commsanalysischart xReportTips1 xPESTLEtemplate002 BrandEssencetemplate assignmentbestpracticeandchecklist-2.pptIntegratedMarketingAssignmentexample12 IMCassignment2020-21newindividual1 x
It is a report on New Balance 850 shoes. The report should start with Task 2 and have in-text citation as well as a reference list. The reference list should be included in the 10 pages. Harvard style referencing and UK English. Font has to be 11 or 12. Free to make diagrams and tables colorful . The report should have 1 or 2 competitor brands. The report should not be as lengthy as the one provided as a guide. Theory should be applied
Marketing Communications analysis (your brand & competitors)
|
Brand (logo & brief info) |
Market share |
Unique selling point |
Comms activities (& source) |
Social media activity |
|
|
Etc. |
|||
|
Brief info here |
Current (Mintel year), and +/- |
· Use Mintel & industry mags to find activities |
Followers/frequency /sharing etc. |
|
|
Competitor 1 |
· | |||
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Competitor 2 |
||||
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Competitor 3 |
TIPS
· Use Fill & Turnbull’s work
· No discussion on what branding is. Just apply theory
Task 2 – segmentation, targeting, position but make it brief
Task 3 – Theory and smart objective
Task 4 – understand push, pull and profile
Task 5 – demonstrate understanding
· One each for tried and tested
Task 6 – Messaging, creativity
· Creative work- tie in target audience, analysis
·
Use mintel reports
Using Analysis to Identify Issues
PESTLE – analysis of the organisation’s wider environment
Example of PESTLE layout
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Issue/Trend |
Positive Impact on Organisation |
Negative Impact on Organisation |
|||
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Political Govt’s reduction of funding for BBC (Financial Times 2016) |
· Opportunity to streamline the BBC and find ways to reduce waste or cut back on over-expensive programmes. · Help improve BBC’s reputation with stakeholders as being more cost-conscious |
· Will affect BBC’s ability to complete its programming strategy. · Less income means fewer programmes, budget cuts and even redundancies. · Could damage reputation of producing high-quality programmes. |
|||
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Economic |
|||||
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Social |
|||||
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Technological |
|||||
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Legal |
|||||
|
Environmental |
Explain the impact of these issues on the company’s ability to
communicate
effectively with their consumers:
e.g. improves plight of BBC in asking for money from their licensing to individual households / less able to deliver on their programming for TV audiences.
| Political |
Explain the impact of these issues on the company’s ability to
communicate
effectively with their consumers:
Identify actual or potential negative effects of this trend or issue on the organisation
Identify actual or potential positive effects of this trend or issue on the organisation
Identify the actual trend or issue here, and support with a reference
5U6Z0068
Integrated Marketing Communications
Assignment best practice & check list
BLOCK 3
Dr Angela Towers (unit leader)
Marketing, Retail & Tourism, Business School
*
*
First part of assignment
*
Key trends & issues
*
Have you used a range of SUITABLE sources (e.g. Mintel, Passport, YouGov, Nielsen, Gov Stats etc)
Are they relevant to marketing comms? (do not discuss product development for example – this is outside this piece of work)
Have you considered general trends/issues for the sector?
Did you discuss what this means for your brand? (e.g. increase in unemployment might impact on brands differently depending if premium brand or not)… what are implications/how relevant to comms?
Competitor & comms activities
*
Is it clear why you selected the competitors you did?
Have you included your brand in the analysis too?
Have you considered both traditional media & digital?
Have you used a range of appropriate sources? (e.g. industry press, Mintel, company website etc)
Have you used a table with a range of headings to provide comparisons?
Did you discuss what this analysis means for your brand?
ASSIGNMENT TASK:
Analysis of brand and competitor brands
*
Select at least one branding framework (e.g. Brand Essence Wheel)
Apply to your brand & 1-2 competitor brands
Are sources quoted? (to add credibility)
Paragraph of discussion about what this analysis means
Have you provided detailed sourced paragraph regarding target audience (e.g. Mintel, Passport, YouGov etc)?
Have you used a range of sources?
Have you developed a persona?
Background info on person, name, image
Details about their consumption of media
Favourite brands etc
Is it clear the sources you used to construct it?
*
SMART objectives
Specific e.g. increase awareness
Specific e.g. with a particular target audience e.g. Gen X
Measurable e.g. by 20%
Timed e.g. within 6 months/by December 2021
Do not include tactics – just write a SMART objective
Justification
E.g. sourced statement regarding current awareness levels being low
E.g. sourced statement regarding a target audience not currently being targeted
Is it clear which strategy/strategies you are using?
Push – comms activities aimed at intermediaries
Pull – comms activities aimed at consumers
Profile – comms activities aimed at stakeholders (PR)
Only use Fill & Turnbull to understand each strategy
Justify your choice
The selected strategy – why using?
The strategy not used – why not appropriate (briefly)
Very briefly, summarise tools to be used under each strategy (as this is another task)
Consider task 1 & comms analysis you undertook
Tried & tested – continue with something they already do
Evolved – adaptation of something they already do, e.g. move from just TV advertising to programme sponsorship
New & innovative – outside the box! Be creative (like the Baby Gaga case study!)
Provide some depth – e.g. if TV, which programme is suitable? Use BRAD to get some idea of cost (roughly)
Justification – consider target audience, look at your analysis from task 1, relate to objectives etc.
Which of your 3 choices for task 5 will you select?
Consider what will work best (i.e. can demonstrate creativity)
What is your key message/strap line?
Do you need to link in with other comms tools, e.g. Facebook, Twitter link shown in TV ad
Provide a rough piece of creative work (e.g. a radio script, draft print ad, storyboard/photoboard, media release/press release AND DISCUSS/JUSTIFY WHY APPROPRIATE
Week 5:
dedicated to
assignment support
1
INTEGRATED MARKETING
COMMUNICATIONS
2
Contents Page
Introduction …………………………………………………………………….……………………………….………… Page 3
1. Analysis of Crooked Beverages ………………………………………………….…………………..…………… Page 3
a. Analysis of the Sector and Key Trends and Issues …………………….……..……………… Page 5
b. Analysis of the Competition and Their Communication Activities…..……………….. Page 5
c. Analysis of the Crooked brand & competitor brands……………..………..……………… Page 7
d. Analysis of the Current Target Audience…………………………………………………………. Page 9
e. Current Market Expertise and Agency Availability…………………………….……………. Page 11
2. Marketing Communications Objectives……………………………………………………..……………… Page 12
3. Nature of Communications Strategy……………………………………………………..………………….. Page 13
4. Target Audience of Campaign……………………………………….………………………………………….. Page 14
5. Key Messages of Campaign……………………………………………………………….……………………… Page 15
6. Creative Message of Campaign………………………………………………………….….…………………. Page 16
7. Recommendation for Communications Tools……………………………….…..…………………….. Page 17
8. References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Page 22
9. Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 28
3
Introduction
“The first of their kind”, Crooked Beverage Co is a brand created from Global Brands (2020) in the aim to evolve
consumers’ perceptions of ready to drink beverages, with three variant flavours; Dayglo Skies (Raspberry & Lime),
Midnight Stage (Blood Orange & Passion Fruit) and Mother Moon (Peach & Pomegranate). The brand targets towards
the appeal of growing alcohol demands which are not synthetic or sugary for millennials, with vegan-friendly, deep
flavour orientated products.
1. Analysis of Crooked Beverages
1 (a) Analysis of the sector and key trends & issues
Political and Economic Impacts
Crooked launched in 2017 entering the Ready-To-Drink (RTD) market. With such a competitive market, the firm receives
positive and negative influences by their external environment. For example, the political environment, where
governments can implement certain policies which in turn affect markets, organisations and customers (Bassington and
Pettitt, 2013:55).
Due the crowded market, consumers are becoming increasingly inclined to making more informed purchasing decisions
because of the array of availability and alternative product options. Consumers are swaying towards drinking less/no
alcohol, with non-alcoholic beer sales growing by 3.9% on average for the past five years due to concerns with their
health (Taylor, 2019). Young people aged 16 to 24 years in Great Britain are less likely to drink than any other age group
(ONS, 2017). Innova (2019) concludes one of the top trends in the beverage industry is that brands must be transparent
within their marketing practices and their customers must know the story behind the brand to influence their
purchasing decisions.
Social and Technological Impacts
Social pressures can influence cultural trends widely followed by people and are increased by their popularity or by
conformity, as the more people who follow a trend, the more other individuals will want to follow this (Rani, 2011).
