Advertising and Promotions

TASK 1 UNDERSTANDING SCOPE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION

1.1 Communication process that applies to advertising

At the time of developing advertising and promotional activities communication process plays most important role as with the help of proper source organization can communicate with customers and other target market. Different communication systems are present that organization can adopt but it has to be ensured in advance that it is suitable for the use and information can be transferred easily (Egan, 2007). A single mistake in the process of communication can badly affect the business enterprise and customers will not prefer to buy products. This will directly help firm to achieve the targeted objectives and it is required to use the communication process that is well developed at the time of carrying out crucial operations. Basically main elements in the process of communication include sender, receiver and information which are shared in between them.

In organization important ideas and information are shared between individuals through transmitter or with the help of any other device. Process of communication starts when sender develops message, information and it is encoded with the help of different symbols. Message prepared is transferred by transmitter to the receiver. In order to understand the message better receiver converts the symbol and this process is known as decoding (Percy and Elliott, 2012). On the other hand at the time of sharing important and useful information within the firm some hurdles are present in the form of noise that directly reduces the efficiency of the process. So receiver has to understand the information thoroughly and in order to respond back. In the last stage receiver provides feedback to the sender regarding message and it is known whether information transferred is beneficial or not. So the process of communication directly applies to advertising and promotion and in this case sender is firm whereas receiver is customers who want to obtain information about the products and services (Pringle and Thompson, 2001).

1.2 Organization of promotion and advertising industry

It has been analyzed that advertising and promotion industry has been rapidly growing over the past few years. Every company has started to adopt the process of advertising and promotion on the other hand different firms are working in this industry worldwide as it provides ample of opportunities. In short it can be said that without these two elements of marketing it is not possible for the company to survive in the market (Ranchhod, 2004). It was first used in Indian rock artists in 4000 B.C. as a method and it proved to be beneficial at the time of promoting products. Advertising has helped companies to develop awareness in the market as there are any areas present where customers do not know about the products due to which firm has to suffer loss. After this advertising with the help of oral communication was introduced where people were communicated about the products verbally or mouth publicity.

This technique was used so that more people may know about the products and proved to be effective. Whereas to promote products such as musical instruments ad flutes it was used. So this period was beneficial for the industry and every firm started to adopt this technique by analyzing its benefits (Barrett, 2006). On the other hand introduction of internet helped in the growth of industry. Now companies have started to use social media and television to promote their products and services. Whereas it directly saves cost of the enterprise and they does not have to apply efforts in promoting products. Day by day this industry is growing at a faster pace and its absence will badly affect firms. Some creative things are used at the time of developing advertisements that affects the purchase behavior of consumers and in turn they prefer to buy the product again and again. There are a wide variety of organizations and business houses that are involved in advertising and promotions industry. These are as follows:

One of them are the advertising companies, i.e the ones which produce different kinds of ads and are tasked with responsibility to launch them in market, thus helping client(s), another player or component of advertising and promotions industry.

In addition to the advertising agencies and companies, the clients or those firms that want to advertise and promote themselves as well as their products and/or services. These are the ones which want to gain a substantial share of market that they may be operating in, along with cementing their position in the industry.

Other than this, regulatory agencies are other major players of this sector. There are many bodies and firms that monitor the work being carried out in the industry, with a view to make sure that only the best practices are followed & also ethicality in such operations are maintained.

Media organizations are also considered to be major players of this sector. These organizations are tasked with the responsibility to help advertising companies to send their message across to the target customers and thus aid in attracting them in large numbers, thus making the advertising campaign highly successful.

1.3 How promotion is regulated

In country like UK promotion and advertising industry is highly regulated and various laws have been introduced by the government that companies have to follow and it is necessary to comply with the guidelines issued. Firms have to follow rules especially at the time of promoting products (Blas, 2013). Various laws have been developed by advertising codes of UK which states that companies advertising their products must ensure that they may not adopt any wrong practices in order to promote products and beat its competitors. In the era of perfect competition sometimes company adopt unethical practices so as to increase sales and profitability. This rule is also applicable when firm uses newspaper and other source such as cinema, video etc to promote its products.

