Executive summary
The level of brand awareness among different people has a significant effect on the success of the business producing the products (Aljunaidi and Ankrak 1). In the past, companies with operations in the FMCG used traditional means of reaching customers that were associated with innumerous problems such as difficulties in reaching a large audience (Djukic 17). In spite of this, technological improvement has made operations quite easy by providing social media platforms where it is possible to reach a large customer base within a very short time.
The research proposal provides an overview of the role of social media platforms in increasing the level of customer awareness among FMCG industries. The study applied descriptive research design to collect reliable data which was analyzed to determine the effect of social media. Empirical results and findings indicated that social media platforms have become popular among corporate. The social media platforms are used create high market penetration, by enhancing easy distribution of content, improving customer service and improving audience insights.
Company background
The focus of this study will be on establishing the role of social media platforms in creating brand awareness in the FMCG industries, case study of Coca-Cola Company. Coca Cola Company is a multinational company in the FMCG industry (Aljunaidi and Ankrak 1). In the UAE, the company holds a considerable market share. However, there is a need for the company to grow and develop effective marketing and product promotion to ensure that almost every potential customer in UAE is aware of the existence of Coca-Cola brand in the region.
Coca Cola is a popular brand across the globe due to its advertisement strategy that employs daily communication between the consumers and the brand for purposes of creating loyal customer (Aljunaidi and Ankrak 1). For example, following the need for a strong customer base, as well as to critically maintain a high teens’ market share, Coca Cola launched the Coke Zone via the social media that targeted the creation of loyalty among the young adults and teenagers (Ammerman 7). Customers shared their experiences and purchased via different media platforms, which ensured that there was a high and sustainable loyalty among all the users.
Problem statement
Technological advancement following the introduction of computers and the internet has changed various aspects of the corporate world; many companies are now experiencing high growth in revenue due to effective strategies for product marketing and promotion (Ammerman 7). For example, social media use has become widespread among businesses especially as a suitable avenue to reach, attract and grow a large customer base.
In spite of the high use of social media within the corporate sector there are numerous concerns on the effectiveness of social media platforms in the creation of brand awareness for a given company (Djukic 26). As such, this study will seek to establish the role of social media platforms like Google plus, Facebook, and Twitter in the creation of brand awareness, Coca-Cola will be used as the case study.
Research objectives
The primary objective of this study will be to establish the significance of social media platforms in the creation of brand awareness in the FMCG industry.
Literature Review
Introduction
The literature review in this case provides an in-depth analysis of the concept of social media platforms and brand awareness. The review of literature will focus on past studies about the use of social media as an advertisement tool in the corporate world and to establish any correlation between social media platforms and the creation of brand awareness for different brands within the FMCG industry.
Many companies in the industry have always faced challenges in the endeavor to come up with effective ways of engaging their customers (Ammerman 7). Usually, first the producers of the goods are considered unique items, which are very important among different individuals and are often bought on a daily basis through an autopilot approach. According to Djukic (70), it has always been a challenge for most individuals to find a brand that is highly dependable, and readily available at a price that the consumers are willing and able to buy.
Due to the difficulties associated with establishing the right product to meet the consumers’ demands, it has become tricky for FMCG industries to determine what goods are demanded at the prevailing price. Usually, the products are found in supermarkets as well as in other large retail stores. The fact that these products are available in such areas makes it hard for the brands to determine the final price since it is determined by the stores where they are found.
Industries that deal with the manufacture of various products now understand that effective penetration of such goods can only be successful if the consumers are engaged before the products are availed in the stores (Aljunaidi and Ankrak 1). Such engagement is done through social media platforms, mobile engagement, as well as paid social advertisement. Involvement of social media platforms in brand promotion provides an opportunity for the effective marketing of the first moving consumer goods whereby the producers can develop with buyers and hence provide offers that are designed basically for specific customers (Banerjee and Ashwini Kumar BJ 62).
As such, through social media platforms, FMCG industries are able to engage consumers into communications that were not possible with the traditional advertisement (Djukic17). In addition, trends indicate that different FMCG industries have a potential for developing strategies whereby social media platforms are set for specific brands where they are sold directly to their customers, as opposed to selling in stores and supermarkets.
Social media can is defined as the set of applications that are based on the internet and are suitable for building technological and ideological foundations, whereby users can create and exchange content (Ammerman 7; Banerjee and Ashwini Kumar BJ 67).
As such, social media can be in different forms such as internet forums, podcasts, social blogs, weblogs, and social network, among others. With the introduction of social media, the traditional means of marketing as well as branding has since lost sense of fashion and significance. Nowadays, many organizations have shifted their concern from traditional means of marketing and branding to adopt new marketing and branding measures and strategies based on social media platforms(Banerjee and Ashwini Kumar BJ 75). A review of the trends in branding and marketing shows that there is a significant change in the strategies that many firms are using nowadays, with majority of them turning to social media for creation of strong brand awareness (Chen, Fay and Wang 85).
As pointed out by Banerjee and Ashwini Kumar BJ the use of social media marketing involves a complete adoption of unique method through which brands communicate with their prospective brand end-users (75). Through this type of marketing, marketers change from being broadcasters to aggregators whereby the primary goal is to bring customers together (Chen, Fay and Wang 85). As such, through social media marketing and branding, the marketers focus on organizing as well as encouraging social networks that attract a large customer base for a particular brand (Aljunaidi and Ankrak 1). In addition to the creation of attractive content in brands’ website, social media marketing strategy ensures that there are different retail points where the customers can find the advertised products.