Across Britain today, veganism is becoming a trend within consumers in the market – with almost half of the vegan
market in the 15-34 age category (Hancox, 2018). Whilst some purchasers may not be vegan themselves, they could be
more likely to follow the trend and choose vegan alternatives if there is an option, over the choice of non-vegan
beverages. Thus, the attitude towards the packaging of goods is changing in the market, with 50% of consumers
agreeing they can control the amount they drink, the smaller the packaging (Mintel, 2018d). Furthermore, trends and
advancements in technology can impact on consumers buying behaviours – with a move towards buying their beverages
online, it is estimated that alcohol brands and retailers are missing out on billions of online sales annually (Upshall,
2020).
4
Key trends and Issues relevant to Crooked Bev Co
Source Trend/Issue Sector analysis Relevance to Crooked Bev Co and their communications
P Mintel
(2019)
Changing attitudes
towards low/non-
alcoholic beverages
With encouraging
moderation for cut-back
on alcohol by the UK
government, consumers
appeal for low/ non-
alcoholic (ABV of 1.2%
and below) is growing.
Due to high-profile
launches and strong
marketing support, the
sector has grown from
£30 million in 2016/17
to £50 million in
2018/19. 47% of 18-24’s
drink low/no-alcoholic
beers.
Crooked Bev Co’s main product offering contain 4.7% ABV is significantly
higher than the considered ‘low-alcohol market’, therefore do not satisfy the
needs of consumers who are attempting to drink ‘less’ (1.5% and under) or
no alcohol. However, they currently communicate to the market a focus on
their ‘light, fruity, refreshing’ beverages, rather than focus on the strength of
the alcohol. The government is increasingly likely to encourage a shift
towards ‘low/no’, so Crooked’s communication strategy could position
themselves as a viable alternative for ‘low/no’.
E Innova
Market
Insights
, 2019
Consumers developing
interest about the
‘story behind’ their
brands influencing
purchasing
Innova claims one of the
top trends involves in
the beverage industry
includes consumers
interest in the stories
behind their brand.
When it comes to
natural ingredients,
brand storytelling is an
important offer as
consumers are looking
for a great transparency
in their brands.
The communication focus by Crooked is strongly based on their ingredients
and flavours, including how they use ‘no sweeteners or preservatives’ to
come across as a health-conscious brand which is fun and tastes good for
consumers. Although, Crooked do not tell the story behind their brand as
such. By developing a content strategy which tells their customers the story
behind their brand or their ingredients, this may make consumers make an
informed decision-process easier for their consumers. 60% of the content
which consumers read, they class as ‘clutter’ (McMenemy, 2017).
S The
Vegan
Society
(N.D)
Veganism
Across Britain, in
attempt to reduce
climate damage and the
killing of animals,
600,000 vegans in the
UK as of 2019.
The UK plant-based
market is now worth
£443m (Wocka-Gowda,
2019) with 250,000 of
the population joining
‘Veganuary’ in January
2020.
The main product offerings are ‘vegan’, which makes the appeal to vegan
customers and to consumers in which are wanting to change their
consumption habits for sustainability reasons. Crooked communicate to their
customer on the product they are vegan and registered ‘with the Vegan
Society’ on their website. Crooked’s appeal to a mass market will be more
attractive if they communicate this USP.
S Mintel
(2018d)
Changing attitudes
towards packaging of
goods
Consumers are reacting
more to the label on
alcoholic drinks with
38% of consumers
reading the label of
alcoholic drinks. Those
with the most creative
branding stand out the
most, opposed to most
of the information on
the packaging.
The shape and feel of
the alcoholic drink can
sway the purchasing
decision of the
consumer, with cans
being the best
performers out of all
the packaging types.
This is due to their
convenience and
adaptability, as they can
be stored in the fridge
and are a good value for
money.
25% of consumers agree that the smaller packaged alcoholic drinks are
better value for money. This suggests that most consumers may not choose
to buy Crooked as it is packaged in a small can. However, 50% of consumers
agreed that they would have better control of the amount they drink, the
smaller the packaging. This demonstrates consumers awareness of how
much alcohol they consume and their approach to a healthier lifestyle.
Crooked would benefit as it is a low-calorie drink that has small packaging.
Moreover, 68% of UK drinkers/buyers of alcohol agree it is acceptable to
drink alone. Society is becoming increasingly focused on independence and
individualism, with consumers feeling encouraged to do things
independently. As Crooked is a mixed drink, it would be considered
acceptable to drink it alone.
(Mintel, 2018d)
T KPMG
(2019)
Online generation
KMPG reports a key
trend within the
beverage industry is
consumers are starting
to turn to the internet
for their beverage
needs.
IWSR (N.D) indicates
that 1.8% of the value
of all global beverage
alcohol is sold online.
Crooked sell to their consumer base through both licensed locations and
online, with their intermediaries selling their products through their website.
Whilst the process is simple for consumers and accessible, majority of their
intermediaries have sold out the product online (this could indicate a poor
relationship). However, Crooked continuously direct their consumers to their
online product availability through to their website through their social
media marketing communications.
(Table 1.0)
5
1. (b) Analysis of the competition & their communications activities
According to Statista (2020), the alcoholic beverage market amounts to $72,341 million (equating to £55,601 million)
which has grown annually by 3.5%. With such a large market, the industry can be further segmented in a variety of ways,
such as by the product category (beer, distilled spirits, wine and others) and where the alcohol is sold by their licenses
with on-license (pubs, clubs or restaurants) and off-license vendors (shops and supermarkets) (IAS, N.D).
Crooked’s ‘alcoholic soda’ product range aims to ‘revolutionising the RTD category’, with their cans in on-license and off-
license premises aiming to beat their competition. As they are low in fat and suitable for vegans, they become an
alternative for customers with these specific psychographic and behavioral needs. However, their competition can be
within any of the alcoholic market as their product can be substituted for the large variety of products in the market.
The top nine RTD brands recorded an overall growth in 2019, and figures show that the value of the RTD market in 2019
was worth a total of £472 million, of which £185 million was spent in the on-trade (Stone, 2020).
Undertaking a competitor analysis, this enables the evaluation of strengths and weaknesses of potential competitors
marketing communication strategies to enable Crooked to campaign in the aim of generating loyal fans and increasing
sales. This report critically evaluates the market leaders within the RTD market with the examples of Hooch, VK, WKD,
Smirnoff Ice and BrewDog’s new low-alcoholic beverage, which is beginning to dominate the rising low/no alcoholic
beverage trend. Hooch, VK and Crooked all belong within the brand portfolio of Global Brands, they have been selected
within this report to compare the communications activity within the brand.
Brand Market
Value 2019
(£m)
& (HL) sold
Unique
selling
point
Traditional communications Social media
Print Media TV Adverts Public
Relations
11.7
(+10.1 %
change
2018-19)
14,768
(+9.1%
change
2018-19)
The first
Alcopop
to be
introduce
d into the
UK, strong
customer
awareness
✅ ✅ ✅ 59,137 5,750 9,444 247
Print Media: A yearlong London taxi
advertisement campaign with the tagline
‘Refreshment with Bite’
TV: Keith Lemon’s Hooch TV ad relaunched in
2014, which was seen on average 3.2 times by
52% of all UK 18-24 y/o
PR: #Hoochlife campaign to encourage drinkers
to live the Hooch lifestyle, as 62% of millennials
feel online content drives their loyalty to a brand
Official partners for Bournemouth 7s
tournament, a weekend festival of sports and
music
Source: (Hooch – Retail times, 2020), (Morning
Advertiser, 2020).
Hooch have just launched their biggest ever
promotion, which is expected to reach 10million
consumers, Promotional packs have a scratch code
that gives the consumers access to a free
blockbuster movie, to encourage drinkers to have a
‘Big Night In’
Complementing the TV ad campaign, consumers
can enter ‘Keith Lemon’s dream holiday’
competition by redeeming a code on bottles/cans
with his face on.
Source: (Hooch – Retail times, 2020)
44
(-1.2%
change
2018-19)
(Mintel,
2018b)
105,00
0(-3.7%
change
2018-19)
Stylish
product
design,
bright and
colourful
attracting
consumer
s
attention
to a
refreshing
drink.
Vegan
option.
✅ ✅ ✅ 263,968 14,700 13,100 N / A
Print Media: WKD’s Brand reinvention began in
2016, by global design agency JKR. They re-
designed the bottle’s image and highlighted the
three bold letters on the front to capture their
18-24 y/o target audience’s attention.
PR: The WKD brand was present at 11 UK
festivals in 2018. WKD’s £3m “Be the face
campaign” ran through 2018 summer and
involved a series of emojis on the bottle caps of
promotional products, giving consumers an
opportunity to win Ticketmaster vouchers to
gigs, festivals and events across the UK (Cronin,
2020).
