Introduction
This is a marketing communication brief for ‘Marcomms Suppliers/Service Providers’ on a brand new product that aims at competing with the market leaders in the world of bathing soaps and detergents.
Apart from highlighting the benefits that are certain to be realized through every bit of this strategic intervention, the brief is based on establishing the most relevant communications that will definitely help the product achieve the intended corporate objectives in the market.
In this communication brief, objectives have been implemented through strategic focus and planning only to be strengthened and brought forward through the best perceived communication strategies.
Marketing communication plays a critical role in brand development and a briefing which has been made to reach all major contacts in business are most likely to bear the right message on any product in the market (Brown and Hayes 2008). All the basic fundamentals of a perfect communication strategy are applied in this brief to achieve the right strategic message of the new brand to the desired target audiences.
This being a ground-up brand development project would aim at establishing a strong starting point that involves all marketing strategies in the book, to make it easy for relevant players in the business channel to take the brand across-the-board.
The 8 credos discussed in Morgan’s book, ‘Eating the Big Fish’ are applied in this brief as profound ideas to give the new product the qualities of a challenger brand, thus helping to establish an emotional relationship between the product’s manufacturers and the consumers.
Executive Summary
Description of the Product
This is a communication brief aimed at marketing a new brand by the cosmetics giant, Sizzling International Ltd, widely reputed for their exclusive body and health care products. The Monalisa Soap, which is the latest release of the company, was launched towards the end of last year and it is yet to make a venture in the market.
The main aim of this intervention is to establish the right communication strategy that would help in publicity of the product. The main target audiences for this intervention would be the core links that exist between the producer and the end-users.
This intervention also aims in motivating the target users to make use of the new soap product and try to convince them into accepting the brand as the preferred choice as far as their body hygiene is concerned.
What makes Monalisa soap exclusive compared to other rival products is the fact that, it comes at a fair cost regardless of it containing nearly all qualities associated with the best bathing soaps that have ever been produced anywhere in this world.
Product’s Market Position
Sizzling International Ltd is a household name when it comes to Cosmetic Products and this gives the new product a strong marketing platform among its competitors. The main target market for this product would include the shareholders in the business, marketers of the product across all commercial segments and the overall consumers or end-users.
With the current attitude towards Cosmetic Products and other Personal Care Brands witnessed all over the globe, it leaves no doubt that Monalisa Soap is likely to receive a universal acceptance from fans of similar products once its features as well as the benefits have been communicated to the masses.
The product’s unique features and qualities ranging from its manufacture to packaging are likely to trigger a romantic touch to people from all geographical locations. Just like all other products by the mother company, Monalisa is certain to make a positive venture into the market as one of the most valued toilet soaps in the country.
There is no doubt about that, considering the product’s exclusive qualities that lack in most of the big competitors in the field. Monalisa soap may be the latest cosmetic product in the country, but its outstanding qualities and health benefits have already placed it ahead of competitors’ products in the market.
The first positive response on the product would be observed in a pilot project which had been conducted by the manufacturer shortly after the soap’s release. However, even though Monalisa is far from matching the status enjoyed by some similar products in the market, things are expected to take a different course soon, perhaps after this communication intervention has been passed to the target audiences.
Nature of Competitors in the Market
Apart from the medical qualities associated with the soap, what makes it more unique is its multi-purpose nature, the one characteristic which sets it high above its competitors.
According to studies conducted on possible major competitors and their market value, it was observed that, strong and unique communication strategies should be applied to ensure that sizzling’s new product matches the position of the giants in industry. In fact, most similar products may not be smarter than Monalisa, but their success in the market largely depends on how they are presented to the masses.
Most of these similar products are observed to target the local populations via various communication channels and even though they sometimes appear to utilize up-to-date methods such as the internet to popularize their products, their advertisement messages are seemingly less effective and would reach only a bisection of the population.
However, even though the target market for the competitors is just the same as those of Sizzling International Ltd, there are notable aspects that could apply in enlarging the target market for Monalisa.
One way to achieve this is by taking the product to the international scenes rather than having to concentrate on the local markets where competition is ever high. Another effective approach here would involve the idea of using advertisement or publicity as an asset of high-leverage.
Objective of the Marketing Communication Plan
The main objective of this plan is to motivate the target audiences to try the new product and try to make it their most preference. To meet this goal, the 8 credos in Morgan’s book, which provides an in-depth insight of how challenger brands can go about competing against leading brands are applied to make the new product the ‘big fish’ of its category in the market.
