Snickers: You’re not you when you’re hungry.

Snickers’ is the world’s biggest chocolate bar, and in many of its markets the most loved. But this success has been built upon individual markets developing their own marketing materials.

The following Add campaign established Snickers as a chocolate bar that satisfies hunger. They have positioned themselves as a solution for being hungry. The campaign worked on a universal assumption, namely that when you’re hungry your mood and your abilities change. When people are hungry, they’re actually not themselves and their role in the group is threatened. As a proper, nut-filled bar, Snickers can sort out the hunger and restore your role in the pack. The campaign continues to run across social, television, retail, print and is one of the most successful global campaigns that was able to be stretched across 40 markets and drive real business results.

Different market communication Tools adopted by Snickers were.

Print advertising: In their print ads, Snickers focused on showing regular, every day people doing things that were uncharacteristic for the activity they were performing. The ad below shows individuals that are unable to focus on the task at hand. These normal activities have become difficult and unmanageable because they’re hungry.

Television advertising:  Many of us have seen the Snickers ads featuring  Betty White and Joe Pesci portraying individuals who are, again, acting uncharacteristically because they are hungry. This idea furthers the central message of the campaign.

But, did it work?

According to the 2011 Effie Awards, in the first three months of the campaign, Snickers saw global growth. In the United States alone sales volume increased 8% and single sales rose by 13.4%.

Snickers first started with an idea that was central to their core values and then they tailored each message to the medium they needed.

What other campaigns have you seen that impact you?

Authors:  Borris Dsouza & Hernan

Innocent bystanders or active participants. Which one are you?

Written by DESPINA HARALAMBOPOULOS and IVY YU

“Hi, (Despina) it has been a while since we have seen you”…A usual exchange between family, friends, your hairdresser, the place that you buy your lunch, your favourite restaurant. Right…Well wrong…

Now you could be forgiven for thinking that this exchange was in fact between parties that have an intimate relationship like family and friends. So you can imagine my surprise when one night I went to open my emails and found this message in the subject line. My immediate response was not one of “Oh that is nice” but rather, “Who is this?”, “How do they know that?”, “Why are my movements known”? As the questions were going through my head I remember my heart racing and feeling as though my privacy was violated.

Of course I wanted answers to my questions, so I opened the email and realised that it was from one of my favourite brands. It now made sense. I remembered having shopped at the store during a promotion period for members. I recall being asked at the time if I was a member to which I replied “No”. I was then informed that to sign up is really easy and there are no costs. I thought this was great. Easy, no costs and unlike health cover memberships there are no waiting periods. I would immediately be saving money. Of course I agreed to become a member but clearly I was ignorant to what in fact I was signing up for….

Email marketing such as the example above has been used to build loyalty and retention throughout the customer database which is the most valuable asset for a business. Active customers, those that open, click emails and take action afterwards are considered most valuable. Most of us have signed up for Coles Flybuys and Woolworths Everyday rewards and by doing so, Coles and Woolworths collect a huge amount of customer data. They are able to learn about our shopping habits, what, when and where we shop, buy our petrol, how much we spend on average every week and so on…

The proliferation of traditional and digital media has given rise to the concept of integrated marketing communication (IMC) that has been described as an inside-out approach to marketing communication.

Business need to build an inside out approach to marketing communication that involves expanding media choices so as to capture reach, intimacy and engagement.

New media technologies – the Internet, mobile broadband, e-commerce, internet-enabled entertainment, social networking, and others – are fundamentally changing the way people interact with each other and the world.

The evolution of the internet has seen the redirection from the organization monologue towards consumers to the dialogue and interactions with consumers in real time. The internet is an interactive community where users can communicate, share, post, blog and create content in real time.

Traditional media whilst achieving reach goals do not provide a true marketing exchange. Consumers are no more than innocent and unwilling bystanders in the actions of marketers.

Digital technology marketing such as social media and email marketing has changed the relationship between consumers and business. Terms such as prosumer (i.e. producer and consumer) and presumption (i.e. production and consumption) have emerged to reflect this change in relationship.

