CREATIVE CAMPAIGN IDEA- ALEXANDERS ON THE PARK

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report has a number of objectives. Firstly, it will outline a creative campaign idea for a small to medium sized organization in the writer’s local area. The commercial organization chosen for this task is Alexander on the Park in Sydney Australia. Secondly, by making use of a strategic approach and a wealth of academic investigative studies on creative campaigns, this report will outline a creative idea for the organization. This report discusses in detail the objectives of this creative campaign as well as the primary and secondary target audience. The strategy applied in the creative campaign is also clearly elucidated upon. Furthermore, the message content, style and tone depicted in the creative campaign at Alexander on the Park are also discussed. Table of Contents 1.0.0 Introduction 3 Case Study: Alexander on the Park 4 Objectives of Report 4 2.0.0 Creative Strategy Theory 4 3.0.0 Creative Concept 5 Target Market 5 Objective 6 Strategic Approach 6 Message Content 7 Style/Tone 9 4.0.0 Conclusion 10 5.0.0 Reference List 11 1.0.0 Introduction In recent days the preeminence accorded to the phenomenon of creativity in different fields and disciplines has increased. Learners and employees all over the world are currently being encouraged to depict “creativity” and “innovativeness” so as to attain success in their academic and business endevors, respectively (Clow et al, 2001). The relationship involving advertising and creativity is a not a new one; on the contrary, it is a very long and rich one. According to Smith and Yang (2004, p. 31) creativity is perceived as one of the most vital components which determine whether or not the advertising strategies applied in a business will be effective. There are two very important aspects of creative campaigns in advertisement processes. Firstly, a creative camapign idea is described as one that is not only very new, but also unique and characterized with a high level of imagination. This characteristic of creative campaigns is referred to divergence. Secondly, the divergent idea must be relevant for the firm, and with the ability to successfully solve the problems faced by the firm. As indicated by Smith and Yang (2004, p. 32, it is very important for executives formulating a creative campaign in a firm such as Alexander on the Park to be sensitive to the concept of “social recognition criteria”. This concept purports that a creative campaign should target a particular adudience due to the fact that an advertisement that is perceived as creative by a partiucular group of consumers such as teenagers, may fail to capture the attention of another different goup, for instance, the senior citizens (Smith and Yang, 2004, p. 32). Case Study: Alexander on the Park Alexander on the Park firm in Sydney Australia was founded by Sophia and Harry Alexander in the year 2006 (Alexander on the Park Website, 2012). This firm was established as a corporate café and take away joint that caters for breakfast, lunches, meetings, catering services, seminars and cocktail parties. The main focus for Alexander Catering is the corporate catering market segment. Alexander on the Park functions as modern bistro with a variety of items on its menu; these items include cakes and slices, salads, coffee and hot foods (Alexander on the Park Website, 2012). Objectives of Report This report has a number of objectives: • The first aim of this report is to disambiguate the concept of creative strategy theory in advertisement campaigns. • This report will also explain the concept of target market, the two different types of target markets in creative campaigns as well as the importance of identifying a particular target market when conducting creative campaigns. • This report discusses in detail the objectives of this creative campaign as well as the primary and secondary target audience. • The fourth, and most important objective of this report, is to formulate a creative campaign idea for the Alexander on the Park café in Sydney, Australia. Jones (2013d, p. 8) points out that an effective creative campaign must be typified by the five components depicted below. Objective • What will it achieve? Media • What media will be used? Creative • How will the message be presented? Database • System of data storage and analysis Fulfillment • Campaign Implementation 2.0.0 Creative Strategy Theory Any integrated marketing campaign commences with the effective application of a theory of creativity. A good marketing plan should be comprised of goals and policies of marketing and advertisement that are very clearly expressed (Sternberg, 199). A majority of the most competitive commercial organizations in the modern day have indicated a propensity towards making use of comprehensive strategy plans that are very creative in nature. An effective and appropriate creative strategy must be composed of an identified target market, creative campaign’s objectives and the competitive benefit. Creative strategies in advertising are applied for purposes of attracting the attention and concetration of consumers in a target market with the intention of persuading them to buy a particular commodity or make use of certain services being offered by a business organization. Advertisers make use of varied techniques so as to come up with techniques that are catchy enough to capure the attention of the target audience (Sternberg, 1999). An effective strategy theory in advertising is one that enhances publicity for a firm’s products and services as well as the firm’s public relations. This in turn increases the firm’s sales. According to Jones (2013d, p. 27) the creative visuals and style utilized in a creative campaign ought to conform to the laid down advertising guidelines. The image used in the ad should clearly reflect the quality of the service, product or firm being advertised. Furthermore, the color, size and weight of the ad should be appropriate in reinforcing the main messages being communicated to the target consumers. 