WKD’s latest ‘For the Now’ campaign is centered
around creating, capturing and sharing now
moments with their audience, through events,
social digital, outdoor media and new generation
publishers
WKD is the Brand leader for the RTD market, with
seven popular flavours
(SHS Group, 2020)
6
52.5
(+11.6%
change in
2018 – 19)
The only
RTD that
is
available
in 7 PET
flavours. It
is the No.1
Traditiona
l RTD in
the UK.
Loyal
consumer
base with
students
across the
UK.
✅ ✅ ✅ 64,051 7,605 22.2k N/A
In 2019 VK revealed a bold new design for their
bestselling multi pack, modernizing and
increasing shelf stand out (Global Brands, 2020a)
PR: VK have Student Ambassadors across UK
universities, aiming to be directly involved with
the student community. This programme is
aimed to ensure that VK continues to be the
number one drink for students. Relatable role
models and ambassadors to represent the brand
gives the target markets an opportunity to
connect with the drink, creating a more loyal
customer base (Mintel, 2018a). VK targeted
freshers’ week in 2018, giving away branded
portable chargers with special mixed multipacks
– this campaign was a follow on from their
doorstop giveaway of 2017, which increased
sales by 148% (Mintel, 2018a).
Using social media, a targeted celebrity influencer
campaign in 2018 reached over three million
consumers. This focused on promoting mixed packs,
and more opportunities to win VK merchandise
(Grocery Trader, 2020).
A crowd surfing campaign across the VK website
and all social media’s saw them receive 33,000
votes, of which were 19,000 for watermelon
flavour. Leading onto the ‘Find the watermelon’
campaign, where consumers who find hidden
bottles try it before the main release, and can win
festive VK merchandise (Stein, 2020).
28.5
(-5.3%
change
2018-19)
23,620
(-7.1%
change
2018-19)
Establishe
d branding
across the
globe.
Primarily
targeting
a ‘mind
set’/lifstyl
erather
than
consumer
✅ ✅ ✅ 53K 15.6K 8.1K 4.51K
(Smirnoff Europe brand)
PR: Aims to embrace inclusivity as a notion
through partnering with the LGBT foundation
promoting their products across pride events
across the UK (Roderick, 2017).
Tv Advert: To launch new flavour of the brand,
their ‘Keep it’s Moving’ campaign which relates
high energy dance music with an 87-year-old
grandmother to represent the inclusivity of the
brand with the distinct flavour of new products.
#SmirnoffIce has a reach of 103.3K posts on
Instagram worldwide (hashtags), representing how
brand recognition has helped to promote their
product. By networking with the LGBT foundation,
brand is marketed across social media with the use
of #SmirnoffPride and by the high volume of images
shared across social media during the events. The
Smirnoff brand uses the LGBT foundation colour
during these events to further promote inclusivity.
Brewdog
PUNK AF
(0.5%
ABV)
57
(17.7%
change
2018-19)
66,172
(19.7%
change
2018-19)
Note: Figure of
total brand, not
specific ABV
product
‘New
saviour’ of
alcohol-
free cans
with 0.5%
ABV with
less than
50
calories.
✅ ✅ ✅ 378K 133.5K 303K 8.35K
(Brewdog brand)
Print Media: Their ‘Sober as a motherfu’
outdoor campaign ad banned for alluding a
swear word to promote the Punk AF drink.
Source: (Vizard, 2019).
PR: Opened the first ever alcohol-free bar called
‘Brew Dog AF” in London. Promoting their
product by offering unlimited refills during
January – tieing in with their social media
campaign of #PunkOClock.
#PunkOClock
Campaigning across their social media networks to
encourage workers finishing work for the week on a
Friday Afternoon at 5PM to grab a Punk AF
beverage. By sharing this hashtag in selected cities,
consumers could earn a free pint during January.
#VotePunk ‘1 vote = 1 pint’
By sharing a selfie on Instagram of voting outside
the polling station on the election day, customers
could enjoy a free Punk AF.
(Table 2.0)
Key themes throughout the communications
• Encouragement of the brands lifestyles to consumers – BrewDog are consistent in encouraging people to join
their alcohol-free trend lifestyle. Whereas, Smirnoff are encouraging their inclusivity image through their tv
advertisements, to encourage consumers their brand is a ‘mind-set’, rather than a direct consumer. Hooch using
their #HoochLife campaign to encourage their consumers to live their own lifestyle of a ‘Big Night In’.
• Brand consistency with engaging their following on social media – VK ‘Find The Watermelon’ campaign in which
they encourage consumers to find hidden bottles and share across social media to keep consumers engaged and
promote the ‘fun’ associations with brand. BrewDog using their #PumpOClock to encourage workers to share
their hashtag to earn a free pint.
7
• Achieving reach across social media – brands are consistently using campaigns to network the brand through
networking events such as Smirnoff Ice networking with pride events across the UK to promote #SmirnoffPride.
WKD use their ‘For the Now’ campaign in which they capture and share moments with their audience through
various events and outdoor media.
• Influencer marketing is one of the newest forms of marketing, allowing user-generated content and brand
awareness (Kapadia, 2020)– with VK using a targeted influencer campaign to achieve a reach up to three million
consumers.
1. (c) Analysis of the Crooked brand & competitor brands
Brand essence wheel (Figure 1.0 Brand Essence Wheel, Crooked)
Within their marketing communications, all brands
attempt to create mass brand awareness through social
media networking and events to convince their
consumers’, they are a ‘fun’ choice. Using the Brand
Essence Wheel, we can identify the emotional heart of a
brand or product. This is important because brand image
is key to its short-term and long-term success. The term
is defined by De Chernatony and McDonald (2003) as “a
brand is more than just the sum of its component parts.
It embodies, for the purchaser or user, additional
attributes, which, whilst they might consider to be
‘intangible’ are still very real.” Through using this tool, it
sets out the consumer rewards for purchasing the
product and displays the emotional connection that can
be further used to increase customer loyalty and
maintain sales and subsequently market share.
The brand essence wheel can be used to distinguish
between companies at a brand level, so by looking at the
company ’Crooked’ brand wheel, the possible emotional
connections a consumer may have is clear. Weekly calorie
intake is a concern for 52% of UK adults, with nearly a third
keeping track of their total intake (Mintel, 2019f), at 47
calories per 100ml, this is the least calorific RTD alcopop on
the market (Crooked Beverage Co, 2020). This brand
identity of crooked being a healthy alternative can then be
showcased in marketing communications, in 2018 and
2019 two biggest trends in the food and drink market were
veganism and wellness, both identified in Crooked
products (Stone, 2020). The brand essence wheel of VK
highlights their main target audience as young consumers,
specifically students. The current number one RTD on the
market maintains this young consumer base using social
media channels and entertaining advertisement, which
(Figure 1.1 Brand essence wheel VK)
8
incentivizes young consumers to engage with the brand continuing to build loyalty and interest (Mintel, 2018e).
The Brand Essence Wheel is a marketing format created by Bates (1995) and visually highlights and communicates the
emotional and physical benefits a brand may have on a consumer. Through understanding these key components, a
business can ensure their core values and marketing strategies are directed at the correct target audiences (Schmitt,
1999). Research on Crooked when creating its essence wheel highlights their target audience as young millennials who
are looking for a healthy alternative RTD alcoholic beverage, using this information within the communications strategy
of the brand, Crooked can target this audience through social media channels and promoting the drink in student areas
to increase awareness and loyalty through engagement. The Brand Essence Wheel of Crooked and VK clearly suggests as
to why their communications strategy differ, VK’s target audience is the student age group, which they currently
dominate in the RTD market, and focus on the colourful, fun and fizzy characteristics of their product to maintain
customer engagement with exciting advertising content on social media (Uyr, 2020). Crooked are looking to change
perceptions of the RTD beverages available, introducing a low calorie, vegan friendly, and alternative drink aiming at the
target audience between 20-30-year old’s, and looking to infiltrate the 30 – 45-year-old age group with their
revolutionized alcopop beverage.
Consumer perception and brand associations
Consumers perception and associations on brands have a big impact on any organizations, as image and reputation build
a strong brand and drive sales (Gbadamosi et al. 2013). With the use of Mintel (2018a) and other sources listed in
Appendix 1, this tool has been created to give a further detailed view of the perceptions on brands within the market.
(Figure 2.0: Brand association model. – See appendix for references)
• Hooch is associated as a ‘traditional’ choice of RTD due to their strong presence in the 1990’s before their nine-
year ban in the UK market (The Telegraph, 2012). Due to their absence in the market, their communication
campaign encourages a ‘Hooch Lifestyle’ to millennials.