Moreover the term “prosumer” has transformed from meaning “professional consumer” to meaning “product and brand advocate.” Rather than simply “consuming” products, people are becoming the voices of those products and significantly impacting the success or failure of companies, products, and brands, particularly through their involvement on the social web.

Digital marketing puts consumers, the information and messages in the centre of communication. Businesses are no longer completely in control of their products, brands and messages. Today, consumers are in control. In the case for Ivy, CUE email marketing (as one kind of integrated marketing communication), has built her brand awareness, loyalty and positive attitude to the brand. In some instances Ivy will receive 3-4 emails within one week and in this case she will click and delete immediately. However when Ivy receives from CUE about new season campaigns or sales she will often go to the store, to look and which most often will result in a purchase. What is your experience with email marketing?

Relationship communication is any type of marketing communication that influences the receiver’s long-term commitment to the sender by facilitating meaning creation through integration with the receiver’s time and situational context. Whereas the integrated marketing communication refers to an integration of messages that takes place at the company level, integration according to the Relationship Communication Model refers to integrating the message with the consumer’s time and situation. The integration takes place at the consumer level. Instead of integrating outbound messages the focus is shifted to the consumer’s integration of inbound messages. Thus reinforcing the change in relationship between businesses and consumers.

Businesses need to let go and allow their prosumers take control and spread the messages….Prosumers are the greatest drivers of business’ product, brand and can influence the success and failure. Businesses should refrain from strategies to maintain control such as covert marketing. When these strategies go wrong, businesses are exposed and can be negatively affected.

“Word of mouth” is an important and effective influencer of consumer purchases. eWOM messages are more permanent as compared to the fleeting and temporary nature of traditionally spoken WOM message. This changing online environment necessitates businesses to focus on building credible online reputation.

On a final thought, the digital and online platforms such as social media have brought about changes to the IMC. Digital media presents only a part of IMC strategy and requires integration with traditional marketing. What do you think?

References

Rakić, B & Rakić, M 2014, ‘INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PARADIGM IN DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT: THE FIVE PILLARS OF INTEGRATION’, Megatrend Review, vol. 11, Issue 1, pp. 187-204.

Nekmat, E & Gower, KK 2012, ‘Effects of Disclosure and Message Valence in Online Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) Communication: Implications for Integrated Marketing Communication’, International Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications, vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 85-98.

TĂLPĂU, A 2014, ‘SOCIAL MEDIA – A NEW WAY OF COMMUNICATION’, Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series V: Economic Sciences, vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 45-52.

http://pixshark.com/effective-communication-cartoon.htm

http://www.parachutedigitalmarketing.com.au/tag/woolworths-email-coupons/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2010/07/03/the shift from consumers-to-prosumers/

Airline price discrimination

Price discrimination involves charging different prices to different sets of consumers for the same good. Firms can charge different prices depending on several criteria:

Quantity bought (e.g. lower unit price when higher quantity is bought)

Time of use (higher price at peak times)

Age profile (e.g. discounts for OAPs)

When unit is bought (e.g. discounts for buying early)

The main principle behind price discrimination is that a firm is trying to make use of different price elasticities of demand. If some people have a very inelastic demand, it means they are willing to pay a higher price. If the firm can set higher prices for these consumers it can increase its revenue and profits. Other consumers will be more sensitive to prices (elastic demand) and so will respond to special offers and price discounts. The firm can benefit if it can separate these consumers and therefore reduce their consumer surplus.

In the real world, price discrimination might involve charging a different price for a slightly different good.

How does an Airline practice price discrimination?

Time of buying ticket. There is no hard and fast rule, but if you buy a ticket several months in advance it tends to be cheaper. If demand for the particular flight is high, then the airline starts putting up the price of that flight. It means that the remaining tickets will only be bought by people willing to pay a higher price (inelastic demand). If a particular flight is not selling very well, the airline will do the opposite and reduce price. This lower price attracts more people who are sensitive to prices and ensures that the flight will fill up.

