Ques.

Choose any Indian state which has position itself in the tourism sector in the mind
of consumer & explain its advertising & branding strategy.

Ans. Thomas Cook Group plc is busy in travel and tourism business. It gives services
through over 4000 travel agencies and it has more than 280,000 employee's resources. It
functions a fleet of 96 owned/leased planes. It serves over 18 million travellers annually
year through allowing them to attain over 2500 destinations. The group provides services
under the main brands comprise Thomas Cook, Air tours, Neckermann, Condor, Ving,
Direct Holidays and Sunquest. It has categorized five geographic functioning divisions:
UK and Ireland, Continental Europe, Northern Europe, North America and Airlines
Germany for organization reasons. (Dev, Chekitan S.; Don E. Schultz (January/February
2005,56-76)
This description given an in-depthbusiness, intended analysis of Thomas Cook Group
plc. The description provides a whole insight into the commerce, as well as business
structure and procedure, executive biographies and key competitor. The characteristic of
the explanation is the detailed planned examination and Global Markets Direct's analysis
on the company. (Dev, Chekitan S.; Don E. Schultz (January/February 2005,56-76)
The company's strengths and weaknesses and areas of expansion or turn down are
analyzed. monetary, strategic and functioning factors are measured.
The occasions open to the company are measured and its growth possible assessed.
reasonable or technical threats are highlighted.
The report contains important corporation information - trade structure and procedure, the
company past, main products and services, key contributor, key workers and decision-
making biographies, different position and imperative subsidiaries.
It gives detailed financial ratios for the history five years as well as temporary ratios for
the previous four quarters.
monetary ratios include productivity, limits and returns, liquidity and influence, monetary
position and competence ratios.
A rapid "one-stop-shop" to appreciate the corporation. improve business/sales
performance by sympathetic customers' commerce better. Get detailed stats and monetary
& planned analysis on companies functioning in your industry. Recognize potential
associate and suppliers - with key information on their businesses and place.
take advantage of on competitors' fault and target the market openings available to them.
Compare your company's monetary tendency with those of your peers / contestant
Scout for possible attainment targets, with thorough insight into the companies' tactical,
financial and functioning performance. All of our commerce operate staffing, guidance
and growth and reward policies suitable to their local markets. Over and above this, the
innovative Thomas Cook Group has start a number of ambitious initiatives to remain the
Group's people at the front position of its trade. (Dev, Chekitan S.; Don E. Schultz
(January/February 2005,56-76)
Chapter 2
Marketing strategy
Marketing mix
The marketing mix is the firm's overall offer, or worth, to the client. conventionally, the
marketing mix stand for in strategic terms, the total notion and application of the goods or
services to be marketed. The basic advertising mix is often nicknamed "the 4Ps"
(product, place/distribution, pricing, promotion); "these are basics in the marketers
armoury - features that can be control to keep ahead of the opposition."
(Goldstein, Doug 2007,68-87)
Product
A product refers to the sum concept' that is sell. The total creation consists of both
touchable (e.g. raw materials, description, accessories) and insubstantial (e.g. brand
name, product line, client service) parts. In wide-ranging terms, creation also refers to the
needs-satisfying offering by a business to consumers. It is consequently more than the
corporeal thing sold by the trade.
Value
Price refers to the concluding cost of the creation that is paid by the consumer. It
represents the built-in value of a product or service to consumers. A industry may apply a
variety of pricing policies responsibility on revenue goals. consequently in Marketing
terms: PRICE = PRODUCT VALUE
(Goldstein, Doug 2007,68-87)
financial demand analysis (through market research) will point to how much clients are
equipped to pay for a meticulous product or service at any given point in time. Here, the
superior the price of a good quality, the smaller amount people that will command the
product. Their helpfulness (satisfaction level) is not maximised. In most cases as price
fall (from P to P1) the product becomes moderately attractive and as such 'in demand' by
regulars (Q to Q1). Total proceeds for a firm is represented by Price x number Sold, or:
TR = P x Q (Goldstein, Doug 2007,68-87)
Place
Place is largely concerned with both the site of business and the way of allocation
between producers and customers. Only in rare conditions does the original producer or
producer of products also act as the initial and final link to clients. The involvedness of
up to date society makes it obligatory for mediators to act as a straight link between
creator and the ultimate clients of products and services. A sharing channel refers to the
type of go-between or linkage between producers and clients. A one-channel distribution
network engage only the retailer between creator and consumer. Two-channelled sharing
may include various mediators such as wholesalers. Direct sharing happen when the
creator directly provisions the product to the purchaser. The choice of distribution
channel is charge on a variety of factors, for instance the type of product. a quantity of
products are not suitable for direct allocation. A channel specialist such as a warehouse or
trader may provide an efficient link with retailers as an alive relationship may by now be
in existence. (Haystack, 2005,26-36)
Promotion
The group individuals relate promotion to direct publicity of a product . However, the
result to buy a meticulous product (on or after knowledge presented) is a multifaceted and
consistent process. In formal terms, promotion refers to the communication of
information between seller and buyer. Its aim is to authority attitudes and behaviour.
(Haystack, 2005,26-36).
Ques.What are the different parameter into consideration for media planning. Take an
example of your choice. Explain the process of media planning.

