Presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/adamsian3/presentation-integrated-marketing-communications-plan
In this report, an integrated communications strategy will be devised for mobile commerce based on the organisation WEVE, who are a joint venture between EE, telefonica (O2) and Vodafone, the three biggest mobile network providers in the UK.
2. Contents
Executive Summary Page 3
Introduction Page 3
Brand Assessment Page 3
Situation Analysis Page 4
Brand Assessment Page 5
Current communication Page 7
Objectives Page 8
Brand Story Page 9
IMC Plan Page 10
Measurement of IMC plan Page 13
Conclusion Page 14
References Page 14
Appendix Page 17
3. B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 3
Future of commerceExecutive
Summary
According to Insight Marketing (2012)
the purpose of an integrated marketing
communications strategy is to create
a cohesive identity for your business
(your brand image) and a positioning
that customers will recognize and relate
to in any context. In this report, an
integrated communications strategy will
be devised for mobile commerce based
on the organisation WEVE, who are a
joint venture between EE, Telefonica (O2)
and Vodafone, the three biggest mobile
network providers in the UK.
The strategy will be devised by conducting
a situation analysis of the mobile commerce
market and the opportunities and threats
it presents. A brand assessment of WEVE
has also been devised to give the reader
a granular view of the newly formed
organisation and how existing branding
theory relates to the brand. This report
will also set out the objectives that the
integrated marketing communications
strategy will aim to meet and how the
strategy could be measured if it is executed.
Introduction
The aim of this report is to develop an
integrated marketing communications
strategy for WEVE, by analysing it’s position
in the m-commerce market through a
brand assessment with the application
of branding models including Edelman’s
loyalty loop (2010). Undertaking a situa-
tion analysis will look at the current
marketing communications mix used
by WEVE and the issues that have arisen
from the m-commerce market. Aspects
of this integrated marketing communica-
tions (IMC) strategy will include building
brand awareness, enhancing the brand
experience and increasing customer
loyalty. The report will identify how the
strategy will be implemented across a
number of mediums and how it could
be measured.
According to Goldman Sachs, the global
estimated worth of e-commerce in 2013
was $638 billion (the Atlantic, 2014). In
comparison with e-commerce, but growing
at an exponential rate, is m-commerce
which Goldman Sachs believes by 2018
will be worth approximately $626 billion
worldwide (the Atlantic, 2014). Mobile
based commerce has tripled in the past
three years and is expected to continue
to grow by around $20 to $30 million,
peaking in 2018 with 47.6% of consumers
using m-commerce as their primary form
of purchase (the Atlantic, 2014).Smart
phones and tablets have become techno-
logical extensions of the consumer’s life
(Belk, 2013) and by the end of 2014 the
number of mobile-connected devices will
exceed the number of people on earth.
M-commerce is expected to become a
of key importance, if not the primary
transactional platform. Furthermore, Gibu
Thomas, Walmart’s senior vice president
of mobile and digital has stated that 50%
of all their online visits were through
mobile devices (the Atlantic, 2014), which
suggests that consumers are increasingly
itinerant and that m-commerce could
have an impact on the high street, but
a positive impact nonetheless through
mobile technologies. Retailers have a
virtually untapped opportunity to drive
first-time business, increase repeat
business, build loyalty, and increase cart
size (Singh & Knutson, 2013).
With the m-commerce market expected
to worth such a vast amount of money
by 2018, many organisations are looking
to migrate into the m-commerce market
including Apple, with their passbook
offering launched with iOS 7 (Mobile
Commerce Press, 2014).
Feldwick (2014) suggests that brands start
with an image, and that the meaning and
values of this image are created by the
brand’s stakeholders, which in this case
are the three mobile network operators
- EE, Telefonica and Vodafone (Feldwick,
2014). The values of Vodafone for example
are about being trustworthy and simple
to communicate with (Vodafone, 2014)
which will feed into the values of WEVE.
“M-commerce which Goldman
Sachs believes by 2018 will be
worth approximately $626 billion
worldwide” (the Atlantic, 2014).
