Marketing Mix Elements and Integrated Communication

This assignment requires a comprehensive review of the marketing mix elements and integrated communication, with a focus on the relationship between marketing mix strategy and brand awareness. The task involves analyzing real-world examples from companies such as Always and GoPro to illustrate the concept of integrated communication and its impact on market outcome, brand equity, and customer attitude metrics. A critical evaluation of relevant literature and a well-structured analysis of the selected companies' marketing strategies are essential components of this assignment.

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Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The given report throws light on the two chosen Integrated Marketing Communications
strategies of the companies Always and Go pro respectively. The report follows a systemtic
format whereby a brief Introduction into the given scenario has been provided along with the
details of the chosen acts. The introduction of the report is followed by the Analysis of the IMC
strategy of each company which thoroughly analysed every aspect of the IMC Startegy applied.
The latter half of the report draws a comparison between the two campaigns and states the
preference for one of the ads. Certain recommendations as to how the IMC Plans of the
companies can be improved have also been provided.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
IMC Campaign 1: Always...............................................................................................................3
Briefing........................................................................................................................................3
Target Audience...........................................................................................................................4
Campaign and Marketing Objectives..........................................................................................4
Campaign Idea.............................................................................................................................5
IMC Tools....................................................................................................................................6
Overall Critique...........................................................................................................................7
IMC Plan 2 : Go Pro........................................................................................................................8
Briefing........................................................................................................................................8
Target Audience...........................................................................................................................8
Objectives....................................................................................................................................9
Campaign Idea...........................................................................................................................11
IMC Tools..................................................................................................................................12
Overall Critique.........................................................................................................................12
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................13
Comparison....................................................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
The primary objective of the given report is to anayse two sets of Interated Marketing
Communications technique as used by two famous Advertisment campaigns. The chosen
advertismet campaigns are Always # LikeAGirl and Go Pro be a hero.
The company Always, is a personcal care company which offers various items of women
health. The section of camapign which was used as a part of this report was the campaign here
the girl power was encouraged (Ahmed and Rafiq 2013). The second company Go Pro sells
contemeporary cameras which are waterproff and can capture all the movements of a person.
The section of IMC Strategy used is the Be a Hero one. This campaign encouraged the users to
live life like a hero.The given campaigns were chosen because they serve as an excellent
example of how the integrated Marketing campaign should be ideally carried out by company.
The report follows a systamztized format whereby the compoenents of the two different
advetisments have been discussed with respct to the Rationale, IMC startegies used,
Communciation and Marketing Objective, Target audience and Campaign contents. Certain
recommendations to improve performance and the comparison between different advertisments
have also been provided.
IMC Campaign 1: Always
Briefing
The video starts with various girls and women being asked to do different activities like a
girl. A man as well as a little boy was also asked about the same and they then portrayed how a

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girl typically behaves (Always.com. 2018). However, when the little girls were asked to do like
one, they did not do it in a typical manner and instead acted as if the they were just asked to run.
This way, each of them explained how they had understood the term wrong and how girls should
break stereotypes and do what they want to.
Target Audience
The target audience for the give brand is girls. The company states that during the phase
of puberty, girls always find it extremely difficult to communicate their changing feelings to
anyone and they have observed a decline in the confidence of the girls during this phase (Shen
and Bissell 2013). Hence, the company wanted to provide empowerment to the different girls
during this phase of their life development and for that reason it came up with this movie plan in
order to showcase their support towards the girls and uphold their confidence level at all stages
of life. Simply stated, the target audience comprises of mostly women between the ages of 12-60.
It is also for those parents whose child is going through the puberty phase.
Campaign and Marketing Objectives
The primary objective of the given campaign was to raise brand awareness with regard to
the company- Always which is a hygiene brand for women. Word of mouth was also a key
communication objective for Always. The company was marketing through various
advertisements on print media, social media advertising and television marketing. However, the
company had conducted a survey through which they came to know that there lacks a sense of
awareness among the girls and people in general who tend to consider being a girl as a point of
weakness (Always.com. 2018). For this reason, the company wanted to turn the tables and
change the manner in which the people think about the phrase: “Like a girl “. It wanted to make

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sure that after the campaigning was out people considered the given phrase #LikeAGirl in a
positive manner.
Campaign Idea
Empowering the girl child was the primary motive of the company and for that purpose it
started phrase #LikeAGirl for the campaign tagline. The brand Always wanted the audience to
connect with the line and uphold the dignity of girls alongside supporting them by providing
them confidence at their weakest moments. It also wanted to remove the stereotype that girls are
weak . According to Always.com (2018), after the advertisements were published, the perception
of the audience changed and they no longer associated the tagline LikeAGirl in an insulting
manner but as a sign of strength. Through the advertisement , the company wanted to bring this
tagline to life though IMC.

