Introduction
Facebook wishes to introduce a new type of service in the market that centers on the company’s data collecting abilities and its large-scale database of active users. The new service predicts the consumers’ food demands in real time and responds to them by letting consumers order food directly from the Facebook website. The new service to edge out competitors and branding is important. Facebook needs a communication plan to highlight details of how Facebook will advertise the new product to consumers and types of media to use. History shows us doing an excellent service is just one part of ensuring success, proper marketing ensures users are aware of the value the product adds to their lives and that they can get the service whenever they demand it (Aaker & Biel, 2013).
Situational analysis
The vision behind a new product Facebook plans to roll out is to use its analytical capabilities and database to introduce a service that predicts the demand of consumers and reacts to them. The mission of the new product is to serve the needs of all users using the data provided to Facebook. Facebook analyses this data and uses it to predict what a consumer may require in the future. The strategic objectives behind the new product are too perfect Facebook’s analytics system to perfectly predict consumer demand. Another strategic goal is to diversity Facebook’s income stream in a market nearing capacity. The values of the new services are quality, convenience, and price.
![]()
Graph 1: Facebook is overly dependent on advertising and needs to diversify its revenue stream
Facebook already has an iconic brand image all over the world compared to other food delivery companies; this gives Facebook an advantage, as customers are more likely to order from a recognized company.
Despite the strengths, a weakness Facebook has is that it lacks experience in the food delivery business; Facebook has to invest large sums of money to create a delivery system that can meet customer demand efficiently.
Facebook’s competitors have strengths and weaknesses; one strength of Facebook’s competitors is they have vastly more experience in the food delivery. Companies such as Dominoes’ Pizza have perfected the delivery system which delivers Pizza within minutes of ordering; it took plenty of trial and error to reach this level of efficiency (Reisinger & Grohs, 2014). Facebook will work harder than its competitors do to achieve the same degree of efficiency. One weakness of the competitors is they do not have Facebook’s unique insight into the market. Facebook can see shifting consumer demand in real time and capitalize on it.
Product promotion and price strategies
The success of the new product depends on how Facebook can brand and market to the consumer. Facebook has to build a brand identity. Ideally, Facebook would like consumers to associate the new service with convenience and quality; this takes careful advertising and delivery of service. In creating its brand image, Facebook should set clear goals for the branding campaign; the company should then use these goals as guideposts when advertising the new product (Aaker & Biel, 2013). A goal of the branding campaign is to make consumer’s associate the new product with convenience; the company will advertise the service as one that makes it convenient to order food from within the Facebook application. Advertising tells the consumer the features of the new product, for the branding campaign to stick; the company has to deliver on its promises.
A few objectives are:
· Users aware of new product
· Inform consumers how the product adds value to their lives.
· Meet company goals and outlines for its brand
· by the end of the advertising campaign, customers should associate the new service with quality and convenience
· Proper marketing etiquette
According to University of Phoenix Chapter 21 Publisher Presentation (2017),
· Copy should be only 50% of screen
· Brands should limit ads to phrase pair
· Put brand logo in the corner of ad frame
· Use only one of two bright colors
· Calls to action should be in a bright color
Facebook needs to achieve these objective by highlighting the convenience and quality this marks success. It will be necessary for the mobile marketing to be on point with bite-size software programs that can be downloaded to smartphones and to be concise. (University of Phoenix, 2017).
References
Aaker, & Biel. (2013). Brand Equity & Advertising: Advertising’s role in building strong brands. Psychology Press.
Anselmsson, & Bondesson. (2014). Brand image and customers’ willingness to pay a price for food brands. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 23(2), 90-102.
Reisinger, & Grohs. (2014). Sponsorship effects on brand image: The role of exposure and activity involvement. Journal of Business Research, 67(5), 1018-1025
University of Phoenix. (2017). Chapter 21 Publisher Presentation. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, Mkt 571 website.
Individual Assignment: Marketing Communication and Brand Strategy
Purpose of Assignment
This assignment is designed to help students understand the interrelationships between brand strategy and the communication message to the target audience. It is a continuation of the marketing plan and students should review the Week 3 Learning Team Assignment for assistance in product brand strategies the team has developed.
