Introduction
The current world market is very concerned on issues that relate to their health. For a long time, people have not given emphasis on issues relating the kind of diet they take, a fact that has seen strange diseases on the rise. Having become aware of the consequences of not having all the required nutrients in the body, individuals are currently striving to ensure that they get all the nutrients they need in the body in order to stay healthy.
One such nutrient that has received a massive acceptance is vitamins. Health experts have proven that vitamins are very important to the body, especially in fighting germs and other diseases. Due to this massive recommendation of this nutrient, a huge market for vitamins has grown in the world market, Australian market not being an exemption.
The best source of vitamins is from the vegetables and fruits, commonly referred to as the greens. They are natural and taken as food. However, some cases may require an individual to take already synthesized vitamin. Such cases are common when an individual requires immediate source of a specific vitamin in the body due to health complications or any other reason. Such vitamins are only stocked in the pharmacies.
Swisse Vitamins Pty Ltd is one such firm that is specialized in this line of products. There are many other firms in this market that produce similar products. This company has decided to give its customers a special experience when purchasing or using its products. Swiss company has recently launched a promotional campaign using various celebrities as its ambassadors in various regions.
This study aims at critically analyzing the impact of the use of the ambassadors as a promotional strategy for this firm in creating awareness of the products of this company. This study would also seek to ascertain the level of public awareness on issues relating to healthy lifestyle and the role of vitamins in the body.
Literature Review
Swisse Vitamins Pty Ltd is the leading multivitamin company in Australia. According to Swanson and Holton (1997, p. 67), this firm has been very successful over the past two and a half years, especially due to its superior marketing strategy. This scholar notes that products of this firm have gained fame because of their perceived quality.
Australia is one of the nations regarded as developed. Swanson and Holton (1997, p. 89) notes that people are becoming increasingly concerned about their health. There are very strange diseases that have directly been attributed to poor dietary. For this reason, many individuals across the world are keen to ensure that they take all the required nutrients in the right quantities.
Stanton (1995, p. 45) says that one of the most important nutrient to the body is vitamin. This scholar notes that there are various types of vitamins each with specific important function in the body. Government agencies and other non-governmental organization like World Health Organization have continued to create awareness of the importance of vitamins to the body. This has heavily influenced the perception of this society towards this product.
According to Upfal (2007, p. 83), Australians who are aged below thirty years have come out strongly as people who are very sensitive to their health. Following the campaigns on the importance of vitamins to the health, this scholar notes that these people have completely changed their perception about vitamin taking. Swisse Vitamins Pty Ltd has taken advantage of this change of perception to aggressively market its products to this market segment.
The fact that it has used celebrities as ambassadors of its products is specifically meant to attract this market segment. Swanson and Holton (1997, p. 63) says that this is one of the best strategies a firm can ever use.
As the government and non-governmental organizations put spirited campaigns to ensure that people change their attitude towards vitamins, this firm has embarked on a campaign to convince this population that it has the best of the product that the government has recommended. This way, when vitamins are mentioned, the brand that comes to the minds of the listeners is Swisse Vitamins.
Upfal (2007, p. 43) says that both genders have developed positive attitude towards consumption of vitamins. This has positively affected the sales volume of this company. Stanton (1995, p. 45) says that although previous advertisements have been very successful in reaching out for the target market, the current strategy which involve Geoff Huegill and Justice Crew promoting Swisse has had greater impact. This scholar notes that youths like associating with renowned people, and by using such people to advertise a product, there are higher chances that the result would most certainly be impressive.
Methodology For The Literature Search And Data Collection
This chapter focuses on various aspects of research development. It includes methods of data collection, analysis and presentation. Every research project applies a certain research method to achieve its objectives depending on its goals. The methods used to conduct research in this project compared closely with the methods proposed in the project proposal (Anderson 2004, p. 89) In research, design deals primarily with aims, uses, purposes, intentions, and plans within the practical constraints of time, location, money, and availability of staff (Hakim 2000, p. 31).
In this study, respondents were briefed in advance. The officials of Swisse Vitamins Pty Ltd were given relevant notice by the researcher. The study population was also amicably informed in order to get prepared for the study. Briefing was important because it could enhance reliability of the study. It is also ethical to inform people before researching on them. The findings were also made public to the researched as one way of ensuring morality in the study.
Furthermore, the researcher observed researcher-researcher ethics by keeping away from criticism. Out of 15 questionnairs sent to repondents, 14 of them were filled and returned. This was not a bad response. The response rate was high because the researcher insisted that the study was purely academic. This encouraged many employees at Wynn to fill in their questionnairs.
Research Model
This research utilized quantitative research methods in conducting the study and collecting data. Quantitative research was used althrough because it aims at summarizing data mathematically. In this regard, the research took the form of a survey, whereby the researcher identified some individuals and posted questionnaires to them.
The sampled population was selected randomly in order to eliminate biases. The researcher made follow-ups by conducting respondents on phone. Interviewing is another method of data collection that was used in this research. The researcher extracted more information from respondents by calling them.
Questionnaire Design
There were two key methods used to gather information in this report. The first one was through a questionaire, which was administered online to the staff at the Swisse. The second source of information used for the research was literature on various aspects motivation. The focus of the literature review was to find information on the application of motivation techniques and also to determine the current state of research in the use of this product.
