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Task 1 Introduction to the promotional mix Every business will require the use of a promotional mix as without this you could have the best product at the best price but you will never generate any sales. Businesses need to make use of various above and below the line promotions to sell their products. (I have found a quote that backs up my views on the promotional mix and gives another basic insight for its implicational meaning) (The combination of personal selling, public relations, advertising, sales promotion, sponsorships, direct mail, and trade shows that are utilized in promoting a good or service.
The appropriate mix is the combination that produces the best results for a given budget. Steven Sheridan, Business Promotion) Above the line advertising This is advertising placed in TV, radio, newspaper and cinema and other media’s. This form of advertising is usually used by larger companies as it can be costly. Below the line advertising This form of advertising is based around advertising via direct mail, sponsorship and sales promotion. This is generally very cheap advertising that is used mainly by smaller companies. However even multi national companies will use this style as it is still very successful and very cheap.
Identification of my chosen companies I will identify my two different companies as Burger King and Anderson and Wall motorcycles in Bridgwater. I have chosen these two companies as I currently work for Burger King meaning I am up to date with their promotional activity. I choose Anderson and Wall as I am good friends with the owner and he has agreed to talk me through the companies’ promotional mix and how it works. I also believe they would be a good comparison to Burger King as I can see the difference of a small businesses promotional mix to multi national companies.
Burger King advertising techniques Above the line promotions Television Burger King Use the television to advertise their new products, this is probably the most efficient way of advertising a product as the television reaches massive target audience. However this form of advertising can be very costly meaning smaller businesses are unable to use this particular promotion. Radio You often hear Burger King Promotions on the radio advertising their new products. This is again a good way of advertising a product as it reaches out to a large target audience.
However this isn’t as successful as you cannot see the product meaning customers make their own interpretations. Radio also expensive meaning some businesses are unable to afford it. Billboards Burger king will also use billboards and posters to promote their products. This is generally a good form of advertising as you can show images of your product. Billboards are also relatively cheap compared to television or radio. Shown below are some examples of Burger King Billboards: Newspaper promotions Burger King will often promote their company in the newspaper by either offering vouchers or special offers to the reader.
This is again a good form of promotion as it reaches out to a large target audience. This process could also be a below the line promotion depending on how they are advertising the company or product. Below the line promotions Burger King uses various below the line forms of promotion as these are often very cheap but still very effective. I will look at some examples of these and look at their main advantages and disadvantages. In store Promotions Burger king always advertise their above line deals in store in a below the line approach such as reminding the customers of deals with posters.
This process is very successful as it can potentially make the customers spend more money and can remind customers of available products. Global sponsorship Burger King have recently sponsored Getafe football club in an attempt to help promote their name further in Europe. This style sponsorship is very expensive but is seen by a large target audience. Football shirts are very clever as fans wearing the shirts are also providing promotion. Anderson and Wall Anderson and Wall are a small motorcycle shop situated in Bridgwater they sell and repair motorbikes.
This business is completely different to Burger King in products, company size and value. However Anderson and Wall still advertise their business using above and below the line promotion techniques, these are listed below: Above the line Radio Anderson and Wall often advertise their business on BCR FM this is Bridgwater’s own radio station. This radio station is only listened to by people living in the Bridgwater area meaning it is relatively cheap to advertise on and it still is herd by the local target audience. Local newspaper
Anderson and Wall post a weekly add in the Bridgwater Gazette, this is a small newspaper meaning it is relatively cheap to advertise in. This form of advertising is again alike using the radio as it is only seen by people potential local customers. Internet Anderson and Wall promote their business online as this is very cheap and has a massive target audience. The internet is a very good source of advertisement as it allows Anderson and Wall to promote its products to a large target audience, a lot bigger than their local promotions.
An example of this is Anderson and Wall having an internet shop selling products and posting them to their customers. Catalogue Anderson and wall also promote their products in a catalogue; this can be ordered online from their website. This is a good idea as they are very cheap to manufacture and allow the customer the chance to regularly look at the companies products. Below the line Billboard (At Bridgwater College) Anderson and wall have placed a billboard outside the entrance to Bridgwater college, this however is a below the line promotion as they are not advertising any of their products just their company name.
