- Which radio station do you listen too, if any at all?
- QBS FM (97.5) 2
- Dubai FM (101.5) 4
- Sawa FM (92.6) 2
- Sawt al Khaleej 2
- Don’t listen to radio stations 40
- Which Electronic Billboards do you notice most often?
- Corniche 15
- Near KFC at Al Saad 10
- Ramada junction 25
- Near Q-Tel at Al Saad 0
- Near airport roundabout 0
- Al Najaf 0
- Do you watch QTV regularly?
- What would you rate the effectiveness of flyers?
- Do you view adverts on the Internet? If so which sites
- Yahoo 6
- MSN 10
- Google 7
- Other 2
- NO, I don’t view adverts 25
- Do you view SMS adverts?
- Yes 3
- No 0
- Sometimes 0
- Don’t have a mobile 1
- Haven’t ever received any 46
- Do you notice Dallah advertisements? If so, which circuits would you say you notice the most?
- NO, I don’t view Dallah Boards 1
- Circuits 3&4 4
- Circuits 5&6 30
- Circuits 7&8 15
Marketing Analysis
For the questionnaire I had asked 25 Arab-speaking and 25 English-speaking teenagers. This is so I could get unbiased primary research results.
In my first question I asked what papers were read, if any at all. The majority (35/50) did not read newspapers. Then The Peninsula came top with 6/50, followed by Gulftimes; 4/50 and then the Arab newspaper Al Rayyah with 3/50. Al Wattan and Al Sharq got 1/50 each. These results show that the majority of teenagers do not read newspapers, and the ones who do, mostly read the English editions, where Peninsula was most popular, and for the Arab, Al Rayyah was most popular.
In my second question I asked what radio stations did they listen to, if at all. The majority (40/50) did not listen to any of them. Then the most popular was Dubai FM (4/50), followed by the rest with 2/50 each. These results show that radio is not popular with teenagers, and the most popular station from them all was the English and internationally based-Dubai FM.
In my third question I asked which LED’s do they notice most often. The majority noticed the LED’s in the Ramada Junction most (25/50), followed by 15/50 for the Corniche, then Near KFC in Al Saad; 10/50. The rest got no tally. These results show that the LED(s) at Ramada Junction are noticed most by our target market. This form of advertising is expensive, yet practical because they are very noticeable, and a good form of making public awareness for burst advertising techniques.
In my fourth question I asked whether they watch QTV regularly. The majority did not watch QTV (48/50). These results tell us that promoting through QTV would be useless, since only 2/50 agreed to watching QTV, and because it is to expensive anyway. I did not bother to ask about cable since it would be too expensive for our budget, and we wouldn’t be able to promote through it, even if it were popular.
In my fifth question I asked about the effectiveness of flyers. The majority (26/50) stated that they were OK, followed by 20/50 saying they were GOOD and only 2/50 stating them boring. These results tell us that flyers are popular among the teenagers. Hence would be a good media to promote through, also being that the price is quite cheap.
In my sixth question I asked if they viewed adverts on the Internet, and if so, which sites. The majority (25/50) do NOT view them. Then the most popular sites were MSN(10/50) followed by Google(7/50), Yahoo(6/50) and others (2/50). These results show that the majority of teenagers do not view adverts on the Internet, and if so, both Arabs and English seem to view them from MSN. Hence advertising from this media would be impractical since it is unpopular and expensive.
In my seventh question I asked whether they view SMS adverts. The majority(46/50) haven’t ever received any, since this is a new type of media advertising. Then 3/50 said yes, with 1/50 saying they do not have a mobile and no one saying NO or SOMETIMES. These results show that since this is a new service, not many teenagers have received any adverts in the first place. Yet, we can see that almost all teenagers have a mobile, which makes this an attractive media to promote through, but is too expensive for our budget.
In my final question I asked if they notice Dallah Boards, and if so, on which circuit. Only 1/50 said NO. The majority(30/50) chose 5&6, followed by 7&8(15/50) and 3&4(4/50). These results show that almost all teenagers notice the Dallah Boards. We can see that they preferred circuits 5,6,7 & 8 because they are close to the present teenage hotspots such as Oasis and Ramada. This would be a good media to promote through since it allows us to advertise in any specific location, and the price is practical.
