyed by them. Marketing communication tools play a crucial role in the process. UK market is an advanced market in term of IT and communication technology. In most of the commercial environments, a technically advanced product finds more acceptance. A big chunk of working IT professionals are from Asian countries, for which different types of strategies are required than used for the residents Englishmen. The working communities from other nations are generally here to 'earn'. Their main concern is how to optimize their savings. At the same time they are a crucial factor in nation's economy. They help in production of goods, materials etc. and they are the consumers as well. In fact it is said that marketing people are the most secular lot. They don't believe in favouritism or any such discrimination. For them the customer is one community with different attitudes and profiles. UK is in fact considered to be the most liberal regime amongst the OECD. UK has implemented reforms with far-reaching consequences over the last decades (OECD, 2006). A network of local authority local trader schemes is also functional which helps in giving consumers by way of providing them with a reliable way of finding trustworthy businesses and offers them adequate help when required. Such networks empower the consumers and assist them in making 'well informed choices' when purchasing goods and services. While devising marketing communication strategies all such parameters are taken into account, to make the claims trustworthy. The speed of change in IT field is making the traditional communication strategies out of place and inadequate to invite the 'smart' consumer. An effective and efficient Marketing team will have to keep track of these changes to survive in the market. Q2: What changes are taking place in the UK marketing communications environment Ans: The market driven economy is today not limited to UK or limited countries, it is now a world-wide phenomenon. Nations which have been traditionally very conservative and apprehensive in their approach towards Multinational Corporations have also gradually started opening up. For a mature market like UK, segmentation can be broadly done either based upon attributes of products or based upon attributes of consumers, but one fundamental rule that has to be kept sacrosanct is "never compete against customers' manifest priorities, instead facilitate them". The marketing communication environment today lays more and more emphasis on philanthropic activities with social messages and impacts. For example, 'Save Earth' types of campaigns are very much in fashion these days. Awards like 'Green Awards for creativity and sustainability' lay much emphasis on earth's natural capital. Such awards make the companies in general and marketing men in particular prone to thinking about the environmental impact that their products and services are going to have on the nature, with consequential effects on human society. Thus marketing communication incorporates 'green communications' as well. Marketing communication techniques too are undergoing a sea change from the good old age. Sending snail-mail communiqu to customers is pass. Now the emails, SMS's have been doing the trick. Associating with events like cricket, football, rugby is considered more effective means of establishing brand identity. Marketing communication people from big companies become more active during election period, when the candidates are on the lookout for money while companies eye business. Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) techniques are being used by corporates to make room for them. IMC involves synchronized working of advertising, sales promotion, PR and direct marketing. Marketing team is supposed to devise strategies in such a manner that all these components complement each other. In this approach companies use one strategy for everything, instead of dividing communications into several overlapping departments, they make every communication consistent with one message and one strategy. The international environment is also laying more emphasis on integrated marketing. The elements of society i.e. the consumers too are becoming more and more self centric and the space reserved for community feeling seems to have lost its meaning in these busy days. Marketing communication is therefore required to be more and more individualistic. Mobile phone marketing comes in handy for this purpose. Digitalisation coupled with more emphasis on product differentiation keep the marketing community busy all the time. The digital divide further requires devising a separate set of marketing strategies for the haves and have-not's. 'Being in the news' has become a very powerful marketing tool for some corporate houses. Such dynamism on marketing front has its echoes on other fronts as well. Now more emphasis is being given to R&D activities, which helps in product differentiation. Virtual marketplace like the internet, mobile, interactive TV shows etc. have become an import part of the Integrated Marketing Communication. But today the customer has become very demanding and less loyal. Number of alternatives available in the market and the lucrative discounts/ sops given by the companies make loyalty all the more rare commodity. The young digital generation being fed on mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops, I-pods etc. is at the heart of this erosion in loyalty. This generation believes in customization in gadgets and not in brands alone. Technology has definitely changed the way we interact, shop and consume the product. Today we have moved from a production-driven to a consumer-led economy where e-commerce and m-commerce hold the key to marketing communication. References: 1. The Manufacturer-Magazine Article, March 2004, The DNA of dynamism, available online at http://www.themanufacturer.com/uk/detail.htmlcontents_id=4161. 2. Market segmentation - case study - overseas holydays, available online at http://www.tutor2u.net/business/marketing/segmentation_casestudy_holidays.asp 3. Jean-Philippe Cotis, July 2006, 'Economic Growth and Productivity', Economic Growth and Productivity', OECD 4. Green awards for creativity and sustainability (accessed Oct 15, 2006), available online at http://www.environmental-expert.com/events/greenawards/greenawards.htm 5. Tomi Ahonen, Alan Moore, (2005), 'Communities dominate brands' futuretexts, London, pp (2-20) Read More