AMB202 Integrated Marketing Communications
Semester 1, 2015
Assessment 3: Report
Tutor: Kellie Haeusler
Tutorial Time: Friday 3pm
Group members:
Jacinta Rebelo (8858501)
Harrison McNamara (9191658)
Kathleen Breen (9144005)
Diana Ochero (8499292)
Word count: 1627
Due Date: 31st May 2015
Table of Contents1.0 Introduction22.0 Product and Market
Analysis:3Strengths4Weaknesses4Opportunities4Threats43.0 Target
Audience Analysis:54.0 Recommendations55.0 Scheduling & Media
Channels96.0 Evaluation Plan107.0 Conclusion11Reference
List:12Appendices14
1.0 Introduction
Laura Kidd is start up life celebrant who has envisioned an
alternative solution to the tradition wedding scene. Currently the
stereotypical life celebrants are people aged between 40-60
providing traditional services. Laura is targeting a more youthful
demographic who associate themselves as hipster/grunge and seek an
alternative solution to what is usually a very traditional
ceremony. The following report provides solutions and strategies
for Laura to ensure that her vision is created into reality. A
variety of creative strategies within the limited budget have been
put forward to ensure a short-term solution for a long-term
gain.
2.0 Product and Market Analysis:
Brisbane City & Metropolitan - Australian Marriage
Celebrants (2015) currently list 66 celebrants practicing within
Brisbane. The reliance customers have on technology plays a vital
role in converting sales. A celebrant’s online presence and
portrayal can dramatically affect business numbers. Savvy online
marketing can be used as a platform to initially gain the consumers
trust, and is a stepping-stone to converting sales. Several sites
display testimonials, however do not have photographic evidence
lacking a professional feel. Many of the sites are generic, failing
to grab the reader. The $240 annual registration fee may push those
who do not regularly get clients out of business (Australian
Government, Attorney General Department 2015). Through analysis of
the market there is room to grow in this saturated market.
Marketing strategies that offer a clear vision with a strong unique
selling point (USP) will enable growth for Laura.
Some direct competitors have a similar offering, to Laura K.
Joshua Withers is a young celebrant running Married by Josh. Josh
has a large social media following. Married by Josh would appeal to
the same psychographic market as Laura. The experience, exposure
and planning developed through years of operation in the industry
made Josh an industry market leader. He offers a stand out fresh
new style that is visually appealing (Married by Josh 2015). Josh
charges premium pricing, $1180 per wedding. Laura does not offer
the same level of experience so price will be a draw card. Charging
modestly for her services will capture a budget conscious market,
also gaining Laura experience.
Figure 1: SWOT Analysis of the Market
Strengths
· New to the market with a fresh take on the wedding
industry
· A clear brand envisagement
· Ability to sell using social media outlets
· Younger than the majority of wedding celebrants operating in
Brisbane (same age bracket as the majority of couples getting
married)
· Service based industry relies heavily on personality to gain
work- Laura K is sociable & likeable
· Willing to travel for customers
· Gain more business through promoting other services offered
eg. Commitment ceremony, Baby naming, vow renewal
· Professional yet untraditional
Weaknesses
· No testimonials to gain trust
· Lack of industry experience
· Small network
· Lower price may reflect lower quality
· Limited amount of time to invest in business development
· Solely dependant – no share of risk
· Small start up budget- reliant on customers to fuel staging
budget
· Negative unexpected feedback could tarnish reputation
Opportunities
· Expansion of business once established
· Build strong online following through online content
· Expansion of business through hiring staff to support future
growth
Threats
· Increasing amount of competitors
· Decreasing population interested in marriage
· People choosing to get married overseas/ at the register
3.0 Target Audience Analysis:
In 2013 the median age to wed was 31.5 years old for males and
29.5 years for females, with the majority of couples marrying for
the first time (ABS, 2013). General demographic figures give an
idea; however, do not enable Laura K to use emotive marketing.
Using physiographic marketing to target the general values,
attitudes and needs of the audience will create an appealing
message with a personally tailored feel. The target audience will
be socially inclined, inspired by the latest trends and looks. They
are willing to push the boundaries in all aspects of life. The
couples will be technologically savvy with heavy social media
consumption. Laura will target those that have a quirky nature and
those with an artistic inclination. The business operations and
marketing strategies will be designed around a hipster/ grunge
market.
4.0 RecommendationsObjective: to increase brand awareness and
identity among couples aged between 25-54 over an 18-month period
using predominantly digital media and brand touch points.
To establish brand identity Laura must determine a communication
style, logo and other visual elements that will be perceived by
consumers (Blombläk, 2012).
The strategy for the brand is to form an emotional connection
with the consumers through brand touch points so they can develop a
sense of belonging (Akbari & Safarnia, 2012). This will be done
by adopting the hipster/grunge lifestyle look and feel to the
website design to the target audience. The mood board bellow
illustrates the hipster/grunge look and feel to be adopted by the
web design.
Figure 2: Mood Board
This mood board gives Laura a visual representation of her brand
identity.
