Advertising and public relations - Essay Example

?Advertising and Public Relations (New Product Launch) Table of Contents Introduction 3 Situational Analysis 4 Objectives of the PR Campaign 5 Developing Public Relations 6 Brand Recognition 7 Publics for PR Campaign 8 Recommended PR Strategy 9 SMART Objective 10 Optional Tools for PR Campaign 11 Methods of Evaluating PR Campaigning Plan 13 Conclusion 15 References 16 Appendix 19 A. Brand Identity Model 19 Introduction The present increasing complexities as well as unabated conditions of the global business environment often tend to involve different constraints concerning the business performances of the organisations and the environments where they exist. In relation to the present global business environment, it can frequently be observed that marketing activities along with Public Relations (PR) are concurrently deemed as a major focused area. In relation to the various observations from different scholars, it can be said that PR is one of the major, effective as well as versatile tools of marketing communication which enables to enhance the efficiency of each marketing activity. It can be executed both in the internal as well as in the external environment of the organisation. According to the present day context, advertising can be regarded as one of the major marketing activities, which frequently involves various functions of PR. It is increasingly observed that the organisations in the present business environment have become quite prone to face different PR related issues in terms of executing campaigns for their products within the global markets (Zerfass & Duhring, 2012). Emphasising upon the major influence or impact of PR in the advertising and other product campaign activities, the main objective of this report is to discuss an issue which was raised by Greenpeace with the aid of a PR campaign against Nestle. The product which had been focused upon in the PR campaign was Kit Kat, a leading product offering of Nestle. The assault on the established brand of Kit Kat occurred in the year 2010 (Greenpeace, n.d.). Consequently, based on the assessment of the situation faced by Nestle (especially Kit Kat brand) due to the PR campaign, the discussion of this report will be focused on developing an effective PR strategy which can enable Kit Kat to efficiently address different PR concerning issues. Moreover, the discussion in this report will further focus on developing methods of evaluating the PR plan for Kit Kat in the respective area or market. Situational Analysis In relation to the PR issue that was faced by Kit Kat, a globally well-known product of Nestle, it has been observed that Greenpeace, an organisation which acted as a pressure group, depicted the rather dismal state of affairs which was surrounding behind the gleam and shine of a widely preferred product such as Kit Kat (Shreeves, 2010). Through the dynamic PR campaign, Greenpeace wanted to depict that Kit Kat, a renowned product of Nestle family includes a higher usage of palm oil which is generally derived from Indonesian rain forests, resulting in significant deforestation. The extensive use of palm oil by the company has been significantly threatening the livelihood of the local people in places such as Indonesia as well as it is also drastically endangering inhabitants such as orang-utan towards destruction (Guardian News and Media Limited, 2013). In this regard, the extensive use of palm oil or continuous deforestation initiatives of Nestle has been criticised by Greenpeace. Therefore, in order to take immediate measures towards the deforestation initiatives, Nestle has developed its business plan which ensures to take away the suppliers or companies from its supply chain that are likely to practice deforestation (Greenpeace, n.d.). Greenpeace can be considered as one of the major non-profit organisations, which tends to protect natural environment from a range of organisational activities. Greenpeace is considerably focusing on alleviating numerous issues with regard to different environmental concerns that include global warming, commercial whaling as well as deforesting and overfishing activities that are conducted in various regions of the world (Greenpeace, 2012). According to the present increasing competition relating to organisational sustainability, an effective PR plan is highly essential factor for the modern organisations such as Nestle to reduce various uninvited issues. In relation to the above illuminated environmental issue of Nestle, an effective PR plan has been developed for the company to ensure that it is able to build a collaborative as well as amicable relation with global populaces concerning its various business activities. Moreover, the PR plan can be essential to facilitate the company to exemplify its activities to the global consumers in a more precise manner so that brand value of Kit Kat or any other offerings of the company can be preserved. Objectives of the PR Campaign Advertising is one of the major aspects of marketing activities which precisely enables to communicate the products offered by an organisation to its potential customers. Therefore, the objective concerning the marketing campaign especially when launching new product is one of the primary courses of practice for any organisation to attain its long-term sustainability in the highly competitive market. In this similar