Imc Plan For Lux Body Wash

An IMC plan is an important attribute of marketing that is utilized by different organizations around the world. An Integrated marketing plan would analyze the core marketing communications strategy implemented by the organization. This paper would focus on the IMC plan of LUX body wash.

Brand background and Analysis

The marketplace overview

The brand Lux is owned by one of the giants of industry names as Unilever. This FMCG is one of the most prominent companies of the world when it comes to sales and giving value to the final consumer. Lux was initially launched as a soap bar in different countries. However, the passage of time has brought in many changes in the product development of organizations. That is the reason why Unilever developed a Body wash named Lux. As far as the category of body wash is considered than it can be said that this category is relatively new to consumers. However, In Australia different organizations are adapting themselves according to the needs of the customers. Different brands are being sold out in the market like Oxy Daily wash, body wash of American crew etc. Besides that certain prominent company are also working in this sector like Old Spice, Marks and Spencer, The body shop etc. All these brands are focused towards the needs of the consumers and these organizations are very well aware of the fact that the advent of time has brought in many changes in the needs of the consumers that is the reason why they have to initiate new and modernized products for their consumers (Unilever, 2010).

As far as the trends of the industry are concerned than it can be said that the needs of the consumers are changing. Multinational organizations are marketing in such a way that the needs of the consumers are projected as their wants. Body wash comes up with an association that when an individual uses a body wash he/she believes that a body wash will leave his/body with a perfect fragrance.

The target audience analysis

The target audience analysis depicts that people perceive a body wash as an essential toiletry. However, this perception is framed with reference to their respective social class. This is actually the perception of upper middle and upper class. That is the reason why in a broader context it can be said that upper middle class and upper class is the core target market of this category. However, in certain instance middle class can also be associated with this category too. The behaviour analysis would depict that in order to curb the element of body odour people buy body wash of different organisations. The core motivation of consumers to buy such toiletries is that they are attracted by the fragrance and the freshness created by these products. Innovation in this category is taking place in such a way that consumers are targeting with new and modernized fragrances. It is a phenomenon in this industry that new launches are bringing new customers (Brookman, 1997).

As far as the psychographics and attitude towards the category is concerned than it can be said that body wash is an essential aspect of individuals who are affording it. They have a feeling that body washes with their new and improved launches are changing their lifestyles. In the similar manner Lux body wash is coming up in different fragrances that are the reason why they are the marketers of this brand believes that each category is targeted at different group of consumers and this segmentation is based on the scenario of lifestyles and personal preferences. As Luz stand for the promise of beauty and glamour that is the reason why the primary buying incentive for consumers is that they opt for Lux body wash because of its price, different categorization, quality and the because of the fact that the element of beauty and attraction is attached with this brand.

As far as the consumer buying contracts are concerned it can be said that consumers are most like to accept and receive the message of beauty, care, glamour, a sense of affiliation with different personalities etc are the message received by customers when they are planning to opt for a Lux body wash. The brand is of greatest benefit to the consumers because of its quality and affiliation with beauty and care. The extra categories that are developed in Lux body wash give the consumers a chance to opt for their favourite category according to their specific needs.

The competition analysis

The competition that exists in the body wash category is bit stuff and every organization that is in the business of toiletries and general consumer items is focusing on this category. The giants of this category are Body Shop, Old Spice, Marks and Spencer, Lux etc. However, it can still be said that the body wash market still has certain vacant area because people are changing their needs and more and more people are adopting body wash. One of the most possible ways to manoeuvre the present competition is to market the product extensively in different mediums. New and interactive mediums should be used while promoting the brand and when a new category should be launched it should be targeted to a specific target audience so that separate chunks of consumers would be created in the entire market. Therefore, it can be said that the stiff competition can be reduced through interactive marketing and keeping it close with the customer. The share-of-voice should be identified and then according to the needs and percentages of different target segments marketing strategies should be developed.

Marcom Strategy

Brand positioning

As implied by the name brand positioning actually depicts that how the brand is directly or indirectly positioned in the minds of the consumer. Positioning is an essential characteristic for marketers because through this an organization can evaluate the buying patterns and the perception of the brand is also placed in the minds of the consumer (Keller, 2007). The two important aspects that would be focused in this paper would be TCB (Target-Category-Benefit) positioning model and the A-B-E Claim.

The target category benefit model depicts that what would be the offered to be the customer through the category section that is this would analyse that what is the actual category of the organization. In the similar manner in the next phase is it for the customers or the target market they organization is focusing. Finally, what is the key benefit offered by the organization to the consumers. It can also be said that what this section focuses on the aspect that what the brand offers to the consumers. When it comes to Lux Body wash than it can be said that there are different categories of body washes available in the market like Lux Shea Exfoliating Scrub Body Wash, Lux Tropical Sunset Body Wash, Lux Tahitian Escape exfoliating body wash, Lux Indulge Body Wash, Lux Exotic Oil Infusion Body Wash and Lux Luminous Touch Body Wash (Unilever, 2010). All these body washes possess different characteristics and they are designed according to the need of the consumers. These categories are designed by Unilever keeping in view the characteristics and needs of their target market. However, it can also be said that most of these characteristics are for separate target market chunks.

The A-B-E model focuses on three core aspects of marketing which is attributes, benefits and emotions. The main focus on attribute is that when the brand should be positioned for the main target market. In the case of Lux body wash the attribute would style and glamour for individuals that belong to upper middle and upper class. The benefit section would associate and focus the main benefit of the brand. In the case of Lux Body wash special fragrance and freshness is main benefit of this brand. As implied by the name the emotional focus should be kept with the brand so that consumers can be associated with the brand for a longer term period. In the case of Lux the emotional benefit is appeal from glamorous stars (Reynolds & Olson, 2001).