3.0.0 Creative Concept Target Market A target market refers to the estimated number of people expected to by a firm’s products or/and services. In order to determine the target market for this creative campaign idea, it is important to understand the overview of the media planning process involved. Jones (2013c, p. 7) reveals that the process of media planning is comprised of several processes. The first process, as indicated in Figure 1 below, is the planning and design of a strategy or policythat validates the time, money and energy that is to be invested in the creative campaign effort. The media strategy is compised of the steps indicated in Figure 2 below. Figure 1 Figure 2 According Jones (2013c, p. 10) there are four major considerations that should be made when deciding on the appropriate target audience for this creative campaign in Alexander on the Park. These are the behavior of consumers, geographics, demographics and the values and lifestyle of audience. A primary target market refers to the segment of a market place in which a firm believes it has the highest prospects of making the most sales; the primary market of Alexander on the Park is not necessarily the largest in the firm’s market place. The primary target for Alexander on the Park is the adults aged 30-50 and above who are affiliated to the corporate world. The secondary target market refers to the market that has the next highest potential after the primary segment to buy the goods and services offered by a commercial organization. This marketing campaign in Alexander on the Park is going to give priority to the primary target market. The primary target market for this campaign is the adult group that are in the workforce. As already stated, Alexander on the Park firm targets consumers in the corporate market segment. The priority given to the primary target market in this campaign will de depicted by amount of market spending and time allocated. The secondary market will however not be ignored; this is due to the fact that the secondary market is also very significant in increeasing the firm’s sales. Objective This creative campaign idea is based on four main objectives; the first is reach. The reach objective determines the percentage of the identified target audience that will be exposed to the advertisement message in the period of creative campaign. Jones (2013c, p. 11) describes the frequency objective as determining the number of times that an audience needs to be exposed to the creative campaign’s message in the set time. Weight describes the amount of advertising requires to successfully attain the reach and frequency objectives. Jones (2013c, p. 12) states that the other objectives that need to be considered in Alexander the Park’s creative campaign include continuity, cost and recency. While continuity describes the allocation of the advertisement budget over the set period of time, recency describes the time that the target audience should be exposed to the creative campaign. This campaign is expected to last for four weeks (1 month). The cost objective determines the strategies that are most cost effective in attaining all the other named objectives (Jones, 2013, p. 12) Strategic Approach There are a number of strategies that can be utilized in formulating a creative campaign idea; Reynolds (1984, p. 27) defines creative strategy as “the overall scenario for communicating the brand”. The most common strategies include generic, emotional, resonance, brand image and pre-emptive strategies. Nevertheless, the creative campaign advertisement of Alexander on the Park café the most suitable strategy is the resonance strategy. In the event that it is utilized in advertisement process, the term “resonance’ implies that the creative campaign idea will reverberate or reflect the life occurences of the targeted audience. The resonance strategy of advertisement is based on investigative studies aimed at discovering and reflecting the values, principles and lifestyle inclinations of the audience targeted by the creative campaign. Resonance strategy in creative campaigns does not emphasize brand images or assertions regarding the firm’s products or services. On the contrary, resonance strategies focus on a depiction of the conditions and state of affairs that characterize the intended segment market’s actual or imagined life occurences. In depicting the life experices of the corporate target market, it is important for Alexander on the Park’s creative campaign do illustrate the unique café experience that the target audience will enjoy upon visiting the café. The creative campaign for Alexander on the Park firm will be in the form of a poster panel on a billboard. In billboard advertising the most important goal is for the target audience to identify and be acquainted with the name of the firm. It is for this reason that the firm’s name “Alexander on the Park” will appear at the top of the billboard. According to Jones (2013b. p. 13) there are a number of considerations to be made in designing the billboard ad that will be used; these include the visibility of colors and letters used as well as an understanding of the distance involved. Although the photograph and slogan in this creative campaign effort have been designed for purposes of a billboard ad, they may also be utilized in the firm’s online advertisent endevors. Jones (2013d, p. 12) claims that this photograph and slogan may advertise and market the firm and its products particularly when posted on the firm’s website. Message Content As indicated by Jones (2013b, p. 19), the information and workability of ads in any creative campaign effort is of utmost importance. The information offered about the Alexander on the Park firm and its products on the ad serves to persuade consumers to visit the café and try out the meals on offer. Workability refers to the purpose of the ad and the manner in which it passes across information. The figure below depicts the photograph and slogan that are going to be used for Alexander on the Park’s creative campaign. By seeing the three yellow happy and smiling faces on this ad, the targeted market is supposed to develop a and relaxed happy feeling. Alexander on the Park firm intends to portray the message that the firm’s cafeterias offer client a relaxed and comfrotable evironment where thay can enjoy a sumptious meal. It is for this reason that a plateful of one of the meals offered by the firm is depicted in a photo. The photo of the delicious looking meal is supposed to arouse the hunger and culinary desire of the target primary and secondary consumers so that they at least visit the cafeterias to sample the meals on offer. ALEXANDER ON THE PARK SMILE YOUR WAY OUT OF HUNGER! As indicated by Jones (2013b, p. 19) this ad satisfies the requirements of the packaging evaluation view model. Firstly, the photo and slogan are very visible; visibility refers to the ability of the ad to capture the attention of the target audience. This has been achieved by making use of attractive and conspicuous. The yellow smiling faces are particular very attractive for consumers of different ages. After the attention of the target consumer has been grabbed by the yellow smiling faces, the consumer is persuaded to look at the plate of food and the catchy slogan. “Smile Your way Out of Hunger”. Jones (2013b, p. 18) claims that sensation tranference is of utmost importance when designing a creative ad; sensation transference can be attained by the use of color, design and form of cues as well as size of packaging. Style/Tone Jones (2013a, p. 23) points out that the style or tone that is used in creative campaign ideas is very significant in determining the success or failure of the advertising activity. Jones (2013b, p. 19) states that in any creative campaign effort the emotional appeal of the ad is of utmost importance. As indicated in the photo and slogan that is going to be utilized in the Alexander on the Park’s creative campaign, a sense of humor is very effective in enhancing the effectives of the advertisement. According to Jones (2013a, p. 23) humor fulfills a number of objectives in creative campaigns. Firstly, a humorous advertisement such as is being used in this campaign attracts the attention of the target audience faster that a dull advertisement would. In addition to this, a humorous advertisement has a propensity to increase the likeability of the brands or firms being advertised. A humorous advertisement can be created and illustrated in a mnner that does not adversely interfere with comprehension. Nevertheless, Jones (2013a, p. 23) states that there are a number of noteworthy facts that one should understand about the use of humor in creative campaigns. Apart from the fact that a humorous campaign has no greater adveantage of persuasion over a non-humorous one, it also does not increase source credibility. Humorous creative campaigns are are also very reliant on product types and they tend to be more successful when utilized for brands that are already established in the market. 4.0.0 Conclusion This report has described in detail a creative campaign idea for the Alexander on the Park firm. As already indicated in the case study analysis, Alexander on the Park firm was established as a corporate café and take away joint that offers breakfast, lunches, meetings, catering services, seminars and cocktail party services. The main focus for Alexander on the Park is the corporate market segment. Investment in advertisement processes should not be perceived as a current expense. On the contrary, creative campaigns in commercial organizations are important investments that ensure the long term success of a corporation. From the advert designed in this report it is clear that creative campaigns serve the purposse of innforming, influencing and reminding the target consumers on the existence and competitiveness of a firm or its products and services as well as adding value (Jones. 2013, p. 11). 5.0.0 Reference List Alexander on the Park Website, (2012), http://www.alexandersonthepark.com.au/index.html, [Accessed on 10th May 2013] Clow, K., Roy, D. and Baack, D. (2001), “Content Analysis of Creative Message Strategies in Service Advertisements”, in Charles R. Taylor (ed.) The Proceedings of the 2001 Conference of the American Academy of Advertising, pp. 48–55. Villanova, PA: American Academy of Advertising Jones, J., (2013a), “Lecture 4: Creative Strategies, Message Execution- Advertising Strategy and Implementation”, CSU Study Centre, Sydney Jones, J., (2013b), “Lecture 5 Part 1: “The Media Characteristics- Print and Support Media”, CSU Study Centre, Sydney Jones, J., (2013c), “Lecture 5 Part 2: “Media Planning and Ananlysis”, CSU Study Centre, Sydney Jones, J., (2013d), “Lecture 7: “Advertisement, IMC Planning, Direct Marketing- Direct Marketing”, CSU Study Centre, Sydney Jones, J., (2013d), “Lecture 6: “Technology & Interactivity- Digital Marketing”, CSU Study Centre, Sydney Reynolds, T. J., (1984), “Advertising is Image Management”, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol 24, pp. 27-36 Smith, R. E and Yang, X., (2004), “Toward a General Theory of Creativity in Advertising: Examining the Role of Divergence”, Marketing Theory, Vol. 4 (1/2), pp. 31-58 Sternberg, R. J., (1999), “The Handbook of Creativity”, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press