PBL (22.4.)

PROBLEM
How corporate image affects stakeholders' relationships?

Learning objectives

1. What is relationship management?

• Definitions of relationship management?

According to investopedia.com relationship management is "a strategy employed by an organization in which a continuous level of engagement is maintained between the organization and its audience." They also clarify that this relationship can be business/business or business/costumer type.

• The importance of stakeholder management with a company?

Stakeholder management is always important for a company but they can bring you some unexpected assets as well. As Elizabeth Harrin states in her article "Four unusual reasons why stakeholder management is important" the most important reason to keep up with good stakeholder relations is that stakeholders help you to understand how the people will be affected by e.g. your project. However these unexpected reasons that are mentioned in the article are:

1. Free resources

2. Reduce and uncover risk

3. Increased the perception of success

4. Easier project closure

2. How to create and maintain trust and loyalty with stakeholders through communication?

According to Helia Fred Garcia, it is important to take stakeholders seriously. But in order to take them seriously, you need to understand them and see their point of view on matters. You need to be interested in what matters to them in order to win them over. You also need to be able to engage them as much as possible. If you have bad news, you should be honest with stakeholders. Tell them everything that concerns them and tell it fast.

Forrest W. Anderson states in his blog that in order to create trust with stakeholders you have to treat them fairly. In addition to that whenever your organization is making important decisions, you should take your stakeholders' opinions into account. As an organization you should keep promises that you make as well. Finally you should be able to demonstrate your competence by doing what you say you are going to do.

He adds that you should pay attention and respond to what stakeholders say and do but also demonstrate commitment to them. You should also keep your stakeholders satisfied.

3. How to rebuild trust and loyalty with stakeholders through communication?

According to Graham Dietz in his article in the Guardian you need to first understand what trust is. Then you can create trustworthiness. It consists of three main characteristics which are technical competence to perform a task reliably (ability), having benign motives (benevolence) and acting according to acceptable ethical principles such as fairness and honesty (integrity). When you show these characteristics consistently and credibly, you will be trusted.

If your reputation is damaged, you need to be able to react quickly and try to regain the trust as fast as possible. 

Source:

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/relationship-management.asp
http://www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com/2013/10/4-unusual-reasons-why-stakeholder-management-is-important/
http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/How-to-Use-Communication-to-Build-Trust-and-Inspire-Loyalty-as-Well-as-Lead-Effectively.aspx
http://forrestwanderson.blogspot.fi/2011/05/seven-tips-for-strengthening.html
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/rebuild-restore-recover-trust-business

PBL 10 (15.4.)

PROBLEM

Learning objectives

1. What is the process of creating a message?

• How do advertising agencies turn their ideas into a clear message?

According to bhavesads.com, you have to be able to absorb and digest a lot of different kind of information. You must also be able to relate to your customers.

The actual process starts with briefing in which the customer tells the agency what he or she wishes from the advertisement. After that you need to translate the communication concept into an idea and a communicable form.

Things like imagination and originality need to be integrated with psychology and behavior patterns. This should then be expressed through, e.g. designs or layouts. You should also consider that what you say is as important as how you say it.  

• What factors do you need to think of when creating a message?

According to Kate McFarlin, there are four factors that come up in every effective advertising campaign. These are common ground, fulfilling a need, offering a solution and clearing benefits.

In practice common ground means that the companies build trust as the customers usually have a perception that companies don't have their interest at heart. Fulfilling a need means that you need to make the customer think he or she needs to product that you are selling. You should also create the problem in consumer's minds and then offer a solution to customers' problems. Finally you should show the direct benefit of acquiring the product.

According to David Frey, there are five steps to a winning marketing message. These steps are:

1. Identify your target market
2. Identify the problems that your target market experiences
3. Present your solution to your market's problem
4. Present the results you've produced for other people in the same situation
5. Explain what makes you different from competitors

Frey says that the biggest mistake that companies make is that they communicate "what-we-do" instead of "what's-in-it-for-me."

2. How to make the message appealing?

• How to get through the "clutter" of advertising?

According to the article "Why you need a unique advertising message" differentiation is the key. They raise a point as each customer is unique, why should your company's advertising be similar to your competitor. You also need to have proper positioning. Making a personal connect with your customers is also important. Being creative also helps.

3. Examples, how do the key findings reflect on these examples?

• How to see the success of your message?

According to AllBusiness Editors the way you can measure the effectiveness of your campaign through monitoring sales, new customers, requests for information, phone inquiries, retail store traffic, website traffic or click-through rates.

