Source: Does Integrated Marketing Communication works for ALL companies? Have your views?
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OCULUS RIFT: A BREAKTHROUGH IN EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING OR JUST ANOTHER ADVERTISING PITSTOP? (Group 28)
INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION -The path to successful marketing.
GROUP:160 Ayush Khosla and Carol Sambucco
Integrated marketing communications(IMC) is an approach used by organizations to brand and coordinate their communication efforts. It is the process of effectively communicating product information or ideas to a target audience. Developing a marketing communications plan is important to any business. This is because marketing communications is one of the most important activities a company can undertake due to its proximity to the consumer.
Example of IMC:Flock Associates – Coca-Cola: Share a Coke With Friends Integrated Campaign
The 5-step IMC process is:
- Customer identification from behavioral data.
- Valuation of customers
- Creating and delivering messages
- Estimating return on Customer0investment
- Budgeting,allocation,evaluation and recycling
Marketing communications touches consumers using many different types of communication vehicles. Some of which may include:
- brochures
- sales sheets
- data sheets
- press releases
- packaging
- radio/television advertisements
- print advertising
- websites
- E-mail marketing
- social media
- video demonstration
BENEFITS OF IMC
One of the major benefits of…
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“The SIENNA FAMILY Campaign”- The Best Example For Integrated Marketing Communication
The American Marketing Association defines Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) as “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.”
As defined by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, integrated marketing communication “…recognizes the value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion and combines them to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact,”
In the last decade there has been major shifts in the marketing, advertising and media world which has caused an increased interest in Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC). These include:
| A shift From… | To… |
| Traditional Advertising | Digital/Interactive Media |
| Mass Media | Specialized Media |
| Low Agency Accountability | High Agency Accountability |
| Traditional Compensation | Performance-Based Compensation |
| Limited Internet Access | Widespread Internet Availability |
These shifts are driving the organisations to perceive the whole marketing picture from a new dimension, re-aligning their marketing communications, and seeing things from the eyes of a consumer.
They are practicing IMC by avoiding the duplication of messages, capitalizing the synergy in the promotional tolls, adopting more efficient marketing programs and maximizing their return on investments.
The marketing campaign adopted by Toyota to launch its minivan Sienna in 2010 is a great example of a successful integrated marketing communication strategy.
Toyota launched its “Sienna Family” campaign, which changed the image of the minivan and those who drive it. This campaign featured a married Gen X couple balancing the reality of having two kids and a minivan with a strong ambition to be a part of the cool crowd, affirms how Sienna makes it happen.
This brilliant marketing campaign put the ‘Sienna Family” to the list of top five most-viewed new vehicle on AutoTrader.com in 2010.
This multi-media campaign effectively used mainstream media; on-line advertising platforms. It included a campaign on AutoTrader.com; and videos. The ‘Swagger Wagon” video clip uploaded below was viewed more than 5 million times on YouTube.
The campaign successfully reached to its target market of younger families with kids, who went online to websites like AutoTrader.com to collect more information about Sienna and to inspect the vehicle at local dealerships.
The campaign setup a stylish micro blogging site, YouTube channel and a Facebook Page. It promoted more involvement with the target consumers and got positive feedbacks through organizing contests and games. Toyota took the campaign to a new level by bringing a cool and fresh approach to promote their family car. The wise usage of social media especially YouTube with short videos and building a fictive family attracted more than 3,343,200 views and almost 182,500 Facebook shares in less than a month of release.
Thanks for reading…
What do you think about our post .
Do you any know other example similar to Sienna Family Campaign .
References:
Business Dictionary.com, 2015, integrated marketing Communication (IMC), retrieved 10-09-2015, < http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/integrated-marketing-communications-IMC.html>
com, 2015, Introduction to integrated marketing communication, retrieved 10-09-2015, <https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/integrated-marketing-communications-12/introduction-to-integrated-marketing-communications-81/introduction-to-integrated-marketing-communications-403-4061/>
Stoklosa, A 2014, Car and drive, Listen Up, Motherfathers: Toyota’s Swagger Wagon Sienna Ad Campaign is Back—So Is Busta Rhymes, retrieved 10-09-2015, <http://blog.caranddriver.com/listen-up-motherfathers-toyotas-swagger-wagon-sienna-ad-campaign-is-back-so-is-busta-rhymes/>
Prnewswire, 2010, New Toyota Sienna Minivan Swaggers Into Top 5 on AutoTrader.com List of Most Viewed New Vehicles in June, retrieved 10-09-2015, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-toyota-sienna-minivan-swaggers-into-top-5-on-autotradercom-list-of-most-viewed-new-vehicles-in-june-98242014.html>
Social Email Marketing, 2010, Social media marketing case study: Toyota’s “Sienna Family”, retrieved 10-09-2015, <http://www.socialemailmarketing.eu/2010/06/social-media-marketing-case-study-toyotas-sienna-family/>
Brogan&partners, 2011, Marketing to women that connects, example 2: Toyota Sienna, retrieved 10-09-2015, <http://brogan.com/blog/marketing-women-connects-example-2-toyota-sienna>.