9
• WKD is the brand most likely perceived as ‘cool’ and 53% of under-35’s perceiving the brand as ‘fun’ (Mintel,
2019). Their communication strategy has attempted to reinvent the brand as a choice for ‘18-24’ demographic,
as the ‘alcopop’ market has received negative publicity over the years.
• VK – With the highest market value (Stone, 2019), VK can be perceived as one of the most trusted RTD’s, which is
highly accessible to young people. The brand targeted university freshers which increased their sales by 148%,
keeping the young demographic frequently engaged with their celebrity influencing and social media campaigns.
• Smirnoff has universal awareness with a long history on the market, their global reputation gives the perception
the brand has value and is easily accessible for consumers. The brand is perceived as ‘fun’ by a rising 54% of
under-35’s (Mintel, 2019) with associations with networking events. Their strategy communicates Smirnoff as a
‘lifestyle’ brand (Brownsell, 2009).
• BrewDog have positioned themselves as a trusted brand amongst young people, as they have recognized the
importance of the low/no-alcohol trend (Mintel, 2020) with their market leading product, Brewdog Punk AF,
first ‘alcohol-free’ bar and strong communication strategy. However, whilst they target more health-conscious,
‘low’ drinkers, the product is not vegan friendly (Hallett, 2019).
1. (d) Analysis of the current target audience
The current target audience of Crooked is aimed at 20-30 year old’s (Global Brands, IBID) that includes those in
Generation Y (millennials) and Z (Kasasa, 2020). The typical RTD drinker would usually be between the age of 18-24
(Mintel, 2018), therefore Crooked is targeting a slightly older age group. Figure 3 demonstrates the lifestyle of a typical
consumer of Crooked in this target audience.
(Figure 3.0): Crooked Buyer Persona. (See Table 3 for justification of Persona)
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(Table 3.0: Content behind the development of ‘Anna” for Crooked)
It is evident that people do not need to be going out to drink alcohol as 53% of people who consume RTD alcoholic
drinks preferring to drink it at home (Mintel, 2020). As demonstrated in the persona, Anna is someone who prefers to
stay at home making Crooked a suitable beverage for her. Furthermore, with Crooked being a member of the Vegan
Society (Crooked Beverage Co, 2020), this makes it suitable to all vegans, together with being considered the ‘healthy’
choice of alcohol. It has been suggested that being vegan is associated with being healthy (Mosley, 2018), therefore
Crooked targets consumers who want to be healthy, but also want to enjoy alcohol. One of the leading reasons people
choose to limit their alcohol intake, is to improve their health (47%), with consumers wanting to manage their weight
(38%) being the second leading reason (Mintel, 2019). This makes it crucial for Crooked to deliver on these wellbeing
considerations. Crooked ensures it targets these consumers with their drinks being very low in sugar with less than 5
grams (Crooked Beverage Co, 2020). In addition to this, Crooked targets healthier consumers with its small packaging in
a can (as identified in Section 1 (a)).
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1. (e) Current Market Expertise and Agency Availability
Current Marketing Expertise
The parent company Global Brands owns an array of drinks including spirits, soft drinks, tonics, RTDs and alcoholic
beverages. Due to the variety of diverse products, Global Brands has the financial capability to support their own team
of expertise. As evident through their 2017 campaign (Global Brands, 2020), Crooked use the marketing team within
Global Brands to advertise their products. There are two sources that Crooked have used in the past for their marketing
needs, both under ownership of Global Brands.
• Internal Marketing Team – Global Brands have a broad marketing department that oversees all tasks for each
marketing project they create. The team is involved with anything from analytics to decision making to
maximizing any business opportunities allowing the team to further increase the understanding of the
customers and the market (Global Brands, 2020).
• Clay Creative – Clay Creative is an online in-house creative studio owned by Global Brands created with a
primary focus on product and brand design, development of new design ideas, and the creation of a online
product portfolio (Clay Creative, 2020)
Potential Marketing Agencies
Crooked is a new brand launched in 2017 (Global Brands, 2020) and has little to no experience in marketing and
advertising. However, with support from their parent company Global Brands, Crooked have launched several
campaigns such as their 2017 poster campaign. Despite their limited experience, there is an abundance of marketing
agencies deemed suitable for Crooked in potential future campaigns including ones that branch further into the
increasing use of social media, online marketing and digital promotions.
Agency Brief Company Background Objectives and Values Company Service Focus Company Awards
Media Bounty
(Media Bounty, 2020)
An agency with a
“conscience”. Operating in
over 20 countries. Working
with World Land trust and
NGOs to protect rainforest
through campaigns.
“We aim to do our bit to
protect the world and
future generations”
With a specialisation in
social media marketing
and focusing protecting
the environment, their
focus aligns with Crookeds
focus on vegan markets.
Top accolade awards at
the Drum 2019 Business
Awards
Little Media Agency
(Little Media Agency,
2019)
Based in Birmingham, the
company is acknowledged
for its efficient
communication with an
abundance of social media
experts.
“Creating adverts and
posts designed to keep
you ahead of the
competition and up to
date with the growing
trends in social media
marketing”
Focused on improving
their client’s social media
presence through their
passion for researching
the markets their clients
are seeking to breech. For
example, Crooked’s and
the vegan market.
BusinessOfApps Top
Social Media Agencies
2019.
Spin Brands
(Spinningbrands, 2019)
Company founded in 2016
compiled of an expert
team of digital media
marketing experts. They
are a “strong team with a
powerful culture”
“We are the go-to
scaleup social media
specialists, delivering
impact and expertise
from day one”
Focus on content
marketing, as well as a
specific focus on “digital
strategy, and graphic
design”
Clutch Top Design Agency
2019.
UK Agency Award Finalist
(Table 4.0)
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2. Marketing communications objectives
The DAGMAR and AIDA approach to setting communications objectives helps to influence the mind of the target audience.
DAGMAR allows goals to set to measure advertising response, thus AIDA provides attention, interest, desire and action
within the objectives (Smith and Zook, 2015). For Crooked, the communications objectives should allow them to generate
their mass awareness, drive visibility on-trade and increase their engagement levels across social media
1. To triple the following on all social media platforms in the next 12 months of trading, increasing brand loyalty
Crooked have a social media following of 6K on Facebook, 388 on Twitter and 6K on Instagram, within their current
communications they persistently drive traffic to their website for consumers to purchase their products. By being
consistent with their social media marketing by engaging with their following, Crooked can increase their interest and
brand loyalty with their consumers. According to Mintel (2019a), 17% of drink buyers follow their brands on social
media, with under 35’s mostly likely to do so. 78% of consumers’ purchases are impacted by companies’ social media
posts (Forbes, 2012), Facebook continues to be the most used platform, with nearly three quarters of people using it
in the last three months (Mintel, 2019a). This is a cheap marketing tool that can be highly efficient to access our target
market, as Facebook usage peaks between 25-34-year old at 83% of the age group, and still has a high usage of 80%
between the ages 16-24-years old. By increasing social media following on all platforms will subsequently increase
sales and brand awareness to our target audience, as 74% of young consumers make decisions based on social media
(Barker, 2017).
2. To drive consumers to intermediaries to increase On-Trade to 25% in student-friendly areas such as Manchester,
Leeds and Sheffield and London.
Looking at the consumer market for alcoholic drinks, the younger demographic is the most experimental and has an
open attitude to new drinks, flavours and quirky designs (Global Data, 2017). A survey by Global Data discovered
that four out of five millennials enjoy trying new and foreign products, and so promoting the sale of Crooked
beverages in these selected geographical locations would be successful due to the high demographic of young
adults. Manchester has nearly 80,000 students, with Leeds and Sheffield both having roughly 60,000 (HESA, 2019),
all students fitting perfectly in our target market age group. Making the beverage available in these areas would
subsequently see sales increase, due to the demographics’ explorative nature and 36% of UK adults already drinking
RTD beverages which would further increase with brand awareness (Mintel, 2018).
3. To change consumer attitudes towards Crooked as a healthy and vegan-friendly lifestyle alternative
For millennials, wellness is an ongoing commitment, with consumers becoming increasingly focused on their ethical
concern and consumption. Whilst the market shifts towards ‘low/no’ alcoholic consumption (see Section 1a), Crooked
remain one of the healthiest RTD alternatives in the market, vegan friendly and are sustainable with their recyclable
goods. According to Influencer Intelligence (2020), most millennials purchasing decisions have been swayed by digital
influencers, with 61% of consumers being more swayed by ‘micro-influencers’ as they have a more relatable
connection with their content – the opposite of which has been used by competitors Hooch. By introducing ten
‘enthusiast’ vegan influencers, with a reach below 50K, the attitude towards Crooked can be changed towards a
‘healthy’ alternative for alcohol with medium-level consumption.