Ideally, the airline would like to fill up the plane with passengers paying the most they are willing to pay. There is no point in selling very cheap tickets and having the flight sold out many weeks in advance.

Why does the price of an airline ticket change from hour to hour?

You may have had experience of looking for airline ticket and seeing a flight for $200. The next day, you return to buy ticket, but see it has gone up to $220. This is very annoying, but is due to price discrimination. The airline will reserve a certain number of economy tickets at a low price (to attract early customers more sensitive to price. But, if the tickets for flight are selling well, it can afford to charge higher prices for the remaining few tickets. The airline is trying to capture as much consumer surplus as possible)

Unsocial hours cheaper. Because some flight times are less popular, these flights will tend to be cheaper. For example, if you take a weekend break. Most people would prefer to come back late on Sunday. These late Sunday flights tend to be more expensive than early morning Sunday flights.

When you travel. Travelling at peak times will be much more expensive. One good example is travelling during the week. I was once looking at airfares from Australia to Dubai  in October. From Monday to Friday, the cheapest fare was over $1,000 – I was shocked at the cost. But, when I changed the date to Saturday to Saturday, the price fell to $650. The reason is that the customers travelling Monday to Friday are businessmen. Their demand tends to be more inelastic (because it is paid by company expenses). If you are more flexible and willing to travel at the weekend, you are more sensitive to price and have a more elastic demand. Airfares also vary depending on the time of the year. During peak summer holidays, airfares are more expensive. Parents have more inelastic demand because they can’t go on holiday during term time.

Dove says, “You are beautiful the way you are”!!

Dove is a well-known toiletry brand, moreover, it has an exceptional marketing campaign operating over decade until today — Real Beauty. According to advertisements that I have encountered, this is the most appealing and impressive one. Due to it delivers explicit message to its target audience, “You are beautiful the way you are” that has recognised woman’s natural beauty, and also dedicates efforts to encourage women’s self-esteem and self-confidence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqknd1ohhT4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DdM-4siaQw

During establishment of this campaign, it develops Dove a friendly and considerate brand image. According to its characters selection within advertisements, it determines its target audiences are females across all generations, and simultaneously enhances its belief of women’s nature beauty recognition. Hence, advertising strength has revealed from characters whom are selected in its advertisements, it has chosen real life women of all ages, skin colours, hair types but not stereotype slim and tall celebrities. Nevertheless, it is explicit that Dove exploits emotional advertising strategy determining to ‘touch’ and evoke its audiences’ emphasis feelings. As consequences, such strategy stimulates extensive emotions among audiences and develops a bonding between the brand and audience. Moreover, as numerous thrilling positive feedback and outcomes of this campaign, Dove extends this campaign globally around various countries. This implementation implicates its additional brand personality of, diversity acceptance.

Furthermore, in order to increase consumers’ awareness and reinforce communication effectiveness, Dove has implemented diverse media channels to approach different groups of target audience. For instance, it has utilised TV advertising, Billboard, POP and social media.

Through increasing sales that indicates achievement of this campaign, which therefore it is a good illustration of an effective IMC.

What would you tick?????

Does Dove make you beautiful too???

Authors: Junhong Zhang & Hidde Postma

Red Bull’s Integrated Marketing Communication

Nice topic regarding the integrated marketing communication

Loyola Digital Advertising [로욜라 디지털 광고]

Mecenat; patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. Those companies usually support artist or sports team. Here is one famous company in the world, which supports various kinds of extreme sports activities and other art performance, ‘Red Bull’. Red Bull is an energy drink sold by Austrian company Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987. The company has been doing Integrated Marketing Communication very successfully.

Red Bull’s slogan is “it gives you wings.” Red Bull’s international marketing campaign targets young men mostly with extreme sports. When you see this commercial, you may know how many kinds of extreme sports that the company sponsors to. These range from mountain biking, BMX, motocross, windsurfing, snowboarding, cliff-diving, skating, freestyle motocross, rally, Formula 1 racing, to breakdancing.