This process is still very effective as it is seen by thousands of students making many know about the business. In store promotions Anderson and Wall offer in store promotions such as buy one get one free, these offers are usually advertised in the shop window on posters. This again is a good way of advertising as it is very cheap and effective for bringing customers in store. Open days Anderson and Wall have an open day every year where they allow customers to try out their products and obtain advice from their team of salesman and mechanics.
This is a good form of promotion as it often creates a good customer relationship and opportunity to sell some products. An open day is also very cheap publicity as it is all done in store and costs very little to promote. Communication modals It is vital for all organisations to be able to reach out to their customers and to be able to communicate to them about their product. A communication modal is basically the series of communication that creates a message or sale. I would like to compare my two businesses to the communication modal by Shannon and Weaver this is known as ”the mother of all modals”.
A diagram of Shannon and Weavers communication modal is shown below: I will now look closely at this communication modal and explain how it could relate to my two businesses by looking at how its promotions fit the theory. I will explain this by recreating a Shannon and Weaver diagram that relates to my organisations. Burger King I will now relate Shannon and Weavers theory to a Burger King Television promotion and explain how each stage relates to Shannon and Weavers theory. Shannon and Weaver – Burger King Customers will go into Burger King and purchase the Whopper making the organisation profit.
This cycle will repeat itself once a month to promote a new product The message is received by the public and customers are now aware of the product and will now consider making a purchase The message is channelled and the message of promotion is picked up by interested customers The message is transmitted to the public. Information source Transmitter ChannelAn advert is aired on the television promoting the Whopper Burger Receiver Destination
This process creates noise as people are talking about the product and causing product anticipation Noise Anderson and Wall I will now explain how Shannon and Weaver communication modal applies to an Anderson and Wall in store promotion. I will again achieve this by creating a Shannon and Weaver diagram and relating it to my organisations promotional mix. Shannon and Weaver – Anderson and wall Customers will go into Anderson and Wall and purchase the product. This may also allow Anderson and Wall to interest them in another product while in store such as a pair of gloves.
A poster is put up in store advertising a buy one get one free offer on motorbike helmets The message is received by the public and customers are now aware of the promotion and will now consider making a purchase The message is channelled to the potential customers that require a motorbike helmet The message is transmitted to the public. Information source Transmitter Channel Receiver Destination This process creates noise as people are talking about the product and causing an interest. Noise Lasswells model
After researching books and the internet I came across a communication model created by Laswell. This theory is looking at how the word of mouth can promote a product and create sales. I will now explain how this communication model could be used to promote a Burger in Burger king or a motorbike at Anderson and Wall. Since the word of mouth can be explained the same for both companies I will explain this process using one diagram. Shown below is Laswell’s communication model. Laswells model – Burger King and Anderson and Wall The speaker tells someone about a product promotion that they think is good value or a good product.
After hearing about a product some customers may decide to buy the product. This cycle can make business a lot of money and its free . advertising The message is listened to by the receiver. The message is considered by the listener. At this stage the listener may tell other people about what they have heard. The audience go in store and look at buying the product if it suits their needs as these may be different to the speakers Who (Speaker) What (Message) Channel or medium Whom, audience or listener Effect AIDA (Attention, interest and desire)
It is vital for my two organisations to create Attention, interest and desire in their products as without this Burger King and Anderson and Wall would struggle making sales. I will explain each application of AIDA for both of my organisations. I will begin by looking at Burger King. Burger King – AIDA I will look at the AIDA used by Burger King to promote their newest product the smoked Angus Burger and show how they managed to capture customer’s attention. Attention Attention is an effective method of gaining the target audience. To be successful the message must have an impact on the customer.