Ans. Media planning is required because product consumers are scattered across media
and one consumer may be using more than one media format. If there were just one TV
channels, one newspaper, one radio station and one social media website, there would
have been no need for media planning at all. However such a scenario does not exist in
real world and if it did, it would lead to Ad space clutter and so the example should be
taken only in academic sense. Since the closing years of 20th century the world has
witnessed an explosion in Media platforms and today the job of a Media planning agency
has become extremely tough. Manufacturers and other commercial entities want to
advertise their product using available media in the target location. Presence of large
number of media companies and media formats means high advertising costs. Very few
businesses can afford to cover a large spectrum of media platforms. Therefore there is a
need of planning professionals who specialize in understanding various media platforms
in a geographical zone and who also have a grasp on consumer behavior patterns of that
region. These Media planning agencies or advertising agencies use a plethora of Media
planning tools to provide Media planning services to their clients.

Major Media formats for Media planning

Electronic media ( T.V., Radio)
Print media ( Newspapers, magazines, Pamphlets )
Digital media ( CDs, DVDs, Social media, Mobile phones)
Outdoor ( Banners, billboards)

Some important Media Planning terms

Reach The number of households who are exposed to a media vehicle at least once in a
given region.
Target Group The key consumer group for a brand whom the advertiser is planning to
give the advertising message.
Universe Actual count of consumers in the target group.
Rating point The percentage (%) of the target universe group who are actually exposed
to a TV or Radio Ad at a given point of time. 1 rating point = 1% of target audience.
GRP (Gross rating point) - Total size of audience reached by a particular media vehicle.
TRP (Target rating point) It is the GRP achieved in a special target group by a media
vehicle.
Frequency The number of times an individual is exposed to a brands advertisement
campaign.
CPP (Cost per point) - Cost spent to buy one rating point or in other words cost of
reaching 1% of the target audience.
CPT (Cost per thousand) It stands for the cost of reaching 1000 target audience with a
particular media campaign and media vehicle.
Day part Viewership - The demography of audience exposed to a media campaign during
different parts of a day.
UC (User clicks) - Number of first clicks by a website visitor.
CTR (Click through rate) It is the count of users who actually clicked at the desired link
of the advertisement campaign.
PPC (Pay per click) It is also known as Cost per click and is the cost a business gives
to a website for each click on the business Ad link on the website.

Main objectives of Media planning/Buying

The main objective of availing Media planning services is by a Business is to achieve a

desired Reach and frequency. To achieve both these parameters, the Media planning
agencies and Media buying agencies make use of various Media planning tools.
Reach: Reach is the total count of households or individuals who are exposed to a media
vehicle at least once in a given period. However it is not the count of people who are
exposed to the actual advertisement. The Reach number is a crucial input of Media
planning tools as it helps the media planner to create a media-mix based upon the
Reach of various media vehicles in a given advertising region. The number of
households which must be exposed to the advertising message is established and then a
media-mix of all the media vehicles that may be required to achieve that number is
evolved. The cheapest combination of media mix which achieves the target media-reach
is communicated to the Media Buying Companies who finally make the buy after
negotiating with the media companies.
Frequency: It is the number of times a household or an individual is actually exposed to
the brand advertisement which is being promoted by the Media planning agency. This is
equally important and crucial Media planning tool as by better reach only, an
advertisement campaigns success can not be gauged. It is only if target number of
households actually get exposed to the advertisement message that the media plan is
considered to be successful. To achieve better frequency or advertisement exposure,
Media buying agencies buy those time slots and media vehicles which are more likely to
find the target group. For this, Media buying Companies need to thoroughly research the
demography of the target geographical region of the Advertisement campaign.
PROCESS:

Choosing which media or type of advertising to use is sometimes tricky for small firms
with limited budgets and know-how. Large-market television and newspapers are often
too expensive for a company that services only a small area (although local newspapers
can be used). Magazines, unless local, usually cover too much territory to be cost-
efficient for a small firm, although some national publications offer regional or city
editions. Metropolitan radio stations present the same problems as TV and metro
newspapers; however, in smaller markets, the local radio station and newspaper may
sufficiently cover a small firm's audience.