Red Bull also supports specific extreme sports players. Especially, Felix Baumgartner’s(who is sponsored by Red Bull) free fall…

View original post 361 more words

Life of Coca-Cola’s Marketing

BY ASHLEY MAK AND DANIEL JOYCEOriginally intended as a patent medicine in 1886, Coca-Cola (or Coke) has risen to its current status of dominant distributor in the soft-drink market and has maintained that position throughout the 20th Century.

But how exactly has Coca-Cola not only survive, but flourish in such a demanding, dynamic market? After an analysis of the company’s most recent product launches, it is evident that such achieving and maintaining dominance primarily lies in its adaptive variety of marketing tactics.

We have identified two of Coca-Cola’s recent marketing campaigns in particular that demonstrate their strength and versatility in the field: “Share a Coke” campaign and Coca-Cola “Life”.

“SHARE A COKE” CAMPAIGN

Once any organisation stops thinking of new ways to advertise and market they will fall behind. Coke hasn’t stopped thinking. For instance one majorly successful campaign was the ‘Share a Coke’ campaign.

In 2011 Coca Cola believed they’re brand was becoming stale in the Australian market. Through their previous ‘Bottle Blast’ campaign of 2009 the organization realized people weren’t buying their product – the product was too familiar to people. They were also aware that younger people were not becoming involved, or even tasting their core product.

With this the organization came up with a new advertising campaign targeting not just younger people, but a whole nation. It was a simple but effective campaign that saw 150 names put on the labels of Coca Cola bottles in Australia. Although with the number of names they were printing the company was aware that they would only be able to reach 42 percent of the population.

Prior to the campaign, Coke (and other soda manufacturers) saw a decline in sales due to the increased popularity of bottled water and low-calorie sports drinks. Since the campaign however, Coca-Cola saw a massive increase in sales with a 7% increase in Coke consumption worldwide (which is a lot when you consider the number of consumers already active prior). In addition, the company saw a 2.5% increase in total sales and soft-drink volume went up 0.4%.

The campaign pandered towards people’s love for personalized products and collectability – as evident by the rise in sales despite the product itself staying the same. It particularly took off on social media, with the hash-tag #shareacoke trending heavily during its release and consumers posting images of themselves with their names on Coke bottles.

Resources:

• https://www.marketingmag.com.au/hubs-c/share-a-coke-campaign-post-analysis/
• http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/coca-colas-share-coke-campaign-grows-sales-first-time-10-years-160433
• http://incitrio.com/cokes-share-a-coke-campaign-an-integrated-marketing-success/

COCA-COLA “LIFE”

Critics of Coca-Cola consumption often targeted the health concerns of ingesting such large amounts of sugar on a regular basis (a typical can of Coke – 355ml – contains 39 grams of sugar) as this was closely associated to health issues such as diabetes and weight gain. As a result, Coke spent 5 years developing a new line of product that reduced sugar content, replacing it with a renown, lower calorie, natural alternative called Stevia.

They altered packaging design from its iconic red to an olive green to pander towards a more environmental impression (in association with Stevia being known as a “natural sweetener alternative”). In some countries (i.e. Argentina), they even changed the bottle itself, replacing glass with a recyclable petroleum-based material.

However, besides a mere design change, Coca-Cola did extensive marketing efforts to promote their new line:

• The United States was the first country to roll out Coke Life. During the initial phases, they organized approximately 4000 events at stores whereby people could sample the drink for free.
• The United Kingdom followed soon after in releasing the product. Coca-Cola utilized endorsement from British model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to promote the drink at a Launch Party in London.
• The Telegraph, a British news distributor, sent correspondents into the street to conduct taste tests with random individuals. The result was highly supportive of the taste of Coca-Cola Life
• And most importantly, the company itself has since led several health initiatives since the release of “Life” aims to promote lower obesity rates. The organization insisted on associating the new release with its stance on promoting health.