context, the primary objective of this PR plan is to develop an effective advertising plan which can ensure to protect Nestle from different PR issues such as a scathing attack or assault by Greenpeace. Moreover, the objective of the PR campaign will be also to focus on brand recognition initiatives based on brand identity model related concepts for the organisation to maintain its continuous growth in the global market (Pentagononline, n.d.). Developing Public Relations With regard to the various observations, it can be firmly stated that both PR and marketing activities involve similar functions whereas each of the attributes possesses separate elements. They perform separate and overlapping activities that tend to develop the organisational communication processes in terms of offering a range of information concerning its products or services to the targeted publics. Moreover, the attributes (i.e. advertising and PR) constitute overlapping functions, however, each attribute shares certain grounds especially in the process of customer relations and publicity of products and services. Both PR and marketing involve dominant functions. In relation to marketing activities, it manages effective relationship with all the publics including the customers in a similar way (Dayal & et. al., 1996). Contextually, PR enables to build the relationship only with the key publics within the organisation and sets effective functions to construct a rapport with the potential customers. In addition, both PR and marketing possess similar activities which enable the organisation to effectively deal with external affairs of the establishment. Therefore, it can be stated that PR and marketing are the major attributes belonging to an organisation to create programs for various business activities which are intended to build customer and community relationship, make publicity of new products/services as well as reduce the possible consequences from various external factors (Duhe, 2007). In this regard, it can be stated that the consideration of PR in the marketing and advertising activities can efficiently provide extensive support to Nestle while developing advertising strategies of its any products into the market. Brand Recognition Brand recognition can also be regarded as an important consideration for an organisation while developing its advertising plan concerning any product or service. In the context of present competitive business environment, brand recognition is one of the vital assets for any organisation which can facilitate to enhance the value and reputation of the organisation in the community or marketplace. An effective practice of PR can play an enduring role for Nestle through generating positive perception for its new product. . The major tools of PR such as the news releases, press or media along with the involvement of the online social media can significantly promote the organisation to strengthen its brand position beyond the markets where its is already existing (Naveed, 2012). The facet of brand recognition can related with brand identity model. According to the model, brand identify can illustrate a multidimensional facet related to a brand. Moreover, it can significantly depict the customer insight of a particular brand. Thus, the identification of new product related customer insight would be major consideration during the PR campaign (Pentagononline, n.d.). With respect to considering brand recognition as the major campaigning tools for PR, it can be effective for Nestle to sustain its dominant position in its respective industry. Moreover, promoting brand awareness within the PR strategy can also facilitate the company to build a long-term sustainability in the global market. Publics for PR Campaign PR campaign incorporates a varied group of publics including customers, investors, suppliers, politicians, competitors, plant communities along with employees and other groups of stakeholders. With due consideration to this factor, the key group of publics for the PR campaign will be the major stakeholder groups such as customers, investors, suppliers and communities where the organisation operates its business functions. In order to build an effective PR campaign, the different stakeholder groups will be communicated through the involvement of diverse media tools. In relation to the rapid development of technology, targeting a large group of publics for the PR campaign has become more convenient for the modern organisations. According to the present trend of the publics’ preferences, it can be observed that the involvement of social media is one of the major communicating tools for the modern organisations. Nowadays, the global organisations tend to prepare campaigns for their various PR initiatives through an extensive use of social media. Therefore, the publics of this PR plan will be highly focused on campaigning relating to PR initiatives through online social media services which can also facilitate Nestle to build a strong relationship with a large number of global stakeholders. Moreover, the involvement of social media in PR campaign will also provide substantial support to the company to build a relationship of its major brands such as Kit Kat along with the new product intended to be launched with a large group of publics around the world (Naveed, 2012). In this context, an effective relationship between the brand and its potential