Inbev_Marketing

Running head: INBEV MARKETING InBev Marketing Paper Benjamin George, Matthew Holley, Courtney Schaub, Shaun Stillwell, Patty Sweeny Marketing 571 August 29, 2010 Heather Moss InBev has researched some of the trends for marketing that will relate to the consumer. The new marketing campaign uses technology trends and marketing strategies to brand the new beer product, Tod Von Hopfen. This new beer has higher alcohol content and is branded differently in Germany and Holland. Internet marketing will enable In Bev to reach its intended audience faster and gain a following on the Internet home page and other Internet web pages. Communication tactics involve the latest technology and follows current trends in each targeted market. Technology Trends Available to Help Market The beer industry is quite competitive and in Germany and Holland, the public has grown quite bored with the usual beer products out on the market right now. Therefore, the company must do something to grab the attention of the public with the help of technology. “According to Web windows, a leading media agency in the UK, companies should plan their advertising strategy to gain the maximum benefits from the current trends (Mogridge, 2010).” Therefore, the strategy of the InBev will look to take advantage of the technology trends shaping businesses product distributions. InBev will need to look into optimizing the search engine currently used by focusing on key words and phrases that have potential customers viewing the company’s information front and center. “Sites with relevant content and credible links will continue to rule the search rankings in the coming year (Arnold, 2010).” E-mail marketing is another technology trend that would be worth investing marketing dollars into. Almost every potential customer has an email and this method is fairly inexpensive, as compared to regular mail out marketing techniques. Another familiar technology trend is social networking, such as Facebook, and Twitter. This would deem to be very profitable for the company and has the potential of reaching millions of people who currently use some form of social networking several times per day. The company will also look into invest several of the dollars from the marketing budget to beef up the company’s own website and advertise on several high traffic websites, which is a trend that several large companies have found successful. The last option that the company will consider is to become involved in the analytics portion of the online marketing techniques, such as Google analytics. These applications aid the company in analysis of how many are responding the online marketing procedures, such as search engines or website visitors. This trend is a valued tool to companies trying to maximize the marketing dollars and use them in the best way to increase customer interaction. “Internet marketing trends develop quickly, so expect many new and exciting trends to emerge in 2010 (Arnold, 2010).” InBev continues to review technology trends periodically to stay on top of the online marketing revolution. Advertising Tod Von Hopfen becomes the main depiction of the brand’s personality. Innovative marketing strategies clearly drive a business. As such, InBev’s advertising concept is not simply about beer. The aim is to enhance the customer’s experience, and build a fresh beer concept for people and encourage people to choose Tod Von Hopfen beer as the first choice. In promoting Tod Von Hopfen there are different media channels to consider. Advertising through TV, Radio, and Newspapers is considered large scale media. A large number of people watch TV, listen to the radio and read newspapers say that be on the Internet or on paper. These types of advertising channels will reach many social groups. The aim of the advertisement is to influence the target audience to drink Tod Von Hopfen because it will give new ideas from a different perspective. InBev will advertise online through ad campaigns and search where they have a wider reach of people and can be seen alongside the competition instead of nonexistent. Radio also works on the power of suggestion and the imagination of the listener. Instead of increasing total consumption, the objective of InBev is to create brand loyalty and to encourage consumers to switch to Tod Von Hopfen. At InBev advertising is not merely a message about the brand; it is a part of the brand itself. Communications Plan for InBev Many factors exist that a company must consider when developing a communications plan for a new product. These factors include identification of the target market, the amount of money that can be spent, what kind of message is conveyed, the kind of media used, and a way to measure the results (Kotler & Keller, 2007). By looking at these factors, InBev will create an effective communications plan that will allow Tod von Hopfen to enter a competitive market. The communications plan for InBev with the new beer will support brand identity while including the steps mentioned above. Keeping the brand true to its identity is very important because the attitudes of the targeted market can change based upon the way the individual’s see the company. For example, should the consumer find the ads to be unrealistic, intrusive, or meaningless, there could be disconnect between the communications plan and advertisement itself (Kanter, 1970). “Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers—directly or indirectly—about the products and brands that they sell” (Kotler & Keller, 2007, P. 279). The goal of marketing communications is creating high brand equity. Fortunately, InBev already possesses high brand equity in both Holland and Germany. However, it will be necessary to translate the high brand equity of InBev into high sales for Tod von Hopfen. Achieving this will require a mix of marketing communications modes. The communication mix in Holland and Germany will be similar, yet different. Similar in a sense the product is beer, with certain restrictions to the marketing campaign; yet different in that there are particular social distinctions between beer consumption in Germany and Holland. Within both countries, brewers cannot mail or distribute free samples of new products, and heavy advertising regulations are also present. With social distinctions, a 2000 study focusing on beer advertising in both Holland and Germany depicts some distinct differences that will help In-Bev to tailor-make advertising campaigns for both countries. First, the study indicated that humorous advertising for beer is more prevalent and accepted in Holland than Germany. Second, beer advertisements in Holland tend to focus on beer as an everyday beverage, and in Germany beer tends to be a beverage for special occasions and celebrations. Beer advertisement in Holland use sports as a dominant advertising theme, while in Germany tradition was the most touted theme in beer advertisements (Dahl, 2000). An advertising message encoded in one culture has to be decoded in another culture in the case of standardized marketing. This process may be subject to severe distortions, as the receiver will decode the message in his or her own cultural context. A standardized approach could hence run into the danger and the message will be unconvincing, as it does not meet the psychological “triggers” required to evoke (Dahl, 2000). Thus, the marketing strategies used in Holland and Germany must correlate with the social context that beer plays in each country. An effective Dutch ad depicting athletes drinking it up day after day, may not invoke a similar response if shown in Germany. Likewise an effective German ad that focuses on tradition and purity may not have the same effect in Holland. In Holland, our marketing will focus on sports and humor. Conclusion InBev will communicate the new strategies for Tod Von Hopfen using the latest technology available in targeted markets. Internet sites such as Facebook and the main Internet home page of InBev will create followers. Branding the new beer in Germany and Holland toward specific marketing and campaign communications strategy will draw the intended audiences. Each country has distinctive ideas to generate and communicate properly. Research and analysis conducted will help InBev determine the best marketing communications for future use. The new information gathered will aid the marketing team at InBev for future forecasting and product evaluations. References Arnold, J. (2010), 10 Web Marketing Trends for 2010, Retrieved on August 29, 2010 from http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/onlinemarketing/article204480.html Dahl, Stephan (2000). Cultural Values in Beer Advertising. Retrieved Saturday August 28th, 2010 from: http://dahl.at/wordpress/research/intercultural-communication/cultural-values-in-beer-advertising/ Kanter, D. (1970). Communications theory and advertising decisions. Retrieved on August 27, 2010 from EbscoHost. Mogridge, (2010), Best Advertising Strategy For All Business Sizes, Retrieved on August 28, 2010, from http://ezinearticles.com/'Best-Advertising-Strategy-For-All-Business- Sizes&id=2070973