Public Relations Prospects: Crisis Management

By Erica Wenham, Wednesday 15 May 2013.

Public Relations Practice & Skillset (Week 27)

Crisis management requires more than an apologetic press release or a CEO’s disingenuous appearance on the BBC. News flash goes viral in a matter of seconds. Any business in “crisis” must be ready to respond to their issues swiftly and decisively, using all media platforms to communicate effectively with the UK public. According to Business Insider (2011), “most importantly, companies that make mistakes must sincerely accept responsibility for their actions – not distance themselves from them.”

News is travelling faster than ever in the 21^st century and crisis management is essential; businesses most important asset is at stake, their public reputation. When crisis strikes, it is common natural instinct to stonewall the situation, toughing it out or pretending the crisis will pass and ignore the issue(s) at hand. If poorly managed, regular business operations can ruin hard-work, decline revenue figures and even in some cases, destroy companies.

Many businesses in the market today have an “increasing responsibility to their customers, the media, and shareholders to demonstrate their corporate values and success through their ability to assure business operational integrity regardless of the external pressures being applied” (IntraPoint, 2010). Crisis management is one of the most critical aspects of modern communications in Public Relations. If conducted effectively, it can essentially protect a brand, their reputation and even salvage their very existence in a given sector or market (Tench & Yeomans, 2009, p.386).

However, it is how the business communicates about their negative issues in the public eye that makes a real difference. According to Tench & Yeomans (2009, p.388), there has been evidence that good communication with the media can support or increase a company’s reputation. The potential financial consequences can often be high but at the same time, it can communicate across to all stakeholders – shareholders, employees, regulators, press and consumers; exactly what the business is doing, what went wrong and why, how the business is dealing with the crises at the moment and how they plan to prevent it from happening again in the future.

The way in which the company communicates to the media is crucial. Journalists, reporters and other influential media correspondents are in essence able to conduct a news story in any way shape or form they wish to. As a result, it is fundamental for both the agency and the client to conduct effective management of what content is released to the media. Tench & Yeomans (2009, p.396) clarifies that this can be based upon “The 5C C’s Effective Communications Model” as outlined below.

Concern The first stage of The 5 C’s Model is not to be confused with legal liability as concern is regarded as a simple emotion. When key member(s) (the head of division, for example) are allocated to handle a business crisis, communication with the media is extremely important. They need to show true concern about the problem(s) at hand, concern about what has happened and concern for the people affected now and in the future – including potential customers.

Clarity The second stage of the concept lies with how organisations need to talk with clarity. Starting from the early hours of the crisis (e.g. when the issue was first arisen), they need to have very clear messages. Again, whatever the head of division says at the outset, will be repeated throughout the duration of the crises.

Control Next, when communicating with the UK media at events or on a one-to-one, spokespeople must take control of the messages, the situation, the environment and the venue.

Confidence The fourth stage of the 5 C’s relates closely to ‘Clarity’ and ‘Control’. The spokesperson for the brand must get the key messages across with confidence, but without appearing complacent or arrogant.

Competence Finally, the fifth and final stage of the model is ‘Competence’. The spokesperson must also demonstrate the ability and reflect how, as the representative of the brand will effectively handle the crisis.

The character of ‘Don Draper’ from the popular advertising sitcom ‘Mad Men’ once said “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation” and this quote could not be more true in the case of common crisis management issues which may arise. By publicly changing your conduct, you can project a strong brand image of a more advanced organisation that before the negative narrative occurred.

An effective campaign designed to a high standard and corporate social responsibility will demonstrate strategic growth of the business and help to restore public and media trust. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a conventional concept in the PR industry and is very popular amongst marketing and advertising communications agencies. “While thinking strategically, you want to ensure your efforts are still regarded as authentic and sincere without appearing forged – leading to further damage of the brand reputation and insulting your publics and other stakeholders”.

 “The once limited media market has become global and highly sophisticated. The impact the Internet has on crisis management today is enormous. The speed with which communications can be delivered is phenomenal and available to nearly 90% of the UK population alone” (Tench & Yeomans, 2009, p.398). Although it is essential to target key media “opinion-leaders” for wider coverage and key contacts in the specific industry (B2B), the brand also need to ensure their key messages are received well by other stakeholders such as previous and potential consumers, shareholders, community groups etc (B2C). By opening up various communication channels with these groups, long-term success can be accomplished and crises can be reduced.

