Print Media Advertising: A Case Study of Surfrider Foundation Campaign

This report analyzes the Surfrider Foundation's print media advertising campaign, focusing on its marketing communication strategies and overall effectiveness. It examines the target market, the creativity of the ad, and the elements of the marketing communication mix employed by the organization. The report identifies the strengths of the ad, such as its unique concept and clear message about environmental conservation, while also pointing out a weakness in brand name recognition. It further discusses the role of marketing communications and integrated marketing communication in designing and implementing the marketing strategy. The analysis concludes that the ad effectively conveys its message but could benefit from stronger brand integration. Desklib offers similar solved assignments and study resources for students.

Running head: PRINT MEDIA
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Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The advertising using the print media forms a crucial part of the organization and with
respect to this, it can be rightfully mentioned that any firm which wants to ensure success in the
long run would be required to ensure that they are successfully able to publish an appropriate
media which will go a long way in assisting the firm to achieve its overall goals and objectives
(Armstrong et al. 2015). The main aim of the given report is to outline one such print media
advertising of the Surfrider Foundation which came up some time back and talks about the
dumping of plastic waste which takes place in the oceans. The media capture aims to discuss
about the ill effects of dumping waste in the oceans as it is coming back to the humans
themselves and it has a strong impact on the general life. The report will discuss the overall
importance of the campaign, discuss the target market of the print media and examine the
uniqueness of the campaign.
The role of marketing communications and integrated marketing communication in
designing and implementation of the marketing strategy
Marketing communications can be stated to have a crucial role in disseminating the
information of the firm to the general audience. The marketing communication plays a crucial
role in ensuring that the firm is able to bring out its offering or the message easily (Kotler et al.
2015). If the firm is able to come up with an interesting image, then it will be able to ensure that,
its message reaches out to the audience easily and the aims and objectives are met with. In
addition to this, the manner in which the message gets conveyed to the target audience also has a
role to play in deciding the overall success of the marketing strategy. The implementation of the
marketing plan is also crucial and reflects in the overall design of the campaign as it assists in
understanding the reason behind the message.

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The analysis of the target market, creative, and media strategies
The target market of the particular campaign can be stated to be the general audience.
This is being stated because, it becomes crucial for the firm to ensure that it is successfully able
to meet the needs of all the people as well as their own goals. In regard to this, it can be largely
understood that, if a firm wants to ensure success in the long run, it has to target market its
customers practically. In the given print media advertisement of the Sufrider it can be understood
that, the firm wants to target all the companies and the general dumpers who often dump the
plastic waste into the seas and the oceans (Kotler and Armstrong 2015). However, it is not
evident that the firm is targeting these set of audience particularly, additionally, it can also be
understood that the firm is not being able to clearly set their target audience. However, with
respect to the creativity of the print media, it can be rightfully stated that, the print media is
highly creative in nature and the sushi rolls which have been used along with the plastic,
signifies that the ultimate dumpers of waste, who are the humans are the ultimate consummates
of it as well.
The piece talks about the waste that is dumped in the ocean and how these wastes can be
instead avoided and utilized in a manner such that, it does not harm the overall ecosystem and
that the waste does not return to the different users ultimately (Lovelock and Patterson 2015).
Hence, the message which the media is trying to convey can be stated to be quite strong and in
addition to this, another message is being provided to the users that, the different people would
not even come to know, how their waste is being consumed by them only (De Mooij 2018). As
the piece is being delivered for nonprofit organizational purposes, it can be largely understood
that, it does stand out from other print media advertisements and that, it has stood out and made a
unique place for themselves and made the different consumers aware of the consequences of

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dumping their waste in this manner. Moreover, the piece also appears to be attractive to the
target audience.
Elements of the marketing communication mix in the organization
The elements of the marketing mix communications mix can be stated to be as follows:
 Print media: The organization generally makes use of the print media in order to appear
to the different members of the target audience.
 Video marketing: Additionally, the video marketing as a medium is also used by the firm
so as to ensure that they are successfully able to appeal to the audience (Belch et al.
2014).
 Social media marketing: Another element being used by them is the social media
marketing through which the company tries to engage in a conversation with the popular
audience and younger generation.
Analysis of the strengths and weakness of the ad, the Unique Selling Proposition (USP),
and overall effectiveness of the ad in the chosen print media
The strengths of the advertisement print media can be stated to be the idea and the unique
concept. The message of the media is appearing to quite clear and it indicates that adequate
measures need to be taken by the firm which will ensure that the environment can be saved
(Baker 2016). The Unique Selling Proposition of the advertisement is that it is aiming to look out
for a common problem but has been successfully able to hit the target in the right manner. There
exists no such weakness of the print media advertisement, however, it can be clearly understood
that, the brand name from the piece has not been able to create an identity of its own and hence,
certain measures could have been adopted by the firm to ensure that it is able to reach out to the

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targeted audience along with a brand name of its own (Belch et al. 2012). Hence, it is
recommended to the firm that along with elongating and working on their creativity works on the
brand name as well.
Conclusion
Therefore the given paper identified the different marketing trends and the marketing
communications mix which can be largely used by the different organizations in order to ensure
that they are able to send out their message and that they are able to achieve their goals. The
paper examined the print media of the Surfrider Foundation in regard to the plastic waste
generation. It can be stated that the idea and design were very attractive, however the firm was
not able to bring up its brand name.

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References
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Buchwitz, L.A., Trifts, V. and Gaudet, D., 2015. Marketing: an
introduction. Pearson.
Baker, M.J., 2016. What is marketing?. In The Marketing Book(pp. 25-42). Routledge.
Belch, G.E., Belch, M.A., Kerr, G. and Powell, I., 2012. Advertising: An integrated marketing
communication perspective. McGraw-Hill Australia.
Belch, G.E., Belch, M.A., Kerr, G. and Powell, I.H., 2014. Advertising: an integrated marketing
communication perspective. North Ryde.
De Mooij, M., 2018. Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes.
SAGE Publications Limited.
Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G., 2015. Principles of Marketing-Global Edition. Pearson.
Kotler, P., Burton, S., Deans, K., Brown, L. and Armstrong, G., 2015. Marketing. Pearson
Higher Education AU.
Lovelock, C. and Patterson, P., 2015. Services marketing. Pearson Australia.

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Appendix