4. Figure 1:
4 | B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E
Situation Analysis
The mobile commerce market is still developing and yet
a number of well-established digital companies such as
Google, PayPal and Apple are developing their own methods
of mobile payment to compete with the likes of WEVE and
Zapp (Yahoo, 2014). Google have been working on a similar
service to WEVE, whilst Apple, who have 600 million Apple ID
accounts connected to a bank account provides them with a
large amount of transactional data and possible touch points
for consumers, more than both PayPal and Amazon (Business
Insider, 2014). Furthermore, Apple have developed the iBeacon,
which will be used to emit Bluetooth to send Apple iPhone
users promotional offers and with 200 million worldwide
iPhone users, the iBeacon will be its own advertising platform
(Business Insider, 2014). However, with the market becoming
highly competitive, there may be a number of issues that arise
from the new technology, See Appendix 2.
Privacy and data protection is a key issue with m-commerce,
due to the fact that consumers have to enter their personal
details into an application to make a transaction, such as Paypal
(Social Marketing Forum, 2013). With Google and Blackberry
experiencing data breaches over the past year (BBC, 2014),
consumers have a reason to be sceptical with their use of
m-commerce. Furthermore, consumers have expressed their
concern about how targeted messaging via m-commerce will
impact on their mobile experience (Social Marketing Forum,
2013).
The mobile device has traditionally been based around consumer’s
for personalised experience and therefore, targeted messaging
may disrupt their personal use of their mobile device, but has
the potential to enrich their consumer experience. Therefore, it
will be key for those involved in m-commerce to communicate
with consumers and partners to convey a consistent message
of trust and respect. WEVE have begun to convey their message
and use a number of communication methods to interact with
Key figures
WEVE’s adaptation of the loyalty loop.
Source: WEVE, 2014
“200 million worldwide iPhone
users, the iBeacon will be its
own advertising platform”
(Business Insider, 2014)
5. B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 5
their customers and partners.
WEVE’s current communication strategy
is targeted at the B2B audience as WEVE
is a new company within an emerging
market. To accomplish the company’s goal
of becoming a dominant m-commerce
platform, it is building relations with the
likes of MasterCard and Tesco so that
bricks and mortar stores are prepared for
m-commerce and are compatible with
the operations of WEVE (Giagon, 2014).
Brand
Assessment
WEVE is a joint venture between the UK’s
three largest mobile network operators
(MNOs) EE, Telefonica UK (O2) and Vodafone
UK. Between them, they represent over
80% of UK mobile customers, a user
base unmatched by any single handset
vendor or technology company (WEVE,
2014). The joint venture was set up in
2012 to develop the mobile marketing
services and wallet services in the UK.
WEVE are largely reliant on their data
to produce research into their effective-
ness and their consumer’s habits and
according to Insight Director of WEVE
James Hanscomb (2013), the company
already possesses 22 million permission
records based around MNOs users and
their consumption habits.
WEVE offers numerous products to its
clients in the form of mobile marketing
services, such as WeSend nevertheless,
there are some products still in the devel-
opment stages. The company’s mobile
marketing services were promoted by
their clients need for better targeting of
their consumers through mobile devices
and to gain greater engagement (WEVE,
2014). WEVE’s mobile marketing offer-
ings include target messaging, video
messaging, location based messaging
and performance messaging (WEVE,
2014). For WEVE’s B2B target audience
client benefits, according to WEVE (2014)
are intelligent, personalised mobile
campaigns. Exemplary of WEVE’s mobile
marketing services was their campaign
in association with Virgin EMI records to
launch the new Avicii single ‘Wake Me
Up’. The campaign was aimed at 16-34
year olds- the heavy users of mobile
devices with regards to time spent on the
devices and sent MMS’s at 8am to act as
an alarm clock and inside the message
was a link through to the track on iTunes
(WEVE, 2014). The campaign resulted in
a 9.7% Click Through Rate (CTR) and was
the first time a campaign of its kind had
been rolled out.
