Introduction
The following is a marketing communications campaign report written for Brunel University for a new Master’s program in Community Development and Conflict Management set to be launched on December, 10th 2008. The main marketing communication tools identified in the marketing communication mix, in this case, are print advertising and outdoor and the internet.
The usage of these tools will vary as per the target audience. The motivation in development and marketing of the new program coincides with our strategic imperative in taking “practical actions and activities we need to undertake” to achieve our mission “To advance knowledge and understanding, and provide society with confident, talented and versatile graduates” as stated in our 2007-2012 strategic plan.
Situation analysis
The civil society and the interaction between markets and the community forms the basis of any marketing initiatives and decisions (Varey, 2002). She explains that the way that the public, and more so in civic sense with political inclinations, the core message in marketing communication can be obscured or distorted to the disadvantage of the marketer. In our case, this is very relevant as part of our target market has politicians in them. Again, our targeting of Africa as a continent that has displayed a lot of community based organizations mismanagement and political decay, we realize the delicateness of the issue and the sensitivity of it.
As such, our marketing communication initiatives will dwell on strategically building a relationship with our target market based on trust, familiarity, and mutual wellness. The success of this move will place us way ahead of our competitors in market rating as a resourceful partner in the quest for community development and conflict management and resolution but not just another vendor of academic courses.
Literature review
Community mobilization has for a long time played a great role in the global arena, be it in politics, civil reasons, economic causes, or social issues (Baberth and Joseph, 2006). Unfortunately, community management knowledge and use of it for development purposes have been minimal and scarce. De Beer and Hennie (2006) note that community development initiatives are used to fight poverty in Africa. They attribute this to the strong core values upheld by African communities hence note its potential if strategically managed.
A report by the Guardian daily shows that the majority of the people believe that Obama’s experience in community organizing and mobilization and grassroots appeal played a crucial role in engineering his campaign and eventual win. This is just one of the most recent examples, where community organization has played a great role in shaping a community and the person leading the community. The shift in trend and perspective on the strength of community organization points that Brunel University is very much timely launching this program.
Methodology
To assess the validity of the information provided by the authors, a small market research study was carried out. The study involved a sample group of 600 respondents drawn out from our hypothesized markets such as upcoming politicians, students on exchange programs and individual capacity, existing politicians, staff from local governments, and civil society leaders. They were required to answer a number of questions relevant to the marketability of our program.
Research findings
The study findings indicated that the majority of the respondents in the market viewed the course as a launching pad to a better future in their respective careers. 70% of the respondents from Africa indicated that after reading the course content, they felt sure that was what African leaders needed so they could learn how to run their countries through constructive politics as a sure way of strengthening the communal spirit of Africa.
Market segmentation and targeting
The broadness and diversity of our potential market in age, career, location, and income, call for segmentation based on the mentioned factors. Our target markets have been identified as; politicians with the first degree; first-degree holders working in community-based organizations and graduates from community development-based courses. These target markets will be reached out in the UK and Africa markets only in the first year.
Positioning
The program will be positioned by merit and leadership into developing responsible and competent community leaders capable of converting conflicts due to diversity in communities into core strengths of that community.
Public relations
Our MC message to the market has to be consistent with the university’s core values, mission, and objectives (Porter, 2004). In addition, Porter (2004) reminds us that our message has to be uniform throughout the various MC tools used in our campaign. Our professors in the faculty will be addressing international forums and conferences inclined on development agendas and leadership. The Sun Newspaper has been identified to set up a weekly column discussing community development issues where our professors will be the key contributors.
Our acceptability in our target market will also be enhanced through participation in symposiums, forums, and exhibitions. Our academic staff will be the most active in carrying out this agenda. They will speak on and display where possible the suitability and relevance of our program in society.
Sponsorship and contracts
In collaboration with a number of consultancy firms yet to be identified, local authorities rated highly on performance and community development will have their leaders offered a free two-week appraisal course on community and development conflict management in our facilities.
Objectives
Corporate objectives
- Start offering the program in the January 2009 intake.
- Obtain revenues from the course in excess of £6 within the first year.
Marketing objectives
- Enroll 50 students in the first semester
- Attain a 2% return on investment in the first two years
- Realize £0.7 million in revenue in the first year
Marketing communication objectives
- Gain 90% program awareness within Brunel University’s immediate community on the launching day.
- Establish program awareness to 30% in the UK market before the commencement of the course.
- Gain and maintain 40% program awareness in our target markets
Strategies to achieve our objectives
Our campaign has identified three basic strategies to carry out our task. They center on creating push and pull demand and improve on our profile. These strategies are going to be used in achieving our objectives outlined earlier (Wood et al 2006).
- The first 50 students to register for the program will exclusively be offered a 20% automatic discount on the fees for the full course.
- Foreign students out of the UK will for the first time be legible to pay for the full course the same amount as local students for the first batch of enrolment.
- First-degree graduates from our university will be legible for a 10% discount on registration for the first semester.
