Developing An Integrated Marketing Communication Essay For USQ.

You need to develop an integrated marketing communication (IMC) campaign for USQ based on the findings of the data collection process. The Course Examiner will have analysed the data by now, and you may find the findings on Study Desk. The focus of the IMC campaign should be to influence the perceptions of the parents/influencers of school leavers. The IMC campaign needs to be developed for a 3 month period aiming at the parents of school leavers in December 2018. 

You are required to use the combination of which-ever IMC mix tools you feel are relevant to the target audience. You do not necessarily have to use all of the IMC tools. Just remember to justify why you are choosing a specific combination of IMC tools. That means you have to use the theory on the advantages and disadvantages of the tools. Please note that each step below should incorporate the correct theory from the textbook and then be applied to the tertiary institution. The IMC plan should follow the correct report format. These reports will be forwarded to the Associate Director Marketing to choose the best campaign

This report will present the marketing communication objective and budgeting that would be used to in promoting the campaign of USQ. It will also explain the IMC Mix elements and also describes the media mix elements that would be used to endorse the campaign of USQ.

Following are smart objectives for this campaign:

S (specific): To offer the right message and facts to the parents and creates interest among them with regards to differentiation of product from its key market players

M (measurable) - To target the right set of audiences by keeping them well-informed regarding the educational services offered by the University of Southern Queensland

A (Achievable) – To attain high communication standard via advertising, promotions and other direct marketing strategies

R (Relevant) – To enhance the word of mouth promotion by enabling the effective communication procedure and persuades the behavior of the targeted audience for remaining engaged with the company

T (Time-bound) - To cover 85% of targeted customers in both domestic with an international segment of the market in the upcoming 5 years

Platforms	Reach	Frequency/Continuity	Budget
Event Marketing (Sponsorship)	Arrive to about 50 to 60%	5 Events in 6 months	$100,000
Newspaper	About 15 Million People	Twice in Week (Sunday & Friday)	About A$8000 Per day, approx. 17000 in a month and A$ 103,000
Digital Advertising (Affiliate Marketing)	Arrive at 80%	The advertisement posted in each day on several websites through web	The basis of the commission, 1% of the sales worth
Billboard & Hoardings	Arrive at about 50-60%	50 Hoarding around the city	On actual
Social Media Marketing like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Youtube	Arrive at 80% and 20 Million of People	Daily update 4 Posts	$300,000

(Sources: Andrews and Shimp, 2017).

By using the communication model, USQ is not only offering the right message or facts to targeted customers but also, gather the response procedure effectively. Because of offering responses and feedback, the receiver i.e. the parents have increased the behavior of making buying and favorable mindset has been attained with regards to the brand. The underlying principle of choosing the creative message for endorsements and advertisements are to target the new and existing segment of the customer in a significant way (Jugenheimer, Sheehan, and Kelley, 2015). USQ is a leading Australian university that offers different services to their education such as counseling, well-being, accommodation, and safety. These services are beneficial for USQ in terms of spending too much on the advertisement with the endorsement of the campaign. Although, there is high competition in the education market hence, there is a need to endorse the product and services. Further, the uses of technology and the internet are highly implemented by universities in the educational industry hence; the company should use it to create a base of the customer and gaining profitability with revenue. This could also lead to attaining the goal and objectives of the company, and aids to increase the competitive benefits in the target market (Lovelock, and Patterson, 2015).

For organizational new IMC initiatives, creative content would be implemented in the way for endorsing the customer services as the organizational preferences. Moreover, educational services are the key element that plays a fundamental role in the success or failure of an organization. USQ is a service based company as it would promote the campaign by using IMC mix and media mix. This would be beneficial for accomplishing the favorable result and obtaining sustainable growth with development, and competitive benefits in both the domestic and international market (Baker, 2014).

Integrated marketing communication strategy mix is the procedure of incorporating different techniques that are practiced for advertising the products and services of the company. There are some innovative and attractive notes for gaining goodwill with awareness of the brand. In this way, USQ can practice the sponsor and alertness with the objective of influencing the targeted audience. There are certain elements, which could be entailed in the integrated marketing communication strategy mix like an advertisement, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, event sponsorship, and sales promotion (Nagle, and Müller, 2017). It is discussed as follow:

Platforms

Advertising tool is a significant tool of IMC mix strategy that helps to attain the targeted aim and objectives. It could be practiced for gaining the goodwill and awareness of brands and practiced for spreading the understanding in targeted customers. There are some factors like profitability, the foundation of customers and improvement in productivity that could be gained by implementing this tool. This factor will aid the USQ for keeping the goodwill in the market as compared to its key market players (Kumar, and Reinartz, 2018).   