The Effect of Social media on Integrated Marketing Communications
Group 11 – Andrew Walshe and Micala Johnson
What is Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)? IMC is where all aspects of marketing communication (advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, etc.) work together to send a coherent message to consumers. IMC was first developed in the 1980’s for businesses to offer clients more than just standard advertising. However today companies have numerous options and platforms to market their brands. IMC is pivotal to ensuring companies are marketing their brands successfully and efficiently (Faulds et al. 2009).
With the emergence of the Internet and technological advances, the social media phenomena has evolved. Social media has many different forms: social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace), creativity work sharing sites (YouTube, Flickr), blogs, virtual worlds, business networking sites and the list goes on. Social media is basically people connecting and interacting with others via alternative electronic technologies or online software (Iacobucci 2014).
Social media has changed the way companies are communicating with their consumers. With traditional marketing communications the content, frequency, timing and media has been virtually controlled via the organization. However with social media, companies have lost this control. Anyone at anytime can make a comment on any organization via a variety of platforms. This has magnified the consumer-to-consumer interaction in the marketplace. Traditionally where a consumer would use word of mouth to influence a handful of friends/family, they now have the ability to influence hundreds, thousands and even in some circumstances millions of consumers at anytime. The reach is limitless. The amount of information about the purchase process has made it easier for consumers to form opinions. Social media has also made it easier for companies to gain valuable insights due to its ability to observe consumers in a non-obtrusive way (Haenlein et al. 2011).
Marketers are asking themselves today, is how do we create a social media epidemic? Haenlein et al. (2011) states that it involves three components: the environment, the message and the messengers.
- Environment – messengers only pass on messages that they believe nobody knows about. Companies fail because they spread the initial message too broadly. Instead of concentrating on having as many seeds as possible, they should focus on having an infectious message and seeding it to many disconnected subcultures.
- Message – only messages that are both memorable and interesting have the potential to spur a market phenomenon
- Messengers – the right people need to spread the message. 20% of the messengers can be expected to carry 80% of the load, therefore it is crucial to select the initial hosts carefully
The most important aspect to a social media epidemic is the right people need to get the right message under the right circumstance.
It is important to recognize social media needs to be backed up by traditional forms of marketing communication, it is only one part of the integrated marketing communications and is only as good as the remaining marketing mix. Many companies have failed and others have succeeded in integrating social media into their integrated marketing communications.
What social media epidemics can you think of? Were they created by a company or from a consumer? What impact did they have on the company in the marketplace?
How do you think social media has changed IMC?
References
Faulds, D & Mangold, W, 2009, ‘Social Media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix’, Business Horizons, Vol 52, no. 4, pp 357-365.
Haenlein, M & Kaplan, AM, 2011, ‘Two heart in three-quarter time: How to waltz the social media/viral marketing dance’, Business Horizons, Vol 54, No. 3, pp 253-263.
Iacobucci, D 2014, Marketing Management, South-Western, Cengage Learning, Mason.
The role of internet in hospitality and tourism industry’s IMC strategies Gr.151
By Mohammed Hisham and Yuan Qian from Group 151
The Tourism and Hospitality Industry has been one of the earliest industries using Integrated Marketing Communication to promote their products and services. Internet plays a big role in their strategy since it has been covered to every corner of the world. Because the HT industry mostly provides intangible products, such as services and comfort, the internet has become a good way to deliver their messages, in touch with customers and promote their branding.
Internet can be maximum exploited in the tourism industry for different types of marketing or promotional activities. Internet helps the tourism industry to expand and transfer its data which helps the industry to increase the turnover ratio and internet is the most suitable way to make direct relationship with customers. Tourism industry can achieve many advantages if internet is used wisely.
Since internet connection is a wide communication network, tourism agencies can make a direct relation with the public. Product distribution and services of agencies cannot depend on quantity of printed papers anymore and information about them can reach millions of the internet users. Advantages of using internet in Tourism industry:
1. In the modern world travel agencies can use internet as a profitable medium of tourism promotion and sales.
2. Good quality of promotional visualization of tourism services and products through internet can create a better impression in the people than brochures and catalogues.
