Yousef Alaqil
100296001
MEMO
To: Richard Wong, Marketing Supervisor
From: Yousef Alaqil, Marketing department
Cc: Panteli Tritchew, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Professor
Date: November 4th, 2015
Re: Issues with Current Advertisement Practice during New Product Launches
This report is an extension of the problem analysis report on the role of advertising in new product launch submitted on October 13, 2015.
This report provides further details than the previous analysis report to look into the real problem areas that emerged from the analysis. Specifically, the report provides the following details:
Background of the problem
Process analysis
Stakeholder analysis
Concluding statements
The report provides evidence suggesting that the current application of advertisement during new product launches in the company has a major problem in the lack of adequate personnel capacity because advertisement knowledge is scant.
I would like to get your approval for proceeding further into identifying potential solutions to the identified problem.
I am hopeful that I will hear from you soon after you have reviewed the report.
Thank you.
Yousef Alaqil, Marketing department
Issues with Current Advertisement Practice during New Product Launches
Prepared For:
Richard Wong, Marketing Supervisor
Prepared By:
Yousef Alaqil, Marketing department
November 4th, 2015.
INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM BACKGROUND
From the problem analysis report, it emerged that advertisement is one of the most important success factors during new product launches. Advertisement is one of the core elements of marketing, which means that it falls within the docket of the marketing department (Rasmussen College, 2011). In the context of product launches, the marketing department uses advertisement to create market awareness, persuade consumers, and create product appeal. In this regard, developing an appropriate and effective advertisement strategy for launching new products should be the objective of the marketing department. From the interview with the experienced advertisement professional, Tyler Cook, the specific details of the phases of product launches and the role of advertisement were identified.
The following pages illustrate the problem and issues discovered in our analysis.
Illustrate The Problem And Issues
As illustrated in Table 1 (below), the advertisement aspect requires an understanding of the use of the various advertisement tools at the different phases of product launching.
Table 1: Phases of Product Launches and Role of Advertising
Phase Purpose Tools
Pre-launch Phase Creating market awareness and interest in new product Mass advertisement e.g. radio, TV, newspaper adverts
Launch Phase Creating demand for new product Mass advertisement, social media advertisement
Post-launch phase Expanding market base and market share Traditional and new advertising media
Source: (Cook, 2015)
From the Table (above), some of the advertisement tools used in product launches include TV, radio, newspapers, and social media (Cook, 2015). After examining a current product launch project in the company, it is clear that some of the personnel working in the marketing department did not have adequate knowledge on some of the advertisement tools used. This was particularly the case with new marketing media, especially social media advertisement as discussed in detail below.
Process Analysis
Current Problem Area
Product launching is an important process in the company. During new product launches, the marketing department is charged with the responsibility of designing the most appropriate product launch strategies including the selection and application of appropriate advertisement tools and strategies. In the modern context, the marketing function has a wider range of options to choose from because of the emergence of new marketing tools. One of these is a social media network, which have become a major component of marketing and advertising in modern organizations. According to Schwartzman (2013), it has become progressively important to manage corporate social media accounts and channels. For this to happen, the personnel dealing with the social media channels need to have the knowledge base needed.
From the primary research on a recent product launch project in the company, several key insights emerged that shed more light on the lack of adequate knowledge of social media use in the marketing department. Figure 1 (below) illustrates the findings from the survey after the five employees involved in advertising the new product were asked about their knowledge and understanding of the use of three social media networks in the product launch.
Figure 1: How Well Do You Understand the Use of Each Social Media Network in Product Launches (0 – I do not understand, 1 – fairly understand, 2 – well conversant).
Source: (Employee Survey, 2015) Why no Twitter data on E4 and E5?
From Figure 1 (above), none of the five employees was well conversant with the use of all the three social media networks. Only one employee (employee 3) was well conversant with two of the three social media networks (Twitter and Facebook) while only one (employee 1) was well conversant with Facebook. Majority of the employees only had fair understanding of the use of the social media networks for product launches. What was more worrying was the finding that two of the employees (employee 4 and 5) did not understand the use of Twitter. These findings should be worrying considering that these employees were involved in the advertisement of the new products. How could they optimize the use of the social media networks for advertising the new product to ensure a successful product launch when they lacked the adequate knowledge base?
The problem of limited knowledge base in the use of new media advertisement during product launches will persist if nothing changes. It will continue to affect all future product launches, which necessitates the prioritization of this problem.
