UNIT 2 Integrated Advertising Program CHAPTER 3: Analysis of Mission & Market Lesson 9: Objective Setting & Determining Target Audience Learning Objectives • You will understand via this lesson the goal and objective of an advertising campaign. • This lesson will expose you to the different types of objectives. • Understand as to how to go about formulating the objectives. • In understanding that objectives are closely linked to the communication process. • Understanding the bases for Targeting. Well, friend, now we come to an important topic that is the objective setting where advertising is concerned. Essentially it deals with what our basic aim is all about. What do we really want to achieve in our advertising plan. So let me start the lesson. Advertising is a method of communication with a specified objective. The Objectives of advertising as explained before are grouped as sales objectives (measured in terms of
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UNIT 2 Integrated Advertising Program CHAPTER 3: … 2 Integrated Advertising Program CHAPTER 3: Analysis of Mission & Market Lesson 9: Objective Setting & Determining Target Audience
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Now let us take objectives a degree higher. Let us incorporate the elements of planning
within this lesson. This will take you to easily understand the subsequent chapters and
lessons.
Strategic Planning: Making Intelligent Decisions
• Strategic planning is the process of determining objectives (what you want to accomplish), deciding on strategies (how to accomplish objectives), and implementing the tactics (which make the plan come to life).
• An objective is a goal or task to be accomplished – the destination.
• A strategy is the means by which the goal is accomplished – the route to the destination.
• Possible tactics could be: a demonstration, a testimonial, or an emotional or funny story.
The Business Planning Process
The Business Planning Process
• Business Mission Statement– supports the corporate mission and includes the broad goals
and policies of the business unit.• External Environment
– opportunities: area for the company to develop an advantage over its competition.
– threat: trend or development in the business environment that will erode business unless the company takes purposeful marketing action.
• Internal Environment– Strength and weaknesses: could revolve around financial
conditions, personnel issues, or technical expertise.
The Business Planning Process
• The entire procedure is called a SWOTs Analysis.• Next step is to develop specific objectives and goals for
the planning period.• Follow this with outlines of specific strategies that
relate to each goal.• Next, work out specific supporting programs (tactics)
for carrying out strategies formulated.• Implement the plans, then evaluate the results and
make any needed adjustments.
Steps in the Marketing Plan
Marketing ObjectivesSelect Objectives Such as Desires for a Percentage of Market Share, Unit Sales, Store Traffic or Profit.
Marketing ObjectivesSelect Objectives Such as Desires for a Percentage of Market Share, Unit Sales, Store Traffic or Profit.
Marketing Problems and OpportunitiesReview Information to Determine Problems and Opportunities.
Marketing Problems and OpportunitiesReview Information to Determine Problems and Opportunities.
Selecting Target MarketsCompany Selects Market Segments that Can Best be Served
From a Competitive Point of View.
Selecting Target MarketsCompany Selects Market Segments that Can Best be Served
From a Competitive Point of View.Marketing Strategies
Key Strategic Decisions that Will Give the Product or Firm a Competitive Advantage in the Marketplace.
Marketing StrategiesKey Strategic Decisions that Will Give the Product or Firm
a Competitive Advantage in the Marketplace.
Executing PlansImplementing a Marketing Plan Requires a Number of Decisions.
Executing PlansImplementing a Marketing Plan Requires a Number of Decisions.
Evaluating PlansCompare Actual Performance with Planned Performance.
Evaluating PlansCompare Actual Performance with Planned Performance.
Steps in the Marketing Plan
The Advertising Plan
An Advertising Plan Matches the Right Audience to the Right Message and Presents
It in the Right Medium to Reach That Audience & Has Three Elements.
Targeting the Audience: Whom are you trying to reach?
Message Strategy: What do you say to them? Media Strategy: When & where will you reach them?
My dear student, it was important to give these slides here at this point of time, since this
is a strategic junction. With the help of these you will be able to relate to the preceding
chapters and will be able to understand the relevance of the subsequent chapters and their
linkage.
I want you to discuss at least 10 objectives of brands in the context of advertising and
marketing. You could take 2 such brands and make a presentation about the reason why it
chose that objective at that point of time.
Determining Target Audience
Let us say that I want to market a brand of jeans. The price of the jeans is Rs. 1000/ and I
would like college-going people to wear that jeans. In addition I see a person to be
confident and knows what he / she wants out of life. Tell me can I look at you to be my
target audience? Of course I can. So does that mean you are to be my target audience for
the pair of jean?
You must understand that we are not merely manufacturing and selling, rather, we are
manufacturing what the needs of the people are about. For every product there is a
specific people, which are to be kept in mind while marketing the product.
In order to tailor your marketing and advertising strategies to appeal to the tastes and
interests of your market, you must first identify your customer. In order to do this, you it
is necessary to conduct thorough research of the consumer marketplace. Keep in mind,
the more information you have about your target market, the better able you will be to
develop a successful marketing plan.
