The World’s Biggest Direct-Marketing Company, Essay Example

In the third chapter of Advertising and Promotion, advertising agencies and their services are presented. From these subjects, direct marketing is important as it discusses the different ways brands and products can be advertised using social media platforms. Advertising directly through social media, such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, is widely used, easy and cost-effective for brands (Belch 99-105). Specifically, Facebook allows a brand’s audience and consumers to directly interact with the company. This is a highly effective marketing tool because consumers can follow the brands and have a constant update on new products and services. Direct social media advertising also gives businesses the ability and the information needed to target their audiences in order to streamline their advertising methods, which is especially important for global brands that are implementing cross-cultural advertising techniques.

Direct marketing agencies position themselves as experts in social media, and provide their customer’s with the service of knowledge and expertise (Belch 99-105). Direct marketing agencies are often small, boutique agencies that have expertise in specific markets, such as sports, nightlife or even local towns and cities. Direct marketing is beneficial to large companies, small businesses, local brands and even government and state agencies. This type of advertising is also found in integrated marketing services, as it is often just a part of the advertising techniques used by firms and businesses alike (Belch 99-105).

In chapter 4 of the text, environmental influences on consumer behavior is presented as methods of swaying consumer behavior. Consumer behavior is the “process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing or products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires” (Belch 110). Environmental factors greatly influence purchaser’s decision making, and successful marketing and advertising campaigns must include these items in their research before executing a campaign. These environmental influences include culture, subcultures, reference groups and situational determinants (Belch 133-137). Environmental influences are vital to advertising as they determine how a certain group will react to advertising methods and content.

Culture refers to the “complexity of learned meanings, values, norms and customs shared by members of a society” (Belch 133). Every community and country has their own valued culture and norms, and this is a major factor in consumer decision making (Belch 133). As stated in the text, consumer decisions do not happen in a vacuum, and many outside influences circumstances play a role in these purchases (133). Subcultures are smaller groups within a larger culture, and they include identifiers such as age, geographic location, religious beliefs, social classes and ethnic and racial groups (Belch 134). By targeting specific subcultures, marketers and advertisers can even further narrow down their active or intended audiences. Reference groups are defined as a guide in which individuals can reference for  basis of their judgment (Belch 135). This means people often look to others as a guide to make purchases and consume. This is evident in the popularity of certain brands over others, as well as what is considered popular among different groups of people. Situational determinants refers to the perceived specific use of a product or service during the decision making process (Belch 137). This is best described as how an individual might see themselves using the product or service before purchasing, such as if it will be private or public consumption, or where the advertising is actually taking place (Belch 137). The reason these influences are important is because of the many factors that converge to create the perfect environment that makes it hard for consumers to say no to the purchase. This perfect environment cannot be set-up unless some of or all of these factors are taken into deep consideration.

Advertisement Analysis

The Manchester United football team wanted to increase their online presence across the world, and in doing so they created an advertising campaign to directly engage their fans. The team did not want to over-commercialize their brand and avoided direct advertising on their page, and instead created an engagement campaign to increase traffic, views, comments and “likes.” This is an example of direct marketing advertising on Facebook meant to engage across cultures, and is significant in advertising because it was done solely on its interactions with fans (“Manchester United”) Below are two screenshots from Machester United’s page:

The Manchester United English Premier League soccer club has had major success with their Facebook page’s popularity around the world, specifically in the United States, United Kingdom, Asia, the Middle East and in Africa. In an effort to engage fans and increase their brand awareness in these locations, Manchester United’s Facebook page offered and continues to offer sweepstakes prizes and chances and recognition. Past examples include having the fan to create a virtual shirt with the fan’s name. This actively engaged the fans in a way that further promoted their brand and also gave actual value incentive for the Facebook users to interact. Not only is the team’s advertising entertaining and unique, it also uses specific geographic targeting in their advertising to promote their tours. By using geographic and interest-targeting through fans “likes and dislikes,” Manchester United is able to appeal to its fans specific wants and needs and give them an exclusive and personalized experience. In past efforts, this resulted in a popular campaign that saw new relationships in Indonesia, the US, Mexico, Malaysia and India. It also greatly increased page likes, traffic and engagement in each individual post (“Manchester United”).

In a 2014 article from The New Yorker, it is suggested that Facebook is now the world’s largest direct marketing company, with more than 80% of its revenues coming directly from advertising while at the same time reaching across the world making a huge cultural and social impact (Cassidy). “Where Facebook outdoes other big media companies is in its ability to target ads based upon its users’ activities on the site. In many ways, in fact, Facebook is the world’s first global direct-marketing company” (Cassidy). This is significant for marketing campaigns such as Manchester United’s because Facebook is a free platform available to any business while also providing access to more eyes across the world than any other method of advertising in existence today (“How to Market”).

Works Cited

Belch George, E., and A. Belch Michael. “Advertising and promotion.” An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. New York: MacGraw Hill Higher Education (2012).

Cassidy, John. “Facebook: The World’s Biggest Direct-Marketing Company.” The New Yorker. 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/facebook-the-worlds-biggest-direct-marketing-company>.

“How to Market Your Brand on Every Social Media Channel.” The Hub: The Marketing Technology Resource. 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2015. <http://www.thehubcomms.com/social-media/how-to-market-your-brand-on-every-social-media-channel/article/343604/>.

Manchester United Case Study. 2012, Social Fresh Conference.