Research Korner: Competitive Positioning

Integrated Marketing Communication Essay

Integrated Marketing Communication   Introduction In business marketing, communication or commonly known today as integrated communication is any modern business which has become a competitive activity where thinkers and speakers attempt to put more effort to make business successful and to gain advantage over other forces that contend the customer’s needs and attention. The concept of communication is more concerned in the studies of business and in the implementation of business strategies, industry analysis and marketing tactics (Sheehan & Doherty, 2001). On the other hand, business communication can provide a familiar and dominating way of understanding business core activities but are not used in the main stream of business studies that are essential to it successful practice because modern business communication is a significant tool that offers a competitive as well as a conceptually useful way of thinking about its activities. Business communication can be described as an effort made by two or more groups of people who are acting independently to secure the business of third party by offering the most favorable terms to achieve the organizational objectives (Moore & Thorson, 1996). By implementing integrated communication more effectively, any firm may gain advantage by offering its product or service that is cost effective as compared to other products or service in the market. So the writers or speakers in any business organization may gain competitive advantage over its competitors by using effective business communication techniques as if they are differentiated from their competitors by offering their target market something unique and different that is of more value. So the business communication is more related to the concept of rhetoric which is treated as a discipline that concentrates on effective communication in oral, written and print media that places the audience at the center of communication activity.   With the advent of information technology, different types of communication evolve and this includes the Business to business marketing communication.  Primarily, the main goal of this paper is to analyse the role of personal selling to business to business marketing communication. In order to determine how personal selling works for Business to business marketing communication, the discussion will include the context of business to business marketing communication.   Business to business marketing communication It has been noted that every industry must be able to consider a strategic marketing approach in order to ensure that they are positioned in the market environment (Moschis, 1994). One of the major elements of marketing is the promotion strategy through the use of effective and integrated marketing communications. This is essential since it enables the industry to effectively communicate with their target market mentioned above. Business to business marketing communication through Integrated Marketing Communication is the strategic coordination of all messages and media used by an organization to collectively influence its perceived product value (Keegan, Moriarity & Duncan, 1992).  Furthermore, IMC is also referred to as a cross-function process for establishing and sustaining relationships with stakeholders by controlling or managing strategically all the messages sent to them and by purposely encouraging two-way dialogues with them. In addition, IMC is a concept which aims to manage customer relationships that drive product value and generate desired outcomes (Clow & Baack 2004).   Role of Personal Selling The promotional strategy   is the term generally preferred to promotional activities and functions to market a certain product or services. Promotional strategy is a vital contributor to satisfy the needs of the target market. As such, it is important that tourism management have an understanding of the aspects which are involved in the development of strategies which will enable industries to communicate with their target market (Shimp, 2003), their channel participants as well as their other stakeholders, like those relationships may be developed over the long term. Every company is inevitably cast into the role of the promotional managers. For most industries, the question is not whether to communicate but rather what to say, to whom, and how often the communication or promotional strategy should be conducted. It has been noted that promotional activities is like a coin which has two sides. The first side of the promotional activities is concerned with efficiently and effectively giving information and details about the company and the products or services to a chose market segments. The second face of promotional activities and operations is the inquiry. This side of the promotional activity task gives emphasis with learning from other people regarding the values and interests, and eventually relating this to the interests of the personnel working in the organisation. Such process should logically precede the promotion of a specific standpoint in terms of product desirability and relevant consumer satisfaction (Fill, 2002). To promote an industry the management should be able to use integrated marketing communication and collaborate it with the concept of Business to business marketing communication. In promotional strategy, there are various concepts to consider and one of these is personal selling level. Accordingly, personal selling level gives emphasis on overcoming alternate options challenging different customers every day. The purpose of the personal seller is to close orders and establish customer satisfaction and loyalty. Sales are an important part of any commercial transaction. The most common approach to personal selling pertains to a systematic process of continuous yet measurable methods in which the person selling describes his offered products or services in such a way that the buyer will be able to visualize how to benefit from the offered products or services in an economic way. Selling is basically a part of the implementation procedures of marketing.  It often forms a particular grouping within a corporate structure, employing independent specialist operatives known as salesmen (Berger, Demsetz & Strahan 1999). The continued interrogation in order to understand a consumer’s goal as well as the establishment of a set of feasible solutions by conveying the necessary information that convinces a buyer to achieve his goal at a reasonable cost is the main responsibility of the sales person. On the other hand, the main objective of professional sales is to be able to know the needs and satisfy the wants of consumers effectively, and therefore convert possible customers into actual and reliable ones. Some of the distinct advantages of personal selling include the immediate access to feedback, the persuasive nature of the endeavor, the option of choosing a target audience for the sales person, and its capability to give detailed information. For some scholars, personal selling is a one to one communication with potential customers of a specific product or services with the intention of making a sale.  In Business to business marketing communication, the concept of personal selling is considered essential. Through the aspect of personal selling, it enables the marketers that the entire campaign element has been integrated in order to achieve the desirable marketing communication objectives. Consumer does not separate or divide advertising, sales promotion, sponsorship and internet as marketing communications techniques. They tend to receive the messages from various sources and buildup either favourable or unfavorable images a certain products or services.  As far as they are concerned, the source of the message is unimportant. What they will be concerned with is the content of the message and to what degree the product promise is actually delivered (Fill & Yeshin, 2001). Basically, all campaign activities lead down to marketing communication. And the key to effective communication is to understand how consumers process the vast amount of information that comes their way each and every day (Fill, 2002). To cope, the marketer must select only the information that manager perceive to be important and ignore the rest. If the marketing message is to be selected and processed, it must consist of sensory and life experiences that can easily be identified and transformed into a unified concept, have mental relationships to other categorized ideas, and fit into the categories and mental linkages that people have already created for themselves. Communication only occurs when the consumer accepts, transforms, and categorizes the message. The role of personal selling in promotion and business to business marketing communicating includes the following aspects stated by Kotler (2004).  This includes the role of prospecting which means recruiting or selecting new customers. The second role of personal selling is to communicate with loyal and potential clients about the range of the products or services offered by the company. The next is about selling role which can be done through direct contact with the clients, answering questions and trying to close the sale and servicing which provides support and service to the clients in the period of selling up to delivery and also post-sale.  Another important role is information gathering, in which the seller attempts to gather pertinent information about the market to feedback into the marketing planning approach. The next one is allocating which is very essential in times of product shortage. Herein, the sales force can make the decision to decide how available stocks should be allocated. Personal selling can help Business to business marketing communication to achieve integrated communication approach. Through this, the management will be sure of having strategic coordination of multiple communication voices within the industry. The objective of the integration is to optimize the effect of persuasive communication on both the non-consumer and consumer including trade and professional audiences by coordinating the elements of the marketing mix which include the context of personal selling direct marketing (Moore & Thorson 1996). In addition, personal selling is also important because it enables Business to business marketing communication to be and effective approach for coordinating all messages and media utilised by a company to collectively affect the company’s competitive position (Keegan, Moriarity & Duncan, 1992).  