Introduction
Most aspects of any business depend on successful marketing strategies. Marketing communications are the messages and related media used to communicate with a market. In this report, the Burberry group is chosen to explain marketing communications. The company is the leading British luxury brand globally, operating in the fashion industry. It is a public sector company and headquarters in London, England, UK. Different products of the firm are ready-to-wear outerwear, fashion accessories, fragrances, sunglasses, and cosmetics.
The report describes different tools of the marketing communications activities which are adopted by the Burberry company in its organization to advertise or promote its products. The selected company is using the integrated marketing communication model where it gives the same message to all the customers or its product users.
TASK 1
Marketing Communications Activities
Marketing communication is a basic and complicated part of a company's marketing efforts. marketing communication includes advertising, direct marketing, branding, packaging, online presence, written material, sales displays, sponsorship, trade exhibition appearances and more (Eagle and et.al, 2014). Marketing communications use completely different marketing channels and tools combination. The channels focus on anyway a business communicates a message to its desired market or the market in general.
The fashion company is chosen to explain marketing communications activities, the company is Burberry Group. The Burberry group is a public company and is an English luxury fashion house, headquarters in London, England. The company served its products and services across the world. Its main fashion house focuses on and distributes ready-to-wear, outwear, fashion accessories, fragrances, shades, and cosmetics. It operates under 3 sub-brands that are Burberry Prorsum, Burberry London, and Burberry Brit. Marketing starts with pre-launch research about the marketplace, which helps to develop communications efforts (Ang, 2014). Marketing communications activities or strategies of the selected group are following under:
1. The Four P's
Marketing is commonly divided into four main activities: product development, pricing strategy, place of sale selection and promotions efforts. the early stages of marketing include target client and competition analysis, product development, pricing analyses, and distribution channel strategies. The scope of four P's is most widely because normally all companies use this tool. It is an initial tool for marketing and promoting products and services. So, from this, the company is promoting its products and services. In evaluating the approach is very effective and efficient for the company because it impresses to the customers at the earlier stage and effectively (Pery, 2014). By this, the customers more attractive and the selling is an increase in the Burberry group.
2. Advertising
Advertising consists of creating targeted messages and placing them in specific media vehicles. The company controls its message because it pays others to run or place it rather than help communicate it. Advertising includes newspapers and magazines, on websites, on billboards, and in broadcast outlets, on building and vehicles, and using direct mail. The company is doing advertising from the websites. It launched new Burberry.com site. By this, the company communicates or deliver information regarding all the products and services.
In today's market scenario more or less all people using the internet and browsing. The marketing strategy adopted by the firm is having a wider scope across the globe. By this tool, every person can see all the information on the company's products and services within a few minutes without any physical interactions. Hence, advertising has a wider scope for all businesses in the world. The strategy is most beneficial for the selected organization. With the help of website marketing, the company is relied on from the physical work.
3. Promotion
Promotions include activities that encourage product trials and purchases or put the business name in front of potential customers in a more direct manner than advertising. Examples of promotions include in-store specials and sales, sponsoring events, teams and leagues, providing free samples, attending trade shows and festivals and holding contents (Fill and Hughes, 2008). Unlike advertising, promotions don't rely on printed or spoken messages communicated in one-way fashion; rather, they rely more on two-way interaction. This company is participating in the exhibition shows also to promote its products.
Promotions are the best option for marketing communication activities. It directly communicates with the people, here the selected company is promoting through the sponsorship, sample templates, trade shows, etc. It has a wider scope because promotion activities are done at the public place. For example, if a social event is organizing then obviously there will be a rush. At that event the company sponsor so it gives direct information to the public. So, it is an activity where the company no need to bear much extra cost and the promotion is also done.
4. Public Relations
Public relations activities try to bridge the gap between advertising and promotion by getting others to discuss the company in positive ways. Offering a youth scholarship is a nice thing for the business to do, but its public relations goal is to improve firm's stature in the market and to get free publicity when news outlets run stories on the programme (Caemmerer, 2009). Common public relations tools include press release sent to media outlets and newsletters, sent to potential and current customers.
To make a strong public relations is a very important part of any business. Through strong public relations, promoting and advertising is effectively done into the market. For every business its compulsory to make an effective public relation, which is very helpful to advertising and promoting the products and services in the marketplace.
5. Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is an umbrella term for the promoting of products or services exploitation digital technologies, primarily on the internet, but also moreover as mobile phones, display advertising, and therefore the different digital medium. Digital marketing campaigns are getting more prevalent as well as efficient, as digital platforms are progressively incorporated into marketing plans and standard of living, and as individuals use digital devices of attending to physical stores.
The company is using digital marketing to advertise its products. Burberry has completely on board with digital and embraced innovative marketing techniques blurring the boundary between its online environment and physical stores. The tool is having the widest scope in the current market because mostly person is interested in browsing and buy the products online (Kitchen and Proctor, 2015). The company is focussing on digital marketing, under this company have a separate page on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. The company having a website on the internet that is Burberry.com, which is one of the finest fashion websites on the internet. Through this tool of advertising the company rely on advertisement as well as other extra manpower. It is one of the best tools for advertising according to the current market scenario.
6. Continued Transformation of Fashion Shows
A fashion show is an occasion placed on by a designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of vesture throughout Fashion Week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the spring or summer and fall or winter seasons. this can be where the most recent fashion trends are created. The Burberry company is operating into the fashion industry, so it is an important tool for the company. Under this strategy, the company organizes the fashion shows where it launches new fashions with the help of models.
It is also having a wide scope, where people can know about the new outfit or new garments produced by the organization. With the help of this company advertise as well as promote the products. The selected organization is organized the fashion show on the continuous basis such as on the launch of a new garment, the launch of new fashions, the launch of the transformed garments, etc. it is attractive for the customers and helps to the company in increasing the sales (Fill, 2011).
7. Burberry use more of a viral marketing approach
It is not often that people see on television advertisements or billboards promoting the brand, yet there are always banners on fashion websites (as well as print advertisements in the same magazines) which advertise Burberry. As well as this, the complete appear at fashion weeks around the world without fail and additionally host their own shows to showcase new lines. This means that they're continuously in the press (whether that be fashion magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc.) and thus have constant coverage. Burberry relies hugely on celebrity endorsements, and they helped the brand win back its reputation after its downfall. The selected organization is adopted another strategy also such as Extended luxury leadership position in social media, where the company makes the strong and effective leadership position to advertise and promote products in the social media sites. It uses further digitization of the brand. Hence, in short, it can be said that the Burberry company is mainly focusing on digital marketing to advertising of the products.;
TASK 2
Marketing Communications Integration
Integrated marketing communications is a synchronized system that essentially links all of a brand's marketing communications together for a maximum total impact on the consumer (Danaher and Rossiter, 2011). This marketing strategy ensures that every part of the brand's image is not only cohesive, but also effective. When an integrated marketing communications strategy is used correctly, it creates consistency throughout all of a brand's marketing tools. Brands like to use the integrated marketing process often because it leads to the greater success of their overall marketing strategies. It is an approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign, through a well-coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other at the same time. Through the model, the company is able to recognize the value of a comprehensive plan that would evaluate the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines for the following: advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion and combines them to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication report. This style of marketing is becoming more and more important because media fragmentation and exposure have begun to desensitize consumers (Karjaluoto, Mustonen and Ulkuniemi, 2015). Consistency in integrated marketing does not mean a lack of creativity.
The selected organization is adopted the Integrated marketing communication to convey the message to consumers about products and services it offering. The company using some tools or elements which are helpful in the communication process, the tools are following below:
1. Media
An integrated campaign makes use of the full range of communication media to perform specific roles. Advertising raises awareness of a product and generates leads for follow up. It reinforces advertising by expanding follow up a mechanism to the advertising campaign and offers more detailed information to prospects via brochures or links to a website. Telemarketing and sales support material, such as sales and product guides, help the sales force to follow up the strongest prospects. Newsletters and email campaigns help to maintain contact and build relationships with prospects until the consumers are ready to buy.
2. Consistent Messages
The consistency of the message is one of the most important elements of integrated marketing communication. The copy style and content should be consistent across all media. When prospects read an advertisement, visit a website, pick up a leaflet or take a call from a telemarketing specialist, they should perceive the same product descriptions and benefit statements in each communication (Rodriguez, 2012). The company is having website Burberry.com. The website is the most widespread way of integrated marketing communication, which is a help to the customers and very easy to know about the new products.