(Sources: Kumar, and Reinartz, 2018)

USQ can promote their products with services in existing with new marketplace by implementing the advertising. This element performs as a medium that enables the University for influencing the parents of school leavers applying to university entrance for 2019 because this element focuses on feasible message. There are some channels that could be applied in advertising such as traditional with non-traditional communication channels (Bowie, et. al., 2016).   

(Sources: Spiller, and Tuten, 2015).

Personal selling is a key tool of marketing, which is significant for a company to promote their services to parents of school leavers applying to university entrance for 2019. This is also called direct marketing. For influencing the parents, USQ can provide a range of services such as counseling, electronic library and experts for supervising the student. It can be also beneficial for gaining the demand and goodwill of corporation (Spiller, and Tuten, 2015).

(Sources: Lusch, and Vargo, 2014).  

This tool of advertisement is used by the company for gaining the demand for products and services. Moreover, in order to influence parents of school leavers applying to university entrance for 2019, USQ can assess the competitor’s strategy and develops the new services as, parents will take admission in this university as compared to another university. USQ can provide some offers in terms of scholarships, and initiates new investment scheme for targeting the lower with a middle-class segment of parents. It could also lead to influence more students, and also aids to increase the profitability of USQ (Lusch, and Vargo, 2014).  

(Sources: Šeri?, Gil-Saura, and Ruiz-Molina, 2014).  

This is also an essential element for retaining the current and upcoming consumers along with targeting the new segment of consumer. There is requisite for enhancing the performance of USQ and develops the reliability among parents of school leavers as, it would lead students for applying to university entrance for 2019. For building the public relation, USQ will create the customer-centric products along with services. This could also promote the mass media with the feasible message. The logic of building the public relation is strong because it facilitates for accomplishing the targeted objective and gaining the competitive advantageous under the target market (Šeri?, Gil-Saura, and Ruiz-Molina, 2014).  

(Sources: Strauss, and Frost, 2016).

Direct marketing is defined as the combination of personal selling with sales promotion. This technique could be implemented when parents demonstrate a high level of interest in the services of USQ. In addition, USQ is engaged in providing the educational services hence, while a target parents will show their interest in the new services, and then they would be directly persuaded by a teacher of USQ in terms of changing their interest into the revenues. It is stated that email marketing is another factor that can be influenced to directly influence the customers who show their interest in organizational products with services (Strauss, and Frost, 2016).

Develop Message Strategies

(Sources: Calder, Malthouse, and Maslowska, 2016).

It is an additional element of an integrated communication strategy mix, but, as per the existing market condition, sponsoring could be organized through the event in order to promote the campaign. Moreover, sponsorship of event entails the educational events, sports events, not for profit event and sponsoring health and care. For illustration, USQ may sponsor the Australian cricket team who play in both local with international level. Hence, distributing awareness is the key intention of marketing strategy that can be straightforwardly performed with the application of sponsoring the events (Calder, Malthouse, and Maslowska, 2016).

• To increase the parent's demand by 35% in the upcoming 1 year
• To gain the revenue of USQ by 45% through appropriate media selection in the upcoming 2 years
• To improve brand image by 25% via feasible traditional and non-traditional method in the upcoming 1 year

Marketing and promotion are essential for USQ with respect to motivating the products and services. In addition, it can focus on the advertisement and promotion for creating the understanding amid existing, new and potential segment of customer. It could be beneficial for influencing and retaining the parents of school leavers applying to university entrance for 2019 in USQ.  It should show the distinctiveness in their products and services as compared to its key market rivalry. It can also integrate their media mix according to need and consumer behavior with the trend of the market (Šeric, Gil-Saura, and Ozreti?-Došen, 2015). In this strategy, USQ will focus on both traditional with the non-traditional method of promotion with marketing with the purpose of promoting the services with the product. The following are the tools that can be implemented by USQ with respect to promoting the products with services and attaining the expected goals and objectives (Smith, et. al., 2015).

These are trending methods as digital media is used by a large number of users rather than using traditional technique of marketing. USQ should use advanced technology and internet as the users of the internet are increasing promptly and their significance is high as compared with the traditional mode of marketing (West, Ford, and Ibrahim, 2015).

(Sources: Kerr, and Patti, 2015).

