Charter College, AnchorageBA 2203

Pick a brand or product currently offered in the market.

Identify the corporate, marketing, and marketing communication level messages.

Critically analyze the marketing communication with respect to the integration and effectiveness in today's global market. 

Answer:

Brand choice-Nike

Corporate, marketing and marketing communication level messages of the brand

Integration and effectiveness of the marketing communication in today's global market

The product choice is Nike brand.

Corporate, marketing and marketing communication level messages of the brand

Marketing communication can be described as all the activities that a company uses deliberately wit the aim of promoting a product offering to the target audience. Some of the communication strategies commonly used by companies include but not limited to advertising, personal selling, celebrity endorsements, sponsorship and direct marketing. Nike's corporate message across different communication mediums is that of superiority and premium performance aimed at persuading prospects to switch to its brand while retaining the current customers. Celebrity endorsement is one of the company's main corporate communication used to manage eternal relationships. The company uses top athletes as representatives of the company, which shapes up the public image of the company. Additionally, the public endorsers reflects a personal touch with a sense of superiority. For the target customers, use of well known individuals creates a personal touch than images or intangible things. Moreover, Nike engages in sponsorship activities such as sports, and uses such events to communicate to target customers about its involvement in addressing social issues. The engagement in sponsorship activities helps current and target customers develop a positive image of the company, which translates to more sales in the future.

Marketing level communication of Nike involves the uses of social media, personal selling, discounts and public relation. Nike has realized the importance of internet sites in promoting its message of superiority to a wider section of the target market. In this regard, the company has formed sites where Nike's customers, as well as celebrities can share and exchange information about the company's products. In addition to that, the company has official pages in face book and twitter where it communicates about its products while gathering insights on areas for design improvement to increase performance. The company also has a website that displays its products, and also uses internet advertising by paying other sites such that its products pop up in their sites sending a message all over the world.

Nike has also managed to use public relations as a marketing strategy. This is commonly used when the company is launching new products, as well as clearing any negative publicity. For instance, in 2005, Nike was accused of operating sweat shops using child labor to manufacture soccer balls. Using public relations, Nike's leaders came out clearly in the public and confirmed that it is the manufacturer that had broken the ethics code. Nike's announced its decision to terminate that contract with the manufacturer who chose to break the stipulated ethics. 

Being a very large company, Nike rarely uses personal selling to direct customers. However, personal selling is utilized when selling to large distributors enhancing its wholesale business transactions. Such businesses benefit from discounts offered by the company and in house displays that works to motivate them to drive its message to end consumers. Personal selling in stores where personnel is equipped with adequate training on good customer service while promoting sale of its new products.

Integration and effectiveness of the marketing communication in today's global market

In simple terms, integrated marketing communication is a comprehensive plan that utilizes a variety of communication disciplines such as advertising, personal selling, public relations among others, and combines them to achieve clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact. The business world today is so competitive with every company seeking to derive a competitive edge over others in the same industry. Combination of several promotional tools becomes an effective approach in today's global market. 

With its 'Just Do It' campaign perpetrated across all media, Nike created a strong brand using effective branding messages across different communication platforms. The use of marketing instruments such as the internet to customize its shoes and products helped the company reach a large audience. Nike has for a long time used mass media advertising with the American advertising agency, which has generated a huge success for the company. The agency developed strong electronic and media campaigns that appealed to customers' emotions. The campaigns generally aimed at speaking to customers' emotions in the sense of promising them feelings of achievement, ambitiousness, pride and actualization. 

Social media campaigns is another strategy that has exposed the company to social media platforms where the business can interact with customers. As such, the company has attracted a huge online presence all over social media sites such as you tube, face book, twitter among others.

Celebrity endorsement and sponsorship activities is another IMC strategy thrown by Nike, that as succeeded in projecting its products, and driving awareness and popularity of the brand. Celebrity appearances creates an image of Nike's link of its products with the success of the celebrities. 

The use of integrated marketing communication has helped Nike not only achieve a large profit margin and huge market share, but also enjoy fulfilling and fruitful relationship with stakeholders and customers. Customer engagement is at its peak when using a variety of channels to reach them, which helps create brand loyalty. Successful integrated communication techniques has helped Nike attain brand equity, awareness, all of which has helped the company grow strategically.