Ideal Marketing Mix for Beyonc - Research Proposal Example

1. Executive Summary Beyoncé Knowles, more known as B or Beyoncé is a very accomplished artist in the global music industry. Her influence as an artist is very much apparent in peoples response to her music in terms of sales as well as recognitions from respected award-giving bodies such as the Grammys. While Beyoncé caters to a wide audience through her music, her products are very specifically targeted to the female segment of the market. This is very much apparent in the messages of her music, as well as her extended product lines such as the Beyonce Parfums. Beyoncé is considered to be the next big thing in the global music industry, with expectations of her to parallel the heights that had been reached by great artists like Michael Jackson, because of Beyoncés knack for total entertainment through her vocal prowess and her hot dance moves and strong stage presence. However, to cater to the female segment limits her reach as a brand as well as the potential for sales. Therefore, the recommended target market includes a wider one, where the male audiences will not be alienated. This change in the target market requires Beyoncé to change her positioning from just speaking from the point of view of women, to talking to men from the point of view of women. The messages of her music are usually not only applicable to women, but also to their male partners. This is the basis for the changes in the marketing mix which includes the addition to the product line, the additional provisions for pricing strategy, changes in distribution channels, as well as changes in the message strategy and promotions mix. These changes are significant as the differences in buying behavior between males and females, especially when choosing an artist or music to listen to are huge and should be considered in modifying the marketing mix. 2. Situation Analysis 2.1. Current product The current product is Beyoncé as an artist. As a core product, Beyoncé provides her audience or consumers the entertainment that is associated with her musical acts, the combination of her strong vocal prowess and singing style together with her powerful choreography – a set of attributes that is unique to the artist, and is only paralleled by some of the greatest artist in the global music industry (SME 2010). Beyoncé provides these core benefits to her audiences through the actual products – her music that comes in digital and CD form, her music videos that come in digital form (SME 2010). Beyoncés augmented products include her performances of these actual products in the form of concerts and tours, as well as items that extend her persona as a public figure such as her perfume – Beyoncés Heat (Bandit.Fm 2010), as well as her clothing line which is the House of Dereon (SME 2010). In this case, the product, being Beyoncé as the artist is in the maturity stage – she is not a budding artist but an established one in the industry, not only grossing in terms of sale, but she has also garnered multiple awards from respected award-giving bodies such as the Grammys (SME 2010). 2.2. Current pricing Beyoncés current pricing strategy is within the medium and average price range as apparent in the prices of the digital downloads, as well as her CDs, when compared to other artists. The price for these downloads are usually standardized as they are sold by usually a few music production companies, which in Beyoncés case is Sony Music Entertainment Australia (Bandit.Fm 2010). In order to avoid rivalry among the distribution stores due to the differences in the prices, these are usually standardized. Also, the price of the downloads does not usually influence the choice of the artists of consumers when buying music. As for Beyoncés other products such as her perfume line, the products is positioned within the mid-range scale (The Magic of Macys 2010). This is apparent when the products price is contrasted to other perfumes, such as those that carry top designer brands. This is consistent with Beyoncés mass-market appeal as compared to the elite appeal of fashion brands that are known for their haute couture collections. 2.3. Current distribution Beyoncés actual products are distributed all over Australia using different channels. For one, Beyoncés music and videos are distributed both in digital and CD formats. Some of these direct channels where customers can access and download directly includes digital online music stores like bandit.fm, iTunes, Borders online store, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, FYE, and BestBuy, while Beyoncés CDs are distributed in most music stores all over the country – these are the indirect channels (SME 2010). The direct channels, or digital online music stores are a very important channel in order to address some issues that are related to the purchase behavior of consumers when it comes to music, such as piracy and online downloads of unlicensed music. As for Beyoncés other products such as her perfume collection and clothing line, her perfume “Heat is distributed through indirect channels – stores such as David Jones, Myer, and The Perfume Connection, as well as some selected pharmacies (BeyonceParfums.com 2010). Her clothing line, House of Dereon does not have a distribution arm in Australia yet as most of its operations are in the US, Canada and South America (SME 2010). 