Understanding the principal methods and techniques used in marketing and public

relationships

Marketing:

Why is it important in marketing to understanding your clients and their requirements?

Understanding clients and their requirements is key to giving them a good service, it also ensures that the company/organisation deliver what is promised and receive positive feedback and publicity. After getting to know clients to a good point, it means that the company can anticipate their needs and exceed their expectations. It's important to know your clients so you get positive feedback, like: customer loyalty and more publicity thanks to word of mouth recommendation! There are 3 ways to understand clients and their requirements: Put yourself in their shoes: look in to customer contact and the efficiency, set up meetings, visits, phone calls, correspondence, deliveries and so on. Think about what theys see! Does the work place look scruffy or uninviting in any way? Are there any unfriendly staff? Are phones constantly ringing off the hook? Has the customer been kept waiting for a long period of time? Using data: Databases or Customer Relationship management systems (CRM) hold valuable information about clients (names, addresses, previous problems etc.) it also opens up the opportunity to analyse business performance which gives the company the opportunity to improve, which in turn, increases profitiablility. Ask customers their opinion: Conduct a customer/client satisfaction survey, this makes the clients feel valued, it also gives valuable insight in to a clients experience. Ensure that when changes are made, the clients are made aware which shows a result of their feedback from the surveys. Source: (http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/customer-care/understanding-your-customers)

Why is understanding the market you are working in important? What techniques and tools could be used to help someone understand their market?

Understanding the market is important because: it will ensure the business will be successful and gain the right amount of attention from the target audience. Knowing the market, competitors and potential customers through thorough research will uncover any gaps within the market, having a unique selling point and adding value will ensure the company/audience stands out. For example: You want to open up a new clothing store! The general advise is to visit 10 different comparable clothing shops in 10 different locations. Whilst there, observe the overall style of the shop, pay close attention to: which products they stock, how long customers browse for, the percentage of customers who actually purchase something and record how many people pass by the shop instead of going in. Understanding how these shops work will let you know what is successful and what isn't. Attend relevant networking events: this ensures finding out new information and new ways to do things, (manage the shop, have a good work ethnic etc.) also the more people you speak to about the business opportunity, the more you'll get an opinion on how strong the initial idea is (will the clothing shop idea work, is it actually unique?) also seek advise from the right people like other clothes retail managers/owners as someone involved with cars and mechanics would

have little interest or advise in clothing shops or your idea in general. The Internet: You can gather a lot of information in a short period of time, you can look in to competitors websites to gain insight, (e.g. look at the prices of similar products) you can also read articles and find out more about the market that way (look at their spending habits, sales/profitability.) An example of two different clothing stores who aim at the same market are EMP Clothing and Attitude clothing - they both aim at the same audience and market and are both equally successful. Source: (http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/jun/11/james-caan-market-research)

What is a SWOT analysis? Why are they are they a useful tool?

When creating a new business or product, a SWOT analysis determines the likely risks/awards of the initial idea. It's a useful tool because: it's essentially an analytical framework which hel ps companies face challenges, find promising new markets, helps organisations identify internal/external influences, helps organisations develop a complete awareness of all positive and negative factors which in turn affects strategic planning/decision making. "The ideal outcome of a SWOT is accurate data that can be utilized to create a solid action plan for adressing a weakness and threats, and highlighting or positively exploiting your strengths and opportunities." - Dwain Schenck

Source: (http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4245-swot-analysis.html)

What is audience profiling? What sort of information might be included in an audience

profile?

Audience profiling allows businesses to narrow down who it is they are aiming their product at, it finds their target audience. It makes sure that when a product is created, the message it's trying to create is put across to the right people. When narrowing down their audience, a company/organisation must ask a series of questions to the public which in the end gives them their target audience, they need economic information such as:

• Approximate income • Car ownership • Buying Pattern • Occupation

This allows organisations to determine which customers have the right disposable income to spend on brands/products at their leisure. They also ask a series of questions to the public, these however are to do with social habits:

• Current/desired lifestyle • Media interests • Age • Gender • Religion • Education • Loyalty to brands • Sexuality

This allows organisation to aim at the correct demographic - the ones who fit the target audience i.e. Kerrang aim at teenagers who share a desire for niche bands, rock music etc. they are generally male and non religious. Source: (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-audience-profile.htm)

Select a magazine and find their audience profile:

Explain in detail the 4 different elements of the marketing mix.

