Integrated Marketing Communication Plan for Garmin
Discuss about the Study of Influential Integrated Marketing Communication.
Garmin Ltd. is a multinational technological company founded in America. The company is popular for its specialization in GPS technology development. This GPS navigation system can be used in automotive, marine, aviation, sports activities and utilities. In the recent times, technology is increasing at a rapid pace; Garmin Ltd. has launched new innovative products. Smart watch and activity tracker is launched by the organization due to the development of wearable technology.
The report highlights the chosen communication objective that includes creating the awareness about the newly launched product. This helps in encouraging the target audiences’ purchase behavior in a positive manner. This furthermore creates a strong brand image of the product among its target market. The report aims to throw light on the various integrated marketing communication strategies that is used by the leading brand Garmin.
Integrated marketing communication is used to achieve the main objective of the market campaign by using an effective promotional method (Luxton, Reid & Mavondo, 2015). The integrated marketing communication plan for Garmin will ensure that all the communication and marketing strategies are unified across all the communication channels and focused around the customers.
A smart watch is a wearable wrist worn device that offers various functionalities better than the traditional wristwatch. Garmin’s recently launched product is Vivo smart HR is a wrist wear. It comes with touch screen and comprises off media player controls, heart rate monitoring, smart notifications and various phone finder features. It is useful for the health conscious users as it provides functions that are relating to health related purposes and fitness tracking. Though there are several features that are highlighted in the release of smart watches but the main of development is fitness (Finne & Grönroos, 2017). This particular product also acts as an extended version of a smart phone and related devices.
Demographics: the expected age of the potential customers for the smart watch lies between 15 to 50 years. The main target segment is actually the fitness freaks and athletes between the ages 18 to 35 years. The expected occupation of the customers will be mainly of athletes’, graduates, high school students and business professionals.
Problem Recognition: there can be various reasons for purchasing the desired product but the crucial reasons are fitness and health issues, convenience and monitoring any person (Munoz-Leiva, Porcu & Barrio-García, 2015).
Target Audience for Vivo Smart Watch
Information search: the information about the product can be obtained from through online websites and social Medias. Newspaper and referral or word of mouth through friends and family.
Evaluation of alternatives: the various other alternatives include brand, features, price, compatibility with smart phones and specifications.
In the recent tines, both male and females are equally participating in all major activities. The income group of the target audience involves the upper class and the upper middle class people. The segmented audience usually includes reformers and explorers. They indulge in adventure and like to experience challenges and new frontiers (Place, Smith & Lee, 2016). They are actually more focused on personal growth and aware about the social scenario.
From the demographic, socio-economic and psychographic segmentation, the target market for Vivo smart watch has been ascertained. The target market segment can be described as follows:
Age |
18 to 35 years |
Gender |
Both male and female |
Education |
Graduates and professionals |
Occupation |
Fitness freaks, athletes, professionals, sports person and hikers |
Income class |
Upper and upper middle class |
Lifestyle |
Explorer, Reformer and Aspirer. |
In the current scenario, the lifestyles of people are too hectic and it becomes difficult to maintain a balance between the personal and professional life (Hossain, Kabir & Rezvi, 2017). This smart watch will help its target audience to take care of themselves beside their work.
The marketing communication objectives are the long-term goals, where the marketing campaigns lead to drive up the value of brand over time. In relation to the sales promotions that are short term inducements to buy. The communication goals are used when the customers are persuaded for consistent reinforcement towards the brand benefit they require.
Increasing awareness- Garmin another marketing objective is to increase the awareness related to the products brand. The main goal is to become memorable and known among the target audience. The established organization often uses closely related goals for maintain or building top-of mind awareness. When the product initially enter the market, it is important for the organization to create awareness about the product to the local people. Highly creative advertizing is important for this situation.
Brand Image: the brand image objective is set when the brand name is related with the product. Garmin is a leading company and its products and services are popular throughout the world. It is crucial for the company to maintain its brand name and gain competitive advantage in the long-run. Therefore it would be better to show the target audience by launching innovative products than to tell them. With the help of effective public relations, the organization can improve their brand names. The major advantage of this objective is that the potential customers already purchase the products from within the organization product category (Batra & Keller, 2016). It means that the need is already established for the customers. Only customers require to be persuaded for purchasing the product.
Communication Objectives for Vivo Smart HR
Promotional: the objective is to increase the sales of the product through adequate economic incentives that could be offered for a specific time period. The sales for the product are to be needed for stimulating the sales of the product within the particular time period. Effectiveness of this communication objective will be determined by varying the sales amount with the specific period of timeline.
Social cause awareness: Garmin Ltd. main communication objective is to raise social awareness among the people about the unique functions of the smart watch. This would be useful in increasing the usability of the product by changing the customer’s perception towards the product. The effectiveness of such campaign is measured in relation to the change of the attitude of the target segment market (Miremadi, Samsami & Qamsari, 2017). The wristwatch is useful in monitoring the heart rate of the individual and several other functional activities like counting steps and number of stairs climbed by them.
