Marketing Strategy
This marketing report presents a well-researched plan for marketing the Watz online movie renting website. The specific objectives of this marketing plan are increasing customer awareness, product knowledge, and building a strong customer base for the website (Goodman 18). Since the business has been successful for the last three years, the proposed marketing plan will be effectively executed by Watz Movie World Company.
The current business strengths of the company include affordable pricing, product diversification, and expanded market coverage. Just by a click of a button, a customer is in a position to access the online movies retailed by the company from any place as long as the client has access to the Internet. With discounted pricing, a series of attractive discounts, and interesting after-sales services, customers reached through this marketing plan are likely to visit the site and try these services (Kotler and Keller 33).
The business is facing stiff competition from traditional movie shops and online film streaming companies such as Netflix. The Watz Movie World does not have exclusive rights to the services it sells as an agency connecting movie makers and customers. This means that the company only gains from discounts and might face serious revenue challenges in the event of some moviemakers withdrawing from this platform (Goodman 23).
In addition, the present movie renting market is sensitive to changing customer preference. This means that a negative online rating would translate into a reduced number of customers. Despite these challenges, the business is positioned to gain from a series of opportunities in the movie market. For instance, the company could partner with movie marketers to host a block release and boost revenues.
Moreover, segmenting online movie renting services into different categories opens up an opportunity of increasing the current market coverage (Kotler and Keller 37). Lastly, the Watz Movie World faces several threats in its micro and macro business environments. The notable threats include expensive licensing, the invasion of the online film streaming technology, and the high cost of running the business.
In order to manage the impacts of these weaknesses and threats in the Watz Movie World business environment, the proposed advertising campaign was angled at specific areas of focus. The first focus is building a positive attitude and improving the likability of the company and its services. The second focus is on cuing customer behavior to embrace the services in order to increase the probability of service intake and acceptance (Kotler and Keller 41). Moreover, the advertising campaign is directed towards increasing sales through proactive customer engagement to increase general awareness and build a loyal customer base.
At present, the Watz Movie World has three specific customer segments consisting of young digerati (15-20 years), youthful clients (21-35), and general customers (36+ years). The young digerati market is the largest and currently makes up 45% of the company sales. This is followed by the youthful clients at 38%, while the rest is covered by the middle-aged clients. Despite the difference in age and movie preference, the current advertisement and marketing strategies are similar across the customer segments. Thus, there is a need to make adjustments to the advertising campaigns to be focused on customer orientation towards each segment (Goodman 28).
For instance, running two different marketing campaigns would expand message intake and appeal to the needs of each customer segment. The first advertisement campaign could be tailored to appeal to the young digerati and youthful customers. The two segments are the majority of consumers of movie services. The second advert strategy should be aimed at the general customer segment. The rationale for proposing two promotional strategies is guided by the variances in the consumption patterns and perceptions across different customer segments.
Media to Use
Since the business is based on online and offline platforms, the ideal media for the proposed promotional and advertisement campaigns are radio, television, digital billboards, print (newspapers and local magazines), and social media. The proposed advertisement plan will run for three months from the beginning of a new financial year. The intention of the advertisement and promotion plan is to develop a strong brand image by improving the visibility of the business’ website. As a result of a stratified and strong brand image, the business will be able to increase the number of its customers, thus, leading to improved revenues (Kotler and Keller 44).
Since the majority of the Watz clients have access to daily television viewing time, the advertisement plan intends to capitalize on securing advert spots during the prime time to reach as many clients as possible. The proposed television channels that will air the adverts are ABC Family, FOX family, and e-Entertainment. The prime time slots will be spread between 5.00 PM to 10 PM (night), 12.00 PM to 2.00 PM (midday), and 6.00 AM to 8.00 AM (morning). Every commercial will run for a standard 20 seconds and will run three times in each channel per day for a period of three months.
The rationale for selecting these channels was informed by their extensive coverage and popularity in the US market and beyond. Moreover, these channels charge competitive rates for airing advertisements. For instance, since the adverts will run for three months, it will be possible to get a discount of at least 10% of the original cost. According to market research, television channels reach the highest number of viewers at the same time during prime time when most people find time to tune in to watch family-friendly programs (Kotler and Keller 37).
Moreover, the selection of different channels to air the proposed ads was necessary to reach diverse customers with the varying preference of the TV stations. As a result, the market coverage of the ads will not be limited to customer preference of a specific channel. Lastly, the proposed channels have coverage beyond the US market. Since Watz’s has an online platform, the use of these channels will ensure that the business reaches foreign clients, which is a plus to the targeted local client base.
Apart from television adverts, radio broadcasting will also be used. Since the services to be marketed fall under the entertainment sector, the ideal radio channels selected are Wince Clappers and Newegg because they mostly concentrate on entertainment news.