Managing the right platforms to target the right type of people can help drive traffic, awareness and sales for the brand and its product(s)/service(s). Employing new content for different media channels is essential for businesses if they wish to generate as much news coverage as possible. Due to the current negative narrative and public image of the brand in the UK at the moment, it is recommended to incorporate both traditional print media channels (e.g. newspapers, magazines) and the Internet. Both local and national print publications have high readership value whereas the Internet is available to almost everyone and strategic messages are likely to be perceived in a positive manner by audiences if managed efficiently. Effective media content can then help a business and/or agency to achieve set goals and objectives in relation to recent crises.

Although there a few disadvantages of using the internet and social media as part of a crisis campaign activity; it can sometimes be difficult to track the strategy’s success and censor audience figures. However, it is argued that internet is the most valuable approach to employ as it is a very effective vehicle at getting a message out in a fast manner to millions of people and for the “dissemination of information and opinion that may masquerade information” (Tench & Yeomans, 2009, p.398).

Overall, Tucker and Broom (1993) explain that “issues management is the crises process whose goal is to help preserve markets, reduce risk, create opportunities and manage image (corporate reputation) as an organisational asset for the benefit of both and organisation and its primary stakeholders. (Regester & Larkin, 2008 p.44)

Key Goals & Objectives in Crisis Communications Management

Alter the public’s negative perception of the brand and its negative activities (if any); manage the flow of information and communications between the business and key media correspondents or “opinion leaders” from strategic UK publications (national newspapers, trade magazines, industry magazines, consumer reads etc.) This will potentially generate high coverage for the brand; thus taking away some of the negative narrative of the recent crises and employing a positive public image amongst all audiences.

Keep all stakeholders (including employees and suppliers/UK retailers) of 1) what happened (what was the crisis?), 2) what the business are doing to help minimise/cut the crisis, 3) what the brand hopes to achieve to improve and 4) what they plan to do in the future to minimise further risks, 4) minimise the risk of any financial loss for the organisation (e.g. ensure an effective budget and breakdown is put into place).

Protect the brand’s reputation in the UK market (or worldwide, depending on the enormity of the issue/business) by handling any potential or actual negative publicity and conduct efficient internal and external communications as part of crisis management.

Key Target Audiences in Crisis Communications Management

According to Sproule (1988), modern communication in crisis management is an “ideological form, one that supplies prepackaged conclusions and emphasizes identification and likeability rather than ethos. Rather than appealing to a generalized audience, it instead seeks to narrowly segment audiences in order to pull the levers of persuasion. As a result, this managerial style of persuasion has affected individual, corporate, as well as institutional discourse.” (Hearit, 2006, p.122).

It is essential for the business to know exactly (or as exact as they can possibly make it) who their key stakeholders are when identifying the target audience of a crisis management concept. “It’s called demographics. It’s part of the research you need to do before going into a new business plan. It may not go well if you have no idea who you are going to be talking to about your service or product” (entrepreneur.com, 2009). As a result, the brand will then be able to identify who it is to target and with what message. The organisation should then begin to design a plan around how to market them so they can be aware of them, generate a positive opinion of them and ultimately buy the brand’s products.

If the organisation try to blanket everyone with the same one marketing message, over half of the overall audience will be lost because some specific issues simply don’t apply to them. For example, retailers care about the selling and cost price whereas consumers want to know the benefits the product/services on offer and media correspondents are interested in an effective news story that will generate readers/viewers.

“Target who you are after and you will know how to reach them easier and find that you won't have to invest so much into your marketing to get the results you want. You'll be more focused, more effective in your marketing strategies and be able to get a greater return on your marketing investment” (entrepreneur.com, 2009).

The UK Media and PR Effect on Crisis Communications Today

According to Media UK (January 2010), the media industry in the United Kingdom alone consists of 837 radio stations, 528 television channels, 1601 newspapers, 1957 magazines and 267 independent media owners. As a result, this can be an advantageous as there not just more or different opportunities available but far more active coverage can be acquired. The media are essentially free and able to report on any aspects in any industry at any time. The variety of UK publications reflects the full spectrum of the media sector. However, in recent years, printed newspaper circulations have been sliding while online readership has surged.