In broad terms, measurable and quantifiable measures are also used to explain the actions taken in ensuring that the necessary corporate objectives were achieved. Key to these interventions is to see that the relevant approaches are used to form a direct linkage between the manufacturer and the end users, through interactive ways of brand awareness.
To achieve this mission, innovative marketing strategies and tools such as the internet and other consistent media would apply to advertise the products. Use of various mediums is beneficial in ensuring that, the right intervention is applied for the right target or audience (Foss and Stone 2009).
However, the type of media to be used depended on a number of aspects such as customer needs and their access to those particular media forms.
More significantly, constant application of key aspects such as product’s positioning and benefits came first in the list of priorities used to make an outstanding distinction of the new product. To crown it all, all the necessary steps certain to bear effective brand development also applied in this business intervention.
Campaign and Advertising Budget
In the contemporary world, things are changing with times and in this regard, product competitors are angling to apply the newest technology to reach the consumers and enhance the sales of their products. According to Timmons and Spinelli (2004), relevant, motivating and inspiring tools and strategies are the winning tricks here, and just what every farsighted marketer will bear in mind while advertising their products.
Advertising strategies such as sales presentations, promotions, direct marketing and online marketing are some of the proposed interventions here, considered to be effective ways of meeting the communication objective behind this plan. The use of consistent communication strategies and decisions will certainly promote cohesive image of products to the strategic target audiences (Rajagopal 1999, p. 135).
However, the planning, staging, merchandising and execution of these communications activity can be complex and costly. This is likely to involve a lot of effort, time and even money. To be able to achieve our goal, an approximate value of not less than $ 10 billion was proposed to set all the parameters in motion.
If well-implemented, these strategies would be certain to promote Monalisa Soap in the global market and by thus, both the business objectives and the communication goals would have been successfully attained.
Brief of the Product
Monalisa soap, manufactured and marketed by United Kingdom’s Sizzling International Ltd is the new product here. Sizzling is a household name in the manufacture of natural Cosmetic Products consisting of a wide range of personal care brands such as body care products, health care products, herbal hair care products and other many Cosmetic Products in the market.
As observed in the above description, Sizzling produces a variety of cosmetic products and Monalisa soap is the more recently acquired product in the list, ready to trigger wonderful consumer insights.
Nature of the Product
Monalisa is a scented multipurpose laundry and bathing soap which comes in both solid and liquid forms to accord a romantic and enjoyable touch for every bath taken. The soap is rich in form and it comes with a variety of perfumes such as flower, natural, fruit and milk, thus giving the end users a charming taste of variety in their choice preferences on the product (Ferrara and Dalby 1996).
Aloe Vera, Avocado, Olive oil among other essential oils are some of the key ingredients used in the manufacture of this great soap. Apart from having a beautifying quality for the scalp, skin and hair, Monalisa also softens and nourishes the skin all day long. Its soothing property makes it incomparable to competitors.
Thanks to the properties of anti-bacterial components plus pure olive oil, Monalisa soap protects the skin in a soft manner (Bobo 1996). The product keeps all germs at bay and can be used in curing a variety of common skin problems such as pimples, blackheads and itches.
To crown it all, Monalisa can be applied to relief body and muscular pains among other health ailments. The solid soap is supplied in impressive packages wrapped with preservative films and would range from 15grams to 200grams. The liquid form is supplied in plastic containers ranging from 125 ml to 1000 ml.
Marketing of the Product: Strengths and Weaknesses
The marketing of this new product can’t be expected to be a smooth exercise after all, considering the availability of numerous similar products in the market. According to Percy (2007), key business aspects such as availability, price, brand elements and competitions applies largely in determining the marketing of the product.
Having this in mind, it would be easy to identify some of the key Strengths and Weaknesses that are likely to impact the overall marketing of Monalisa Soap. The following is a listing of some of the strengths and weaknesses observed to be impacting the marketing of this product.
Strengths
- Strong brand elements
- Fair price
- Quality acceptability
- Availability in both solid and liquid forms
Weaknesses
- Not well established
- Availability of strong competitors
- Lack of a strong brand name
Principal Competitors in the market
According to Butler and Poucher (2000), United Kingdom is one of the major manufacturers of body and healthcare products in the world and in that case, it is expected to produce a variety of bath and toilet soaps. The following table shows some of the key competitors in the market along with their manufacturing companies.
