He impact of IT in branding for the teenage market - Research Paper Example

?Contents Contents Background 2 Aims and Objectives 3 Literature Review 3 Methodology 6 Approach to Research 7 Secondary Research 7 Primary Research 8 Questionnaires and Personal Interviews 8 Timeline 9 Gantt Chart 9 References 10 Background The recent surge of the social media and networking sites such as facebook and introduction of smartphones as well as tablets like Apple IPAD has made the teenage market as one of the fast expanding and lucrative markets. Since most of these products are priced as low therefore they are almost within the reach of the youngsters therefore making them more attractive. It is however, also critical to note that many organizations have actually started to use these new innovations to increase the advertising and exposure of their products to their chosen market. The marketing through apps is emerging as one of the fastest growing area in the digital advertising and organizations are taking full use of this.( Rowley, 2004). How organizations can actually take benefit of the information technology is probably still a new question because new ways are being designed and developed to take advantage of the information technology. (Randall, 2010). Branding is one such area where the impact of IT can be significant and especially with reference to the teenage market, this can be relatively stronger. This research study will attempt to study and assess the impact of IT in branding for the teenage market. This research study will therefore be based upon the disciplines/subjects of information technology as well as the marketing. Though this study will not be based or specifically focused on any particular industry however, it is expected that this study will attempt to study and analyse the general framework for branding and impact of I.T. on it. Aims and Objectives This study aims to achieve following objectives: 1. Developing the understanding of how organizations can use branding strategically. 2. How information technology (IT) can be used in branding for the teenage market. 3. Assessment of the impact of I.T. in branding for the teenage market. Literature Review Branding is considered as one of the hottest topics in the business field as its overall attraction and significance has become more important in the recent past. With the rise of the web and other I.T. technologies, the need to have effective branding strategy has became more significant because of the speed with which information is provided to the consumers. Over the period of time, organizations have used branding as one of the important strategic tools to improve and consolidate their relationships with the customers. However, more importantly, branding has provided the organizations a strong chance to further penetrate into their chosen target markets. The strategic use of branding therefore is considered as one of the key strategic variables for organizations to manage and control effectively. Organizations which are better at managing and executing a well crafted branding strategy are more successful as compared to the firms which fail to realize their true potential and positively use the power of their brands for achieving the competitive advantage. (Kippenberger,2000). The emergence of globalization and the spread of Western values and culture over the different geographical regions therefore suggest that the branding can be effectively used to achieve the necessary competitive advantage in really fluid global market. One of the important and emerging themes regarding the impact of IT in branding, generally, is the ease with which marketers can actually communicate with their customers. The advent of the different digital media and the spread of internet have allowed brand managers to improve the coordination between the customers and the organization itself and hence the brands are getting better exposure to the same.( Davey, 2010). Some studies suggested that the use of information technology in the product marketing and branding has resulted into the savings of time as well as reduction in the error. The use of different techniques such as spreadsheet analysis, graphics as well as other rich graphic media has allowed the brand managers to become effective in terms of their reach and penetration into the existing markets.( Buggie, 2001), Since teenagers often like to have a lifestyle which is based upon hip-hop and excitement therefore the use of IT can actually provide the necessary mechanism to the brand managers to actually develop the richer and effective brand message for the target market. The use of different graphics and sound media as well as the rich programming in 3D are some of the ways in which brand managers are developing and communicating the new message to their target markets. The use of viral marketing is also considered as one of the effective methods through which brand managers can actively involve their target market to build the suspense and excitement around the brand in more elaborative manner. It is also important to understand the role played by IT in generating the relative brand equity by increasing the brand awareness as well as brand image. The consistent and extensive use of information technology can actually allow the brand managers to effectively increase the brand equity for their brands and hence improve the overall market penetration. The easy access to the target market through channels such as social media sites allow brand managers to become more effective in building the brand equity. Another important role and the impact which the use of IT can have on the branding is the depth and magnitude of information provided by it. The use of information technology and tools such as website tracking actually allow the brand managers to understand the geographical and demographical profile of their customers. Organizations using their websites as a tool to provide better brand image to their customers often use the website tracking allow them to actually track who accessed their websites and from which location. This feature therefore can effectively provide them the critical insight necessary to understand the different patterns about their customers and their location. By analyzing this data, the brand managers therefore can actually re-design their advertising message as well as allow the further design the strategies which can allow them to better communicate with their customers as well as further penetrate into the market.