Marketing Communications Dynamic Business World

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Communications for Dynamic Business World. Answer: Introduction: In the modern dynamic business world, it is highly important for any business organization to communicate its brand effectively, so that the development of brand awareness of the product can help in creating valuable consumer relationship. Herein lays the importance of an Integrated Marketing Communication Plan (Percy 2014). In a highly competitive market, it is quite difficult for any organization to distinguish itself from its rival firms, and hence product differentiation, creation of stronger brand relationship, targeting the right audience, are very important factors that ultimately determine the success of a specific organization, and yet none of these factors can be accomplished without the support of a strong and effective Integrated Marketing Communication Plan. Dreamland bakery is a cake and retail bakery shop that is going to be set up at Melbourne. The organization is being established with the purpose of serving the consumer demand for a variety of cakes, pastry, buns, r olls and coffee products. Although the organization is being started with a minimal amount of capital, Dreamland bakery aims to earn an enormous amount of revenue, and hence the strategy chosen by the organization is to offer its products at highly competitive prices, and to ensure a high quality consumer service (Kotler et al. 2015). Discussion: Target Audience Segment Analysis: Identification of the target audience and subsequent process of market segmentation are highly important for the sustenance of any business unit. While conducting the consumer analysis, it is to be remembered that demographically speaking, the cake products and coffee items can be purchased by any man or woman living in Australia whose age may lie between 10 years to 65 years. However, since Dreamland intends to offer a variety of tasty confectionary products, such as sweet buns, candies, sorbets and ice creams, it is more likely to appeal to the consumers aged between 10 years to 30 years. Here, it has to be noted that Dreamland is not free from competition, and cake shops such as Brunetti, Monarch cake shop, Beatrix are some of the highly recognized shops that has already created a loyal customer base. Hence, Dreamland in order to earn recognition should rely on a strong Integrated Marketing Communication Plan that will communicate its unique selling points, such as heavy discounts and lucrative offers on every purchase, or a wide variety of products in a single shop (Mariotti and Glacin 2014). Communication (Advertising) Objectives: It has been noted that Dreamland is a very new and emerging organization that has not yet earned the recognition or the faith and goodwill of the consumers. Hence, the primary objectives of advertising the products are to promote the product, increase its awareness among the people, and to persuade them of its goodness (Sheehan 2013). Some of the unique features of the cake shop include, reasonable price, attractive vouchers on every purchase, and free gift items for repeat customers, and yet these facilities might fail to attract the attention of the consumers, if the organization does not advertise and promote the products on a public forum (Percy et al. 2016) . Further, it is absolutely undeniable that Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) is an emerging, and yet very innovative and effective marketing idea that successfully influences the consumers purchasing decision. It is to be noted here that according to a research conducted by Nielson, 92% of the consumers rely on word of mouth publicity, while purchasing a product or availing a service, and hence the importance of social media and digital media is undeniable (Buil et al. 2013). The social media platforms can be effectively used for connecting with the consumers, who will recommend the service of the new cake shop to their friends and consumers. There is no gain stating the fact that though Dreamland as a cake shop has great potentiality in future, at present, the organization is not free from major rival organization, such as Beatrix, who have already earned the goodwill of the consumers, and have a loyal customer base. In such a situation the challenge for Dreamland would be to develop its brand awareness among the public, encouraging trial and usage of their products and services, and hence it must advertise its products by adopting effective strategies, such as offering special incentives to the first-time buyers (Moriarty et al. 2014). Stimulating a want or desire among the consumers to try the delicious products or avail the service offered at Dreamland is also one of the important objectives of communication strategy. However, this is only possible when the organization will be able to project a unique image of its products and the superior quality of its service before the consumers, and hence shaping the consumer attitudes is an important objective as well (O'guinn et al. 2014). Selected Creative Advertisement and the Justification of the Choice