Burger King provides a good source of attention when they air television commercials or radio adverts. This message in continually shown to customers until they know about the product. Interest Interest is obtained from the customer when Burger King seems to sell their products ridiculously cheap. An example of this was Burger King selling small products for a penny when you buy their new product. This process was very effective in the sale of the smoked Angus as many customers decided to spend extra money to buy this product as they believed they were getting a better deal overall deal. Desire
Burger King will provide a form of desire by using a catch phrase at the end of their advertisements this may make customers relate the product to their own lives. This process is an effective form of advertising as it makes the customer believe they need a product. An example of this would be Burger King saying ‘try it if you’re tough enough’. This may give self conscious motivation to customers and make them want to buy a product. Action I believe the action that Burger king want is for customers to come in store and buy their product as this is the completion of the advertising circle.
To ensure action Burger King needs to ensure they are meeting all stages of AIDA as without this they will not be able to achieve sales of their products. I believe it is vital that the company manage to promote themselves at each stage of their products advertising as this ensures that customers know where they can take action to their attention, interest, desire and action. If customers are not fully sure on a stage of AIDA this may cause less interest in a product. An example of this would be if customers were not interested in a product why would they buy it?
Anderson and Wall – AIDA I will now look at AIDA for Anderson and Wall and look at how they manage to achieve the sales of their used motorcycles. I have described each stage of AIDA briefly below. Attention Anderson and wall generally create the attention of their products by using in store promotions or the use of either the radio or newspaper. This process allows local customers to be able to hear about their promotions. Interest Anderson and Wall create their interest mainly by providing in store promotions such as a free helmet when you buy a motorcycle.
However these promotions are only known if you go in store or read posters from the outside as money is not generally spent on promotions. However since Anderson and Wall is a small business in store promotions are adequate. To ensure customers read the posters the organisations workers will often bring them to the customer’s attention. I believe this process helps create an interest and helps the sale of their products. This particular promotion is a good example of creating interest as a helmet is needed to ride a bike and if a customer thinks they are getting one for free they will potentially pay more for the motorcycle.
Desire Anderson and Wall create the desire of their teenage target audience by putting billboards outside the college. This process makes their target audience look at their products creating a desire. This again is clever promotion as Anderson and Wall are advertising in an area that is full of their target audience increasing the chances of some coming in store. (I have found a quote that backs up my view of the importance of a customer’s desire) (Desire is a natural greed that can be for anything from a person to a product, marketers use this as a form of bull’s eye and promote to people ho suit the vulnerability of a product or service, http://www. brandsofdesire. com/services/brand-valuation/) Action By placing their company name under their products advertising it gives the customer the chance to take action on their attention, interest and desires and purchase the product. I have also noticed that Anderson and Wall place stickers over their bikes that they have sold as this allows the company to allow others to see where they can purchase a similar product. Anderson and Wall use all methods above to try and create the action of the customer paying for a product and making them a profit.
The impact of decisions about the promotional mix and the impact on the product/service I will look at how decisions about the promotional mix have had an impact on my organisations profits and diversify the organisation. Burger King Burger king launched a global advertising campaign launch in 2007 promoting healthy food options to try and recover a good image as the organisation came under bad press for its high calories products. (I found a newspaper quote that is against Burger Kings products. (Burger King serves twice the daily calories in one meal, no wonder the countries obese’.
Daily Mirror 4th January 2007′) Burger King used their promotional mix and advertised new salad and fruit options everywhere possible using both above and below the line advertising. This advertising campaign cost the company an estimated four million pounds however it was money well spent as the company quickly cashed in on their new product and began to make a profit. (Figure not available the organisations website) This turn around in the companies’ image gained them a larger market share and allowed them to continue advertising their products in the media.
This extra profit also allowed the company to develop new vegetarian products such as their ice cream and fruit smoothes. This idea was very successful as Burger King were the first company to develop the full vegetarian menu however I believe this happened by chance due to falling profits and a poor company image. This entire process caused an impact on Burger Kings products as now they are a more diversified range than before catering for all. I believe this is due to the impact of the promotional mix as it allowed the organisation to market a new product and make a profit.