Apart from this advertising standard authority is another body whose main purpose for existence is to ensure that companies are adopting fair methods at the time of advertising and promoting their products. So it directly helps in developing ethical environment in the country where no company is allowed to follow wrong practice. Whereas it is the duty of management to ensure that its marketing department is not following any unfair practices to attract more customers and to increase sales and profitability (Danaher and Rossiter, 2011). It is necessary for every firm to company with the guidelines issued by regulatory authorities and if any company does not follow ten government has right to take strict action against firms. All the advertisers have to engage themselves as the laws developed by state and local authorities. So these are some of the regulations in promotion industry that companies have to follow strictly and it is required to promote the products in a fair manner. It will directly benefit business enterprise as consumers will prefer to buy products due to fair practices are adopted and will help in development. There are many bodies and organizations that operate in the industry, with a view to regulate the sector, control and monitor its working. One of the, is the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA, UK). It has developed a variety of codes of practices that must be followed by those companies which operate in the advertising industry. Main function and role of this body is to keep a stern eye on and regulate contents involved in an advertising campaign, sales promotions and activities of direct marketing carried out in the country. It also works to ensure that marketing communications used for same purpose are not misleading and do not negatively publicize a rival firm to the client. Committee for Advertising Practices (CAP) is another regulatory body regulates working of this industry. It writes and develops all codes of practices that are implemented by ASA in the market, thus making the task of regulating this industry a lot simpler and yet effective. Through these codes, both CAP and ASA look to ensure that highest standards are developed and maintained in the industry, eventually making sure ethicality and righteousness of advertising campaigns. In this sense, it may not be wrong to say that both these bodies have a very crucial role to play in the process of monitoring and controlling working of the industry. Ofcom (Office of Communications) is a government approved regulatory body for broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of UK, thus keeping a stern eye on advertising and promotional campaigns being run in the country.

1.4 Current trends in advertising and promotion

Advertising and promotion industry is rapidly growing and changes are taking place at a faster pace. It has directly benefitted business enterprise and helped to face challenges present in the market. In past main problem linked with advertising was that lack of coverage and the sources adopted by firm were not able to develop awareness in the market. But due to development in this industry it has become possible for company to meet expectations of every consumer. This industry is flexible and has capability to adopt new changes taking place in the market (Fine, 2014). Best example is QR and it is popular worldwide. It refers to quick response codes and other one is emergence. It is the most advanced technique and is the digital code examined by QR code reader and scanned in order to get appropriate data. Presently every company has started to adopt this technique and is an effective source of advertising and promotion. It is the rage among young generation and they can easily get important information linked with the product and services.

By scanning the code it is possible to get data the customers want about the product and it is directly benefiting the business enterprise and is leading to increase in sales and profitability. Code reader is usually present in Smart phones and this facility encourages people to access more information (Griffin, 2002). Apart from this online methods are most commonly used in order to gain information like offers on the products and it helps companies who are not well known in the market. Every company is promoting and marketing products with the help of social networking sites like facebook and twitter. Main advantage is that they are having wide coverage and customers can obtain important information on the basis of which they buy products. On the other hand it is considered one of the most effective way to face competition present in the market.

TASK 2 ASPECTS OF ADVERTISING

2.1 Role of advertising in integrated promotional strategy

It is required for fast food business to understand the role of advertising within integrated strategy of promotion. Firstly management has to understand what channels can be used in order to advertise and promote products (Melewar and Vemmervik, 2004). Advertising can be done through different source which directly shows the targeted objectives of the firm and directly helps in promoting products. Considering burger king as the fast food firm role of advertising can be formulated in a way that can highlight the promotional strategies linked with fast food business. It is required by firm to use integrated approach that helps in promoting the brand and provides same look, brand and quality of delivering services. Media source such as print, social media etc must carry same message which forms the basis of marketing strategy of Burger king. So in this manner promotional strategy can be linked with advertising to represent the brand in unique manner. With the help of advertising in promotional strategy burger king can easily aware customers and it will directly help in increasing sales as more customers will know about the products manufactured by the enterprise. Whereas it will have positive impact on the brand image as offers and other benefits on the products can be highlighted easily (Menon, 2000).

2.2 Explain branding and how it issued to strengthen business

Branding refers to effective brand strategy that directly helps in distinguishing brand form those of competitors. Brand is represented in the form of logo and directly helps customers in knowing about the products. In the present era branding is done by every enterprise in order to retain its employees and helps in attracting new one. It shows what kind of products and services are provided by company and helps in analyzing its quality. Establishing and maintaining brand plays important part and company has to develop various strategies so as to develop unique identity in the market (Nyilasy,  Canniford and Kreshel, 2013).

In case if any company wants to strength its brand image then it is necessary to follow the process of branding. Most commonly used methods of branding are discussed below:

Developing logo: It is the first stage where company has to develop its own logo so that customers can know about the firm. It is necessary to design attractive logo that provides customers some message and encourage them to buy products.