Marketing mix is a commonly utilised strategy that follows the 4 P's of marketing: Products: The goods/services/brands that an organisation/business provides/sells to their target market/audience. When developing products, they consider:

• Qquality • Design • Features • Packaging • Customer service • After sales service

Place: Distribution, location and methods getting the product to the target market/audience, this includes:

• Location of business • Shop front • Distributors • Logistics • Use of internet (sell directly to the audience)

Price: The amount of money customers pay in exchange for goods and services, the consider:

• Price setting • Discounting • Credict/cash purchases • Credit Collection

Promotion: Communicating benefits/value of a product to the customers, this involves:

• Persuading general consumers to become customers • Advertising • Direct Marketing • Personal Selling • Sales Promotion

Source: (http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/part/3/12/56)

Select a publication, product or audience and explain the range of marketing materials that they use.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey The movie stayed at #1 worldwide for 3 weeks, they did this by using a range of marketing diversity! Online: For free

• Social Media • Email Marketing

Online: Paid • Search (SEO) • Pay per click (PPC) • Corporate websites

Offline: For Free • Publicity and PR • Referrals • Networking • Community Work

Offline: Paid • Advertising • Sponsorship • Networking • Branding

Offline: Co-Branding with Denny's: Denny's released a Hobbit themed menu with middle Earth food such as, 'Hobbit Hole Burger', 'The Ring Burger' and 'Frodo's Pot Roast Skillet'. The menu had codes that customers could use to get exclusive content plus they received a pack of hobbit trading cards with every meal. The partnership was founded because of fans known fact about the Hobbit's diverse eating patterns and Denny's is a 24 hour food service - thus creating a perfect partnership.

Billboards, commercials and posters: Warner bros released 16 different TV spots for the Hobbit to be advertised, there was also a poster featured in the collectors edition of ROlling Stones and Empire Magazine. They also used traditional advertising to get as many eyes on their marketing as possible, there was a poster that wasn't featured online but everywhere it could possibly be in every day life, it was! Bus stops, bus sides and even a mural in New York City.

Merchandising: Funko, The Noble Collection, Weta Workshop and of course Warner Bros stores had a variety of Hobbit merch: lego sets, Lord of the Rings video game, Jewellery, T-shirts, posters and figurines. Partnership with New Zealand: Both the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were filmed in New Zealand therefore it became a big selling point/attraction for the country. A giant Gollum sculpture was installed in Wellington airport, real life versions of the Green Dragon Inn opened, there was a Hobbit themed in flight safety video created for Air New Zealand and O2 offered a free trip to the hobbit holes in New Zealand on their priority app early January 2015. Online: Facebook: By 'liking' their page, fans gain access to exclusive content, giveaways, games, updates on progress and behind-the-scenes content. Once the film was released, the account stayed active, it still provided content, gave a Dwarven word of the day, released photographs of characters in action and made a 'fan of the week' competition. Twitter: Released a lot of the same content as Facebook, they still gave unique marketing experiences for example: fans could ask Sir Ian McKellen questions and he'd reply with witty responses which got big publicity. YouTube channel: Allowed fans to get a sneak peak at behind the scene footage, released official trailers, worker with Peter Jackson's channel to promote the film and everything was cross promoted on Facebook and Twitter. Official Website: Served as a hub as it tied everything together, it offered content such as: photos, videos, downloads, information, interactive games (recipes from Middle Earth and Dwarf Combat Training.)

They covered all baseds of marketing to ensure success, everything was fan centric and always included them and cross promoting really made sure that all exclusive content and information circulated around and gained more publicity.

Provide your own definition of advertising.

Advertising is ensuring a company and it's products success. They do this by using a range of marketing techniques and strategies to publically announce the availability of a product. The marketing techniques or strategies vary depending on the product, for example: If a company is trying to sell the release of a new video game, they would first off have to find out who they aiming it at (e.g. GTA generally aimed at males, 18-24) and use this knowledge to produce posters, web banners, Facebook pages, personal websites, TV commercials and so on to get their products out there; on the right channels to the right demographic.

It's essentially displaying a new product and ensuring it gets sales by applying marketing techniques to the right people.

What is the purpose of sponsorship? Support your answer with detailed examples.

Sponsorship is when companies provide financial support to events/activites like: TV shows, sporting events, movies, video games, social service activities and so on. They do this for public recognition which improves sales dramatically. Examples of sponsorship: Mountain Dew Energy Drink sponsored YouTuber, 'devinsupertramp' to set up and record his video, 'Slip and Slide LAUNCH RAMP' which not only funded a very fun event but also got mountain dew an equal amount of recognition and publicity as it's logo was plastered along the ramp along with the drink actually being featured many times during the production.

