Marketing Campaigns
Business organisations engage in marketing campaigns to promote products and services in the market. A marketing campaign is defined as an organised series of activities aimed at achieving specific business goals in the business environment (Kotler and Armstrong 2010). Marketing campaigns are primarily designed to enhance consumer awareness and appeal to the tastes and preferences of buyers with the aim of gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace (Furlow 2011). These campaigns are conducted on various platforms and through different channels to reach the target audience. It is important, therefore, that marketing campaigns are designed with the target audience as the centre of focus.
2.0 Promotional Mix
Marketing campaigns involve the promotion of products and services through various channels. Companies must identify promotional channels that take into account the characteristics of the various market segments that are targeted. The promotional mix, therefore, refers to the set of variables employed by an organisation to promote its products and services in the marketplace (Goi 2009). A common element of the promotional mix is advertising, a marketing communication used to appeal to consumer needs and preferences. Sales promotion is also an element of the promotional mix. It involves the addition of incentives to encourage consumers to make purchases. Personal selling is also another promotional element in the promotional mix. It involves the use of a sales force to convince consumers to make purchases. Companies can also use public relations to foster goodwill and increase sales.
3.0 The Body Shop Promotional Mix Element
The Body Shop uses public relations as a promotional mix element in its ‘Forever against animal testing campaign’. The company aims to gain the public support in its campaign to end animal testing because it views this activity as animal cruelty. It goes against the core values of the company. A key advantage of this promotional mix element is that it enhances the brand image of the company and increases consumer loyalty (Hair Jr and Lukas 2014). However, it shifts the focus away from consumers because it does not communicate how the company aims to deliver value to its customers.
4.0 Promotional Channels
The company uses digital media to promote its campaign against animal testing. Digital media channels such as YouTube have provided companies with an affordable yet effective means of reaching the target audience and measuring the reach of the campaign (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick 2012). The company also uses its website to promote the campaign. Visitors to its website can access information on how the company is making efforts to end animal testing.
5.0 Key Message
The key message of the campaign is that animal testing is unethical because it is cruel to the animals involved. The company seeks to convince consumers to join in its fight to end animal testing by putting pressure on governments to ban the activity. However, behind this message is also the message that The Body Shop is a company that engages in ethical activities in its pursuit for profits. The campaign also aims to appeal to the emotions of consumers and move them to identify with the company because of its concern for the wellbeing of animals.
6.0 Key Target Audience
The target audience of The Body Shop’s campaign are millennials who are concerned about animal cruelty and the danger of testing products on animals. Millennials are relatively young consumers who spend a significant amount of time on the Internet (Kaplan and Haenlein 2011). The choice of YouTube as a campaign platform shows that the company targets this demographic. The packaging of the message also shows that it is meant for a relatively young audience. The company talks about its earlier campaigns in a manner which suggests that the target audience was not aware of the campaign at the time. The pictures of young women at the start of the video also prove that this is the target audience.
7.0 Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
The video grabs the attention of the audience using pictures of young women posing as bunnies. It generates the interest of the audience by explaining the core belief of the company and the reasons why it was founded. This helps the audience to identify with the company. The video enhances desire by highlighting the success of past campaigns and the possibilities that a renewed fight could achieve. It calls the audience to action by asking for their signatures. This provides an avenue for them to own the campaign.
8.0 Monitoring Success
The Body Shop can determine the reach of its message by analysing the number of views on its YouTube channel. It provides an effective means for monitoring campaigns. The video has only received 10,000 views in over a year, an indication that the campaign has not been effective.
9.0 Conclusion
This report shows that have the right promotional mix enhances the potential of success for marketing strategies. Business organisations must identify their target audiences and their characteristics in order to develop effective promotional mixes. It is also important to monitor the success of marketing campaigns to determine whether there is a need to review the strategy employed.
References
Furlow, N.E., 2011. Find us on Facebook: How cause marketing has embraced social media. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 5(6), pp.61-64.
Goi, C.L., 2009. A review of marketing mix: 4Ps or More?. International journal of marketing studies, 1(1), p.2.
Hair Jr, J.F. and Lukas, B., 2014. Marketing research (Vol. 2). McGraw-Hill Education Australia.
Jobber, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2012. Principles and practice of marketing (No. 7th). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Kaplan, A.M. and Haenlein, M., 2011. Two hearts in three-quarter time: How to waltz the social media/viral marketing dance. Business Horizons, 54(3), pp.253-263.
Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G., 2010. Principles of marketing. Pearson education.