Assignment Steps
Develop a minimum 700-word branding strategy and marketing communication plan in Microsoft® Word. This document should address at least 5 elements of the Situational Analysis and the Product, Place/Distribution, Promotion, and Price Strategies (modified below) sections of the marketing plan (from the Situational Analysis and the Product, Place/Distribution, Promotion, and Price Strategies lists below). The five elements you select should only come from the options provided below. You must include a measurement of customer loyalty and retention in your strategy document. You may include more than the minimum to provide clarity and coherence to your document.
Situational Analysis:
Vision , Mission, Strategic objectives, Values
Strengths/Weaknesses
Competitor's Strengths/Weaknesses
Market Segments
Product, Place/Distribution, Promotion, and Price Strategies:
Creating a Brand Image
Maintaining Brand Image
Branding Concerns
Promotion/Integrated Marketing Communication
Advertising Strategy/Objectives
Push and Pull
Media Strategy
Advertising Execution
Public Relations/Strategies
Note: Charts/graphs/tables do not count toward the word count.
The plan will be a continuation of your global or multi-regional business you chose in Week 1. This will be incorporated into your overall marketing plan for Week 6.
Cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed references.
Format your assignment consistent with APA guidelines.
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.
Grading Guide
Content Met Partially Met Not Met Comments:
Student develops a branding strategy and marketing communication plan that addresses at least 5 elements of the Situational Analysis and the Product, Place/Distribution, Promotion, and Price Strategies (modified below) sections of the marketing plan. Choose 5 elements from the lists below: Situational Analysis: Vision , Mission, Strategic objectives, Values Strengths/Weaknesses Competitor’s Strengths/Weaknesses Market Segments Product, Place/Distribution, Promotion, and Price Strategies: Creating a Brand Image Maintaining Brand Image Branding Concerns Promotion/Integrated Marketing Communication Advertising Strategy/Objectives Push and Pull Media Strategy Advertising Execution Public Relations/Strategies Points 4 3 Did identify 5 elements listed on the left side. Not clear on the theory and application for each from a domestic and international perspective. Should utilize the eight steps in developing effective communications plan. Based on the following tasks: identifying the target audience, setting the communication objectives, designing the communications, selecting the communication channels, and establishing the total marketing communications budget. Should mention that branding is associated with product or company name, term, sign, symbol, design or combination used to identify and differentiate a company’s products from competitors. Options for developing strategies described below from Page 320 Media planning includes applying these steps. Step 1: Decide on reach, frequency, and impact Step 2: Choose among media types Step 3: Select specific media vehicles Step 4: Decide on media timing Step 5: Decide on geographical media allocation
Student must include a measurement of customer loyalty and retention in your strategy document. Points 3 0 Loyalty not mentioned and not measured which can be done but tracking revenue or units sold along with repeat purchases are a few methods of measuring customer loyalty along with Retention is influenced and measured by the rate of spending by consumers. There was no clear method identified and no insight about retention of customers. See below for additional insight.
The branding strategy and marketing communication plan is a minimum of 700 words in length. Note: Charts/graphs/tables do not count toward the word count. Points 1 1 Did have 709 words which is above the 10% range. Use more images, illustrations along with tables to manage word count.
Total Available Total Earned
8 4/8
Writing Guidelines Met Partially Met Not Met Comments:
The paper—including tables and graphs, headings, title page, and reference page—is consistent with APA formatting guidelines and meets course-level requirements. Introduction and conclusion are to be included. .25 The paper was in APA format and lacking any illustrations or images to support the response to the various topics such as an image of an example brand. Introduction not based on the description in the syllabus as missing loytalty and retention tasks. There is no summary concluding key points.
Intellectual property is recognized with in-text citations and a reference page. .25 Only one citation included from the chapter readings to support the responses to the various topics. The assignment requested Cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed references which was not included.
Paragraph and sentence transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper. Sentences are complete, clear, and concise. .5 Sentences are structured well and paragraphs are focused.
Rules of grammar and usage are followed including spelling and punctuation. Both turn it in and grammar reports submitted. .5 Did include both reports. Seemed to reduce the number of grammar issues based on the feedback within report of grammar.
Total Available Total Earned
2 1.5/2
Assignment Total # 10 5.5/10
Additional comments: Some good responses to various sections overall. See additional comments, insight and feedback below.