Matthew Freud (Chairman, Freud Communications) commented “the PR industry is growing whilst those around it are largely in decline. The basic economic model for media and marketing is broken. The consumer or client is no longer willing to consistently pay for content and media owners are no longer able to guarantee the attention of their audience to advertisers”. Take “The Daily Mail” for example, two million copies are sold every day at the price of 50p but 100 million visitors use The Daily Mail online website. These 100 million do not pay directly for the product and “the advertising yield for audience is 50 times greater than the print equivalent. That’s why PR is so important” (prweek.com, 2012).

According to Corporate Watch (2003), the relationship between the UK news media and the PR industry is a “complex and increasingly symbiotic one”. “The media is the central vehicle for much of the PR industry's messages. PR practitioners want to place their stories in the news or other publications and programmes. Without being able to do this, PR would lose one of its main avenues for communication with the public.

The media in turn has become more dependent on PR to supply content to fill air time or column inches. Whilst newspapers have been in a gradual decline over recent years (e.g. shedding journalism staff over the last couple of decades), they have simultaneously managed to produce numerous publications brimming with news stories. As a result, “the ever growing ranks of PR are more than happy to fill the pages.”

However, the power of big agencies and spin doctors can go much further beyond this. “As the primary point of contact between businesses and the media, PR practitioners can control access to information which journalists want. This gives them tremendous leverage in negotiating with journalists, as they are in a position to refuse information” (Corporate Watch, 2003).

According to Ogilvy PR, “gone are the days when brands needed to purchase advertising or secure media placements alone. At a time when it is becoming increasing difficult to differentiate between the role of marketer and publisher, a new world order for brands today has been established. What this presents is an opportunity for corporations to become the content curators - creating their own material on their own websites for their own brands and thereby their own companies.”

The UK media industry in relation to PR has greatly changed in comparison to what it was like decades ago. The need for digital, interactive and even mobile content in this “always on” media age is crucial for businesses to take into consideration. In the ever-changing environment of the UK media, the rapport between agency/client professionals and media correspondents is a great opportunity for a company and its agency to influence, shape and drive the content of the brand and its recent issues with crisis management.

As explained previously, over 100 million users visit The Mail Online website every day in comparison to the only 2 million which purchase a physical copy and according to the BBC, there were approximately 52.7 million internet users in the UK in December 2011 – nearly 85% of the UK population (internetworldstats). Research by Google the previous year also found that the internet alone accounts for 7.2% of the UK’s overall gross domestic product (GDP).