In addition, personal selling can also have cross-function approach for generating and sustaining good relationships with clients by controlling or managing strategically all the information sent to them and by purposely encouraging two-way dialogues with target market. Business to business marketing communication through personal selling can be considered to have an effect the performance of the company and to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the Business to business marketing communication. Accordingly, its concept that aims on managing customer relationship has the ability to drive product value for the company and generate desire results (Clow & Baack 2004). Through the integration of Business to business marketing communication and personal selling, products are strategically promoted through the use of various promotional elements as well as marketing process to communicate the message of the company and the product to the specified target market (Moore and Thorson, 1996). It has been noted that personal selling is aiming on using direct communication so as to bring behavioural changes among consumers who will purchase a specific product (Shimp, 2000). Personal selling along with Business to business marketing communication also relates the message to the client which brings behavioral changes that helps the product and the entire company to establish a strong and tight relation with the target market. Furthermore, the context of integrated marketing communication stresses on the significance of coordination and synergy so as to develop and maintain a strong product image. By using various communication instruments through the integration concept of marketing communications, industries have the ability to use effective methods to strengthen their products with their target market and promote stronger product names to their targets (Kotler, 2004). Personal selling can also be considered to have an important role in Business to business marketing communication by giving the communication approach the chance to sustain their competitive advantage among clients by identifying the most useful and appropriate methods in communicating and establishing good customer relations.  The main objective of the communicating product image is to instill a stable and consistent impression among their clients (Fill, 2002).             In addition, personal selling also plays a critical role for Business to business marketing communication in a way that it gives the opportunity for the product to sustain its marketability. The application of integrated marketing tools can enable the sellers or marketers to communicate with the other target segment. For instance because of the increasing popularity of the world wide web, each company that invests in having their own website will have the chance to reach consumers locally and internationally. This means that the reach of the product are also extended and expanded in the global market, through the use of integration of personal selling approach and Business to business marketing communication. With this, products of different company will be able to emerge quickly in the marketplace since the tools and approaches of integrated Business to business marketing communication will act as shop window for many businesses today. In addition, through personally selling integrated with it, this will also permit the clients to easily know important information about a specific product and to know the different features a specific product. In addition, the personal selling and Business to business marketing communication is also important in impacting the product since this will served as a marketing communicating approach for effectively promoting the products, which will aim to result in a more sales from other distribution channels.   The rationale for choosing this marketing channel is that Integrated marketing communication can help products to meet target consumers worldwide and this could be a great opportunity to be developed and in order for product to be quickly recognized by the target market. In this regard, the overall campaign element of the product must be integrated so as to attain the desirable marketing communication objectives. It is said that the target market do not separate or divide sponsorship, advertising, sales promotion, and internet as marketing communications approaches. The clients tend to receive the messages about specific product from various sources and set up either favourable or unfavorable image of the product. As far as the company is concerned, the source of the product information is not that important. What is more essential with is the content of the information conveyed and to what degree the product promise has been actually delivered to the target market (Fill & Yeshin, 2001). It can be said that all campaign activities lead down to marketing communication and the vital efficient communication is to comprehend how the clients process the vast amount of information that comes their way each and every day and how it helps the product to reach their target audience (Fill, 2002). In order to sustain the competitive advantage of the specific product, the market must be able to select only the important message that the management perceive to be important in enhancing the product value and ignore the rest. If the marketing information is to be selected and process, the management must ensure that it include sensory and life experiences which can easily be determined and change into a unified context, have mental relationships to other categorized product ideas, and fit into the categories and mental linkages that consumers have already created for themselves. Business to business marketing communication must address and communicate various, targeted messages to each and every marketers.   Conclusion The context of marketing communication is said to be useful in terms of comprehending and analyzing the competitive position of an organisation. The approach used by the company in communicating with their target market remains an important part of integrated marketing communication which is used with the combination of Business to business marketing communication and personal selling as it is mostly recognised by their clients.  It can be said that the heavy consideration on integrating these two important elements in marketing communication can create the impression that the product or services can be promoted through the use of integrated marketing communication.  Much has been said about the importance of having a strong and effective marketing communication. Based on this analysis, it can be said that a strong and effective marketing approach is something that can influence the choice of the target market and meets the personality provided.  It can be said that each organisation must have an image which addresses the dimensions and characteristics of strong company. In order to achieve this, the company must be able to manage the product efficiently.             It can be concluded that integrated marketing communication affect the company’s competitive position by enabling the target market to know more about the products. And eventually contribute to increasing sales; notably, integrated marketing communication can help in new institutional development and launches of the product.        In addition, the study shows that a strong and effective product has the ability to produce audiences in a multi-channel environment that enables the company to be known in the global market. Second, strong and effective products can be an outcome of an effective integrated marketing communication approach.  Analysis shows that due to the existence of modern technologies, companies are able to integrate different promotional strategies to enhance the competitive position of their business. Different industries have decided to set aside traditional approaches and have come to accept the innovative perspectives in promoting their products and services to their target market. Herein, marketing concepts has exceeded from the connotation of being an expense to being a part of the industry’s essential investment; from being product-focused to becoming customer oriented.  The context of both marketing and advertising can be considered as investment because of the potential profit that may emerge upon implementation of such strategies.  Furthermore, instead of emphasizing product attributes, many firms have realized that it is the customer is more important to be given attention for every marketing strategy since the customer are the recipient and the ultimate assessor of the products and services the company provides.  In order to do so, many marketers are able to consider the use of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC).  By and large, it can be said that the new communication model of integrating personal selling can help different industries to significantly improve Business to business marketing communication and help Business to business companies meet their short-term and long-term business objectives and establish stronger relationships with all of their customers. It can be noted that personal selling and Business to business marketing communication integration can enable the company know the needs of the company and meet and satisfy these needs. Reference Berger, A.N., R.S. Demsetz and P.E. Strahan (1999), ‘The consolidation of the financial services industry: causes, consequences, and implications for the future’, Journal of Banking and Finance, 23, 135-194.   Clow & Baack (2007) integrated advertising, promotion and marketing communications 3rd edition. Pearson Prentice Hall.   Fill, C and Yeshin T 2001, The Official CIM Course book: Integrated Marketing Communications, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.   Fill C (2002) Integrated marketing communication. Oxford butterworth heineman   Keegan, W., Moriarty, S. & Duncan, T. 1992. Marketing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall   Kotler et al (2004). Principle of marketing, the European edition.   Kotler, P 2001 Marketing Management. Northwestern University: Prentice Hall International, Inc.   Moore, J & Thorson, E 1996, Integrated Communication: Synergy of Persuasive, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.   Shimp, TA 2000, Advertising Promotion: Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications, 5th edn, The Dryden Press, Harcourt College Publishers, Fort Worth, TX.   Shimp, TA 2003 Advertising, Promotion, & Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communication. Sixth Edition. Southwestern: Thompson

Integrated Marketing Communication Essay

Integrated Marketing Communication Introduction In business marketing, communication or commonly known today as integrated commun...