Steps for a marketing communication plan.
Page 9
A brand is an offering from a known source. A brand name such as Apple carries many different kinds of associations in people’s minds that make up its image: creative, innovative, easy-to-use, fun, cool, iPod, iPhone, and iPad to name just a few. All companies strive to build a brand image with as many strong, favorable, and unique brand associations as possible.
Steps for a marketing communication plan.
How do you “brand” a product? Although firms provide the impetus to brand creation through marketing programs and other activities, ultimately a brand resides in the minds and hearts of consumers. It is a perceptual entity rooted in reality but reflecting the perceptions and idiosyncrasies of consumers. Branding is the process of endowing products and services with the power of a brand. It’s all about creating differences between products. Marketers need to teach consumers “who” the product is—by giving it a name and other brand elements to identify it—as well as what the product does and why consumers should care. Branding creates mental structures that help consumers organize their knowledge about products and services in a way that clarifies their decision making and, in the process, provides value to the firm.
How do you “brand” a product? Although firms provide the impetus to brand creation through marketing programs and other activities, ultimately a brand resides in the minds and hearts of consumers. It is a perceptual entity rooted in reality but reflecting the perceptions and idiosyncrasies of consumers. Branding is the process of endowing products and services with the power of a brand. It’s all about creating differences between products. Marketers need to teach consumers “who” the product is—by giving it a name and other brand elements to identify it—as well as what the product does and why consumers should care. Branding creates mental structures that help consumers organize their knowledge about products and services in a way that clarifies their decision making and, in the process, provides value to the firm.
A firm’s branding strategy—often called its brand architecture—reflects the number and nature of both common and distinctive brand elements. Deciding how to brand new products is especially critical. A firm has three main choices:
1. It can develop new brand elements for the new product.
2. It can apply some of its existing brand elements.
3. It can use a combination of new and existing brand elements.
Page 315
Measuring Brand Equity
How do we measure brand equity? An indirect approach assesses potential sources of brand equity by identifying and tracking consumer brand knowledge structures.59 A direct approach assesses the actual impact of brand knowledge on consumer response to different aspects of the marketing. “Marketing Insight: The Brand Value Chain” shows how to link the two approaches.
Page 328
s Chapter 5 reviewed, customer lifetime value is affected by revenue and by the costs of customer acquisition, retention, and cross-selling.108
• Acquisition depends on the number of prospects, the acquisition probability of a prospect, and acquisition spending per prospect.
• Retention is influenced by the retention rate and retention spending level.
• Add-on spending is a function of the efficiency of add-on selling, the number of add-on selling offers given to existing customers, and the response rate to new offers.
Media Strategy
This is based on justifying which types of media will be used, how it will be used and what impact it has with designing the communication process.
Designing the communication requires answering three questions: what to say (message strategy), how to say it (creative strategy), and who should say it (message source). Communications channels can be personal (advocate, expert, and social channels) or nonpersonal (media, atmospheres, and events).
Market segements
Markets are made up of various segments of buyers by identifying demographic, psychographic, and behavioral differences between them. They then decide which segment(s) present the greatest opportunities. For each of these target markets, the firm develops a market offering that it positions in target buyers’ minds as delivering some key benefit(s).
Creating a Brand Image
A brand is an offering from a known source. A brand name such as Apple carries many different kinds of associations in people’s minds that make up its image: creative, innovative, easy-to-use, fun, cool, iPod, iPhone, and iPad to name just a few. All companies strive to build a brand image with as many strong, favorable, and unique brand associations as possible.
Branding is the process of endowing products and services with the power of a brand. It’s all about creating differences between products. Marketers need to teach consumers “who” the product is—by giving it a name and other brand elements to identify it—as well as what the product does and why consumers should care. Branding creates mental structures that help consumers organize their knowledge about products and services in a way that clarifies their decision making and, in the process, provides value to the firm.
For branding strategies to be successful and brand value to be created, consumers must be convinced there are meaningful differences among brands in the product or service category. Brand differences often relate to attributes or benefits of the product itself. Gillette, Merck, and 3M have led their product categories for decades, due in part to continual innovation. Other brands create competitive advantages through nonproduct-related means. Gucci, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton have become category leaders by understanding consumer motivations and desires and creating relevant and appealing images around their stylish products.
