MKTG1003 Case Study 3 - Assessment 3 - CASE PDF

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Assessment 3 - CASE...

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MKTG CASE 3 How has COVID changed consumer shopping behavior?

a) Target marketing and digital marketing. The pandemic has increased consumption of digital content and consumers now consume content anytime, anywhere. How has this changed how and where consumers learn about products, brands, and services?

COVID-19 has made a significant impact on the way consumers and marketers interact, the result of the global pandemic has caused marketers to reevaluate their marketing strategies to overcome the restrictions and challenges that the pandemic has led to. Digital marketing is a term that refers to the targeted, measurable, and interactive marketing of goods or services that use digital technologies to reach out to customers (Dania, 2016). Many companies such as UNIQLO are now focusing and thriving through unique digital marketing strategies, as the pandemic has increased the consumption of digital content that consumers are constantly exposed to on their devices, whenever and wherever. The way consumers learn about products, brands and services has continued to change over recent years but there has been a great increase in the number of unique strategies marketers are using technology to differentiate themselves from competitors. It is important that marketers understand their consumers by targeting marketing, this is the group of potential customers that you identify to sell products or services to (How to identify your target market | business.gov.au, 2021). This essay will discuss theories such as market segmentation, digitalization, and co-creation and how they relate to digital and target marketing in relation to digital content consumption. Digital content is a marketing technique that is used by web pages, social media, and value-added content such as videos and pictures which is a useful tool in sustaining help markets build brand trust (Holliman and Rowley, 2014). Having engaging content especially in digital marketing is vital to engage consumers, developing relatable and appealing content such as web pages, videos, pictures, and podcasts is crucial during this time where people are spending more time on their devices. According to a media measurement company DoubleVerify daily content consumption has grown from 3 hours and 17 minutes to 6 hours and 59 minutes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (Global online content consumption doubles in wake of COVID | WARC, 2020). With all this increased amount of time that people are spending on their phones they are likely to be exposed to more ads on platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. It is important that marketers choose where their products or services are advertised carefully as 67% of people are more likely to click on an ad that appeared on a trusted site (Global online content consumption doubles in wake of COVID | WARC, 2020). Another reason as to why people are consuming more digital content is that according to a survey conducted in February 2021 showed that 41% of Australians worked from home at least one day a week in that month compared to 24% in February last year. These statistics are after Australia had most of the restrictions eased so it is very likely that there was a greater percent of people working from home during the peak of the pandemic. Online communities refer to the groups of people that share a passion for something through a virtual connection (J. Martinez Lopez, Anaya-Sanchez, Aguilar-Illescas and Molinillo, 2016). The brand aspect of online communities revolves around specific products or brands where a group of people communicate on the internet on platforms such as blogging sites. Within online brand communities there is a major impact on purchasing behavior because of the interaction between members of the community who often share interests such as people who use the same hair product will have a greater connection than two individuals who use different products. Online brand communities can communicate in different ways such as group chats, social media pages, and forums. Word of mouth (WOM) marketing is when individuals spread their opinion from person to another based on their experience (Glover, 2021). Word of mouth is an effective way for companies to have their products and services reach a large audience with a higher chance of consumption. As WOM is known to be a trustworthy source of information on a product or service people who hear about something from a friend or family member are more likely to consume that thing. Social media marketing strategies are being developed to focus more on engaged customers rather than increasing the number of members of a community. This is because of a unique customer experience in an interactive media environment, people have greater intrinsic motivations to engage and contribute to the brand communities such as the ones created by Dell and Starbucks. (Zhang, Hu, Guo and Liu, 2017). An example of a company trying to bolster their online community is UNIQLO’s new marketing campaign where they created ‘’fast moving’’ images which were activated in-store and online. The images presented a unique product number that they could upload to the website to redeem a sample

from a new clothing range, they were then able to share this experience on social media sites that encouraged friends to find their own code. This campaign resulted in an online video with 1.3 million views and over 25,000 new members for the newsletter (Siu, 2021). These online communities show how digital marketing has impacted the way consumers learn about new products, brands and services as they communicate over these platforms through word-of-mouth advertising. Co-creation is a term used to describe the creation of value that occurs in a dynamic sharing space where stakeholders converse (Kennedy and Guzman, 2016). A main feature of co-creation is the idea of putting a customer in the center rather than the brand. Co-creation can help markets reach a range of business goals such as improved customer insight and expanding intellectual resources. This is done as co-creation involves understanding consumers' needs by engaging with them directly through market research to create the most relevant content and desired product. A company that utilities the fundamental of cocreation well is Starbucks, when signing up to their reward program customers get a welcoming email. It is cleverly presented with clear and engaging images followed very closely by the reward perks that alludes to the ‘good news’ factor that gets consumers excited (Perzynska, 2021). Co-creation can also have a negative impact on businesses, social media platforms are a place where people go to have their voice heard. Especially with sites such as Google Reviews people don’t hold back from voicing their opinion, even more so as they can give feedback anonymously and being behind a screen means people are not as worried about the repercussions. A recent example of a company receiving bad publicity on social media was Harvey Norman choosing to shut down their twitter account after a tweet that related to the companies’ actions to remove comments talking about the wage strikes. It appears that as of June 1st, 2021, the accounts page does not exist, this is in addition to the other negative media attention they have received after the found, Gerry Harvey announced they would not repay the $14.5 million in taxpayer JobKeeper funds (Macdonald, 2021). Target marketing is more important now than ever as marketers must aim its resources to the most appropriate audience in relation to digital content. Due to COVID-19 marketers are now needing to focus their marketing efforts on online platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok as digital usage increases. It is important that marketers target the most relevant segment to enable them to respond to their needs. After the market has been segmented the marketer should use elements of consumer learning to help create an effective marketing strategy. Market segmentation refers to the division of consumers into defined groups based on characteristics such as age, income, behaviors, or personality (What is Market Segmentation? Different Types Explained | Qualtrics, 2021). These segments are used by marketers to decide how they are going to position a new or existing product. It will also help determine where they should conduct market research on, such as TV viewers or radio listeners. Demographic segmentation is one area that is most relevant when identifying how and where consumers are learning about products, brands, and services. Younger generations may be more likely to be attracted to advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok compared to older generations that may find advertisements on News websites more reliable. Marketers may also use geographic segmentation when identifying their target market to provide digital content for countries that may be more affected by the pandemic may require more marketing campaigns as the amount of consumption will be higher in those locations. An example of companies being affected by COVID-19 when identifying their market segments are the Spanish Tourism businesses who evaluated consumers behaviors due to the pandemic. They found that consumers are more likely to use online sites to book and plan their trips, more likely to purchase insurance and less use of transport (Sanchez-Perez and Teran-Yepez, 2021). In response to the changing consumer behaviors marketers had to look at cognitions such as personality, lifestyle, and psychographics to determine the most effective marketing strategy.

