Introduction
The world is fast changing due to the changes brought about by technological advancements. As Klein (28) states, the world has been reduced to a global village due to two main factors: ease of communication and easy transportation, regardless of one position in the world map.
Although many developing countries are yet to adopt the current technological advancements, especially in the information and communication sector, the developed countries are currently using the advanced communication systems in conducting most of their activities.
Australia is one of the developed countries in the world. The country has advanced technologically. The society has embraced technology as a means of making life easier. One aspect of technology that is highly in use is in the communication sector. Australians are heavy users of internet.
With invention of the social media like Facebook and Tweeter, communication has been made easier. When YouTube was latter introduced, it changed the way people communicate. The ability of one to share videos on this media has seen it gain popularity among many internet consumers (Jarboe 68).
Because of this, digital media has gained relevance at a speed that had not been predetermined. The traditional mass media is fast loosing its meaning in the current marketing society. The world is embracing social media at the expense of mass media, especially due to its wide geographical coverage.
The market needs companies that are able to offer digital solutions as consumers strive to move from the traditional ways of communication to the modern means. It is upon this realization that Digital-Bakers Delight was incepted.
Digital-Bakers Delight
Digital-Bakers Delight is one of the most successful bakeries in Australia. Although the products of this company is available to any other interested individual within the borders of Australia, the main target market for the company are the mothers across this country.
It targets mothers because of their special position in their families. The company produces bread of different types and tastes, different flavors and sizes of cakes, doughnuts, among other baked products. The company has been very successful in the market. Through its marketing team, it has been in a position to expand its market share to all the major towns within this country and even in the rural set up.
As stated above, the target audiences of this company are the mothers across the country of Australia. Unlike in the past when women were not expected to be in gainful employment as men, the current Australian women are in gainful employment. They are no longer home keepers.
This means that their time to go shopping is also limited. Unlike before when they had all the time to go shopping even on a weekdays, these women only have Sundays to visit the shopping malls. Even in such cases, they have limited time to do this because they are racing against time to ensure that they meet other obligations within the same day.
It is therefore important as a marketer, to note this trend and act upon it. These customers do not have time to walk around the malls trying to choose the item that would best satisfy their needs. This may be a frustration and there would be high possibilities of such customers leaving for other malls with proper direction to the specific product.
This calls for a proper media that would not only inform them of the available products in the company, but also the easiest way to access these products. Mass media has been the best channel through which this communication can reach the customers.
However, the target market may not have time to sit and watch the soap operas or news, which would carry such advertisements. They prefer social media that would reach them when they are in their working places.
If the company is to capture this market therefore, it must consider investing in the digital media. This online communication strategy is not only able to increase sales of a company, but also help it know the changing needs of the market so that it may be in a position to restructure its production system to be in line with such expectations.
This is because the digital media allows interactivity with the customer, hence it is not a one-way form of communication. The customers will develop attachment with the company the moment they realize that they can communicate with the company and that their communications are implemented in the products brought to the market.
They will therefore develop strong attraction towards such companies. Given the target audience of this company, it would be of great interest to adopt digital media as a way of reaching the customers.
The goal of Digital-Bakers Delight is to reach as many of the target market group as possible. This is aimed at increasing the company’s sales that would help it increase its profits. The target audience of this company has very limited time and therefore reaching them through mass media like the newspapers may not be advisable.
Some of them rarely read newspapers because the time to do the same is not available. The few who get time to read the newspaper have specific items to confirm, and would most certainly assume the advertisements put on the paper.
Other forms of communications like billboards are easy to assume, especially by those with limited time. For this reason therefore, it is advisable for this firm to ensure that it uses the right media to reach the market. Digital media provides solution to this.
Multi-Channel Media Strategy
The market is very competitive. Many firms offering similar products as Digital-Bakers Delight have been on the rise. The customers are getting more demanding. Cost of production and delivery to the market is rising, while the need to lower products prices is high (Andreasen 45).
The company must make profits if it is to continue its operation in the market. Such is the challenge Digital-Bakers Delight marketing team has to deal with. In order to stay afloat this competition, the company must device mechanisms of reaching the market with information about products availability, price changes, or any other communication that may be relevant to persuade the customers to make purchase of the products.
To achieve this, there is the need to develop multi-media channel that would enable the company reach the target with the right communication within the set time. The best approach would be to adopt selected social media and two mass media. As stated above, social media has become very relevant in the current society. Facebook alone has a following of over seven hundred thousand users worldwide (Falkow 26).
In Australia, many individuals access this site on a daily basis, a good number of them being the company’s target market. It would be easier to reach this market through Facebook, by simply becoming a member of that community. Through this, the company can communicate with the target market without their message being considered as junk.
YouTube is another forum that would allow this firm to reach the target market. It not only allows the company to communicate with the customers through texts, but also videos. Digital-Bakers Delight can design commercial as those used in television pass their message to their customers through YouTube.
The fact that this channel allows for the usage of graphics, it would be easy for the company to display the products they have in their stores.
It would also be advisable for this company to use selected mass media. Television commercials that come during early morning when most families are likely to be having their breakfast would likely arouse the need to have a bite of such a product the following morning.
Alternatively, it may be aired in the evening news when all family members are likely to be in the house after the day’s activities. The other media that this company should consider adopting is a radio station with a national coverage. The commercials in the radio stations can be aired in the morning hours, during lunchtime or in the evening.
Although they have become less popular, offline channels should not be completely ignored in the process of reaching out for the customers (Evans 45). Some of the important offline communication channels include the newspapers and magazines, journals of business, billboards among others.
A good number of Australian women identify with some specific magazines, depending on one’s lifestyle. Such magazines should be targeted for communication with the intended customer. The newspapers are also other rich viable channels of communicating with women. Specified business journals can also be used to target specific customers.
The Budget
The allocated $130,000 is a good amount for this company’s marketing department. However, this may not be enough to accommodate all the communication requirements needed by the company.
As Armstrong, Michael, Philip, and Ross (39) note, the current business world entirely depends on the marketing units in order to manage the current competition in the market. One channel of communication may not be enough. In order to be successful in the market, there is need to ensure that majority of the target market population is reached.
This calls for an integrated marketing communication strategy that would employ the use of more than one channel of communication. The social media has become increasingly relevant in the market. However, it is very costly to use them.
To advertise in YouTube, it would cost the company five times as much as it would if any the local media were to be used (Evans 87). Because they have become popular with the target market, it should be considered despite its high cost. The cost of other channels like television, radios, journals, newspapers, and others should also be factored in.
The current budget, as it stands now, should be portioned to different channels currently in use. Over eighty should be allocated to digital media, and the other twenty percent taken to the offline mode of communication. Social media, especially You Tube should take the bulk of the eighty percent, while mass media should take the remaining portion.
Works Cited
Andreasen, Alan. Ethics in Social Marketing. New York: Georgetown University Press, 2001. Print.
Armstrong, Gary, H. Michael, K. Philip, & B. Ross. Marketing: An introduction. Financial Times. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.
Evans, Dave. Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2010. Print.
Falkow, Sally. Social Media Strategy. New York: Expansion Plus, Inc, 2010. Pint.
Jarboe, Greg. YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishers, Inc, 2009. Print.
Klein, Harry. Customer Engagement Strategies. The three keys to engaging C-suite executives. New York: Wiley Publishing, 2009. Print.