customers will also facilitate Nestle to achieve brand loyalty and identity for a long-term period. Recommended PR Strategy An effective PR strategy can be considered as one of the vital decisions of an organisation. It helps the organisation to harmonise the overall organisational plan and to provide substantial support to achieve the desired business goals. Moreover, the PR strategy is also an important element in terms of managing different types of communication processes that the organisation such as Nestle needs to share with its major stakeholder groups (University of Pendidikan Indonesia, n.d.). Therefore, in order to strengthen the proposed PR strategy of Nestle concerning developing its relationship with the customers, the strategy should also need to be justified in accordance with its relevance and practices in the global market. In this regard, the following discussion of this report will depict the relevance and specificity of the proposed PR strategy. SMART Objective Specific: In the context of this PR plan, the major objectives are developing PR as well as brand recognition initiatives. Both the objectives are pivotal factors for Nestle to sustain its leading position in the global food processing industry. The objective of developing PR initiatives is a major concern which will facilitate the organisation to build a strong relationship with its various groups of publics across the world. Contextually, the objective of strengthening the brand awareness or identity can also be stated as a major decision for the organisation in terms of building long-term profitability within the fiercely competitive market. Measurable: The objective of developing PR will be practiced through targeting different groups of individuals and groups including internal as well as external stakeholders of Nestle. The audiences of the PR initiatives will be targeted through involving different media tools such as news release, press or media as well as through the incorporation of social media. In the context of developing brand awareness programme, making the usage of traditional advertising techniques as well as creating a presence in the social media can also facilitate Nestle to strengthen its brand image within the global market. The main parameter to measure the success will be more customer preference towards buying the product. Attainable: According to the present day context, the practice of PR campaign is highly influenced by the integration of social media. With this regard, the objective of developing PR strategy as well as improving brand recognition can be accomplished by adequately utilising the social media tool such as Facebook and Twitter. Realistic: The adequate practice of developing PR activities and improving brand awareness can facilitate the organisation to achieve a competitive position within the global market. Moreover, the usage of social media in the PR campaign can also enable the organisation to increase its brand position which is the major factor of attaining long-term sustainability in the present business environment. Time: In relation to the present technological advancement, the objective of PR activities through social media can be attained in a feasible period. The extensive use of social media by the global users further ensures to build a strong relation between the organisation and the publics in a very short period of time. Optional Tools for PR Campaign In relation to enhancing the efficiency of PR campaign, it can also be considered that various optional tools can also facilitate Nestle to strengthen its sustainable position in the global market. A few of the effective optional tools for PR campaign comprise: Announcements Briefing organisational activities through conducting press releases can also be regarded as an effective PR campaign tool which can facilitate the organisation to communicate its business activities such as new product launch to a large number of potential stakeholder groups. Providing the information of launching a new product in the market, making major changes in the product ingredients and developing delivery options through press releases can also enable the organisation to strengthen its PR campaign (Grow Our Region, 2012). Webcasts Webcasts is increasingly becoming a major advertising tool which facilitates the organisation to communicate its PR initiatives through different electronic media around the world. The process is a more convenient and interactive advertising tool which further enables the organisation to attain PR objectives through conveying information in a cost effective way and it also ensures to reduce the advertising budget of the organisation (Grow Our Region, 2012). Methods of Evaluating PR Campaigning Plan Evaluating PR campaigning plan is also an important aspect of the overall PR planning programme. In relation to PR campaign, the evaluation methods will be conducted to identify the desired objectives through measuring the effectiveness of the overall strategies and practices of PR in the business process. In this regard, the evaluation technique of this PR campaign plan will be focused on measuring the objectives of the plan as well as the potential impact of the proposed plan in the organisational performance (Kazokiene & Stravinskiene, 2011). In order to enhance the quality and relevance of the PR campaign plan, the measurement or evaluation of the