In addition to that you can count your retail traffic by counting the people who enter your store. You should always compare sales before, during and after the campaign. Track phone orders and compare traffic on your website before and after the ad campaign. 

Sources:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-advertising-messages-10751.html

http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/mktgformula.htm

http://www.bhavesads.com/advertisement/creating-advertisements-page2.php

http://www.marketing91.com/unique-advertising-message/

PBL 9 (8.4.)

PROBLEM
How to benefit from social media?

Learning objectives

1. Social media channels

• How can we define social media and social media channel?

According to Tuten and Solomon (2013) social media "are the online means of communication, conveyance, collaboration and cultivation among interconnected and interdependent networks of people, communities and organizations enhances by technological capabilities and mobility."

According to Oxford dictionaries it is "websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking."

• What social media channels, platforms and tools do we have?

According to Tuten and Solomon (2013) there are media vehicles such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and Instagram. 

Source: http://www.blackballonline.com/wordpress/wp-content/themes/defaultwide/images/Social-Media-Landscape.jpg

• What is important for selection?

According to Jenny Frances (2014) Ii is important to know your client. Some attributes that you should know are age, gender, income and buying habits.

1. Your budget

2. How much time do you have to invest in social media? Will you outsource it or do it in-house?

3. Quality over quantity

4. Have a clear social media strategy

5. Stay focused

6. Keep calm

2. Social media strategies

According to Tuten and Solomon (2013) when making a social media plan, you should ask the following questions:

1. What are the campaign goals and/or communication tasks?

2. How is the brand positioned? What is unique and special about its position in the marketplace?

3. Who is the target audience?

4. Is there another group of people who can persuade the target audience to follow them?

5. What are the existing creative assets? How can the brand's creative foster a social experience?

6. How can we integrate with other branded media being used by the organization, and how long do we have to execute?

7. What experiences are possible given target market needs and motives, the available channels and the creative assets? How can we design these experiences to maximize device portability and access?

8. What content will be needed?

9. How will experience engagement be extended and shared throughout the social channels?

According to Tuten and Solomon you can for example build your brand reputation and image, get more customers and involve them and build positive brand attributes which definitely makes it useful to get involved in social media.

Source: https://techknowtools.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/sm-strategy-image.jpg

3. Measurement of social media

According to Tuten and Solomon you can measure how effective messages sent through social media are. These can be measured by measuring reach, frequency, relative pull, clickthroughs, sales conversions and viewthroughs. 

Sources:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/social-media

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-do-you-choose-right-social-media-platform-your-business

Tuten, T.L, Solomon M.R. Social Media Marketing. 2013. Pearson Education.

PBL 8 (1.4.)

PROBLEM
How to use data in media planning?

Learning objectives

1. Characteristics of media (types of media)

According to e Notes MBA there are two types of media: mass media and interpersonal media. From the picture below you can see all the forms of mass media (outside is not included).

Source: http://www.e-prest.com/english/pr/features.html

2. What is media planning?

According to e Notes MBA media planning "is the process of designing a strategic course of action that shows how advertising space and time can be used to present the message in order to achieve the advertiser's goal."

Source: http://armdigital.in/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/media-planning.png

Sources:
http://www.enotesmba.com/2012/07/mba-notes-media-characteristics.html

PBL 7 (18.3.)

PROBLEM
The process of creating a marketing communication plan

Learning objectives

1. What is a marketing communication plan?

According to Business Dictionary, marketing communications are "coordinated promotional messages delivered through one or more channels such as print, radio, television, direct mail and personal selling."

According to MaRs marketing communications are "fundamental part of a company's efforts. Loosely defined, MarCom can be described as all the messages and media you deploy to communicate with the market."

2. Different models for creating a communication plan?

The AIDA model - AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. It describes a common list of events that occur when a customer sees an advertisement. 

A - attention, awareness and the ability to attract the attention of customers

I - interest and points the ability to raise the interest of the customers by focusing on and demonstrating advantages and benefits

D - desire. The ad convinces the customers that they want the product and it will satisfy their needs

A - action which leads the customers to actually purchase the product

Source: http://chri5d39.mmd.eal.dk/img/aida.jpg

DRIP model - differentiace, reinforce, inform, persuade

Source: http://www.digital-marketing-university.com/getattachment/77af4b60-2061-4fb7-b295-c5ac904bfefc/drip.jpg.aspx

• The process of creating a marketing communication plan

Marketing communications plan framework

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/Marketing-communications-planning-framework.gif

7 Steps to Develop an Effective Marketing Communications Strategy

1. The Better you know your audience, the better you can appeal to their interests

2. Uncover your unique selling proposition

3. Sharpen your brand look and feel

4. Ensure that all messaging is consistent

5. Choose your marketing mix

6. Establish MarCom success measurements

7. Manage leads and client data

Sources: 

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing-communications.html

http://www.marsdd.com/mars-library/what-is-marketing-communication-marcom/

https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/integrated-marketing-communication-12/introduction-to-integrated-marketing-communications-81/aida-model-406-4060/

http://www.mbaskool.com/business-articles/marketing/8956-drip-the-marketing-communication-model.html

http://www.6pmarketing.com/articles/branding-science/72-marketing-strategy/359-7-steps-to-develop-an-effective-marketing-communications-strategy

PBL 6 (11.3.)