Implementing a Recovery Plan for Crisis Communications

The Recovery Plan & Crisis Management Principles
Problem Definition	The first stage of the recovery plan (“problem definition”) is the most critical aspect of effective PR crisis management. It is essential to define both the short-term problem and the long-term problem to ensure the brand recovers in terms of both market share/revenue and reputation/public image.
Information Flow Control	This applies to items of information both coming in and going out of the organisation. For example, on one hand; press release content being released to key media opinion leaders and publications and on the other hand; the social media backlash criticism the brand is receiving online (if any; this can be very common in crises recently amongst large businesses). It essential for businesses to take both of these issues into account as, in very practical terms, will make communication within the organisation much easier, quicker and ultimately, more effective.
Worst-Case Planning Position	The appointed agency crisis team must be able to think about the worst-case scenario in terms of what could potentially happen to the brand and the organisation as a whole. “More often than not, people estimate the worst from their own perspective, or what they are able to handle, rather than a true worst case. It is, therefore, important to brainstorm and get as much input from all practitioners as possible.” This can be exceptionally important due to the extremity of any current issues in the market. For example, employing child labour methods is seen as politically and ethically incorrect and has given the brand a negative public image amongst the UK audiences. As a result, it is fundamental for the business and the agency to ensure no further negative issues arise as this can essentially make matters even worse for the business which may be unsolvable. Ensuring preparation for a worst-case scenario can be conducted via Contingency Planning or Risk Assessment. Press releases or news articles can also be created in advance for emergency and prompt release to the media if any problems are to arise.
Team Effort	As explained above, the brand and agency crisis team must work effectively together in order for successful campaign and strategy management. It is essential that the messages put out to the media to help achieve initially set goals and objectives are not subverted by the influence of one department or professional over another.
Combative Instinct	Tench & Yeomans (2009, p.402), reinforce “do not go into battle with the media, NGOs, competitors or suppliers. An organisation must demonstrate it is in control during the crisis”. Again, this is another principle in which the company’s team must take great care in. The outcome of being combative could well destroy the brand or reputation all together. Losing control of the tasks at hand can also portray the organisation as very unprofessional; thus adding to the negative narrative. In order to ensure effective control is being managed at all times during the crisis management plan, both brand and agency must guarantee all media content is effectively written (e.g. press releases must be written in professional format whilst still putting a “spin” on the story to ensure the document is published and is received well by audiences) and the correct key messages are sent to the appropriate target markets.
The Media	The media are constantly searching for good stories to include in their channels of communication. “They need focus, a ‘cause and effect’ – something their audience will relate to. A firm can assert the facts as it sees them and thus defuse an ‘on-the-face-of-it’ story.” When the business at hand communicate with the key media opinion leaders, “Spin” or “Corporate Communication” helps to communicate this message in a clear and direct way while instantaneously putting a positive slant on the story.  Grunig et al. (2002) sees spin as “a mechanism for negotiating” with customers to attain a situation which benefits both parties, consequently creating a “win-win zone”. It can also be used to support a company’s “position and increasing its influence/power/profitability” (Tench and Yeomans, 2009, p.544).
Stake-Holders	On continuation from the point above, it is not just the media that need fast and relevant responses during a crisis. Crisis management must also take all stakeholders/constituents into great consideration and the organisation’s main target audience/past and potential consumers particularly as they are essentially the individuals that purchase from the brand. For example, a successful press release or news article aiming to generate coverage for the brand and alter audience’s opinion of the brand or its product(s)/service(s) to a positive one should “get the news angle, to the point of the story, in the first couple of paragraphs” (Foster, 2012, p.113). It is essential that the initial two paragraphs of the release clearly outline what message the company is trying to put across; if it is not striking enough, the audience will not read on. In addition to this, according to Bivins (2005), if a carefully-crafted news release follows this concept, it can “maximise exposure for the company, grab attention of potential consumers, shape perception and achieve retention”. This tactic is particularly useful “to gain as much publicity as possible in order to put the product at the front of the consumer’s mind and differentiate from its competitors” (Franklin et. al, 2009, p.54).
Problem Evaluation	And finally, the overall recovery plan for crisis management and campaign activity should effectively reduce the initial problems. Tench & Yeomans (2009, p.403) explain this as “reduce the problem to as small a geographical area as possible to prevent it becoming an even bigger problem – from local to national or national to international. In these days of international media and the Internet, localising an issue is a major challenge. However, it should be SMART objectified (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed).

Digital Marketing Direction: "The Student Project" The Five Year Plan & Finance

By Erica Wenham, Tuesday 30 April 2013.

Digital Technologies For Marketing (Week 28)

The Five Year Plan

Year 1 (2014)

During the first year of launching The Student Project, the focus will be on ensuring the website is user friendly with all online functions working efficiently and effectively. In addition to this, continuous research will be implemented during 2014 to gain an insight into the consumer mind and how we can adapt and improve to create a more user-friendly experience online.

Marketing: Email Marketing and Social Media (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) will be the forefront focus in our online marketing campaign. Additional social media networks will be eventually introduced at a later stage. According to Hitwise (May, 2013), Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are currently dominating the social media empire gaining a total market share of 83.27% alone*.

* Facebook: Total Visits – 1,945,916,857. Visit Shares – 56.91%. Rank (April 2013) – 1^st

YouTube: Total Visits – 847,552,721. Visit Shares – 24.79%. Rank (April 2013) – 2^nd

Twitter: Total Visits – 53,703,058. Visit Shares – 1.57%. Rank (April 2013) – 3^rd

(Rank, April 2013 – Pinterest (4^th), Yahoo! Answers (5^th), LinkedIn (6^th), Google+ (7^th), Tumblr (8^th), Tagged (9^th), Reddit (10^th))

Objective: 10,000 successful job partnerships created through The Student Project*.

* - Lasting the duration of over one month or on full completion of one-off project.

