Introduction
Any product or service has to be marketed properly for it to be successful. Marketing essentially involves proper and relevant communication of the details of the product or service that has to be marketed. The term for communicating to the concerned persons, the relevant details mentioned above is marketing communications. Most of the literature on marketing communication or marcomm is with regard to products or services. But there is no reason why this concept cannot be used in the context of organizing or marketing a special event. This paper discusses the importance of marketing communication with regard to organizing special events. In the process it will also discuss the importance of using outside professional agencies for this task. It will also examine the cultural and media restraints that may come up during the process and the solutions that may be used to overcome them.
Integrated Marketing Communications
The term integrated is used here because of the availability of many mediums through which communication can be made. Unless the choice is planned or integrated, the resources of the company (in terms of time, money, and manpower) cannot be effectively utilized. In this sense integrated marketing communication can be defined as “A management concept that is designed to make all aspects of marketing communication (e.g., advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing) work together as a unified force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation.” (Advertising Terms: Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC), p.3).
Integrated marketing communication (IMC) has been gaining in popularity in management circles since the last decade.
Special events and integrated marketing communications
A special event can be defined as “The specific rituals, presentations, performances, or celebrations that are planned and created to mark special occasions or to achieve particular social, cultural, or corporate goals and objectives.” (Beech and Chadwick).
So, using integrated marketing communication for the launch of a special event is prudent and practical. Hence, a communication mix of the above mentioned mediums like advertising, sales promotions, public relations and direct marketing should be developed. For convenience sake, the special event in this context will be the launch of a product. Focusing on special events in general may make the subject too broad to handle in under 1500 words.
Many companies use events to launch their products apart from advertising. The product that is taken here is the launch of a piece of cricket sports equipment. The company that is launching the product is a well-established manufacturer in the UK and has enough financial resources to spend on a grand special event. The company also plans to use an external agency to market the event. Cricket is a sport that is not popular or even familiar in the USA where the major attractions are baseball, football, and basketball. The manufacturer intends to move one step at a time and hence will locate an area where there is a sizable amount of Indian, Pakistani and Arab population. Focus will also be given to UK and Australian citizens and immigrants. Due to its lack of popularity of cricket, there will be media and cultural restraints as well which will also be looked into.
Guiding principles of Integrated Marketing Communication
An integrated marketing plan should be guided by the eight principles given below. This can be applicable to special events as well. The first one is that all organizations should be customer-centric and not profit centric in their approach. Profits are important, but it is through customers that profit comes and hence should be the focus of attention. (Schultz and Schultz, Heidi. F 2004, p.50).
The figure below shows the difference in structure between a traditional approach and a customer-centric one.
(Schultz and Schultz, Heidi. F 2004, p.52). The next principle states that planning should be outside–in and not the inside out approach of traditional marketing. Budgets must be planned with the fact that customers are a source of income. It should focus on gaining and retaining customers. The event should be enjoyable and informative to the customer and the budget be allocated accordingly. The third principle is that there should be a total customer experience involved. The customer should be looked at in a holistic way and not just as satisfying his needs. His likes, dislikes, emotions, etc all count and should be studied from a customer’s point of view. The fact that an average American may not understand or like the game initially must be taken into account. The fourth principle states that there should be alignment between a customer’s goals and the organizations goals. In this case the customer wants enjoyment and exercise, and hence the manufacturer should focus on this aspect in order to launch his product and ultimately to make profits. The fifth principle may be the most important one in this context. It says that if the customer does not act in alignment with the company’s goals (making profits by introducing the game of cricket), efforts must be made to change customer behaviour. This will be a tough but possible task for the company. This sixth principle asks companies to treat customers as assets, just like other assets of the company. They should be maintained as serviced well so that a long-term relationship will evolve. The sixth principle states that all marcom activities should be streamlined for maximising its effect. The eighth and final principle states that all the marcom activities should converge into an ideal communications mix. In other words, it should be well-integrated marketing mix.
It should be noted that even though the principles of IMC has been explained in the context of a product launch, it can be applied in any type of other special events like fundraising, brand building etc.
The communication mix or integrated marketing plan
Advertising
Advertising the event is important for its success. It can be through the audio/visual media like television, radio or the internet. Another option would be the print medium like newspapers, magazines, leaflet distribution etc. In this instance, stating that this is an event to promote cricket may not be enough. Some element of surprise or suspense should be incorporated. Maybe, a connection with baseball can be presented.
Direct marketing
This involves sales personnel approaching the customer directly. This can be done through presentations in community meetings and individual homes of the target market population. The presentation will be in one way with those who are familiar with the game. To those who do not know about cricket, a connection with baseball can be made (as mentioned above).
Public relations
This is an important concept that most organizations ignore in the case of marketing. Combining public relations with marketing will make the effort more effective.
Sales promotions
This is the most important aspect of the whole marcom plan because a lot of creativity can be incorporated here. Some of the living legends of the game can be brought during the event and the fact publicised. There could be a meeting and a friendly game between a few cricketing and baseball legends. Visitors to the event can form the rest of the eleven member team (as in cricket). There could be stalls where those unfamiliar with the game can understand the basic rules. Participants can have the chance to play the game with a baseball bat. The options for creativity are numerous and hence sales promotion will be the most important component in the communication mix.
Personal selling
This concept is also a factor in marketing communication. The organizers can make use of their contacts with friends, relatives, colleagues etc to promote the event.
Cultural and media restraints
As mentioned earlier, there will be cultural and media restraints or disinterest with regard to the game of cricket. The game was popular long ago in the country when it was actively perused by the immigrants. But interest waned and other games like baseball became more popular. There is a slow resurgence of the game and the event organizers should make the most use of some of the organizations that promote the game.
It is also a fact that the press and other mediums will only support things that hold public interest. There would be no point in perusing the press to cover the event in a big way. The first step would be to build up public interest and the rest will follow automatically. This was why sales promotion and not advertisements were given the most focus.
Outside agencies
There are advantages and disadvantages in using outside agencies to promote and conduct the event. The main disadvantage is that those agencies may not understand the business or in this case the spirit of the game. But advantages far outweigh disadvantages. They have the professional expertise and the experience in conducting such events. They also have professional artists, copywriters, architects and related personnel to do a professional job. Since the manufacturer is new to the country it would be better to appoint an outside agency to conduct and promote the event.
Conclusion
An integrated marketing plan with reference to the launch of a special event has been given here. Focus was given on a product launch associated with the game of cricket. This game is not popular in the country and may face cultural and media restraint. But a well-planned special event will be the first step in bringing slow and steady popularity to the game in the country.
Bibliography
Advertising Terms: Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC). [online]. Bay Area Radio Advertising. 3. 2008. Web.
BEECH, John., and CHADWICK, Simon. The Business of Sport Management Glossary: Special Events. [online]. Pearson Education. 2008. Web.
SCHULTZ, Don. E., and SCHULTZ, Heidi. F. (2004). Guiding principle No 1: Become a Customer-Centric Organization. [online]. IMC The Next Generation. 50. Web.
SCHULTZ, Don. E., and SCHULTZ, Heidi. F. (2004). Integrated Organization. [online]. IMC The Next Generation. 52. Web.