Diet Coke produced a TV and web advertisement with Taylor Swift where every time she took a sip of diet coke, kittens appeared. The advertisement ended with the slogan, 'what if life tasted as good as diet coke' and then proceeded to announce the release date for the sale of Taylor's new album, '1989' at the end which not only promoted Diet Coke but Swift's music too.

During the movie, Wayne's World there is a clip where Wayne (Mike Myers) vows not to 'bow down to any sponsorship' and then proceeds to 'coincidentally' sponsor Pizza Hut (by eating pizza and clearly showing the packaging), Doritos (by holding the crisp packet clearly for the camera to see it's logo), Reebok as Garth (dana Carvey) is sporting their shoes and clothing), Nuprim pain relief (Garth offers them to Wayne after he declared he has a headache) and the drink, pepsi (where Wayne remarks, 'yes and it's the choice of a new generation' as he takes a sip.)

What is the purpose of endorsements? Explain a range of different types of endorsements and use examples.

Popchips used well known personality, Katy Perry as an advertising selling point when they produced a poster where miss Perry has two packets covering her chest with the slogan, 'nothing fake about them' sported at the top, along with a quiote from the pop star herself, saying: 'I'm not in to phonies, good thing there's nothing fake or phony in popchips. They can only taste like their bad for you.' Dolce Gabbana used Scarlett Johansson to show off their new fragrence, 'Rose Sexy' it featured the actress in a room on a bed with nightwear on as an internal dialogue plays over the scene, saying deep things like, 'It's funny what you remember, It's not the words, or the music, maybe it's a laugh, taste? It's funny what you forget but you never forget the one.' It's a very feminine advert which is what the company along with other female fragrence companies generally go for. Endorsement is basically using a well know figure to express appreciation and support for a company or product. The purpose is to gather more media coverage and attention so the product gets more potential customers as followers of the significant figure will think, 'hey, if they like it, I will too!'

Source: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aecgX2GrPD0)

Why could holding an event be a good marketing strategy? What are some of the opportunities and threats of holding an event?

Events are a good way to show off a product or business in a tailor-made setting with little or no distraction from other exhibitors, as it's a private exhibition it appeals more to the invited guests, it also means it's easier to exceed their expectations and desires! Events mean that the organisation/company controlls everything from:

• Venue • Timing • Seating • Topics

The pro's of holding an event:

• Business/product is in the spotlight, it's all about the business/product, nothing else • Can create an event that matches business and target market needs

• Can reach prospective customers directly

• Customers can meet the creators

• They could potentially run a joint event with a partnership

The Con's of holding an event:

• If something bad happens - it's on the company directly

• Never ensured a good turn out

• Planning events isn't easy

• Costs can quickly escalate

• Hard to attract visitors to small events

Holding events is a good strategy because it gets consumers and other organisations to look at

and become aware of your organisation. It allows these people to meet people behind the

brands and products whilst it also gets their questions answered. It can have one attendee or

many leave with a compeltely different perspective on the company.

What is merchandising? Use detailed examples to help explain.

'The planning and promotion of sales by presenting a product to the right market at the proper time, by carrying out organized, skillful advertising using attractive displays etc.' - Dictionary.com Examples: George Lucas got a deal with 20th Century Fox Film corp where he had complete control and the sole beneficiery of all merchandising for the film (Star Wars). This includes: toys based on buildings or vehicles, action figures based on movie characters, prints of the movie poster and shirts with quotes and catchphrases.

Merchandise for sports is also just as common, the sports teams/companies liscense the images of teams/names to companies who put them on jerseys, keychains, clothing, sports equipment, posters and wall plaques etc. Linkin Park and other musicians sell their merchandise, usually by themselves on their personal band websites or they liscense their photographs and album covers to companies who put them on clothes, banners, flags, bags, pens, stationary, hats, patches and so on.

YouTuber's like, MattG124, Danisnotonfire and Amazingphil also do this; it's usually from their own website, a clothing store that correlates in terms of fashion or online stores like: Districtlines and Hot Topic.

Source: (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/merchandising)

Public Relations:

What is the purpose of a press release? What sort of things should a good press release contain?

