Cam Phone Tube as a New Product - Coursework Example

Essay Cam-Phone-Tube with new dynamic features is a new product which needs effective and aggressive advertising strategy based on emotional appeal. The market of camera phones is fragmented divided between digital cameras and camera phones. In order to penetrate this market, the new Cam-Phone-Tube should follow focused market entry strategy based on aggressive advertising and promotion campaigns. Focused entry strategy is something that the company is geared for. For Cam-Phone-Tube, the product could be viewed as being its own special niche, and on this basis the company dominated the market in most countries, though national requirements varied (Drejer, 2002). Focused strategy implies potentially better prices, high quality, but lower volumes. Numerous niches could be identified which neither Cam-Phone-Tube not its competi­tors had yet addressed; but the necessary product development and distribution strategies would take time and tie up limited resources (Fill 1999). Using the market research, Cam-Phone-Tube can navigate the new business environment and adapt new products for existing markets. These segments are business people interested in innovative devices and prestigious brands, and teens’ market influenced by new technological innovations and solutions to everyday problems. The advantage of product originality will allow Cam-Phone-Tube to create a strong brand image. Brand loyalty will also be important factor in increasing the costs for customers of switching the products of competitors. Using mar­ket development strategy, Cam-Phone-Tube will capture a larger share of a market for current products through market saturation and market pene­tration (Fill 1999). Taking into consideration cosmetics market, it is not enough to operate only on a national market. Global marketing will help Cam-Phone-Tube substantially increase the level of sales. As a new market entrant, Cam-Phone-Tube can raise the level of competition. In order to compete on this market and remain profitable, Cam-Phone-Tube should introduce aggressive advertising campaign informing potential consumers about the new innovative product and its benefits. To get the message different types of media will be used in accordance with particulate audience. Comparatively low cost of the product can help the company to achieve better differentiation in market segments. The obtaining of such information can be extremely difficult and costly in many countries, particularly developing countries (McDonald 2002). Focusers, like Cam-Phone-Tube, may be able to achieve better differentiation or lower cost in market segments, but they may also lose to broadly targeted competitors when the segments uniqueness fades or demand dis­appears (McDonald and Christopher 2003). The new business model will change target audience and traditional demographic of Cam-Phone-Tube. This change is caused by the nature of product itself and its characteristics. In spite of limited number of buyers, target market is diverse in character. It will involve women and men of different age and nationalities. Also, these customers expect to find unique products, regardless of what the price and proposition. This target group can be characterized as the skeptical consumers (Fill 1999). Some of the buyers can be brand loyal while others can buy Cam-Phone-Tube for the first time. The buyer perception of benefit-generating attribute will be based on unique stylish image appealing to a wide target audience. In contrast to traditional customer groups, this target market value quality and unique style. For these products, positioning is very important element of “successful performance because it occupies the consumers minds with the product offer­ings. Retail positioning is crucial helping to establish confidence, trustworthiness and competence for customers” (Fill 1999, p. 36). If the products have a strong retail positioning on the market, customers will then have the being of the products within their minds. The most important for Cam-Phone-Tube is to define the retailers’ identity and per­sonality. Through the store image the retailers can force customers to buy their products (Drejer, 2002). The new business environment will create new challenges for Cam-Phone-Tube and its marketing team. Cam-Phone-Tube can be sold through traditional channels. To expend its sales and compete on the market, Cam-Phone-Tube will have to find new channels of distribution and marketing. The main challenge is to inform potential target audience about new products and persuade them to make a purchase. The best distribution channel is through marketing organizations and direct agents. In a time, the company will make use of the indepen­dent distribution system, which comprised about a hundred dealerships, serviced by about twenty commission agents. this market, advertising is used for cumulative effect over time to build image, awareness, loyalty and benefit recall (McDonald 2002). The main problem for Cam-Phone-Tube is that it can lack control as product turned over to distribution channels intermediaries. Unilever should hire local agents and organizations in order to promote its products and increase sales. Only in this case, Unilever will be able to remain commutative on the market. Advertising campaign will be thoroughly planned and help the company to get its brand recognition in a year. For instance, the company can employ 10 full-time local representatives responsible for handling marketing and a small distribution facility which includ­ed a warehouse. In the main, however, the company made use of the indepen­dent distribution system, which comprised about a hundred medical dealerships, serviced by about twenty commission agents. In large geographical areas, Unilever can use exclusive arrangement with a distributor which commanded a high percentage of the market (McDonald and Christopher 20030. Cultural issues will include impact of product design and marketing mix (advertising message and promotion activities). Using these techniques, Cam-Phone-Tube should take into account cultural, gender and age differences. It means that, in contrast to the US- based companies, media has a different impact on the viewer. In some countries, Internet facilities are limited, so the response from this technique can be much lower (McDonald 2002). On the other hand, some foreign companies do not use to purchase through