Strategic Business Analysis: IBM

Strategic Business Analysis: IBM   Table of Contents  TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Internal and External Factors Affecting IBM.. PAGEREF _Toc29163772 \h 2 SWOT Analysis. PAGEREF _Toc29163773 \h 3 Strengths. PAGEREF _Toc29163774 \h 4 Weaknesses. PAGEREF _Toc29163775 \h 5 Opportunities. PAGEREF _Toc29163776 \h 6 Threats. PAGEREF _Toc29163777 \h 7 Strategic Choices of IBM.. PAGEREF _Toc29163778 \h 8 Openness. PAGEREF _Toc29163779 \h 8 Reduction of the Cost of Service. PAGEREF _Toc29163780 \h 10 Justification of Strategic Resources. PAGEREF _Toc29163781 \h 11 Openness. PAGEREF _Toc29163782 \h 11 Reduction of the Cost of Service. PAGEREF _Toc29163783 \h 12 References. PAGEREF _Toc29163784 \h 13 Appendices. PAGEREF _Toc29163785 \h 14 Appendix A: IBM: Background Information.. PAGEREF _Toc29163786 \h 14 Table of Figures  TOC \h \z \c "Figure" Figure 1 SWOT Analysis of IBM.. PAGEREF _Toc217382641 \h 4 Figure 2 Openness Strategy. PAGEREF _Toc217382642 \h 9 Figure 3 Reduction of the Cost of Service. PAGEREF _Toc217382643 \h 10     Introduction             As of now, there are different internal and external factors that are affecting the performance of each and every individual in an organization and the overall performance itself. In addition, it can be seen that those companies that are operating in the global market are the one that are directly affected due to the different changes. The said change is driven by transformation of local and international market such as the financial and economic situation of the world, trends in the local and international market as well as the changing tastes, preferences and behaviors of the customers. All of the said factors are considered as connected with each other, thus creating changes that are important in order to sustain the position of a company in the global market.             As a result, more and more companies are focusing on the process of evaluation of their current position in the local and global market which focuses on analyzing their internal strengths and weaknesses as well as the different external environment factors that can cause threats and opportunities for the company. All of the said factors can be used in the process of decision-making in different activities and plans that are needed to be done in order to ensure competitive advantage and position in the market.   Internal and External Factors Affecting IBM             International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), also known as the Big Blue is a multinational computer technology and consulting corporation that is located in Armonk, New York, USA. IBM is considered as one of the few Information Technology (IT) companies with a continuous history that dates back to the19th century. The company sells computer hardware and software and offers different infrastructure services, hosting services as well as consulting services in different IT areas from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. Aside from that, IBM is considered as the world’s largest computer history and considered as the largest IT employer in the world with 355,000 employees (Loyola Institute of Technology & Management n.d.) (see Appendix A).   SWOT Analysis             SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that is use n order to evaluate the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are involved in a project, business venture or in any other situation that requires a decision. Thus, the process of sizing up the internal strengths and weaknesses as well as the external opportunities and threats helps to provide a quick overview of the strategic situation of an organization (Spalding & Case 2007, p. 110).      Figure  SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1 SWOT Analysis of IBM                                                           Figure 1 shows the SWOT analysis of IBM, showing the current strengths, weaknesses, together with the opportunities that can be exploited and the threats that must be prevented. Strengths             The most important advantage of IBM is its image or brand. This is due to the fact that IBM was the first important player in the industry or in the field. The said aspect gives the company their competitive advantage due to the fact that they have already established a name as well as relationship with their customers. In 2003, IBM topped the study regarding the brand perception of IT services. Buyers of different IT services perceive IBM as the top brand in all vital aspects of the market. The result of the study had showed that most of the 197 respondents and consumers of IT services that were surveyed by Gartner put Big Blue as the top company in the business and IT consulting, systems development and integration, as well as IT outsourcing (Sharma 2003).             Another advantage is the strong global presence of the company. The IBM Business Continuity and Resiliency Services has a worldwide presence across four important geographies and provide consulting services as well as recovery support for the large systems, midrange and even distributed environment customers. In addition IBM brings their customers the convenience of doing business in their customer’s own language and culture because it can help to reduce efforts, time and cost of traveling, that enables an easy access to a business environment where in their customers will be comfortable (IBM).             In connection to the long history of the company, it enables them to get hold of different valuable intellectual property, software, patents as well as ideas due to the fact that they have established and gathered group of people with wide knowledge and skills regarding computers and application of IT. This enables the company to have a vast research and development aspect. Weaknesses             The most important weakness of the company is that it is starting to show a declining share in the market, due to the growing competition in the national as well as global business industry. In 2007, the market share of the company had decline, making HP its leading competitor to gain the previous number one place of IBM in the worldwide market share. HP narrowly beat IBM in terms of worldwide market share, showing a 29.6% points, compare to the 28.9% points to IBM. It is important to consider that HP’s gain over the year was IBM’s loss, which shows that the companies are switching places. However, both of the manufacturers had been able to report positive revenue growth per year (Harushka 2008).             It was mentioned in the strength of the company, that its human resource of work force is considered as the primary factors that drive the success of the company, however, it is always important to consider that too much of everything is bad. Thus, in the case of IBM, it has a huge employee population, and they are all highly paid. The said aspect can affect  the entire operation of the company in terms of the production cost. Aside from that, it can also affect the communication process and management activities inside the company because of the huge population. Opportunities             Currently, there are so many opportunities that can be exploited by the company in order to maintain their competitive advantage and eventually helps to continue the growth of the company in terms of size, sales and market share. One of the most important factors is the aspect of globalization. This can be done by market development, where in the company will focus on looking for new possible market. In addition, innovation is a very important aspect, thus it can be done by have a collaborative or partnership with other IT-related company in order to produce new products that will support the ever-changing needs of the clients. With connection to that said aspect, it will be important for the company to focus on the growing demand of the public and other organizations towards open source software. This is due to the fact that some of the competitors of the company and other players in the software and IT-services industries are offering products and services that are too high that cannot be afford by the clients, primarily those small businesses, but IT is considered as a must in most of the businesses.             Another opportunity of the company is the growing demand for IT and Information Systems. This is due to the fact that most of organizations, companies and businesses in the world are becoming more aware regarding the importance of application of technology, particularly IT in their processes.   