New media and global marketing

“Global marketing is defined as the firms commitment to coordinate its marketing activities across national boundaries in order to find and satisfy global customer need better than the competition.”(Hollensen, S. 2007, p.7), but as “Digital technology has opened new channels for selling products. It provides the customer with a previously unimaginable quantity and quality of information in an easily accessible form.” (Wind, J & Mahajan, V. 2002, p.3) But with the vast amount of competitiveness it’s all down to the customer now to decide, “Empowered by technology, customers are unforgiving. Pity the poor company that fails to see this or refuses to play by the new rules. (Wind, J & Mahajan, V. 2002, p.3) As there is more access to buying things from abroad, “One important job of global marketers is to address the many different cultures and regulatory environments of various international markets.” (Hennessey,D & Gillespie, K. 2010, p.3) “this involves carrying out international marketing research and analysing market segments, as well as seeking to understand similarities and differences in customer groups across countries” (Hollensen, S. 2007, p.7)

“Marketing has always been seen as the function responsible for the management of the 4p’s, but in the last two decades it was also viewed as a business philosophy that guides the organization overall activities” (Douglas West, John Ford, Essam Ibrahim. 2015, p.57), it’s important that marketers are always looking for new ways to try and sell their product.

New media in general refers to on-demand access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, and creative participation, and it also refers the real-time generation of new unregulated content.” (Yuen, A et al. 2015, p.5) with the access of internet becoming ever easier, especially as “the number of public access hotspots has been growing rapidly, and some retailers have enjoyed assistance from major network providers.”(Kahin, B. 1995, p.8), the association with being next to a hotspot for wifi draws people into shops. However offering this service allows, a consumer to look elsewhere “the more a consumer is motivated by information seeking, the greater is the brand-switching behaviour in online (Versus offline) environments” (Zinkan, G. 2012, p.14)

Reflection from guest Lecturer

Our guest speaker Nathan Lane, who is the Bradford Bulls chief executive, provided a talk on his personal experience within digital marketing and PR. Nathan has previously worked at AON, Britannia building society and Warwickshire cricket club.

One of the biggest challenges facing sport marketers and PR practitioners is integrating fans/public with an organisation; nevertheless Nathan has been able to incorporate fan engagement with a club sponsor. Nathan stated that you need to fully understand your customer’s needs, focus on pleasing them and really understand the market.

Nathan first worked at Warwickshire County Cricket Club, where he was heavily involved in the marketing process of gaining Warwick Cricket Club a sponsor when he first took over as there PR practitioner to gain funding for clubs facilities. His job entitled to communicate with the local community and try to increase ticket sales, he was in charge of all of the clubs social media accounts and got players to tweet and interact with the people of the town and draw in attention.

Nathan spoke about an online PR stunt he ran for Britannia Building Society, who are the main kit and stadium sponsors of Stoke City Football Club. The goal was to get the fans engaged with the clubs sponsor, he started a campaign on twitter called “proud to be a potter” where fans had to submit a photo of themselves to the website, and would be put into a huge collage which would be displayed on the side of the Britannia Stadium. 18,000 people entered and Sky even came to the Britannia Stadium to document the PR stunt. By having the fans feel like they were physically part of the stand really strengthened the bond between fans and sponsor.

It’s important that suitable media channels are used when reaching out to large audiences, because a stunt like this if it hadn’t worked out could have looked bad  and embarrassing on the club, “public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour.” (Gregory, A. 2010).

But with such a good response from the fans, it led to a higher follower rating on all social media accounts, and a rise in ticket sales. Maintaining this kind of bond keeps fans passionate about their club and proud to be part of it.

Nathan made it clear that it’s important to be strategic with any type of PR stunt and to be imaginative when getting people involved with digital media. There is so much competition between PR teams of different clubs that it’s important to do something to stand out from the rest. It inspired me to work in the PR sector through his passion he had for it, it was evident that he really enjoyed his role.