Marketing Analysis Conclusion
After analyzing my questionnaire results, I have come up with a conclusion on the possible types of media we can use for advertising. Newspapers wouldn’t be such a good idea since they are expensive and not many teenagers read them. Advertising on a news station would be useless since no one listens to them. To advertise on QTV would not be profitable since practically no teenagers watch it, and it is too expensive. To advertise on the Internet wouldn’t be any use since many do not view the advertisements, and it is too expensive. The SMS adverts would be a good way to promote media since many teenagers have a mobile, but it is too expensive. This now leaves us by advertising through LED’s, Flyers, and Dallah boards as the most favored, we can also use the newspapers Al Rayyah and Peninsula. LED’s would be a good way to promote the service because they catch a lot of attention, and are available at practical prices, which is perfect for the burst advertising technique. Flyers are a very cheap way of advertising, and many teenagers found their effectiveness OK or GOOD. Then to promote by Dallah Boards would be profitable because it allows us to burst advertise in a specific area, and time of day. Also, according to our results, almost everyone notices them, and they are available at practical prices. If we advertise at both Al Rayyah and Peninsula, we will be accessing both the major cultures in Qatar, and even though many teenagers do not read newspapers, they still have a large impact in Qatar.
I think my primary research (questionnaire) provided reliable results. This is because I asked 25 English and Arab speaking teenagers, who are the two main cultures in Qatar, hence my results were not unbiased.
Marketing Strategy
I shall now produce two different strategies and then compare them. After analyzing them I shall go forward with the one, which seems to be most successful in promoting my company.
Strategy one
Media: Dallah Board
Details: Circuits 5 & 6-will show a poster size of 180cm x 120cm
Cost: 1000 per week, plus 400Qr for designing and printing the poster
Duration: 4 weeks
Total Cost: 4000 + 4000 = QR8000
Media: Peninsula Newspaper – Although my research proved that newspapers are not popular with my market segment, I am still including it in the market research because they are very successful in a small country like Qatar to spread the news through the grapevine, and since the teenagers parents read the paper, it is quite possible that a lot of them will find out about the advertisement even if they do not read the newspaper thoroughly.
Details: 1/8 colour front page
Cost: 5060 per day
Duration: 1 day
Total Cost: 5060Qr
Media: LED board
Details: One LED board at Ramada Junction
Cost: 4000Qr for designing the poster + 4000QR for a month of display
Duration: 1 month
Total Cost: 4000Qr + 4000Qr = 8000Qr
Media: Flyers
Details: 750 flyers a week
Cost: 562.5 per week
Duration: 4 weeks
Total Cost: 2250.5Qr
Total money spent = 23,310Qr
Change = 1690Qr
Strategy two
Media: Al Rayyah
Details: A quarter of an inside page in colour
Cost: 4125Qr per day
Duration: 2
Total Cost: 8250Qr
Media: Peninsula Newspaper
Details: 1/8 colour front page
Cost: 5060Qr per day
Duration: 2 day
Total Cost: 10120Qr
Media: SMS
Details: SMS messages sent to all people in Qatar everyday for at least a month
Cost: 5500 per month
Duration: 1 month
Total Cost: 5500Qr
Total money spent = 23,870Qr
Change = 1,130Qr
Conclusion
After analyzing both of my strategies I have decided that strategy one is the one I shall go forward with, since it seems it will be the most effective at informing and then attracting customers to The Venue. One advantage is that strategy one is promoting The Venue through more types of media then strategy two, which means it will have a more powerful impact within in a certain amount of time then strategy 2. Hence more people can become aware of the service and hence The Venue shall have more customers and hopefully making a profit. Secondly in Strategy, most of the medias which were proved by my questionnaire results as most successful are being used, hence more of the target segment I am aiming at shall become aware of the service and become customers to The Venue.
