About the Company - Sunny Cottage Holidays - Case Study Example

Assignment brief for Sunny Cottage Holidays About the company: A situation analysis Sunny Cottage Holidays (SCH) is an agent for the holiday cottage market in UK. The company forms a bridge between cottage owners who are seeking to rent out their cottages to vacationers and customers who are seeking exclusive vacations. With a detailed listing of luxury cottages across UK, till now the agency has only employed traditional means to attract customers. Customers often view the bright brochures of SCH to decide on the kind of vacation they are seeking. Most of SCH customers come through word of mouth. Cottage owners on the other hand advertise with SCH based on the brand image of the agent, trust and comfort levels they enjoy with the company. The agency requires that marketing and communication strategies be employed keeping the following criteria in view. Short term communication objectives The target segment of SCH is in various stages of hierarchical responses. Communication strategy must be employed to first create and increase awareness about cottage holidays rather than general holidays and brand awareness on the SCH package. This must be done through attractive advertising strategy, good media planning and promotional exercises. Differentiation between SCH and its competitors must be clearly specified. Next the agency must focus on providing more information on SCH to the customer. The 'comprehension' phase should allow development of website, direct mailers etc that provides information about the holiday packages. Endorsements by experts or feedback photos and comments from satisfied SCH customers are other tools that the agency can explore to convince customers. Conviction must be the third important stage of the exercise. Desire to purchase must be generated through a strong promotional mix that includes good publicity and irresistible offers for the target segment. Finally the campaign must motivate customers into action which can be measured by number of phone calls/ emails querying about the packages. Feedback forms and lucky coupons are other options. The market and competition The market for independent family holidays in cottages is fast growing, as many prefer 'their space' rather than being part of a group. A growing 58% people prefer the getaway to the countryside for relaxing weekends and planned vacations. The competition can be classified as, Local specialists: Most cottage agents are local specialists who focus on tourists coming to specific parts of UK. For example, the Wales cottage holidays agency in Wales has a comprehensive listing of holiday cottages in all parts of Wales. Its website and brochure are its main advertising arsenal. Other such area specific cottage agents include Cumbria cottages (the Lake district), Classic Cottages (for Devon and Cornwall), Mann's Holidays (North West Wales), Nefyn Holidays (Lleyn Peninsula and Snowdonia National Park), Marsdens Cottage Holidays (North Devon) and Holiday Homes & Cottages (South West). Their main medium is a coloured brochure which is often mailed to customers. General specialists: A small segment of general specialists offer holidays across UK. For example, Recommended cottage holidays agency offers a range of cottages across UK. It has a colored brochure that lists the various cottages and a website that allows customers to check availability and make reservations. Its main target market is large families and focuses on family/corporate reunions. It promotes itself as an economical holiday provider that offers a good range. Other UK cottage holiday providers include names of Hoseasons Holidays (well established and offers a great range) and Sykes cottages. The target market: customers Instead of opting for mass marketing, the company must undertake target marketing and must form one or more market segments relevant to buying behaviour. The sub groups or niche markets within its identified target segments can be identified as under. Geographic and Demographic segmentation: Customers are usually couples aged 25 onwards and sometimes families. Both genders take equal interest in different aspects of the package, with women checking the interiors and landscape and men checking the outdoor activities available. Customers are usually from the upper middle and upper classes with medium to high levels of disposable incomes. They are well educated and are usually working professionals seeking a getaway holiday. They are usually British, while a mix of other nationalities can also be seen. Psychographic segmentation: Customers are usually people with refined tastes seeking an exclusive vacation. They take well planned and thought out decisions. They are active, liberal, contemporary and stylish. They are not extremely cost conscious and would pay more for a high quality good deal. Behavioural: While holidays can be booked through the year, approximately 94% of bookings are made during the months of June to September. Duration for these holidays is four or more nights while some opt for weekend holidays too. Most customers come to SCH because of their high involvement and trust enjoyed with the company. Contextual analysis Given the above understanding about customers, the market and the company, the following points can be inferred There are two distinct market segments or niche markets with a distinct target audience. Advanced multivariate segmentation showcases that one is the young couple segment on a honeymoon vacation. The other segment is the family of more people looking for a family vacation. Both segments have a good number of people who can be effectively convinced into taking a vacation with SCH. The market is segmented with many players having a small part of the market share. There is no large dominant player in the market. Local specialists focus on local markets, while general holiday providers across UK do not have any differentiating factor. Customers usually take holidays based on trust. The company's advertising strategy must focus on bringing in new customers. However it must not be so overwhelming that the old customers become wary of the organization. Retention must also be an important part of the exercise. Marketing/Communication objectives and campaign requirements To ensure that the communication objectives are measurable, achievable, realistic, time bound, understandable and clear, the following points must be considered carefully. Brand benefit: The USP of Sunny Cottages is that it is a 'specialist on understanding the kind of holidays one needs. So whether a young couple chooses to honeymoon or a family picks an activity packed weekend, or whether choice is based on cost, region etc, SCH has something for everyone. Brand positioning: SCH is the 'one-stop' solution for a range of luxurious holidays at wonderful locations across UK. Communications objective: To achieve 70% awareness among target audience and 35% queries on packages after the first two months of the campaign. Communications budget: A bottom-up approach is to be adapted for the communication budget. The agency must make a detailed presentation of the communication strategy, costing and advertising benefits for the company. However, the final decision of approval lies with the management, who would to some extent base their decision on the amounts spent last year. Budget allocation Media Duration Approximate budget Website design and hosting One year 500 Advertising in the Times, the Guardian Twice a week for three months 8000 POS material at cross promotion outlets Three months 4000 Logo design, direct mailers, paper inserts (1000) Six months 1000 Amounts spent over the last year on brochures (designing, mailing, updating) 5000 Sales promotion: While advertising should provide information, persuasion to buy can come from sales promotion methods through attractive holiday packages or surprise deals. Cross promotions with lifestyle stores or television shows (that can offer the 'prize' of a holiday with SCH can be promoted). Media planning: As the traditional option of brochures has already been explored, new media that are far reaching, have good credibility, frequency and are economical must be considered. Importance must be given to the 5Ws of communication: what day of the week, which media, where geographically should the advertisement focus, when (day or night) and who must the ad target. For example, as the holidays are mainly taken in June, advertising must begin in May and must be concentrated for the months of May, June and July. The online environment of websites, online booking, banners, web links to travel related sites, promotional e-mailers etc are important media as they cost effective, far reaching and a greater range of audience across the world can access the information. However offline advertising cannot be overlooked. Direct mailers on upcoming schemes, ads in newspapers or on television, pamphlets at prominent stores and paper inserts are a few options that can be considered. Cross promotions can be considered at lifestyle stores, restaurants and salons while advertising can be considered in tourist brochures, airline brochures, leading magazines and newspaper dailies. The methods of evaluation Advertising efforts should be measurable in order to evaluate effectiveness. Assessment should be done both before and after the communication exercise. Results must be objective rather than subjective and must be measured on a realistic time scale. For example, in the online scenario, ticker counters that can calculate the number of hits could be employed. Success rate of offline advertising can be measured through redemption coupons, free schemes or the number of people who enquire for holidays etc. Timing for evaluation can be considered through the holiday season, as this will give an idea of how many people showed interest and how many actually booked holidays. References used: http://www.wales-holidays.co.uk/ http://www.sykescottages.co.uk/index.phppg=7 www.recommended-cottages.co.uk Read More