Tourism And Hospitality Marketing - Case Study Example

Experience Product Institution Date Executive Summary Launching and successfully marketing an experience product can be a challenging undertaking. In this report the Melbourne Musicland Pop Festival is introduced as an experience product targeting Millennials. The annual festival will be held in the South Melbourne area and will provide Australian Millennials with a lifetime musical experience. In this report analyzes the characteristics of the target market including three generational segments that will be targeted by the Festival. The report identifies Millennials as the main target segment and describes relevant consumer behaviors and characteristics of this demographic segment. Finally, the report presents promotion and communication tactics that can enable the festival market successfully market to Millennials. 1.0 Introduction Experience as a product is intangible, co-produced by multiple parties, and there is high-emotional involvement in consumption. Designing such a product and marketing it is different from marketing an ordinary tangible product. Melbourne Musicland Pop Festival (MMF) is a new experience product that will offer audiences from around the world performances from chart topping musicians, interactions with celebrities, a music theme park, and dance classes in seven days and nights of fun in South Melbourne. This report introduces Melbourne Musicland Pop Festival as an experience product which will target the Millennials demographic. The first section of the report describes the new experience product and its characteristics. Secondly, the report details the segmentation and targeting tactics to be used by the event organizers to get various customers to buy tickets for the MMF. Thirdly, the report provides a snapshot of several popular festivals that will form the competition for the new festival being envisioned. In addition, the report presents the promotion and communication tactics that will be used by MMF to convince their target audience to come to the festival. 2.0 New experience-based product description Melbourne Musicland Pop Festival (MMF) is a 7 days and nights music festival that will be staged in the Melbourne area every August. The event will target the 16-35 years demographic and will feature high profile artists from around the world (Reic and Lance 2014, p. 14). The theme of MusicLand will be “celebrating life, celebrating music” and will be a fun-filled celebration of the music of our times. In the grounds, a huge theme park like Disney land celebrating music will also be created. A music hall of fame where records and histories of various musicians will be stored and presented. Participants in the popular music festivals will be able to meet their favorite music celebrities, talk to them, have meals with them and tour Melbourne with them. The festival will make money through ticket sales, sale of merchandise, vendor fees, corporate sponsorship, concession sales, Camping/RV Hook up Fees. Product Development Process To develop the Musicland Festival the marketing company engaged in 8 stages of the product development process. These were Idea generation, Idea screening, concept development and testing, business analysis, product development, test marketing, commercialization and launch. #1.   Idea Generation In the first step the team started with the development of the experience product concept. Several festival ideas were produced but Musicland was chosen as the most viable using the SWOT analysis(Homburg,Kuester and Kohmer 2013, p.35). A brief market research and interviews with potential audiences were also undertaken to know the weaknesses and strengths of existing products. #2.   Idea Screening This step involved screening out of ideas using such metrics as ROI, market potential and affordability. Idea screening enables the rejection of unsuitable ideas early on to avoid product failure after considerable investment has been made (Homburg, Kuester and Kohmer 2013, p. 44). #3.   Concept Development & Testing Customers influence the success of a product greatly and its important to discover their opinions early in the product development phase (Best 2012, p. 36). The productwastested with a small group of convertedcustomers. The test involved providing in-depth information on the product to customers enabling them to visualize the final product. The final product was developed after considering the feedback from the customers. #4.   Business Analysis In this stage we developed the business case of the product including its marketing strategy, product targeting and positioning, and the marketing mix (Best 2012, p. 36).Some of the aspects of the business case are discussed in the next section of this report. #5.   Product Development This Stage was skipped as a prototype for an experience product like music land would be too expensive to develop (Best 2012, p 36). #6.   Test Marketing Test marketing was conducted through an email campaign were customers were asked whether they could purchase the product as visualized in the product catalog (Best 2012, p. 37). #7.   Commercialisation After the final testing, the marketing organization moved to make final pricing and marketing decisions (Best 2012, p. 38). Later, the marketing team including distributors and sales team were briefed. #8.   Launch Finally, the team produced a detailed launch plan that will enable MusicLand run smoothly and have its intended impact(Best 2012, p. 37). Launch decisions included who the target market are and where the product would be launched. 3.0 Customer segmentation and target markets MMF will use demographic characteristics to segment its market as this will ensure the company achieves the best results. 3.1 Kids Segment Kids segment comprises of individuals between the ages 5 and 14 years. Kids have special needs in terms of the music want to listen to. Music land will feature a kids section where kids can perform and listen to performances by fantasy characters. Music performed by popular fantasy TV characters is the most appealing to young kids. Kids also like to be attracted to a place where they can play and learn new things. Music land will consist of a fun park with water slides, bouncing castles and a dance studio where kids can be taught how to dance. 