Good data, but include the specific skill set that is actually missing for a clearer snapshot of the training problem.
Impact of the Problem
The lack of adequate knowledge in the use of social media in advertisement affects the individual employees, the marketing department, and the entire organization. For the individual employees, the knowledge gap causes frustration and reduces personal productivity. Giving employees tasks that they are not conversant with causes disenfranchisement, which makes them feel out of place and demoralized that ultimately leads to underperformance (Page and Connell, 2006, p. 242).
The marketing department is also adversely affected because any failure of the product launch project will be blamed on the department. The department is responsible for ensuring that product launches are successful and any failures because of failures in advertising will ultimately be directed towards the department. The repercussions could be serious for the personnel working in this department including getting warnings, transfers, and possible terminations for underperformance.
However, the company will feel the ultimate impact of the lack of knowledge on use of social media advertisement. If a product launch fails because of the limited knowledge base of the employees charged with the advertisement efforts, the company would incur major financial losses because of the investments involved in the development and launch of the product.
Stakeholder Analysis
Currently, the employees affected by the limited knowledge in the use of social media networks are supportive of this research. They agree that they lack the adequate knowledge capacity to use advertisement effectively during product launches. This research will benefit these employees directly. However, it will also benefit the marketing department and the entire organization by ensuring successful product launches driven by effective advertising.
CONCLUSION
This report identifies the problem of limited knowledge capacity in the use of new media channels in advertisement, which forms an important element in new product launches. Limited knowledge capacity has negative impacts on the success of new product launches, which ultimately lead to significant losses in terms of money, effort, and time. In this regard, further research is necessary to identify potential solutions to this problem. Therefore, your authorization is much needed for this progress.
PROBLEM DEFINITION – FEEDBACK SHEET
VISUAL DESIGN
Adequate and precise headings (Bold or Caps) Good-see speeling
Adequate paragraph (¶) separation/white space Good
Visual (s) relevant, introduced and interpreted. Good
Adequate and appropriate stacked lists Good
Small modular paragraphs Good
Consistent alignment for headings and text. Good
COVER MEMO
Report attached and separate from memo
Memo format TO, FROM, DATE, RE = proper Good
Precise and concise Subject Heading Good
Precise and concise Summary statement Good
Precise and concise highlights Good
Action Request: permission for further resources Good
TITLE PAGE
Identifies Name of Project with a meaningful title.
Identifies the name and position of the recipient(s).
Identifies name and position of the writer.
Identifies date that report was issued to the recipient. Good
REPORT BACKGROUND
Context/Background for Problem. HOW/WHY this issue CHOSEN? Good
Clear snapshot of the problem Good
Credibility. WHY you are right person to continue this research Missing
REPORT BODY—Problem Definition
Clearly identifies and documents the problem w appropriate quantitative & qualitative research. Overall, good—note comments
Explains WHY it is a problem = impact: WHO it affects, and HOW it affects them. Overall, good, but note comments/corrections
Table(s)—One table required anywhere within the body of the report
Labels/titles and introduces the figure.
Interprets significance of table, without repeating obvious data from table.
Cites source(s) for table using APA/MLA format. Overall, good
Figure(s)—One figure (flowchart) required anywhere within body of report
Labels/titles and introduces the figure.
Interprets significance of figure, without repeating obvious data from visual.
Cites source(s) for figure using APA/MLA format Overall, good
In-text citation: sufficient for visuals, statistics, quotes, facts etc. throughout the report: MLA/APA format. Good
Explains WHO is on board to support research, and WHO will benefit. Good
REPORT CONCLUSION:
Precise and concise conclusion Overall, good
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Primary research – (interview) reference & source Overall, good
Secondary research – reference & source Overall, good
Sufficient complexity for ongoing project development Overall, good
Does not provide any solutions or recommendations! Overall, good
APPENDIX A—Takeaway
Precise and concise statement of learning about i) your career field and ii) about yourself. Missing
WRITING STYLE (INTERFERENCES)
Sentence Fragments, Syntax, Punctuation good
Precise and Concise language use good
Spelling Overall, good, but note corrections
Adequate and appropriate Stacked lists: Introduced _____ Parallel____ good
Yousef,
Overall, well done. Please note comments/corrections. Two sections missing.
7.5/10
Panteli
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