Year 2 (2015)

The second year of business for The Student Project will focus on building partnerships with universities across the United Kingdom to help gain awareness of our website and the benefits it can offer in terms of experience for students in relation to their specific degree. This will be achieved by hosting workshops and seminars at designated universities providing a face-to-face interaction and “human voice” to our website.

An end-of-year assessment will be analysed on an annual basis, using the econometrics tool. This will give The Student Project an opportunity to gain an insight into the success rate of each quarter by identifying the amount of website visitors, current student profiles, current employer profiles, successful partnerships made and how well various marketing campaigns have performed.

Marketing: Emphasis will be focused on how we can engage with all consumer target markets.

Objective: 20,000 successful job partnerships created through The Student Project*.

* - Lasting the duration of over one month or on full completion of one-off project.

Year 3 (2016)

• Introduce affiliate programmes
• Focus on university reps around the UK to promote The Student ProjectRegular seminars and workshops on how The Student Project can benefit students, what can be achieved etc.

Objective: 40,000 successful job partnerships created through The Student Project*.

* - Lasting the duration of over one month or on full completion of one-off project.

Year 4 (2017)

• Focus on the development and design of the mobile app homepage and additional pages, due to be launched at a later stage
•  Focus on advertising within new digital marketing technologies and other methods of advertising

Objective: 70,000 successful job partnerships created through The Student Project*.

* - Lasting the duration of over one month or on full completion of one-off project.

Year 5 (2018)

• The launch of The Student Project mobile app

 Objective: 100,000 successful job partnerships created through The Student Project*.

* - Lasting the duration of over one month or on full completion of one-off project.

Finance

·         You ask yourself, how will the site make money when it does not charge a fee for either the student or the employer to advertise their profile?

·         Students are currently struggling to find work in this economy and are in need of money, especially considering the recent increase in university fees.

·         The student project simply takes only 10% of their earnings. Comparing this to recruitment agencies, this is a small fraction in comparison.

·         For example, say a student works only 5 hours a week at £5.00 per hour. This is a total of £25.00. Our fee would only work out to be £2.50. That is the price of one cheap pint down the local pub. There are no other hidden fees or charges. Doesn’t seem a lot does it?

·         However, just at my university alone there are over 8,000 students, NOT including the rest of the UK!

·         If 8,000 students do only 5 hours per week at only £5.00 per hour, that is set to make The Student Project an income of £20,000 in one week alone. Per year that works out to £1.04 million a year… for only one university! According to theindependent.co.uk (2012), the UK has over 4.5m small businesses.

·         Employers will then pay the student through our website to ensure our fee is paid. We will then deduct our fee and pay the student’s wages into their bank account. Simple. 

Lecture Logic: Kopparberg Fieldwork (3)

By Erica Wenham, Monday 15 April 2013.

Managing The Commercial Communications Process (Week 28)

Kopparberg Fieldwork

The Big Idea - About "The Kopparberg Komedy Klub"

As Kopparberg are primarily a brand known for doing things differently, Black Sheep Marketing wanted to expand further on this idea and create a Summer campaign for 2013 that was new, innovative, different, unique and stands it from the competition. From looking at both primary and secondary research conducted, it has been greatly noticed that the majority of audiences and cider campaigns itself, relate extensively to music and the festival industry. For example, Kopparberg formed partnership with online music player Spotify for a series of festival events for their 2012 Summer campaign. Unfortunately, the million-pound Spotify deal did not receive the successful results which the brand and agency had originally hoped for. As a result, Black Sheep have decided to steer away from the stereotypical musical “motif” that most cider brands (including Kopparberg) relate their campaigns to and instead focus on a different focal point; comedy.

Particularly taking notice of some of the answers given in our preliminary primary research (focus groups), not all individuals within Kopparberg’s target market attend music festivals during the Summer due to their age range and financial issues. As a result, Black Sheep have decided to create the “Koppaberg Komedy Klub”.

When researching into the idea, we decided to look for a key joke or funny limerick or saying that could be used in partnership with the campaign and comedy events around local Wetherspoons pub chains (as explained earlier). That is when we came across the joke of;

“How does a lad plan for his future? He buys two bottles instead of one.”

An outline of our campaign image we have created for the campaign is shown below as well as an in-depth explanation and analysis of the brainstormed idea;

Black Sheep decided to push ahead with the joke as it was funny, easily relatable to the “laddish” target market and could even result in more sales for the Kopparberg brand due to the joke’s nature. We also suggested the joke and comedy club could revolve around a 2 for 1 deal to get more audiences involved (particularly as they care about price and costings).