Threats             The major threat that must be analyzed by the company is the current changes in the global economic and financial status. This is important because it will affect not only IBM, but also other businesses in the world. As a result, it will affect the individual performance of each and every client of IBM that will affect their buying behavior. The company will be hurt by the slowdown in the Systems and Technology business (Kanaracus 2008).             Another important aspect is the increasing competition. Due to the fact that computer is already considered as one of the basic needs of most of the individual, there are many IT companies that are entering the industry. And although the major competitor of IBM is Hewlett-Packard, it is also competing in some of small players or competitors such as Dell and Accenture.   Strategic Choices of IBM             Based on the said internal capabilities, the strategic choice of IBM must focus on two important aspects: the openness; and the reduction of cost of services. Openness   Figure  SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2 Openness Strategy                                                       It is important to consider the vitality of the current strength of the company and how it can be used in order to exploit the opportunities that can be found in the external environment. In the case of IBM, the primary strengths focus on the different technologies as well as knowledge that are available for the employees in order to start doing their innovation. In addition, the company also holds a strong team that focuses on research and development of the company.             On the other hand, the primary opportunity focuses on the fact that there is a growing demand for open-source products and services, in addition to that standards in the economic expansion. The said aspect is important due to the fact that customers from different part of the globe are looking for an integrated solution in order to solve their application development needs (Novell 2006).             The said action will be done by different partnership with different IT-related companies that are engaged in developing different open-source software and application. Open source is a human-readable source code that was made available under a copyright license that meets the Open Source Definition, where in it permits the users to use, change as well as improve the software, and then redistributes it. More often, than not, it is developed publicly and collaboratively. The reason behind the growth of demand for open source software is that it enables the customers to save up to $60 billion every year (Rothwell 2008; The Standish Group 2008).             The said strategy will help IBM to focus on the greater demand of the customers, thus, making the company more aware regarding the behavior of the customers. It is also important to consider that the said strategy will help to boost the image of the company towards their customers, due to the fact that the company is helping their clients to save money and effort. Reduction of the Cost of Service   Figure  SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 3 Reduction of the Cost of Service                                           Figure 3 shows the reduction of cost and services strategy of IBM. The main weakness of the company focuses on the huge population with very high salary or pay. There is nothing bad about offering high salary or payment for the service or effort of the employees due to the fact that it is considered as one of the major driver of motivation inside an organization. As a result, it can help to improve the performance of each and every individual, and then later on reflect on the overall performance of the company. However, due to the different changes that are happening inside and outside the environment of the company, particularly during the time of global economic and financial crisis, it is important to focus on the negative impact of huge population and high salaried employees of the company, even though, they are considered as very talented and skilled employees. The company must focus on the fact that the human resource cost can affect the entire pricing strategy towards the products and services that the company is offering, as a result, the company will not be able to compete in terms of price.              On the other hand, the company can also take advantage of the low labor cost in China. This can be done by establishing production sites and headquarters in China. The per-hour cost for an employee in an American or European plant is between $15 and $30 or evens more, and this is mainly dependent on the decision of the workers’ union in the plant, the location and degree of welfare the plant provides. On the other hand, in China, the average per-hour cost for a worker in a Chinese plant is below 1 dollar, showing a dozen times lower compare to the two first mentioned nations (People’s Daily Online 2004).   Justification of Strategic Resources Openness   The said strategy will help the company to lessen their labor cost that will later on reflect in their production cost. In addition, it can help the company to focus on the competitive advantage that will focus on price differentiation. This is due to the fact that more and more people, especially those from developing countries that are looking for computers and IT-services that are affordable. By doing this, the company will be able to hit two birds in one stone, where in first it will help to lessen their production cost that will help to focus on the pricing strategy of the company; at the same time, focuses on the changing demands and behavior of the customers regarding their products and services.   Reduction of the Cost of Service             The reduction of the cost of services, particularly the outsourcing can help the company to save money or cost in terms of human resource, especially today that the world is facing financial problems. In order to prevent the said future problem regarding the financial negative impact of having huge human resource, it will be important for the company to lessen the number of employees. On the other hand, outsourcing can be applied in order to save time, money and effort. Outsourcing is considered as a contracting activity with another company or person in order to do jobs function. As of now, most of the company is outsourcing in some and different ways. More often than not, the functions that are being outsourced are considered as a non-core activity to the business (Sourcingmag.com 2008). The said strategy will help the company to save money due to the fact that the outsourcing company will be directly responsible in the process of selection, hiring and positioning employees to a given project.     References   Harushka, J 2008, HP Passess IBM in Server Market Share as Segment Booms, Ars Technica, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://arstechnica.com/news .ars/post/20080523-hp-passes-ibm-in-server-market-share-as-segment-bo oms.html>   IBM, Worldwide Presence, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/bcrs/html/worldwide.html>   Kanaracus, C 2008, IBM Q3 Rises, But Signs of Downturn Loom, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://www.techworld.com.au/article/264158/ibm_q3 _revenue_rises_signs_downturn_loom>   Loyola Institute of Technology & Management, IBM, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://www.litam.ac.in/companies/ibm.html>   Novell, IBM and Novell Join Forces to Support Growing Demand for Open Source, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://www.novell.com/news/press/i bm-and-novell-join-forces-to-support-growing-demand-for-open-source/>   People’s Daily Online 2004, China’s Advantage in Low Labor Cost will Remain in Coming Decade, Report, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://engli sh.peopledaily.com.cn/200409/07/eng20040907_156220.html>   Rothwell, R 2008, Creating Wealth With Free Software, Free Software Magazine, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/com munity_posts/creating_wealth_free_software>   Sharma, D 2006, IBM Top of IT Services Brand Perception Study, Silicon.com, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://management.silicon.com/itdire ctor/0,39024673,10006300,00.htm?r=2>   Spalding, G & Case, G 2007, Continual Service Improvement: Continual Service Improvement, The Stationery Office   Sourcingmag.com 2008, Outsourcing – What is Outsourcing? Viewed 18 December 2008, <http://www.sourcingmag.com/content/what_is_outs ourcing.asp>   The Standish Group 2008, Free Open Source Software is Costing Vendor $60 Billion, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://www.standishgroup.com/news room/open_source.php>         Appendices   Appendix A: IBM: Background Information

Strategic Business Analysis: IBM

Strategic Business Analysis: IBM Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Internal and External Factors Affecting IBM ...

