Marketing Paper (About 300 words)

Companies may communicate with their present and potential customers through a variety of specific message and a variety of media including TV ads, radio ads, newspaper ads, magazine ads, billboards, Youtube videos, websites, sponsored blogs, Facebook pages, direct mail, and so on.

The idea of integrated marketing communications is that all of these communications present a consistent view of the brand if directed to the same audience. 

Please use your favorite brand of any product you buy/consume as an example, and evaluate the brand in this regard. Find at least 4 different communications used by this brand, with at least 3 different forms (Billboard, TV or Radio Commercial, Print ad, Email, etc.) of communication. Make sure communications come directly from the brand/company - as opposed to user-generated communications.

Show me copies of these communications (as pdf’s or provide URL’s), and evaluate the extent to which together they present a consistent view of the brand to a consistent audience - does it seem they are all targeted to the same type of consumer?

What does this indicate about their IMC efforts?

HINT: Do not look  for and then try to claim your company's 'mission statement' is the central theme of their IMC efforts. There is a tendency for students to want to argue this but they are not able to do so convincingly (probably because companies do not attempt to or cannot successfully translate their mission statement into their IMC effort's central theme/message).

Evaluate your company's IMC efforts based on your communication examples only. In other words, tell me what your communication examples seem to say about the company and its products - not what the company 'says' about itself...

Submission should be no less than 250 words long and no more than 350 words long, excluding your name, date, any other class information, and any links you are asked to provide. 

Failure to meet minimum length requirement will be reflected in your grade.

EXAMPLE OF WHAT I WANT:

Dove is a global brand that operates in over 80 countries. They pride themselves on promoting real beauty and encouraging confidence in women and girls. Dove achieves this in a number of ways.

1. Internet Marketing: Social Media

If you take a look at their social media presence, you’ll notice that they have quite a following on their Facebook and Twitter pages. With over 170,000 followers on Twitter and over 23 million likes on Facebook, Dove constantly interacts with their fans. Dove’s use of hashtags have proven to be an effective way to produce discussion about their products and brand. Hashtags like #BeautyIs, #LoveYourCurls and #SpeakBeautiful have recently been used to encourage women to feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. Dove often comments on users posts with positive and reaffirming messages. This type of discussion contributes to their brand image, and is aligned with their mission to “…help the next generation of women develop a positive relationship with the way they look - helping them raise their self-esteem and realize their full potential.”

1. Advertising

Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is consistent with their brand, and works to help change the way women may feel about their “flaws.” Dove uses women of all race, ethnicity, age, and physique in their advertisements. For example, they feature women with freckles, tattoos, curves, and wrinkles. Using women that people can relate to, and showcasing the features that have a stigma of being unattractive allows Dove to reach their target audience. They also communicate their message of making women feel comfortable with how they look.

1. Broadcast Media: Video

Dove’s YouTube channel has a library full of videos that are consistent with their message and target audience. They use the same hashtags to communicate their message, and feature “real” women in their videos. In one video, women have to decide whether to walk through a door that says “Average” or “Beautiful.” They filmed in various countries, and asked women how the felt as they walked through either the average or beautiful door. Dove’s use of broadcast media through their YouTube page maintains their efforts to challenge women to embrace their natural beauty.

1. Websites

Dove takes extra steps to reach women and to influence positive self-esteem. They created a website around their Real Beauty Campaign that features sketches of women. Women were asked to describe themselves to a trained sketch artist, and then strangers were asked to describe the same person. In every case, when women described themselves to the artist the picture came out less attractive than that of the strangers’. Dove put the sketches and videos on their site, and also left room for people to discuss. They once again show brand consistency, and also successfully communicate their message to their target audience.

Facebook example: https://www.facebook.com/dove

Twitter example: https://twitter.com/dove

Print ad example: http://payload163.cargocollective.com/1/7/247254/5568685/DoveOOH1_900.jpg

You Tube example: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0BRaXBPJ6ia9mPb64h2iuBVCoDhnkLWz