MKTM028 Strategic Marketing Marketing communications in a digital age Week 12 Dr Stephen Castle Dr Elizabeth Kim Iain Bromley

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session students will understand and appreciate: the role of communications in achieving competitive advantage how to communicate effectively tools of communication managing reputation with communications

A Simple Marketing System Information Goods, services Company Buyers Money Communication

Marketing Communications CAN: Support/enhance a sound marketing mix: Communicate product benefits Improve sales of existing products Establish awareness/favourable attitudes for new products Help create brand preference Gain intermediary support Generate salesforce effort Create a favourable corporate image

The role of marketing communications Differentiate Remind Inform Persuade Fill (2012)

Marketing Communications CANNOT: Rescue a flawed marketing mix: Create buyers for a product that serves no need Persuade against experience Persuade buyers to pay in excess of perceived value Convince buyers to buy inconveniently

Marketing Communications Defined “Marketing Communications is a management process through which an organisation enters into a dialogue with its target audience. The objective is to (re)position the organisation (product) in the mind of members of the target audience as a solution to their current or future dilemmas.” Fill (1997) C1.4 1

Communications Plan Fill (2012)

Exercise: Direct Mail !! Promise the most important benefit in the headline/first paragraph Elaborate on the benefit The offer: how the benefit is delivered Proof/endorsements Break inertia: cost of not taking action Rephrase benefits in closing offer Encourage action now

Stakeholders Stakeholders are any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of an organisation’s purpose Stakeholder analysis determines which organisations/stakeholders influence us, and what are their aims, objectives, motivations and relative power

Categories of stakeholders EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS CONNECTED STAKEHOLDERS INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS Govt Media Pressure groups Professional bodies Local community Distributors Society Employees Managers Financiers Retailers Suppliers Customers Shareholders

Stakeholder Mapping Positions the organisation in its network, and identifies the forces acting on it: those that drive it forward those that restrain it………. ……..from which an estimate of the likelihood of success for a particular strategy can be made

Networks and stakeholders An organisation does not exist in a vacuum It will over time develop a network of relationships within which it works This network of relationships provides the context within which exchange and marketing communications happens

Performance and support networks Performance network: stakeholders directly involved in the value-adding processes of production and distribution: * employees * suppliers * the trade * competitors * customers Support network: stakeholders that indirectly influence the value-adding process: financial institutions government pressure groups consultancies shareholders trades unions

Communications and stakeholders The stakeholder map begins to show us the communications tasks for the organisation: who do we need to talk with? what do we need to tell them? Mendelow

Communicating the Organisation On occasions, it is necessary to communicate with all stakeholders to convey information about the organisation, rather than its products and services.

Corporate personality Corporate identity or brand Corporate image Corporate identity and its relationship with corporate image and corporate reputation Corporate personality Corporate identity or brand Corporate image Corporate reputation Roper & Fill, 2012

Corporate Personality: what the organisation is Organisations have distinguishing behaviours, characteristics and features: Culture - core values, beliefs and traits that form behaviour Purpose - the raison d’etre and strategic purpose of the organisation. Mission statement?

Corporate Identity: the way we present ourselves The formation of cues by which stakeholders recognise and identify the organisation: * what it is * what it does * how it does it Corporate identity cues: * Symbols - logo, letterheads, workwear * Behaviour - staff interactions, internally and externally; policies * Communication styles - tone and presentation of communications

Corporate Image: what stakeholders perceive us to be inevitable - stakeholders will form a view on the organisation therefore subjective - interpretation of the cues presented image can be changed: change identity mould new perceptions

Corporate Reputation what stakeholders know us to be image, reinforced by transactional experience. spoken of - stakeholders talk about their transactional experiences with organisations. Word of mouth. credible, trustworthy, reliable, responsible, efficient, effective????

Criteria that influence corporate reputation

What makes a good corporate reputation? Fombrun (1996)

Features of integrated corporate communication, adapted from Pickton (2004)

Corporate communications plan, integrated marketing communications (IMC) for identified stakeholder(s) Context analysis – current stakeholder perceptions, identity/image gap, needs and concerns, media and tools used by stakeholders Communication objectives – stakeholder group(?) targeted by the plan, problem/need to address, SMART tasks Core theme and messages – what reputational platform?, purpose/desired stakeholder response, content/style of message Communication media and tools – justify which will be used Timetable – period over which communication is required, timescales for review and measurement Resource allocation – estimated expenditure (or basis on which budget is set) Monitoring and control – how will progress and results be monitored, reviewed and measured against objectives

Process of planning communications programmes and campaigns (Cornelissen, 2011) VISION REPUTATION 1. STRATEGIC INTENT 2. DEFINE COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES 3. IDENTIFY AND PRIORITISE TARGET AUDIENCES 4. IDENTIFY THEMED MESSAGE(S) 5. DEVELOP MESSAGE STYLES 6. DEVELOPMENT MEDIA STRATEGY 7. PREPARE THE BUDGET

Tools: Specialism: Media: Advertising PR Sponsorship/Events Media relations Investor relations Internal comms Public affairs Issue management Crisis management Media: Broadcast Prints Digital Outdoor In-store Other

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session students will understand and appreciate: the role of communications in achieving competitive advantage how to communicate effectively tools of communication managing reputation with communications