The other WEVE product currently in
development is their mobile wallet, for
contactless transaction which will provide
loyalty incentives through Proxama’s
pouch. This development will be used
to target WEVE’s B2C audiences. The
wallet is yet to be launched with beta
test beginning in late 2013 (Hanscomb,
2013). ‘Wallet’, which is expected to
launch in September 2014, will function as
WEVE’s payments platform and will offer
a mixture of payment methods, initially
including QR codes and barcodes. In the
future, WEVE will move towards relying on
NFC technology, through handsets and
SIM cards (Mobile Marketing Magazine,
2013).To accelerate the readiness of stores
to make mobile payments, WEVE have
announced a partnership with Mastercard
(Gigaom, 2014).
According to WEVE CEO David Sear around
300,000 points of sale in the country can
already accept contactless card payments
including McDonalds and Costa, so this
will largely be a matter of making those
machines see suitably-equipped phones
as cards (Gigaom, 2014). The unique
aspect of WEVE compared to other
m-commerce providers such as Zapp is
that the technology enables transactions
through mobile devices using Near Field
Communication (NFC) enabled SIM cards
rather than having the technology built
into a mobile device (Gigaom, 2014). Zapp,
unlike WEVE, uses the existing mobile
banking applications on a consumer’s
phones rather than working with MNOs.
However, there is a limit to the use of WEVE
as the NFC technology is not accessible
through Apple devices which account
for 44.4% of all smart phones worldwide
(Telegraph, 2014). Nevertheless, Apple
have recently announced their inten-
tion to become involved in NFC with
their iBeacon.
300,000 points of sale in the country
can already accept contactless card
payments
“Possesses
22 million
permission
records based”
6. 6 | B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E
Our business strategy(Eldeman’s 2010) Loyalty Loop can be used to explain how
WEVE customers go through the stages of consumption see
figure 3.
When a consumer is considering a purchase the initial considera-
tion set expands with new input, for example friend’s advice and
engagement with stores. Further research conducted into the
loyalty loop suggests that in previous years marketers believed
that consumers would systematically start with a large variety
of brands and methodically whittled down their choices until
they purchased. After purchase marketers
also stated that a consumer’s relationship
with the brand focused on its product or
service (Edelman, 2010).
In relation to WEVEs model seen in Figure 1
the brand has integrated a loyalty approach
for both its B2C and B2B consumers. For B2C
this can be gained whilst using their ‘Wallet’, which in turn
creates a community base for the loyalty members. Moreover,
research into WEVEs current platforms suggest that the second
target market of B2B can also be analysed in the Loyalty Loop.
WEVEs B2B audience implement WEVEs integrated communica-
tions to provide advertisement straight to mobile technology.
These services which WEVE offer are provided to external
stakeholders to use the digital channels for advertisements
specific to consumers using the platforms previously stated.
According to Eldeman (2010) the internet has upended
how consumers engage with brands. “It is transforming the
economics of marketing and making obsolete many of the
functions, traditional strategies and structures” (Eldeman,
2012). WEVE are not only pursuing with the digital age, they
are implementing strategies to integrate its B2B clients with
consumers using a digital presence ensuring loyalty within
the brand which they are promoting. When it comes to the
B2C target audiences and the Loyalty Loop process WEVE are
also ensuring that with their products involve coupons and
other ways to create brand loyalty within their follower base.
Figure 2 Application of Kapferer’s Brand Prism to WEVE
Physical
• WEVE logo created out of Marbles
• Multi coloured logo and web design
• Integration with mobile networks
Reflected customer
• An easy way to save time and make things easier for consumers
‘Transfer their card-based data into their mobile wallets’
• Want an integrated approach to save time and money
• Purchase good quickly and safely
Personality
• Integrated
• Digital
• Innovative
• Bright
Self-Image
• Creator of loyalty programmes
• Making payments safer and easier for consumers
• easy for businesses
• Be unique with full integration
• Pushing the boundaries with M-commerce
Relationship
• M- Commerce
• Mobile phone providers (Joint O2,Vodaphone
and EE
• Music providers (Example Avicii’s ‘wake
me up’
Culture
• Mobile Technology
• Integrating networks
• Brand Quote ‘changing the way that brands engage
consumers through their phones’
• ‘Unparalleled consumer reach and insight, combined
with the unrivalled ability to constantly push the
boundaries of this exciting marketplace’
CONSTRUCTED RECIEVER
Constructed Source
“It is transforming the economics of marketing and
making obsolete many of the functions, traditional
strategies and structures” (Eldeman, 2012).