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Figure 1 : The various clip shots of the #LikeAGirl Advertisement ( Source : YouTube. 2018).
IMC Tools
The key campaigning tool for the given idea was television advertisement in various
channels and a video being published on YouTube. Series of advertisements were published in
this aspect like a teaser and two three sets of complete clips(Andrews and Shimp 2017).
Various print Medias, Social media posters and billboard were also published in the name of
#Likeagirl.
In addition to the hashtag aspect, the company provided a link to the customers which
redirected them to the company`s website where the page welcomed the user with the tagline and
provided various details about the products which were being offered by the particular company

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(Armstrong et al. 2015). The company also has a twitter account which manages the different
aspects of the campaign. Various magazines and other mediums like Newspapers were also used
to spread the awareness.
Another unique aspect of the given campaign was that women were asked to share their
experience about being treated or being humiliated by using the phrase like a girl. Thousands of
women came up and shared their experiences which further helped the company to develop a
unique connection with each of the target audience.

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Figure 2 : A print copy of the newspaper advertisement ( Source : Always.com 2018).
Overall Critique
The given campaign leaves almost no are for improvement and was highly successful in
engaging the larger audience (Wilson et al. 2016). As stated earlier the campaign attracted a
huge crowd of women coming up and sharing their experience of how they always grew up to
believe specially during puberty that women are supposed to be weak, and how the given
advertisement gives them confidence as to that the given phrase is no more an insult but and
encouragement (Black 2013). The campaign had above 36 million views on Twitter. The video
released by the company went viral immediately and was able to have a positive impact on the
sales of the company as well.
IMC Plan 2 : Go Pro
Briefing
The Hero Be a Hero began it operations with the videos and print media being published
in various sources like that of YouTube, social media websites, televisions and other newspapers.
The campaigns showed various athletes and stuntman who attached their cameras to their body
and shot the various action stunts which they conducted. The videos basically wanted to show
that the camera could be used for any purpose and was durable even under water and high
activity sports.

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Target Audience
The primary target audience for the given camera products were adults between the age
21-45 as they are ones who generally take part in huge end activity tasks and underwater
activities.
 The teens between the age of 12-19 were also used as a target market
 The people who like to travel frequently and engage in adventurous sports were targeted.
 The young adults between the age of 18-21 and lastly men and women who were earning
more than $62000 in a year with the primary targets of the given firm.
Objectives
The primary motive of the company was to build a long lasting and sustainable
relationship between the GoPro product line and the sport enthusiasts. The company wanted to
encourage the people who had an adventurous streak in them to fulfill their dreams by acting like
a hero which is at one point of time, every child`s dream (Theaker 2017). For this purpose the
company wanted to build an emotional relationship with the company and the customers to
enhance long term sustainable relationships (Gopro.com. 2018).
Another objective of the advertisement was purely business oriented and aimed at
increasing the revenue of the company which would then result in making the company more
popular. It aimed to increase the GoPro users by 16% in 2016 (Tapp and Spotswood 2013).

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Figure 3: The official image of the campaign (Gopro.com 2018)

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Figure 4 & 5 : The given images reflect the various print media ads of Go Pro ( Source :
Gopro.com 2018)
Also, to increase the number of GoPro searches in North America by 7% in 2016 as
compared to the previous year.
Campaign Idea

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Figure 6: The YouTube video of the advertisement (Source: YouTube 2018).
The GoPro be a hero campaign idea was put up to reflect the adventures that people seem
to enjoy. For the purpose of the advertisement the company hired athletes and professional
stuntmen to use the given camera and take an amazing footage of the activity they are indulging
themselves in (Hanssens et al. 2014). However, due to the unrestricted use of the camera various
users started making alternative use of these cameras for purpose like to reflect how a child is
playing, capture their pet`s journey.
The tagline Be a Hero was to encourage the users to unleash their inner hero and conquer
the world of adventures and success (Blakeman 2018). The Be a hero line became a huge selling
point for the given product. The campaign also wanted to encourage good health which could
have been achieved from indulging in various sporting activities which would be helpful for the
individual.
IMC Tools
The Go Pro tried to make use of a number of marketing tools and techniques for the
successful communication of their plans and objectives to the target audience. It wanted to
portray that people not only could enjoy experiences but also be able to capture these
experiences (Helm and Gritsch 2014). The campaign made wide use of the mass media to get
closer to a large number of people in an easy manner. With their campaign, Go Pro wanted to
influence the audience into buying the given product and inform them about its benefits.
The primary IMC Tool which was used was the advertisement. Television and internet
based advertising were used as the primary method to connect with the customers. A although

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these channels are non-personal, they help the organization to connect with the mass audience
and reach out easily to the given target market.
Internet based marketing techniques like social media marketing on YouTube, Facebook and
other sides were well used. A website was created which would have allowed the customers to
make proper use of the information available and read about various users and their experiences
with the camera.
Overall Critique
Although the video advertisement techniques which were used were quite attractive and
went a long way in convincing the customers to buy the given product, however, certain extra
promotions except for the online channel could have gone a long way in convince the customers
to buy the product (Leonidou, Katsikeas and Morgan 2013). This could have been accompanied
by the idea advertisements which would have made the advertisements more popular. The impact
of the video advertising was successful for a short period of time but failed to deliver a long term
perspective.
Recommendations
Certain recommendations to improve the Integrated Marketing communications have been given
as follows :
 Indulging in relevant market research- Market research forms a critical aspect of any
business enterprise and it becomes essentially important for any company to see to it that
the plan which it aims to deliver is based on a practical and a well researched program
which allows for proper execution and ease of functioning. Conducting baseless