Effects on my Business
Economic
It is well known that during the summer months there are very few people in Qatar, and hence less sales and profits are made. This is because the weather becomes very unpleasant, and since Qatar is filled with many expatriates, many go back to their homes to visit their families. Since less people will be in Qatar, this means that there shall be less spending, and hence less money in the Qatar economy. Realizing that when businesses make less money, they make different decisions, such as keeping less stock and not advertising as much if they had a lot of cash flowing in. Although when the school year begins, all the expatriates and other people return, hence they spend, and hence the amount of money in the economy rises up again. This tells us, that Qatar has a seasonal economy, and this must be considered when The Venue is to be opened for business.
I have decided that The Venue shall be opened on December 1st, this is because it is a time, which is away from any exams for teenagers. It is a time when there are no major holidays, hence most of the Qatar residents are in the country, which means there shall be more people becoming aware of The Venue then if it were a major holiday, and all the residents would have left for their own countries. Also since Eid has taken place just before December, the Arab community teenagers have extra cash to spend, since cash is given out on the Eid holiday to the youngsters (teenagers).
Costing Exercise
The Venue Promotion Calendar
November
December
SWOT Analysis
Strengths & Weaknesses
One strength of my campaign is that I have used a wide range of media to advertise in. This is a strength since an increased amount of people will become aware of the promotions and The Venue, and hence increasing customers, and hopefully increasing profits. Secondly, I have used two medias, which allowed me to have a BURST of advertisements in the last few days, the Dallah and LED boards. By using these two powerful advertisements, I am making a more powerful effect on the public of the promotions. This again shall invite more customers to The Venue.
One weakness in my campaign is that I feel that my questionnaire is biased. This is because it was only limited to one school, which is an English speaking one. Hence I have produced different results then I would have if I were to carry the questionnaire between many Arab and English speaking schools.
Opportunities & Threats
Before I open up the business, I must consider what threats could cause the business to collapse, and what opportunities could help it to increase its profits.
One major threat to the business would be fighting for customer loyalty. Since we shall be a new business in town, we will have to steal other rival businesses customers to trust in our company, and it is very hard to accomplish this. If it we fail in fighting for the customers’ loyalty we could go bankrupt from losses made from the lack of customers.
Another threat is the wastage of resources and financial control. If the cash flow is not kept in check, the business could make some wrong decisions, which could result in bankruptcy. For example, if the cash-flow is very low, and we do not realize it, and suddenly expand the business, and hence resulting in bankruptcy because we would have no money to run the day to day trading of the business.
There are two main opportunities for my business: profit and market share increase. We can increase the market share and profits by expanding into other areas of Qatar, and continuous successful promotions of the company.
Now that I have completed the coursework, and successfully carried out the task set, which was to invent a marketing campaign for a new business in Qatar, imagined by us.
I think I have successfully carried out this task because I have created a marketing strategy, which uses a wide range of media to advertise the business over a number of weeks, leaving me with only 1690Qr from my 25000Qr budget.
Overall Evaluation
I think one of the good aspects of my coursework is that the marketing strategy contains a wide range of media we are advertising through, of which two are excellent for BURST advertising, which is what is essential within this small budget. This means that if this were a real campaign for a real business, then more people would become aware of the service because of the powerful impact from the burst advertising. Hence the company shall reap higher profits from more customers coming into the business.
One of the bad aspects of my campaign is that I think the sample size for the questionnaire was too small. If I were too take a larger sample size, then I would get more accurate results, and hence by analyzing and applying those results to the campaign, I would create a more successful advertising strategy. If I were to do this coursework again, I would choose a larger sample size, such as 100 people at least. Another bad aspect was that I think the results were biased, since I only asked the questionnaire from one English-speaking school. Even though I asked 25 Arab and English speaking students, the results would still be biased, since the people in this school would have different experiences to the ones in the other schools, hence different interests. If I were to redo this coursework, I would ask the questionnaire from this English-speaking school, and another Arab-speaking school.
Overall however I believe that this coursework task has been successfully completed, and I believe if this campaign were to be used in real life, it would prove to be quite successful.
Bibliography
- GCSE Business studies textbook provided information on primary and secondary data.
- The business studies teacher provided us with secondary data when he gave lists of prices for several advertising agencies.
- The Dallah advertising agency provided secondary data when I asked for the prices for advertising on their boards.
- The primary research done through the questionnaire.