Campaign Objectives

This section would focus on a new idea for Lux Body wash in Australia. The marketing objectives of the brand are given below:

Attracting new and untapped target markets like kids, men etc.

Focusing on specific target market chunks like students, business oriented individuals etc.

As far as the target audience is concerned than the target audience should be separately targeted with different categories of Lux Body wash. As far as the communication objectives are concerned than it can be said that nearly all type of communication mediums should be used to attract and convince the customers. All these objectives are for the launch of the campaign and these objectives and modes of marketing varies with the external conditions.

Creative Strategy

This section will include the big idea or the main execution strategy for the brand. The big idea or the creative strategy for Lux Body Wash is given below:

The big idea will start from a teaser and all communication mediums would be used in this regard. The teaser will be that “100% Freshness guaranteed . . . . . . .” This teaser would be aired on television, placed on hoardings, internet, social media websites, radio and newspaper should also be utilised in this regard. This strategy would be used for a week and then the actual campaign will resume. The campaign will be focused on different young individuals who are using Lux beauty body wash and they are satisfied with this brand because of the element freshness and fragrance attached with this brand. At the end different doctors would recommend the customers in the ad to use this brand.

IMC strategy

An IMC strategy is the core strategy of integrated marketing communication which would clearly depict that which tools would be utilised in the entire communication and execution plan. The benefits of IMC are that through proper implementation of an IMC plan the marketing objectives of an organisation can be achieved (Duncan, 2004). The tools that will be utilised in this plan are given below:

Advertising

Public relation activities

Merchandising, packaging and collateral

Advertising: In order to execute the teaser all the important advertising mediums would be utilised like television, radio, internet, newspaper. Emphasis would be laid on hoardings, television and newspaper. The final advertisement would be aired on television during morning shows, late night shows and during the evening hours. In the similar manner the hoarding should depict that doctors are recommending Lux body wash to different individuals. Although, this might be a shift of strategy but a change is necessary to achieve the objectives. The same campaign would be utilised in different manners through all the advertising mediums.

Public relation activities: Different doctors, artists, sports personalities should be invited in a corporate gathering along with different corporate members and then they should be informed about the new idea of Lux. In this event launching a new category can also be a beneficial strategy.

Merchandising and Packaging: Different merchandising campaigns should be started in top notch stores of Australia. This would attract the consumers more and more towards the brand and this would easily depict that what exactly is going on. In the similar manner it can also be said that the packaging of the brand should also be on coherence with the new marketing campaign.

IMC Implementation

Planning is an important aspect when it comes to the development of a certain plan but the main and important task is to depict that how well the strategies are implemented. If the strategies are implemented properly than maximum results can be expected in both the short and the long run. Three specific elements will be used in this plan and the rational for using these elements are given below:

Rationale: One of the basic reason of using bill boards and hoardings is because of the fact a larger segment of individuals can view it. Similarly, bill boards and hoarding are cost effective as compared to other mediums. News paper, television and internet are chosen to attract a specific target market that is individuals belonging to upper middle and upper class. The main objective is to ensure that Lux Body wash is a necessary toiletry and without that you cannot attain beauty and freshness together.

As far as the schedule of pattern is concerned then it would also be linked with the basic idea of the campaign. Lux Body wash should be marketed initially with a teaser through bill board, hoardings and internet together. Once hype is created than it should be printed on a news paper and finally to attract the masses this campaign would be aired on television. This schedule is associated with the aims and objectives of the campaign. The main advertisement campaign would also be marketed and all these communication mediums would be utilised in the similar pattern of the teaser.

As far as the integration of tools is concerned than it can be said that integrated marketing communication is all about integration and that is the reason why all the tools should be integrated. The tools that will be utilised in this campaign are integrated in this way that once the hype of a new marketing campaign created customers would definitely be attracted by it. Therefore, public relations will come into play and a big corporate gathering will be organisation which would feature the members of different corporate organisations. Different doctors, artists and popular personalities will also be invited. The tools are integrated in such a way that when a consumer is influenced a television commercial of Lux Body Wash than he/she enters a super market and saw different tags hanging in the super market that are depicting the same campaign. The television commercial would sub-consciously come into his/her minds and it is highly probable that he/she ends up buying a Lux body wash.

Campaign Management

The campaign management would actually depict that how the available budget will be spent and how different tracking measures would be taken to check the effectiveness of the budget. The budget of this campaign is shown below through a table.

Outdoor

Location

Frequency

Cost ($)

Total Cost

Special Areas

5

62000

310000 (5*62000)

Highway Super Site

3

27000

81000 (3*27000)

Normal Site

9

2200

19800 (9*2200)

The total expense that is estimated from outdoor marketing is $ 410800

Newspaper

Newspaper

Frequency

Cost ($)

Total Cost

Herald Sun

2

17000

34000 (2*17000)

The Age

1

17000

17000

The total expense that is estimated from Newspaper marketing is $51000

As far as the television expenses are concerned than it can be said that a single TVC would be developed and it will be aired on Friday Night Movie, Desparate House. The duration of the total ad would be 2 minutes 30 seconds. The ad will be aired on Friday Movie Night every week. Therefore the cost would be 30000 per week. In the similar manner it would be aired 3 times in desperate house wife therefore the cost would be 85000 per single ad. Different tracking measures would be utilised to track the effectiveness of this plan like through forums, secondary research etc.