Case study 4 (1)
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Transcript of Case study 4 (1)
Brett Henderson COMM 636: Integrated Marketing Communications Case Write up 16.1 November 27, 2012
Columbia Savings Statement of the problem
The problem that Columbia Savings has is very simple, but can be very detrimental to the company if not handled in correct way. The problem that CS has is how to handle their marketing and advertising. Right now they have hired the company Boyton & Dodds. They are a full service advertising and PR firm and has been providing work for the company for four years. CS feels like some of the agency’s early work had been strong and effective but lately it has been pretty dole. The problem CS is faced with is to continue with Boyton & Dodds, bring the marketing and advertising in house, or to change firms.
List of critical factors 1. Evaluate the current firm, have they been as effective as they can be and
should CS stay with Boyton & Dodds. 2. Start shopping for new advertising and PR firms to take the business too. 3. Evaluate bring the advertising and PR in-‐house and hiring a team to do all of
the work. Definition and evaluation of alternatives
1. Evaluate the current firm, have they been as effective as they can be and should CS stay with Boyton & Dodds.
a. Evaluating the current company to make sure a change is needed is the first step of the process. In order to fully make a decision about how the company is handling the account, they need to make sure they are doing the best job possible.
b. Pros: There are a few pro’s of evaluating the current firm. The first being able to prove they are either doing a good job, or have fallen below expectations. This will give CS an idea on if it’s the firm, or just the economy and a shift in the market. It will give them an idea of what they need to do to make a difference, if it is anything at all. They could find out it would make no difference to make a change. If they make a change when it is not needed, it can set the company back. The second being it will give them an in depth looks on how the industry norm is performing and what they are doing well. If they can figure out what the competitors are doing well they can see if the firm they have can duplicate it or do it better.
c. Cons: There are a couple cons of performing this type of evaluation of the current firm. The first con being the time it takes to complete a full evaluation of the company and industry. It will take time and man power to fully understand the direction of the industry and what needs to happen on the marketing front to be financially successful. After understanding the industry trends, they can then evaluate the firm and see if they are up to par. This will take more time and man power to create an in depth evaluation of the marketing firm. If it
takes to long the industry could change again. The second con is that once you make the decision to start evaluating the firm, there could be people that are upset with the decision.
2. Start shopping for new advertising and PR firms to take the business too. a. They could look around at different firms to see what else is out there
in the marketing world. They will hold meetings with different firms, and have them give presentations and show what they are prepared to bring to the company.
b. Pros: The pros of bringing in a new firm to the company can spark sales. If the new firm can rebrand CS’s image to generate more sales and accounts for CS it could potentially be a huge financial improvement for the company. This will also show the employees of CS that they have not given up or settled with being a mediocre company. It has the potential to drive moral up in the office, and will drive the employees to strive for a top tier performance.
c. Cons: There are a few cons that can cause a negative reaction when bringing in a new firm to CS. The implementation process can be time consuming and difficult. The time it takes to rebrand a company and create a whole new marketing plan can take time. If the company and its employees aren’t patient with the firm, this can have a negative draw. If they firm fills like they are rushed to me a deadline that is unattainable, they won’t be able to create a successful campaign. If the campaign doesn’t work the way it is supposed to, this can put the company in a financial hole. They will lose the money they put into creating the new marketing plan, as well as the money though could have been gaining with sticking with the original firm.
3. Evaluate bring the advertising and PR in-‐house and hiring a team to do all of the work.
a. CS has an option of getting rid of the firm they have hired right now and bring all of the marketing and advertising in house.
b. Pros: The pros that bringing all of the marketing in house will make the decision tough if CS does in fact choose to make a change. They will be able to control every piece of marketing and advertising that comes out of the company. They will be able to work freely with creative minds that they hire. They will be able to craft and mold their own marketing plan, and make quick changes to the plan. The long term pro is that it will be cheaper down the line.
c. Con: There are cons to setting up an in house marketing team. The first being that it will cost quite a bit of money to start up. It will cost money to create a workspace in the office that is free for creative minds to work. Creative minds don’t work the same as financial investment minds, there will need to be a free and open area in order for them to work. It will cost them a lot of money to get the technology and equipment needed to run a successfully marketing branch, this includes cameras, computers, software and other tools to create copy. The next expense will be hiring a team to run this branch. They will
need a head of marketing, a mid-‐level manager and then some of the skilled positions to be filled. This will cost quite a bit of money. The next con is that they will have to develop the marketing plan them selves, they will not get to rely on a company doing it. If the plan doesn’t work, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
Conclusion In conclusion I would go with hiring a new marketing firm. I believe that companies should change up their marketing firms every so often. The firm gets stuck in their ways, and when they have the same client for long periods of time, it is easy to coast and not feel pressure to come up with new material. I would advise against bring the marketing in house because I like to have to power to change firms whenever I choose. This would take the pressure off of my company and put it on the firm. I also believe that they would be able to pick the best firm for the job because they would get to see each company present their ideas. Bringing in a new firm would revamp their image, rebrand them to the target market, and provide them with a boost in sales.