There is no point stating the fact that an average Australian is usually exposed to as many as 5000 advertisements a day, and hence unless the advertisement strategy chosen is able to leave an indelible impression in the mind of the student, Dreamland will not be able to catch the attention of a single consumer (Sin and Tse 2013). Hence, going the creative and innovative way is most important here. As it is being previously discussed, the organization already has a few rival cake shops that are well-established and highly recognized among the consumers for the unique taste of its products, the variety of each item served, and the fresh quality of the ingredients used . Hence, advertising about the same qualities will not attract public attention. Consequently, Dreamland needs to add a creative, original and highly innovative element in its advertising campaign. The organization will not only offer good taste, but will exhibit noble purpose of conducting business. The tagline to be us ed will clearly state Have a bite and offer a bite, that will promote the goodwill of the organization, by explaining how a consumer ordering products above $50 from Dreamland, will provide an opportunity for a poor person to avail any product of his choice absolutely at free of cost (Kim and Joo 2015). The banners and the placards promoting the products of Dreamland cake shop, will have picture of a generous consumer feeling proud and content after feeding an impoverished man . The opportunity of performing a philanthropic activity while satiating ones hunger will draw a huge number of consumers to Dreamland cake shop. Further, it is to be noted here that a consumer is not only willing to perform charitable act, but may also be eager to be recognized for the same. Hence, it would be a good idea if the cake shop would also arrange to take a photograph of the consumer offering or feeding the confectionary products to the unprivileged person, and stick the photograph on the wall of t he cake shop (Kitchen and Thorp 2013). Media Plan Developing the media plan is one of the most important, crucial and discreet decisions an organization is required to take. There is a huge variety of media channels available in the market, and hence it is highly important to select the most cost- effective and consumer friendly channel that will help the organization gain exposure to maximum consumers against a minimum amount of investment (Katz 2014). It is to be noted that Dreamland cake shop while developing its media plan, must consider the following points: Knowing the media objectives Identifying and evaluating the most effective media channel Justification of the chosen form of media channel Determining the media budget plan (Fotis et al. 2012) As far as the media objectives are concerned, Dreamland cake shop intends to employ media channels for reaching the maximum number of people within a short span of time. Further, it often happens that an organization intends to reach out to a specific target audience, and yet fails to appeal to them due to the absence of proper media channel. Hence, drawing the attention of the target audience is the next objective of media plan. Last but not the least, Dreamland is a recently emerging organization, and hence it will require a media plan that fits its budget. Celebrity marketing via television, or promotion through the Public Relations (PR) strategy will not be a discreet choice for the organization (Tuten and Solomon 2014). According to the Sensis Social Media Report of 2015, almost every Australian uses social media channels at home, or even outside. Hence, incorporating the use of social media in media plan will be most advantageous. The virtual presence of an organization is highly beneficial, and hence Dreamland will be required to open up a Facebook business page, a Twitter account and an account on Instagram as well. The media plan should necessarily involve activities on the social media platform, that will encourage the consumers interact about the brand, and explore more about the features that Dreamland cake shop has to offer. The organization is selecting the social media marketing strategy as a part of its media plan, as the social media tools such as Facebook and Google Analytics will help the organization select its target audience, so that their promotional activities reach the most relevant audience, who take interest in confectionary products. Further, the organization does not have a h uge amount of investment, and hence the social sites are the best media platforms that can promote the product at a highly affordable price (Thorson and Moore 2013). However, a strong marketing team of at least 3 employees have to be set up, who will be responsible for updating the consumers about the latest offers, discounts or lucrative gift vouchers offered by the organization. One of the main disadvantages of social media tools is that if the negative feedback goes unchecked, the social sites can end up tarnishing the reputation of the organization. Hence, it is highly important to control, supervise and regulate the activities of consumers and clients on the social sites (Scott 2015). However, apart from the Internet Media, it is important to consider Broadcast media channels as well. Advertisement is an important component of the communication mix process, and hence advertisement on both television as well as radio is required. While the social media advertisement will be comparatively cheaper, promoting a product on television shows and radio channels can prove to be relatively expensive. Dreamland has a specific target audience, and hence it must select the popular children and youth channels of Australia, so as to reach the relevant audience. Besides, while promoting the product on a radio channel, the cake shop must choose the radio channel most popular among the youth population of Australia (Uddin 2014). Evaluation Strategy of the IMC Plan It is not only sufficient to introduce an IMC plan meant for promoting the unique products or service of an organization, it is equally important to assess, evaluate and critically analyze the effectiveness of the strategy as well. Understanding the response of the consumers, and analyzing their feedback on the social sites can be beneficial in assessing the effectiveness of the IMC plan adopted. The response metrics will be employed by the authority of dreamland cake shop, to measure the brand attitude, preference and expectation of the consumers. The cognitive as well as the affective impact of the advertisement of a product can be evaluated by employing the advertising response hierarchy models, such as HOE Model or DAGMAR models. A review committee will be set up which will be responsible for evaluating the sales promotion program in terms of their direct impact on sales (Breitsohl et al. 2014). Conclusion: To conclude, it must be remembered that Dreamland is anew, emerging organization that has a huge prospect in future, provided the suitable promotion strategies are being adopted by the authority of the organization. The idea of Integrated Marketing communication plays an important role in bringing organizational success of any company, and hence embracing the IMC program is going to be highly beneficial for Dreamland as well. It is to be noted here that the shift towards the IMC plan has been seen as a significant change in the history of advertisement and promotion, and hence the adoption of the most effective IMC plan, and proper evaluation of the same, can bring about huge success for Dreamland cake shop. Reference List: Breitsohl, J., Khammash, M. and Griffiths, G., 2014. Online complaint communication strategy: An integrated management framework for e-businesses. InHandbook of Strategic e-Business Management(pp. 907-933). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Buil, I., De Chernatony, L. and Martnez, E., 2013. Examining the role of advertising and sales promotions in brand equity creation.Journal of Business Research,66(1), pp.115-122. Floreddu, P.B., Floreddu, P.B., Cabiddu, F. and Cabiddu, F., 2016. Social media communication strategies.Journal of Services Marketing,30(5), pp.490-503. Fotis, J., Buhalis, D. and Rossides, N., 2012.Social media use and impact during the holiday travel planning process(pp. 13-24). Springer-Verlag. Katz, H., 2014.The media handbook: A complete guide to advertising media selection, planning, research, and buying. Routledge. Kim, D. and Joo, J., 2015. Research on Advertisement Effect according to Degree of Expectation on Creative Commercial Photography. Kitchen, G. and Thorp, B., Skyworks Ventures, Inc., 2013.Dynamic reassignment of advertisement placements to maximize impression count. U.S. Patent 8,407,090. Kotler, P., Burton, S., Deans, K., Brown, L. and Armstrong, G., 2015.Marketing. Pearson Higher Education AU. Mariotti, S. and Glackin, C., 2014.Entrepreneurship and small business management. Pearson Higher Ed. Moriarty, S., Mitchell, N.D., Wells, W.D., Crawford, R., Brennan, L. and Spence-Stone, R., 2014.Advertising: Principles and practice. Pearson Australia. O'guinn, T., Allen, C., Semenik, R.J. and Scheinbaum, A.C., 2014.Advertising and integrated brand promotion. Nelson Education. Percy, L. and Rosenbaum-Elliott, R., 2016.Strategic advertising management. Oxford University Press. Percy, L., 2014.Strategic integrated marketing communications. Routledge. Scott, D.M., 2015.The new rules of marketing and PR: How to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, and viral marketing to reach buyers directly. John Wiley Sons. Sheehan, K.B., 2013.Controversies in contemporary advertising. Sage Publications. Sinn, R. and Tse, T., Yahoo! Inc., 2013.Combination creative advertisement targeting system. U.S. Patent 8,510,653. Thorson, E. and Moore, J., 2013.Integrated communication: Synergy of persuasive voices. Psychology Press. Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R., 2014.Social media marketing. Sage. Uddin, S., 2014. The Features of an Effective Advertisement: A Critical Review.Management and Administrative Sciences Review,3(6), pp.878-890. Weatherspoon, D., Weatherspoon, C. and Ristau, C., 2015. Speaking Their Language: Integrating Social Media into Childbirth Education Practice.International Journal of Childbirth Education,30(3).