The Kopparberg Komedy Klub would involve both an offline (located in pub chains around the UK) and online (via social media such as YouTube and Twitter) competition in order to reach much wider audiences from around the country. Typical lad behaviour or “banter” as it is often referred to, can sometimes “egg” each other on in social situations. As a result, the campaigns tag lines are “Can you do better?” and “Share The Banter This Summer!” This allows much more audience members to get involved and enter a joke they think might be better than our initial 2 for 1 gag for a chance to win a variety of prizes. For example;

Facebook/Twitter Daily Competition

• #CanYouDoBetter
• The best jokes with the most retweets or favourites wins (e.g. top 3)
• Daily wins with prizes of “2 cases of Kopparberg instead of one”

YouTube Competition

• #CanYouDoBetter
• Best comedy “skit” (e.g. potential time limit to ensure fair competition?)
• Can apply via the official Komedy Klub online website or through posting YouTube Link via social site such as Facebook & Twitter

Wetherspoon Kopparberg Komedy Klub

• Every Friday night at your local participating Wetherspoons Pub
• Each act gets ten minutes to perform their comedy skit. Each person in the pub will vote via ballot, resulting in who was the best performance.  This brings them automatically to the national quarter final.
• If the other entries were not successful they can find their video via our social site and upload it as an online entrant. 

Prizes Include:

• ‘Lads’ Holiday to Sweden for you and 3 mates
• Tickets to Live at The Apollo, Comedy Roadshow, Stand-Up Comedian Tours etc.
• Kopparberg Merchandise and Cider

By implementing both online and offline methods for consumers to enter the Kopparberg Komedy Klub competition, this can allow the brand and agency to reach a much wider target market. For example, some entrants may not live close enough to a Wetherspoons venue to enter or may be nervous about performing in front of a large crowd of people and would prefer to record themselves via webcam or camera device on YouTube. Black Sheep really wanted to cater the competition to all types of people. Social media winners are to be announced daily for smaller prizes whereas the Wetherspoons competition is much larger and will contain various rounds (as voted by ballot from the audiences) until the grand final where one lucky person will win the prize of a holiday to Sweden (keeping in line with the brand’s heritage and roots as well the type of target audience/nature of the campaign). Details of the Social Media & YouTube rules and competition details/advantages are outlined next.

The Big Idea - Social Media

In addition to this, social media channels has revolutionized the practice of PR and marketing and the “capabilities and expectations of how people gather and communicate online” (Weinreich, 2011). Brown (2010, p. 6/15) explains that if well invested time and effort is put into social media; it can become a “business enabler”. Controlling an effective social media campaign helps to effectively engage and connect with customers. Many organisations now recognise this opportunity when targeting specific audiences. This is because the use of managing social media platforms as part of a campaign can help drive traffic for the brand and product. (Tench & Yeomans, 2009, p.313).

The use of other social media platforms as part of a new business campaign can act as an audience facilitator. Members of Kopparberg’s target audience can be exposed to approximately 3,000+ marketing, advertising, and PR methods daily. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure the brand’s message gets noticed. “Competing messages can come from the constant buzz from social media” (Weinreich, 2011, p.37). Social media helps to find and engage with customers on a more personal level, identify influencers, gain advocates, amplify key messages and develop and improve the quality of customer relations to increase satisfaction and brand loyalty (Brown, 2010). The cider brand’s reputation can also be enhanced through websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as they can ensure relationships with their consumers are managed well in a quick, effective way.

Brown (2010, p.12) depicts the use of social media and blogs (or web 2.0) as “fan-out messaging” (also known as word-of-mouth). For example, if a message is received well by two people, they are more likely to tell two people, who will tell two people and so on. The message has “fanned out” and has gained more new potential customers or “potential influencers” for the brand. Influencers get the message out on behalf of the company. For example, retweeting details of the exciting Kopparberg competition details and winners on Twitter, linking the company blog from their own blog, sharing useful links on Facebook etc. “This network helps to rebroadcast and amplify the original message”.

