A target markets is a group of customers that the business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately its merchandise. A well-defined target market is the first element to a marketing strategy. The target market and the marketing mix variables of product, place(distribution), promotion and price are the four elements of a marketing mix strategy that determine the success of a product in the marketplace.
I believe that I the target market I belong to is late 20's male, single, living in the northeast US metropolitan area, in a low income level because of my student status, which also means I'm educated. Advertisers attempt to reach each of these different aspects by developing a marketin strategy. This marketing strategy has three phases. The advertiser must analyze the consumer demands by figuring out what interests my target market category. This can be done through the use of surveys, questionaires, focus groups, and other marketing research techniques. Next the advertiser must Target the market by determing whether the market is undifferentiated, concentrated, or multisegmented. Once this is done the advertiser can develop a marketing strategy to best satisfy the needs of my market segment.
Individuals with diverse product needs have heterogeneous needs. Advertisers also use the process market segmentation by dividing a total market into market groups consisting of people who have relatively similar product needs. A market segment consists of individuals, groups or organizations with one or more characteristics that cause them to have relatively similar product needs. By dividing my target market into further market segments advertisers can get an even more concise picture of what someone like me is interested in purchasing. They can then best suit their advertising campaigns and potentials products for an indivdual like myself or someone within a similar market segment.
Adweek was founded in June 1978 by former magazine executives Jack Thomas, Ken Fadner, and Pen Tudor. The owners wer elooking to provide a regional focus on the advertising industries creative process, as well as account changes and decision makers. Adweek is focues on the objective to "to provide an insightful, forward-thinking magazine that appeals to consumers and advertising professional alike."
One of the articles that I read on the site was titled "NFL, the Only Game in TownPro football dominates fall TV ratings." The article was interesting to me because I am currently taking a Sports Management class and the NFL and their dominance has been a topical issue. The NFL has done a lot over the past 15 years to revamp their image. They've done this through an extensive public relations effort through media and advertising, as well cleaning up the league by implementing stronger rules and regulations. But most importantly has been the television presence and contracts that are discussed between the major prime time networks. As a result during the 2011 NFL season the league has manage to hold 13 of the 15 top ratings spots through the fall season. This seems to unprecedented considering that NFL is a sport. To have that kind of dominance through the ratings goes to show that the efforts the league has made through intense advertising and public relations campaigns has paid off at the rate of $600+ million per season for NBC to hold the Sunday Night Football contract.
The other article I read was "Cowell's 'X Factor' Falls ShortRatings have been lower than expected, and it's costing Fox". This has to do in part to the shift of scheduling that FOX and other prime time networks are known for because of the ongoing baseball post season and World Series. The ratings have fallen well short of the projected 20 million viewers. This has caused FOX to compensate advertisers for the shortall in anticipated viewers, including Pepsi who has been the title sponsor of the show. However the news is not all bad as the show has still helped FOX rebound during its fall lineup drawing in a signficant number of viewers from 18-45 and is still considered succesful.
Advertising Age (http://www.adage.com/) seemed like a cool website especially after I saw the url address and the play on words as it connects to the actual name of the website, "Advertising Age." This was interesting because advertising is full of jargon and adages, with many of these adages paralleling and often becoming slogans. The site was interesting in that if offered a vast amount of information regarding the field of advertising. But the range of information was not specified to just a few areas of advertising. The article that caught my attention was "Hyundai Vows to Make Super Bowl Ads Fit the Occasion." Over the last several years Hyundai has rebounded from a lower class, entry, and economy vehicle to a world class automobile with an incredible industry leading warranty which backs up the value the Hyundai engineers have been able to produce in their vehicles. This has been accomplished through and aggressive marketing campaign. Today Hyundai is aiming to focus more on sparking an emotional connection with consumers and perhaps less on solely enticing them with practical reasons to buy.
The other article I reviewd on Adage.com was titled "New York Times Co. Profit Grows Even as Print-Ad Declines Rise." I thought this was an interesting article because it discussed the ways in whic The New York Times have been savvy in their way of dealing with the growing decling of print media. It talked about how New York Times has had to keep a close eye on their different revenue streams including advertising revenue, and the major shift to online and e-reader subscriptions. Despite the major transtion due to technology, the New York Times is doing a good job in weathering the storm and has actually had a 5% in operating profits.
I also had the chance to look at the websites for ad agencies like Ogilvy, DDB, and Saatchi & Saatchi. The impression that I get from these different agencies is that have they have some of the finest expertise and professionals that represent their firms. They seem to have world class ad promotion, and some of the world's biggest and most influential companies and corporations as their clients. This is because they have been able to differentiate themselves in producing ad campaigns that have proven to be effective and directly influence sales and profit numbers. These Fortune 500 companies, and up and coming organizations turn to agencies like Ogilvy, DDB, and Saatchi & Saatchi because they know they are some of the world's best companies in attacking global marketing and advertising industries with campaigns that have a high likelihood of being effective.
No comments:
Post a Comment