Task 1: MARKETING PLAN PROPOSAL

INTRODUCTION

Reef HQ is the largest aquarium of the world where it houses around 130 species of corals and 120 species of fishes. Along with this it also has sea urchins, sea stars, sea cucumbers, feather stars, snails, brittle stars, sponges and worms. But though Reef HQ has a variety of marine species it needs to be marketed properly to draw the attention of the people and increase the number of daily visitors. The Reef HQ is one of the important venues for entertainment in Australia (Blythe, 2006).

BACKGROUND

    In Australia there is very stiff competition for any organizations operating in the entertainment industry. Some of the sources of Australia are amusement parks, art centers, movie theaters, casinos, venues for dance and entertainment, stadiums with facilities for multiple purpose, nightclubs and other sports venues. Despite so many alternatives for the customers and so many competitors for Reef HQ, it has been able enjoy the competitive advantage over its competitors. Its strong marketing plan has helped them improve their overall performance in the industry. Some of the macroeconomic factors which may influence the performance of Reef HQ are the political factors which is related to the change in the political condition in the country, economical factors which include the change in the economy like the change in the market conditions, customers taste and preference and customers income, social factors which include the family structure, lifestyles, social classes, savings and investment of the customers and quality of the product and market growth and technological factors like change in the technology like use of the internet in the daily operations of the business (Clow and Baack, 2012).

    Reef HQ has been quick to adapt to the macroeconomic factors and is thus enjoy an advantage over its competitors. It has been effective in adapting themselves to the macroeconomic environment and exploits every possible opportunity to get an edge over its competitors. The target customers of Reef HQ is not limited to any particular customer group, customers of every age can visit the Reef HQ. So, it is essential for Reef HQ to keep on modifying its marketing plan as per the customers’ demands and market factors. This could be achieved by the senior management with a good marketing plan which is based on its marketing strategy and tactics which is explained in the form of full marketing plan (Glynn and Woodside, 2012).

Task 2:  MARKETING CASE STUDY

The case study deals with the brand management of the organization. The concept of brand management is depended on the way the brand of the organization is prepared and represented to the customers. It aims in maintaining a good relationship with its target customer market and try to maintain a strong brand image in the mind of the customers. The brand communities are the reflection of consumerism in the process of advanced capitalism. Brand communities are different from that of other communities because brand is a symbol or name or combination of both is used to characterize the brand communities. The management is consistently making improvements in the marketing structure of the organization to improve the brand community which is the type of community which consists of the customers attachments to the brand or the product. As per the case study it is suggested that the brand symbol is necessary for every brand community (Kotabe and Helsen, 2011).

      A brand community is a type of business strategy which is there to improve the business. The brand is needed to be strengthened with effective marketing strategies and plans. The brand symbol can be a picture, text or some specific symbol which will help the customers identify the products of the company with that particular brand. Using the brand symbol will help the organization develop its brand image and make a distinctive brand community for its visitors. Thus, it can be said that brand symbol is the defining marker of the brand community of any organization (Kotler and Keller, 2012).

Task 3: FULL MARKETING PLAN

Reef HQ is known to be the largest aquarium of living coral reef. It is situated in Townsville, Queensland with a volume of more than 2500000 liter. Every year people all around Australia visits the largest aquarium of the world. Reef H.Q has been successful in becoming a unique and exciting venue for anyone with its distinctive marketing plan. Some of the offers given by Reef HQ are its variety of packages with audiovisual service and proper ambience which has been the reason of drawing a huge crowd every day of the year. The marketing plan of Reef HQ can be understood by discussing its marketing strategy and tactics (Pasquier and Villeneuve, 2012).

MARKETING STRATEGY AND TACTICS

Reef HQ has set up a marketing strategy which has helped the organization determine its objectives and goals and the measures they can take to meet the marketing objectives and deliver a better service to the visitors. First of all they have clearly identified their target customers and identify the means in which they can attract their customers. There are certain groups of visitors who come for recreational purpose they are offered certain packages which includes lunch and morning and afternoon tea at a cost of $45 per person whereas another package provides the same facilities at a higher price. The marketing strategy of Reef HQ includes some important steps which has made it a successful tourist spot in Australia (Kotler and Keller, 2012). The steps of the marketing strategy are-

• The marketing department conducts different market research and based on the research results make the analysis which will help picture the target customer groups and the market segments and understands their expectations and wants.
• The market is analyzed using the information on the customers and the market and help determine the available market and the growth in market and the recent market trends.
• After evaluating the market growth and market trends, the other means of entertainment of the customers are measured.
• After analyzing the possible threats or competition to the business the marketing department of Reef HQ tried to find out the best possible ways in which they can deliver their service to the customers (Peñaloza, Toulouse and Visconti, 2012).
• Finally the marketing strategy is used and the marketing mix of the organization is defined. The concept of marketing mix can be understood by discussing the 4Ps which are:

• The first P includes the product in this case the product is the service provided by Reef HQ. As discussed earlier the customer wants are discussed and what are the expectations the customer has on the service of the company is included the first P.
• The second P is the physical distribution; here it includes the vast living aquarium which can be improved by efficient control of the place in which they need to attract their customers to visit (Sheehan, 2011).
• The third P includes the price of the product. The price of entry in the Reef HQ is somewhere around $30 to $60 which is supported with various offers and discounts from time to time.
• The fourth P of the marketing mix in Reef HQ is its promotional activities. The marketing team makes use of the electronic and print media to promote the entertainment and happiness the visitors will get while spending quality times with their family and friends (Stratton and Northcote, 2014).
• After the marketing management of Reef HQ has successfully implemented its marketing mix, the financial information are determined which includes setting the marketing budget and the marketing ROI is projected and acquisition costs is evaluated.
• At the end the marketing strategy of Reef HQ is continuously evaluated and updated.

A successful marketing plan is depended on its strong marketing strategy which will help the organization reach its organizational goals (Winer and Dhar, 2011).

STRATEGIC PLANNING

The marketing strategy and tactics of Reef HQ is depended an effective strategic planning. The marketing strategy is depended on the plan of the organization and how the objectives of the company is achieved by making optimum utilization of its available resources, technology, manpower and capabilities. While making the strategic planning the organization should also consider some of the other factors like the changing economy, government regulations and possible threats from other alternatives of recreation of the customers. The main aims of the strategic plan is to maintain long term sustainability which includes economical sustainability which means to maintain good business and increase their financial performance and social sustainability which means to remain one of the most visited place in Australia and in the world (Winer and Dhar, 2011).

References

Blythe, J. (2006). Marketing. London: SAGE Publications.

Clow, K. and Baack, D. (2012). Cases in marketing management. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE.

Glynn, M. and Woodside, A. (2012). Business-to-business marketing management. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald.

Kotabe, M. and Helsen, K. (2011). Global marketing management. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2012). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2012). Marketing management. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Pasquier, M. and Villeneuve, J. (2012). Marketing management and communications in the public sector. New York: Routledge.

Peñaloza, L., Toulouse, N. and Visconti, L. (2012). Marketing management. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Sheehan, B. (2011). Marketing management. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Pub.

Stratton, G. and Northcote, J. (2014). When totems beget clans: The brand symbol as the defining marker of brand communities. Journal of Consumer Culture.

Winer, R. and Dhar, R. (2011). Marketing management. Boston: Prentice Hall.

Zimmerman, A. and Blythe, J. (2013). Business to business marketing management. New York, NY: Routledge.