Discussion 8 : Marketing Management

Week 8 Discussion

Read the Traditional Communications Channels  and answer the following questions:

- What's best mode of transportation, a bike, a horse, or a car? Well the answer depends on your needs. A bike is great for exercise and running small errands around town, horses are great for wandering the countryside on a sunny afternoon, while cars are certainly your best bet for a cross country vacation. Traditional media works much in the same way. There's no single best way. Rather, there are several potential best ways depending on your budget, marketing goals, and target audience.

Here are 10 tips to help guide your traditional media decisions. Number one, how do your customers like to be reached? Not sure? Just try asking them. You'll be surprised at how many are happy to tell you. As former Ford CMO Jim Farley once said, customers are spending as much time with the mobile smartphone or online as they are watching TV now.So our advertising dollars have to flow to where the people are. Number two.

Match your message to the media. A one size fits all messaging approach is risky in any era,but especially so since the rise of social media. Whether you're designing ads for TV, radio, or print, make sure you're playing to the inherent strengths of the format. For example, the power of TV is sight, sound, and motion. Radio brings the theater of your mind into play.Number three. Be creative. Big ad buy during the Super Bowl, won't amount to much if your commercial fizzles on arrival.

To help ensure you have a winner on your hands, revisit your brand value proposition. Focus on what makes your brand unique, and above all, be authentic. Number four, test, test, and test. In an era of crowdsourcing, testing your marketing message isn't a matter of how, but a matter of how much. Mix things up as much as you can, and feel free to use social media channels to test your ideas, concepts, logos, visuals, layouts, and messages.

Number five. Attention spans are fleeting. The average person is exposed to hundreds of marketing messages every day. We decide quickly to engage those messages, or to ignore them. Your goal, is to be engaging, but don't be intrusive. Number six. Don't be taxing. Paid media, is becoming a tax that many consumers don't want to pay. Remember, it's better to leave audiences wanting more, than to overstay your welcome.

Number seven. Paid media complements owned media. While your paid media should be strong enough to stand on its own, it should also invite customers to learn more at owned media sources such as your website, blogs, or social channels. Number eight. Make an emotional connection. Whatever the media choice, your audience needs to connect with your message, to strike the right emotional note, tell a story, and focus on what makes your brand unique Number nine.

Know your options. We live in what some call, the tradigital world. Remember that your traditional ads don't exist in a vacuum, and work to balance your message across channels.And number ten. Know your audience. The marketer's goal in an IMC world hasn't changed.You still need to know who you're selling to. This is why it's so important to have the strong brand value proposition, and develop actionable target personas. Finally, remember that the role of traditional marketing will continue to evolve as new technologies, and new touch points emerge.

To stay ahead of your competition, use qualitative and quantitative analysis to test the effectiveness of your messaging, as well as the media consumption habits of your audience.Through effecting brand choreography, you'll strike a more effective balance between traditional and new media channels.

Question One

Tell us about your company or product/service. What is your positioning statement? How do you distinguish your product or company from your competitors? How will you communicate the message of your positioning statement to your targeted consumer? Describe your ad and promotion.

Question Two

Develop a brief integrated marketing communications plan using traditional communications channels for your hypothetical business.

Question Three

How would you vary your ad for different media platforms? How would you vary the schedule to air it for maximum coverage with minimal expense?

Respond to Peer(s)

Read and respond to at least two of your classmates' posts.

Respond to Peer 1 : Shannon Maxwell

My product/service would be a food delivery service, something comparable to GrubHub, DoorDash, Postmates and UberEats.  Last night as I was scrolling through food ideas, I checked all of these apps to see which place I could have food delivered from for the cheapest price.  UberEats ended up being the cheapest, but for some reason would not allow my phone number to be entered into the system, so I had to pay almost $10 for food delivery (half the cost of my food).  The purpose of these apps are for making sure that we offer convenience and luxury of avoiding traffic, bad parking, etc. to customers.  Of all of the aforementioned apps, the only one I know of that provides a monthly "membership" is Postmates and it's $20/month.  My business/app would be FoodQwik and would be offered for $15/month or $160 for the whole year which is obviously cheaper monthly that Postmates and cheaper if bought annually as well.  I would make sure that I advertised in all college areas, on social media platforms and in areas where a majority of my consumers would see (concert and sports arenas, malls) to make sure that I was able to reach the largest amount of customers possible.  I would also purchase commercial slots during big events (Super Bowl, etc) to make sure that I am really reaching the maximum number of folks possible.

Respond to Peer 2 : Sherry Carroll

Question One

·        Tell us about your company or product/service. What is your positioning statement? How do you distinguish your product or company from your competitors? How will you communicate the message of your positioning statement to your targeted consumer? Describe your ad and promotion.

Beautiful U2 is an American company that specializes in personal care products including body, skin and hair care. Its positioning statement reads: To all people who believe they have the power to be beautiful; we are the brand of inclusivity. A quality brand that provides affordable beauty products that make you feel beautiful too. That is because unlike conventional brands our products are safe and effective and recommended by professionals. Its Positioning statement will be included in all marketing material as to consistently communicate its message. Ads will be visible logo displays at company brick and mortar location. Online marketing will include ads and promotions visible to Facebook and Twitter audiences.

 Question Two

·        Develop a brief integrated marketing communications plan using traditional communications channels for your hypothetical business.

Beautiful U2 will remain actively engaged with its market. It will solicit feedback from online consumers and its brick and mortar customers. The data will be reviewed for opportunities to increase customer loyalty, address issues, gain new customers and assess “the voice of the consumer” comments for business development and growth.

 Question Three

·        How would you vary your ad for different media platforms? How would you vary the schedule to air it for maximum coverage with minimal expense?

The company brick and mortar location will also be supported with radio ads. Radio ads are more affordable than television and the audience is a captive audience; mostly drivers. As noted in the answer for Question Two; social media will be utilized for online audience ads and promotions as to keep costs to a minimum.

                                               References

Carroll, S. (2019). Marketing Plan – Part Two. Unpublished manuscript, Strayer University