- Our marketing initiatives will be consistent to maintain a continuous stream of students for our program.
- Our department will liaise with the university’s other departments that offer undergraduate courses that can be linked to our program for promotion
Marketing communication strategies
- The official launching day will be carried out in the afternoon and all classes in the afternoon will be postponed or canceled to allow all the university community members to participate in the launch.
- Three guest speakers from the academic world have been invited to the launching of the program and are expected to present speeches during the ceremony.
- The mayor of London City has been invited to the launching ceremony to plant a tree in commemoration of the day.
- The Minister of education will officially launch the program and will be the chief guest.
- All this information will be included in leaflets, banners, and posters to be distributed all over the city and in all major universities and colleges in the UK.
- Marketing communication will center on the relevance of the course and the offers for the first enrolments.
- Special brochures and pamphlets on the program will be printed and distributed in the UK in addition to the new University courses outline pamphlets.
- Qualification for 10% discount on first semester fees for our first-degree graduates
- 50% of our budget allocation will be used for marketing communication initiatives before the commencement of the program.
- 50% of the budget allocation shall be used for MC purposes in till the next budget allocation.
Other strategies
Wood et al (2006) informs us that the ultimate goal of any marketing communication is to create product/service awareness in the market. Unfortunately, this does not automatically create demand for the brand. As such, MC has to be strategically managed to create demand for the brand. When it comes to marketing education like in our case Cox (2006) informs us that “learning communities are common meeting grounds where the world of academic and practitioner can collide productively”.
Print advertising
Advertising in print media will be the basis of the campaign local the domestic market. This medium will be effective in achieving the short-term goals herewith described as the period between now and the launching of the program. It will inform people of the launch and build interest through colorful eye-catching adverts in the local dailies and magazines. Periodical magazines and academic journals will also be utilized to achieve the long-term objective.
At the moment, they are not effective as many of the many is a monthly hence cannot be used to advertise the launching. The Sun and The Independent newspapers are to carry an A3-sized advert for six days before the launching. Earlier than that, they will run the adverts on their Friday and Tuesday editions only. After the launch, adverts will be carried on a monthly basis only. It is estimated this will cost us £15,700 altogether.
Outdoor advertising
This will consist of posters and banners. 16X10 Inch sized posters on bus stops, public libraries, and other areas will be run for beforetwo weeks prior to the launching date. Banners will be based on cost per thousand impressions (CPM). This means 4000 posters and 100 banners in London city only. This activity will cost our MC team £3,500. This will raise the awareness levels and contribute in achieving one of our short-term objectives.
Internet advertising
Internet advertising will be mainly carried out by the university’s official website which offers detailed information on the course and its requirements. Alternatively, civil societies will be later targeted so as they can provide links to our program as found in the University’s official website by directly accessing the Masters in Community Development and Conflict Management program. The objective of Internet advertising will be to reach target consumers, who spend a significant amount of time online.
According to government national statistics, the proportion of households in the UK who could access the internet from home reached 57% as of 2006 (www.statistics.gov.uk). Promotion via search engines such as Google Inc, MSN, and other popular engines will be employed to target the online market in the UK and the world.
Unfortunately, the targeting of the African market through this method is relatively ineffective as internet use is still relatively low in that region standing at 16% according to an IMF report of 2006 (De Beer and Hennie 2006). Internet advertising will take place throughout the campaign and its budgetary allocation will increase by 2% annually. In the first year, it will cost £1000.
Budget allocation
£1million was budgeted for the first year of the campaign.
Ethical considerations
As much as commercialization of education has led to the availability and improvement in quality, in the same stride, it has led to the deterioration of quality by rogue operators and academicians. The increased global demand for knowledge and competition by the vendors has led to the questioning of the ethical and moral perspective in education marketing. Some of the tools employed in MC might have a negative perception by the audience. Therefore, morality has to be observed. As such our brochures and pamphlets can in no way be allowed to carry inflammatory material or anything that trespasses on the universal code of morals.
On the other hand, our program may seem to offer more than we can. As much as education in the light of this course empowers one to lead a community successfully and probably realize some of the goals set forward such as poverty reduction as De Beer and Hennie (2006) say, we cannot guarantee that. This presents an ethical dilemma for our MC team as simply telling the truth about what we cannot guarantee to customers: they can buy education but they cannot buy knowledge.
References
Cox, Val (2006), Marketing education: constructing the future, Marketing Intelligence and Planning Journal, Vol, 24 No.3
De Beer, F. Hennie, S. (2006), Community Development: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty, (London, Juta)
Varey, R. (2006), Role of Marketing communications: Education marketing in a changing world, Journal of Services marketing Emerald
Pickton, D. and Broderick, A. (2004), Integrated marketing communications, (London, Prentice Hall)
Heather, M. (2004), Marketing communications, (New York, Pearson)
Kay, Mark, (2005) Strong brands and corporate brands, (New Jersey, Montclair State University)