When designing the website, the recommend content management
system suggested is Wordpress (Stern, 2008, 09). It is a free and
open-source blogging tool that will help to setup, manage, and
update the Laura Kidd website.
Laura must also consider the domain name of the website and the
service type of Internet hosting that will allow her website to be
accessible via the World Wide Web. We suggest using GoDaddy, one of
the world’s largest domain name and web-hosting registrar (GoDaddy,
2015). See Figure 3 for an outline of website expenses.
Figure 3 – Domain and hosting costs
Domain Name
.com – The domain that will never go out of style.
A$17.99
.com.au – The preferred option for Australian businesses.
A$12.99
.xyz – A domain for the .xyz generation.
A$17.99
.co – Get the recognisable domain.
A$37.99
Wordpress Hosting Setup
Basic – A great way to get started.
A$9.99/mo
Deluxe – An integrated SEO wizard.
A$12.99/mo
Ultimate – More websites. More storage. More security.
A$20.99/mo
Developer – Up to 5 sites and packaged with pro features.
A$33.99/mo
The logo is a fundamental aspect of brand identity and prime
touch point tool. It is an identifiable visual element that helps
consumers discover, share and remember the brand.
Figure 4 – Laura K logo design
The use of circles, ovals and ellipses to design in Laura’s
logo, tend to project a positive emotional message (see Figure4).
Circles in logos suggest community, friendship, love, relationships
and unity. This tie with the idea of wedding rings that are
circular symbolise marriage, partnership, stability and endurance
(Culley, 2011). The grey colour embodies a neutral and cool feel
that works well with most other colours.
Social media platforms encourage regular two-way communication.
Campaigns on social media platforms can be implemented by posting
daily statuses and event reminders. The suggested social media
platforms to use are Facebook and Instagram. With over 13,200.00
users in Australia, Facebook is an effective platform for Laura to
increase company created brand touch points with consumers
(Campbell & Poeter, 2008). It will allow her to inform her
clients about daily activities in regards to her business allowing
two-way communication with her clients. Instagram is an on growing
social media platform with over 1,600,00 users posting on a daily
basis (Musico, 2009, 06). Instagram will allow Laura to visually
represent her brand identity, using hashtags to stimulate consumer
initiated touch points.
Visit the following website as a mock up for Laura K.
http://harrisonmcnamara.wix.com/laurakidd
5.0 Scheduling & Media Channels
For the Laura K business, it is recommended that a seasonal
advertising schedule be implemented. Weddings and life events are
celebrated all year round, however various wedding photographers
assert that the months April-May and September October are when the
majority of weddings take place (Olivia Buttsworh, Olivia Jae
Photography, 20th May 2015). Laura K needs a constant media present
throughout the year peaking in these seasonal times. See Figure X
for an annual media schematic. A high reach media objective is
suggested, as the brand is new.
Due to the limited marketing budget, digital channels are the
most cost effective. Laura K’s target audience is hipster based,
modern consumers are desensitized to traditional marketing (Yi
& Yazdanifard, 2014). By understanding this Laura is able to
tailor marketing stimulus in a way that will be most receptive to
prospective clients.
Social media will be effective for Laura K, and in the initial
months creating a presence is free. Once the brand is established,
sponsored Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest ads can be bought,
linking consumers back to the main website. Social media is a
simple tool to increase company generated and consumer initiated
touch points. Google Adwords is also a simple and impactful way of
increasing reach. Laura can determine the maximum spend per day on
CPCs, allowing Google to manage bidding for page placement (Google,
2015).
Laura K cannot solely rely on digital media as the only form of
company generated touch points. See appendix for an example of
direct mail. This can be printed for a small cost and distributed
through peak seasons in high traffic areas to increase reach.
It has been recommended that with an inconsistent income, Laura
K adopt a percentage of sales approach to budgeting in three stages
over eighteen months (Martenson, 1989). See Figure 5 for an outline
of the three stages. Over time, Laura’s client base will grow,
increasing the amount of income. Considering this is Laura’s second
income, 30% of net income over six months has been allocated to the
marketing budget.
Figure 5: Projected income and budget
Initial $600 for marketing expenditure.
· 3 Weddings in 6 months = $2100 Gross profit
· Minus expenses (estimated $200 at least) = Net profit of
$1900
· Reserve 30% of net profit for marketing expenditure = $570
· 4 Weddings in 6 months = $2800 Gross profit
· Minus expenses (estimated $200 at least) = Net profit of
$2600
· Reserve 50% of net profit for marketing expenditure =
$1300
6.0 Evaluation Plan
To analyse the reach of her social media campaign a variety of
measurement tools can be used. Google analytics is a software
package that generates and analyses metrics; there are many types
of web-site metrics i.e. how many times files are accessed, how
many unique IP addresses access the site, how many pages served,
how long the average person stays on each page etc. (Tyler &
Ledford, 2006). It is through the use of Google analytics that
Laura can monitor how much attention her website is generating.
Within Google Analytics a subset offering is click analytics. Click
analytics monitors a websites usage to display what and where users
are clicking on a page, this then creates reports and charts for
the user to interpret the data (Farney, 2011). Click analytics can
further develop Laura’s insights of the website metrics measured
throughout Google Analytics.