7. B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 7
This adapted version of Kapferers brand
prism can be defined by six parameters
as seen in figure 2 personality, culture
and self-image are part of the internal
identity of the brand which are what
WEVE look at internally. Physical, relation-
ship and reflected customer are part of
the external identity which is what the
consumer sees.
WEVE’s internal presence in relations to
Figure 2 indicates that the integrated
approach which the company portray
provides insight for many of its integrated
brands. The innovative idea to integrate
different aspects of digital communica-
tions has adapted the use of digital and
m-commerce is being used to help and
support other brands in their promotion
and advertising. This can be supported
by how WEVE have integrated many
aspects of mobile technology and the
joining of mobile providers.
The culture of WEVE is relatively new
as they state that they are currently
“changing the way brands and consumers
communicate through m-commerce”
(WEVE, 2014). Furthermore, the internal
self- image of the brand can be portrayed
looking at how WEVE incorporate the
loyalty programmes and the online
payment safety to ensure full customer
satisfaction for their brand. WEVE look to
be unique through technology suggest
they look to “push the boundaries with
M-commerce” (WEVE,2014).
WEVE’s external identity as stated above
can also be dissected into the physical
relationship and reflected customer. In
relations to the physical aspect and the
way WEVE portray their image becomes
apparent that their use of multi coloured
marbles and light bulbs touches again on
their innovative structure and full integra-
tion. The brands Logo and web design
indicates that the brand is trying to show
their new style within the m-commerce
sector for this upcoming digital age.
WEVEs external relationship with its
consumers indicates that they have
incorporated three of the major mobile
phone providers ensure that the majority
of consumers are being targeted. WEVE
have also shown ties with the proms
incorporating free music downloads to
smart phone users which attended the
event. Furthermore, research suggests
that its B2C consumers see the brand
as an easier way to purchase and the
integrated approach is there to save
time and money.
Current
communication
WEVE’s current PR communications
strategy, WeSend is one of WEVE’s cost-
effective ways of reaching large mobile
audiences by placing a message directly to
the consumer’s handheld devices (WEVE,
2013). Brands running campaigns on
WEVE could potentially reach 22 million
mobile users who have opted into mobile
marketing via their mobile contacts with
Vodafone, EE and O2 (Chapman, 2013).
Furthermore, the organisation uses public
speaking to interact and communicate
with the target audiences. Using the
company CEO’s and other management
within the brand it will determine a feel
of community and authority with what
the company has to say (Smith, 2009).
Partnerships are playing a fundamental
role , ensuring that the hardware is
embedded across the UK. The big partners
are MasterCard and Proxama as these
are well respected within the UK and
some global markets. These companies
act as communicators for the brand
through their media channels further
adding awareness and loyalty towards
the WEVE brand building trust. Clients
themselves act like partnerships such as
EAT, a chain of cafes are alpha testing
the service with a small group and are
stimulating interest (Chapman, 2014).
Another deal has been signed between
Proxama Argos to accept NFC technology
further placing the service in eyes of
consumers. (MACLEOD, 2014)
Digital channels are being utilised to
engage with the industry for example
twitter re-tweeting partners tweets relating
to WEVE’s proposition. There are some
responding to consumer queries but this
could be improved. The social media
platforms also interact with the range
of events they visit stimulating interest
and providing followers with content.
The website is currently being used as a
B2B communications tool, giving basic
information on the core products and
services on offer. The site also explains
company’s future direction for prospec-
tive clients; this is complemented by
case studies.