4. 10% of the target audience have trialed at least one of the three flavours by the end of 2020
Tasting sessions are the primary means to entice people to try a new drink by 38%, as consumers are looking for
shortcuts to make processing choices faster, more relevant and personal. By introducing tasting sessions via PR events,
such as ‘free giveaways’ during University Freshers Weeks (targeting 18 to 24 year-olds) and through intermediaries
(targeting 30-45) – allows Crooked to appeal to their target market whilst becoming an appeal to the 30-45 year old
demographic in which they are looking to target. This allows the brand to come face-to-face with consumers to give
the story behind their brand and promote their availability of products in the premises of their intermediaries. Tasting
opportunities would apply a ‘try before you buy’ element (Mintel, 2018c), which helps targeted the younger
demographic as they are more explorative.
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3. Nature of communications strategy
Pull (Positioning) Strategy –
According to Fill & Turnbull (2016), a pull strategy is targeted towards the end-consumers and is designed to encourage
customers to “pull” through the channel network. The intentions are a pull strategy are to increase level of awareness,
reduce risk, change or add reinforce attitudes, and increase involvement and provoke a motivation in the target audience
group. Generally, the effect of this motivation would be to stimulate action to ensure that the product/ or service is
available and ready for purchase as soon as they make the decision to purchase or enquire about the product/ or service.
As a result, customers will expect there to be accessibility to the product/ or service in the form of a retail outlet or using
internet or direct mail. In addition, Fill (2011) states that B2B customers are incited to buy directly from distributors and
dealers, even though both consumers and BRB customers can purchase directly through marketing channels whereby
there is no intermediary.
One way in which the proposed campaign uses a pull strategy is using advertising. Advertising seeks to catch the
attention of the end-consumer by targeting them directly in their local areas (Hackley & Hackley, 2018). This is a form of
pull strategy as it increases the general level of awareness, as well as persuading customers to be motivated to engage
with the campaign. It aligns with Fill & Turnbull’s (2016) definition as the campaign will stimulate action to ensure that
they are taking pictures with their crooked beverage.
Another pull strategy used in our campaign is demonstrated by a sales promotion tactic. Our campaign uses a three-
stage incentive strategy whereby customers can post a picture of themselves with a Crooked beverage and in turn, they
will receive a free beverage when they visit on of Crooked’s On-Trade locations. This pull strategy targets the end-
customers and encourages them to buy and promote our drink on various social media platform. In addition to visiting
the bars and clubs that sell our product (Ailloni‐Charas, 1984).
Push Strategy
According to Blythe (2012) a push strategy involves promoting the product/ or service to only the next link down in the
distribution channel. Meaning that they would have to sell hard to the wholesalers and then allowing them to hard sell to
the retailers, who continue by pushing the product out to the consumers. Each section of the distribution channel does
not consume the product they buy, but in turn performs an added-value activity before selling the product and then moves
the product through to the next section of the marketing channel network.
Throughout our campaign there was a lack of use for any form of a push strategy. During the development stage of the
campaign it was evident that there is limited contribution from many sections of the marketing channel, because they did
not perform an added-value activity. For example, the On-Trade locations do not add any value to the product, they job
is solely to continue selling the product.
Profile Strategy
A profile strategy looks at a range of external stakeholders that a both the push and pull strategies fail to assess. It is vital
to consider all stakeholders as many need to know and understand the business itself rather than have a sole interest in
purchasing the product or service. Some examples of stakeholders are the local community, employees, trade unions,
media, distributors, and banks and finance houses (Fill & Turnbull, 2019). Many stakeholders have an influence on the
organisation and, because of this, often deem it necessary to receive and respond to various forms of messages.
A profile strategy is adopted in our campaign through the discussion of the idea of influencer marketing, and the role in
which social media and the users with large followings play in the context of marketing. Many stakeholders play large
roles in marketing decisions and social media has recently become a favourable and often cheaper form of advertisement
for various products. For our campaign, Crooked has chosen to use paid partnership with vegan micro-influencers in order
to increase the reach to newer customers and publicly generate paid content. This is a profile strategy due to its focus on
media as a stakeholder. Another justification as to why this campaign uses influencer marketing as it generates measurable
return on investment, because there is flexibility as to how much or little you spend.
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4. Target audience of campaign
For the campaign, our target audience consists of:
University Students:
Students at University comprise of people aged 18 and over, which is the legal age for people to buy and try alcohol in the
UK (GOV.UK, 2020). Furthermore, a survey completed by 2,215 students in higher education discovered students’
behaviour towards, approaches to, and observations of alcohol use. Findings stated that 60% of students drink alcohol as
it helps them to socialize and relax, therefore finding it hard not to drink too much. Moreover, it has been agreed by 79%
of students that drinking and getting drunk is part of university culture (NUS, 2018). This is appropriate for our campaign
as we will be targeting Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and London, which all contain thousands of students as mentioned
in our second marketing communication objective. This high number of young adults in these demographics will ensure
we succeed with our campaign.
Generation Y/Millennials & Generation Z
Those who were born between 1980 and 1994 are classed as Generation Y,
otherwise known as Millennials, meaning they would currently be between the
ages of 25-39 years old. Moreover, our campaign will also be targeting the newest
generation, known as Generation Z (Kasasa, 2020). Our campaign is targeting a
wider audience as opposed to the current target audience of 20-30 year old’s
(Identified in section 1d – Analysis of the current target audience).
(Kasasa, 2020) – (Figure 4.0)
It is appropriate that we target these generations, in particular Generation Z, as they are considered to be a very tech-
savvy generation having been born during the fast-paced growth of technology (Barr, 2019). This is beneficial to our
campaign as we will be using social media to do Sales promotions, together with connecting with social media influencers
to promote our campaign.
Figure 5 – Social Media Use by Age group
It is evident from Figure 5, practically everyone in the UK
between 16-24 uses social media (99%) every week.
Additionally, 84% of 25-34 year old’s use social media on a
weekly basis, therefore our use of social media is
guaranteed to reach our target audience, which is
Generation Y and Z.
(Elder, 2016)
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Vegans/Environmentally Friendly
As acknowledged in Table 3, there are around 600,000 vegans in the UK, which rose significantly from 150,000 in 2006.
This means our campaign will reach these thousands of people across the UK, as we will be using vegan influencers to
target this market. Veganism is one of the best ways to reduce our environmental impact on the planet (Petter, 2018),
therefore our campaign will target these consumers with the use of our campaign slogan, ‘Keeping an Eye on the Planet’.
5. Key messages of campaign
(Figure 6.0 – Mind Map of Suggested Ideas)
A message that will be portrayed through the campaign is the way in which Crooked promotes veganism and a healthy
lifestyle to its consumers. The product is primarily aimed at the 20 – 30-year-old market and in 2018, 6-8% of the
population aged 18 – 28 are vegan or highly consider vegan options. While results for the population aged 28 – 38 stands
at 4% respectively (Martinelli & Berkmanienė, 2018). With all-natural ingredients, Crooked aims to breech the ever-
increasing market that helps drives public awareness towards the issues presented from pastoral agricultural practices.
Recent studies show that even though meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories and 38% of protein, the meat and dairy
farming uses the vast majority of farmlands at 83% of total last usage (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). According to Grossi et al.
(2019), the livestock sector requires a considerable amount of natural resources and is accountable for 14.7% of global
anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission equivalent to 7.1 Gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions. Through our “Keeping an
eye on the planet” campaign we strive to convey a message that attempts to combat these global environmental issues
and penetrate the vegan and environmentally friendly market.
6. Creative message of campaign – (Figure 7.0)
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7. Recommendation for communications tools
The ‘Eyes on the Planet’ campaign involves convincing consumers to share their moments with their vegan-friendly
beverages through social media, recycling their cans to reduce their consumption waste and then collecting their free
beverage from their local Crooked On-Trade location. The use of the Crooked brands ‘eyes’ theme is aligned with the
campaign, which aims to position the brand as ‘keeping their eyes on the planet’ with their vegan-friendly, recyclable
product. If the appropriate recommended tools are implemented, the campaign aims to:
• Spreads awareness of the brand and the story behind Crooked
• Encourages current customers to engage and post content for social media
• Encourages potential new customers to join the trend, engage and post content for social media
• Changes the attitudes for consumers to a ‘vegan-friendly’ brand which promotes recycling and vegan
consumption
• Drives consumers to On-Trade intermediaries in student-friendly, eccentric areas for their free beverages to help
increase their On-Trade sales in bars and restaurants
• Drives consumers to purchase the product at intermediaries to get involved with the campaign, to increase their
Off-Trade sales in shops (Tesco, Sainsburys, Waitrose and ASDA)
• Creates content to be promoted by vegan-influencers to share the competition across a high reach of followers
• Allows Crooked to build a better relationship with their customer base.