Promotional campaigns that reinforce the value of the brand, even if targeted to the already loyal, may be more likely to attract higher-value new customers.
As described in Chapter 1, marketers distinguish paid and owned media from earned (or free) media. Paid media includes company-generated advertising, publicity, and other promotional efforts. Earned media is all the PR and word-of-mouth benefits a firm receives without having directly paid for anything—all the news stories, blogs, and social network conversations that deal with a brand.2 Social media play a key role in earned media. A large part of owned media consists of online marketing communications, which we review next.
Integrated marketing communication is a process whereby all brand contact with a customer is consistent and should take into account the six C’s of IMC listed below (Kotler & Keller, 2016). An all-encompassing and seamless marketing plan includes the eight common communications platforms listed below (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 561).
Steps for a marketing communication plan.
Should utilize the eight steps in developing effective communications plan. Based on the following tasks: identifying the target audience, setting the communication objectives, designing the communications, selecting the communication channels, and establishing the total marketing communications budget. Also, the platforms to consider are:
push strategy
when the manufacturer uses its sales force and trade promotion money to induce intermediaries to carry, promote, and sell the product to end users.
pull strategy
when the manufacturer uses advertising and promotion to persuade consumers to ask intermediaries for the product, thus inducing the intermediaries to order it.
Sales promotion consists of mostly short-term incentive tools, designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of particular products or services by consumers or the trade.
4. In using sales promotion, a company must establish its objectives, select the tools, develop the program, implement and control it, and evaluate the results.
5. Events and experiences are a means to become part of special and more personally relevant moments in consumers’ lives. Events can broaden and deepen the sponsor’s relationship with its target market, but only if managed properly.
6. Public relations (PR) includes a variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company’s image or its individual products. Marketing public relations (MPR), to support the marketing department in corporate or product promotion and image making, can affect public awareness at a fraction of the cost of advertising and is often much more credible. The main tools of PR are publications, events, news, community affairs, identification media, lobbying, and social responsibility.
A push strategy incorporates their “sales force, trade promotion money, or other means to induce intermediaries to carry, promote, and sell the product to end users” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 494). “Advertising, promotion, and other forms of communication to persuade consumers to demand the product from intermediaries, thus inducing the intermediaries to order it” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 494).
.
Concerns
Brand equity is the added value endowed to products and services with consumers. It may be reflected in the way consumers think, feel, and act with respect to the brand, as well as in the prices, market share, and profitability it commands.
Marketers and researchers use various perspectives to study brand equity.24 Customer-based approaches view it from the perspective of the consumer—either an individual or an organization—and recognize that the power of a brand lies in what customers have seen, read, heard, learned, thought, and felt about the brand over time.25
Customer-based brand equity is thus the differential effect brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand.26 A brand has positive customer-based brand equity when consumers react more favorably to a product and the way it is marketed when the brand is identified than when it is not identified. A brand has negative customer-based brand equity if consumers react less favorably to marketing activity for the brand under the same circumstances. There are three key ingredients of customer-based brand equity.
With an ideal ad campaign:
The right consumer is exposed to the message at the right place and time
The ad causes the consumer to pay attention
The ad reflects consumer’s level of understanding of brand
The ad positions points-of-difference and points-of-parity
The ad motivates consumers to consider purchase
The ad creates strong brand associations
Branding is the process of endowing products and services with the power of a brand. It’s all about creating differences between products. Marketers need to teach consumers “who” the product is—by giving it a name and other brand elements to identify it—as well as what the product does and why consumers should care. Branding creates mental structures that help consumers organize their knowledge about products and services in a way that clarifies their decision making and, in the process, provides value to the firm.