The question of whether Coca-Cola Life is truly healthier is a debate for another topic. What is evident here, however, is the success of its marketing for existing (“Share a Coke” initiative) and new products (Coca-Cola Life). Since the release of Coke “Life”, competitors such as Pepsi have seized the opportunity to follow suit and have released their version with explicit similarity: Pepsi True.

Resources:

• http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/coca-cola-life-to-make-us-debut#TCCC
  
• http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/rosie-huntingtonwhiteley-turns-heads-in-revealing-top-for-cocacola-life-launch-9743746.html
  
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11050410/Taste-Test-does-Coca-Cola-Life-taste-better-than-regular-Coke.html
• http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/pepsi-true-and-cocacola-life-new-soft-drinks-sweetened-with-stevia/story-fneuz92c-1227079153206
• http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/coke-adds-stevia-but-is-it-really-any-healthier-20141029-11doif.html

With Coca-Cola acting as a prime example of effective campaigning and advertising, questions for discussion could include:

– How would/could other companies learn from such marketing prowess?
– Would these methods be applicable to other companies (tangible/non tangible products)?
– Are there any examples of organizations that have tried the same/similar method and not gotten a similar (successful) result? If they didn’t, why would that be?

The Price of Water

In the United Arab Emirates fresh water is not a natural resource.  Water is either desalinated or imported.   May is here and we are heading into the heat of Summer (or alternatively known as the heat of Spring, Summer and Autumn….and a bit of Winter).  The car temperature today was 41^◦C, soon it will be a daily 50^◦C.  Water is such an important product and so bottled water is a highly demanded product.

Task Spotting and The National newspaper has uncovered some interesting information on bottled water from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective:

From a qualitative perspective,  92% of those surveyed, pay for bottled water while eating out and 94% felt it was overpriced.  However from a quantitative perspective, there is a price variation of up to 900% for 500ml and 500% for 1500ml, inferring the product is selling at these prices.  How does this strong customer opinion have no impact on the price?

• In most countries, bottled water has a high elasticity of demand because there is availability of substitute goods such as tap water and home rain water tanks.
• Water is a necessary good and the higher the necessity, the lower the elasticity.

So we are confronted with no substitute and a highly necessary good, it truly is a captive market.

http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/feedback/the-survey-says-price-of-bottled-water-in-hotels-and-restaurants

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/bottled-water-prices-at-selected-cafes-and-restaurants—graphic

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-consumers-complain-of-inflated-water-prices-when-eating-out

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/environment/angry-at-cost-of-bottled-water-in-the-uae-youre-not-alone

DISCRIMINATION BY AIRLINES.

Price discrimination is charging different prices from different set of consumers for same goods. For airline an company the seats in a plane is the inventory. The airline companies are one of the biggest discriminators based on price. The companies use different criteria for this sort of discrimination such as:

1. Based on quantity bought.

2. Based on time of use.

3. Based on age profile.

4. Based on when is it bought.

The airline companies charge different prices from customers who are different in age, the companies may also offer discounts when tickets are bought in certain numbers this type of discrimination seems to be normal. On the other hand companies may also ask for different prices based on when the ticket is bought also the time of use of the service. The principle behind this discrimination is that the companies are using different price elasticities. but then seats are the same they are not different. The companies may offer lower priced tickets for unsocial  hours, companies may also choose to charge for extras. Another type of price discrimination can be seen when people are charged differently on same routs but with different ending and starting points. For example an airline company may charge double the price for London- Melbourne return flight in comparison to Melbourne-London return flight. One may argue that the seats are the same but trhe service is different. Here company uses third degree of price discrimination.

Type of discrimination:

• First degree: Charging the highest price which an individual consumer is willing to buy.
• Second degree: charging prices based on quantity consumed.
• Third degree: charging different prices from different groups of people.
• Forth degree: price paid is same but, firm may incur different costs.

This sort of price discrimination is quiet prevalent in airline industry and almost all companies use it for their benefits arguing that they make use of the different price elasticities. The companies may also try to take advantage of the price sensitivity of different type of consumers.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS IT FAIR ON THE PART OF THE AIRLINES TO FOLLOW PRICE DISCRIMINATION?