3.2 Millennials Segment TheMillennials segment will comprise of individuals between the ages of 14 and 35 years. Millennials are the generation born between 1980 and 2000 (Debevec 2013, p. 21). This generation consists of a group of individuals with a different outlook to life than other generations. Most Millennials are fun loving and use technology and the internet to stay connected. However, not every millennial is a tattooed teenager or youth who love the outdoors. The most common attributes among Millennials include keeping an open mind, uniqueness, intelligent decision makers, and awareness about preferences, tastes and aspirations. The commonalities among Millennials can be used by marketers like MMF to win their hearts. While it’s wrong to assume Millennials are all the same, they share a few commonalities including being digital natives, widespread use of social media, and the need for identity and authenticity (Lantos 2014, p. 401). 3.3.1 Millennials as Digital natives Millennials as digital natives refer to the fact that Millennials were born into a world with internet. Most Millennials have never known a world where there was no connection to the rest of the world (Debevec 2013, p. 22). However, Millennials use technology as a means not an end. Millennials are passionate about the internet and use it to consume other products. It then follows that a marketer should take advantage of the internet to market to this group. The internet can be used to bring the experience of Music land to the target demographic pre-event. 3.3.2 Social Media Use Millennials use social media more frequently than any other generation. However, Millennials exhibit deeply set distaste for advertisement on social media or other channels (Lantos 2014, p. 402). There are more likely to be influenced by references by friends and bloggers as these are trusted informants. This knowledge about social media influence should help FFM design an effective marketing communication strategy targeting Millennials. Every marketer should remember that Millennials trust their peers more than they trust marketing companies and this should be leveraged in advertising and marketing communication. 3.4 Generation X The 34-to 48 year old generation is set to replace baby boomers the as the largest spenders. However, many marketers ignore this demographic as they target hip Millennials (Li, Li and Hudson 2013, p. 148). This is unfortunate as Generation X individuals have greater spending power than other demographic groups. Most generation xers exhibit optimism about the future although they also prioritize saving. To win the hearts of Generation X individuals, a marketer needs to factor in commonalities among this group. Gen X consumers is likely to purchase a product that caters for the whole family and represents true value to the family (Li, Li and Hudson 2013, p. 146). FFM as a once in a lifetime product will impress generation X consumers. Generation X consumers also prefer to play safe and are no longer extreme as they used to be. They are concerned about such concerns as crime, climate change and morality. Any products marketed to generation X should be marketed as safe and protective. FFM should impress the Generation X consumer that their products protect the planet and is value for their money to win them over. 3.5 Product Positioning Product positioning is concerned with the perception of a product in the customers or target demographic mind. Music land will be positioned as the choice event to attend for 16 to 35 years(Best 2012, p. 38). The marketer will promote the idea that any youth who misses Musicians misses the opportunity to attend the coolest festival in Australia during the year. The marketer will employ consumer psychology to develop high impact ads that develop that perception that MusicLand is the coolest event on the festival calendar for the target demographic(Li, Li and Hudson 2013, p. 152). 4.0 Competitor Analysis 4.1 Sydney Festival (January) The Sydney Music Festival held over three weeks in January is among the many competitors of FFM in Australia. The Sydney festivals features over 80 events spanning several art forms including film, music, visual arts, theatre, dance and other outdoor events (Australian Government n.d). The Sydney festival is a serious competitor as it involves over 500 performers from around the globe. However, FFM has an edge over the Sydney festival as it focuses on music only and will provide a unique musical experience different from the Sydney Festival. 4.2 Darwin Festival (August) The Darwin Festival held in August every year will be a direct competitor to MMF as both will be held at the same time. The Darwin Festival is different as it is a celebration of Darwin’s city’s uniqueness including its multicultural community, tropical climate, youthful energy and beach lifestyle (Australian Government n.d). Some of the presentations at the festival include music, film, cabaret, opera, film, comedy, visual arts, and workshops. In the workshops, music and dance from pacific islands, Indonesia and indigenous is incorporated. 4.6 Melbourne International Arts Festival (October) The Melbourne International Arts Festival will be MMF’s direct competitor as it is held in the same city and at almost the same time in the year. MMF will have to be more popular that the Melbourne International Arts Festival which offers participants unique multimedia, theatre, dance, music and other outdoor performances (Australian Government 2013). The Festival is held over 17 days in October every year and is part of the Spoleto Festival series. 4.7 National Folk Festival, Canberra (April) The National Folk Festival is an annual event held in Canberra every year over the Easter weekend. The festival brings people from all over Australian and around the globe to the federal capital for four days of dance, song, tunes and poetry (Australian Government 2013). Over 100 performances are presented during the festival which includes dance classes, a kids program and culinary delights. The festival also avails camping facilities that enable people to spend the entire five days and nights at the festival grounds. 