Consumer Benefits of the Product
As observed in its unique qualities, Monalisa Soap is likely to bear considerable benefits to its consumers and potential end users. Apart from the obvious economical benefits, the product also serves as an effective treatment for common and serious skin problems.
Its multipurpose nature also gives the consumers a value of their money on the product, thus saving them a great deal of money that would have been used to purchase cleaning detergents and laundry soaps. The product comes in various quantities and sizes and this provides the end user with an opportunity to make the necessary choices in proportion with their pockets.
Another unspoken benefit associated with the product is its user friendly nature; it is neither irritating nor non-reactive to the skin and this identifies it among other similar products.
The rich form of the soap defines its durability, which may be of great significance to the end users as far their economical ties are concerned. As a medication agent, Monalisa Soap protects its users from possible germs and infections and this saves great deal of money regularly used for heath matters.
Development of the Campaign
This is the most crucial and the most complex part of the plan which involves the planning, staging and execution of the communication decisions that needs to be put in action for the success of the entire plan.
Here, critical segments of the intervention such as the communication strategy, measurement, media channels or mediums, budget and timing approvals are bound to apply in ensuring that the objective goal is finally achieved.
To effectively apply the above strategies in the plan, the relevant market players should first understand everything they need to know regarding the product such as its nature and position in the market compared to competitors. The consumer insight and understanding of the product should also be put into consideration in relevance to previous sales and reactions (Anderson and Narus 2004).
A good example of consumer understanding here is that, ‘Monalisa Soap is used daily in bathing as part of a daily ritual.’
However, unlike understanding, the insight of the product should be perceived to come from within the feelings of the consumers and in this case, a perfect example of insight on the product can be something like, ‘use of the soap for bathing needs has been the most nourishing experience for many people.’ With these simple observations in mind, it is now easy to develop an integrated campaign for the product.
According to Hutt and Speh (2004), the acronym SMART defining the words specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely can apply better in designing an effective campaign.
The communication objective is likely to be realized easily where a ‘SMART’ approach is used for this serves as a big motivation for those behind the plan to get behind the program with the focus of reaching the objective goals. In this case, the most appropriate target would be taking Monalisa Soap to the end users and be able to achieve a 70% awareness and 20% trial among the target groups within the shortest time possible.
Using Morgan’s ‘magnetic compass’ of the eight credos will provide a strong platform that will be certain to enable the ‘small fish’ in the pond compete successfully with the ‘big fish’ (Jones 2010). Morgan’s 8 credos are no doubt the best lesson on business competition tactics.
Apart from being self-propagating, they are also provocative and engaging in a manner that will keep the advertiser focused in great business achievement through the creation of strong competitive opportunities. These are key guidelines that would help to establish strong competitive advantages for ‘the small fish’ taken to refer to unpopular companies or products that are out to compete with the big fish in the markets.
According to Morgan (2009), it all starts by breaking with the immediate past, whereby entrepreneurs and marketers are able to see the sense in business by coming into terms with key facts about the financial tricks in the market.
In business, it is always necessary to come up with unique behavior and strategies that would differ from those of the leading competitors and other competitors in the market. This was achieved through Morgan’s Challenger Program which revolves around for key stages. The first stage is attitude and preparation, which refers to one’s strong desire to succeed no matter the many obstacles that could be facing them.
In this case, it would be necessary to utilize the opportunities around our world with the focus of achieving our marketing objectives. The strategy of the Challenger is the second stage according to Morgan which involves Lighthouse identity, thought leadership and symbol of re evaluation.
One way to win the full attitude on consumers with Monalisa Soap is by establishing a light house entity through the concept’s four dimensions which include identity, intensity, emotion, and salience. And to crown it all, the product should be able to draw attention to itself and this has already being achieved through the impressive packaging and visual appearance of the brand.
Assuming thought leadership of cosmetics and body care products was a significant approach towards the communication objective. This didn’t only bring the new soap closer to the end users, but it also served as a constant motivation towards the main goal of the entire business intervention. Use of symbols of re-evaluation to assess and evaluate consumers’ behavior on the product also applied.
For example, small but significant labels and flyers would be given alongside every purchase as a way of improving the consumers’ experience on the product. Apart from serving as attractions to the product, these symbols would significantly indicate any dramatic changes to the end users (Lee and Colarelli 2003, p. 17). Challenger behavior was the third stage, constituting of the credo of sacrifice and over commitment.
Everything could be well-organized so far, but no positive outcome can be realized without the sacrifice and commitment of the relevant units in the whole activity. Sustaining challenger momentum was the final stage here, majoring on the significant approach that would be necessary to ensure for challenger stability.