To Occupy Your Market Share? – Don`t Forget Pricing Strategy

http://study.com/academy/lesson/pricing-strategy-in-marketing-definition-types-examples.html

Have you ever noticed the price of the goods while going to the supermarket? have you ever thought about what`s the differences between $ 0.99 and $ 1.00? Have you ever confused about  why there are always many products are in discount from day to day?

In general, it`s hard for boys spending a lot of time in shopping, but I get the chance to that cause I have a best female friend whose interest is going to the supermarket even though she does not want to buy anything else. For me, I just go with her without purchase anything as well. Therefore, I always check the price label of different kind of goods and think about what kind of pricing strategy the marketer has done to attract customers.

As we known, price is the most important factor in determining profit and normally countless businesses fail to get their pricing strategy right. The price that one company charges for tis products or services is a major way to communicate the firm’s value in the marketplace.

Is there any significant effect by slightly changing the price?

The answer might be yes. For instance, if you might get a large percentage possible increase of your operating profit  by increasing 1% of your price gain. However, this profit can not be achieved by simply reducing 1% variable or fixed costs. but an increase in price goes right to the bottom line.

What kinds of pricing strategies normally utilized in price setting?

There are some common pricing strategies as shown blow:

1. Penetration Pricing
2. Optional Pricing
3. Premium Pricing
4. Competition Pricing
5. Value Pricing
6. Bundle Pricing
7. Skimming Pricing

I prefer skim pricing  most. the practice of selling a product at a high price, usually during the introduction of a new product when the demand for it is relatively inelastic. This approach is used to generate substantial profits during the first months of the release of a product, usually so that a company can recoup its investment in the product. However, by engaging in price skimming, a company is potentially sacrificing much higher unit sales that it could garner at a lower price point.

For example, ABC International has developed a global positioning system that can lock onto GPS satellite signals even from several feet underwater. This is a substantial improvement over existing technology, so ABC feels justified in pricing the product at $1,000, even though it only costs $150 to construct. ABC holds this price point for the first six months, while it earns back the $1 million development cost of the product, and then drops the price to $300 to deter competitors from entering the market.

Which pricing strategies you prefer best? How do they working in pricing network to increase companies` profits? Can you share you knowledge with us, lets have a discuss.

 

 

 

 

 

‘Tidal’ wave or crash?

Post by Johnno Wong & Veronica Sabo

Last year Jay Z purchased the company ‘Tidal’ for a reported $56 Million. This streaming company is a rival to Spotify however unlike others it does not provide a ‘free’ service which members can access music with adverts. Conversely, artists like Taylor Swift are pulling out from ‘free stream’ music companies and signing onto ‘Tidal’.

What is their reason? Purely to preserve the integrity of their music to combat their industry pressures of illegal downloads and losing profit to main stream sites. Jay Z has agreed to pay 75% royalties to the artists who sign onto the company which is above industry standards. One would argue that they make enough money already so what is the big deal? Surely the money make in records and endorsements alone would be enough? Would the profits from Tidal be a pinch of salt compared to how much money they make?

Artists such as Alicia Keyes,  Daft Punk , Rihanna, Beyonce, Madonna and others are relaying together to fit for their music. The company claims to offer higher sound quality music compared to its competitors, provides videos and insights into the creative genius of the artists along with tapping into the public’s sense of compassion for these artists whose music is being given for ‘free’ or illegally downloaded.

For the common day person who may not be an expert in music and sound quality – why would we pay for a streaming service when we could opt for a free option such as Spotify? Looking back in the history of music production one would have argued why one should buy records when you could listen to music for free on the radio or with the access to illegal downloads people would still buy CDs. However we find people are still willing to pay the price for high quality accessible music. The big question amongst this stream of questions is: Are the music lovers and music lay people of the world feel bad for these artists losing out amidst industry pressures or will we continue to opt for free means of streaming?