That's why it's important to put together a media plan for your advertising campaign. The
three components of a media plan are as follows:

1. Defining the marketing problem. Do you know where your business is coming from
and where the potential for increased business lies? Do you know which markets offer the
greatest opportunity? Do you need to reach everybody or only a select group of
consumers? How often is the product used? How much product loyalty exists?

2. Translating the marketing requirements into attainable media objectives. Do you

want to reach lots of people in a wide area (to get the most out of your advertising
dollar)? Then mass media, like newspaper and radio, might work for you. If your target
market is a select group in a defined geographic area, then direct mail could be your best
bet.

3. Defining a media solution by formulating media strategies. Certain schedules work

best with different media. For example, the rule of thumb is that a print ad must run three
times before it gets noticed. Radio advertising is most effective when run at certain times
of the day or around certain programs, depending on what market you're trying to reach.

Advertising media generally include:

Television
Radio
Newspapers
Magazines (consumer and trade)
Outdoor billboards
Public transportation
Yellow Pages
 Direct mail
Specialty advertising (on items such as matchbooks, pencils, calendars, telephone
pads, shopping bags and so on)
Other media (catalogs, samples, handouts, brochures, newsletters and so on)
When comparing the cost and effectiveness of various advertising media, consider the
following factors:

Reach. Expressed as a percentage, reach is the number of individuals (or homes) you
want to expose your product to through specific media scheduled over a given period
of time.
Frequency. Using specific media, how many times, on average, should the individuals
in your target audience be exposed to your advertising message? It takes an average of
three or more exposures to an advertising message before consumers take action.
Cost per thousand. How much will it cost to reach a thousand of your prospective
customers (a method used in comparing print media)? To determine a publication's
cost per thousand, also known as CPM, divide the cost of the advertising by the
publication's circulation in thousands.
Cost per point. How much will it cost to buy one rating point for your target
audience, a method used in comparing broadcast media. One rating point equals 1
percent of your target audience. Divide the cost of the schedule being considered by
the number of rating points it delivers.
Impact. Does the medium in question offer full opportunities for appealing to the
appropriate senses, such as sight and hearing, in its graphic design and production
quality?
Selectivity. To what degree can the message be restricted to those people who are
known to be the most logical prospects?
Reach and frequency are important aspects of an advertising plan and are used to analyze
alternative advertising schedules to determine which produce the best results relative to
the media plan's objectives.

Calculate reach and frequency and then compare the two on the basis of how many
people you'll reach with each schedule and the number of times you'll connect with the
average person. Let's say you aired one commercial in each of four television programs
(A, B, C, D), and each program has a 20 rating, resulting in a total of 80 gross rating
points. It's possible that some viewers will see more than one announcement--some
viewers of program A might also see program B, C, or D, or any combination of them.
For example, in a population of 100 TV homes, a total of 40 are exposed to one or more
TV programs. The reach of the four programs combined is therefore 40 percent (40
homes reached divided by the 100 TV-home population).

Many researchers have charted the reach achieved with different media schedules. These
tabulations are put into formulas from which you can estimate the level of delivery
(reach) for any given schedule. A reach curve is the technical term describing how reach
changes with increasing use of a medium. The media salespeople you work with or your
advertising agency can supply you with these reach curves and numbers.

Now let's use the same schedule of one commercial in each of four TV programs (A, B,
C, D) to determine reach versus frequency. In our example, 17 homes viewed only one
program, 11 homes viewed two programs, seven viewed three programs, and five homes
viewed all four programs. If we add the number of programs each home viewed, the 40
homes in total viewed the equivalent of 80 programs and therefore were exposed to the
equivalent of 80 commercials. By dividing 80 by 40, we establish that any one home was
exposed to an average of two commercials.

To increase reach, you'd include additional media in your plan or expand the timing of
your message. For example, if you're only buying "drive time" on the radio, you might
also include some daytime and evening spots to increase your audience. To increase
frequency, you'd add spots or insertions to your existing schedule. For example, if you
were running three insertions in a local magazine, you'd increase that to six insertions so
that your audience would be exposed to your ad more often.

Gross rating points (GRPs) are used to estimate broadcast reach and frequency from
tabulations and formulas. Once your schedule delivery has been determined from your
reach curves, you can obtain your average frequency by dividing the GRPs by the reach.
For example, 200 GRPs divided by an 80 percent reach equals a 2.5 average frequency.

Frequency is important because it takes a while to build up awareness and break through
the consumer's selection process. People are always screening out messages they're not
interested in, picking up only on those things that are important to them. Repetition is the
key word here. For frequency, it's much better to advertise regularly in small spaces than
it is to have a one-time expensive advertising extravaganza.