The Shifting Marketing Communications Model Marketing Essay

Integrated marketing communication is a conceptual tool which aim for a marketing campaign, by a carefully coordinated apply to various communication disciplines. The combination of theses disciplines provide a clear, consistent and compelling message for the organisation and its product. Integration has always been an important successful attempt for the early organisation to bring a consistent message of all executable promotional tools during mid 20th century.

The change in marketing communication landscape may result IMC become more and more difficult to achieve, owing to the various change in consumers, marketing strategies and communication technology. In this digital and wireless age, consumers are better informed and communicated ; The marketers realized the dramatic shifting from mass marketing to segmented marketing. The new program are developed for a closer customer relationship; New innovative technology gives more media channels that companies interact with the target audience. Meanwhile, customers are better in control of messages that they choose to send or receive.

Over the past decades, the development of information technology has facilitated how people communicate. And the internet has played an important role in social media communication. Based on research, there’s an increasing number of internet users. About 569million online users of 9.1% of the world population (2012). The number has increased to 2.27 billion by 2012, which is 33% of the world population. The expenditures rates over performance is under expectation compare to the past. Marketers are mostly challenged by the ‘new digital media’. They have to design a better strategy to build a marketing communicators with stronger effectiveness and higher efficiency. More narrowcasting is necessary to achieve the ‘interactive IMC’, which allows them keep track on their current and future customers for use of long- term interactive relationships. The internet environment joint the connection between consumer and the media. For instance, specialty magazines, cable television channels, video games, e-mail and social internet. A study stated there’s an increasing time spent (63%) on mobile websites and mobile devices compare to 2011. In addition, 43 % of people get access to the social media by smartphones, 16% of people interact using tablet.

Among all the promotional profile from traditional advertising, mass media, direct marketing, internet marketing, social media to mobile marketing. there’s an increasing marketing trend towards “more electronic and digital”.

Traditional media possibilities for billabong:

Television, explores the brand image through vision, sound and motion. It has a wide coverage over mass-marketing. Television commercial is relatively low cost per exposure but high in absolute cost. It also limits audience selectivity. Billabong is a worldwide brand and it keep expanding the business into other country. Television commercial will be an efficient and effective strategy of market penetration where a company has low client base but strong financial base.

Newspapers and magazines are practically flexible; timeliness; good local market coverage; brand credibility; costless. While it is limited by its short life; poor reproduction quality. It’s still concern as an effective media for Billabong, as the company keep innovating new products to the market. Posted on a printed media is a cheaper way to deliver their product information to the customer regularly.

Outdoor medium such as billboard and poster are advanced in its flexibility; repeatable exposure will help billabong to deliver a strong brand image; wide range of positional selectivity. But it also limited the creativity.

Emergent media possibilities for billabong.

emergent media is refers to Email, podcasts , digital audio/ media player, mobile communication device (e.g., smart phone) ,instant messaging, interactive web pages , and blogs.

By research, the brand Billabong has its majority target audience aged from 12 to 35 years old. And it is a fact that this aging groups are spending more of their leisure time on internet surfing over interacting with traditional media. Hence there’s more opportunities that the new media transmit the company image to its potential consumer. At the same time, company has more channels to collect their customer information or feedback instead of only relying on Public Relations Agency. A large company with several brands like Billabong could position itself after analyzing the data. And generate a more suitable promotional strategy to beat the competitors. Billabong’s Facebook page was set up with assistance of maintaining a closer relationship with their royalty customer. Billabong get their free advertising spread through the social media at each time their post get linked. Youtube is a possible platform for Billabong to post their video or insert it as an ad to other video. The strategy is costless and have a efficient spread. Statistics is calculated by Youtube for each individual video for further analysis. Billabong’s website is also a profitable platform for advertising, it helps to engage with their email subscribers, so as to build a profitable relationship. Which has proven by a sales of $1.67 billion profit from its website in 2008-2009.

Marketers need to ensure the advertising is highly relevant and targeted to their consumer. As people has different attitudes toward social ads. Recent surveyed found 33% people get annoyed when seeing ad on social media if there is no relevant to them, may concern as a waste of time. While 26% of people will have a positive attitude to see the ads posted by friends. Generally, a positive attitude(26%) will follow by an action of share at 15% and product purchasing at 14%.

In consequence, advertising is generally aiming for inform, persuade and remind. Both traditional media and emergent media have possibilities for Billabong’s advertising. The proper mix using of media would have a higher opportunities in success compare to single focused media. Markers still need to re-examine the media mix regularly as it appears to be shifting. For instance, mass-media costs are rising, audiences are shrinking due to the new electronic media appear. The best solution for them is to supplement the broadcasting traditional media with narrowcasting emergent media. In this case, Billabong will not only introduce their company world-wide, but also engage consumers more fully.

Image corporation is important to a company’s branding and identity. To achieve the brand uniqueness, company need to be carefully treat on its visual image, product consistency in market place and its identity in social media.

Importance of visual image

After the completely acquisition of Swedish brand Volvo by Chinese unknown brand Geely (2010). Volvo still keep the production line in Sweden and its original brand logo to maintain the image of Swedish made. They concern the brand image as core value of its company. Maintaining the image also hold the company’s labor relations in this scenario.

Coca- cola works hard to keep its corporate identity consistent. It’s not only about keeping red logo and bottle form but also controlling its product quality at a consistent level. This works in many mind that the drink is from coca-cola not an individual brand product even it is labeling in a foreign language.

In April 2009, Telstra launched a 3R’s social-media policy, in regard to Responsibility, Respect and Representation.

Telstra’s employees are encouraged to use the social media as a part of work. They are also required to represent themselves as Telstra employees when introducing new service or products on their personal blog site. The strategy helps the company to achieve direct interaction with its current or future clients. Telstra is building up a brand image that they are well communicated to support the brand profile of leading global communication company.