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MM110 – Fundamentals of Marketing Assignment 1 Trimester 1 2019

Word count: 1297

MM110 – Assignment 1

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1. Every time you access the internet, marketing companies are tracking everything you do. Each action that we take builds an individual profile. This profile along with algorithms are then used by advertising content managers such as AdSense or FacebookAds, to target advertising to the individual. This report will outline my experience with these algorithms after searching for a tablet device. The report will then examine the winning marketing company’s macro and microenvironments and how these affect the marketing received.

2.a The primary search terms used was “tablet”. Appendix A provides a more detailed description of the search terms used and the search behaviours.

2.b Russell-Rose & Makri (2012) provide a summary of consumer search behaviour and identify nine consumer search behaviours related to online retail, as, “locate”, “verify”, “monitor”, “compare”, “comprehend”, “explore”, “analyse”, “evaluate” and “synthesize”. The search terms used, are generic and do not identify a specific product, this aligns with an explore behaviour, where the consumer search is about finding new products. The search behaviours exhibited could also be aligned to a compare behaviour, which is used when consumers are searching to identify the best option from the choices available.

2.c The first search took place at 16:42 with four searches occurring. The last search took place at 17:51. The first advertisement appeared at 18:17, which is a response time of twenty-six minutes since the final search.

2.d Advertisements were predominately received through Facebook and Instagram. Ads were also received by websites utilising advertising content managers such as AdSense or Media.net.

2.e After the initial search period, twelve advertisements were received across the communication channels on the first and again on the second day. As searching behaviour returned to its normal state, the concentration of ads subsided. Five advertisements were received on the third day, and four were received on the fourth day.

2.f Forty-nine percent of the marketing content received was relevant to the search, delivering content on two in one device or tablet. Nine percent of the marketing content received were marketing laptop computers. The remaining forty-two percent was content promoting the new Samsung Galaxy S10 phone. As a current Samsung Galaxy user, it would appear that existing profile data affected the marketing content received.

2.g The winning marketing piece depicted in figure 1, was promoting the surface go as a portable device that you can use to tackle all of your tasks on the go. This was the only piece of

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marketing that successfully targeted itself to my essential requirement of portability. It made me feel like this product could easily fit into my lifestyle, between full-time work and parttime studies.

Figure 1 Winning marketing piece

3.a Microsoft’s predominate demographic force is generational. Armstrong, Adam, Denize & Kotler (2014) state that younger generations are more educated than those before them. (p. 80) With an increase in educated individuals, comes an increase in the need for products such as Surface Pro’s, Windows operating system and Microsoft Office to complete studies.

3.b Events like the worldwide recession in 2008-2009 can have a dramatic effect which can cause spending to reduce, especially on non-essential items. In this case, some of Microsoft’s products such as the Xbox and the surface range could be substantially affected. Technology is an aspect of everyday life so some of Microsoft’s products such as windows may be less affected in times of an economic downturn. Another economic factor that could affect Microsoft, as an international business, is exchange rates. As currencies become stronger or weaker, this will either positively or negatively impact earnings when converted to United States (US) dollars.

3.c The natural environment forces that affect Microsoft are buyer’s attitudes to more ecologically responsible products, recycling and waste management in the technology industry and changes to environmental policies. Figure 2 shows that it is becoming increasingly important to younger generations in the marketplace that companies implement environment improvement initiatives. (CPG, FMCG, & RETAIL, 2018)

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Figure 2 Corporate sustainability is in high demand across generations (CPG et al., 2018)

Microsoft has the opportunity to market their products as an option for reducing paper or reducing carbon emissions by working from home rather than driving to work. Environmental policies, such as the carbon tax could also affect Microsoft’s business. In responding to this force, Microsoft introduced a carbon fee, which holds internal business groups financially accountable for their carbon emissions. (UNFCCC.int, n.d)