Advertizing: this would help in spreading the awareness related to the smart watch and would lead to generate market hype before the launch of smart watches in the market. The main focus would be to create high overall profit of the organization, advertizing strategy leads to gain the attention of the consumers by understanding the demographics of the consumer. The massage is transmitted to the target audiences by knowing as per the behavior of the target audience. The unique selling propositions (USP) of the product are known and the message is transmitted to through websites, emails, sales copy to the target market. In the recent times, the younger people are mostly on phones, social media and apps. Therefore advertizing through these media should be the central point.
Public Relation: to create better image of the customers in the mind of the customers by reviewing the media. This well-defined communication strategy is actually a practical tool that helps to keep the messages and activities focus (Dahl, Eagle & Low, 2015). In addition to this also enable the people to know that the messages of Garmin and the strategic analyzed. The PR activities will detail the time frames to organize the workload and makes sure that the accountability of the product. The key performance indicator of the products to be chosen. Garmin ltd. has to achieve the desired goals in the set- time period for September. Through effective public relation the message will be communicated to the target audience in the most possible ways. This would further lead to maximize the growth of the business.
Marketing Communication Strategies for Garmin
Sales promotion: this would be use to increase the market usability of the product by providing reviews of the users and creating brand awareness. The promotion techniques furthermore help in raising the sales of the product. Garmin Ltd. applies a push sales strategy to push the products through its supply chain to the ultimate customers. Incentives are allowed and customers are motivated to buy the smart watches. This technique involves wholesale discounts, premiums and buy-back guarantees (Šeric, Gil-Saura & Ozreti?-Došen, 2015). Furthermore, Internet and mobile marketing provides its customers the various kinds of promotions and market access to coupons. Moreover, while conducting the sales promotion online by offering incentives such as free shipping’s free items, sweep stakes and coupons. Smart watch is attracting lot of audiences and effective sales promotion would lead to increase the demand for the product.
Garmin has to increase their social media presence among the different customers in the competitive market. It is essential in nature for Garmin to have the ability to keep the social media accounts interactive and updated with the new kind of ideas that is generated by them. The configuration of the social media costs is essential in nature in order to boost their recognition of the brand by conducting interactive campaigns of marketing along with posting videos and photos and creating giveaways or polls.
Furthermore, a portion of the internet budget will focus more on video advertisements on YouTube. Garmin will use the video advertising space in the YouTube to create 15-30 seconds tutorials on different features of the phone and this will assist the brand in standing out amongst the crowd.
Particulars |
Kinds |
Amount |
% of the budget of vehicle |
Total |
YouTube |
Video Advertisements |
$156440 |
26.63% |
$156440 |
|
Banners |
$574726 |
13.68% |
$574726 |
As it has been noticed that magazine indexes are high and after viewing the direct kind of relationship between the direct relationship between the Garmin’s secondary and primary target markets along with speciality magazines, the company can utilise the print magazine as one of the mediums. As per the surveys, the women are likely to purchase the smart watch mostly in colleges and office goers as well.
The magazines will allow the entire leisure to target the various specific markets that is ultimately that Garmin has to do as to establish themselves in the competitive smart watch market. The magazine advertisements will take place after the release of new products in the market as well.
Particulars |
Index |
Circulation |
Frequency |
Total |
Forbes |
149 |
930522 |
Monthly |
154863 |
GQ |
152 |
938459 |
Monthly |
318856 |
There are many individuals in the target market of Garmin who watches television when they are free either news or sports. The television advertising will take place during Football and holiday season and when there are different advertisements regarding the smart watch popularity in the television.
Particulars |
GRP |
CPP |
Frequency |
Total |
Primetime |
25 |
$6700 |
12 weeks |
$2100000 |
Daytime |
25 |
$26530 |
5 weeks |
$2300000 |
Particulars |
Total |
Social Media |
$1739165 |
Magazine |
$3390042 |
Television |
$42563025 |
Conclusion
From the table, it can be analysed that the total budget has been analysed that would be required to be adopted by Garmin in order to improve their media presence and gain more customer base in the future as well.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that proper analysis of the media plan is necessary in nature in order to understand the demands of the target audiences in the competitive market. The media plan has helped in analysing the total budget that is required to increase their presence. The integrated marketing communication plan is essential in nature to be adopted by the organization as this has helped the company in managing the tastes and preferences of the customers in an appropriate manner. In order to maintain effective and efficient kind of public relationship, this is essential for Garmin to handle the creative strategy implementation in a more accurate manner.
Furthermore, the communication objectives have to be gained by the company such as proper advertising techniques has to be handled effectively as this has assisted the company in maintaining proper relationship with the public in an appropriate manner. The target audiences of the respective company are fitness freaks, athletes along with the different professionals as this has helped them in maintaining proper advantage in the entire competitive environment. The techniques used by the company has helped them in maintaining their competitive position in the entire market with proper ascertainment of the moves of the other competitors in the market.
References:
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Dahl, S., Eagle, L., & Low, D. (2015). Integrated marketing communications and social marketing: Together for the common good?. Journal of Social Marketing, 5(3), 226-240.
Finne, Å., & Grönroos, C. (2017). Communication-in-use: customer-integrated marketing communication. European Journal of Marketing, 51(3), 445-463.
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