MANADATORY CREDIT PHIL GREIG

Review of analytic

Analystic is the use of statistics too analyse patterns within data, it’s also ” the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage. (Investopedia, 2015) The collection in data helps to provide analysis for statics, social metrics, price forecasting and sales and patterns within data. Marketing has evolved over the year because its all about facts and figures now to show who is more popular. “Parameters or measures of quantitative assessment used for measurement, comparison or to track performance or production. Analysts use metrics to compare the performance of different companies, despite the many variations between firms.” (Investopedia, 2015) The five most important social media metrics a business should track are, reach (Audience Growth Rate, make engagement numbers meaningful and actionable), engagement (Average Engagement Rate, optimize targeting of new and returning visitors) , acquisition (Visitor Frequency Rate, optimize targeting of new and returning visitors), conversion (Assisted Social Conversions, directly connect social media data with business’ profits) and activity (o beyond post counts and content types to connect social media activity with profits) .

An example is Twitter; Twitter provides various different quantities measurements you can compare and analyse are:

• Followers – This is the number of people who have decided to follow your account, they can view tweets and favourite and re-tweet them, and they are also able to see all your activity. These statistics can provide you with an insight whether more people are following you and there is a positive correlation or if you are at a sustainable level.
• Retweets – This is when someone shares your tweet, they don’t have to follow you but everyone on their timeline will be able to see it. As people retweet it its an ever ending process of people viewing your information and becoming more exposed.
• Replies – Replying is when someone has directly tagged you and replied

Clicks and click through rate – “Clicks refers to the number of times people have clicked a link that you shared, and the click through rate is the number of clicks divided by the number of people who had an opportunity to click, usually expressed by a percentage.” (Hemann, C & Burbary, K. 2013, Page 17)  

Online reputation

Online reputation is the beliefs/opinions people hold over you, it’s what influences people to think and feel a certain way about a business or individual, due to the growth of social media, It’s important for a business to manage, monitor and control what is said online. Digital media is a powerful tool as we can access the internet in a matter of seconds. As everyone is online it’s important to be careful what is shared, as soon as something is posted or shared online it can be very hard to remove. Especially if you are in the public eye can cause serious implications, for example if a footballer was to be racist online his sponsors might look to cut ties over what he had said.

“Today, a company’s reputation can be ruined in  a matter of minutes, as disgruntled customers or even competitors can broadcast defamatory information  instantaneously across the world via social media, often under the guise of anonymity.”(Dennis, C. 2013) A positive and strong image will allow people to want to associate with you improving your online image, by having this positive image people are willing to respect you and put their trust in the business.

Social media monitoring is a good way to keep tabs on what people are saying, what competitors are doing and what people are saying about them. It’s important for business to assess what trends are occurring that might affect them, whether they are positive or negative.

If it’s a negative post/review on the business, they should look to address the issue and respond quickly, they need to reach out to these negative comments and not fire back, but to observe the problem and resolve in positive reviews. PR is important because by keeping people entertained and doing something different from the crowd it makes people more cautious to look at your social activity, this can help maintain and improve perception and presence.

It’s important to make a web presence known, “Social presence also means there is a willingness on the part of participants to engage in communication exchanges. This willingness is motivated by purposeful interaction that benefits all.” (Conceicao, S. 2010, p.5). However as most athletes are on social media who run it themselves, they can have a strong social presence because they can be idolised and have a strong following, there online activity can be used to influence their audience. It’s important for individual to not let their emotions and frustrations get the better of them, as this could lead to a social uproar and face consequences from the sporting directors, club or sponsorship.

My current online presence isn’t very strong, if you were to search my name on Google my Facebook page it is the third link to come up, however if you type in my twitter name I’m the only one, I also appear on Google images too.

Digital media to develop relationships marketing in sport

“One of the biggest changes in human interaction is the recent proliferation of online social networks. Rapid growth of Web-based platforms that facilitate online social behaviour has significantly modified the nature of human activities, habitats, and interactions.” (Borges, T & Cristovao, J. 2014, p.1) Traditional public relations has evolved and has moved into the online public relations, where the PR team of a business are able to socialise and stay connected with people online, these people are also able to reach out to people who might have purchased or experienced the same thing.

Social media is a tool that business needs to use, it allows them to see what people’s opinions are of the brand and gain feedback for a brand perception. If the business is online it can assess current trends whether it is positive and improve the service/product or take it into account. Its important that when a business socialises with a customer that they are genuine, honest in there replies, creative and aware of audience engagement with the company. If a company was to say something offensive or provocative it can cause people to be upstate or share it and have a bad public imaged.