PROBLEM
How to create a brand strategy?

Learning objectives

1. Brand strategy

• What is a brand strategy?

According to Business Dictionary brand strategy is a long-term marketing support for a brand, based on the definition of the characteristics of the target consumers. It includes understanding of their preferences and expectations from the brand.

2. Brand portfolio

According to Kapferer companies can also expand by creating new brands to the side of existing ones.

He also states that the benefits of having a small brand portfolio is that it is easier to promote only a few products, especially in the retail market. As the distribution trade and industrial production have also become more concentrated, it makes sense to have small brand portfolios. Consumers also become confused by the growing number of brands. Brand internationalisation has become more common but not all brands are suitable for international markets.

However Kapferer also states that it is logical to have a multi-brand portfolio as a consequence of a differentiation strategy. Market growth might make it necessary to have multiple brands as no single brand can develop a market on its own. Multiple brands allow for best market coverage.

According to Business Dictionary brand portfolio is the total collection of trademarks that a company applies to its products or services. Each make of brand within a business' brand portfolio might be registered under applicable trademark laws and can represent a valuable asset to a company that is often actively promoted to potential customers.

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTQyiBu3Ne_SJLH3QqPeSGAO2UonCG6JRffVTkRdParuFb3x5e6_-FC1D9yZKNJXbNDgmdWUTdNiML92b7ADIYbtsAGtQS2A1_WfiDTJ0SSVrlbRv_ZriAUl6_ueZ5LS7Cqb5bYkIsBKC/s1600/hugo+boss.PNG

Source: http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/images/old/6a00d83451b74a69e2017d3c0c3738970c-pi.jpg

Source: http://www.activistebrands.com/assets/_resampled/resizedimage500211-brand-architecture-01.jpg

Sources:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/brand-strategy.html
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/brand-portfolio.html
Kapferer, J.N. 2008. The New Strategic Brand Management: Creating and Sustaining Brand Equiti Long Term. Kogan Page. 4th Edition.

PBL 5 (25.2.)

PROBLEM
How to build your brand?

Learning objectives

1. What is the difference between brand image and brand identity?

According to Aaker (1996), the difference between brand image and brand identity is that image is usually passive and looks to the past, whereas identity is something that should be active and looks to the future. Brand image tends to be tactical, identity should be strategic.

• What is the connection between brand image and brand identity?

To put it simply according to Aaker (1996):

• BRAND IMAGE: How the brand is now perceived
  BRAND IDENTITY: How strategists want the brand to be perceived

Source: http://www.wisdomjobs.com/userfiles/image/$brand%20management/chapter7/Figure-7_1.jpg
Kapferer (2008) 

• How can they reinforce your brand?

2. What are the models of brand identity?

Kapferer's brand identity prism

Source: http://www.12manage.com/images/picture_kapferer_brand_identity_prism.gif

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSgKq15Uug_ZMGYx0SMXQT8mWBFLkxxFCOyN3_EcPPt-9vilk71o0jHdkvngXF2OokX_FcBN1WemdxHhLbr5O0Lq06zilAZhpkbXh6CL7Oq5JlbuCdVsIImSBkzQW2S9e1WtcbKcGxe2V_/s1600/Identity+prism%25281%2529.PNG

Source: https://milkavslindt.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/lindt-identity-prism.png

3. How to communicate your brand identity to the target audience?

• What are the effective communication tools to reach out to your target audience?
• According to Aaker (1996):
• Event sponsorships
• Clubs and usage programs
• Direct response marketing
• Public relations efforts
• Publicity stunts
• Promotions
• Product shows and event stores
• Packaging
• According to Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan (2011) for a brand to be purchased, it needs to be the one that comes to consumers' mind first. Therefore brand's advertising must present the brand. In most cases it is necessary to feature the package in all advertising, an exception being if the recognition comes from hearing the brand name.
• Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan (2011) also emphasize integrated marketing communications; brand's message must be well positioned and correctly address brand awareness and brand attitude. The actual message and execution also must be consistent with everything that is communicated about the brand.