Internet (banner advertising and e-mail sales will not work in these countries). For this reason, the main focus in marketing mix should be made on local press, direct sales and radio. Individual buyer behavior is determined by number of factors including lifestyle and cultural preferences. Advertising should add psychological value to the product playing communication role. In this industry it should control the circulation of ideas and influence tastes of potential consumers. The problem is that, in most cases, patients buy wigs because of absolute necessity (McDonald and Christopher 2003). Promotion “includes advertising, personal selling (eg attending exhibitions), sales promotions (eg special offers), and atmospherics (creating the right impression through the working environment” (The Marketing Mix, 2007). Cam-Phone-Tube will use brand image and promotion techniques to attract potential customers. Publicity and active international activity are the main tools applied by Cam-Phone-Tube to inform customers and stakeholders about recent changes and future trends. They use on-line type of promotion, outdoor posters and taxi sides (Crawford 2003). The message of the advertising campaign w8ill be: “Feel free with new Cam-Phone-Tube: Be Closer to Your Beloved”. Charity and sponsorship are also employed by Cam-Phone-Tube to increase brand awareness and brand recognition. Cam-Phone-Tube uses systemic and repeat marketing to achieve company’s objectives. For this product, marketing mix helps companies to analyze market position of the company and develops strategies according to current needs and demands. Given the increasing turbulence and complexity of the market place, and the rapid pace and impact of technological change, the need for a disciplined, systematic approach to the market has never been greater (Drejer, 2002). Implementation of the first campaign Send Direct mail - twice on May- June; Cinema ad - 15 times a day starting from the 20th of May to end of June; Radio ad - 100 times a day from the 5th of May to end of June; Advertising in local Press - once a week from the 5th of May to end of June; TV ad - 40 times in the evening starting from the 5th of May to end of june; Posters in transport; Calendars and wallcharts. A social attention will be paid to publicity and newsletters. The company will organize two conferences devoted to new features and advantages of Cam-Phone-Tube (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2004). They include the diverse range of activities from making calls on old customers, calling on new prospects, merchandise stocking activities, placement of sales material and literature, handling complaints, preparing call and sales reports, and providing service and maintenance, in addition to making sales. The measurement problem is also affected by the kind of advertising. At one extreme we find direct-action advertising. Here a newspaper ad, a TV spot, or a direct-mail campaign is aimed at a sale to be held the following day by a retail establishment. The advertising expenditure and results can be noted and good estimates of advertising effectiveness can often be made. At the other extreme, there is institutional or long-range advertising dedicated to image building. Although it is easy to state that advertising should lead consumers to believe ads, to know companies and brands, to progress from product attention to a sale, or to change images, habits, and preferences, Cam-Phone-Tube cannot easily determine how well the job is being done. To assess advertising impact, Cam-Phone-Tube require better specification of objectives and of criteria for measuring the degree to which the objectives are being achieved. The statement of advertising objectives in concrete measurable terms is a most critical aspect in developing most effective advertising strategies. One interesting attempt to gain information about the relative effectiveness of potential advertisements or campaigns is through the use of a Pupil-Response Apparatus or an eye camera. Such studies are based on the finding that the size of the pupil of the eye relates directly to the activity of the brain and vice versa. It has been found that if people are interested in a stimulus such as an advertising campaign, the pupil expands in size; if they are not, the pupil contracts. When corroborated, such findings could result in the selection of more effective advertising programs (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2004). For Cam-Phone-Tube, marketing communications bridge information gaps in distribution channels, help coordinate the total marketing system, and adjust products and services to customer needs. Both advertising, and personal selling, discussed in the next, are integral components of the communications mix. A major problem in marketing-communications strategy is deciding how much to spend on advertising. Although optimal decisions are impossible, by considering the situation logically and noting relationships among advertising and personal-selling components, improved allocation of resources can be achieved (Crawford 2003). Then realistic advertising appropriations can be established. Even so, such problems as allocating budgets among media, or among campaigns within a medium, present formidable challenges. Some general models and concepts useful in arriving at such decisions are presented. Functions relating-sales, profits, and advertising expenditures are discussed in general and as they relate to different media. The use of a payoff matrix and game-theory concepts in setting advertising budgets, and problems of measuring advertising effectiveness, are examined. For Cam-Phone-Tube, advertising is viewed as a concomitant of modern society, an essential ingredient of an economy of abundance. Bibliography Crawford C. Merle. 2003, New Products Management. Irwin-McGraw Hill. 7th edition, Czinkota, R. & Ronkainen, I. 2004, International Marketing, 7th edn, Thomson South- Western. Drejer, A. 2002, Strategic Management and Core Competencies: Theory and Application. Quorum Books. Fill, C. 1999, Marketing Communication: Contexts, Contents, and Strategies. 2. edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. McDonald M. 2002, Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them – How to Use Them, 5th edn, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. McDonald M., Christopher M. 2003, Marketing: A complete Guide. Palgrave Macmillan. Read More