3. Design Consistency
Consistency is a harmonious uniformity or agreement among things or parts. The company goal as a designer is to create order, to make it easy for consumers to find the information they are looking for. Consistency can help to Burberry to achieve the goal. Design consistency also is important. Using the same colors, photographs and other visual elements helps to reinforce the important campaign messages and links the various campaign elements together. As a bonus, design consistency can help reduce campaign costs by specifying standard elements and reusing visual material across the media.
- Free Revisions
- Free Topic Selection
- Free Formatting
- Free Reference Page
4.Reinforcement
Reinforcement is a key element. Integrated marketing communication ensures that all the elements of a marketing campaign work together to achieve objectives and deliver results. A campaign to improve sales through a retail network, for example, would include retailer training guides, templates for local advertising and direct marketing. Sales incentives for the retailer sales force, and advertising that drives business to the retail network (Hede and Kellett, 2011). It is also helpful for the selected organization in communicating with the consumers, by which the sales will increase and simultaneously the ratio of profit will also increase.
5. Sales Alignment
in business-to-business marketing, the purchasing process can be lengthy and complex, involving different decision-makers and influencers. Integrated marketing communication helps a company's sales team to provide the information that decision-makers need at each stage of the purchasing process. In a typical scenario, the buying team establishes its requirements, prepares a specification and short list of potential suppliers, evaluates proposals, and makes a final assessment of the most suitable suppliers. An integrated campaign aligns the communication program with the purchasing process at each stage to ensure success.
Integrated marketing communication is very useful for the Burberry company or every organization (Wu, Wen, and Junsong, 2015). It conveys an appropriate message to the consumers about the products and helps in achieving the goal of an organization.
Recommendations
From the above summary, it analyzed that the company is mainly focused on digital marketing for advertisement of the products. Over the past couple of years, it seems that Burberry has been acknowledging a decline in its sales faster than any other luxury goods brand when being compared. To advertise by only digital marketing can be a reason for declining sales, so the company should use another tool also for advertising about the products. The company should give the advertisement by the hard copies such as by newspapers, articles, templates, etc., for all this company has to bear the cost but instead of that, it conveys the message to that consumers also, who are not using any social media sites. It can be recommended to the company that it should adopt the promotion strategy as well as offline marketing. Promotion strategy is at the public places and at the events, where too much publicity is together. Promotion of the products is helpful because all persons, who are internet users or non-users can know about the products and services of the selected organization. By which the sales will increase and profit as well as.
Conclusion
It can be summarized from the above analysis that the Burberry company, which is the leading British luxury brand worldwide is using the marketing communications activities to promote and advertise its products and services. The company is using mainly digital marketing which is a tool of advertisements. With the help of digital marketing, the company advertises its products. Digital marketing adopted by a company under which it has a website on the internet i.e. Burberry.com. The company has a page on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. It can be concluded that the company is using integrated marketing communication in the organization to advertise and promote the products and services.
References
- Ang L., 2014. Integrated Marketing Communications: A focus on new technologies and advanced theories. Cambridge University Press.
- Caemmerer B., 2009. The planning and implementation of integrated marketing communications. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 27(4). pp.524-538.
- Danaher P.J. and Rossiter J.R., 2011. Comparing perceptions of marketing communication channels. European Journal of Marketing. 45(1/2). pp.6-42.
- Eagle L. and et. al., 2014. Marketing Communications. Routledge.
- Fill C. and Hughes G., 2008. Marketing Communications. Routledge.
- Fill C., 2011. Essentials of Marketing Communications. Pearson Education Limited.
- Hede A.M. and Kellett P., 2011. Marketing Communications for special events: Analysing managerial practice, consumer perceptions and preferences. European Journal of Marketing. 45(6). pp.987-1004.
- Karjaluoto H., Mustonen N. and Ulkuniemi P., 2015. The role of digital channels in industrial marketing communications. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. 30(6). pp.703-710.
- Kitchen P.J. and Proctor T., 2015. Marketing Communications in a post-modern world. Journal of Business Strategy. 36(5). pp.34-42.