Sales Promotion
The campaign also aims to increase the brands social media presence through a sales promotion tactic that involves
giving away free beverages if customers send photographs of themselves with their vegan Crooked drink. In addition, it
will encourage customers to visit intermediaries by asking them to collect their free drink from on-trade location such as
bars and clubs in designated areas. The use of freebies as a sales promotion tactic in our campaign aims to:
• Increase social media presence
• Increase overall brand awareness
• Boost sales in local intermediaries associated with Crooked (bars and clubs)
• Encourage intermediaries to promote Crooked due to increase in customers
• Incentives customers to share and post on various social media platforms about their drink
• Improve competitive position and brand extension
• Drive new customers to purchase Crooked drinks through word of mouth of a “freebie”
A recommended tool used in our campaign is sales promotion tactics and more specifically the use of giving away
freebies as a tool that stems from the idea of using incentives to increase sales (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). In terms of
marketing communication, sales promotion is defined as “a marketing communication function that offers a tangible
added value to motivate and accelerate a response” (Duncan, 2005, p. 461). As stated by Rudzki & Li (2007), the BIGI
model helps understand why freebies are sued as a sales promotion tool. BIGI stands for Brand building (including new
product launch), income generation, government legislation and information gathering.
(B)rand promotion is segmented into sales promotion (for example: new product launches) as well as brand loyalty
systems. Many companies use freebies as to create, maintain and boost sales.
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(I) Income generation refers to the owner(s) of the company, examples would be free radio stations or newspapers. This
would generate incomes for themselves and not directly from sales, because there are no sales. However, incomes are
generated from other means such as advertising.
(G) Government legislation is often demonstrated through services or goods provided by operators such as free local
phone services due to their rights to operate in the market. Companies provide such freebies because they legally have
too.
(I) Information gathering is referring to freebies provided as a means of acquiring information from their customers,
which can then be used or sold to third parties for profit.
(Rudzki & Li, 2007)
From the BIGI model, it is evident that our campaign uses freebies as a sales promotion tactic in order to promote the
brand in order to create and boost sales in general, and in On-Trade locations. Moreover, the sales promotion will also
require customers to send their pictures from their personal accounts, which can be used as a form of information
gathering. Having details such as account usernames and email addresses can also be used for further marketing
purposes.
Regarding the pricing of the sales promotion tactic, a study by Rudzki & Li (2007), suggests that when looking at the (B)
Brand promotion and sale promotion category, usually, the free giveaways are paid for primarily by the manufacturers,
not the distributors and wholesalers. In the expectation that the costs will eventually be paid off by future sales. For
Crooked, many benefits of the sales promotion such as increasing sales, increasing brand awareness, and boosted sales
in intermediaries will effectively cover the costs of giving away free beverages (Rudzki & Li, 2007). An estimation of the
cost of giving away freebies can be calculated under the assumption that 10% of the target audience in the location of
the campaign will actively engage. For our campaign, we targeted students in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and London,
in total there are 570,000 students in said locations. Taking 10% of 570,000 equals 57,000 actively engaged customers.
According to ASDA (2020), the cost of a single Crooked can is £1.8, therefore, the total cost of giving away freebies
during our campaign is £102,600.
Public Relations
Public relations are a marketing communication tool that an organisation of any size can use as a tool to interact with its
major ‘publics’, with the manner and style able to be altered at any given time (Fill and Turnbull, 2019). The Institute of
Public Relations provide the definition of “Public Relations practice is the planned and sustained effort to establish and
maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics”. The use of public relations can
develop and communicate an organizations’ key competitive strategies, through the increased visibility of a brand and
subsequently increased target market awareness. Public relations can play three major roles, the first being the
traditional role of creating goodwill and stimulating interests between the business and key stakeholders, the second
role through supporting marketing of the current brand and finally by means which relationships are developed and
maintained (Fill and Turnbull, 2019).
The messages sent in a public relations marketing mix campaign carry greater credibility than messages sent in
alternative marketing tools, such as paid media. Public relations have little financial pressure, as the purchase of airtime
or space in media vehicles isn’t required, meaning a brands message and advertisement can be sent on low budgets. The
framework of Public Relations set out by Grundig and Hunt (1984) include four models to reflect the different ways in
which public relations is considered to work. Specific to Crooked and our recommendations, the two-way asymmetric
model can be relatable when we are distributing free tasters in off-trade locations, as in this given situation we are
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supplying the public and target audience with our product, with power not being equally distributed, but the main
purpose is to influence attitude and behaviour through persuasion. The two-way symmetric model represents how we
would recommend Crooked to approach their public relations campaign, as it is the most acceptable and mutually
rewarding (Fill and Turnbull, 2019). Through sampling in off-trade locations both Crooked and the public are prepared to
adjust their attitudes and behaviours towards the brand.
The use of public relations will create visibility for Crooked as a brand and alcoholic beverage on the market and support
the current and future marketing agenda at product level. The issues identified in our four marketing objectives set out
in section 2 page 11, can be supported with public relations. The sampling of Crooked beverage at off-trade locations
can influence the increase of followers on social media, as this will increase brand awareness and will then contribute to
the effectiveness of social media campaigns, which are targeted at 20-30-year old’s of which 73% have used social media
in the past three months (Mintel D, 2019).
Consumers who try the product and enjoy the beverage will then be further influenced to visit locations that sell it on-
trade, these sampling sessions is an opportunity to also promote the intermediaries that are associated with Crooked,
strengthening business-business relationships. This public relation campaign in off-trade locations is an example of the
perfect opportunity to advertise the brand, sample the product to our target audience and educate individuals and raise
awareness of the vegan nature of Crooked and the wider benefits the drink has to the environment.
Influencer Marketing
A recommended communication tool in our campaign involves Influencer Marketing, which is a Public Relations tactic.
This is a very effective communication tool as consumers are more likely to trust the people they see on their social
media feeds as opposed to conventional marketing (Koch Communications, 2020). 61% of consumers, aged 18-34, have
been persuaded by digital influencers in their decision-making process (Influencer Intelligence, 2020). This consumer
group is crucial to target as they have grown up with social media. Forbes described Influencer marketing like this: “The
voice of the customer has always been one of the most powerful concepts in marketing, and today’s social media
platforms act as one giant megaphone for that voice.” (Forbes, 2014). By efficiently linking social media influencers into
your public relations strategy, you can stimulate positive branding, influence wider audiences and increase customer
engagement and awareness. This communication tool that is more integrated and cooperative with social media will
unite your customer experience and deliver countable results for the campaign (Koch Communications, 2020).
This integrated communication tool is recommended for Crooked to use in the campaign, to reach the target audience
consisting of Millennials and Generation Z. 56% say the digital-born generation of customers is proving the biggest driver
of change (Influencer Intelligence, 2020). Crooked will use Influencers in the campaign through Paid Partnerships. This
tool is used to publicly generate paid content, at the same time as expanding the reach to newer audiences through
collaborative advertising via branded content (Merchant, 2020).
(Figure 8.0) Example of a Paid Partnership (Buxton, 2020)
Establishing the collaboration between brands and influencers through the ‘Paid Partnerships with…’ tag guarantees an
enhancement in the experience of all the people involved, including consumers of content. Not only does this method
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inform the followers about the influencer’s partnership with Crooked, but it also helps Crooked get access to the
perceptions of the branded content campaign (Merchant, 2020).
The Crooked campaign will be using ten micro-influencers, which is someone with a following between 2,000 and 50,000
followers on Instagram (Kelly, 2020). Micro-influencers have specific niche audiences, which in Crooked’s case are vegan
influencers. For Crooked to complete the greatest possible ROI on a campaign, it is suitable to use a group of micro-
influencers. This is necessary to increase the reach of a campaign as micro-influencers do not have the same number of
followers as a macro influencer (celebrity). Hiring a micro-influencer is a good communication tool as it will raise the ROI
of the Crooked campaign and lower the total marketing spend (Forbes, 2018).
Budgeting for Influencer Marketing
The budget plan for our use of Influencer Marketing will include us paying ten micro-influencers to each make three
posts. For each post, Crooked can expect to pay approximately £250 per post (Fitzmaurice, 2017), depending on the
number of followers the influencer has. For ten influencers to make an Instagram post this will incur a total of £2,500,
additionally for ten influencers to each make three posts, this will cost Crooked, £7,500 for the duration of three
months. Since the campaign will be running for 52 weeks, the overall cost for Influencer Marketing will come to £30,000.