It is also worthy to measure how successful different aspects the Kopparberg Komedy Klub campaign is performing. For example, in the case of social media channels, Arena Media, Black Sheep and Kopparberg themselves can identify whether or not this area of the campaign has been a success by the number of viewers/followers, Google Analytics, SEO etc. After evaluating this, valuable lessons can be learned for help in the future. The results of the campaign activity can help “to see how the company is doing so that the public relations strategy overall can be revisited and, if necessary, revised” (Harrison, 2000, p. 56).

Black Sheep hope to implement successful social media strategies by making use of numerous “hash tags” and interacting with other brands such as Wetherspoons, The Lad Bible (potentially, this has been analysed earlier within the report) as well as other users, potential/current customers and more. Eye-catching images and interesting external links are also to be included within all aspects of social media to allow the market to get more involved with the brand and its campaign on a more personal level as well as improving click-throughs (SEO, Analytics etc.) The use of hash tags; retweets and connections on Twitter can also allow website users to find the platform much easier. Again, this also improves relationships with a much more personable friendly approach.

Black Sheep have created numerous high-profile social media platforms where individuals can post their competition entries as well as an official website. This in turn can allow the brand to keep better track of all entries and eventually decide on a final winner, runner-ups etc. A screenshot of this is shown below as well as an example of a potential comedy entrant for the club’s competition;

YouTube

According to Chaffey & Smith (2008), “viral marketing is a clever idea, a shocking idea or a highly informative idea which makes compulsive viewing. It’s so amazing that it makes people want to pass it on”. It can be extremely effective in reaching a large number of people, in various countries, at rapid speed. Viral marketing also occurs in social networks (as explained earlier; retail brands incorporate video/sound content into social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter). A viral marketing execution must need to create a “buzz” in order to be successful. YouTube also gives visitors the chance to “share” video content via email, Twitter, Facebook, “recommend to a friend” etc. thus improving word-of-mouth. Overall, the strategy relies heavily on a “high pass-along rate from viewer to viewer”.

Overall, by implementing a competition via YouTube, Kopparberg can increase their online coverage. YouTube is the most popular video-sharing website ever with millions of users visting every single month. It is also completely free to upload content, share footage, register, comment, vote and more. Competition entries can be tracked much easier by entering the simple key phrase of “Kopparberg Komedy Klub Entry” for instance. Viewers can then vote using the thumbs up or thumbs down buttons. 2013 has also seen the launch of “YouTube Comedy Week” where users from all over the world can get involved by uploading their funniest video footage, best jokes or random comedy skit. This can help improve the publicity and involvement within the competition for Kopparberg. If the campaign is successful, YouTube Comedy Week can also potentially prove to be an effective affiliate marketing strategy for the brand and agency to employ in the future/2014 for example.

Overall, YouTube is a great advantage for the Kopparberg brand. It is the world’s largest video sharing website and the second largest search engine in the world behind Google (who actually own it!). Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube every month and a whopping 72 hours of video content are uploaded every single minute. 

The Big Idea - Finance

The table below outlines Black Sheep Marketing’s recommended budget analysis and breakdown (assuming £2.5 million total) for Kopparberg and Arena Media’s potential Summer 2013 campaign. Implementing new advertising, marketing and PR material for such a large brand’s seasonal campaign can be very costly and if managed poorly, finance can be a major downfall for the agency and the client itself. While it is difficult to project the total final cost of campaign activities for the brand, it is essential to always keep track of expenditures to avoid insufficient funds or bankruptcy in the long-run. Spending will be an ongoing concern for Black Sheep, Arena Media and the Kopparberg brand itself and therefore, all financial figures are estimates and may need to be consulted further for overall approval.

The Big Idea - Conclusions & Future Recommendations

Marketing campaigns are a great way to drum up business and if executed successfully and coordinated well, can result in great long-term results for the organisation. Black Sheep believes we have the best campaign brainstorm for Kopparberg’s Summer 2013 campaign; the idea is innovative, creative and strategic, it will stand out highly above competition and can ensure maximum success for the brand in the market today. In conclusion, we believe The Kopparberg Komedy Klub meets key criteria;

• Key goals and objectives have been established

“Nothing in business ever works without a plan. Marketing campaigns need to be purpose-made to achieve some tangible goal for the organisation.” Black Sheep believe our campaign plan for Kopparberg during Summer 2013 will help to achieve the aims of standing out above competitors, creating a strong brand image in the UK public eye, attract high volumes of consumers with the 2 for 1 deal and comedy club events/competition and ultimately, make substantial profit margin and ROI.

