Thursday, April 7, 2011

Week eleven: Integrated Marketing Communication

Smashbox is quite successful when it comes to integrated marketing. Of course no company can survive in the marketplace without having effective promotion (communication by marketers that informs, persuades, and reminds potential buyers of a product in order to influence an opinion or elicit a response). Smashbox does an excellent job convincing their customers that their products are better than others. Competitive advantage (the unique set of features of a company and its products that are perceived by the superior to the competition). They have high product quality and unique features that are not offered by other companies. Such as: their anti-aging products that are good for you and leave your skin looking younger and fresh as ever. The Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder is the FIRST anti-aging powder with the science of skin care built in. In just 10 minutes there is a 33% decrease in appearance of wrinkles around your eyes. In just 6 weeks there is a 67% decrease in appearance of fine lines and wrinkles all over!
Smashboxs’ promotional strategies (a plan for the optimal use of the elements of promotion: advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion) use several ingredients such as advertising, public relations, and sales promotion. Smashbox finds great ways to advertise their company to a ton of people. They use public relations to keep their positive image as well as constantly introducing new and fabulous products. They attract a lot of their consumers through sales promotion (marketing activities- other than personal selling, advertising, and public relations- that stimulate consumer buying and dealer effectiveness). This includes free samples, premiums, and coupons!
Smashbox is successful because they express a great deal of communication (the process by which meanings are exchanged or shared through a common set of symbols). They communicate info about the company and its products to the target market through its promotional programs. They find ways to communicate both through interpersonal communication (direct, face-face communication between two or more people) and mass communication (the communication of a concept or message to large audiences). For example, at Sephora they sell Smashbox Cosmetics- there customers speak directly with a salesperson and therefore people can see the other person’s reaction and can respond almost immediately (interpersonal). On television the show Americas Next Top Model advertises Smashbox constantly when going to Smashbox Studios for their photo shoots. This communicates a concept/message to a large number of consumers who watch the show (mass). 
Today, the internet is having a profound impact on marketing communication- including blogs, and social networks such as Facebook. Although these tools were originally used by individuals to express themselves, businesses began to realize that they could engage consumers too. Many people spend their time blogging about Smashbox and their products. This generates a ton of interest and captivates other consumers attention. People constantly search the web for blogs to see what products are desired by the other consumers. Also many people turn to Facebook as well. This popular social network displays many profiles- one of them being the one and only Smashbox Cosmetics! On their profile they have photos, events, and information about the company and products. 





No comments:

Post a Comment