Page 298&299 Branding Concerns
Perhaps the most distinctive skill of professional marketers is their ability to create, maintain, enhance, and protect brands, whether established brands such as Mercedes, Sony, and Nike or new ones like Pure Leaf Teas, Taste Nirvana Coconut Waters, and Alexia All Natural Foods. Some of the hottest brands in recent years have emerged online. Consider the runaway success of Tumblr and Instagram.3
One of the most valuable intangible assets of a firm is its brands, and it is incumbent on marketing to properly manage their value. Building a strong brand is both an art and a science. It requires careful planning, a deep long-term commitment, and creatively designed and executed marketing. A strong brand commands intense consumer loyalty—and at its heart is a great product or service. Building a strong brand is a never-ending process, as the marketers of Gatorade have found out. 1
. "Name and symbol of awareness: People tend to buy brands that are familiar because they are comfortable with what is known ,and confident of its quality. Thus a recognized brand will always get selected over an unknown one..Alsoone. Also if one has to choose from a number of options ,theoptions, the awareness about a brand will result in that brand being the first choice. An unknown brand is not likely to have a chance. Though perception of quality may be different for different products, yet its significance is very important for consumers to select a particular brand."3
3 Raj, V. R. (2012). Perception About Creating A Brand Called Community Tourism. International Journal of Management Research and Reviews, 2(5), 847-857
In order to maintain your brand, you must service your customers and meet their needs in regards to the product. You must complete an accurate review of business practices and make changes where needed, sustaining the good qualities of the business and product, which in turn projects a positive light on the corporation. "An empirical study with leading US/UK companies by Fombrun and Kindova found that those companies with a more positive reputation appeared to project their core mission and identity in a more systematic and consistent fashion than companies with lower reputation rankings."4
4 Omar, M., & Williams,Robert L.,,Jr. (2006). Managing and maintaining corporate reputation and brand identity: Haier group logo. Journal of Brand Management, 13(4), 268-275
This was a message posted this past week that should be a baseline from which to utilize one or more options as a resource when responding to issue:
You must include a measurement of customer loyalty and retention in your strategy document.
Today, we have better marketing metrics for measuring the performance for companies marketing plans. "Marketing metrics provide frameworks that public relations specialists, brand managers and marketing directors can use to evaluate marketing performance, as well as back their marketing plans and strategies" (Boundless, 2017).
Sales Metrics:
Sales growth
Market share
Sales from new products
Customer Readiness to Buy Metrics:
Awareness
Preference
Purchase intention
Trial rate
Repurchase rate
Customer Metric:
Customer complaints
Customer satisfaction
Ratio of promoters to detractors
Customer acquisition costs
Customer's gains
Customer losses
Customer churn
Retention rate
Customer lifetime value
Customer equity
Customer profitability
Return on customer
Distribution Metrics:
Number of outlets
Share in shops handling
Weighted distribution
Distribution gains
Average stock volume (value)
Stock cover in days
Bluestocking's frequency
Share of shelf
Average sales per point of sale
Communication Metrics:
Spontaneous (unaided) brand awareness
Top-of-mind brand awareness
Prompted (aided) brand awareness
Spontaneous (unaided) advertising awareness
Prompted (aided) advertising awareness
Effective reach
Effective frequency
Gross rating points (GRP)
Response rate (Kotler, P.T. & Keller, K.L., 2016, p.677)
Boundless. "Marketing Performance Metrics." Boundless Marketing Boundless, 28 Mar. 2017. Retrieved 19 Apr. 2017 from https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/introduction-to-marketing-1/evaluating-marketing-performance-23/marketing-performance-metrics-134-7590/
Strengths/Weaknesses - A SWOT analysis includes the “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 49). In this class, we include internal and external trends defined over period of time.
Market Segments
Geographic segmentation divides “the market into geographical units such as nations, states, regions, counties, cities, or neighborhoods” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 246).
Demographic segmentation consists of “age, family size, family life cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation, nationality, and social class” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 249). Psychographic segmentation is the “science of using psychology and demographics to better understand consumers” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 258).
Behavioral segmentation divides people into “groups on the basis of their knowledge of, attitude toward, use of, or response to a product” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 259). Behavioral segmentation takes into accounts the needs and benefits, decision roles, and the users and usage-related variables (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 259). The decision roles are the people involved in making the decisions from the “initiator, influencer, decider, buyer, and user” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 259).
The printed and non-printed media gives “marketers a host of new ways to interact with consumers and customers” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 10).
Customer Loyalty In the past, companies considered the customer at the bottom of the pyramid instead of the top. Now companies must make think of the customers at the top of the pyramid since without the customer there would not be a company.
(Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 127)
Kotler, P.T. & Keller, K.L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice
princess_92073
graded_week_5.docx
0