A market profile typically uses primary and secondary sources to answer key questions
about a potential market. A profile is a picture or an outline. Information that makes up
the social profiles of the people in your target market is called demographic information,
and includes:
• Age, usually given in a range (20-35 years)
• Sex
• Marriage/partner status
• Location of household
• Family size and description
• Income, especially disposable income (money available to spend)
• Education level, usually to last level completed
• Occupation
• Interests, purchasing profile (what are consumers known to want?)
• Cultural, ethnic, racial background
A clothing manufacturer may consider a number of possible target markets--toddlers,
athletes, grandparents (for grandchildren), teenagers, and tourists. A general profile of
each of these possible markets will reveal which ones are more realistic, pose less risk,
and which are more likely to show a profit. A test market survey of the most likely
market groups, or those who buy for them, such as parents for babies and toddlers, can
help you separate real target markets from unlikely possibilities.
So basically we sub divide the market on the basis of geography, demographic, socio-
economic, psychographic bases and the market conditions. The most common
descriptions of the target audience are in terms of geographic, demographic and
socioeconomic terms. If we take into consideration a simple product like a cycle, within
this a normal cycle may be target at the rural community, whereas a sports cycle would
focus more on young urban kids.
Insurance, you would ideally think would be for the older generation, but you have to
start working now. So what do you think is the target audience for that product? Yes, they
are, I mean the companies, focusing on the younger generation. Basically people in the
age group of 30 to 45 years are the focused target group. Also the profiles of these people
is that of senior executive, upwardly mobile and are concerned about their family about
their future.
What do you think about the following advertisement? What do you think the age of the
man is?
Halley suggests a benefit sought as a useful base for identifying a target audience. It cuts
across all other bases. The example of toothpaste users illustrates this. Toothpaste market
has four identifiable segments, e.g.,
• Tooth decay prevention
• Brightness of the teeth.
• One with flavor.
• Mouth freshness.
Targeting, you must understand, makes the marketing mix all the more effective within
the context of integrated advertising program. The product matches the consumer profile.
The promotional program remains in tune to the consumers’ willingness to receive,
assimilate and react positively to the communication. It is recognition of the fact that the
market is not a single cohesive unit but it is rather seething in its very essence. It being
desperate, pulsating, antagonistic, infinitely varied sea of differing human beings – here
everyone being distinct from the others as fingerprints; everyone of them living in certain
circumstances and in countless ways from those in which everyone of them is living.
In a country like India where unity is in diversity, identifying target audience for a
product is a formidable task. To optimize targeting, the potential of the target market, its
needs, its effective demand and accessibility needs must be considered.
A marketing communication starts with a clear target audience in mind. The audience
critically influences the communicator’s decision on:
• What is to be said?
• How it is to be said?
• When it is to be said?
• Where it is to be said?
• Who is to say it?
Suppose you were to advertise a product like Burgers. How would you integrate the
above questions in your attempt to go on to identify the target market?
The communication objectives emerge from the analysis of the target market. In fact
I would say that they sometimes could have an irreversible role to play in advertising.
You should remember that no matter which stage of the campaign you might be in,
looking at the objectives and subsequently the target market is an important means to be
in touch with where your campaign is heading.
The quantitative research of consumers socio-economic and demographic conditions,
user-status, use frequency, etc, along with the qualitative research of image analysis of
the object in consumer’s perception goes a long way in setting communication objectives.
Image I need to tell you is a set of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a person holds of an
object. It is a precondition for any communication planning. The familiarity of the target
audience is first measured against the following scale:
• Never heard of
• Just heard
• Know a little
• Know fairly well
• Know very well
If most of the respondents tick the first two options, the communication objective would
be to build awareness. Those who are familiar are tested for their attitudes towards the
product:
• Very unfavorable
• Somewhat unfavorable
• Neutral
• Somewhat favorable
• Very favorable
Negative attitudes must be overcome before undertaking further promotion. Hence
we could in addition say that, analyzing the image of a product in the mind of the
consumer is a crucial step to bring about differentiation in the market place. This
differentiation would help us in understanding the relevant target audience to be targeted
at. For example in the case of Freedom bike from LML, we are looking at not only the
bike loving community or an age group which is 18 +, but importantly we are targeting at
the people who want their spirits to be free. The independent person is basically what we
are looking at. Similarly the fair and lovely advertisement for example, previously and to
an extent till date they were looking at targeting the girls who would get married if they
use the fair & lovely fairness cream. Of course the advertisement came under much flak
because it hurt the sentiments of the women who were of a darker complexion. As a
result the next advertisement focused on the confident young woman who becomes a TV
commentator despite all odds. So the point my dear student is that we have to understand
the complete profile of the consumer before we can actually go on to make the target
audience analysis.
Now I want you all to analyze the target market for the following brands:
• Whirlpool Washing Machine
• Titan Watches
• Reliance Mobile Service
• Airtel Mobile Service
• Bagpiper
In the subsequent lessons we would understand the concept of segmentation. But you
must not confuse the two. Segmentation is a broader palying field where the consumer
profiles are concerned. You could say that it is the prelude to targeting. The marketing
man carries out several other tasks besides segmentation In order to focus on his target
market. Essentially he carries out a thorough evaluation of the various segments and
selects those segments that are most appropriate to him. This segments should be
relevant, accisible, sizeable and very importantly profitable.