The Marketing Report Of Hong Kong and A Marketing Report Of Hong Kong

Part 1: Marketing Report   Introduction             With the advent of information technology and other kinds of technology, different industries and companies have pave the way for the creation and development of new electronic gadgets and other technological gadgets. With the awareness of the consumer with the latest designs and products, different industries are now joining different exhibits to showcase their latest inventions and discoveries.  Some countries have been able to use this kind of events to help their tourism department to attract more tourists.             In Hong Kong, tourism is known to be the number one sources of income of the entire nation.   This is because of different theme parks, events, festivals, and shopping malls in the country. Primarily, the main goal of this report is to provide a marketing approach for specific events in Hong Kong. In this report, the author will give emphasis on sporting event, specifically the Hong Kong Electronic Fair events in the country.             Type of Event             The event that will be given emphasis is the Hong Kong Electronics Fair. This event was organized by HK Trade Development Council and being held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This event aims on enabling different electronic industries to showcase their latest products and designs and to make more people be aware of the existence of these innovative products.              Since Hong Kong has long been associated with the electronics business as well as the city continuous to be a leading light in this kind of industry, the Hong Kong government have established this event. The event includes all kinds of assemblies, components, electronic production as well as display technologies.  Hong Kong Electronics Fair is conducted in different seasons like spring and Autumn Seasons. The aim is to help various industries all over the world to reach more target market by introducing their products and services at the fair.             In this event, the section of Product Demo & Launch Pad at the fair is being set to enable the exhibitors to market their latest products or services. The Hong Kong electronic fair is a very distinctive fair which attracts both industries and customers of electronic gadgets alike.   Age of the Event The Hong Kong Trade Development Council has been established in 1966 and since then, the organisation has been able to provide different events to gather industries and customers to see the latest inventions in terms of electronic products and other relevant products and designs. The event has been running for more than a decade and the event is being held for spring or autumn seasons. The 2008 Hong Kong electronic Fair will be the 28th electronic fair held and is expected to attract more industries and customers from various parts of the world.             Target Market             The target market of the organization focuses on local and international visitors who are enthusiasts of the latest electronic products or services. The event has been the largest electronics fair all over Asia and the third largest in the global market. The attendance for the event as said to be steadily increasing annually reaching the capacity of the host of the event. The target market includes industries who will introduce or launch new and innovative products and designs and also customers who are attracted by the products presented.   Market Statistics             The estimated event goer during the exhibits are said to increase every edition.  Every year the event has been able to attract for exhibitors and also more markets from different parts of the world. Accordingly, the market for electronic consumers in the country has been very vibrant. With the mobile subscriber penetration rate closing to 160% as well as the people amenable for adopting the latest technologies, Hong Kong has become a good testing venue for the latest IT innovations. Furthermore, the 7 million people who live in the country also have more than 28 million visitors (according to the last years statistics) and most of these tourists come to shop for the very latest and high quality electronic products and other technologies (Info, 2008).      Table 1 29th Edition Statistical Data : Year No. of Exhibitors Gross Area 2008 2,610 65,117 sq. m.   Pest Analysis             Hong Kong Electronics Fairs will also be analysed through the use of PEST analysis. o   Political             The first aspect to be considered is the political environment of Hong Kong Electronics Fair which concerns the role of the government and its influence in the event. In addition, this also includes the extent to which the political aspects intervene in the economy. The Hong Kong government has been very supportive with different festivals and event since the government knows the significance of these events to their tourism industry. Hong Kong government believes that these industries will be beneficial for the nations; the Hong Kong government is also open for other possibilities of considering the products of different industries which participated in the events.   Economical             The next aspect to be considered is the economic facto. Accordingly, the amount of economic activity in this kind of environment is extremely an important element for any events like Hong Kong.  Whilst assessing the economic environment in which the Electronics Fair operates. The Hong Kong government tries to terminate the level of economic activity to provide positive and friendly environment for this kind of festivals and events. It can be said that Hong Kong economic situation is strong and stable. With this, the country is able to sustain good relation with different vendors and industries of electronic and technology gadgets in the global market. The economic stability of the region has helped the Hong Kong Electronics Fair to have a good economic performance. o   Socio-Cultural             It can be said that social environment is of great importance when being applied to different organisations, and in this case festivals or events like Electronic Fairs. Hong Kong has been considered as one of the Asian regions which is considered to have a strong market for electronic gadgets technological products, it can be said that the Hong Kong electronics Fair have a greater opportunity to grow even more in the global market. The demographic changes and the psychographics of the global market have open more chances for the electronics and technology industry to achieve its goal and mission. o   Technological             Lastly, technological factor has helped in reducing the barriers of entry for other electronic and technologically associated industries. It has also supplemented in the cost of capital in other regions, to enhance the products shown in Hong Kong electronics fair. Through the use of more advanced and efficient technology, Hong Kong electronics fair have been able to provide innovative products and gadgets to meet the needs of their target market.   Marketing Strategy Positioning As of now, visitors or travellers are not only visiting a certain place or events, simply just for fun. Most of them are looking for excitement, and more importantly learning process and most of them are looking for new products and services that would satisfy their needs.  This is one of the reasons why, more and more countries are trying to be the number one choice of the tourists by providing them with exciting and unique travel experiences. The primary market for the said strategy will be local and international industries who want to show and promote their latest technology and electronic products and tourist who become potential customers for the event. The target market includes those individuals who want to have the latest in the electronic industry parents to see live horse racing events.             The said strategy will focus on attracting more industries to join the Hong Kong electronic Fair events and to attract more tourists to witness the exhibitions during the event.  The said offers and services will get the attention of the target market from the said field. On the other hand, it will also have an influence to those technologically attached individuals. Because it will give them a sense of knowledge regarding on what is latest in the electronic market. Tourists are also welcomed as a target markets especially those who came to see the most innovative products and services.  The said marketing plan will be benefited from the trade sector of the country; furthermore, it will also be benefited from the growing tourism industry of Hong Kong.     Communications Strategy             Communication strategy focuses on the entire relationship aspects of the Hong Kong Electronic fair events towards the target market. This can be done by different communication strategies that will mainly focus on communicating and relating with the electronic and technology fair events. It will be done by series of different communication method such as press, advertisement, website, seminars, and other events that are related to the said aspects. In terms of this approach, the use of Integrated Marketing communication strategy will be considered.             Primarily, the aim of communication strategy gives emphasis on the entire relationship to be build by the product to the target audience (Moschis, 1994) .  