Figure 3 Eldeman’s (2010) Consumer Decision Journey
“Push the
boundaries with
M-commerce”
(WEVE,2014)
“WEVE could
potentially reach 22
million mobile users”
8. Setting the right goals
8 | B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E
Objectives
The definition of a brand has altered
throughout the past fifty years, with
the American Marketing Associa-
tion defining a brand in 1960 as “A
name, term, sign, symbol or design,
or a combination of them, intended
to identify the goods or services of
one seller or group of sellers and to
differentiate them those of competi-
tors” (de Chernatony and Dall’Olmo
Riley, 1998, p.419). In contrast Kapferer
(2012) defines a brand as “a name
that symbolises a long-term engage-
ment, crusade or commitment to a
unique set of values, embedded into
products, services and behaviours,
which make the organisation, person
or product stand apart or stand out”
(Kapferer, 2012, p.18).
Furthermore, Urde (2009) states a
brand orientation approach is taking
an inside-out perspective. Moreover,
this is further supported by Berger
and Luckman (1966) who indicate
that brand Identity “once crystallised,
is maintained, modified, or even
reshaped by social relations” Berger
and Luckman (1966: 194).
Rossiter and Percy (1987) describe
brand awareness as being essential
for the communications process to
occur as it preceded all other steps
in the process. Without brand aware-
ness occurring, no other commu-
nication effects can occur (Rossiter
and Percy, 1987). In relation to the
communications objectives and the
IMC plan, Macdonald and Sharp
(1996) state that brand awareness
should be an important goal of the
marketing communication efforts of
an organisation as it has a number
of important functions (Macdonald
and Sharp, 1996).
When it comes to consumer loyalty
there seems to be a battle between
attitudinal and behavioural approaches.
These two aspects of brand loyalty
can be defined as, behavioural brand
loyalty is often considered to be
synonymous with repeat purchase
behaviour (Chaudhuri and Holbrook,
2001). However, authentic brand loyalty
goes beyond repetitive purchasing
behaviour and implies a true commit-
ment to a specific brand (Back and
Parks, 2003).
Kimberly Pendergrass of Udemy states
(2013) that brand objectives should
be set out using SMART objectives,
which become a crucial part of any
marketing communications plan.
SMART objectives should be specific,
measurable, attainable, realistic and
time bound. In this instance, WEVE are
still in an early stage of their develop-
ment as a fully-fledged m-commerce
platform, which means that their
brand communication objectives
are not clearly set out. Therefore, the
following aims and objectives have
been set out to further brand aware-
ness, create an engaging experience
and to build resilient, long term .In
turn to create brand loyalty between
client and consumer.
1. To improve the experience of the
consumer by complimenting their
everyday consumption and their
shopper experience, whilst providing
our users with a safe and uncompli-
cated product.
2. To give the consumer a product
that will reward their loyalty and
heavy usage by awarding them with
discounts on their preferred products
and services.
3. To create heightened brand aware-
ness by providing our partners the latest
innovation in consumer targeting and
by being accessible to our consumer’s
through their touch points.
9. B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 9
Brand Story
The brand story is used both for an organisation to articu-
late both its position, mission and vision as well as the
layer that connects the consumer touch points with the
organization (Chapin, 2012). It is vital for a brand story to
convey a consistent message, whilst sharing that story
with the target audience in a proficient manner (Chapin,
2012). WEVE’s current brand story has not been developed
fully amongst consumer audiences , however, with their
B2B audiences, the focus has been on offering clients a
fully integrated mobile experience for
businesses and their customers, based
on five interrelated components – media,
incentives, loyalty, transactions and data
analytics (WEVE, 2014).
WEVE in this sense are creating a narrative
that will become consistent and state their
intent. This relates to Luca Massimiliano
Visconti’s theory of a brand having an authentic narra-
tive, which means the brand needs to be routed in truth
and deliver on what it promises to its customers/partners
(Visconti, 2010, p.231).
With regards to the B2C and the wallet that has not
been launched as of yet, it will be about resonating with
the consumer and complementing their lives, without
disrupting their consumer experience. (Escalas, 2004,
p.168) argues that a brand has to have a meaningful
narrative in order to create enhancing self-brand
connections (SBC). The connection can be emotional
or appealing and is vital for a brand as it strengthens
it’s relationship with the consumer.
