Hunter Valley Wine Company’s Media Plan Report (Assessment)

Analysis of Hunter Valley Wine Company’s Advertising Brief

Legal and ethical considerations about marketing alcoholic products to the consumer market

The company is faced with various consumer groupings, for example, young people, adults, the elderly, men and women and this creates an avenue for diverse and attractive business segments. Nonetheless, this market segmentation comes with difficulties with other groupings not intended by the company coming into play, for example, children.

This probably could come with injurious litigations against companies in the alcoholic beverage industry. There are cases of large corporations turning a blind eye to cases such as this and go-ahead to exploit this, and these results in unfair competition and unjust treatment of customers. The company should strive to adhere to the set-down legal age for drinking and to avoid huge lawsuits and fightbacks from consumer interest groups that heap pressure on them resulting in a drop in revenues (Donnelly, 1996).

Product characteristics

Wine connoisseurs and customers have certain characteristics they search for in a wine. These characteristics if identified and blended by the company well will result in a good wine that will be received well and will result in high sales for the company. These characteristics are for example aroma- wine should be able to sweep you off your feet just by putting the glass to your lips before you even taste it; appearance-a very vital but often forgotten component of wine that even some of the most experienced wine connoisseurs ignore; flavor- this is the climax of wine and what differentiates a good wine from a bad wine (Sissors, Baron and Sissors 2010, 16).

Customer characteristics and buyer behavior

Product characteristics influence consumer behavior. Apart from this, a customer’s personality also greatly influences their buying behavior depending on the variable aspects of the brand in the market (Surmanek 1996, 37).

Creative dimensions and aspects of the message

The message will be established based on the goals set out and the intended target audiences to be reached by the company. The message should address the key points brought out by the company’s goals: – Increase product awareness; growing the workforce (creating more employment); and getting more investors. Often the message is designed and given to the media, this helps in carrying out a better advertising campaign. In formulating the message several questions need to be answered; what makes the company unique and different from its competitors and what its target audience needs to be told of the company. Also, the company should be able to answer why it is important for it to undertake an advertising media campaign at this particular time (Kelley and Jugenheimer 2008, 53).

Suitable medium

Tradeshows/exhibitions- in regards to the product, this would probably be the best medium of advertising as it will give the company a chance to make last moment deals which are usually crucial. They also give the company a chance to show its prowess by how they set up the shows and exhibitions

Possible media vehicles

Here is a list of outlets that the company can use to carry out its advertising campaign: Radio, Television, Newspaper, Web advertising, Print advertising (billboards, signage, posters, brochures, and business cards, catalogs, newsletters, and so forth), Magazines, The yellow pages, Public transportation, Specialty advertising/branding items such as matchbooks, pencils, calendars, telephone pads, shopping bags (Surmanek 1996, 37).

In identifying and determining the appropriate media channel to use, the Hunter Valley Wine Company should put into consideration the cost and effectiveness of all media outlets present to it. There are also other vital factors to be considered such as the reach of the intended outlet; impact an outlet would have on the company’s intended target audience; cost per point of the outlet to be used; can the selected outlet be selective enough to a particular audience while still being effective; cost per thousand of the selected outlet and finally the frequency of the selected outlet (Surmanek, 1996).

Media Plan Outline

This is a guideline for a strategic plan for Hunter Valley Wine Company. The guideline will provide a walkthrough on the evaluation and later recommendations on the media advertising options viable for the Hunter Valley Wine Company to consider and probably adopt in the process carry out outreach to media outlets present within the area. The guideline gives an overview of recommendations presented to the Hunter Valley Wine Company and is not necessarily meant for adoption but to guide the company’s management on their decision on advertising their popular product, wine.

The evaluations and recommendations brought forward by this guideline are meant to propel Hunter Valley Wine Company above its competition and realize much higher sales and profits for the company. This guideline will look into three key areas in advertising media planning which include: 1). what are the goals the company wishes to achieve? 2). How does the company intend to achieve these goals- what will it do and how much is it going to cost the company. 3). How does the company measure the results obtained and determine if goals have been accomplished or not (Sissors, Baron and Sissors 2010, 16)?

Objectives and goals

The big question here is what the company is trying to achieve after a certain period. By evaluating the company, the Hunter Valley Wine Company will be able to find out its strengths and weakness and therefore have a clear picture of where it can capitalize on to realize its goals. Also, it is recommended to know whether the goals are short term or long term. This enables the planning for advertising is in sync with the company’s view of growth. The goals include

1. to grow the workforce and involve the community in the company’s programs and activities;
2. Encourage more new investors and existing stakeholders to participate more;
3. Increase awareness of its flagship brand and other products (Goodrich and Sissors 2001, 68).

Targeted audience

The audience being targeted will be determined by the set-out goals and objectives above. At this stage, the Hunter Valley Wine Company should identify its current consumer base, clients, and stakeholders to try to keep them from being taken by the competition. It is also vital to identify the new audience the company is trying to reach, new customers, and new investors. In Hunter Valley Wine Company’s case, the audience can be grouped into: customers, the community, prospective investors, and people who influence the wine industry (Katz 2003, 56).

Media list

For the company to be effective in its media campaign, it needs to identify and determine a complete and accurate list of media outlets in the area of its operation to approach. It is also vital to have contacts of specific reporters and departments within media organizations that are relevant and conversant to what the company intends to carry out in its media outreach. As the Hunter Valley Wine Company deals mainly in winemaking, then the reporters it should establish and maintain very close cooperation with are entertainment/food reviewers. The company should also establish and identify magazines, periodicals, and publications that are entertainment and food-oriented (Schultz and Barnes 1996, 27).

However, the message been put across has to be consistent with the company’s vision and values. It also has to be easily understood by the targeted audience to be effective. The messages designed by the company should be able to specifically address the different target audiences and elicit the relevant emotions in them as the company requires (Barban, Cristol and Kopec 1993, 107). Alternatively, the company can design different messages for the different audiences it is targeting. It is also important to note that, the company should as well come up with counter messages that its competitors may try and bring up to discredit it or sway its customers and stakeholders.

Reference list

Barban, A. M., Cristol, S., and Kopec, F. J., 1993. Essentials of media planning: a marketing viewpoint. 3^rd ed. New York: NTC Business Books.

Donnelly, J.W., 1996. Planning media: strategy and imagination. New York: Prentice Hall.

Goodrich, W. B. and Sissors, J. Z., 2001. Media planning workbook: with discussions and problems. 5^th ed. New York: NTC Business Books.

Katz, H. E., 2003. The media handbook: a complete guide to advertising media selection, planning, research, and buying, 2^nd ed. New York: Routledge.

Kelley, L. D. and Jugenheimer, D. W., 2008. Advertising media planning: a brand management approach, 2^nd ed. New York: M.E. Sharpe.

Schultz, D. and Barnes, B. E., 1996. Strategic advertising campaigns. 4^th ed. New York: NTC Business Books.

Sissors, J. Z., Baron, R. and Sissors, J., 2010. Advertising Media Planning, 7^th ed. London: McGraw-Hill.

Surmanek, J., 1996. Media planning: a practical guide, 3^rd ed. London: McGraw-Hill Professional.