3. The internet represents an efficient and useful distribution channel for collecting clients and it helps to identify their desires.
4. Internet allows the improvement of efficiency of travel agencies by speeding up communication and providing all the necessary information.
5. Contemporary business in tourism market is characterized by the implementation of various booking systems in to business systems of travel agencies, hotel chains, airlines etc.
6. The internet allows high quality and effective market research and industrial espionage.7. By the entry of internet in tourism industry promotional tools such as TV, radio, newspapers, catalogs and posters are improved to text, drawings, photographs or 3D photographs etc.
8. Unlimited database and unlimited capacity of digital media allows instant access to the tourist market free products to every potential tourist.
At the mean time, internet also created some difficulties among the industry. For example, hotels are fighting back to the third party booking sites. Internet has provided travelers some easier ways to find and reserve flights and hotel rooms during their traveling plans, such as Kayak, Orbitz and Expedia. Hotels has been living with these for a long time.
According to New York Times, Expedia bought the Australian site Wotif.com in 2014 and seized Travelocity for $280 million quickly in January 2015. Now, Expedia is trying to take over one of another giants Orbitz, and this would give 75% controls of the domestic market in US to Expedia for third-party online booking. These money comes from both travels and hotels’ pockets.
As a result, third party booking sites are not exactly what tourism and hospitality industry are trying to develop in their Integrated Marketing Communication strategies. One of the problems is that a hotel won’t be able to collect their own information from travels.
In order to get the power back, many hotel chains offer many benefits to attract customers to book directly through them, such as free Wi-Fi, breakfast and upgrade and membership rewords, etc.
There are some benefits if hotel industry win this game: first, Have direct communication with customers, which can help them update their inside customer information up-to-date. Second, build a better customer loyalty.
Questions:
We can see the internet is mostly helpful to the development of the HT industry, even it also develops many competitions that may push hotels to improve their IMC strategies.
- What do you think about their IMC strategies, especially on their internet promotions?
- How do you view the third party booking sites? Does it make your trip more convenient? Or have they brought you any problems?
Integrated Marketing Communication in Action. (Group 51)
Its basically a process which is designed to assure that the branded product received by a customer are consistent over time or not. It can be compared to compose a musical piece. In a music score, every instrument performs and participates in a process and it comes together a beautiful music which melts the heart of the people. IMC is one and the same thing where advertising is a piano, social media is violin, public relations is a guitar, which comes together and delivers the message to the people (American Marketing Association, 2015).
In Today’s world there is a huge competition in a market due to Globalization. The list is long and it is getting longer. The companies are using strong marketing techniques and media to attain the attention of customers. For instance, recently there is a launch of apple iPhone 6s in which they are showing the connection of the technology with the people. Additionally, the company is also describing the new features like camera upgradation, new 3D technology, touch id 2 potential and new color launched in the new Iphone.
(Source: YouTube)
If we compare the marketing mix with the Advertisement:
- Consumers: The usage of the technology is reflected in the ad, that what all new features can make the work easy for the customers as phone has been one important technology from past few years which connects people to world and each other.
- Cost: They also promoted the new price plan of apple in which you can buy a new iphone with the same price as of old one.
- Convenience: The new convenient technology Siri which can reduce the workload of the consumers and helps them to multi-task while using the phone.
- Communication: They communicated each and every aspect of the new Iphone with their advertisement which can convince the customer to buy the new phone.
Social media like facebook, twitter, instagram are the common sites which are used to spread the word and do promotions.
References
American Marketing Association, 2015, What is Integrated marketing communication, West Virgina University, <http://imc.wvu.edu/about/what_is_imc>
SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT ON MARKETING (GROUP 191)
Social Media is become an integral part of our lives be it personal or professional. The impact is equal if not greater in the marketing world, with consumer brands seeking enormous benefits and changes.
How and why does social media marketing gain an advantage over traditional marketing practices? The advantages of social media marketing are numerous.
The biggest ones being:
Cost Effective: It’s cheaper. A lot cheaper. You can reach 1,000 people for a fraction of the cost using social media than you can through television, billboards or even email
Personal and Interactive: Social media is the only marketing platform that allows you to engage and interact with your consumers – it’s a two-way relationship, which can be hugely lucrative for brands
CPM: Cost per thousand impressions is an advertising metric that measures how many advertising dollars you must spend to reach 1,000 people. The goal of any advertising should be to reach as many relevant people as possible at the lowest cost.
In a recent cross channel media costs comparison, the CPM of various media channels were measured and social media is the cheapest by far.
Some staggering stats:
- People want to be in control of the content they receive:
- 86% of people skip TV commercials
- 44% of direct mail is never opened.
