Marketing Communication Strategy - Sales Promotion - Assignment Example

Marketing Communication Strategy Table of Contents Analysis 2 Conclusion 4 References 6 Bibliography 7 Introduction Marketing Mix is a business tool that is used in marketing a product. It is used to determine the brand's unique selling point and is synonymous to the 4 P's of marketing. The three major marketing mixes are public relation, direct marketing and advertising. Public relation is a process by which the organisation manages the information between the organisation and the public. Managing and building relationships between the organisation and the public can be done effectively with the help of effective and efficient public relations. Direct marketing is a channel form of advertising that helps business as well as non profit organisations to directly communicate with the customers with the help of various advertising techniques like online display of ads, catalogue distribution, mobile messaging, promotional letters etc. Advertising is a form of communication that helps to persuade the audience to take some action. The action would be to purchase the product or service. An efficient and effective marketing communication mix is essential otherwise the company will not survive in the competitive marketplace. Effective marketing communication with customers is essential in order to generate profits and sales. Now in the context of the project the two companies that have been chosen to demonstrate the usage of the mentioned communication mixes are KFC and McDonalds. Both KFC as well as McDonalds hugely invest in their communication strategy. The report will begin by providing a brief introduction about the chosen companies as it will help to relate the subject more efficiently. The report will also highlight the 3 major marketing communication mixes used by them in the market place. Apart from that the report will also emphasize the importance and scope of the mentioned communication mix. Analysis In the context of the project the following three major elements used as the promotional elements are advertisements, sales promotion and public relation. The effectiveness and efficiency of marketing communication strategies of KFC and McDonalds are:- Sales Promotion: - Sales promotion is amongst the seven elements of the promotional mix. Examples of sales promotion include contest, discount coupons, product samples and various other freebies (Gartner and Bellamy, 2009, p.350). Now in the context of the project KFC makes use of sales promotion to a large extent. The company uses the following tools in order to further improve the sales. It includes coupons, premiums and entertainment. Every outlets of KFC offers different type of incentives such as coupons, free add on, and free meal to the customers for the purpose of selling. While on the other hand McDonalds also uses sales promotion to a large extent. They focus mainly on offering various consumer schemes as well as offering them bulk discount coupons. Apart from this McDonalds also makes use of sweepstakes to attract more consumers. Therefore on a broader aspect both the companies get highly benefitted by employing sales promotion as a communication mix. McDonald's has been providing coupons and sweepstakes to its customers as a part of its marketing communication strategy. This strategy has been efficient as it has been successful in attracting large number of customer and has resulted in an increase in the company's profit. KFC provides huge exhibition in public and provides coupons to its customers in order to attract a large number of people. KFC also organises special birthday parties for children. This marketing communication stratgy has effectively helped the company to build a strong brand image among its customers. Advertisement: - Advertisement is also another form of communication element. The primary objective of an advertisement is to influence the customer to continue the product they are using or about influencing them to try a new product. It can be either in a broadcasting media or print media (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2011, p.516). Based on the premise of this project, both KFC and McDonalds use it proficiently. McDonalds has a broad range of advertising campaigns. They use the campaigns according to the country, i.e. they look to localize it. For example McDonalds uses a famous footballer Allan shearer as their brand ambassador in UK while uses Fabian Barthez in France. Now on the other hand KFC make use of anthem ‘finger lickin it’ in their advertisement campaigns. Since Advertisement has a mass reach both the companies are extremely benefitted. The promotion of KFC has been through TV channel, hoardings, Logo of KFC, sponsorships, as well as mobile van. These marketing communication strategies have been effective in attracting a large number of customers. It has been successful in building a loyal customer base after following these strategies. McDonald is using mobile ad campaigns to attract new customers and it is also helps in the people to find the location of the nearest McDonald shop. This strategy is effective and efficient as it has been able to attract the attention of a large number of people with its innovative method of advertising. Public Relations: - Public Relation is the practice by which an organization maintains the flow of information among the consumers and the company. It is also know as a strategic communication process (PRSA, n.d.). McDonalds depends immensely upon the personal interaction with the customers. The company makes available at least 2 Public relation officer to resolve the queries of the customers. They also employ many receptionists in the outlets in order to take care of the children. While on the other hand KFC also uses public relation to a large extent. The company has appointed many public relationship managers to look after the customer satisfaction and to resolve their queries. The company also invests highly on the social aspects. Thus public relation also acts as a major force of communication. McDonald has taken the initiative of changing the longstanding career image and has announced "National Hiring Day" on 19th of April. This has helped the company to build a strong brand image. This marketing communication strategy has been effective as well as efficient as it has helped the company to build a strong bond with the public. KFC has been doing extensive marketing in order to build a strong relation with the public. They have been coupons, schemes and deals to attract the potential customers. This marketing communication strategy has proved useful for the company and has helped in building a strong brand image. This strategy has been effective as it has helped the company to increase its customer base. The strategy has been efficient as it has helped the company to earn higher levels of profit. Conclusion The project was about the impact of the communication mix on a company. In this respect KFC and McDonalds were considered for conducting the study. The study revealed that both the companies mainly used sales promotion, public relation and advertisements as the major elements of communication mix. Both KFC and McDonalds benefit enormously by employing the aforementioned elements. This sales promotion, public relation and advertising strategies of KFC and McDonald have proved to be both effective and efficient. These strategies have helped the companies in building a strong brand image and a loyal customer base. The effectiveness and efficiency of a marketing communication strategy can be determined by whether the company will be successful in improving its relations with the people. The marketing communication strategy of McDonald and KFC has been effective in expanding the customer base of the company. References Gartner, W. B., and Bellamy, M. G., 2009. Enterprise! (Book Only). Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., and McDaniel, C., 2011. Essentials of Marketing. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. PRSA, No Date. What is Public Relations. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 20 June 2012]. Bibliography KFC, No Date. About us. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 20 June 2012]. McDonalds, No Date. Our Story. [Online] Available at: < http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story.html> [Accessed 20 June 2012]. Read More