Blog writing: It is another way of branding which can be considered when company has developed its logo. It involves use of simple and creative words which shows the amin objective of firm.

Quality: It is highly concerned with brand and highlights the business. So it is necessary for every company to improve and maintain quality of its products (Parsons and Ballantine, 2004).

2.3 Creative aspects of advertising

Creativity is the centre of attraction and directly encourages customers to buy products of the enterprise. It is the process of transforming ideas into reality in order to communicate with target audience efficiently. Creativity is necessarily required in advertising and directly helps in attracting large number of customers (Arnold, 2009). Whereas it is the capability of company to generate unique ideas and they can be used to provide solution to the problem of customers. There are three different stages in creativity which are:

Create: It is the process of bringing something into existence and developing new ideas.

Creation: This stage starts after introduction of new idea and new product is developed by using the idea.

Creativity: It involves introduction of different ideas for the benefit of organization.

So these three elements must be considered at the time of developing plan linked with advertising. Whereas company has to consider three aspects like creative person, process and situation that directly influences the purchase behavior of consumers and in turn they prefer to buy the products and services (Egan, 2007). Creative aspects in recent times have evolved to become one of the most important parts of advertising campaigns. There are many benefits and drawbacks that are associated with it. It’s one of the primary advantages is that in helps in attracting clients with far more ease and comfort, in comparison to that of the traditional methods. Main goal of an advertising campaign is to lure in the target customers in large numbers, so that sales of the company can be increased. But on the other hand, sometimes a lot of costs and time is incurred into it. Different media and methods are used in order to deliver the advertisement to target customers, but they all have different kinds of appeals and impacts associated with them. One of them is fear. Usually, to deliver creative ads to target market, print media is not a very good and effective source, thus it leads to generation of fear among both advertising companies or agencies and the clients. In contrast to it, use of social media leads to two kinds of results or appeal – humor and rational thinking. This can be supported through fact that use of social media marketing to develop and launch creative ads, sometimes can create a lot of humor because of their content or style of presentation, or even development of rational thinking among them, again due to content or presentation style. Many studies have shown that both electronic and print media may lead to development of sexual appeal in the market. Bandwagon propaganda is another appeal that can be generated through help of all media of advertising and promotions.

2.4 Ways of working with advertising agencies

Different advertising agencies are present but it is difficult for company to decide which agency to choose that can help in satisfying marketing objectives. Selection of appropriate agency is most important and   it is required to develop long term relationship so as to get full value of the money paid to the advertising agency. Company has to consider following points in order to strengthen its working its ad agency:

Setting an advertising budget: Firstly it is required to set budget for the advertising campaign which will help advertising agency in knowing employees required to carry out the activities in the campaign. It will consider all the expenses and funds that company has to invest (Ranchhod, 2004).

Measuring effectiveness: Company has to determine along with advertising agency in advance how it will measure effectiveness of the activities performed. Effectiveness can be measured on the basis of value of money, customer satisfaction, increase in sales etc.

Agreeing objectives: Objectives set by enterprise has to be communicated with the agency so that they can integrate their own objectives set.

Setting terms of payment: This involves setting terms of payment regarding services and management has to make payment in different stages in order to know the outcomes of campaign developed (Blas, 2013).

TASK 3

3.1 Primary techniques of below the line (BTL) promotion techniques

Promotion is one of the most important aspects of business operations which have to be given utmost attention from management as well as the marketing team. It is a completely opposite strategy than that of the above the line promotion, where mass audience is targeted. In BTL promotion, company markets and promotes itself through niche marketing strategy, where the product is targeted to a niche audience (Baker, 2004). Through BTL tactic, marketer gets the ability to tailor the message according to the market that is being targeted. This way, effectiveness of marketing campaign can be ensured. There are a lot of techniques of BTL strategy which can be used so as to market products and services of the Cosmetics organization. One of them is Direct Mail Marketing. It is one the most effective techniques which can be used by relevant authorities and also one of the oldest forms of marketing and promotions. Herein the firm would get an opportunity to reach out to customers directly, affect and influence their buying decisions as well as behaviors to a great extent. For the same purpose, methods such as SMS marketing, email, online display ads, interactive websites, etc can be used. Another very useful method that can be used by cosmetics firm is Outdoor marketing (Parsons and MacLaren, 2009). To use this approach, a small team of employees will have to establish a kiosk at places relevant to organizational functions, and then make them advertise for the products and/or services provided. In this regard, it can be suggested to authorities of the company that to be able to effectively use methods of BTL, they have will have to be integrated with normal marketing and promotions tactics of the company.