WEVE are creating an identity and giving themselves
a personality the consumer can relate to, Aaker (1997,
p.342) describes how a consumer can use the personality
of a brand to express his or herself.
With regards to the IMC strategy being devised for the
purpose of WEVE, it will be crucial to create a personality
that will make the brand specific to that consumers
needs and how they would want to use WEVE as a
brand. Personalisation will be key to the strategy and
therefore a brand personality of WEVE being whatever
the consumer wants it to be in terms of their consump-
tion habits; will form the basis of the strategy.
Routed in truth and deliver on what
it promises to its customers/partners
(Visconti, 2010, p.231)
10. 1 0 | B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E
Launch campaignIMC plan
A marketing communications campaign can be defined
as the “integration of all promotional marketing commu-
nications activities into a programme designed to achieve
interrelated goals” (Pickton and Broderick, 2001, p. 325).
This integrated model is suitable for WEVE as it has limited
existing marketing messages in the public domain. Other
strengths are the opportunity to see as the consistent
message across different channels. For WEVE an IMC plan
can develop a strong platform for creative work to reinforce
the core message in a number of different experiences;
including in-store , social media, and websites. Consistency
may result in operational efficiency and cost saving for
WEVE (Pickton and Broderick, 2001, p. 68). An integrated
campaign across all channels is chosen to
ensure WEVE’s marketing has consistent
messaging across every touchpoint.
The IMC strategy will use both above-the-
line communications(that is, promotions
that make sure of commission-paying mass
media - television, press, cinema, radio
and posters (Pickton and Broderick, 2001,
p. 90) and below-the-line communica-
tions of non-commission-paying media i.e. all forms of
promotion other than advertising that doesn’t follow the
same commission rules that agencies are paid for media.
(Pickton and Broderick, 2001, p. 91). Furthermore, there
is through-the-line - Marketing communications that
span both above and below-the-line activities (Pickton
and Broderick, 2001, p. 91)
WEVE’s current marketing communications have no above
the line or through the line communications as most of
the communication is focused towards B2B stakeholders
and clients. The current channels of communications are
below the line in the form of public relations, direct mail,
sponsorship of events, social media presents, owned
content such as websites.
Figure 3 IMC plan
Integration of all promotional
marketing communications activities
into a programme designed to
achieve interrelated goals” (Pickton
and Broderick, 2001, p. 325)
11. B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 1 1
The following campaign is to build
awareness of the product and service
over a period of time in a controlled
environment. As seen from Appendix
8 and Figure 3. The plan is during the
launch period of WEVE’s pouch and
wallet service. The starting stages of
the plan is below the line communica-
tions as it will consist of one-to-one
or small groups of stakeholders, this
for example would be direct mail and
internal forums. When the testing
stages have been done, launch will
include above-and-through the line
communications to reach a wider
audience through traditional mediums
like TV advertising and print. Also to
complement the launch with through
the line communication such as
targeted messages through social
media platforms. Each mediums
provides different attributes to drive
the consumer in the right direction.
Effective IMC plans require both
internal and external communica-
tions as ‘traditionally organisations
worked in separate communication
functions but now it has become
essential to align departments in order
to approach stakeholder profitably’
(Dienel, 2006, p. 25) WEVE’s internal
communications are necessary to build
common understanding and provide
a clear direction for the company. An
element of this is content planning
as content can come for any of the
business. Content is a must-have, its
imperative that the business creates
content on an ongoing basis. (Lieb,
2011, p. xvii) This content will then
be used through the other commu-
nication channels.
The corporate website is a central hub
for stakeholders, it will be informative
for consumers of the wallet service
after launch, but also a place for
partners and clients to gain further
information on the product offering,
for example case studies on existing
campaigns . The website includes a
blog for updates and news for WEVE,
this content is also pushed out to
Google plus and Linkedin to keep
followers updated. The blogs content
offers graphical information with
infographics for followers. During
the launch of WEVE Wallet this could
become a place to find out facts and
figures on users of the service.
