Company Case Snickers
Achieving Promotional Integration with a Universal Appeal-Hunger
14-18. Promotional mix elements typically include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and public relations (4 most important elements of the promotion mix, n.d.). In this particular case, Snickers uses advertising, sales promotion, and public relations. Advertising has different media forms, and for Snickers, integrated advertising campaigns are typical, meaning that the product is advertised on TV, the Internet, and via printed ads based on the same slogan and goal. The recent ad campaigns were based on the slogans You’re not you when you’re hungry and Snickers satisfies. Advertising campaigns of the brand are usually creative and catch the attention of the watchers. Moreover, in order to attract customers, it often uses celebrities who advertise Snickers. For instance, Snickers was already advertised by Robin Williams, Joan Collins, and Stephanie Beacham (Company case Snickers, 2010). Sales promotion is not popular, but the brand still uses it. For instance, Snickers is sold in small and large bars. Large bars typically cost lower than small ones if their weights are compared. Thus, sales promotion is provided via lower prices for larger packages, and customers are stimulated to buy large bars to save money. Snickers also use public relations in its promotional mix. It is a sponsor of different events, including the Super Bowl and other sports events. In addition, as many celebrities are invited to advertise Snickers, it also serves as a kind of public relations because customers tend to trust famous people. Thus, if they buy Snickers and recommend it, consumers will be more likely to buy it as well.
14-19. An integrated marketing campaign is one in which a message about a product or company is transferred via different types of media in order to reach as many customers as possible (Brown, n.d.). The current advertising campaign of Snickers is integrated because it is provided via different types of media, both traditional and innovative ones. The campaign is global and covers various countries all over the world. Moreover, slogans are the same or similar in the ads in different media: You’re not you when you’re hungry and Snickers satisfies. All media appeal to the same feeling of hunger and the emotion of satisfaction with Snickers. First, advertising is made via sponsorship of different events, including sports ones. In particular, Snickers was promoted during the Super Bowl. Second, Snickers is promoted via unusual and creative TV ads in various countries. Moreover, ads differ from one country to another, and different national celebrities are used to promote the product, for instance, Joan Collins and Stephanie Beacham in the United Kingdom and Ahahi in Latin America. Finally, Snickers is promoted via innovative advertising media, including social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and others (Company case Snickers, 2010).
14-20. In my opinion, Snickers is good in its effective integration of marketing campaigns. First, it is successful in its effort to combine both traditional and modern advertising media in a single campaign. All media used in it helped to reach customers because they used the same slogans and appealed to hunger and satisfaction from eating Snickers. Second, ads are created professionally and creatively, thus being easy to remember and attracting customers. Third, Snickers invited different celebrities to advertise its product, which was effective because customers tend to trust famous people and buy the products they recommend. Finally, the effectiveness of integration is clear from the popularity of Snickers all over the world. It was created in the 1920s, and it remains popular now due to its taste and is in fact not just a candy bar but also a snack that stills hunger.
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14-21. In its campaign, Mars Inc. faces some challenges. It is quite hard to promote a product that has existed for a long time without large changes. Thus, the company has to add something new and creative to its ads, which is not always easy. One more challenge relates to costs because Snickers promotion and advertising campaigns are expensive. It regularly introduces new creative ads, provides sponsorship, and invites celebrities to advertise the product. Finally, it may be hard to include and integrate different products sold under the same Snickers brand in the campaign, such as candy bars and ice cream.
14-22. Several recommendations can be given to Mars Inc. concerning its Snickers promotional efforts. First, it would be positive to continue the campaign that is based on You’re not you when you’re hungry and Snickers satisfies slogans. They proved effective because they appeal to hunger and satisfaction. Furthermore, they are universal and can be used in different countries and in various advertising media. Moreover, the campaign was effective due to the sponsorship of events and the use of different media, both traditional and innovative ones. Thus, it can be continued because various media are popular among potential customers. Nevertheless, it would be positive to focus on social media more due to its growing popularity in the world. Inviting celebrities to advertise Snickers should be continued as well because customers tend to trust famous people and buy what they recommend. Mars Inc. should continue sports event sponsorship, but it may also try to sponsor social programs because it would improve its corporate sustainability and make customers more loyal. Finally, Mars Inc. can be recommended to use the Snickers brand wider because it is already known. Thus, it would be positive to start producing other foods with Snicker’s name, similar to different types of candy bars, ice cream, and other foods that Mars Inc. already has.