Anderson and Wall (I spoken to Richard who is the owner of Anderson and Wall and he told me about how using his marketing mix to promote a cheaper product sold him an expensive item) In 2007 sales of scooters was in a 50% decline as customer were now beginning to buy their products from the manufacturers catalogues as this worked out cheaper. Anderson and Wall decided to change their standard sales technique and offer the customer the full package such as gloves, helmet and coat for a set price. This is a different way of selling than before as Anderson and Wall were only offering the bike.
Customers began to get interested in this promotion as it was advertised in the local paper and on poster around the town centre. This promotion began to increase sales dramatically by 70% and allowed Anderson and Wall to order more expensive stock than before. Richard has told me how this process transformed the image of his business and gained him new loyal customers. This promotion is still used today and has made the company he believes ? 25. 000 in extra profit since it has began. Task 2 Select one of the businesses from task 1 and describe the role of promotion within the marketing mix for a selected product/service.
I will now look closely at the marketing mix used by Burger King to promote its leading selling fast food product the Whopper burger. I will explain how this product relates to all the main aspects of the marketing mix and how this allows the organisation to promote and sell their product. Place It is vital for customers to know where they can acquire a product or service after they have been informed about it. If an advertising campaign promotes a good product but fails to inform the customer where they can purchase the product or service the business will struggle to make any sales.
Burger Kings products have managed become so popular that you can find one in most places you go, some examples of places you would find Mc Donald’s are: * High streets locations such as in a town or city centre beside shops. * Out of town locations such as by supermarkets or leisure centres. * Shopping centre locations such as being inside a Mall. * Service station or air port locations. Burger King use place in while promoting their products and they may even do this without saying the companies name.
Burger King use their famous ‘King’ character while promoting products as this ensures people know exactly who is selling the product. Burger King also use their Whopper Burger promotions to promote their company as they are now using catch annoying phrases to ensure the audience remember customers know exactly where the whopper is being sold. An example of this is the Whoppers newest promotions that say ‘Burger King, home of the Whopper’ this promotion are advertising the company, product and place. Product The role of promotion on Burger kings products comes in both above and below the line advertising, this I explained in task one.
Burger King has very good promotion resources allowing their product to be able to reach out to people all over the world. This however would be a different story for a smaller business as they would be unable to use some above the line promotions for their products as it would cost too much money. I also believe the Burger King brand name itself is now a form of promotion as when you see the Burger King symbol it makes most customers immediately think of its fast food products. This image will help the company create sales as it makes the customer consider buying a product.
This process may not be the case for smaller fast food retailers as if the customer is unaware a business the product image will not enter their mind and will prevent the consideration of a purchase. Packaging Burger King has kept their packaging very simple and has always provided burgers in paper wraps and paper bags. The reason for this is due to Burger King trying to make the customer think they are trying to save them money and allowing them to provide a better food product. This message is shown on the packaging as it reads easy food needs an easy package.
Burger Kings packaging being made solely from paper is easily recycled and this is good publicity for the company and allows them to market themselves as eco friendly. The packaging is also very durable and is fit for use as it is cheap, will easily carry each product and is easy to dispose of. This fits the overall products image as Burger King is support to be cheap, easy and quick food. The packaging also promotes the company as it has a large Burger King logo on the front, this will mean if someone is carrying their products someone may see the company name and think of buying a product.
This process can be very successful especially if in a crowded area such as a city of event as many people will potentially see the packaging. (After researching packaging I found a quote that backs up my impression of its importance) Packaging is a very important marketing strategy to glamorize your product in order to attract the consumer’s attention. Sometimes companies will de-glamorous their packaging making their customer think they are saving money or in some way getting better value, http://marketingdeviant. com/the-importance-of-packaging/ ) People
The employees fronting Burger King focus mainly on providing a prompt friendly service to their customers. To achieve this image the workers all wear a standard uniform, I believe this makes the workers feel they are involved in delivering these services to meet their organisations aims. The workers of Burger King are all multi trained at handling each aspect of their job. This meaning they are fitting their companies image of constant training and high standards. These two factors are both factors in the sale of Burger Kings products as they are promotion professionalism and high quality products.