The approach that will be considered in this market planning is the integrated marketing communication. IMC is known to be an effective approach for coordination the entire message and media used by an organization to collectively impact its perceived product value (Clowe & Baack 2004). Furthermore, this can be used for generating and sustaining close relationship with the target market by controlling efficiently all the information and message sent to them and by objectively encouraging two-way dialogues with their audience. In this regard, the aim of the IMC is to promote the world smartest beach bag through the use of different promotional aspects and the marketing approach to communicate the message of promoting the products to the target audience mentioned above (Moore and Thorson, 1996).             In this regard, advertisement will be conducted to position the Hong Kong electronics fair events product by different video and visits different venues for actual demonstration on the function and use of the electronic gadgets and other products and this will happen via direct relationship. Moreover, another approach is to use print advertisements through newspapers and magazines related to tourism and travel.  And lastly, the use of the internet will be considered as the best way to communicate and reach more consumers through their website. Sales Strategy             The sales strategy focuses on the direct relationship with the industries and customers who are enthusiastic with the new products and designs for the electronic products. This will be done  by  this will be done by process of offering different packages in order to come up with the demand, desire and budget of the HK Electronics Fair events. In addition to that, it will also be important to have a direct relationship with different trade areas in Hong Kong.   Marketing Budget             The advertisement of the entire project focuses on the TV, Newspaper ads, flyers as well as the Internet. Each TV advertisement causes HK$500 dollars per 30 second ad per station. The newspaper ads cost HK$500 per advertisement; furthermore, the flyers cost HK$100, where in HK$0.10 each (Jacksack 2008). Communication Estimated Quantity Estimated Cost Per Unit Estimated Subtotal Flyers 5,000 HK$0.10 HK$500 Television 10 HK$500 HK$50000 Website 1 HK$350 HK$350 Sponsorship 3 HK$300 HK$900 Total     HK$51750               This communication and marketing budget will focus on the relationship of the organization towards the primary market.   SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the Hong Kong, and describes the opportunities and threats facing Hong Kong Electronics Fair   Strengths <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Strong relationships with vendors that offer high-quality and innovative gadgets</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Excellent staff who are highly trained and very customer attentive. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Great venue for clear and efficient exhibit</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> High customer loyalty among repeat customers and industries who go to the event</li> </ul> Weaknesses <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> Hong Kong electronic fair lacks a clear website that provides the objective of the event </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> A large marketing budget to develop brand awareness in the area. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> The struggle to continually appear to be cutting edge.</li> </ul>   Opportunities <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Growing market in the global market with a significant percentage of the target market still not aware that the event exists </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Increasing sales opportunities in other multinational industries and brands</li> </ul>   Threats <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Competition from international trade and fair events. </li> </ul>     Conclusion             Analysis shows that Hong Kong Electronic fair events should be able to use effective and efficient marketing strategy to position them in both the local and global market. Herein, the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council marketing approach will serve as their competitive edge to establish competitive position in the market. Furthermore, it can also be concluded that although the company has some weaknesses, they are able to make it as a potential factor to stay in the competitive market. This marketing plan is a helpful tool for the company to achieve their vision and mission. In order to market the Hong Kong Electronic fair events in Hong Kong, the government should be able to give importance on the value of these events in the entire HK tourism.   Reference Clowe& Baack (2007) integrated advertising, promotion and marketing communications 3rd edition. Pearson Prentice Hall. Moschis, G 1994. Marketing Strategies for the Mature Market. Quorum Books, Westport, CT. Jacksack, S 2008, Setting a Marketing Budget, Score, viewed 18 October 2008, http://www.score.org/m_pr_11.html Kotler et al (2004). Principle of marketing, the European edition. Moore, J & Thorson, E 1996, Integrated Communication: Synergy of Persuasive, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.    Part 2: Marketing Report Portfolio of Festival   Summary             Marketing communication is one of the most important elements to generate target audience and to convey information to them. In this report, different events have been considered and analysed their marketing communication approach. The events include Hong Kong Electronics Fair, Hong Kong Rugby Seven, and Singapore Arts Festival. This paper has been able to provide details about marketing communication and how this can help an event to become successful. Analysis of the marketing communication of the three events has been considered and it shows that the three have been able to use different marketing communication approach and have different objectives in doing so. The Hong Kong Electronics fair objective was to attract tourists and electronic and gadget enthusiasts and to provide information and the latest electronic and technological products and services while the Hong Kong Rugby Seven, aims of attracting sports enthusiasts to visit Hong Kong and be part of the exciting tournament.             Singapore Arts festival campaign aims on promoting awareness on the cultural and arts elements of the nation not only in the local but also international level.  By and large, it can be concluded that marketing communication approach is important to convey important message to the people.   Introduction Marketing Communication has always been one of the key points to an enterprise’s success; how the products or services are being portrayed through the ads are very likely to help affect the sales rates. The aims of Marketing Communication are to convince consumers to use their products, to give them an alternative or convince them to change their current products, and to increase the company’s sales profits. Because of this, financial success is the goal of Marketing Communication, and it may be achieved through an equally successful persuasive ads.  According to Shimp (2003), there is ample evidence that the century-long domination in marketing communications by mass media advertising and advertising agencies is coming to an end. Marketing budgets are being shifted away from traditional advertising to behavior-oriented disciplines like consumer promotion, direct marketing, and direct-response advertising. Retailers are gaining strength over manufacturers New media technologies are increasing the fragmentation of media usage. On the other hand, prime-time television, long the main channel for mass campaigns, has had its audience diminish from 90 percent to 68 percent in the last 20 years (Griffin & Mcarthur, 1997). Every company is inevitably cast into the role of communicator and promoter. For most companies, the question is not whether to communicate but rather what to say, to whom, and how often. It has been noted that marketing communication is like a coin which has two sides. The first side of marketing communication is concerned with efficiently and effectively giving information and details about the company and the products or services to a chose market segments. However, in isolation, what to say and to whom this will be told can be nothing more than a risky second-guessing regarding the allegiances and interests of other individuals. The second face of marketing communication is the inquiry. This side of the marketing communication task gives emphasis with learning from other people regarding the values and interests, and eventually relating this to the interests of the personnel working in the organisation. Such process should logically precede the promotion of a specific standpoint in terms of product desirability and relevant consumer satisfaction (Fill, 2002 Eventually, several companies began to go beyond conventional practice and used other promotional specialists to improve and implement their market plans. Primary, the main goal of this report is to compare and analyse the strategic effectiveness of the marketing communications strategy used by different events or festivals in various countries.  