Advertising
An essential tool within the ‘Eyes on the Planet’ campaign is advertising, as this projects the overall theme and the
message across to a large target audience. The campaign must stand out to catch the attention of the target audience.
With Crooked’s new market presence, outdoor advertising media could be a viable option as the campaign aims to raise
brand awareness and create the attitude of the brand being a ‘vegan-friendly’ alternative.
The ‘Think, Feel, Do’ process of advertisement looks into the psychology of how consumers consider acting upon a
campaign in a three-stage process (Arons et al. 2014). In this case, the ‘Think’ element makes the consumers analyse the
data, in this case, the advertising campaign aims to get the message across that the brand is a ‘vegan-friendly’ and
sustainable. Thus, the ‘Feel’ element inspires the target audience through societal benefits, where the consumer
considers the benefit to society. Finally, the ‘Do’ element, is where the customer acts upon the campaign, in this
instance, participates with the campaign through social media or purchases the product, as they have the desire to get
the experience of the brand.
Budgeting (Advertising)
In terms of costing, an outdoor media advertisement will need to be implemented in each of the areas of the campaign
– including Leeds, Manchester, London and Sheffield. City Centre locations which are close to the intermediaries will be
desired for the campaign – as this increases the footfall and gives a greater opportunity. According to Bubble Outdoor
(2016), large billboards cost £1453 in London for 2 weeks, whereas other larger cities cost £1147. If the campaign runs
across London for 52 weeks, the campaign will cost £37,778, whereas for the other three major cities costing £113,334
per billboard. If each city has eight major billboards, this incurs a cost of £302,224 for London plus £906,672 for the
other main cities – equalling £1,208,896.
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Overall budgeting
The four tools of the communications mix can be divided into two groups, the first containing advertising, sales
promotion and public relations, and the second group containing the financial aspects associated with personal selling
(Fill and Turnbull, 2019). There are techniques used to determine the funding required for advertisement campaigns,
sales promotion, public relations and other marketing communication activities. The role of the communications budget
for Crooked is to ensure the greatest efficiency with each pound allocated on promotional activities. There are a variety
of techniques and approaches that can be taken when budgeting the marketing communications, specific to Crooked
our suggestion would be to use the ‘Objective and task’ technique. Using this technique would involve the company
attempting to determine the resources required to achieve each marketing objective, and then aggregate the separate
costs into an overall budget.
To determine the overall communications budget organisations can consider several techniques, some of these are;
marginal analysis, arbitrary, Inertia, Percentage of Sales and so on. It is now common for organisations to use a variety of
approaches, and a study by Mitchell (1993) found that 40% of respondents used the objective and task approach, 27%
used percentage of future sales and 19% used a variety of company-specific methods. This report concludes that the
technique used to reach a budget total by a company and specifically by Crooked does not have to be singular.
The cost of public relation activities can be predicted with a degree of accuracy, as the staffing or agency costs needed
to perform the marketing communications tool is fixed, and there are no media costs involved with the only other factor
involved being the production costs. This recommendation of the use of Public relations assumes that Global Brands
would use PR agencies to sample the product in the off-trade locations. The average cost of a UK PR agency is £645 per
day, we would recommend having these samples on site three peak days a week for the full year, equaling to £100,620
base price, on top of this agencies may add extras to the invoice such as third-party costs, expenses, such as travel,
accommodation, refreshments, and general admin (Gamble, 2020).
In total, the budget for the campaign as a base price is £100,620 for PR, Sales Promotion £102,600 and £1,208,896 for
Advertising – totaling £1,412,116 equaling within their £1.5M budget.
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8. References
Ailloni‐Charas, D. (1984), Promotion: A Guide to Effective Promotional Planning, Strategies and Executions, Wiley, New York, NY.
Arons, M, D., Driest, F. V. & Weed, K. (2014) The Ultimate Marketing Machine. Harvard Business Review. Pp. 55-63.
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Villanti, A., Johnson, A., Ilakkuvan, V., Jacobs, M., Graham, A. and Rath, J. (2017). Social Media Use and Access to Digital Technology
in US Young Adults in 2016. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(6).
Vizard, S. (2019). BrewDog’s ‘Sober as a motherfu’ ad banned. [online] Marketing Week. Available at:
https://www.marketingweek.com/brewdog-ad-banned/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2020].
https://www.statista.com/outlook/10000000/156/alcoholic-drinks/united-kingdom
https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2019/05/07/What-trends-are-defining-the-185m-RTD-category
https://www.wearetala.com/#shopify-section-1553526441759
https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-z-drinks-less-drags-down-alcohol-sales-2019-2?r=US&IR=T
https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-z-drinks-less-drags-down-alcohol-sales-2019-2?r=US&IR=T
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/9381014/Hooch-the-1990s-alcopop-returns-to-bars.html
https://www.vegansociety.com/news/media/statistics
https://www.foodbev.com/news/companies-missing-out-on-billions-in-alcohol-e-commerce-sales-rabobank/
https://www.marketingweek.com/brewdog-ad-banned/
27
Grocery Trader (2020). VK launch ‘Find the Watermelon’ mixed packs into the off-trade. Grocery Trader. [Online] Available at:
https://grocerytrader.co.uk/number-one-rtd-for-students1-vk-launch-find-the-watermelon-mixed-packs-into-the-off-
trade/.[Accessed on 17 January 2020]
Wheeler, A. (2017). Designing brand identity: an essential guide for the whole branding team. John Wiley & Sons.
SHS Group. (2020) Our Brands [Online] SHS Group. Available at: https://www.shs-group.co.uk/portfolio/wkd. [Accessed on 18
January 2020].
Wocka-Gowda, J (2019). Plant-Based Pavilion. [online] Available at: https://www.foodmatterslive.com/exhibit/plant-based-pavilion
[Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
Number one RTD for students[1] VK launch ‘Find the Watermelon’ mixed packs into the off-trade.
Number one RTD for students[1] VK launch ‘Find the Watermelon’ mixed packs into the off-trade.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiley_(publisher)
https://www.shs-group.co.uk/portfolio/wkd
https://www.foodmatterslive.com/exhibit/plant-based-pavilion
28
9. Appendices
Appendix 1: Sources
Appendix 2, Brand Essence Wheel for Crooked, information gathered from:
• Global Brands. (2020) Globalbrands.co.uk. [Online] [Accessed on 19 January 2020]
https://www.globalbrands.co.uk/brands/crooked-beverage-co-alcoholic-soda.
• Mosher, J.F. and Johnsson, D., 2005. Flavored alcoholic beverages: an
international marketing campaign that targets youth. Journal of Public Health
Policy, 26(3), pp.326-342.
• Coomasaru, C., Day, J. and Lee, S., 1996. Developing a marketing plan for
Lemonhead. Management Decision.
• Holt, D.B., Quelch, J.A. and Taylor, E.L., 2004. How global brands compete.
Harvard business review, 82(9), pp.68-75.
Appendix 3, Brand Essence Wheel for VK Drinks, information gathered from:
• Global Brands. (2020) Globalbrands.co.uk. [Online] [Accessed on 19 January 2020] https://www.globalbrands.co.uk/brands/vk.
• Jackson, M.C., Hastings, G., Wheeler, C., Eadie, D. and MacKintosh, A.M., 2000.
Marketing alcohol to young people: implications for industry regulation and
research policy. Addiction, 95(12s4), pp.597-608.
• Cooke, R., French, D.P. and Sniehotta, F.F., 2010. Wide variation in understanding
about what constitutes ‘binge-drinking’. Drugs: education, prevention and policy,
17(6), pp.762-775.
https://www.globalbrands.co.uk/brands/crooked-beverage-co-alcoholic-soda
https://www.globalbrands.co.uk/brands/vk
Assignment Details: IMC 5U6Z0068 2020/21 New Balance 850
You are required:
· To work individually to produce a marketing communications report addressing the requirements set out in the case study found attached.
Your work will focus on the following tasks:
1. Analyse the market situation of New Balance and the sector by undertaking a context analysis, quoting a range of sources (e.g. relevant Mintel report etc.), which should focus on the following (30 marks):
a. Analysis of the sector and key trends & issues
b. Analysis of New Balance communications activities, the competitors & their communications activities
c. Analysis of the New Balance branding & competitor brands utilising appropriate branding model(s)
2. Provide a detailed description of the target audience for your future campaign & justify why they are appropriate. Ensure you use additional sources to support information provided in the case study (15 marks).