It was important to come up with interactive strategies that would be idea-centered rather than just consumer-centered. This will aid in forming the relevant features and elements necessary in making the brand acceptable to the target audiences. Finally, the application of advertisement as an asset was behind this plan all-through and this explains the reason why media publicity takes the better part of this communication strategy.
Communication Strategy
The main objective of this marketing communication would be to define the way this new product would be viewed by the consumers. This plan also aimed to form vocabulary for all people who’d be involved in the marketing and usage of the product. More importantly, the plan serves as a relevant intervention to define a smart ‘positioning’ of the new product in the market.
As it would be observed, effective communication must be executed through effective strategies that are certain to articulate, explain and promote the vision and the mission of the communication objectives. In this case, effective measures were used to form a consistent, unified ‘approach’ that linked various goals and activities in a manner that would be appealing to shareholders, partners, sales personnel, and consumers.
The first step was to assess and determine what the target audiences knew about the product and also their prejudices, feelings and attitudes towards it. This strategic approach was significant in that, it helped in constructing the most appropriate argument for the consumers before bringing it out via convenient communications channels that would reach them effectively.
To achieve this goal, five key management decisions would apply and this revolved around five questions as follows: To whom should the message be focused? What behavior changes are expected or required, probably towards the product?
What will be the appropriate messages? Which communication mediums or channels will be appropriate and effective in reaching the audiences? And finally, how will be the final outcome of the communication strategy be assessed or measured?
Communication mediums or Channels
These are the methodologies used to pass the messages to the target audiences. Following is a description of the key advertising and promotional ways that were applied in this plan.
Sales Presentations
A variety of influential sales presentation materials were used to enhance the ability of the sales representatives in making a direct interaction with the target audiences.
Promotions
Promotional strategies such as contests, POP displays, live stages, cross promotions and discount offers were explicitly used, among other approaches to access small retailers and consumers.
Direct Marketing
This proved to be a more reliable way of testing the products on end users. Real life demonstrations and free trials were used to bring the product to the lives of consumers. In this case, evidence would be readily present for any spoken message or argument on the product. In other words, sales representatives were able to offer evidence for whatever argument or position they took on the new cleansing product.
This way, messages would be heard and understood better by the target audiences, thus making it more effective for the intended aim. More importantly, through this intervention, people would interpret things as they saw them, thus having a direct connection with the messages.
Advertising
Various interactive media channels such as the internet, electronic media, Visual and Audio and the print were used to pass the relevant advertisement messages to the target audiences.
Budgets Quotations
A total of $ 10 billion was spent for the overall campaign and advertisement. Following is a summary of the approximate budget (in billions) for key communications activity.
Sales Presentations and Promotions
In both sales presentations and promotions, sales representatives would consider applying materials that would suit a particular target best. There were so many things and processes in each program to ensure that messages were effectively passed to the target audiences. Considering the process from the launch of the exercise to the moment it would be over, the company would have to part with roughly $ 1.8 billion.
Direct Marketing
In direct marketing, products would normally be sold and advertised at the same time (Pedol 2006, p. 141). However, t-shirts, caps and umbrellas bearing the company’s logo are some of the gifts likely to be distributed to people in those events. This would be on top of the uncountable pieces of the product that would be used for free trials and demonstrations. The successful launch of this intervention would spend about $ 2.5 billion.
Advertising
Considering the various channels used, ranging from the online communications to the print media, this interactive intervention was valued at a cost of $ 4.8 billion. This would also integrate public relations and publicity. The rest $ 0.9 billion would be spent on other campaign interventions such as direct mail and posters that were used for the communication strategy.
Conclusion
The marketing communication brief successfully presents the communication strategies for Marcomms Suppliers/Service Providers on a new cosmetic product manufactured by Sizzling International Ltd. Through this business intervention, it is evident how excellent business communication ways could apply to win positive consumer behavior and attitude on new and existing products in the market.
It is also evident in this presentation how various communication decisions would be necessary in the development of an effective and compelling marketing campaign. It is also clear in this business strategy, just how modern methodologies of communication have replaced traditional methodologies in creating effective changes in business.
More importantly, the obviously exclusive guideline provided by Morgan in his text through the eight credos is shown to be of great value for challenger products angling for a suitable position in the market. Designed in an engaging and provocative way, the concepts are sure to plough for competitive business advantages for those products that are yet to receive a strong positioning and recognition in the market.
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