objectives will be focused on legitimating the project planning phase, implemented actions with the expected consequences. In this similar context, it can be said that the measurement of the objectives of the plan will further focus on justifying the engagement of the potential working groups, involvement of the manager-subordinates along with the determination of the accomplishment of the overall plan (Yin & Krishnan, 2012). Moreover, the identification of potential impact which can occur due to the PR campaign plan will also be considered in the evaluation process. The method of identifying potential impact of the campaign will be measured by a quantitative method to obtain appropriate outcome of the overall process. Moreover, an adequate practice of quantitative method will further facilitate to identify the actual effect of the PR campaign (Yin & Krishnan, 2012). Conclusion Taking greater control of the organisation’s internal and external environment can be considered as one of the primary functions for the modern day management in order to attain a long-term sustainability in the business market. The facet of organisational control of the business processes, activities as well as resources are closely harmonised and directed towards the accomplishment of the organisational objectives and goals with the virtues of better control. According to the present day context, it can frequently be observed that the organisations are highly focused on developing their business practices concerning environmental consciousness. In this regard, the integration of PR activities in the business process can ensure to improve the organisational performances. In relation to the aforementioned discussion, it has been witnessed that the Nestle was criticised due to its extensive use of palm oil which had endangered the environmental condition along with certain inhabitants. However, the organisation has taken effective measures by removing its various suppliers that intended to practice deforestation while supplying raw materials to the organisation. In this regard, the aforesaid PR campaign plan for Nestle to defend against possible after affects due to the said environmental issue can facilitate it to stabilise its brand image in the competitive business world. The effective implementation of the above PR campaign plan can also facilitate the organisation to effectively launch a new product and to obtain potential advantages from different stakeholder groups which can further enable the company to sustain its dominant position. References Dayal, R. & et. al., 1996. Advertising and Promotion Management. Mittal Publication. Duhe, S. C., 2007. New Media and Public Relations. Peter Lang. [Online] Available at: http://www.businesstourismpartnership.com/pubs/Opportunities%20for%20Growth%20in%20the%20UK%20Events%20Industry.pdf [Accessed March 22, 2013]. Guardian News and Media Limited, 2013. Using PR As An Agent For Change In Corporate Sustainability. Guardian Sustainable Business. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/pr-change-corporate-sustainability-greenwash-trust [Accessed March 22, 2013]. Greenpeace, 2012. Annual Report 2011. Protecting Our Forests. [Online] Available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/greenpeace/2012/AnnualReport2011.pdf [Accessed March 22, 2013]. Greenpeace, No Date. Give the Orang-Utan a Break. Files. [Online] Available at: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/po/index.html [Accessed March 22, 2013]. Grow Our Region, 2012. Elements of a PR Program. Communication Plan. [Online] Available at: http://www.growourregion.ca/images/file/Communications_Plan/elementsofaPRplan.pdf [Accessed March 22, 2013]. Kazokiene, L. & Stravinskiene, J., 2011. Criteria for the Evaluation of Public Relations Effectiveness. Inzinerine Ekonomika-Engineering Economics, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 91-105. Naveed, N. H., 2012. Role of Social Media on Public Relation, Brand Involvement and Brand Commitment. International Disciplinary of Contemporary Research in Business, Vol. 3, No. 9, pp. 904-913. Pentagononline, No Date. Brand Identity Model. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.pentagononline.com/pBIM.htm [Accessed March 22, 2013]. Shreeves, R., 2010. Nestle and Greenpeace Duke it out over the Palm Oil in Kit Kat Candy Bars. Greenpeace and Nestle in a Kat Fight. [Online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/18/kitkat-greenpeace-palm-oil-technology-ecotech-nestle.html [Accessed March 22, 2013]. University of Pendidikan Indonesia, No Date. PR Strategy. Why do you need a PR strategy? [Online] Available at: http://file.upi.edu/Direktori/FPIPS/PRODI._MANAJ._PEMASARAN_WISATA/HP.DYAH/PR/7._PR_Srategy.pdf [Accessed March 22, 2013]. Yin, P. L. P. & Krishnan, K., 2012. Evaluation Research on Public Relations Activities among Public Relations Practitioners in Malaysian Corporations: An Exploratory Study. The Journal of South East Asia Research Centre for Communication and Humanities, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 41-61. Zerfass, A. & Duhring, L., 2012. Between Convergence and Power Struggles: How Public Relations and Marketing Communications Professionals Interact in Corporate Brand Management. Public Relations Journal, Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 0-31. Appendix A. Brand Identity Model Source: (Pentagononline, n.d.) Read More