In order to further develop her social media channels, Laura can
offer a client evaluation and customer satisfaction letter. The
purpose of this is to allow Laura to use any positive material used
within her promotional sites as a form of reference for any
potential clients (Gordon, 2000). By doing this the target audience
will be able to view relevant information from a perspective other
than Laura and reassure that her services are well received (Boon
et al., 2014).
7.0 Conclusion
In summary, the strategies provided are believed to be the most
relevant to Laura’s current financial and start up situation. By
understanding the market and through the research of the specified
target audience the report has given a clear direction in which
Laura is able to follow. By focusing on emotion as one of the key
selling areas Laura can tap into key consumer touch points and
ensure that the target audience at large is being catered for. By
following the budget and media plan strategies Laura can have a
clear plan as to where her business is heading. Using the
strategies put forward Laura can ensure that her business will be
successful heading for a long and prosperous future.
Reference List:
Akbari, Z., & Safarnia, H. (2012). The relationship of
emotional intelligence , market orientation and competitive
strategy.Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in
Business, 4(8), 497-511. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1282292420?accountid=13380
Australian Bureau of Satistics (2013) 3310.0 - Marriages and
Divorces, Australia, 2013. Retreived from
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/3310.0
Australian Government, Attorney General Department (2015)
Marriage celebrants conducting civil ceremonies. Retrieved from
http://marriage.ag.gov.au/marriagecelebrants/civilAustralian
Marriage Celebrants Incorporated (2015) FIND A CELEBRANT : QLD :
Brisbane City & Metropolitan. Retrieved from
http://www.marriagecelebrants.org.au/member_list.php?marea_id=20
Blombäck, A., & Ramírez-Pasillas, M. (2012). Exploring the
logics of corporate brand identity formation. Corporate
Communications, 17(1), 7-28.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13563281211196335
Boon, C. L., & Cindy M.Y. Chung. (2014). Word-of-mouth. Asia
Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 26(1), 39-53. Retrieved
from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1467812707?accountid=13380
Campbell, S., & Poeter, D. (2008). Social networking for
business -- online platforms proving profitable for
VARs. CRN, (1261), 20-21. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/227565875?accountid=13380
Culley, N. (2011). Logo is vital to start-up firms: Design
consultant. Financial Adviser, Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/872454053?accountid=13380
Farney, T. A. (2011). Click analytics: Visualizing website use
data. Information Technology and Libraries, 30(3), 141-148.
Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/883688740?accountid=13380
GoDaddy Operating Company. (2015). Find your perfect Domain
Name. Retrieved from
https://au.godaddy.com/domains/domain-name-search.aspx
Google. (2015). Adwords Help, Google Adwords. Retrieved from:
https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2497976?hl=en-AU
Gordon, K. (2000). DO TELL. Entrepreneur Journal. Santa Monica,
Calif. 28 (8) p.126
Married by Josh 2015, Married by Josh. Retrieved from
http://marriedbyjosh.com/
Martenson, R. (1989). International Advertising Budgeting
Practices, Scandinavian Journal of Management, 5(2), 137 – 147,
DOI: doi:10.1016/0956-5221(89)90020-1
Musico, C. (2009, 06). SOCIAL NETWORKING PLATFORMS: Making
social more social. Customer Relationship Management, 13,
49. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/222769768?accountid=13380
Stern, Z. (2008, 09). E-mail posts to your WordPress
blog. PC World, 26, 120. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/231437154?accountid=13380
Tyler, M., & Ledford, J (2006). "Chapter 1 - Why
Analytics?". Google Analytics. John Wiley & Sons. © 2006.
Books24x7.
Yi, K., Yazdanifard, R. (2014). Generation Y and the Feasibility
of Guerilla Marketing, Academia.edu, retrieved from:
http://www.academia.edu/8427020/GENERATION_Y_AND_THE_FEASIBILITY_OF_GUERRILLA_MARKETING
[Type text][Type text][Type text]
Harrison McNamara (9191658); Jacinta Rebelo (8858501); Kathleen
Breen (9144005); Diana Ochero (8499292)
1
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Digital
Website
Google AdWords
Instagram (organic)
Facebook (organic)
Facebook(sponsored)
Direct Mail
Flyer
Appendices
Appendix 1: Media Schedule
Appendix 2: Itemised offerings of Laura K.
Income: Price Packages
Expenses
Wedding Package $700.00
Includes:
· The event – tailored to your needs
· 3 consults prior to event
· Marriage certificate
** Travel costs not included
· $200 Flat rate for microphone
· $$ Ad words on Google
· Domain name $17.99
· Wordpress set up $9.99
· Allow $100 for 6 moths of sundries (coffee for consultations
etc)
· Re-registration as celebrant
· Clothes for the events
· Stationery – pens to sign, certificate expenses
Baby Naming Package $300.00
Includes:
· The event – tailored to your need
· Naming Certificate
Vowel Renewal Package $500.00
Includes:
· The event – tailored to your needs
· 2 consults prior to event
** Travel costs not included
Appendix 3: Direct mail flyer
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3