( Bergstrom,2000). Organizations are also increasingly use social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and different blogging sites to improve the visibility of their brands as well as build the stronger image for their brands. Since most of these sites are used by the teenagers therefore such websites offer an enormous opportunity to design and develop tailored messages for the target market in order to ensure that the brands get maximum exposure to the target market. What is also significant to note that the use of such websites and technology is relatively cheap and the overall reach and access to the market is really large? The above literature review has identified different themes which have been discussed in the past. This research study will therefore attempt to understand the gaps left behind by earlier studies and will try to develop a broader understanding of how the IT can actually have an impact on the teenage market. Methodology Methodology is considered as a method of investigating the given research topic or area with the help of different tools. It however, also allows the researchers to expand the research area and generate a range of different theoretical questions underlying the research study. A comprehensive methodology therefore also allows the researcher to understand what is actually conceivable and achievable under the reasonable assumptions. (Saunder, Lewis & Thornhill 2007) In order to accomplish this research task, the researcher has intended to use a mix of desktop and primary research method. Focus will be on achieving the balance between the two however, given the constraints of time and financial resources, this research study will be more inclined towards the use of desktop research as the main research tool to accomplish this study. As a part of this research, the researcher will attempt to use survey methodology of the existing literature on the topic, a development of questionnaire as well as the use of some personal interviews in order to achieve a critical insight into this topic.( Biggam, 2008) More emphasis will be on the survey of the existing literature and review of the different newspapers and magazine articles so that the latest trends in the information technology can be understood to assess their impact on the teenage market. This will allow the researcher to understand the different issues involved in the IT and its impact on the branding in teenage market. Approach to Research At the beginning of any research, it is critical to decide whether the research will be qualitative or quantitative or the mix of both. Quantitative research studies are based on collecting quantitative data and the subsequent application of the statistical tools and techniques to test the hypothesis or research questions framed by the researcher. (Cohen. Manion, Morrison, 2007) Quantitative research often is conducted with the help of collecting primary data through various methods such as questionnaires, interviews, observation etc. Qualitative research is more focused on the interpretation of the behaviors as well as the patterns and their subsequent interpretation through different techniques.( Dawson, 2009) This research will be aimed at understanding and exploring the impact of IT in branding for the teenage market. The overall focus will therefore be on the development of a research study which focuses on both the qualitative as well as quantitative aspects of the research. The overall approach to this research will therefore be based upon both the qualitative as well as quantitative research. Secondary Research The researcher aims to study the existing journals, magazines, newspapers and websites as the means of collecting the data for performing secondary research. Since the aim is to balance the approach between the qualitative as well as quantitative research, the researcher will therefore aim to review the existing sources in order to understand and highlight the issues which are addressed by the use of I.T. in the branding and what is currently being done in the market and how it can be improved. Primary Research The researcher also aims to perform the primary research in order to further get insight into how the teenage market is actually being affected by this new introduction of IT into branding. In order to achieve this objective, researcher aims to select a student sample of less than 30 respondents from the university and provide them a questionnaire to answer some close ended questions. The overall objective is to raise some vital questions and probe into the psychology of the target market of the different organizations in order to understand as to how the target market perceive and respond to such changing nature of the branding. It is also intended that the researcher may conduct personal interviews with branding managers of local organizations in order to obtain their views on the use of IT in branding and how it is practically being utilized by these organizations. Questionnaires and Personal Interviews As a part of this research, the researcher also aims to develop a questionnaire and conduct personal interviews. Questionnaires will contain close ended questions and will be based upon general to specific format dealing mostly with how the target market i.e. teens actually view the use of IT for branding purposes. Personal interviews will be conducted in order to get a practical insight into how the brand managers and organizations are actually using the technology for their target market. Researcher however, is of the view that it may be practically difficult to identify the organizations which exclusively target the teenage market therefore in order to overcome this difficulty; the research will actually aim to access those organizations which are offering products and services which are also used by the teens. Timeline Considering the traditional constraints on this research, the researcher aims to complete this research study within the total period of 2 months. During these two months, different stages of research studies will be completed in different phases. The researcher aims to complete the development of the questionnaire in first week after the approval of the research proposal. The second stage will involve the collection of data from the primary resource including conducting the interviews. The third stage will involve the review of literature on the topic and final phase will involve the actual writing of the dissertation on the chosen topic. Gantt Chart Tasks to be completed Week beginning 24th Jan Week begin Jan 31 Week beg Feb 7 Week beg Feb 14 Week beg Feb 21 Week beg Feb 28 Week beg March 7 Week beg March 14 Week beg March 21 Meeting with supervisor Proposal Submission Submission of ethics form Literature Review Reading Development of Questionnaire Approval & drafting of questionnaire Questionnaire printing Identification of organizations for the interview Delivering questionnaires to respondents Collecting Responses Analysis of responses Write up References 1. Bergstrom, A (2000). Cyberbranding: leveraging your brand on the Internet. Strategy . 28 (4), pp.10-15. 2. Biggam.J(2008) Succeeding with your masters Dissertation-A step by step handbook. McGraw-Hill Education, England 3. Buggie, F. (2001), “The four phases of innovation”, The Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 22 No. 5 4. Cohen.L, Manion.L, Morrison K(2007) Research Method In Education.6th edition.Routledge New York 5. Davey, N (2010). Branding and social media lessons from Gap’s logo backlash [online]. [Accessed 22nd Jan 2011]. Available from: . 6. Dawson.C(2009) Introduction To Research Methods: A Practical guide for anyone undertaking a researchproject.4th edition How to Books Ltd,Oxford. 7. Fan, Y (2005). Ethical branding and corporate reputation. Corporate Communications: An International Journal. 10 (4), pp.341-350. 8. Kippenberger, T (2000). Co-branding as a new competitive weapon. The Antidote. 5(6), pp.12-15. 9. Randall, K (2010). How to Measure Brand Value: Likes, Followers, Influencers, Views? No, Social Currency [online]. [Accessed 21st Jan 2011]. Available from: . 10. Rowley, J (2004). Online branding: the case of McDonald's. British Food Journal. 160 (3), pp.228-237. 11. Saunder, M, Lewis P, Thornhill A (2007) Research Method for Business Student 4th edition. Pearson Eucation.Essex Read More