3. Write up to three new marketing communications objectives for New Balance 850, and justify why they are appropriate. Ensure that these objectives are SMART and are focused on the next year. Longer-term objectives may be discussed, but the focus should be on the next year. (10 marks).
4. Provide detail as to the nature of the communications strategy (i.e. push/pull/profile). Ensure you justify your choice (10 marks).
5. Provide details of your recommendations for the top three communication tools to be used in the campaign (based upon tried & tested, evolved, new & innovative discussed in the case study), justify their inclusion & make reference to a budget (15 marks)
6. Produce a piece of creative work (for example an advert/advertorial for a magazine, TV, radio, sponsored Facebook ad, press release, competition, piece of content etc.), and justify the appropriateness of the key message/creative (20 marks).
Task notes
This assignment has been specifically written for the IMC class. While based on a real project, it is a largely fictional piece of work set in a real marketing environment. Students undertaking this assignment must not contact the organisation, remember, the scenario is an academic exercise ONLY – it is not a live brief.
Report guidelines
The report should be no more than 12 pages in length including appendices and exhibits (we will not mark anything beyond 14 pages). The title page, contents page and references are the only pages to be included outside of this page limit. Please use 11 or 12 font and standard margins in the production of this report. Reports should contain sub-headings for each new section and should be single line spaced throughout. You will be expected to apply theory to the case study and marks will be awarded for this.
Referencing
The written report must be referenced and have a final reference list using the Harvard style. Quoting of sources for various points that you make, adds to the credibility (for example in the context analysis, media costs). See the MMUBS policy on Harvard referencing through the electronic library:
https://libguides.mmu.ac.uk/refguide/mmuharvard
Marking Criteria
Marking sheet for the assessment follows. Look at it carefully – it will give you a very clear indication of what is required for each grade category
|
Component |
Fail (to 29%) |
Borderline Fail (30-39%) |
Pass (40-49%) |
Pass (50-59%) |
Pass (60-69%) |
Pass (70- 85%) |
Pass (86%+) |
|
1. Is the market situation of the chosen organisation analysed through a context analysis? 30% |
No/very poor analysis of market situation. Lacks reference to quoting of sources. |
Weak analysis of market situation with very little discussion. Poor use of sources/lack of quoting of sources used/lack of use of quality sources |
Adequate analysis of market situation, supported by satisfactory narrative. Analysis uses some sources, may be lacking in quality |
Good identification of market situation provided with good narrative. Good level of quality sources used, mainly quoted. |
Very good identification of market situation provided with good narrative. Good level of quality sources used, mainly quoted. |
Excellent detailed identification of market situation. Referenced, quality sources used to add credibility |
Exceptional detailed identification of market situation. Referenced, quality sources used to add credibility |
|
2. Are new marketing communications objectives for the campaign identified? 10% |
No/very poor new marketing communications objectives identified |
Weak/flawed marketing communications objectives identified and very little discussion |
Adequate new marketing communications objectives identified with little discussion |
Good, appropriate new marketing communications objectives identified with some detailed justification, may not all be SMART |
Very good, appropriate new marketing communications objectives identified with some detailed justification, may not all be SMART |
Excellent, SMART objectives identified, demonstrating exceptional commercial acumen. Significant discussion/justification |
Exceptional, SMART objectives identified, demonstrating exceptional commercial acumen. Significant discussion/justification |
|
3. Is the communications strategy detailed and discussed? 10% |
No/very poor strategy lacking clarity |
Weak demonstration of strategy featuring clarity |
Adequate demonstration of strategy featuring some clarity and coherence |
Good demonstration of strategy featuring clarity and coherence |
Very good demonstration of strategy featuring clarity and coherence |
Excellent demonstration of strategy featuring clarity and coherence |
Exceptional demonstration of strategy featuring clarity and coherence |
|
4. Is a detailed description of the target audience provided? 15% |
No/very poor indication of target audience within this campaign provided |
Weak indication of target audience within this campaign provided with little insight |
Adequate justification of target audience within this campaign provided with some insight |
Good indication of target audience within this campaign provided with good insight |
Very good indication of target audience within this campaign provided with good insight |
Excellent indication of target audience within this campaign provided with excellent insight |
Exceptional indication of target audience within this campaign provided with excellent insight |
|
5. Is a key message(s) incorporated into a piece of creative work? 20% |
No/very poor demonstration of creative work |
Weak demonstration of creative work and/or lack of supporting justification |
Adequate demonstration of proposed tool and supporting justification |
Good demonstration of proposed tool and justification |
Very good demonstration of proposed tool and detailed justification |
Excellent demonstration of proposed tool and in depth justification |
Exceptional demonstration of proposed tool and justification |
|
6. Are details of the marketing tools included and justified, including budget? 15% |
No/very poor justification of the inclusion of proposed tools or the advantages/disadvantage. No/very poor reference to budget |
Weak justification of the inclusion of proposed tools and/or the advantages/disadvantages. Little reference to a budget |
Adequate justification of inclusion of proposed tools and/or advantages/disadvantages. Some reference to budget. |
Good justification of the inclusion of proposed tools and/or the advantages/disadvantages. Good reference to budget. |
Very good justification of the inclusion of proposed tools and/or the advantages/disadvantages. Good reference to budget. |
Excellent justification of the inclusion of proposed tools and/or advantages/disadvantages. Full reference to a budget & sources quoted |
Exceptional justification of the inclusion of proposed tools and/or advantages/disadvantages. Coherent and full reference to a budget & sources quoted. |
IMC 2020-21 Case Study: New Balance 850
Background information from the client
New Balance is a global family of independents. We’re an odd bunch of unconventional curators and fearless mavericks who create culture by challenging the meaning of what’s normal. There is always a wild child in the family- ours is the 850.
The New Balance 850 has never been about conforming. The result of ripping up the rule book, this ‘90s runner is renowned for its modern aesthetic that stands out from the crowd.
‘Wild Child’ is a continuation of the ‘Runs in the Family’ essence and the 850 as the hero product for this story is the first time we had removed the ‘N’ from the side of our shoe and therefore breaking what we were traditionally known for. The shoe was originally born in 1996 as a running shoe and was ahead of its time with regards to the technology used. The designer was Stephanie Howard and the developer was Rita Maloney (Rita is still with NB!) This was made in both our US and UK factories. The 850 bring-back provides us with an energetic silhouette that bridges the gap between chunky and low-profile.
There are two stories we’re telling:
Odd Squad – it’s okay to be odd / different. New Balance is an inclusive group of outliers.
Wild Child – a more product centric approach – telling the stories of the wild ones across Music, Fashion, Arts etc.
Target audience information from the client
Our primary target audience are called The Independents. They are a young group with a mindset that New Balance is cool and culturally relevant to them. This group will be the driver of the new recruit objective.
They’re aged 13-34, even gender split, enjoy fitness and balance between performance and lifestyle shoes.
· They want brands to stand for something bigger, especially gender and are without gender association
· They want deeper, more personalised brand engagements and are more likely to purchase from brands who support causes they care about
· They are passionate and driven by the need to discover and enjoy being creative, imaginative, and independent is important
· They are tech- and social-first in media and in their everyday lives and are fascinated by new technology and the mechanics of the way things work
· They are independent, forward-thinking, and driven to succeed and are interested in multidimensional people
The audience is national but are likely to be found in urban areas. The key cities are:
· Manchester
· Liverpool
· London
· Glasgow
· Dublin
Competitors
The client has highlighted the following competitors:
· Adidas
· Nike
· Puma
· Converse
· Fila
THE BRIEF:
Create a full marketing campaign that tells the story of the 850 through the Wild Child/Odd Squad territories. Leverage any key, cultural moments for the UK within this and utilise the bold and colourful aesthetics of the shoe. Female empowerment is a key focus area for New Balance moving forwards, so we’d like to steer some of the marketing tactics towards supporting this theme. This campaign should initially focus on the 850 as the launch shoe, and then evolve into a brand campaign to achieve longevity.
In 2021, we want to drive brand growth and momentum through:
1. Maximise the commercial opportunity in each channel through New Balance’s owned
channels
2. Maximise the earned media potential and encourage asset optimisation
3. Recruit new users to the brand through social media followers & incremental sales
Budgets across marketing have a 50/30/20 framework to ensure all activity is successful yet innovative:
• 50% – tried and tested (channels that we’ve used in the past and know work)
• 30% – evolved (something fresh, but in line with the category norm)
• 20% – new & innovative (something completely outside of the box)
A budget of £500,000 is available for this campaign
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE ORGANISATION DIRECTLY – THIS IS NOT A LIVE BRIEF
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Formatting
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