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initiatives who do not hit to the relevant audience in the right manner will lead to a huge
waste of time for the company (Khan 2014).
 Strengthen Public Relations- Public Relations are often not given importance but are one
of the most important tools of the Integrated Marketing Communications plan. Whenever
a celebrity or a known sports personality for that matter gets associated with any
advertisement movement then the brand value of the product increases and the company
will be able to make relevant use of the plan thereby fulfilling their objectives.
 Use of social media analytics- In addition to making use of social media marketing
techniques, the social media analytics should also be used in order to see to it that the
company is able to make use of these tools to predict the outcome of their movements
and judge their execution plan (Keller 2013). This social media analytics includes details
like who have been able to view the data of the company, how do they do it and whether
they are interested or not. Using this, a company can alter plans and target in a refined
manner.
Comparison
The chosen two companies, Go Pro and Always create the Advertisement campaign
which showed the power of successful marketing plan and execution. It also reflected how the
IMC Strategy if integrated with proper cause can reach into the hearts of the customers. The
primary aim of both the brands was to attract the customers to its brand (Huang and Sarigöllü
2014) the path taken by Always #LikeAGirl was more towards the support for equality whereas
the Go Pro Be a Hero strategy was to encourage adventures. The major difference between the
tools used by both the companies was that the first company made use of a variety of marketing

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techniques to attract its customers while Go Pro used a systematic and well targeted plan to reach
out to the potential target market
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis on the two IMC Plans by Always and Go Pro
respectively portrayed the importance of an IMC Plan in an organization and how the given plan
should be executed well in order to ensure the success of the product or the Advertisement to be
launched. The IMC campaign which was most preferred by the author was the first campaign of
Always. Always has always had a unique way of advertising and with this campaign they
planned to break stereotypes by promoting and teaching a good concept. The marketing
strategies used by the company were also very commendable. Hence, the given plan is largely
preferred because of its ability to leave an ever lasting imprint on the hearts of the viewers.

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References
Ahmed, P.K. and Rafiq, M., 2013. Internal marketing. Routledge.
Always.com. ,2018. Always Feminine Products and Menstrual Information | Always.com.
[online] Available at: https://always.com/en-us [Accessed 26 Mar. 2018].
Always.com. ,2018. Our Epic Battle #LikeAGirl. [online] Available at: https://always.com/en-
us/about-us/our-epic-battle-like-a-girl [Accessed 26 Mar. 2018].
Andrews, J.C. and Shimp, T.A., 2017. Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated
marketing communications. Nelson Education.
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Black, S., 2013. Practice of public relations. Routledge.
Blakeman, R., 2018. Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to
implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Gopro.com. ,2018. Homepage. [online] Available at: https://gopro.com/ [Accessed 26 Mar.
2018].
Hanssens, D.M., Pauwels, K.H., Srinivasan, S., Vanhuele, M. and Yildirim, G., 2014. Consumer
attitude metrics for guiding marketing mix decisions. Marketing Science, 33(4), pp.534-550.

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Helm, R. and Gritsch, S., 2014. Examining the influence of uncertainty on marketing mix
strategy elements in emerging business to business export-markets. International Business
Review, 23(2), pp.418-428.
Huang, R. and Sarigöllü, E., 2014. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand
equity, and the marketing mix. In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors (pp. 113-132).
Springer, New York, NY.
Keller, K.L., 2013. Brand equity and integrated communication. In Integrated
Communication (pp. 113-142). Psychology Press.
Khan, M.T., 2014. The concept of'marketing mix'and its elements (a conceptual review
paper). International journal of information, business and management, 6(2), p.95.
Leonidou, C.N., Katsikeas, C.S. and Morgan, N.A., 2013. “Greening” the marketing mix: do
firms do it and does it pay off?. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41(2), pp.151-
170.
Shen, B. and Bissell, K., 2013. Social media, social me: A content analysis of beauty companies’
use of Facebook in marketing and branding. Journal of Promotion Management, 19(5), pp.629-
651.
Tapp, A. and Spotswood, F., 2013. From the 4Ps to COM-SM: reconfiguring the social
marketing mix. Journal of Social Marketing, 3(3), pp.206-222.
Theaker, A., 2017. What is public relations?. In The Public Relations Strategic Toolkit (pp. 17-
27). Routledge.

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Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M.J. and Gremler, D., 2016. Services marketing: Integrating
customer focus across the firm. McGraw Hill.
YouTube. ,2018. Always #LikeAGirl. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=XjJQBjWYDTs [Accessed 26 Mar. 2018].
YouTube. ,2018. GoPro HERO6: This Is the Moment in 4K. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr0qNXmkUJ8 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2018].