• The key target audience(s) are well known

“It may sound obvious, but companies frequently overlook establishing exactly who their clientele is supposed to be. The most common approach is to treat the audience as literally anyone. The truth is, very few companies can realistically address absolutely everyone as their customer.” It is extremely key to know the business as well as the niche in order to know who would convert into a sale via the campaign.

• The Unique Selling Proposition/Point (USP) is clearly stated

“USP is a key term when it comes to generating sales. What makes your company unique – and thus worth doing business with? What value, feature, and/or benefit do you have to offer your audience? These are the kinds of questions you should bear in mind as you begin your marketing campaigns. What impetus does your customer have to take the plunge and make a purchase? The answer: only the one you give them, so give them one that sells.” As analysed from the secondary and primary research, the overwhelming majority of cider brands relate their marketing, advertising and PR material from campaigns to music or annual music festivals. Black Sheep wanted to something completely different (in line with Kopparberg’s “un” brand name and differentiated business in comparison to others) and focus on comedy instead. In turn, this is the campaign’s key USP as it is likely to strongly stand out from competition.

• A wise, wide variety of outlets are to be used

A website alone won’t make a successful campaign. Other outlets and platforms (both online and offline) are to be used to effectively engage the audience. More is better than one but all focus on different results.

For example, as explained earlier within the report, Black Sheep want to make extensive use of social media (particularly Twitter and YouTube) as well as an affiliate partnership programme/competition with Wetherspoons. An official online website is also to be produced for the main port of call for the campaign and competition entries. “Chances are, regardless of niche, your business will only benefit from engaging on at least a couple of those fronts”.

• No leads lost

“Everyone who enters your sales funnel – that is, your website, social media pages, and mailing list – can prove to be valuable, even the ones who leave early. Data collected from every interaction lets your company know what worked, and what didn’t. Beyond that underlying value, the ability to identify unique clients and remain in contact (through follow up, or “retargeting”) is crucial to making the most out of every lead. Keeping an up-to-date prospect list is a great way to maximize your marketing campaigns.” (smedio, 2013)

• Follow-Up

Non-converting leads will initially leave the sales funnel, but that may not be the end of the interaction. Sometimes, all that is needed is a little follow up. Following up with an automated, yet personalized, email or strategic ad can do wonders for customer growth and retention. In order to continue and build momentum and make sure everything is running smoothly for the campaign, it is important to follow up with the target audience. Robyn Sachs (president of an advertising, marketing and public relations firm based in Maryland) explains that too many companies focus all their efforts on the first announcement and initial marketing content. “The key to a successful campaign is consistently communicating your product through a wide variety of public relations, marketing and advertising mediums (press releases, social media etc.) over a long period of time. (Vanden Bos, inc.com, 2010).

By focusing on promotional work and keeping track of what’s happening; Kopparberg can gain the opportunity to create long lasting relationships with clients and customers. At this point, it is important for the brand to follow up with any interested parties or have shown any interest in what they are doing (journalists, editors etc.) By keeping track of this information, Kopparberg and it’s agency can set up great opportunities for the future. The same people that helped the initial launch can help with future projects, launches or other business down the road (produclaunchx, 2011). By opening up these communication channels with stakeholders, long-term success can be accomplished.

• The Call to Action (CTA) and Final Thoughts

“The absolute most important concept in sales is the offer – the call to action. You can’t have a sale unless you first have a CTA. The best advice is to make sure your offers aren’t overly advertorial. The most successful marketing campaign has the seemingly uncanny ability to bring the consumer to action because they want to take the action. It comes down to equal parts skill and logic, but you can’t succeed without a CTA.

“Marketing campaigns are essential to everyone these days. Like all things in business, the more thought you put into your media and content, the better your results will be.  The above seven practical rules are things you can’t afford to miss in your marketing efforts. They must all be present. Perhaps now is a good time to look at your marketing plans and realistically ask: can I do better in one of these areas? If you can answer “yes” to any of these, then you can only benefit by addressing those issues, right away.”

(Source: http://smedio.com/2013/02/20/7-elements-of-a-successful-marketing-campaign/)