Term Paper on "Advertising and Promotion"

Term Paper 10 pages (4560 words) Sources: 0 Style: Harvard

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Advertising and Promotion

Letter of transmittal to CEO

I hope that the analysis will be helpful and the recommendations insightful for the development of the company during the next fiscal year.

Best regards, 2. Title page

Microsoft's approach to PR and advertising. Developing the brand through anew IMC.

Microsoft has managed to obtain its current position of global leader in its functioning area with the help of well integrated communication campaigns. The attributes that have helped the brand become so appealing for people all around the world are creativity, innovation, the belief in people's dreams and potential, the belief that one can do anything. The corporate social responsibility has been a strong point for the development of the brand for both the advertising and the PR campaigns. The present approach to communication underlines the importance of a coherent overall campaign. A future campaign could nevertheless focus on new attributes of the brand, such as its dynamicity in order to increase the popularity of the company among young people. The media best suited for this purpose are television, the internet and the printed media.

4. Table of contents:

1. Executive summary

2.Table of contents

3. Formal introduction

4. Current Advertising and PR activity

5. Main PR / Advertising approach

6. IMC strategy for Microsoft

6.1. Objectives

6.2. IMC mix

7. IMC components



7.1. Description

7.2. Advantages and disadvantages

7.3. Specific roles

7.4. Media strategy

8. Conclusions and recommendations.

3. Formal introduction

Microsoft is one of the most successful companies in the world. Its success is owned first and foremost to the products which it sells which have become indispensable for the constantly growing number of computer users. Nevertheless, an increased quality of a product can not guarantee the long-term efficacious functioning of a company in the absence of an adequate communication. Communication is needed in order to establish relationships with the potential customers and to maintain the already existing relationships with the actual buyers. Under these circumstances, an integrated communication campaign represents a strategic instrument which can be used in order to touch all the targeted market segments.

4. Part B. Current Advertising and PR activity

Brief background.

Microsoft is known to be a leader at world level in the area of computer software and services. This means that about ninety percent of the computers used in the United States of America and the rest of the world are supported by Microsoft solutions. The concept which is at the basis of the company's identity is represented by innovation. Innovation is the key for development and evolution in all possible areas. Microsoft has so far transmitted an image of itself as an innovator the purpose of which is to make a better life for everybody. The communication campaigns that the company ahs initiated over the internet or in the printed media have transmitted messages according to which Microsoft believes in the potential of people and is doing its best in order to help them achieve it.

Main target markets.

There are several categories which Microsoft considers to be targets for its products and services. One of these targets is represented by the young adults who are interested in using a computer for various purposes, especially for work and self development. The second target is represented by the teenagers and young people who are passionate about computer games. The third target segment which is important for the company under discussion is represented by the business companies who rely on various types of computer software in order to render their functioning more efficient. A fourth market target is represented by adult families which need to buy a one or more computers for their children who need to use them for school and also for other family activities which could be better done with the use of a P.C.

Key segmentation variables.

Communication is a strategic resource for any company, especially for the ones functioning at global level which have the need to achieve performance in different cultural spaces. Such is the case of Microsoft, a company which has so far proved to understand the importance of advertising and Public Relations activities as means of communication with the actual and potential clients. It is nevertheless extremely important to understand who you are sending out a message to, that is the criteria which are used in order to properly segment the market. The main variables that come to mind in the case of Microsoft are age, profession (social status) and the location (a communication campaign made in the U.S.A. will have to differ from the one made in France for example, even if the target is represented by people within the same age range and with a similar social status).

Most likely response hierarchy used by target market.

Taking into consideration the evolution of the Microsoft company so far, while focusing on the market segments which have proven to be the most responsive to the initiated communication campaigns, it could be stated that the target segment with the highest response rate is represented by the young adults who need a personal computer for professional and personal activities. They are the most likely to acquire the largest number of products and services related to the efficient functioning of their P.C. The second market segment that is expected to have a high response quantified in number and value of acquisitions from Microsoft is represented by companies. There is no organization in the world which can function in the area of business (or for that matter, any other area), without the support of computers. The bigger the number of employees, the bigger the demand for Microsoft products. The number of human resources is important, but the complexity of the tasks that need to be accomplished is another factor which can not be ignored. In cases like this, specific software programs and other applications become the most attractive products that Microsoft is to offer. The third position in the hierarchy of response to the Microsoft marketing and communication campaigns is represented by the teenagers and the young people who demonstrate a strong passion for computer games. While there are other companies specialized in the creation of various types of computer games, Microsoft has succeeded to achieve successes in this area as well through its communication campaigns and the concept behind it. Such is the case of the Microsoft Xbox which they managed to sell successfully thanks to the social dimension that was brought to gaming.

5. Main PR / Advertising approach.

Computers are more and more widely spread throughout the world, representing a market which will surely undergo development in the future. All the computers need a user interface and this is where Microsoft comes in. Its purpose was and is to present itself as the main provider in the world, not only of the needed interface but also of the specific software programs that might prove to be helpful. Starting with the communication campaign that was made in 1998, enhancing the slogan already used in 1994, "Where do you want to go?," Microsoft has positioned itself as the one which opens the doors for everyone. The corporate social responsibility was a fundamental component of all the PR and advertising campaigns. The company has thus meant to create and support an identity for itself which allows it to be perceived as the instrument par excellence which helps people achieve their potential and fulfill their dreams (the description of the TV spots dating from 1998 is to be found in the appendix).

The main approach nowadays focuses on the same fundamental concept: Microsoft cares about people and is doing everything in its power to support their efforts for achieving their goals and making their dreams come true. Innovation is a key concept used in the company advertising (see appendix). Microsoft presents itself as the company which provides people with the needed technological support that they need in order to let their creative loose and feel free to invent in a secure environment. Expertise, the possibility to do anything, exploration, inventions, these are the main ideas which are transmitted through the advertising campaigns.

As far as the Public Relations campaigns are concerned, Corporate Social Responsibility is again an essential factor. The company is already using an integrated communication campaign, as the advertising which it pays for in a variety of media supports not just the promotion of the brand itself, but the social campaigns that Microsoft is sustaining as a means of PR. Among this, one can mention the Microsoft Partners in Learning Initiative or the Microsoft Imagine Cup, the Microsoft Emerging Business Initiative. The use of media is intensive, and Microsoft ads are to be found in the specialized printed press (journals, magazines), in papers, but also on the internet (the company website, forums, blogs, etc.) and on the TV. As one can easily notice, the approach is a 360 degrees one.

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