Question

Intro to Marketing

Integrated Marketing Communications

Background: Imagine you are a brand manager developing a communications mix for your brand. Frequently, marketing communications considerations include things like:

1. Which advertising/promotional vehicles to spend your budget on?

2. At what point in their decision making process do you want to reach the consumer?

3. What is your key demographic and what is the best way to reach that market segment?

4. Do you want to purchase mass reach vehicles or targeted ones?

5. Are you more focused on building brand equity and awareness or driving trial and overall sales?

All of these factors are important to brand managers. To simultaneously address these points, brand managers need integrated marketing campaigns that reach consumers at different times in the decision making process.

Assignment: Choose one brand and attach or cite links to examples 3 different promotional mix elements within one integrated communication campaign– not 3 digital media examples, but 3 forms of communication [cell phone pictures can be used as examples]. For each example identify [bullet point answers are fine]:

Identify the element of the promotional mix shown by each example and then address the following questions:

1. What demographic is being addressed

2. The media/location where the advertising/promotion occurred,

3. The message being conveyed

4. At what point in the decision making process does the advertisement/promotion reach the consumer

5. Whether the focus is to build brand equity/awareness, drive trial/purchase or reinforce purchase. How do you see the campaign as integrated?

Answer 1

Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy will be based on three different efforts:

• Advertisement- The ad will be used to advertise Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors to people who are in need of an inspection but otherwise have not heard of PMAI. This will be placed in the telephone directory Yellow Pages as well as within the auto section of the local newspaper.
• Website- The website will be developed to provide information about PMAI's services to the public. The experts at 1st-At-The-Top.com Internet & E-commerce Consultanting Services (www.1st-At-The-Top.com) will submit the site to all the popular search engines so when a person types in a wide range of common terms, PMAI's website will be featured at the top of the search list.
• Partnerships- Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors will develop strategic relationships with automobile associations such as AAA, City Auto Club, etc. so that a large number of association members are referred to PMAI.

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Mission

Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors' mission is to provide customers with convenient, thorough, used car inspections. We exist to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.

Marketing Objectives

• Decrease customer acquisition costs by 8% per year.
• Increase repeat customers or referrals by 3% per quarter.
• Generate brand equity, quantified by an increase in service requests based solely on Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors' name.

Financial Objectives

• A double digit growth rate for the first four years.
• Experience a decrease in the variable costs associated with serving each inspection by 3% a year.
• Maintain steady, positive, growth every month.
• Profitability within the first year.

Target Marketing

Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors' target customer will be a used car buyer, typically looking for a car over $5000. The used car buyer purchasing a car below $5000 typically is looking just for a type of transportation and is not all that concerned with the possible problems that might affect the vehicle. In general they accept the fact that for under $5000 there are going to be many different things wrong with the car and they are not willing to pay someone to tell them that there are a bunch of things wrong with the car which they cannot afford to fix.

PMAI's customer is buying a used car for one of two reasons:

1. They cannot afford what they want in a new vehicle, or
2. They recognize the value that they gain by purchasing a used car.

This value is generated by the fact that a new car will depreciate the most, 20%, within the first year. It makes sense to allow the car to depreciate on someone else other than yourself. This is of course based on the logic that you have the used car inspected so all afflictions are known to you at the time of purchase. Beyond pointing out any problems, the inspection can also indicate how the car was driven over its life, was it babied or beaten.

The target customer has typically done their research and narrowed down their search to a few different vehicles. They have looked at the car and found that it meets their needs. The last step is to make sure the car is in good condition.

Positioning

Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors will position itself as a convenient, professional alternative to car inspections that occur during normal business hours at a mechanic's shop. People that work during normal business hours (when the mechanics are open) will truly appreciate this new, convenient alternative. PMAI will leverage their competitive edge to achieve this positioning.

• Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors' competitive edge is its level of expertise and the thoroughness of the inspections. Dan Jalopee, owner and chief technician is industry certified as a master mechanic. This certification provides him the requisite background and knowledge to perform any and all aspects of the inspection.
• In addition to Dan's expertise, Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors' other competitive edge is the thoroughness of the inspection. With the use of sophisticated test equipment, PMAI is able to offer the same level of inspection completeness that a stationary mechanic would be able to offer. No aspect of the vehicle is left uninspected. PMAI's inspection will provide the client the necessary confidence to purchase a used car.

Strategy Pyramids

The single objective is to position Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors as a superior alternative for used car inspections and achieve a market leading position. PMAI will use three methods to communicate the message that their service offerings are far superior to standard auto inspections. The first method is with advertisements in the telephone directory Yellow Pages and in the auto section of the Portland Plain Dealer.

The second effort to secure proper positioning and communication of PMAI's message is through their website. The website will provide the user with plenty of information regarding PMAI's service offering.

The last method will be strategic alliances with organizations such as AAA. These alliances will be a rich source of customers as companies that are affliliated with AAA often do quite well because of referrals to/from the large customer base that AAA holds. The alliances will develop co-branding activities, co-promotions and other co-operative activities that are mutually beneficial for the organizations.

Marketing Mix

Portland Mobile Auto Inspectors' marketing is comprised of the following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service.

• Pricing- The pricing scheme is designed to cover costs and provide a reasonable profit, taking into account the cost of the substitutes available.
• Distribution- The services will be provided throughout the city with PMAI's mobile unit.
• Advertising and Promotion- PMAI will use several methods including Yellow Page and print advertising, a website, and strategic alliances.
• Customer Service- Obsessive customer service is the mantra. Customers will be attended to as if they were the largest account the company has. Customer satisfaction will be ensured.

Marketing Research

During the initial phases of the marketing plan completion, several focus groups were held to determine the demand of the service. The focus groups were held with prospective used car buyers. The results of the focus groups reinforced of the idea that there would be great demand for a mobile used car inspection service.

In addition to determining whether there would be demand for the service, one goal of the focus group was to determine if people would have any doubts as to the thoroughness of the inspections from a mobile unit. While some people did have reservations regarding whether the mobile service was as comprehensive as a stationary mechanic, these concerns were easy to overcome by presenting the people a list of the different tests that would be performed from the mobile unit. Overall, this marketing research confirmed this business model and the demand for the service.