- 91% of people have unsubscribed from company emails they previously opted into
- 72% of marketers think branded content is more effective than advertising in a magazine; 69% say it is superior to direct mail and PR.
- 71% of companies planned to increase their digital marketing budgets this year, by an average of 27%
- 61% of global Internet users research products online
- The average content length for a web page that ranks in the top 10 results for any keyword on Google has at least 2,000 words. The higher up you go on the search listings page, the more content each web page has
- 67 percent of marketers say increasing sales directly attributable to digital marketing campaigns is a top priority this year
- The number of avenues to use social media or online as a marketing tools are endless and continue to grow, right from the basic social media platform Facebook to now Snapchat.
The way brands are using these platforms for business is amazing to see and something to learn from. The way things are going it seems social media marketing marketing is the way forward and will take precedence over traditional marketing practices in the coming years.
References: Traditional Media vs. Social Media Advertising, Retrieved from: https://www.lyfemarketing.com/traditional-media-versus-social-media/
Marketing 101 – Social Media vs Traditional Media, Retrieved from: http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-vs-traditional-media-marketing/466873
104 Fascinating Social Media and Marketing Statistics for 2014 (and 2015), Retrieved from: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/104-fascinating-social-media-marketing-statistics-2014-2015-01084935
THE ULTIMATE LIST OF MARKETING STATISTICS, Retrieved from: http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
The basics of branding (Group18)
What is a brand?
A brand is a product, service, or concept that is publicly distinguished from other products, services, or concepts so that it can be easily communicated and usually marketed. In addition, a brand name is the name of the distinctive product, service, or concept. Branding is the process of creating and disseminating the brand name. Branding can be applied to the entire corporate identity as well as to individual product and service names. In other word,branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B.
An effective brand strategy gives a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does “branding” mean? How does it affect a small business？
In a huge market world where companies fight for market share and recognition, A brand can be your most valuable asset. It helps stand out from competition, gives a company a clear sense of place and purpose and it’s an important element of customer loyalty. There are millions of recognizable brands in the world, but when we think about how many different companies exist to serve different purposes, we realize that the number of truly known brands likes legacy brands,that is meager.
Defining A Brand
Defining A brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that answer the questions below:
What is your company’s mission?
What are the benefits and features of your products or services?
What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?
What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?
We can know that a truly great brand goes beyond a great logo and color palette. A great brand has a singular idea behind it, a sense of purpose that drives everything that company does.Once defined a brand, how do you get the word out? Here are a few simple, time-tested tips:
- Get a great logo.
- Integrate the brand.
- Write down the brand messaging.
- Create a “voice” for a company that reflects brand.
- Develop a tagline.
- Design templates and create brand standards for marketing materials.
- Be true to the brand.
- Be consistent.
2.http://marketing.about.com/od/brandstrategy/u/brandbasics.htm
3.http://www.bgateway.com/business-guides/sales-and-marketing/marketing/branding-the-basics
Differential Pricing – group 188
Differential Pricing(Group 188)
Ultimately, the methodology of fluctuation is a defensive pricing method; it is to avoid price competition at the same time, also abandoned this price ‘competition’ tool”.
The differential pricing rule is a strategy that in the opposite direction. It is to show the enterprise through different marketing efforts, make the same homogeneity of products in consumers’ mind set up different product image. Then according to their characteristics, select below or higher than that of the competitors as the enterprise product prices. Therefore, the difference product pricing is a kind of aggressive pricing method.
Differential pricing refers to the enterprise with two or more different reflect the proportion of the cost difference price to sell a product or service. The price different is not based on cost, but the enterprises to meet the requirements of different consumption levels and the price of the building structure.
Products, the use of differential pricing method, first requires enterprises must have a certain strength, an area in a certain industry or occupy the bigger market share in the market, consumers can link enterprise product and the enterprise itself. Secondly, in the same quality under the condition of implement differential pricing is limited, especially for positioning for the “premium” image of the enterprise, must pay the larger advertising, packaging and the cost of after-sales service. Therefore, in the long run, the enterprise only by improving the product quality, to win the trust of consumers, can be in an impregnable position in the competition.
There are some ways in differential pricing:
- Customer segmentation pricing. Companies have the same kind of goods or services in accordance by the different price to sell to customers. For example, to attract tourist, Park and museums uses a method that customers can be divided into the general customers, and senior students. Product form differential pricing. Enterprise is based on the products of different types, different styles, different prices, but different types or the difference between the style of the price of the product and the cost is the difference between the disproportionate.