2.4. Current promotion Beyoncés current promotion objective includes increasing awareness of her new products – her latest album “I am.. Sasha Fierce” through a series of tours around the globe, which is coined under the theme “I am...” (SME 2010). The tours are a series of concert to promote Beyoncé as an entertainment product, with her live performances as she provides great music experience to her audiences. Beyoncé utilizes a couple of promotion mix tools which include the following: public relations in the form of press releases and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace; direct marketing in the form of her websites BeyonceOnline.com, BeyonceParfums.com, Dereon.com; and advertising in the form of her Youtube channel, as well as television advertising where her perfume commercials have been shown (SME 2010). While these promotions mix tools are extensive, they are integrated by one unifying topic-- Beyoncé as an artist. However, message-wise, the campaign is not integrated. 3. Recommended target market Beyoncés current target market, as apparent in her music mostly includes women in their twenties who can relate to the lyrics of her songs which are mostly about women empowerment as well as situations when it comes to dealing with their relationships. However, the trend that most of her singles have experienced in the past shows that these songs do not only cater to women in general, they also cater to the target markets boyfriends and male loved ones. The emergence of male covers of her singles proves the reception of this segment to Beyoncés music. With this, the recommended target market should include the following: “early twenty to early thirty people, both male and female, lovers of upbeat and urban music which is mostly pop and R&B, and undergo with certain issues concerning their lives, with focus on relationships.” The inclusion of the male segment of the market is due to the growing popularity of Beyoncé to the male segment through her music. In order to not alienate this market and push them away as they become branded as gay when they patronize such music that targets the female listeners, the male segment also provides a lucrative marketing opportunity. 4. Recommended marketing objective The recommended marketing objective should be: “to increase Beyoncés current target audience base by including male listeners and viewers to its marketing strategy, and increasing sales from this new market segment.” 5. Product recommendation In order for the target market not to be alienated when it comes to marketing Beyoncé, some key recommendations have to be provided. Doing this requires looking back at the benefits that Beyoncé provides to the target audience. The changes in the product offers is not hard because the core benefit that Beyoncé provides her target audience includes entertainment that comes from her unique vocal prowess as well as her dancing skills as demonstrated by her powerful choreography in her performances. These show her skill as an artist and as an entertainer. These benefits should not be altered as these is what she has been known for. The changes come in her actual products – her songs, her music, her videos. First of all, one of the greatest benefits that come with her music includes a sense of community, where girls who undergo the same situation have a way to express how they feel through her songs. This benefit can be provided to guys if the message of her songs are not only sung from a female perspective, but from a neutral perspective or by incorporating a male point of view – this has been done by some artists by featuring another artist in their singles. The message of her songs as an individual that undergoes certain emotions and decisions at some point in their relationships should be emphasized, instead of making the perspective purely from a womans. Although in the past, her empowerment has provided her the edge to be favored by the huge young female audiences, this limits her reach. Beyoncé should be established as a brand, and not just an artist. Her values and personality includes being lively, being empowered, has a flair for style and substance, as well as a strong sense of conviction for what she believes in. As a brand, her functional benefits include total entertainment by the combination of her stage presence, as well as her talent and passion in singing and dancing. As for her emotional benefit, the brand Beyoncé should embody someone who understands her target markets woes, especially when it comes to relationships and the related complications. The Beyoncé brand is someone to look up to as an icon – not only for girls who could relate to the message of her music, but also the guys, who usually happen to be the boyfriends of her target audiences. She becomes the narrator of the target markets stories. She