Sources:

Aaker, D. 1996. Building strong brands. Pocket books.
Rosanbaum-Elliott, R., Percy, L. and Pervan, S. 2011. Strategic brand management. Oxford University Press. 2nd edition.

PBL 4 (11.2.)

PROBLEM
How to develop a visual brand identity?

Learning objectives
1. Reasons to create visual brand identity?

• What is visual brand identity?
• According to the Businessdictionary, visual identity is: visible elements of a brand, such as color, form, and shape which encapsulate and convey the symbolic meaning that cannot be imparted through words alone. In a broader (corporate) sense, it may include elements such as building architecture, color schemes and dress code.

• Why it is important for brands?
• Brand identity is like a first impression
• Jeff Bezos: "Brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room."
• A visual identity must fulfill three functions:
• It is recognizable
• It gives your business personality
• It stands out from competitors
• If your brand identity succeeds in this, you draw benefits:
• Awareness
• Positioning
• A bond
• Staying power
• Savings

2. Ways to implement your new visual branding strategy?

• What to consider when creating a visual brand identity?
• Identify the target market
• Legalities
• Color and logo scheme
• Celebrity endorsements
• Catchy tag line
• Brand architecture
• What type of brand it is
• Competitors

• How to implement it successfully?

According to Mike Fleming there are three key aspects when implementing a brand strategy. These are: 

1. Market Need

2. Product Benefit

3. Consumer Insight

Source: http://vwmarketingsolutions.ca/wp-content/uploads/Brand-Implementation-Process2.jpg

3. How to reach the target audience?

• How to make an influence to your customer with your brand identity?

Annette Hampham explains it as follows: you should understand what is your target market and what your customers value. You should also know what brands already exist. You need to find your niche and differentiate your brand. Understand your brand values and be clear about what you stand for. Define your brand's personality.

You have to make sure that everything you do reflects your brand values. You also need to be consistent. It would be beneficial to use networking to foster relationships and to identify opinion leaders.

• Most efficient channels?

In my personal opinion it really depends on the target customers and the product you are selling. It also really depends on the brand.

Sources:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/visual-identity.html

http://www.amycq.com/the-value-of-investing-in-a-visual-identity/

http://www.drimlike.com/en/blog/brand-identity-why-is-it-so.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/article/432/what-to-consider-when-developing-a-brand/

http://www.beyond-the-logo.com/blog/5-things-you-should-know-before-creating-a-brand-identity/

http://www.blurgroup.com/blogs/marketing/the-whys-and-hows-of-implementing-a-branding-strategy/

http://www.riba-insight.com/monthlyBriefing/13-04/InfluenceOneBrandOverAnother.asp

PBL 3 (4.2.)

PROBLEM

How to communicate value through IMC ?

Learning objectives

1. What does integrated marketing communication mean?

•  How can we define the term IMC? What’s the difference between the term Integrated Marketing?

• According to Business dictionary: "An approach to achieve the objetives of a marketing campaign through a well coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other."
• As defined by the American Association of Advertising Agencies: "IMC recognizes the value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion and combines them to provide clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact."

I would say Red Bull is a good example of implementing IMC. They use different campaigns and events (e.g. Red Bull Crashed Ice 2015 in Helsinki) to promote their brand and product.

Everyone in the video is using Red Bull logos, there is a Red Bull helicopter etc. This was also in the news around the world and the video has been viewed over 37 million times! 

• Why should we use IMC? And what are the barriers to IMC?

• 5 Reasons why IMC is important nowadays:
• More contact points
• More specialized media
• More than ever, customers are king
• Marketing is now more data-based
• More widespread Internet use
• Can save you money
• Helps you provide customers with information in the format they prefer
• Helps reinforce basic the basic campaign themes

Source: https://stevensonfinancialmarketing.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/integrated-marketing-services.gif

• What is the stages model of the IMC approach?

Source:http://journals.cambridge.org/fulltext_content/JAR/JAR44_01/S0021849904040048fig002g.gif

2. How to integrate value proposition / methods to different audiences?

• Proof points
• Supporting stories
• Illustrative Images

In today's world it's about creating value for your customer. Customers don't want features or benefits but profits. E.g. satisfaction, comfort etc.

As stated by Dr. Rick Johnson: "Perceived value drives customer expectations." The higher you raise customer expectations of you as a supplier, the closer you come to creating competitive advantage. But of course, you must be able to meet those expectations you set.

You must have the ability to be able to explain, educate and sell the value propositions to your customer. Customer defines the value.