- Image differential pricing. Some enterprise image according to the difference of the same products for different prices. At this time, the enterprise can take different packaging or trademarks for the same products, different image, in order to eliminate or reduce consumer awareness of the goods in different market segments are essentially the same goods source of information.
- Location differential pricing. Of enterprise products and services in a different position or different locations for different prices, even if the cost of each location of the product or service is the same. Such as different theater seats cost are the same, but according to different seat charge different prices, because the public on different seat preferences; The sleeper train from the upper to the lower, middle, the price is higher.
- Time differential pricing. The price varies with the seasons, date, or even hours. Some utilities, to the user according to the different times of day on an average day, over the weekend, and the different standard rate. Long-distance telecommunications companies to make the evening and the morning of telephone fee may be only half of the day; Airlines or travel companies in off-season price cheap, and the season immediately to the prices.”This brings homogenization consumer demand, to avoid idle or overload operation in the enterprise resource.
Practical examples
Entertainment
Entertainment is, of course, a wide range of products and services category, but the entertainment is a common reason often appears differential pricing. Restaurants and amusement parks, for example, often offer discounts for the elderly and children to a certain age. Provide preferential tickets for the matinee showing to bring more viewers in the daytime. Bars and clubs provide a “happy hour” drink specials in the evening time but increase the price of the drinks in the evening. Buffet-style restaurants attract families and old customers to use these discounts and feel comfortable at a lower price point because the elderly and children might consume less food than between the age range.
Medical Care
International pharmaceutical pricing generally can be divided into the following several ways:
- On the basis of the reference pricing;
- Using drug economics based on the performance of pricing;
- Differential pricing;
- The average price and comparable pricing;
- Profit control pricing;
- New drug innovation pricing;
Movie theater
Differential pricing usually more suit for service that is more intangible. Different product have the different target price in different people’s cognition. The movie ticket can be in full price that provided to people who think the price is worth to pay, or on every Thursday night, it can be cheaper to promote sales volume. Moreover, to some customer that is more price sensitivity, cinema provides coupons, family pack, promotion activity or other kinds of discount method to motivate people and increasing the consumption.
Airlines
This industry is full of differential pricing strategy, especially in time and seats position. Usually, the flight on morning and late evening costs cheaper than the flight in the daytime. The seats in the economic and business class are different either. Different customer can choose the price that is more closer to their budget, it seems like differential pricing is satisfied for targeted customers. But what is the benefits and the disadvantages on differential pricing? Why do we need it?
Differential pricing is following the principle of “Ramsey pricing”, that is to say, the price of drugs and the sensitivity of the price elasticity of demand or an inverse relationship. Although the price elasticity is not directly observed, per capital income is an important decision factor, can be used as alternative indicators.
Low-income countries should have lower prices, and higher drug prices should be of high-income countries. To make the differential pricing policy execution effectively, low-income countries with high-income countries market should be strictly separated will prevent the low-cost countries the drug in the high country, known as “parallel importing”.
Differential pricing is a strategy to ensure the availability of medicines. High-income countries drug prices should not be low-income countries included in the scope of the international price comparison. Pharmaceutical companies can be different types through registration, or change the packing to avoid price cut. This kind of pricing method has been used in some African countries and some drugs, such as anti-aids drugs. A lot of competition generics also can adopt differential pricing in these markets.
For the different demand customers (i.e., drug purchasers), the price of drugs is different. For drug prices, the economics of price discrimination also exists. Drug price depends on the demand price elasticity. Pharmaceutical factory for the price of each kind of medicine is to establish a price list, also known as the average wholesale price (AWP).
Hospitals and pharmacies in the purchase quantity are different because the hospital pharmacy to store large amounts of drugs used for a prescription. Between hospital, individual pharmacy or pharmacy chains, their drug prices are also different. Any drug for the pharmaceutical industry, there is no single price. Price is determined by the demand of representing different patient groups, in fact, in the United States, health maintenance organizations (HOM) and hospital pharmacies; use of generic drugs is common.
Question
- The most important problem is how to use differential pricing strategy and under what situation we can use differential pricing?
- What are the determinants of price sensitivity?
- What are its cognitive and behavioral consequences?
- What are the managerial implications of price sensitivity?
Reference list
Neil Kokemuller, 2012, ‘Examples of Products With Differential Pricing’, Small Business, Retrieved 8September, 2015. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-products-differential-pricing-14381.html
Gerald Hanks, 2008, ‘Examples of Products With Differential Pricing’, Azcentral, Retrieved 8September, 2015. http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/examples-products-differential-pricing-25721.html
Gunnar J. Clausen, 2005, ‘Price Sensitivity for electronic’, Entertainment, Retrieved 8September, 2015. P.11.
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