A press release is a form of written communication, it reports specific or brief information about an event or a circumstance within a company. It's provided to the media but not always picked up, however it can be by: blog's and twitter users. The main purpose of a press release is to promote something specific, like an event, an accomplishment or significant changes within the company. There are 3 marketing promotional purposes for a press release:

1. Let the media know about an event and hope the information gets passed on 2. Let the media become aware of a business in the hope a reporter will see a story or

show interest in it and write an article 3. Promote the business so it appears on the internet via: blogs, websites, social media

etc. A good press release contains:

• A grand opening about a new product or special event • It's tageted for publication or the broadcasts it's send to, for example: the editor of a

car company isn't going to be particularly interested in a new beauty product. • Make it short but sweet (2 pages or less) which includes: who, what, when, where, why

and how in order of importance! • Good grammar and spelling!

An example of a good press release is this Cool-A-Zone one which plans to sell eco friendly fans to the public to help save the planet. It includes specific brief information, for example: 'MSC brings expanded client reach to Cool-A-Zone's innovation, all by a customer looking up vendor ID #46436' Targeted opening for example: 'Cool-A-Zone Inc. Signs on with MSC Inustrial Supply company for Nationwide reach.' There is also good grammar/spelling with no mistakes.

Source: (http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/press-release)

What is the purpose of an electronic media pack? What sort of things should a good electronic media pack contain?

'A folder or package that contains promotional material and associated material about a firm, product, conference, seminar, program etc.' It commonly contains:

• CD • DVD • Video or audio cassette • Emails • Websites • USB Flash Drive

And these usually contain: • Company biography • HD Press Photographs • Promotional Videos for the company • Website Links • Press reviews • Interviews • Contact Information • HD Photographs of key executives • Company logo • Products

Source: (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/media-kit.html)

What is the purpose of a PR briefing? Why should you create one? Explain some of the areas a brief should cover.

Key points for briefing a PR company: • Brief states objectives which includes: short and long term goals and challenges e.g.

key audiences • Explain companies approach to PR, for example: when advertising, what's the

message? Helps to outline events that will be attended too • Clear and realistic on budgets, the more knowledge on spending plans means a better

campaign that fits the budget • Engage with agencies that actually serve an efficient purpose to the task at hand • As open/accessible as possible to these agencies • Realistic timescales which gives the agencies time to develop proposals and

contingency plans in case they don't work out. A PR Briefing's purpose is to lay down information to PR specialists and PR agencies so they are aware of a task/job they need to do. For example: the first aid charity, 'St John's Ambulance' released an ad called, 'The Chockeables' in which small, miscellaneous toys/objects show viewers how to effectively save a choking babies life. A PR briefing would have occured before the initial design and release of the ad, during this certain time, PR agencies that deal with the whole ccreation of the message sent out in this advertisement would have been briefed on initial ideas, expectations, budget, profit, time scale and audiences/expectations. That is the purpose of a PR brief ing and why they should be created. PR Briefing source: (http://loudmouthpr.co.uk/overview/case-studies) The Chokeables source: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtbUB1XPW_o)

What is the purpose of a press conference? Why might you hold one? Use specific examples to help you with your response.

The purpose of a press conference varies, there are many ways that a press conference is effectively used, this can be:

• Drawing media attention to a potential story, which in effect is a lot like a press release • Political Campaigns: President Barack Obama addressed the Nation of the US to

announce the death of Osama Bin Laden. He spun the story in to a good light by reminding the Nation and the world of the awful acts Bin laden was responsible for, 'the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children.' And of course the media went nuts and hundred of stories and articler were written and printed in response, worldwide.

• Emergency Conferences: Following the F5 Tornado in Oklahoma, US May 20th 2013, a press conference was held in which the governor of Oklahoma, Mary Fallin announces emergency services were doing all they could and advised people to stay away from the affected areas so the services had space and their full concentration on finding any lost survivors.

• Promotional Conference: Gain important coverage from newspapers, magazines, blogs and TV news broadcasts. This can be anything from unveiling a new charity campaign to a scientific break through! For example: the EA Gamescom Press Conference allowed viewers/par takers to watch new, exclusive trailers, demos of games played, fans got to play the games and experience them, themselves with extended play throughs! The games included: Batllefield Hardline, FIFA 15, The Sims 4, Dragonage Inquisition, Dawngate and loads more. EA/Game fans/community would have loads to say about this using their blogs, websites and social media whilst journalists for gaming magazines would have gone away with top stories for articles and a lot to talk about on behalf of their experience and expectations.

Conference Definition source: (http://money.howstuffworks.com/business-communications/how-press-conferences-work.htm) Political Conference source: (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead) Emergency Conference source: (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/20/oklahoma-tornado-moore-live-blog) Promotional Conference source: (http://live-event.ea.com/gamescom/)

Why could hand-outs be useful when managing a PR event?