External communications with stake-
holders like clients and partners to
integrate content plans, during the
launch campaign can add further
brand associations for clients. For
example tesco, Mastercard, EE and
others consumers can relate to and if
they see interactions with WeVe they
will in turn build trust towards WeVe.
this can be done in a number of forms,
as simple as a retweet or a mention
at events to build associations.
The plan has set out to add forums to
one of the channels of communications
because it gives the user of the WeVe
service a place to communicate in a
controlled environment. this might
be anything from addressing issues
with the service but share vouchers
and experiences within a community.
The Alpha and Beta stages of develo
pment will use this channel to further
improve the product.
Essential to align departments
in order to approach stakeholder
profitably’ (Dienel, 2006 p. 25)
12. 1 2 | B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E
Using WEVE’s extensive database
direct email marketing and targeted
text messaging will be used to target
specific segments for the early stages
in development. Segmenting users
that are ‘early adopters’ of technology,
use e-vouchers or m-commerce to
ensure high convergence. Targeting
this segment will potentially encourage
brand engagement and long term
advance.
Encouraging further uptake within
social groups with self promotion
enabling, Alpha and Beta testers to
invite others during the testing stages.
This might be through sharing to other
emails or mobile numbers. This will be
interesting to see how people share
services like WEVE wallet for insight.
In-store material like posters, staff
knowledge of the service will help
consumers understand the wallet
service. WEVE may wish to send
out starter packs with the payment
technology to train staff and promote
the service. This may give detail on
how to represent the WEVE wallet
logo on marketing material and
instore devices, with the mention
‘WEVE wallet accepted here.’
The app stores like Apple’s app store
act as a communication tool.
The campaign may wish to seek a
feature on the app store and apple
homepage where users find products.
This might be in the form of ‘Staff
pick of the week’ This will then be
reviewed by the app community and
stimulate further interest in related
magazines and blogs.
Paid and organic press through public
relations channels will be used to
gain awareness within the different
media, advertising, PR, marketing
and others industries to stimulate
interest around launch. To support
the success of communications like
TV advertising Adweek and campaign
would be used.
Utilizing paid search will ensure
users that searching for products
and services around m-commerce,
vouchers, coupons will be directed to
the WEVE wallet instead of consumers.
This would then be supported by
SEO improvements to digtial owned
media like the website.
Banner advertising after launch
offers another experience for the
user. Google advertising for example
offer interesting integration of
content on Google plus, this will
drive consumers to social channels.
Youtube can be used to support
other activities but also be a place
for consumers that need help using
the service, explaining and ensuring
security concerns that may have come
to light in the forums. The video
sharing site can be a place for the
TV advertisement and other content.
Launch events will be a good way
to showcase the next development
within WEVE’s chapter. This can be an
opportunity for PR content. WEVE may
also like to invite some of the client
and testers of the product to enjoy
the experience with the community
adding and showing these values.
After launch we wish to suggest a
partnership with a shopping centre
like Westfields to exhibit the service
through pop up stores (as seen in
Appendix 1). The reason for this is
that many users will not be persuaded
through other communications as
they may wish to try it hands on, let
someone explain the benefits to ‘just
another thing to do’ The shopping
centre places context to the WEVE
wallet as consumers will be able to
use it straight away.
Further to this, to display offers in
real-time on billboard’s for viewers
in shopping centres when people
connect through NFC or iBeacon (LE).
(As seen in appendix 1).
Out-of-home advertising would
be used to extend harder to reach
audiences that wouldn’t be accessible
through other channels. The strategy
with this medium is for high volume
reach areas of high density like high
streets, commuting locations. Radio
follows the same suit but stations
and shows that relate to shopping
and commuting times of day like
‘rush hour’. Also weekends around
traveling times to shopping locations.
13. %
= +
B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 1 3
Ensuring effectivenessMeasurement of
IMC plan
WEVE offers post-campaign insight
and analysis, including bespoke 3G
and 4G data behavioural information
- so marketers could potentially tell
whether a user visited their site after
seeing an ad, even if it was not a direct
click-through (Marketing Week, 2014).