3.2 Other techniques to be used in below the line promotional strategy

BTL promotional strategies are very crucial part of marketing campaigns for the company, mainly because of reason that they help business firms to reach out to a lot of customers, attract and retain them as well (Allred and et.al, 2010). One of them is Door-to-Door selling technique. Considering nature of operations of the company, this would help the organization to generate awareness about their products in a very effective manner. Herein, management will have to employ such individuals in the company, who would have to go to many houses, interact and convince customers to buy their product(s). Other than this, discount coupons can also be used by the organization for same purpose. To use this strategy, the cosmetics company will be required to distribute some coupons through which customers can get discounts when they buy a particular product of the organization. Loyalty program is another very effective technique that can be used by the company. It states that the organization would give some kind of discounts and benefits to customers of the firm who have been loyal to them for a considerable period of time. This can prove to be a very effective BTL technique for the company, as it would help organization in satisfying and thus retaining their old customers for an even longer period of time. It would be useful in retaining not only the old clients, but also in attracting new customers (Schepers and Berg, 2007). Through this method, the firm can be sure that its most loyal customers are benefited in some or the other way. Promotional pricing is another method that can be used by management of company for same purpose. It entails that authorities will be required to reduce prices of their products for a small or definitive period of time, thus enabling firm to magnetize even more customers.

TASK 4

4.1 Designing & Following Suitable Budget Formulation Process for Integrated Strategy of Promotion

Promotional budget is often considered as a critical factor for a company in case when it has to decide on the strategy to be pursued (Marsh, 2013). There are various methods that can be design for the same and one of which is simplest method which is applied for determining percentage of last year’s ales or the sales of projected year. On the basis of the same, promotional budget can be developed.

Another method is known as affordable method which is often used by smaller and new firms. It can be used in case when company feels that promotional and advertising expenses may be going out of budget (Passemard and Kleiner, 2000). For example, a few advertising sources can be employed within this such as distribution of fliers, giving ad in newspaper, and sending sales persons to promote business in markets. Competitive parity is another method in which a company may try to spend only that much amount on advertising and promotion which can be as same as compared to those of its competitors. This method is used more often during economic recession when companies would feel like spending considerable amount on promotions.

Another approach for budget formation is known as objective and task method in which managers of company identifies actual goals and objectives to be achieved through advertising and promotion. On the basis of these goals and objectives, managers decide on the overall activities to be performed regarding sales promotion, commercials etc which are essential for attaining the same (Gilmore, 2003). This is followed by carrying out of research that tells overall cost of activities for the purpose of formulating budget. Once approbation process or strategy of promotional budget is selected, a company can decide as to how much resource can be allocated to each media channel for achieving integrated promotional objectives.

4.2 Development plan for the new brand of car ‘Cricket’

Promoting a brand of product in market is one of the most crucial tasks that have to be carried out by management of an organization (Hooley, Saunders and Piercy, 2009). For the same purpose in subsequent points a marketing plan for the same brand has been developed:

Identifying prospective customers: This is the very first requirement for development of an effective plan. It is a very crucial element in development of a promotions mix. Without identifying target customers, there is no way that the company can market the product. Herein management of the car company will have to do a thorough research of the market and then identify those individuals who could buy the car (Buckley, 2002). In this case it can be suggested to the authorities that they should look to target young people living in the region.

Deciding on a promotions budget: It is the next step in development of an effective marketing plan. If a promotions budget is not developed then the marketing department cannot function properly and thus there are chances that the marketing effort may not succeed (Lim, Acito and Rusetski, 2006). Here the company along with its marketing department will have to decide on a marketing and promotions budget. Considering the present case, the company can take a budget of £ 15,000.

Selecting promotional mix: This is the last step in this process. This stage requires that decisions be taken so as to develop an appropriate promotional mix. There are various elements of a promotions mix. In this regard it can be said that the company should integrate social marketing strategy with that of the traditional methods of marketing and promotions.
For the purpose of promoting the car in market, variety of techniques can be used by the management. One of them that can be used in the context is sales promotions. It can prove to be a very efficient and effective method of promoting car in the target market. Through this technique, a large number of customers can be attracted, that eventually would help in promoting the car and also attracting prospective customers in large numbers. Other than this, discounts can also be a very good option for management, so as to lure the customers and also to promote the car in market.

