Marketing Communication to Successfully Deliver a Message about Brand or Company - Term Paper Example

The concept of marketing has undergone a tremendous change in the last two decades. The four P’s of marketing are not sufficient any more in the competitive environment triggered due to globalization. Today the customer needs are not merely satisfied, they have to be identified and anticipated and the marketing efforts directed accordingly. The effectiveness of marketing depends largely on how the marketer communicates with the customer about the product. Marketing communication includes packaging, advertising through different channels, and promoting the organization itself as a brand. In the words of Kotler (2000), many communication channel are integrated to deliver a clear, consistent and compelling message about the organization and its products (cited by Proctor & Kitchen 2002). This paper will discuss how an organization can effectively develop and use marketing communication to deliver the right message about its products or the company. There has been a significant change in the concept of branding. It is no more about branding the product line but the company itself is promoted as a brand. One of the reasons for corporate brand management and marketing communications is the competitive market, which has forced the organizations to look beyond the domestic market. The prohibitive costs of developing individual brands make it difficult for stand-alone brands to compete in many markets. In this respect, Marks & Spencer of UK has been unsuccessful in overseas market (Proctor&Kitchen). It wanted to capture the overseas market with the same techniques that had brought it success in the domestic market. It now realizes that it lacks an integrated approach to marketing communication. The purchasing power of people has increased and marketing communication helps people to make up their minds how to spend the money. Packaging is an important tool for branding and communication, especially in packaged food market. Competition in the food industry is very intense and packaging is an essential part of the selling process. Self-service counters in retail marketing further add to the importance of packaging where the packaging serves the role of the salesperson. As there is an influx of foreign retailers, packaging in Thailand plays a critical role for marketing communications (Silayoi & Speece, 2004). Half the consumers who enter the stores have not made brand choices, as several brands are all acceptable to them. For such shoppers, packaging communicates the advantages of the food products inside. As in Thailand, even in UK 61 percent people look for product information on food labels. Visual image on packaging include graphics, product photography, color combinations and the layout. Research shows that for many shoppers package is the product because impressions formed during the initial contact have long-lasting effect. Consumers are often pressed for time and hence whatever catches their attention helps them to make a buying decision. Size and color association for a product also comes due to habit. Some selective consumers make their purchase decision based on information written on the package. This makes it important that the manufacturers should print correct information. Many times a company may make subtle changes to packaging without losing the benefit of the look. This is because over the year they have made the brand familiar and build a specific image as The Campbell Soup Company. They made subtle changes in terms of topography and logotype without any loss of image because that could affect their share of the market (Nancarrow et al., 1998). Rundh (2006) asserts that innovative packaging can change the product perception and create a new market position. Pringles potato chips are an excellent example where packaging differs from most competitive packaging. Communications through advertising depends upon the market to be captured. The advertisements for French perfumes in six different markets had certain similarities and certain aspects pertaining to the local market (Harris & Attour, 2003). While the body, text, model, size, and color of advertisements were standardized in all six markets, the headline, background, product, package, and layout met the local requirements. The slogan too differed in different markets. Cigarettes are a product category that is largely image-based where taste is not an important factor for initial brand selection. The tobacco industry uses brand advertising and integrated forms of marketing communication such as sponsorship, public relations, direct marketing, and sales promotion (Timothy & Brad, 2005). Marlboro was ranked the third best advertising campaign, after only Volkswagen and Coca-Cola. The Marlboro man reflected perceptions that the image had the most powerful resonance in the marketplace with respect to effectiveness, longevity, recognition, and cultural impact. Player’s is a premium brand of the Imperial Tobacco Company. Their target market is youth under 25. The company has linked the Players trademark with images of youthfulness, masculinity, independence, freedom, tradition, and modernity on a consistent basis. The ads portray sports scenes in mountains or aquatic settings. This appeals to the core consumers and communicates corporate brand imagery. The advertising and television commercials for Speight’s Beer in New Zealand effectively communicated the message and translated into sales. ‘The Southern Man’ campaign was very meticulously designed. Landscape and place in New Zealand advertising was selected which