3.d Microsoft is a key competitor in the technology industry, and technological factors have a significant effect and drive every aspect of how Microsoft does business. The key impact on Microsoft’s technological environment is technological developments by competitors. In the last decade, this factor has impacted Microsoft’s business significantly. When questioned why they were so behind in the market for products such as music players, touch devices, phones and tablets the senior advisor to the CEO stated: we had all four categories of those devices in the marketplace . . . for a whole variety of reasons — they were just business choices we made at the time — we didn’t end up capitalising on them, and once we didn’t capitalise on the lead, we had to fight our way back. (Bishop, 2013, para. 1)

3.f Legislation has an impact on all businesses, and they need to be aware of any possible changes to a law that may affect them. For example, an amendment to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 could change responsibilities and obligations for business selling products. The legal and regulatory environment is currently facing concerns about data privacy and security in the US.

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4. The SWOT analysis of Microsoft is outlined in Table 1. Table 1 SWOT analysis of Microsoft

Strengths  A broad range of complimenting products. For example, Surface Pro/Surface Book with Microsoft Windows 10 operating system  Strong Brand Recognition

Weaknesses  Slower in terms of innovation - new product development  Unable to control counterfeit use of their software

Opportunities  Innovation in Technology – for example, artificial intelligence and strengthen cloudbased products and smart home devices  Increase in demand for environmentally conscious paper alternatives – for example, increase in demand for electronic solutions to paper modes of communication and data processing, for example, SharePoint handwriting to text in one note  Younger generations are more educated than previously, providing an opportunity to strengthen and develop products that can be used in education

Threats  High competition for both software and hardware products and services such as computers (HP, Dell, Apple) Operating Systems (Linux, Oracle, Macintosh) gaming Systems (PlayStation, Nintendo) cloud services (Amazon Web Services), search engine and ad manager (Google)  Fast changing technology market - other competitors have been faster to respond to market opportunities, for example, the internet and the iPhone  The legal and regulatory environment with current concerns around data privacy and security

5. The marketing content aligned with three of the five strengths and opportunities identified in the SWOT analysis. With the product name not at the forefront of this content, Microsoft has relied strongly on brand awareness. The features that stand out are Microsoft’s Windows logo in the top left indicating a sponsored post and on the device in the image, understanding immediately, this is a Microsoft product. Reading the caption associated with the image “the ultra-portable Surface Go is your new best friend”, reveals the product. The product is positioned as the only thing you need “Pack light, stay productive” and “Tackle all your tasks”. It is implying that all the other notebooks, documents and other materials are no longer needed, the Surface Go can do it all. This aligns with the opportunity to market their products as a solution to paper communication methods. The advertisement shows a younger person, who could be seen as a student “walking to class”, this takes advantage of the opportunity in the market, where there is an increase in younger generations attending higher education. One of the opportunities that did not align in the advertisement is to take advantage of their broad range of products and upsell on those. With high brand recognition, consumers would already be aware of some of the products they have available. While in the initial

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advertisement the opportunity did not align, once the product was selected, the product page included an offer to bundle your purchase with an Office 365 subscription, which did take advantage of the opportunity. Technology innovation was also not aligned in this advertisement. This opportunity is more aligned with future product development rather than the current products available. Some improvements on the marketing content could be made through marketing the company as operating better in its stand-alone ecosystem and upselling on other products, for example, include free or discounted office software with surface purchases. Additional improvements could be made by investing in research and development of the Cortana digital assistant software and market the surface device as the central smart home device.

6. The algorithms responded relatively quickly and marketed relevant products. The winning marketing content aligned itself to the opportunities and strengths identified in the SWOT analysis of Microsoft; however, there were some possible improvements identified.