5.0 Communication and promotion strategies 5.1 Background The environment where experience products such as MMF are being marketed has changed a lot. Millennials the main target segment of the MMF have a lot of leisure options to choose from amidst a rapid change in leisure habits in the last decade (Lantos 2014, p. 403). According to Palaniswamy (2016), flexibility is the key to modern consumption in terms of flexibility, time and type of consumption. Millennial audiences are more likely to choose the kind of musical experience they want instead of following what the organization chooses for them. The taste and preferences of Millennials are closely associated with the rise of internet technology. Promotion and communication strategies must consider the changing patterns of consumption and audience characteristics, and develop adaptive strategies. Understanding the needs and tendencies of the millennial segment needs ongoing research and feedback. The information gathered from this research can be used to develop effective marketing communication strategies (Whiting and Deshpande 2014, p. 74). According to Howe and Strauss (2009) market planning and communication should entice audiences and eradicate barriers that may prevent Millennials from attending the event being marketed. 5.2 Pre-event page Event marketing start many days before the actual event begins. A pre-event page is one of the most effective communication mechanisms to market an event like MMF. MMF will have a fully operational and interactive pre-event page that will capture early interest among Millennials (Danaher and Rossiter 2011, p. 8). The Pre-event page will receive traffic from social media events and help to capture leads. The Pre-event page should include a blog post explaining the importance of the event and explain the mission statement of the event (Danaher and Rossiter 2011, p. 8). The blog post will be used as the fuel for the marketing campaign and as an idea for convincing Millennials to come to the event. 5.3 Social media: As seen earlier, social media is the most commonly used communication channel among Millennials. MMF must establish a community where they will build momentum towards the event and communicate the event mission as set out in the first blog post (Belch and Belch 2003). MMF will also create popular events hashtags that can be used across the social network. MMF should follow with second blog post that focuses on the benefits of attending the festival and its schedule. Some of the aspects MMF should highlight include the lead performers, bands, popular events like the dance classes and celebrity attendants. MMF should seek to create conversations about the event across all social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and My Space. In addition, MMF should engage users in a campaign to create user-generated advertising content. The user-generated content should be uploaded to video sharing sites such as Vimeo and You Tube to attract more Millennials to the festival (Danaher and Rossiter 2011, p. 8). To keep the interest of audiences MMF social media campaigns should provide refreshing content, social engagement and email support to the campaign until the end. User-generated content is particularly appealing to millennial audiences as they come from peers who they trust more than marketers. 5.4Email Email is considered one of the most effective communication tactics for events and experience products (Danaher and Rossiter 2011, p. 10). MMF can use emails to increase ticket sales and communicate other features of the campaign. MMF should collect an email database and send a blast of email inviting potential attendees to come to the Festival. 5.6 Press Release A press release can be a very effective market communication tactic especially if it is picked by the national press. MMF should prepare a press release and send it to media houses that can provide a free distribution channel for the festival message (Danaher and Rossiter 2011, p. 11). The Media release will make the event visible to anyone searching for associated search term on Google Alert. 6.0 Conclusion A music festival as an experience product presents several challenges to its marketers. First, the organizers must identify a target segment and develop the product to offer the best experience to this target segment. In this report, MMF targets Millennials, and thus it’s marketing and promotion tactics use social media; the most preferable channels among Millennials. The festival also includes high profile national and international musicians that most Millennials yearn to see. In addition, MMF allow the audience to interact with their favorite stars including taking meals with themand going on city tours with them. The report also comprises of a thorough analysis of MMF competitors with the aim of finding gaps that MMF can fill to have an edge over the competition. 6.0 References Australian Government n.d, Festivals in Australia, viewed 8 September 2016,http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/festivals-in-australia. Belch, GE and Belch, MA 2003, Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective, The McGraw− Hill, New Jersey. Best, R 2012, Market-based management, Pearson Higher Ed. Danaher, PJ and Rossiter, JR 2011, Comparing perceptions of marketing communication channels, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 45, no.1/2, pp.6-42. Debevec, K , Schewe, CD Madden, TJ and Diamond, WD 2013, Are today's Millennials splintering into a new generational cohort? Maybe!, Journal of Consumer Behaviour,vol 12, no 2, pp.20-31. Homburg, C, Kuester, S & Rohmer, H 2013, Marketing management (Vol. 2). Wiesbaden, Gabler. Howe, N and Strauss, W 2009, Millennials rising: The next great generation, Vintage. Lantos, GP 2014, Marketing to millennials: Reach the largest and most influential generation of consumers ever, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 401-403 Li, X, Li,XR and Hudson, S, 2013. The application of generational theory to tourism consumer behavior: An American perspective, Tourism Management, vol. 37, pp.147-164. Palaniswamy, N 2016, Social Media Marketing (SMM)-A Strategic Tool for Developing Business for Tourism Companies, Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, vol. 6, no.5, pp.1030-1037. Reic, L, and Lance, J 2014, Events Marketing Management: A Consumer Perspective, Taylor & Francis, New York Whiting, A and Deshpande, A 2014, Social Media Marketing: A Myth or a Necessity. The Journal of Applied Business and Economics, vol. 16, no.5,pp.74. Read More