Process The process of making products is often visible to customers to re assure them that the food is being made correctly. Burger King is welcoming to customers who want to know what their food is made from and the process it goes through before it is sold. To achieve this Burger King provides leaflets that explain every aspect of each product. This process is a good form of product promotion as it allows customers to find out about their food, also shows the fact that Burger King are happy with their products and are pleased to show their customers.
I believe this process highlights the companies’ professionalism and dedication to good customer service allowing them to keep a good company image. Physical evidence Burger King Use’s their clean open view kitchens to show the customers that food is being prepared in a hygienic environment. Fast food outlets are always eager to allow customers the chance to look into their kitchens as a reassurance of their products quality. This is again a form of product promotion as Burger King are allowing customers to look at their kitchen facilities as this will ensure the customers they are dealing with a professional hygienic fast food outlet. Task 3
I will now analyse Burger Kings aims and objectives and look at how these help for fill the organisations aims and objectives. To achieve this task I spoke to my manager who provided me with Burger Kings top three organisational objectives. Increase up-selling annually Burger King makes 15% of their profits from cashier up-selling but Burger King wishes to continue to increase this figure per year. Up-selling is the process of selling a customer something extra that they may not have purchased before you ask them. An example of up-selling would be selling meals large instead of regular as this will yield the company an extra 40p a time.
Burger King is a multi national organisation that claims to serve four million customers per year. If they managed to up-sell large meals to each customer this could potentially make them thousands of extra profit? Up-selling also links to the companies marketing mix as the cashier is marketing ‘promotions’ to customers. Provide a quality customer service Burger King is constantly researching ways that will allow them to provide a better quality customer service. The reason for this is due to the impression that fast food outlets are generally poor quality service and they believe this image may loose them customers.
Burger king constantly provide staff with information booklets that explain the importance of customer service and why the organisation requires it. I believe this tie’s into the organisations promotional mix and is also looking at increasing the organisations market share as this could be the result of good customer service. Continue steady rises in profit With fast food being such a competitive industry with many multi national giants near by it can be a challenge to gain any market share. Burger King I believe is aiming to achieve this process as this will lead to an increase in annual profits.
Burger King are constantly looking to increase profits annually by around 5% however to achieve this steady increase it requires the use of the entire marketing mix. The marketing mix is looking at how businesses can increase their profits by offering a customer a product or service that they require or desire. In the fast food industry promotion plays a vital role in increasing a company’s market share as the products are all very similar. I researched this theory and found this to be true as KFC lost 23% of their profits in 2007 after airing an advert that offended some viewers showing women eating KFC in a call centre.
A bad promotion like this has since lost KFC some of their market share. Burger King relies on good promotions to gain customers from other establishments such as McDonalds as they are both evenly matched on price and quality meaning the promotions means everything. Place can also be a big factor as people will generally go to the nearest fast food outlet to them due to the food being generally the same. I believe it is vital that Burger King manage to establish themselves in busy town locations to allow them to compete with their competitors.
Physical evidence such as clean facilities is also vital in retaining customers as people will not eat somewhere they believe to be unhygienic. Organisations such as Burger King Need to ensure their establishment is always clean as if this does not happen they will receive criticism and a potential loss in customers. If each aspect of the promotional mix is addressed and perfected businesses such as Burger King will make a good profit. This assignment has hopefully highlighted how much of a useful tool the promotional mix can be and why organisations need it.
Bibliography Books – Journals * BND Business book 1-2, Dooley, Dransfield, Goymer * Exploring corporate strategy, Johnson and Scholes * Organisations and management, Wilkinson, Brown * A guide to understanding small business technology, Parker Internet websites * http://marketingdeviant. com/the-importance-of-packaging/ * http://www. sbe. gov. on. ca/ontcan/sbe/en/st_yrguide_en. jsp * http://www. wikipedia. com * http://www. ezinearticles. com * http://www. brandsofdesire. com/services/brand-valuation/ * By David Knot