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Reference List Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S., & Kotler, P. (2014). Principles of marketing. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.une.edu.au Bishop, T. (2013). How Microsoft went from leading to lagging, and how it’s trying to change. Retrieved from https://www.geekwire.com/2013/microsoft-leading-lagging/ CPG, FMCG, & RETAIL. (2018). Global consumers seek companies that care about environmental issues. Retrieved from https://www.nielsen.com/au/en/insights/news/2018/global-consumers-seek-companies-thatcare-about-environmental-issues.html UNFCCC.int. (n.d). Microsoft Global Carbon Fee. Available at: https://unfccc.int/climateaction/momentum-for-change/financing-for-climate-friendly/microsoft-global-carbon-fee Russell-Rose, T., & Makri, S. (2012). Designing for Consumer Search Behaviour. Retrieved from https://ils.unc.edu/hcir2012/hcir2012_submission_8.pdf

Appendix A Search details 20/03/2019 16:42 tablet reviews

20/03/2019 16:50 new tablets 2019

MM110 – Assignment 1

Actions 16:42 – Visited tablet reviews – cnet.com 16:43 – Tablets – productreview.com.au - Selected Microsoft Surface book reviews - Selected Apple iPad 5th generations reviews 16:47 - Best Tablet 2019: Which iOS, Windows or Chrome OS tablet should you… - trustedreviews.com - Selected call to action “view deal” for the iPad pro (2018) – visited Apple iPad pro – amazon.co.uk 16:49 -Tablet reviews – canstarblue.com.au - Selected Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 reviews 16:51 - Visited Best tablet 2019: from slim and stylish slates to productivity - T3.com 16:52 - Visited Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 32GB Wi-Fi T813 – thinkofus.com.au 16:55 - Visited Apple New iPad Pro 12.9 4G 64GB Silver thinkofus.com.au 16:58 - Visited Tablets: Buy Apple iPad Pro Tablets, Samsung Galaxy Tablets in AU, USA, UK, NZ - thinkofus.com.au - Selected Microsoft Surface Go - Intel 4415Y / 8GB / 128GB SSD 4G - LTE - thinkofus.com.au - Selected Apple New iPad Pro 12.9 4G 256GB Gold - Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 9.7 T820 Wifi 32GB White 15:06 - Visited Computers & Tablets - Laptops, Software, iPads, Printers & Accessories – harveynorman.com.au 17:07 - Visited iPads, Surface & Tablets - Samsung Tablet, Surface Pro, eReaders & More – harveynorman.com.au - Selected Apple 12.9-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi 64GB - SILVER

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20/03/2019 17:28 buy tablet

20/03/2019 17:51 2 in 1

MM110 – Assignment 1

- Selected Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 10.5-inch LTE Tablet Black - Selected Lenovo Tab 10 X103F 16GB Tablet Wi-Fi Black 17:15 - Visited Android Tablets | Kogan.com - Selected Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 10.5" T835 (64GB, 4G LTE, Black) - AU/NZ Model - Selected Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 8.0" (3GB RAM, 32GB Storage, Wi-Fi, Flashed with Global Rom) - Selected Ollee 7" Tablet - 1024x600 8GB Storage Android 7.1 17:16 - Visited Tablets | The Good Guys - Selected Microsoft KJV-00019 Surface Pro 6 i7 512GB 16GB Black 17:17 - Visited Tablets To Suit Everyone At JB Hi-Fi Including Apple, Samsung + ... – jbhifi.com.au - Selected Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch 64GB Wi-Fi (Space Grey) [3rd gen] - Selected Lenovo Tab P10 10.1" Tablet [Android] - Selected Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 10.5" 4G 256GB (Ebony Black) 17:27 - Visited Computers, Laptops & Tablets - Target Australia 17:29 - Visited Tablets & PCs - Mobileciti - Selected Apple iPad Pro 11 WiFi + Cellular 1TB - Space Grey 17:30 - Visited Windows Tablets and Laptops – tabletsworld.com 17:51 - Visited 2 in 1 laptops & tablets – jbhifi.com.au 17:53 - Visited 2 in 1 modern pc laptops – harveynorman.com.au - Added Surface Pro to the shopping cart 17:57 - Visited 2-in-1 laptops – goodguys.com.au - Added Lenovo Yoga to the shopping cart 17:58 - Visited The best 2-in-1 laptop in Australia: find the best convertible for your… - techradar.com

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