The questionnaire had four Parts. The first part sought to capture the biodata information of respondents. The second part dealt with the demography and gender of the respondents. This was to ascertain the prevalence of views in varoius categories in order to ensure that if any differences came about, then they would be captured in their demographic space.
The third part dealt with academic credentials and work experience. The motivation for this section came from the understanding that different sections of population respond differently to motivators, based on age and academic credentials. The fourth part delved into the specific issues relating to marketing strategy used by this firm.
The questionaire also employed a mix of open ended and closed ended questions to capture different aspects of issues studied. Open ended questions were used because thay give respondents more time to figure out their opinions, which would make them volunteer more information related to felings, outlooks and comprehension of the subject.
This would allow a researcher to understand the position of respondents as regards to feelings. Open ended questions minimize some errors that could have been created in the course of research. Respondents rarely forget answers if given an opportunity to respond freely.
The literature collected provided information regarding various theories of motivation spread across the last four decades. This provides a historical perspective since the area of motivatoin started receiving specific attention at that period. Secondly, the literature availed a number of theories dealing with the application of motivation in the business world. Swisse fits well within this parameter. Finally, the literature provided information on the state of research on the field.
Various researchers have conducted studies on various elements of performance related pay and its effect on motivation (Marczyk, DeMatteo & Festinger 2010, p. 6). This gave the study a sound academic backing and a strong basis for drawing comparisons and conclusions.
An online questionaire reduced the costs of data collection, assured confidentiality, and was available thoughout for the staff for a fixed period (Werner & DeSimone 2008, p. 49). After collection, the data went through analysis, culminating the observations and conslusions discussed in chapter three and four, respectively.
Data Collected
Collection of data for this research was on two fronts. The first data was collected from secondary sources, from the available relevant literatures, while the second source was taken from the field as a primary source.
Secondary Data
Secondary data for analysis in this project came from various publications. These included reports, journal articles and research publications. Most of it related to the work that other researchers in the field of motivation undertook. The other areas where the literature review covered include theories of motivation and the application of different marketing strategies in different contexts.
The nature of material used varied. Journals dealing with specific aspects of motivation provided specific information on specific research elements investigated by researchers. Some reports from intergovernmental organizations proved useful in providing information on the application of performance related pay (Swanson & Holton 1997, p. 26). From these sources, several findings came to the fore.
Primary Data
The online questionnaire provided the means of collecting primary data for this project. The survey covered 15 employees working across various shifts at Swisse in the marketing department. This sample is representative of the entire cadre of staff targeted by the survey in the product promotion section. The choice of respondents was by random sampling based on the individual’s willingness to participate.
The questionnaire had a mixture of open ended and closed ended questions. This design enabled the study to provide as much detail as possible while eliminating the risk of high variance in responses. The administration of the questionnaires took place online because of varying working hours. In addition, it eased access to the questionnaire. After filing in the soft copy, respondents sent it to a designated email address.
This measure resulted to reduced costs transport and accommodation. The expenses could be occasioned by physical administration of questionnaires. Moreover, it saved research time because it was easy to transfer the information from a soft copy to the analysis software because the findings were analyzed using a software referred to as SPSS. Finally, it did not generate any paper waste hence contributing to environmental conservation.
Analysis and Interpretation
From the above data, it is very clear that Swisse Vitamins Pty Ltd is operating in an environment that is very competitive. As seen in the secondary data gathered from literature review, it is clear that Australians have been sensitized on the importance of taking vitamins and they have received it positively. This has created a massive opportunities for such firms as Swisse Vitamins Pty Ltd.
The strategy that this firm has employed has also helped it maintain its lead in the market. This firm has managed to capture a large market share in this country due to its marketing strategy that involved the use of various ambassadors. As can be seen in the literature review, Australians who are under the age of thirty are the ones that have received this message with a lot of acceptance.
They have the drive to stay healthy, and because the government has convinced them that the only way this can be ensured is by taking enough vitamins, they are turning to this nutrient in large numbers. This is to the advantage of this firm. Their effort has been supplemented by a positive comment by the government and other non-governmental bodies.
Recommendations with limitations
The strategy that this firm has employed is very effective. The target groups for this marketing strategy are youths aged below thirty years. By using athletes and other popular celebrities as ambassadors for the firm’s products and brand, this company has managed to charm the youths. It has managed to convince the youths that it understands their needs and it is ready to ensure that it provides it in the best way possible.
This way, it has managed to be the preferred brand for this product. The main limitation of this strategy is the cost. Unless these celebrities act as charitable persons who are trying to encourage the usage of vitamins for better health of the nation, the cost of this strategy is overwhelming. It can have negative financial consequences for the firm.
List of References
Anderson, P 2004, Research Methods in Human Resource Management, Chattered institute of Personell Management Publishing, London.
Hakim, C 2000, Research Design: Sucessful Designs for Social and Economic Research, Routledge, New York.
Health Resources Development Institute Inc, 1975, Project review: a guide to the reviewing process in health care proposals, American Association for Comprehensive Health Planning, New York.
Marczyk, GR, DeMatteo, D & Festinger, D 2010, Essentials of Research Design and Methodology, John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Stanton, R 1995, Vitamins: What They Do and What They Don’t Do, Allen & Unwin, Melbourne.
Swanson, RA & Holton, E 1997, Human Resource Developement Research Handbook: Linking Research and practice, Berrett- Kohler Publishers, San Fransisco.
Upfal, J 2007, Australian Drug Guide, Black Inc., Melbourne.