According to Rick Johnson: "Most sales people have customers that do business with the company simply because they like and trust the sales person. That is a personal value proposition. This is created by the way you treat the customers, handle their transactions and supply value in your relationship by helping them solve problems even if those problems have no relationship to your products."

Sources:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/integrated-marketing-communications-IMC.html

https://intermediamarketing.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/integrated-marketing-communications-why-is-it-so-important/

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-integrated-marketing-communications-73248.html

http://www.varnmedia.co.uk/11/12/integrating-your-business-value-proposition-online/

http://www.4hoteliers.com/features/article/2862

PBL 2 (28.1.)

PROBLEM

How can companies use storytelling in corporate communication?

Learning objectives

1. What is an effective corporate story?

• Are there some key elements? If yes, what are they?

Discussed in class: Characters, easy to understand, middle/beginning/end (Aristotle's basic definition of story), sense of humor and something unexpected, engaging, knowing your punchline, "make me care", give a promise that the story is worth your time, storytelling has guidelines (and not rules), use what you know, make a connection, people want to be inspired

Source: http://www.themoleskin.com/2010/03/storytelling-in-business-elements-of-story-structure/

According to Kelsey Rueger (2010) a good story draws inspiration from the past to engage audiences. An audience connects to the story when the plot, characters and some other elements come together and create a unified narrative. 

A good business story has a good flow and makes a point. There are five basic throughlines:

1. The main character succeeds
2. The main character fails
3. The main character abandons the goal
4. The main character's goal is undefined
5. The audience creates the goal

A good business story also uses a familiar structure to capture attention.

• Traditional
• The Hero's Quest
• The Search
• Stranger in a Strange Land
• Boy Meets Girl (Romance)
• Coming of Age (Transformation)

Good stories connect to the audience with good character development

Good stories use a vivid setting to their advantage

Kelsey Ruger (2010) also pointed out that: "First, you should use stories to craft engaging and personal experiences that relate to the overall point you are trying to make. Second, don't rely only on facts. Remember, facts matter most when the audience is rationalizing a decision that has already been made on an emotional level."

• Any examples?

There really isn't a story here but it affected me on an emotional level. The commercial is already a couple of years old but I still remember it well. One could say that the video shows some corporate values. 

The commercial is from your point of view which makes it interesting. There's also a story: you start from the bottom and end up playing in a national team. The main character therefore succeeds. This commercial is around five years old and it has stuck with me over the years - I still remember it.

2. What are the effective communication channels for storytelling?

Source: http://www.pursuant.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/CrossChannel.png

• What communication channels are there?

• How do communication channels depend on the product or the target customer?

When storytelling is aimed externally, Shankar et al (2001) say that companies have to consider their positioning in a larger context. Companies have to consider the results as the market can "hold" only one brand that is seen as e.g. heroic. According to Fog et al (2005) companies use television, radio, billboards, and the Internet as the means of storytelling. 

According to Argenti (2013) you should choose the communication channel based on the communication activities that create the most value in terms of a specific business outcome.

You could argue that the age and also the type of product affect the choosing of communication channel. Older people are not as proficient at using e.g. the Internet or social media in general. 

If the product is for greater audiences, then a mass media option is a better one. If the company wants to change the mind of people that only do window shopping, then a point of purchase type can be chosen by the company. If the company wants to sell a product for a certain type of customers, they can opt to choose a direct response. In direct response, the company directly contacts the customers via e-mail etc.

Depends on the type of story as well. If it's a video, then e.g. Youtube is a better option.

3. How to reach audience?

• Media strategies?

According to Business Dictionary media strategy is: Use of appropriate media mix to achieve optimum results from an advertising company.

Media strategy has three important questions:

• Where to advertise?
• When to advertise?
• What media type to use?

There needs to be a research to answer questions such as:

• What channels are they most active on?
• What types of content they like to consume?
• Where do they like to consume it?
• What technologies do they use the most?

There are also so many channels out there that it is almost impossible to embrace them all. Therefore it is important to decide where to to publish. 

Sources:

Argenti, P. (2013) Corporate communication (6th edition). McGraw-Hill. New York.

http://www.themoleskin.com/2010/03/storytelling-in-business-elements-of-story-structure/

http://www.themoleskin.com/2010/03/the-art-of-business-storytelling/

http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:132493/fulltext01.pdf

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/media-strategy.html

http://www.pursuant.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/CrossChannel.png

http://managementstudyguide.com/media-strategy-in-advertising.htm

http://www.saydaily.com/2013/08/4-secrets-of-effective-brand-storytelling-across-channels