Unit 9 P1 BTEC National In Business Year 1

Analysing the external opportunities and threats allows Skoda UK to pinpoint precisely how it should target its marketing messages. No other market player has ‘driver happiness’ as its USP. By building on the understanding derived from the SWOT, Skoda UK has given new impetus to its campaign. At the same time, the campaign has addressed the threat of external competition by setting Skoda apart from its rivals.

• Corporate Image:  A brand/ corporate image are an identifiable entity that makes specific promises of value.

Skoda had changed their logo five times:

1. ‘Scavia Logo’ from 1895-1905. 

2. ‘L&K Logo’ from 1905-925.

3. ‘Skoda Logo’ from 1926-1933.

4. ‘Skoda Logo’ from 1926-1990

5. ‘Skoda Logo’ since 1999 ... this is the one Skoda is using at the moment, but they might change the logo again as most of the customers and other target sector is not happy with the logo and the colours used by the organisers.

• Direct Marketing:  The aim of direct marketing is to create one to one relationships with the organisations target market. Direct marketing can come in the form of post, email, telephone calls and mail order. The company usually contacts a named person at the address. 

• Exhibitions:  Such approaches are very good for making new contacts and renewing old ones. Companies will seldom sell much at such events. The purpose is to increase awareness and to encourage trial. They offer the opportunity for companies to meet with both the trade and the consumer.

• Personal Selling:   Personal selling involves selling a product or service on a one to one basis. This can either be done face to face or over the phone. Personal Selling is an effective way to manage personal customer relationships. The sales person acts on behalf of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the approaches and techniques of personal selling. However sales people are very expensive and should only be used where there is a genuine return on investment. For example salesmen are often used to sell cars or home improvements where the margin is high.
• Sales Promotions:   Sales promotion tends to be thought of as being all promotions apart from advertising, personal selling, and public relations. For example the BOGOF promotion, or Buy One Get One Free. Others include couponing, money-off promotions, competitions, free accessories (such as free blades with a new razor), introductory offers (such as buy digital TV and get free installation), and so on. Each sales promotion should be carefully costed and compared with the next best alternative. 
• Sponsorship:  Sponsorship is about providing money to an event, in turn the product or company is acknowledged for doing so. Sponsorship helps the company improve its image and public relations within the market and usually the company attempts to sponsor a person or event that mirrors the image they are trying to aim for.

• Publicity and Public Relations:  Managing public relations is very important for the organisation. Image in marketing is everything. Having a good image helps the organisation develop a trust and a bond between themselves and their customers. This good will is invaluable. Public relations activities include press releases, company literature, videos, websites and annual reports.

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                                                 Universal records Case Study           

Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company with wholly-owned record operations or licensees in 71 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry\'s largest global music publishing operations.

                                                              (Source: umusic.com)

   

Promotional mix used by universal records:

• Advertising:   Universal Music Group's Advertising and Media Services Department has outlined its organizational structure for North America. The Advertising and Media Services Department is responsible for negotiating and placing advertising in all media including television, radio, print, monthly newsletters, out of home and Internet for Universal Music Group (UMG) and its divisions. This department, part of Common Label Operations, also works closely with Seagram and Universal Studios to maximize efficiency and cost-savings across all companies.

Researching and analyzing non-traditional advertising opportunities for UMG labels and departments, negotiating advertising contracts and serving as the liaison between the East and West Coast Offices.  

• Corporate Image:   Universal Music Group is not only diversified on a product front, but also on a geographic front, as the company’s operations span the globe. It creates and sells many different types of products within the realm of music, including CDs, DVDs, vinyl albums, merchandise, licenses, as well as various downloadable formats including mp3s and ringtones.

In addition, Universal Music Group is diversified through its global operations and has signed artists and sold CDs and other forms of media on every major continent. People everywhere listen to music and Universal Music Group has taken advantage of this fact more than anyone else. By having a highly diversified business model, UMG is able to maintain a lot more stability and be subject to less risk compared to other competitors within the music industry.

• Direct Marketing:   The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) presented the Universal Music Group with an International ECHO Award, the highest tribute in the direct and interactive marketing industry. The award was given at DMA’s 85th Annual Conference & Exhibition on October 20th in San Francisco; CA. Kevin Nealon of "Saturday Night Live" fame hosted the event.

                                                                                                   (Source: Wikipedia.com)

UMG has expanded its line up of direct-to-consumer mobile content and services for music fans by leveraging Qualcomm's Brand extend solution. UMG's mobile offering will be available directly to consumers through its artist Web and WAP sites and CD packaging. Marketing via leaflets, brochures, letters, catalogs, or print ads mailed or distributed directly to current and potential consumers. The direct marketing industry for UMG has grown enormously as a result of increasingly specialized mailing lists.

• Exhibition:   Universal Group does not do any exhibitions to sell their records but they certainly do events and conferences whenever they launch their new record/label or product.
• Personal selling:  UMG is a vast and well known company that they do not need to advertise and sell their product to every individual, however there are possibilities that they organise a conference or advertising campaign in order to launch/sell or introduce a new product and target/encourage audience to buy their labels.

• Sales Promotions:   Sales-stimulation achieved through contests, demonstrations, discounts, exhibitions or trade shows, games, giveaways, point-of-sale displays and merchandising, special offers, etc. UMG do sales promotion on common basis for their target market so that they can maintain their standard and keep ahead with their competitors
• Sponsorship:   There is not much information on sponsorship that UMG did, but it could be that they have sponsored musical concerts, trade fairs and other media related events. And also new comers and singers when launched often get sponsored by universal group.
• Publicity and Public relations:   This is a type of promotion that relies on public relations effect of a news story carried usually free by mass media. The main objective of publicity is not sales promotion, but creation of an image through editorial or 'independent source' commentary. While the publicist can control the content of the story, he or she may not have any control over its placement or interpretation by the media. UMG do consider opinions from their customers, needs of their employees and satisfaction of other clients like investors. Again the company itself is well known and famous around the world that it does not need to publicise its services and products. But they surely do commercials and advertisement and most of the time it comes with the product.