The evaluation of the different segments has to be actually based on these criteria and
only on the basis of such an evaluation should the target segments be selected. The
marketing man or the advertiser must understand the assessment of the sales potential and
profit potential from these segments. You must realize that if the message that you
formulate and the money that you spend on the campaign does not connect with the right
people where sales growth is concerned then I am afraid we are not going in the right
direction.
I addition we must also analyze whether it would be profitable to select the entire market.
We can also look at certain segments, which may have consumers who are not too
satisfied with the current offering by the competitors. It could also be possible that you
target a few segments separately and design your objectives accordingly. Even your
message strategy will have to change. But you must understand your company’s
resources and accordingly choose a target market. You might find all segments attractive
but you have certain constraints to work along with.
Let us take the example of soaps in India to understand the issue here.
Consists of 2 segments:
• Preference for premium soaps
• Preference for popular soaps
Size wise:
1. Popular segment bigger than premium category.
2. Premium segment just 15% of the total soap market in terms of tonnage.
3. Large volume of business in Popular segment.
4. However value is higher in the premium segment. The size also being
considerable.
Future Position:
1. High growth sectors are in mind by the business firms.
2. Popular segment is growing at the rate of 10% per annum, whereas the
premium segments at 30 % per annum.
Profitability:
1. Price range for premium segment is placed at between Rs. 10/ to Rs. 50/.
2. Price range for the popular segment at less than Rs. 10/.
3. Although volume selling in the popular segment would bring about sales, and
the profitability factor would be low.
4. Whereas the profitability factor is high where the premium segment is
concerned.
5. Launching a brand is competitive and especially when the competition is
growing by the day.
6. Expensive media like TV would have to be used to get in touch with the
target group.
7. Selling and marketing costs to be taken into consideration.
Accessible:
1. The various market shares of the brands of the competitor would determine
this. If the market share were on the rise per annum then it would mean that
the market is accessible.
Resources & Objectives to be matched:
1. Position of the firm in terms of competency and relative experience would
determine this.
2. Firm to look at areas like internal culture, marketing styles and strong
organization along with a strong hold where resources are concerned.
Please understand that this is a very strategic decision, which a firm has to undertake in
order that the right customer group is reached.
Now let me come to another fascinating part whereby we can further focus on our
target market. Namely:
• Undifferentiated strategy
• Differentiated strategy
• Concentrated strategy
It will look very easy to you with the following diagrams.
A. Undifferentiated target market.
Firm’s IMC &
Objectives
IMC 1
Market
Segment 1
IMC 2 Segment 2
Segment 3
B. Differentiated Target Market
IMC 3
Firm’s IMC
Segment 1
Segment 2
Segment 3
C. Concentrated Target Market.
In the case of undifferentiated strategy a firm decides to ignore market segment
differences and go after the whole market with one offer. This is commonly referred to as
mass marketing. You are reaching out to one and all, irrespective of any segmentation
differences.
The differentiated strategy on the other hand comes about when the firm decides to target
several market segments and designs separate offers for each. For example you could
have a company manufacturing cars keeping in mind let us say 3 things as purse, purpose
and personality. In fact I would urge you to kindly look at the brands that Maruti has in
its portfolio and you will realize the above point.
Thirdly coming down to concentrated marketing; it is a strategy, which comes into play
when a form goes after a large share of one or a few sub markets. This is especially true
when the firm’s resources are limited in nature. So instead of going after a small share of
a large market it rather goes for a large share of a small market or a few markets or if I
could say niche markets. This is especially true for smaller firms trying to make a mark in
the market. For example, in the case of Tiger biscuits, you mus realize that they
introduced the Re.2/ pack purely because they could cater to the rural segment. The chai
biscuit, so the Britannia people called it, had different segments having the biscuits.
So dear student let me now come to the gist of a good target market:
• Measurable: Inclusive of size, purchasing power and profiles of the segment
can be measured.
• Accessible: Effectively reached and served.
• Substantial: Large or profitable enough to serve.
• Differentiable: Conceptually distinguishable and respond differently to
different marketing mix elements and programs.
• Actionable: Effective programs can be designed for attracting and serving
the segments.
The issue in target market is not who is targeted but rather how and what for. So you
must understand the profile of the people and their needs in order to reach out to them.
Please read the following article, which came out in the Financial Express. This will give
you a clear picture on targeting.
“Quote-Unquote what few stalwarts have to say about Targeting.”
o "There is no such thing as a Mass Mind. The Mass Audience is made up
of individuals, and good advertising is written always from one person
to another. When it is aimed at millions it rarely moves anyone."
- Fairfax Cone, of Foote Cone & Belding, quoted in John O'Toole, The
Trouble with Advertising . . . 1981, New York: Chelsea House, p. 48.
o "There is no such thing as national advertising. All advertising is local
and personal. It's one man or woman reading one newspaper in the
kitchen or watching TV in the den."
- Morris Hite, quoted in Adman: Morris Hite's Methods for Winning the Ad