Social media is a significant element of IMC mix to promote their products with services. It is evaluated that there is a certain corporation that is inappropriate with respect to the nature of the operation that they have implemented in this technique. There are some modes of using social media like Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter. In addition, Facebook was launched in the period of 2004 and till that period, there are approximately 2.6 billion of people who actively use Facebook. This population is approximately ¼ of the total population of the globe. As a result, USQ will use this technique because these are inexpensive and support to develop the customer’s foundations (Ingram, et. al., 2015). It would eventually outcome in sustainable growth with development.

(Sources: Cummins, Peltier, and Dixon, 2016).    

Email marketing is another technique of significant marketing methods and interaction through which a corporation can approach to its targeted audience in a direct way.  By using this approach, USQ can promote the products with services with respect to the new investment plan in order to persuade the division of target consumers. This would be beneficial for USQ with respect to inspiring the foundation of consumers and enhances their market share in the global and local marketplace (Cummins, Peltier, and Dixon, 2016).    

IMC Mix

(Sources: Villeneuve, and Pasquier, 2017).

This would be another significant source for endorsement for USQ because the promotion of their campaign could be attained directly from the legal website. This can be temperately cheap rather than another mode. Because, there are a large number of active users creates their account on authorized websites consistently for online banking with applicable services. Hence, a company would target the current and new segment of the customer by practicing this channel. As a result, it will enhance the demand for their new educational services (Villeneuve, and Pasquier, 2017).

There are certain online with a digital mode that could be utilized with the purpose of endorsing the current and new markets. These techniques would be beneficial for building organizational integrated marketing communication initiatives. The key purpose of the corporation for developing IMC is to enhance the customer foundation, revenue, profitability that can help to enhance the productivity of corporation and increasing competitive advantageous (Verhoef, Kooge, and Walk, 2016). Hence, the use of a digital channel can aid to accomplish the objectives and supports for accomplishing the appropriate decision with respect to USQ.

It is analyzed that traditional medium is not in trend, but, these are significant because every medium has its own consequences with respect to targeting the consumers. Every market is a combination of sundry customer segments and every customer segment should have targeted through promotional tools. The traditional technique entails the radio, television, board holdings, newspaper, and magazines. By using these channels, USQ would be capable to target parents of school leavers applying to university entrance for 2019. The reliability extent is more onto the newspapers and magazines with respect to another digital channel with social media (Villeneuve, and Pasquier, 2017). 

(Sources: Verhoef, Kooge, and Walk, 2016).

Television is also used by a high number of Australians and another international market. However, USQ offered services for all types of customers. Consequently, television would be a significant tool to endorse new products and services. Radio and television marketing is renewed as one of the essential tools because, with the support of innovative content, target consumers could be persuaded promptly. It could also benefit to develop the brand image amid the mind-sets of consumers. Therefore, it would significantly aid the corporation for acquiring positive outcomes (Verhoef, Kooge, and Walk, 2016).

(Sources: Ingram, et. al., 2015).

This kind of channel is known as a print medium of advertisement and promotion. Through this medium, USQ can be capable to target the domestic consumers as reachability of this medium is lower rather than using digital mode of promotion with the promotion. Moreover, this channel will aid the company to enlarge the information among domestic consumers. This would help to generate the mouth to mouth publicity with awareness regarding the products and services of the company (Ingram, et. al., 2015).

(Sources: Verhoef, Kooge, and Walk, 2016).

Billboards could be implemented with the objective of improving the image of the brand in targeted consumers. This technique is not beneficial with regards to allocating the content of campaign for influencing parents of school leavers applying to university entrance for 2019 in USQ. Along with this, a corporation could utilize other marketing and promotional tools such as event sponsorships with the purpose of building the brand image between the targeted consumers (Verhoef, Kooge, and Walk, 2016).

Recommendations and Conclusion

It could be suggested that USQ can influence parents of school leavers applying to university entrance for 2019 in USQ by using the IMC mix. It can be recommended that USQ can enlarge their operations in both the international and local market. It can introduce the range of innovating products and services with the purpose of generating more market share and pulling the attention of bulk of potential customer segments to influence parents of school leavers (Ingram, et. al., 2015).

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that USQ is a top educational point in the Australian market. In addition, it offers a range of services to their parents and students who come from domestic and international areas. Along with this, it can be summarised that their operation is enlarged in different countries. USQ is planning to organize the campaign to influence parents of school leavers applying to university entrance for 2019.  It can be concluded that a combination of effective advertisement and the promotional medium has been entailed with the purpose of communicating with the potential and existing students to promote their new products with services.

(Sample advertisement for QSD)

References

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