For this report, the sport events that will be analysed are the recent Hong Kong Electronics Fair, Hong Kong Rugby Seven, and Singapore Arts Festival. In this report, the marketing communication of each of the events will be given emphasis.   Overview of Marketing Communication It is said that each and every organisation, may it be public, private or non-profit organisation should be able to consider strategic marketing approach so as to ensure competitive position in the marketplace (Moschis, 1994). One of the most important aspects of marketing is marketing communications (See Appendix 1). It is significant because it enables an industry to communicate effectively and efficiently with their target market.  Marketing communications is the term generally preferred to promotions. It is a vital contributor to the satisfaction of customer needs and wants. As such, it is essential that managers have an understanding of the factors that are involved in the development of strategies that enable organizations to communicate with their consumers (Shimp, 2003), their channel participants and with other stakeholders, such that those relationships may be developed over the long term. Every company is inevitably cast into the role of communicator and promoter. For most companies, the question is not whether to communicate but rather what to say, to whom, and how often. It has been noted that marketing communication is like a coin which has two sides. The first side of marketing communication is concerned with efficiently and effectively giving information and details about the company and the products or services to a chose market segments. However, in isolation, what to say and to whom this will be told can be nothing more than a risky second-guessing regarding the allegiances and interests of other individuals. The second face of marketing communication is the inquiry. This side of the marketing communication task gives emphasis with learning from other people regarding the values and interests, and eventually relating this to the interests of the personnel working in the organisation. Such process should logically precede the promotion of a specific standpoint in terms of product desirability and relevant consumer satisfaction (Fill, 2002) The overall result of this effort is intended to be the positioning of the provider as an efficient preferred source of solutions to problems experienced by people as buyers and consumers. This is the managerial aim in managing marketing communication. The challenge is to ensure that expressive communicative activity is clear, consistent, and coherent, while also enabling and facilitating impressive communicative activity that aids judgement and decision-making. Marketing communication is widening in scope to embrace the idea that healthy relationships between customers and suppliers are the basis for the prosperity of each. Expectations are growing for authentic communication as part of a stakeholder relationship based on trust and commitment of core benefits to users and consumers so must be differentiated through benefit augmentation to attract buyer and consumer attention when promoted (Clow & Baack, 2004).   Comparison Analysis Overview of the Electronic Events             Hong Kong Electronics Fair has been conducted to facilitate exhibits of the new electronic and technology products and designs from different industries and multinationals. It caters to the needs of the customers to know the latest and the most innovative products and services a company can offer. Throughout the years, the event was being held and each year new companies are joining the event showing and demonstrating their products and designs at the fair. Since there are more people who are purchasing and utilising electronics, the interest in these products is reflected in the growth of the Hong Kong Electronics Fair. Every year is considered a bigger event, having to expand their venue into the adjacent building so as to accommodate guests, exhibitors and spectators.             In order to attract more vendors and industries to show their new and latest products, the Hong Kong Electronics Fair events facilitators are using an efficient marketing communication.  By implementing integrated communication more effectively, any firm may gain advantage by offering its product or service that is cost effective as compared to other products or service in the market. So the writers or speakers in any business organization may gain competitive advantage over its competitors by using effective business communication techniques as if they are differentiated from their competitors by offering their target market something unique and different that is of more value. So the business communication is more related to the concept of rhetoric which is treated as a discipline that concentrates on effective communication in oral, written and print media that places the audience at the center of communication activity.   Herein, the event is using print advertisements, media and internet advertisement to announce when the event will be held. Through their official websites, people and industries can see the agenda of the event including the schedules.             It can be said that during the fair, most of the exhibitors of the events are using personal selling approach. Sales are an important part of any commercial transaction. The most common approach to personal selling pertains to a systematic process of continuous yet measurable methods in which the person selling describes his offered products or services in such a way that the buyer will be able to visualize how to benefit from the offered products or services in an economic way. Selling is basically a part of the implementation procedures of marketing.  It often forms a particular grouping within a corporate structure, employing independent specialist operatives known as salesmen (Berger, Demsetz & Strahan 1999). The continued interrogation in order to understand a consumer’s goal as well as the establishment of a set of feasible solutions by conveying the necessary information that convinces a buyer to achieve his goal at a reasonable cost is the main responsibility of the sales person. On the other hand, the main objective of professional sales is to be able to know the needs and satisfy the wants of consumers effectively, and therefore convert possible customers into actual and reliable ones. Some of the distinct advantages of personal selling include the immediate access to feedback, the persuasive nature of the endeavours, the option of choosing a target audience for the sales person, and its capability to give detailed information. For some scholars, personal selling is a one to one communication with potential customers of a specific product or services with the intention of making a sale.  In Business to business marketing communication, the concept of personal selling is considered essential. Through the aspect of personal selling, it enables the marketers that the entire campaign element has been integrated in order to achieve the desirable marketing communication objectives. Consumer does not separate or divide advertising, sales promotion, sponsorship and internet as marketing communications techniques. They tend to receive the messages from various sources and build-up either favourable or unfavourable images a certain products or services.  As far as they are concerned, the source of the message is unimportant. What they will be concerned with is the content of the message and to what degree the product promise is actually delivered (Fill & Yeshin, 2001).             In addition, the use of effective communication plays a critical role in the Hong Kong Electronics Fait n in a way that it gives the opportunity for the product to sustain its marketability. The application of integrated marketing tools can enable the sellers or marketers to communicate with the other target segment. For instance because of the increasing popularity of the world wide web, each company that invests in having their own website will have the chance to reach consumers locally and internationally. This means that the reach of the product are also extended and expanded in the global market, through the use of integration of effective marketing communication approach. With this, products of different company in the Hong Kong Electronics Fair will be able to emerge quickly in the marketplace since the tools and approaches of integrated Business to business marketing communication will act as shop window for many businesses today. In addition, through personally selling integrated with it, this will also permit the clients to easily know important information about a specific product and to know the different features a specific product.  In addition, the effective marketing communication is also important in impacting the product since this will served as a marketing communication approach for effectively promoting the new electronic and technology products and services, which will aim to result in a more sales from other distribution channels.                The rationale for choosing this marketing channel is that Integrated marketing communication can help products to meet target consumers worldwide and this could be a great opportunity to be developed and in order for product to be quickly recognized by the target market.     