4.3 Planning the integration of promotional techniques into the promotional strategy

A very important and crucial aspect of making a promotional strategy is the various promotional techniques (Charles, 2000). Without putting to use such techniques and methods, there are very slim chances for the organization to make their promotional strategy successful and thus fulfill the goal that they were initially looking to achieve through the marketing function. In this context, many authors and industry academicians have said that management of an organization need to be very careful when they are looking to select promotional techniques, because every such method has its own merits and de-merits (Beller, Weiss and Patler, 2007). And if any kind of mistake is done is selecting these techniques, then there are very slim chances for the firm to make their marketing effort a great success. In this regard, it can also be said that in absence of promotional techniques, the firm cannot use its marketing strategy to a great effect and also that it may fail miserably, putting the organization in a very dangerous position. Furthermore, according to many studies, it would also be important for the firm that its promotional plan is integrated with that of other methods of promotions as well.

For integrating the promotional techniques with that of promotional strategies of the firm, it can be suggested to management that they should use them simultaneously with one another. For instance they can look to merge different tactics with one another such as techniques of internet marketing with that of regular advertising and promotional strategies (Benson and Barclay, 2000). Continuing with the same process, internet marketing or digital marketing can be used very effectively with the likes of personal selling, door-to-door selling, or the likes of it. Herein the management of the car company would have to ensure that there is a smooth link and transition between these techniques and strategies. In addition to it, aspects such as print media and print advertising can also be used by the firm for the same reason. Door-to-door marketing may also seem to be a very effective and good option, as it would help the firm to expand its reach to customers and increase the clientele base while ensuring that there various needs and wants are fulfilled to a great extent (Hoffman and Bateson, 2010).

For the purpose of promoting chocolate bar in the market, it can be suggested to authorities that they should use techniques of above the line promotions. Herein, promotions and advertisements would be carried out at mass scale that will help the company to reach out to all of its target customers and thus interact as well as attract them in large numbers. The likes of social media marketing should be used, because it will help in reaching out to masses. Furthermore, both electronic and print media such as television, radio, ads in magazines, newspapers, etc can be used. Furthermore, appropriate amount of attention will also have to be paid on what kind of wrapper for chocolate is used. It will have a very crucial role to play in the process of promoting the good to target customers. Further, company will have to use a variety of communication methods and channels that will help in interacting with target customers in a much efficient and effective manner. But for the same, appropriate amount of attention will have to be paid to making sure that all communication channels and methods are linked and integrated with one another.

4.4 Appropriate techniques for measuring effectiveness of marketing campaign

It is crucial that an assessment and evaluation be done so as to measure how effective the marketing campaign has been for the company. It entails on part of the company that they use these measures, tools and scales properly and very carefully, as any mistake on this front can prove to be very dangerous for the company. This is because of reason that it such an aspect of marketing that needs utmost attention to be paid on behalf of management. There are various techniques which can be used by the management in this regard (Evans, Jamal and Foxall, 2009). One of them is customer awareness. This is one of the most effective scales on which effectiveness and success of a marketing campaign can be calculated and evaluated. One of the main purposes of a marketing effort is to create and generate awareness among target customers for the product and/or service which the firm may be offering in market. If the audience is satisfied, then it can be said that the marketing campaign has been successful and that it has proved to be effective for company (Dawson, 2001).

Other than this, improvement in sales can also be used as another tool for calculating the same phenomena. Another major goal of a marketing campaign is to increase sales of the company, and if that happens, then management of the car company can believe that their marketing effort has paid off. There is another way to say this as well, where in the company can measure success of their marketing campaign by evaluating performance of other firms in the market, i.e. the rival organizations (Lin, 2002). By using these techniques for measuring success of marketing campaigns, it can be said that the management would be able to make sure that their promotional efforts are not wasted and also desired results can be obtained.

CONCLUSION

Advertising and promotion, over the years has emerged to be one of the crucial elements of marketing efforts and campaigns. There was a time when this aspect of marketing was not given any kind of importance by companies. But now it is the most crucial function, because without it there is no chance that the organization can fulfill its goals and objectives through its marketing campaign. During the study it was seen that advertising and promotions, over the years have emerged to be some of the most crucial functions of an organization’s marketing campaign, as in its absence, there is no chance that the organization can attain its goals and objectives and also survive for a great length in the market. In addition to it, in the report, researcher identified that there are a wide variety of below the line marketing tactics, which is a very effective way through which a niche can be created in the market. It was suggested to the cosmetics company that they can use techniques such as door-to-door marketing for the purpose of promoting their goods in the market and also for attracting a large number of customers as well as to retain them with the firm.

REFERENCES

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