Marketing
Black-and-Decker Company is repositioning itself in the United Arab Emirates market.
The company deals with electrical gadgets that include drilling machines, vacuum cleaners, cooking machines, and lawnmowers.
With increased competition for the UAE market by the providers of electrical equipment that have flooded the market, the company must look for ways in which to position its products in the market to beat the competition and be the market leader of electrical appliances in the UAE.
This research will look into the shortcomings and the weakness of the current Black and Decker products advertised in the UAE market.
Introduction
The brand position is the association that the customers and the public have concerning a company and its products.
The brand position entails five elements that are the brand position, the personality of the brand, the promise of the brand, the story of the brand, and the associations of the brand (Chris, 2001).
The research looks into the various ways in which the brand may be positioned in the market using integrated marketing communication plans.
Evaluation of the current IMC Plan
Black and Decker is a US-based company that specializes in the production and sales of electrical tools and accessories.
In recent years, its gross sales in the United States and the United Kingdom have been on the decline mainly due to the decline of the housing industry in the United States and UK (Clow, 2007).
These are the major markets for tools and home appliances.
Situational Analysis
The situation analysis looks into consumer behaviors in a world that is not predictable.
The consumer of the home appliances is the new and the existing homeowners in the United Arab Emirates.
When it comes to the target market for the home appliance the major market are women as they are the one who uses the appliances and is likely to describe an effective home product.
Brand Positioning
Black and Decker are relatively new in the UAE market and few people are aware of it.
When positioning the brand it is important to create messages that will last long. In considering that the company is a new entrant in the UAE market it is important to ensure that the company creates a brand that is appropriate for the market.
Before creating the desired brand, assessing the current brand position is important.
The first brand image derived from the market is that it is a renowned producer of home appliances.
Creative Strategy and Tactics
- The Response Model and Communication Objectives.
- Measuring the Effectiveness of the Promotions Messages.
- Media Planning and Budgeting.
- Broadcast Media & Print Media.
- Sales Promotion & Direct Marketing.
- Public Relations & Internal Marketing.
- Ethical and Social Issues (Bendinger, 1999).
Creative Strategy and Tactics (cont.)
Having analyzed the domestic market in UAE and its demographics in terms of earnings and expectations on the home appliances the next step is setting the communication objectives of the intended marketing campaign.
The communication objectives assist in assessing the success of marketing strategies (Bradley, 2010).
Social media provides a platform for measuring the effectiveness of the promotional messages dispatched to the audiences.
The promotional messages are such that they create awareness concerning the company’s activities.
For the messages to reach out to the desired targeted audiences they must use a particular channel of communication (Balmer, 2003).
Conclusion
The UAE is a major emerging market with a huge potential for the marketers of home appliances and electrical products to reap huge profits.
The demographics and the situational analysis in the market show that it is a major market in the Middle East.
The marketing communication department of Black and Decker must endeavor to ensure that it has implemented this plan in the UAE market to reap the potential benefits of the wide market.
Positioning the Black and Decker appliances as the most appropriate home equipment will be a major task due to the current competition from other manufacturers in the industry.
References
Balmer, J. (2003). Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on identity, image, reputation, corporate branding, and corporate-level marketing. London: Routledge.
Bendinger, B. (1999). Advertising & the business of brands. London: Pearson.
Bradley, N. (2010). Marketing research. Tools and techniques. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chris, F. (2001). Marketing communications: Contexts, strategies, and applications. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Clow, K. (2007). Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications 3rd edition. London: Pearson Education.
Drucker, P. (1974). Management: tasks, responsibilities, practices. New York: Harper & Row.