Different media channels are used for online PR and marketers to analyse, interact and to provide information to the online community. Companies can read what people say about them online and how they perceive it, it also allows business to deal with customer’s reviews, whether it is a negative or a positive and respond to it.

There are various types of online media platforms that business can use to interact with people, picking the right ones is important, as it is pretty hard to run all the different websites and prioritise which is important and not a waste of time and money. Dave Chaffey created the social media marketing radar, this indicts which are the key media platforms and the various types.

I signed up to Hootsuite to try it out and see if I was able to manage all the different media content, at first it was really trick but I was able to log into 5 different types of social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube account and my Google account.) I can see why business use it because the ability to manage multiple websites at once makes things so simple, everything is a lot more organised and it’s a tool all companies should use.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Scott Wilsons (2015) ‘your guide to being discovered’ states that “SEO is a digital marketing practice that focuses on optimizing a website to increase the number of visitors it receives from search engines.” (Wilson, S. 2015, p.44) Improving the ranking of the webpage makes the likelihood of someone accessing the website a lot higher. Examples of these search engines are websites like Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. “Google has revolutionised the way consumer research information and make purchasing decision.” (Wilson, S. 2015, p.44) As millions of people across the planet use google as their main search engine, it’s important as business to appear as high as possible to get people to find the website and business. “In fact, since 90 percent of consumers never click past the first page of search results, it is essential for your business to rank in the top ten position for all relevant search terms.” (Wilson, S. 2015, p.44)

The only way to secure being high up on a search engine is through paid search engine optimization, “Search engine optimization is a methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to a website by obtaining a high-ranking placement in the search results page of a search engine” (Beal, 2015) it is also “The perfect solution for business that want to capture consumers’ attention without breaking the bank”(Wilson, S. 2015, p.44). Competitive key words are that will get you noticed and offer better exposure, by paying companies you will be pushed up the search ladder, this can happen through factors such as

• Comprehensive keyword search – By classifying your audience, an SEO specialist will find what keywords are used or related to your business that can get you noticed.
• Website optimization – “An SEO specialist optimizes coding elements, such as title tags, images and homepage content, for a predetermined set or relevant key words.” (Wilson, S. 2015, p.44)
• Link Building – Strategic links to other websites and references will get you noticed, the quality of the links a business has the more people will trust it.

Reflection of OPTA guest lecturers

Thursday, 26^th of February, saw  guest lecturers called Simon Farrant and Simon Banoub come to Leeds Beckett University to discuss about Opta, the world’s leading sports Data Company.  Simon Farrant is a Marketing Manager within Opta and Simon Banoub is the Marketing Director.

Opta is the world’s leading sports data company, and they state that “there mission is to create a global standard for live sports data. We believe that Opta data enhances and illuminates every area of sport, from live broadcasts and online coverage to professional performance analysis.”(OPta website) Opta covers sports ranging from football, cricket and rugby, the company was founded in 1996, “Opta is a market leader in collecting, packaging and distributing sports data in digital format to the Media, Betting and professional sports sector.” (Opta News) Opta was bought out by the PERFOM group in 2013 for 40million, “the acquisition complements PERFORM’s exciting content distribution business and strengthens the companys position in the provision of sports content to the media and betting sectors.” (Opta News)

Simon Farrant described the running of Opta and how they pride themselves in statistical analysis, at first I thought the idea of watching a live game and collecting and analysing data sounded boring. But as the presentation went on I became more engaged when Simon Farrant started to focus more on football analysis. It’s clear to see now that football matches can be accessed via Tv, Online or live feeds rather than traditionally going to a stadium and watching the match live, people like the ease of access of watching games live and being in the know.

Both Simons really provided an insight into the company, and how it covers in depth analysis across a variety of sports. The company allows sporting clubs and leagues in depth detail of performance and stats, this can help clubs or individuals to see what areas need to be improved for a better performance. The company allows organisations to track players or a team’s progress across a time period and to review current performance previous performance.

