Controversial Marketing Communications: Woolworths Case Study Analysis

This research proposal investigates the success and failure of controversial marketing communications, using Woolworths as a case study. The study begins with an introduction to marketing communications and the increasing use of controversial strategies to gain market share. It outlines the problem statement, research questions, objectives, and justification for the study, emphasizing the need to understand the dynamics of guerrilla marketing. The proposal includes a conceptual framework and research hypotheses, examining Woolworths' marketing approaches. The methodology section details both secondary and primary research methods, including literature reviews, interviews with marketing managers, and surveys to gather data on the effectiveness of Woolworths' controversial marketing tactics. The study aims to provide insights into the factors that contribute to the success or failure of these strategies and to offer a theoretical framework for future analysis. The proposal also includes an organization plan, a Gantt chart, and a budget allocation to ensure the research is conducted efficiently.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
CONTROVERSIAL MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS FAILURE AND SUCCESS: A
CASE OF WOOLWORTHS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Section I...........................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................2
1.2 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................3
1.3 Research questions and objectives.........................................................................................4
1.4 Justification of the study........................................................................................................5
1.5 Expected research outcome...................................................................................................6
Section II..........................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Conceptual framework and Research hypothesis..................................................................7
2.2 Methodology..........................................................................................................................9
Section III......................................................................................................................................12
3.1 Organization of the study.....................................................................................................12
3.2 Gantt chart...........................................................................................................................14
3.3 Budget allocation and justification......................................................................................15
Reference list:................................................................................................................................16

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Section I
1.1 Introduction
Marketing communication is the section of the marketing department of a business
organization that deals with the communication of the organization with the end customers.
There are several medium of communication in the marketing field: advertising, public relation,
digital marketing and many more. The objective of communication depends upon the product or
service that the company is promoting, sometimes the objective is a launch of a new product
where as sometimes it is based on increasing the sales of a particular product there can be several
reasons. In order to stand out in the communication process there is a continuous pressure on the
organization to come up with something unique in terms of content visualization, audio etc. A
company has to be constantly under the limelight in order to retain the recall value with the
existing customers and to build potential customer base. Therefore in pursuit to stay in the minds
of the people organizations take a step ahead and create controversies in the content or the visual
representation of advertising or take a risky public relation stunt which makes the headline. It is
said that any publicity is good publicity, but bad publicity has proven to be bad for the
organization in many cases. Again creations of controversies have also created success in the
communication process (Levinson 2007).

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1.2 Problem Statement
Market rivalry or competition in the industry is common for all business organizations.
The idea is to grab the majority of the market share in terms of sales. Business organizations are
in a constant pursuit to standing out and make a unique statement in the crowded market
competition with the help of marketing approaches which are different and catchy. Companies
focus on the marketing communication is to garner the attention of the existing or potential
customers as well as other stakeholders, it is believed that the memory of the public is short term
and the exclusivity of the product or services has to be reminded to the population over and over
again.
Guerrilla marketing is a term that is gaining popularity in the recent past because of the
aforementioned reasons. This is a marketing approach that is taken up by the business
organizations all over the world which involves strategies in the marketing process which are
controversial in nature. The effectiveness of this approach of marketing has garnered a lot of
success and popularity, but at the same time it also has significant challenges and issues which
have to be addressed before stepping in to this marketing process (Hutter and Hoffmann 2011).
This study is being conducted focusing on the guerilla marketing approaches. In this
study the point of focus is going to be the case of Woolworths. Woolworths is a popular chain of
retail supermarket in Australia. The company is going to be studied for gathering in-depth
understanding and analysis of the success and failure of the aspects that are associated with the
controversial marketing approach taken by the company. The core ides of this study and research
project is to find out the dynamics of controversial or guerrilla marketing approaches in order to
recognize the aspects that establish success or failure of the approach (Kraus et al. 2009).

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1.3 Research questions and objectives
Based on the type of products and services the company has to offer the marketing tactics
change from one organization to another. Communicating with the stakeholders of the company
is very essential for the organization to understand their expectation and grievances and improve
the quality of the offering. This study will be conducted to understand the effectiveness and the
impact of the guerrilla marketing approaches of Woolworths.
Research questions:
R1 When and why do companies take the controversial or guerrilla marketing approach? What is
controversial marketing communication?
R2 What is the approch of Woolworths guerrilla marketing strategy?
R3 What are the factors affecting the success or failure of the approach?
Amis and objectives:
The aim of this research study is to analyze and understand the dynamics of controversial
marketing communication in order to examine the factors associated with the success or failure
of this approach.
The following are the objectives of the study to fulfill the aim of the research paper:
1. To analyze the notion of controversial marketing communication
2. To identify the success and failure factors of this marketing approach
3. To evaluate the case of Woolworths for gaining insights

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1.4 Justification of the study
Contemporary, unconventional and unique are the ways of the new marketing
approaches that are taken up by various business organizations all over the world. It is one of the
most trending and popular marketing tactics in today’s time. In order to create and develop an
alluring brand personality companies have considered executing the controversial marketing
approaches. It is also believed to strengthen the position of the company in the highly
competitive market. Guerrilla marketing calls for attention in a desperate way it is sure to gather
attention (Levinson 2007). Nevertheless, one of the major problems of this type of marketing
strategies is that it makes way for several debates and can cause failure of the campaign.
Nevertheless, there are also cases where the controversial or guerrilla marketing tactics work
quite successfully for the company and paves the way for it to reach the exclusive market.
Therefore this topic of research is very relevant at this point of time as it is actively
implemented by many organizations. The case of Woolworths will provide understanding and
insight about the subject and its effectiveness (Kraus et al. 2009).