Recent studies have provided a lot of evidence regarding the role of social media marketing strategies and brand awareness in the corporate world nowadays. This can be attributed to the growth in the number of businesses and individuals discovering the worth of social media marketing and brand awareness (Djukic 71; Chen, Fay and Wang 85). Aljunaidi and Ankrak observed that most marketers believe that there has been a lot of exposure of businesses and different brands through the use of social media as marketing and brand awareness tool (1). There are numerous benefits that are associated with the adoption of effective social media marketing strategy.
For example, Djukic pointed out that social media platforms such as Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest among others form a rich customer base (34). As such, efforts to advertise on such areas can be effective in winning a considerable number of customers. This can be attributed to the fact that social media platforms and social media use has become common among people of all types, implying that creation of brand awareness through the social media platforms can be successful in reaching a wide range of customers for given products and services.
Additionally, social media platforms have been considered to be effective means of creating brand awareness because they have the capacity to improve customer service, enhance the insights of diverse audience and provide for easy distribution of content to many potential customers. Chen, Fay and Wang also showed that social medial platforms are effective in increasing traffic of customers with the implication of increased engagement of prospective consumers of certain products and services (85).
Aljunaidi and Ankrak (1) observed that “Social media platforms have played a significant role in spreading information regarding a given product or brand. Additionally, social media platforms form a large percentage of the number of referrals that any business gets. For this reason, it becomes important for businesses to ensure that they align the content they distribute with the interests of the intended audience and the business”
Importance/Benefits of the study
This study is very significant in that the results and findings from the study will act as an addition to the existing body of knowledge in relation to the role of social media in product marketing and promotion. Such findings will also be useful to companies in the FMCG industry to assist in new market segmentation as well as designing effective marketing strategies in relation to the findings of the study.
Research Design
Creswell (9) defines research design as the plan of actions that a researcher follows to carry out a given research study. Different types of research design exist including descriptive, correlational, semi-experimental, and review research designs. In the case of the proposed study, the descriptive research design will be used. The choice of this type of research design is informed by the fact that descriptive research design is effective in the collection of valid and reliable data for the purpose of answering any identified research questions.
Additionally, Creswell (98) observed that descriptive research design is suitable in helping to provide indexes concerning the study variables under examination. As such, it can be seen that the descriptive study is suitable in the collection of reliable data that can be used in drawing the necessary inferences as well as recommendations.
In addition, descriptive study design is very suitable in cases that are specific and require large amount of data is required. In the case of descriptive study for the proposed Coca-Cola case, large data is needed, which will be effectively collected through the use of questionnaires.
Data collection and analysis
The study will use effective data collection and analysis methods to ensure that reliable data is gathered, analyzed and the necessary inferences drawn. As such, questionnaires will be used to collect data from the Coca-Cola Company. The choice of the use of questionnaire in the collection of data was based on the fact that questionnaires are effective in collecting data on personal opinion, perspective and experiences. The questionnaires are easy to administer to large study samples. After the collection of the data, it will be recorded and stored for analysis. Various methods of data analysis such as statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), regression and correlation analysis will be used for the analysis purposes.
Nature and forms of results
In the case of the proposed study, and the outlined objective, the nature and forms of results to be expected from the study will mainly revolve around significance of social media platforms in creating brand awareness. Additionally, it is expected that the results of the study will show various benefits of social media platform in product promotion and marketing. As pointed out in the past empirical studies, social media platforms are very important in increasing customer traffic, easy distribution of content, improving customer service, as well as in improving audience insights.
Qualification of researchers
This study does not have any specific qualification as far as the researcher is concerned. However, prior knowledge on FMCG industry and the concept of social media will help in carrying out the study as expected.
Budget
Schedule
The table below outlines the schedule for the entire project.
Facilities and special resources
The study will require no special facilities. However, other resources such as capital and learning materials and resource centers will be very instrumental in the collection of the required data for the study.
Project management
Project management refers to the necessary practices undertaken to ensure that the set goals and objectives of the project are achieved. In the case of the proposed study, familiarizing with the study variables and subjects of the study will be very instrumental in achieving project’s success.
Works Cited
Aljunaidi, Alla, and Samuel Ankrak. “The Application Of Lean Principles In The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)”. Journal of Operations and Supply Chain Management 7.2 (2014): 1. Print.
Ammerman, Sarah. “Social Media Campaign Fuels Brand Awareness”. Nonprofit Communications Report 13.5 (2015): 7-7. Print.
Banerjee, Baisakhi, and Ashwini Kumar BJ. “Trends In The Use Of Social Media As A Tool Of Marketing Communications In FMCG Sector In India”. International Journal of Online Marketing 3.3 (2013): 62-75. Web.
Chen, Yubo, Scott Fay, and Qi Wang. “The Role Of Marketing In Social Media: How Online Consumer Reviews Evolve”. Journal of Interactive Marketing 25.2 (2011): 85-94. Print.
Creswell, J. W. “Editorial: Mapping The Field Of Mixed Methods Research”. Journal of Mixed Methods Research 3.2 (2008): 95-108. Print.
Djukic, Suzana. “The Role And Importance Of Social Media In Communicating Brand Value”. Marketing 42.1 (2011): 17-26. Web.