Moreover, these two stations have a large following among the target clients in addition to offering competitive advert rates. Since the cost of playing a radio advert is relatively low, the Watz messages will be aired every two hours from 5.00 AM to 11.00 PM per day for three months. The 14 hours time frame is aimed at reaching as many clients as possible by spreading the listening duration to cover all preferences. The radio adverts will promote the website and inform clients of what to expect once they log in. Every radio commercial will run for 90 seconds and be repeated every two hours.
Local print newspapers and magazines will form part of the media, especially for reaching the general customers. Basically, the print media will be utilized on a weekly basis. Specifically, the ads will be placed every Saturday and Sunday for three months because print media consumption is highest during the weekend. The print media will target the youthful and general customer segments. Through direct advertisement for the Watz services in print media, the brand image will be made available in the market to reach out to more clients. The advert messages on the print media will be placed in the form of coupons accompanied by the image of the website display.
The exact message will be “just a click, and your entertainment is guaranteed.” This strategy is effective in curing the minds of customers and positively influencing their consumption behaviors (Goodman 12). The local sports and entertainment magazines will be included in the print media mix. Specifically, the same coupon will be placed in these magazines once in a week, preferably on Saturday edition due to its large coverage. This means that the advertisement campaigns will have twelve ad spots per magazine over the period of three months.
Digital billboards and social media pages will also be used to market the business. The digital boards will be placed strategically next to entrances of college learning institutions, along highways, and corners of the major streets. The digital boards will be illuminating the image of the website with a running display of the services on a 24/7 basis. The advertisement plan intends to utilize ten digital billboards across the target area. This will be adequate to reach all the customer segments using the roads where the boards will be displayed. Moreover, it will promote 24 hours marketing since digital boards can display in the day and at night.
The screen on the digital board will replay the latest movie trailers available for renting on the site. This strategy is expected to appeal to the young digerati and youthful customer segments since they will know exact services to order from the trailers (Goodman 56). The social media pages will include Facebook and Twitter (see table 1). Social media pages will be created to advertise the website. In order to reach many clients, the business will engage a professional social media page promoter to increase the website visibility and number of customer likes or visits. For instance, the company should target to have 300 likes every week for the three-month period.
This translates to 4,800 potential customers in the form of new likes on these fun pages. In order to make the social media strategy effective, the proposed advertisement messages will be accompanied by a link that can lead a potential customer directly to the website. Clients will be urged to like the page to stand a chance of winning movie discounts whenever they make an online hiring. Since this media is relatively affordable and covers a wide market area, it is estimated that the target of 4,800 potential customers will be surpassed with minimal efforts. The digital media channels will be tailored to appeal to different customer segments and to permanently cue the mind of potential customers into loyal followers (Kotler and Keller 75).
Watz Advertisement and Promotion Budget
The promotional budget was estimated for three months to cover all related costs for airing different adverts on media channels (see table 1). The estimation was based on the current market rates for hosting similar adverts (Subramanyam 34).
Table 1. Watz advertisement budget for a period of three months.
From the estimations before negotiating for a discount with the advert media channels, the total cost is $67,080.
Creativity in the Adverts
The adverts will be accompanied by different incentives in the form of discounts, free movies, and loyalty coupons that are redeemable. The creativity objective was created from a practical and focused marketing strategy to ensure that they are not only achievable, but also realistic and affordable.
Recommendations
Pitching in College and other Public Gatherings
The business should consider pitching in different higher learning institutions to accompany the proposed advertisement strategies. The pitching will give the business an opportunity to engage the already informed clients on a one-on-one basis. This recommendation will give the business the much needed avenue for building direct customer relationship management and addressing any other concerns that might have not been addressed through the adverts (Kotler and Keller 33).
The pitching strategy should be rolled out to cover all major higher learning institutions where the potential clients are likely to be found. Moreover, the business should consider hiring temporary marketers to promote its services in major public spaces such as parks, arboretums, or the main streets. During these direct promotions, printed coupons could be given to the potential customers. This recommendation has the potential of establishing the impact of different advertisement strategies as potential customers will be giving their feedback (Goodman 29).
In addition, this recommendation might give the business a true picture on the promotional strategies that should be adjusted according to the market response. For instance, based on the customer feedback, the company might be in a position to evaluate its current marketing strategies.
Merging the Advertisement Plan with Current Marketing Strategies
The business should consider merging its current marketing strategies with the proposed advertisement plan to ensure that there is a single focus on its promotional actions. For instance, the merge of the proposed plan to the current marketing strategies will ensure that there is a smooth transition from one idea to another. Moreover, it will expand the scope of market coverage since several action plans are proposed (Kotler and Keller 49). In addition, it will integrate any other promotional strategies such as gift vouchers, coupons, discounts, and loyalty cards to the proposed advertisements. Therefore, the Watz Movie World will be in a position to improve its brand image and cue the perception of customers towards its online movie renting services.
Works Cited
Goodman, Gail. Engagement Marketing: How Small Business Wins in a Socially Connected World. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Kotler, Philip, and Kevin Keller. Marketing Management. 15th ed., Pearson Prentice Hall, 2016.
Subramanyam, John. Financial Statement Analysis. 11th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2013.