Consumer learning is a process undertaken by consumers as their knowledge evolves and changes in response to newfound information. Consumer learning may be intentional however can also be unintentional if they do not seek to find out information, but it is presented upon them in some way. New technologies such as VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) have opened many opportunities for marketers to take advantage of leading-edge tech to develop a relevant and unique marketing strategy. A laboratory study was designed to test the impact of consumer exposure to direct, indirect, and virtual experiences and how it affects brand attitude, product knowledge and purchase intention. The results showed that being exposed to a virtual experience proved more effective than direct and indirect product experience in relation to influencing their brand attitude. In summary the research revealed that VR from 3D product visuals proved to be a more direct experience in terms of consumer learning (Daugherty, 2008). Due to lock downs in many countries of the world people of all ages were forced to learn about new ways to use their devices, this became a motivation to learn as they needed information that was relevant to their needs. An example of this was the Coles advertising their online home delivery service that they targeted for their most vulnerable customers. These customers were prioritized to have their groceries home delivered as they had some disadvantages such as elderly and high-risk people (Wilde, 2021). This is an example of how consumers learn about new products and services as they are exposed to these new ideas through digital marketing and how the involvement theory proves how making a personal connection between the customers life and stimulus, in this case the brand. The advertisements that were appearing on TV and on websites are part of the right hemisphere lateralization. Marketers could predict the level of involvement based on the antecedents where the situation of COVID-19 would strongly impact the consumers involvement. Marketers were able to look at the aspects of consumer learning to create an effective marketing strategy through digital and target marketing as they are consuming more content all the time. Overall marketers have used target marketing and digital marketing as strategies to create an effective marketing plan that would respond to consumers being exposed to more digital content that they have access to anytime and anywhere. COVID has changed consumer shopping behaviors by forcing them to look at digitalization and utilize technology to have the greatest access to products and services due to the restrictions that the pandemic has led to. Marketers looked at how they can take advantage of online communities and the idea of co-creation to reach out to their customers and gain and maintain a positive brand image. Marketers also used market segmentation and consumer learning to help understand their target markets and how they can identify groups of consumers is the most effective way. Bibliography Business.gov.au. 2021. How to identify your target market | business.gov.au. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 June 2021]. Dania, R., 2016. Blending traditional and digital marketing. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov, [online] 9(58), pp.52-53. Available at: [Accessed 3 June 2021]. Daugherty, T., 2008. Consumer learning and the effects of virtual experience relative to indirect and direct product experience. Psychology & Marketing, [online] 25(7), pp.568-586. Available at: [Accessed 4 June 2021]. Glover, M., 2021. Word of Mouth Marketing in 2021: Effective Strategies + Examples. [online] The BigCommerce Blog. Available at: [Accessed 3 June 2021].

Holliman, G. and Rowley, J., 2014. Business to business digital content marketing: marketers’ perceptions of best practice. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, [online] 8(4), pp.1-2. Available at: [Accessed 3 June 2021]. J. Martinez Lopez, F., Anaya-Sanchez, R., Aguilar-Illescas, R. and Molinillo, S., 2016. Online Brand Communities. Springer, [online] pp.153-156. Available at: [Accessed 3 June 2021]. Kennedy, E. and Guzman, F., 2016. Co-creation of Brand identities: consumer and industry influence and motivations. EmeraldInsight, [online] 33(5), pp.313-323. Available at: [Accessed 4 June 2021]. Macdonald, A., 2021. Harvey Norman deletes Twitter account after social media backlash. [online] Mumbrella. Available at: [Accessed 4 June 2021]. Perzynska, K., 2021. 21 Best Welcome Email Examples to Engage Customers. [online] GetVero. Available at: [Accessed 4 June 2021]. Qualtrics AU. 2021. What is Market Segmentation? Different Types Explained | Qualtrics. [online] Available at: [Accessed 4 June 2021]. Warc.com. 2020. Global online content consumption doubles in wake of COVID | WARC. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 June 2021]. Wilde, H., 2021. Grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. [online] disabilityinformation. Available at: [Accessed 4 June 2021]. Zhang, M., Hu, M., Guo, L. and Liu, W., 2017. Understanding relationships among customer experience, engagement, and word-of-mouth intention on online brand communities: The perspective of service ecosystem. EmeraldInsight, [online] 27(4), pp.839-857. Available at: [Accessed 4 June 2021]....