becomes the icon for the women, and the alter ego of their women for men as women look to her as their icon. Thus, the brands packaging should embody these values and personality. As for the brand identity, Beyoncé is known for her colorful but chic looks and these should be incorporated. However, the packaging should not be too feminine in order to not alienate the male target audience, but with a sexy mature tone in order to entice them. The effect of this on the augmented products include numbers that are tailored to male audiences as well. The product line can also explore certain inclusions that will cater to the male target audience. With her husband Jay-Z, she can extend her perfume line by creating another brand such as “Jay-Z by Beyoncé” which will comprise the brand for her male target audience. 6. Pricing recommendations When it comes to music, the two segments of the market have virtually the same response to pricing strategy – the changes in the pricing of the downloads do not usually influence the choice of artist and music, unless the changes are very huge and drastic. As mentioned previously, the existence of certain direct channels and the record companies concern of preventing a price war among them imposes a fairly standardized price for digital downloads. Therefore, the pricing strategy for the digital downloads can be maintained. For the female segment, Beyoncé is a major icon and one of the female artists that have huge influence over this segment of listeners and viewers. Therefore, the premium price of CDs can cater to them; however this strategy must be changed due to the buying behavior of the wider audience which includes the males. The males do not look at Beyoncé as one of the few providers of the music that they like; males generally have a wider selection when it comes to expressing how they feel. That is why the feministic approach has worked so well before. However, with the bigger target market, this pricing issue has to be addressed. The small change in price can be compensated by the bigger volume that is brought by the wider target market. The buying preferences of the two segments also differ when it comes to the extended product line such as the perfumes. While perfumes are generally a thing for women, the prospects from mens buying the perfumes are much lower, although the trend has been changing over the years as the global consumption for grooming has also increased. However, the same thing cannot be expected of men when it comes to buying perfumes – shelling out a modest amount when buying perfumes. This can be addressed by creating smaller packages for men which will come in much lower prices than the womens line, or by modifying the products themselves – if the womens line offers eau de toilette or eau de parfums, the mens line can offer body sprays or eau de cologne which will come with less hefty price tags. 7. Distribution recommendations The additional segment in her target market does not differ much when it comes to its purchase behavior when it comes to music. Utilizing the direct channels which are the online stores such as iTunes, Bandit.Fm and others are strategic in this case, as male audiences also buy from the same stores even before they are included in the target market, only that they buy the music of different artists. Because the market includes a wider audience now, the differences in buying music from direct channels and indirect channels still exist. Therefore, the audiences who prefer to buy from traditional stores and channels should not be neglected. Aside from traditional music stores, the distributor of Beyoncés music can utilize other venues of distributions such as shopping centers. Beyoncés upbeat music makes it popular in dance floors – men and women do not only enjoy listening to it during their recreational hours, but they also enjoy dancing to it. Music companies can also utilize these channels – the debut singles and albums of Beyoncé in the future, when they are launched in certain bars, can also be bought within the vicinities in the form of CDs or digital downloads direct to peoples iPods or music players without the need for an internet connection. Because iTunes is handy to users of iPhone and iPod Touch who have mobile access to internet in order to purchase the music, this is targeted to the segment whose music players or music mobile phones do not support immediate access to the internet in order to have a legal copy of the music. Because Beyoncés product line has extended, this may be carried by its current indirect channels. But this has to be made accessible to places that are not frequented only by females but also by males. Since pharmacies are more accessible to males, this indirect channel can be used in order to distribute the additional line of products. Females are more likely to frequent the fancy shops and boutiques especially when buying products like perfume, but due to the difference in consumer behaviors of the two segments of the target market, the distribution should be made more flexible. Also, the perfumes should be made more available not only from boutique stores, but also from certain online stores in order to make purchase easier. Although since the perfume product line requires the smelling experience before the decision to buy it can be done, sometimes the target market has not made the decision yet when they visit the boutiques and the stores, and they try on the perfumes. For the segment of the market who has already experienced the smell of the perfume line but has not yet made the decision to buy, the online distribution channel is also a good alternative. 