Hand outs are useful because: • They allow more information to be provided to the people attending the event • Gives the audience something to take away and read later on • Remind the audience of the organisation and the key messages/objectives of the

company • Further explanation of important information if it was quite complex and the audience

member was too shy to ask questions • It also includes supporting information like: contact info, case studies, references and

so on • They also summarise key points in a more detailed explanation

Therefore handouts are useful during a public relations event because it helps the audience better understand what you, as the company are trying to say and put across in the initial

events.

What are some of the advantages of holding an interview instead of a press conference?

An interview is a lot more private, intimate and confidential - you can get a lot more information in and out of an interview, the public will most likely trust something someone has said in an interview more as it's directly from the source. An interview can give a lot more information like: personal views, information on happenings and the person of significance, a figure like: Katy Perry or Chester Bennington can gain more news coverage with one interview than a whole conference can with no significant figures. A conference announces something and tends to talk at the public instead of to them, although this gives the viewers insight on happenings, it's not always likely that media will pick up the conference or attend at all. Conferences also tend to give less information as opposed to an interview, though there are questions asked, the answers can be brief and uninteresting.

Why do people set up film and picture opportunities? Use examples to help our response.

Also known as 'Photo opps', pictures opportunities tend to be a happening that is visually appealing, this could feature: children, animals, disasters, unusual events, celebrities, charity events, company campaigns etc. and they are usually quite emotionally appealing. For example: Aid for Afrca is an organisation that sets up projects and charitable event to raise awareness for under priviledged people living in Africa. Right now they are raising money to send young, African girls to school. There are many photographs used on their website that include happy African laides in schools or around their homes. This is a good 'photo opp' as it proves/shows the girls receiving the benefits are happy and attending school - which in turn shows people that by donating they are helping which vastly appeals to kind hearted viewers/the public. There isn't much difference when it comes to film: WWF UK released an advertisement on TV for the adoption of a snow leopard, this included footage of the creature wandering through the wild in it's natural habitat. The ad talks about how the animals are poached by hunters and how numbers of snow leopards is rapidly decreasing, it also shows skins made from the furr of the leopards after being hunted. They show up close videos of the animal to show the audience it's beauty. This appeals to audiences who feels sosrry for it after emotive language is used and adopt a snow l eopard to help, this widely helps the organisation WWF to make sure the animals are protected from poachers. People set up these opportunities to sell products for the profit or gain, the opportunities must be appealing to the public or there are no sales/investment which would render it a useless waste of effort, money and time. If it goes well, there would be a large income.

Snow Leopard source: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTjiWy_1FEE)

Why are contacts and networking important in marketing and PR? What kinds of contacts could be useful? Provide details of a PR contact from at least one organisation.

Networking is basically creating events, which leads to creating friendships within a business community that benefits the business in the long haul – which becomes a company contact. Networking is great for making new contacts, gaining new clients, making connections and promoting the company. It’s a great marketing tool as it allows businesses with a small budget get direct access to a room full of influential business people within the industry, it also makes more people aware which means a greater number of people will contact the company when it’s services are required. By simply talking to them the company is being advertised/promoted, it also allows a company to determine if anyone in the room requires its services. It also allows a company to gain contacts, meeting like minded people in various different stages of careers and talking to them can help the company gain practical advise and inspiration to achieve it’s goals, asking for their business card and contacting them afterwards ensures a positive relationship with that company. It can also be quite educational, the company can be given tips and find new networking events that are best for the business, it also allows them to find out about new trends and share their knowledge with others. PR contact: Public Relations for Travel industry (media contact) It’s an Oxfordshire based consultancy, it provides: communication and promotion for good quality travel, hospitality and leisure companies. It receives consistently good results for things like: resorts, hotels, restaurants etc. The clients it receives rely on them for good, consistent service, access to other influencial contacts in the media and an effective partnership with in-house sales and a marketing team to ensure that it’s clients expectations are exceeded.

Jane Parritt, who spent 10 years in PR, leads the team; this includes people with a variety of marketing skills to ensure effectiveness, this includes freelance consultants available on demand. Her contacts expand through: broadcast, online, print and social medi a with frequent contact to influential contacts like: editors, writers, bloggers and publishers across all sectors. This would be a very important contact to have for a media contact as they have a variety of very impressive/influential people who could help with the company’s promotion. Contacts are important because they provide extra services, information and other contacts to your own company, which ensures promotion and success. It also means they are there if you require their services and word can be spread throughout their own individual companies about the business to others who might actually require your services. Source: (http://www.mediacontactspr.co.uk/about/index/)