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1.5 Expected research outcome
The result of this study is that will deliver a theoretical framework for examining the
factors that determine the success and failure of controversial or guerrilla marketing by studying
the approaches applied by Woolworths. The idea of marketing is to make potential and existing
end customers aware of the product and services that the company has to offer or to promote an
existing idea. Creating a controversy automatically garners attention. Though the response of
customers and marketing managers that are being surveyed a relation can be drawn to analyze
the effectiveness of this approach and how it can positively affect the future of the company
(Levinson 2007).
With the help of this study business organizations will gain knowledge about this
contemporary concept of marketing. Marketing teams of company’s can use this analysis to
understand weather the dynamics of their organization is compatible with this approach of
marketing. Teams can also identify and understand the risk quotient that is associated with the
controversial marketing.

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Woolworths Message
Stakeholders/ ReceiverCompany/ Sender
Section II
2.1 Conceptual framework and Research hypothesis
The element of surprise and evidences of creativity is the fundamentals on which the
guerrilla marketing approach is based. The term that is used it describe the controversial from of
marketing is derived from the guerrilla warfare technique which includes ambushes, interruption,
raids and most importantly the elements of surprise. Similarly, the marketing style also includes
high energy and imagination as mentioned before. When a company communicates with the
stakeholders it is a mass communication process. One of the main reasons for this approach to
gain popularity is that it is deemed by experts to be budget friendly. The actual investment that is
required in this marketing is a creative mind and an intellectual thought process. The execution
of the process depends on the idea which does not have to be expensive (Hutter and Hoffmann
2011).
Figure: communication process

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Source: Author’s creation
Explanation:
The message that is denoted in the diagram is the marketing approach in this case the
controversial marketing technique. In return the company garners attention, increases the
knowledge about the products and service among the stakeholders. Manage to gather media
coverage as well which in turn acts like a bonus.
Research hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1:
Null hypothesis: Gorilla marketing approaches are successful in the case of Woolworths.
Alternate hypothesis: Gorilla marketing approaches are unsuccessful in the case of Woolworths.
Hypothesis 2:
Null hypothesis: Guerilla marketing is more effective than any other forms of marketing
Alternate hypothesis: Guerilla marketing is not as effective as other forms of marketing

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2.2 Methodology
In order to conduct the study and to understand the dynamics of the researcher a
procedure and plan of action has to be implemented so that the researcher does not waste time
and money that has been invested in this research. Any research includes two basic types of
process secondary research and the primary research which is followed by the differentiation of
the process in between qualitative and quantitative approach.
Secondary research:
This is a part of the research that is conducted by refereeing and analyzing the works of
academics and scholars in the subject of the paper. This helps the researcher lay down the
fundaments of the primary research. Literature review is a summary of the previous work that is
been carried out in the similar topic the research has put down the important points and insights
gathered from the previous work under the heading of literature. The literature consists of
information and findings that are relevant to the study this might include previous concepts,
graphs, ideas and practices can be referred concerning this marketing communications and its
types as well as understanding the dynamics. To understand the significant aspects and factors
that are associated with controversial marketing tactics the research will get help from the
existing literature. A detailed theoretical background is very necessary in order to understand a
concept and then build hypothesis on the basis of the understanding this can be derived from the

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previous work. The secondary research tools that will be used are taken from academic material,
like books, journals, credible newspaper articles and web sources (Johnson and Christensen
2000).
Primary research:
This is the step that will be taken after the literature is complete and enough
knowledge is gathered regarding the topic and regarding the current updates about the study.
Now, to proceed with the research, practical information and data in real time is required in order
to understand the current situation on the practices of controversial marketing communication.
To study the concept of guerilla or controversial marketing the case of Woolworths is chosen to
get a closer insight about the approach by focusing on one organization instead of many. This
will also help us determine the success rate of the approach for the company. The tools that re
going to be used of the purpose of collecting primary data are:
Interview: This is a qualitative approach of research in which the research is focused on
understanding the perspective of a person who is associated with the topic of research. Interview
is an interpersonal communication process which helps the researcher gathers a lot of
information. Some of the prerequisites of an Interview are: background knowledge, preparation
of questions, developing interpersonal skills etc. marketing managers of the organization will be
interviewed to understand and analyze the marketing approach of Woolworths. A structured to
the point questionnaire will be prepared for interviewing the managers and their feedbacks will
be recorded on the guerilla marketing approaches of Woolworth. These will give the researcher

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an in depth idea about the practical use of the concept and its effectiveness. The managers can
also give an idea about the chances of success and failure of the approach and what are the
factors that impact these outcomes.
Survey: A survey in a research study is a tool that allows a researcher gather quantitative
results from the outcomes of the survey. A survey will give out numerical analysis and review on
the topic of research this will help the researcher to base the hypothesis of the study on the
numeric and logical reasoning. Questionnaire is the tool that is going to be used in order to
initiate the survey process, it will consists of few to the point and close-ended questions. The
survey will include 30 marketing executives of the company. With this survey analysis the
researcher can come up with charts, numbers and figures to back up the discussion or the
qualitative research that has been done earlier (Johnson and Christensen 2000).