8. Promotion recommendations The changes in the marketing mix should be presented in an integrated way in order to create a coherent message that depicts the new Beyoncé brand, which is not exclusive to the female audiences. The major promotions objective should reflect the brands wider marketing objective, which is to communicate to the male target audience as well as the female target audience. Beyoncés message strategy can include a Beyoncé that talks to both the fellas and the ladies, something like a she said, I said, what do you say approach rather than we (ladies) said approach. Making them more engaged in Beyoncés music first is the key to winning the male audiences hearts. The single unifying theme of the campaign can incorporate the “I am your woman.” This is broad enough in order to be flexible, but also straight-forward enough to target both audiences. From the point of view of the women, they can adopt this message when communicating to their partners, while from the point of view of the men, this tells something about a woman talking to them. This is both empowering to the females, while communicating to males. The promotions tools can include advertising in the form of teasers in the Youtube channel as well as in the mainstream media in order to create awareness about the campaign. In order to create interest, Beyoncé can create certain publicity stunts in the form of events; public relations should be used to create interest. Social marketing sites such as Twitter and Facebook, since the target market are people within the age range of 20-30, should be used in order to communicate upcoming information about Beyoncés products. In order to entice the market some more, sales promotions should be used. Lastly, direct marketing is a good tool in order to prompt customers into a purchase decision, in the form of e-commerce sites where Beyoncés products can be bought. Aside from direct marketing, customers can also be rewarded through sales promotions from buying from the stores or channels nearest them, especially in the case of Beyoncés new line of products. This mix is based on the AIDA (awareness-interest-desire-action) framework, which is usually used for emotional purchases. Since the choice of an artist is more of an emotional than a rational decision, this framework in order to set the choice of promotions mix tools is used. By using a framework in making promotions objectives, the chances of the companys fulfilling its marketing objectives becomes more coherent. 9. Conclusion The changes in the marketing mix should not be without support from a companys marketing objectives. The changes in the marketing mix should come from the changes in the companys marketing objectives, which are to be addressed by the companys strategy in the form of looking at the segments of the market, choosing the target market and establishing a positioning that is consistent with the target market. In this case, the changes in Beyoncés target market, with the inclusion of the male segment has to create some huge changes in the marketing mix. The changes in the marketing mix should reflect the brands positioning – Beyoncés wider coverage, not exclusive only to females should be the basis for the changes. Reference List Bandit.Fm. 2010. “Urbanation – Beyoncé Store.” Bandit.Fm, May 18, http://www.bandit.fm/urbanation/beyonce/store/ Bandit.Fm. 2010. “Bandit.Fm - About.” Bandit.Fm, May 18, http://www.bandit.fm/about BeyonceParfums. 2010. “Beyoncé Heat – Catch the Fever, Feel the Rush.” BeyonceParfums.com, May 18, http://www.beyonceparfums.com/en/au/#/feel-the-rush BeyonceParfums. 2010. “Beyoncé Heat – Catch the Fever, Unlock the Irresistible.” BeyonceParfums.com, May 18, http://www.beyonceparfums.com/en/au/#/unlock-the-irresistible Kotler, Philip. 2000. Marketing Management: Millennium Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. SME (Sony Music Entertainment). 2010. “Beyonce: Broken Hearted Girl.” BeyonceOnline.com, May 18, http://www.beyonceonline.com/au/music/broken-hearted-girl SME (Sony Music Entertainment). 2010. “News.” BeyonceOnline.com, May 18, http://www.beyonceonline.com/au/news SME (Sony Music Entertainment). 2010. “Press.” BeyonceOnline.com, May 18, http://www.beyonceonline.com/au/press The Magic of Macys. 2010. “Beyoncé Heat Perfume for Women Collection.” Macys.com, May 18, http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=445324&CategoryID=50149 The Magic of Macys. 2010. “Beauty – Perfumes and Colognes.” Macys.com, May 18, http://www1.macys.com/catalog/index.ognc?CategoryID=30076&PageID=129176220804193 Read More