No To Con-Ass Power – across the board, in lightning speed : Marketing & Advertising 101

the efforts executed by No To Con Ass supporters is an excellent case study for Marketing & Advertising 101.these are the key points:

• the most impressive was the lightning speed by which the various efforts were launched all within 24 to 48 hours of congress approving HR 1109. within that time frame - blogs, websites and facebook accounts were launched; a logo was created and distributed, small groups organized who did pockets of small protests around the city.
• a major rally was announced, organized and executed on june 10, less than a week after congress approved HR 1109 and the rally in makati was very well attended.
• a no to con ass, tv ad, "Hindi Ako Papayag" was written, produced and aired within 3 to 4 days of the congress approving con-ass. this ad had an excellent concept with a strong and memorable strategy visual. copy was sparse and very sharp. there was no mistaking what the message was and delivered in a very compelling way, the visuals as the main driver. we also noticed the production values of the ad, it was well made and well directed.
• within the same very short time frame various groups who attended the rally executed their own concepts of protest with many of them very creative, persuasive and to the point. it's amazing to see all sorts of unique groups expressing their protest on the issue in their own way.

from a marketing and advertising perspective, these are what happened:

• on the over-all excellent marketing strategy that covers all components of persuasion
• communication strategy was brilliant - sharp, insightful and highly creative
• succeeded in connecting with a very wide target audience through a long list of efforts that appeal to each audience segment
• succeeded in capturing participants from a very wide demographics and psychographics profile from the rich to the poor
• excellent use of various media (traditional and non-traditional) and events all executed within the same short time frame for optimum impact and visibility
• lightning speed and flawless execution

in this marketing and advertising effort the line between marketer/advertiser and target audience is almost invisible with both groups crossing the line in various degrees and efforts. but as in any mass media exposed marketing and advertising activity, the true audience will always be those at home or at the office watching the event unfold who are always large in number.

it is the marketer and adman's dream. it's secret in it's success? those who executed the marketing and advertising activities were highly committed to their cause and believed in it with a passion.

that by itself is another marketing and advertising lesson in Marketing & Advertising 101.

read more here: http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/no-to-con-ass-power-across-the-board-in-lightning-speed/

niche markets, niche marketing vs mass market, mass marketing - what is there to confuse?

these words can be confusing to non-marketers, but it will be a fatal error if brand managers get confused by them - mass market, mass marketing versus niche market and niche marketing.

mass market and mass marketing

first, when you say "mass market", it does not mean a brand is targeting or being sold among low income groups. what that means is the general market or that segment of the market where most consumers belong to. products that are mass marketed are those that are sold to almost anyone in the population. it also means these are products that most consumers have a need for.

within that mass market, there may be further segmentation. segmentation can be in many forms, they could be by consumer group, uses or even product attributes, to name a few.

a popular segmentation is pricing. within the general mass market, there will be a pricing segmentation. there will at least be 3 pricing segments - low, medium or high priced. all of these brands can be used by any of the consumers regardless of income of the consumers.

marketers by choice or strategy select a pricing segment. this is driven by profit or margin goals, product attributes or benefits and marketing strategy. the pricing of a product more often than not naturally selects the consumer group it appeals to. but in many cases even the premium priced brands are used by low income groups perhaps not as often by high income groups but occasionally.

the above dynamics presents to the brand manager many options on what kinds of strategies he/she will adapt to gain the market share the brand intends to get.

one can apply mass marketing strategies to any brand, including premium priced brands. apple's macs for example are premium priced but it is being marketed in the mass market from all income groups.

niche markets and niche marketing

niche marketing is a fancy word in marketing. it is fancy because it is hardly used and often misunderstood.

products that do niche marketing and compete in niche markets are highly specialized products, practically customized to a specific consumer group. this consumer is usually very small and sit in the fringe of the mass market.

very often, brands that compete in niche markets are very high priced given the amount and kind of specialization or customization needed for the brand. being high priced also allows for a very high margin.

the best example here are the cellphone brands we are all familiar with - nokias, sony Ericsson's, motoralla and the iphone. all these brands are mass marketed. but within those brands are several price augmentations where one can buy a nokia for P5T to P30T or even P40T. that is also true for the other brands except for the iPhone which in the philippine market is intentionally placed at a premium price only.

there is a brand called Iridium which competes in the niche market. iridium is a satellite phone that will allow subscribers to use the handset anywhere in the world, even on mountain tops, jungles and the open seas. iridium launched 66 satellites into space that float around the globe to enable subscribers to use their satellite phones in any location in the world.

the iridium is a specialized mobile phone meant for a very specific target consumer with very special needs. these customers are those who need to communicate via phone even when they are in the open sea anywhere in the world where there are no cell sites around.

it will not make sense for iridium to advertise in mass media (the term does not refer to media used by low income groups. similar to the term mass market, mass media means media that is seen by most of the audience.) as it will just be a total waste of advertising funds. if iridium advertises in mass media, its message will be meaningless to at least 99.99% of the target audience who sees the ads in mass media. 99.99% of those who watch mass media will have not need for a satellite phone.

it will also not make sense for iridium to set up outlets in malls or distribute pre-paid cards in sari-sari stores. (malls and sari-sari stores are distribution outlets for mass market products.) it will be more efficient and productive for iridium to reach its small target market almost on a one-on-one basis.

iridium is not a mass consumer product, it is a niche product competing in a niche market. only mass consumer products that compete in mass markets use mass media and are distributed in mass distribution outlets.

sometimes brand managers use the term niche marketing carelessly without really understanding what it means.