Overview of the Sports Event             Rugby sevens is a variety of rugby union in which football is played with only seven players per side feature instead of the full 15.  The Hong Kong Sevens have been established in 1976. It has been suggested that Rugby Sevens tournament will be logistically more possible and be a better spectacle than a 15-a side tournament. Accordingly, the Hong Kong Sevens Tournament has been noted to have a good history. This is now considered the iRB’s Jewel in the Crow in the series and has been able to grow in popularity with the spectators and players alike. The marketing communication approach of this sporting event aims on telling the importance and the logistical reason for choosing Rugby Sevens tournament.  The marketing communication approach features various promotional activities to reach target audiences from local and global market. They consider media through TV and radio advertisements, print advertisements through sports magazines and newspapers and interactive approach through mobile, online or the internet throught he official website of the Rugby Sevens which is http://www.hksevens.com.             The main goal is to target younger market through high-profile websites like and other social networking sites and the mobile activity. This marketing communication approach has used their official website to promote the tournament all over the world to spectators and players as well.             With the success of the of the Rugby Sevens tournament host in Hong Kong, it can be said that the marketing campaign and communication through the help of their website and other sponsors has been successful and effective. Through the marketing communication strategy of Hong Kong Rugby Sevens they are able to relay the messages to the public. Accordingly, it can be said that HK Rugby Sevens has been able to use integrated marketing communication approach to reach target audiences in both local and global market. The IMC approach has been effective for campaigning Hong Kong Rugby Sevens as it helps in identifying the most useful and appropriate methods in communicating and establishing good customer relations, including good relationships with stakeholders like the sponsors of the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens like major brands such as Adidas and other brands. By and large, it can be said that Hong Kong Rugby Sevens has been successful in generating income and turnover through their comprehensive marketing communication approach.   Overview of the Cultural Events             The cultural event that will be given attention in this report is Singapore Arts Festival. The Singapore Arts Festival is considered as focus programmes for the Singaporean culture so as to provide a broad range of art programmes from all different parts of the world.  This festival has been an essential symbol for the Singaporean culture.  The festival has been able to introduce various entertaining and exciting programmes locally, nationally and internationally produces to the people of Singaporean, and it has been able to stimulate the interest of the people in terms of arts to raise the level of appreciation.             The Singapore Arts Festival started in 1977 as a national arts festival that celebrates local arts activity of the country’s diverse communities. Throughout the years, Singapore Arts Festival has been able to play a catalytic and symbiotic role in the development for the cultural and artistic life of the nation.  This even has helped in transforming the city’s cultural landscape, turning into one of the major cultural hub today in the entire Asia. The event has impacted the work of artists and creates a growing public demand for the arts, establishing new cultural platforms, events as well as the movements which help in underpinning the lively cultural scene in present Singapore. Today the Singapore Arts festival has been described by an innovative and progressive spirits, committed to commissioning new art works by primarily Asian and Singaporean artists inverting in works which bridges cultures, disciplines, and geographical boundaries which explores contemporary and modern issues related to memory, history, migration and urban living; and discovering the existence and promising artists and encouraging both local and international artistic collaborations and exchanges.             In addition Singaporean Arts Festival, also give emphasis on an extensive programme of free outdoor performances in the entire island to bring the arts tit the doorsteps of Singaporeans. The festival has the ability to the create social network that conveys the process of festival collaborations and cultural dialogues. Accordingly, the marketing communication of the Singapore Arts festival promotes and raises the cultural consciousness of the people from the local and the international market. Aside from this, Singapore Arts Festival also utilise celebrity endorsements by considering famous Artists to participate in the Singapore Arts Festival events. Through the use of an effective marketing communication approach by the Singapore Arts festival, it gives the opportunity to the festival to sustain its marketability and its visibility in the print and media advertisements and also interactive ads through their website. The application of this marketing communication approach enables the Singapore Arts festival to communicate with the other target segment. For instance because of the increasing popularity of the World Wide Web, Singapore Arts Festival have the chance to reach consumers locally and internationally. This means that the reach of the festival are also extended and expanded in the global market through the use of integrated marketing communication.   Conclusion Marketing communication approach is said to have many benefits among different products, organizations, events. Through an effective communication, the message is being relayed to the target audience effectively. Furthermore, this will also permit the clients to easily determine the essential information about the events may it be sporting, community and cultural events.  Analysis shows that each of these events has been able to use unique but effective marketing communication approach. The three events: Hong Kong Electronics Fair, Hong Kong Rugby Sevens and Singapore Arts Festivals have used integrated marketing communication approach to market the events. The three has been able to have successful marketing campaign because of their comprehensive marketing communication approach. Different evernts have decided to set aside traditional approaches and have come to accept the innovative perspectives in promoting their products and services to their target market. Herein, marketing concepts has exceeded from the connotation of being an expense to being a part of the industry’s essential investment; from being product-focused to becoming customer oriented.  The context of both marketing and advertising can be considered as investment because of the potential profit that may emerge upon implementation of such strategies.  Furthermore, instead of emphasizing product attributes, many firms have realized that it is the customer is more important to be given attention for every marketing strategy since the customer are the recipient and the ultimate assessor of the products and services the company provides.  In order to do so, many marketers are able to consider the use of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC).  By and large, it can be said that the new communication model of integrating personal selling can help different industries to significantly improve marketing communication and help different events and festivals meet their short-term and long-term business objectives and establish stronger relationships with all of their target audiences.     Reference   Berger, A.N., R.S. Demsetz and P.E. Strahan (1999), ‘The consolidation of the financial services industry: causes, consequences, and implications for the future’, Journal of Banking and Finance, 23, 135-194.   Borden, NH 1965, “The Concept of the Marketing Mix,” in Schwartz, G., (Ed.), Science in Marketing, New York: John Willey and Sons, pp. 386-397.   Clow, KE & Baack, D 2004, Integrated advertising, promotion, &marketing communications, 2nd edn, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ   Fill, C and Yeshin T 2001, The Official CIM Course book: Integrated Marketing Communications, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Fill, C 2002, Marketing Communications: Contexts, Strategies and Applications e. Harlow: Pearson Education. Harris, A, 2006, 'Sporting chance!', Coventry Evening Telegraph (England), Shimp, TA 2000, Advertising Promotion: Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications, 5th edn, The Dryden Press, Harcourt College Publishers, Fort Worth, TX. Shimp, TA 2002, Advertising, Promotional and Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications. The Dryden Press, Harcourt College Publishers, Fort Worth, TX.               Appendices Appendix 1                     Marketing Communication Process Source: Borden, 1965.

The Marketing Report Of Hong Kong and A Marketing Report Of Hong Kong

Part 1: Marketing Report Introduction With the advent of information technology and other kinds of technology, differ...