would enhance the masculine image of the product. Initially a Bluff oysterman in oilskins was represented in beer advertisements but it was soon replaced with focus on a single landscape and a single form of work – mustering sheep. The idea behind the landscape selection and the activity of men is to convey the message of ‘unspoiled’ nature and ‘real’ man. Such visions or photographic images of men at work are displayed on posters, at the pubs and even on the sides of delivery trucks. All these are meant to reinforce the brand image; they carry the message of being rugged, honest, simple. Such visions or photographic images of men at work are displayed on posters, at the pubs and even on the sides of delivery trucks. While all these images try to bring out the masculinity, the heroic image is offset by a dry, self-mocking sense of humor. There is an ironic humor in these advertisements, according to Robin Law (1997). Both male and female readers enjoy these advertisements. The humor is more apparent in the television commercials and not so much in the posters and outdoor media. One commercial shows a local setting, with a young man and an older man resting at dusk by a lake. Both have the distinctive local accent and use the local phrases. The young man announces that a young city girl who he has been seeing for a while wants him to move up to Auckland, can offer him all material comforts but she does not drink Speight’s beer. This advertisement not only won awards but made a great impact on the viewers. It touches the masculinity and the male ego. It shows that beer extends masculinity to man and he is incomplete without it. Companies have to adopt the local culture for effective communication. Coca-cola in China had to replace the familiar coke logo with Chinese characters while the red color was maintained. Brand differentiation is the critical factor (Hollis). Evidence suggests that Chinese brands are beginning to build deeper relationships with consumers. Companies usually conduct communication audit to determine how effective their advertisements are. Dow Chemical conducted a survey to determine customer information and preferences. The survey revealed that customers were interested in their own success rather than the company’s strengths (Cliff, 1998). They introduced the ‘We, We’ ad in which strengths that could be applied to solve problems were listed and it emphasized "We dont succeed unless you do." Today this advertising slogan has become the guiding principle of the company’s communication program. Marketing communications must have ethical concerns while designing and advertising campaigns. The Italian clothing company Benetton has been criticized for its campaign “United Colors of Benetton”. They have always used socially provocative photographs, violent images, and racial representations in its marketing communications (Borgerson & Schroeder, 2002). A campaign in 2001 used photographs of death row inmates in USA who have been sentenced to die in seven states that allow death penalty. It presented close-up of these death row inmates, majority of which are black men. As a part of their campaign, they chose several billboards in Stockholm, Sweden, where they managed to reinforce negative versions of black male typicality, generally associated with extreme criminal activity and guilt. Through this campaign, they claim to protest against death penalty. They may have succeeded through this communication in generating publicity and getting a share for its brand but using social and controversial issues is not an ethical way to sell clothes. Thus, marketing communication can be effectively used in many ways to reach the target audience. Packaging in the food industry is important while communicating images of youth and masculinity as in cigarettes or beer. The television commercials have a greater impact as seen in the case of Speight’s beer but equal importance in advertising slogans as in the case of Dow Chemical helped it to turn the market in its favor. Billboards to convey the message as Benetton followed its campaign effectively though unethically. Marketing communication truly involves everything from packages to advertising in magazines and on television, promotions to signs in stores. References: Borgerson J L & Schroeder J E (2002), An ethics of representation for international marketing communication, European Journal of Marketing, Vol 36 No. 5/6, 2002, pp 574-594 Cliff M (1998), Cutting-edge companies use integrated marketing communication, Communication World, 30 July 2006 Harris G & Attour S (2003), The International Advertising Practices of multinational companies, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 37 No. 1/2, 2003 pp. 154-168 Hollis N (2006), Brands in China: devalued or deja vu?, 30 July 2006 Law R (1997), Masculinity, Place and Beer Advertising in New Zealand: The Southern Man Campaign, New Zealand Geographer, Vol. 53 No. 2, 1977:22 Nancarrow C, Wright L T & Brace I (1998), Gaining competitive advantage from packaging and labelling in marketing communications, British Food Journal, Vol 100 No. 2 pp. 110-118 Proctor T & Kitchen P (2002), Communication in Postmodern Integrated Marketing, Corporate Communications, Vol 7 No. 3, 2002 pp. 144-154 Rundh Bo (2006), The multi-faceted dimension of packaging, British Food Journal, Vol. 107 No. 9, 2006 pp. 670-684 Silayoi P & Speece M (2004), Packaging and Purchase Decisions, British Food Journal, Vol 106 No. 8, 2004 pp. 607-628 Timothy D & Brad D (2005), Brand strategy and integrated marketing communication (IMC): a case study of players cigarette brand marketing, 30 Jul2006 Read More