Both Simons encouraged me to review my personal characteristics if I was wanting to go into a job in this type of area. I mainly looked at three main areas I want to improve on

Verbal communication – I’m a really shy person I don’t feel confident speaking in front of large groups, if I’m able to improve my confidence and be more in control of my nervous should be able to deliver things such as lecture, meetings and interviews confidently.

Sport knowledge – I like to think of myself as a huge football fan, but when it comes to other sports such as rugby union & league, American football, hockey or cricket I barely know anything. As Opta analyse all these sports I believe it would provide me with a wider variety of sports to get involved in.

Improve my math skills: As I have basic maths skills, only a C in Maths GCSE, I feel working with statistics could prove a challenge as it was over 5 years since I did my GCSE’s. Doing online mathematical challenges could re-introduce what I did in secondary school.

Review of Manchester united v West Bromwich Albion

On the 2^nd of May 2015 West Bromwich Albion took an away journey to Manchester United’s Old Trafford for a 3pm kick off.  With Manchester United trying to reduce the gap between them and their Manchester rivals Man city, it was a must win game. But Manchester United suffered a third consecutive defeat as West Brom scrapped a 1-0 win and moved a step closer to the 40 point mark for Premier League safety.

With Louis Van Gall putting out a full squad without the addition of Radamel Falcao due to injury, it was looking that the superstars of Manchester United would secure the win. The game started off slow with very little happening in the first 30minutes, Manchester United dominated possession but were unable to execute. Towards the end of the first half West Brom seemed to sit back and seem to deal well with the Manchester pressure. In the 51^st minute West Brom’s Boaz Myhill saved a Robin Van Persie penalty that was poorly taken after an unfortunate Saido Berahino handball. It was at this point that West Brom turned their tactics to a more counter attacking style of play which paid off with a Jonas Olsson deflection that gave West Brow the lead over Manchester United and stunned everyone inside Old Trafford. The goal came in the 63^rd minute where Chris Brunts free kick from 38 yards out was swung in and deflected off team mate Jonas Olsson to leave flat footed David DeGea and the rest of the Manchester United team to watch it trickle in. It seemed at this point that West Brow completely sat back and went ultra-defensive with Manchester United moving to three in defence and more all-out attack to try salvage something form the game.  It was only till the 84^th minute that Wayne Rooney came close with a header that he placed over the bar that Manchester United could have got anything from the game. But West Brom had done enough to pull out the impossible of beating Manchester United away and secure that 40 point mark to survive in the top flight.

The game itself proved to be the biggest talk of the day closely followed by Leicester City’s late revival of the season as it was such a shock as fans/pundits and people started to grow concern over Manchester United’s hopes to secure Champions League football.

Relevant digital communications theory

Digital media communication is the ability to create contact from one person to another via different medias such as video, audio or the internet. There are different communication channels that can link from a verity of computing devices so that they may interact with one another. With the emergence of social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, business or individuals are able to reach out to people on a wide scale and across a long distance. Digital communication has led to a stronger customer and public engagement with companies or individuals, this builds a positive relationship and makes them more open to returning. But for digital communications to be successful a public relations specialist is needed for a organisation or individual to communicate to the public in an appropriate way.  This role of PR need to strategically plan what they say, engage with the public and keep in control of what is being said online.

Running a company site or trying to reach out to people has vastly changed, from advertising something through banners or newspapers to online adverts and social media where two way communications can be made in an instant. As part of a PR team it’s important that when having an online presences to consider Chaffeys 2012 ‘social media Marketing Radar’ which indicates what PR teams need to track in order to be successful and in order, need to strategies, set clear goals for what channels they use.

Will offline advertising be irrelevant in 10 years?

Will offline advertising be irrelevant in 10 years?

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated in an interview about the Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo that “offline advertising will all be online within 10 years” (Wall Street Journal 2008, B1). This statement from the CEO from one of the biggest technological companies in the world reflects on how much of digital era we find ourselves in now, everything is much more technological based in this 20^th century and we have moved away from the days of broadcasting and printing. People are able to gain access to the internet within a matter of seconds with all the different smart phones and technical advantages, that is no wonder why business decided to move to offline advertising, different sized business can reach customers through different aspects such as social media, search engines or pop ups on websites to gain attention.