Sean O’Connell, WEVE director of
product development, told Marketing
Week (2014) “Measurement is a big
problem for brands in mobile as a lot of
insight is optimised for clicks but that’s
a proxy measure, especially in areas
like games.”O’Connell continues that
“The insight we offer back is verified so
we can say these are the people that
actually engaged with your ad and
then we can break that down and you
can see if someone was more likely
to go in store.”Regarding the wallet,
it will be possible to measure its use
through transactions that consumers
have undertaken and also by looking
at 3G and 4G behavioural data, as
consumers use the application to
access vouchers and other features.
This call to action will be measurable
for brand partners, as they can see
if their brand is effective through
m-commerce.
According to O’Connell, “currently
there are not any robust measure-
ment for when a user moves from an
app-based to a web-based experience
on a phone, because there aren’t
cookies on mobile in the same based
as there are on computers”(Campaign,
2014). As WEVE is a mobile based
organisation and the wallet will be
an application, measuring the click
through rate (CTR) of consumers will
be incremental. Since it launched in
March 2013 WEVE has sent 95 million
text messages ads for more than 500
brands (Campaign, 2014) and by
measuring the CTR of the content,
WEVE can measure their effectiveness.
With regards to the IMC strategy in this
report, the promotion of the wallet
via targeted messages and display
advertisements will allow WEVE to
gauge how effective this platform
is for engagement with consumers
and measuring CTR will identify the
possible strong touch points.
As m-commerce is in the development
stages, no meaningful research has
been conducted into its worth and
effectiveness.Therefore, a longitudinal
study may reveal the true worth of
this commerce platform. Neil Carson
defines a longitudinal study as “a
correlational research study that
involves repeated observations of the
same variables over long periods of
time”(2006, p.361). If alpha users were
tracked along a time period where
m-commerce becomes more accessible
in bricks and mortar stores, then WEVE
could see if their wallet product was
the primary m-commerce platform
as it becomes a more mainstream
payment method.When signing up for
WEVE’s wallet service, personal data
like email addresses and names are to
be cross referenced to existing data
sets to build a better understanding
Measurement is a big problem for
brands in mobile (Marketing Week,
2014)
14. 1 4 | B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E
for which mediums the audiences are exposed to. This
can be for example granular data like the sites they visit
but also transactional data to better segment and define
them. In addition, another example of this, if a tracked
link from an out-of-home billboard was used by a user
this would then be added to that user as an attribute.
Conclusion
WEVE currently has data on 22 million people, out of
the total 65 million customers with O2, Vodafone and EE
(Campaign, 2014). However, the issue for them is not that
they are only reaching a third of their possible customer
base, but it is about creating meaningful contextual
content that engages their current opted in consumers.
Furthermore, it is crucial for them to get their B2B and
B2C to create a fluid brand experience across a number of
media channels. The IMC strategy that has been devised
looks will be rolled out on a wide variety of mediums
that will each have touch points for the selected target
audience. Furthermore, the strategy looks to use mediums
that offer large scale to reach target audiences, both new
and developed technologies.
With regards to the wallet platform, the IMC plan will
drive awareness through contextualised messages that
is highly targeted and will promote the personalisation
of the wallet. The aim of the plan is not to make a hard
sell of the wallet, but to provide consumers with a clear
understanding of how WEVE can enrich their consumption,
through loyalty and a more precise brand experience. With
the rapid growth of m-commerce it is clear that WEVE
have the possibility to take control of this developing
sector, both through mobile applications and through
revolutionising the shopper experience both online and
in bricks and mortar stores.
Joined up mobile
15. B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 1 5
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17. B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 1 7
Appendix
Appendix 1:
Appendix 2
Strengths Weaknesses
Set up as a joint venture by EE, O2 and Vodafone, this will give stability
for the business, it has access to
80% of British consumers via their phones
Access to the largest audiences with access to the joint partners.
‘large scale optedin consumer base (20 million and rising)’ (Weve.
com, 2013) We’ve has access to 80% of British consumers via their
phones. (Garside, 2014)
Usefulness of the channel to marketers may be set to dramatically
increase. (Chapman, 2013) This with the rise of ‘4 in 10 people use
mobile banking every day’(@Weveuk, 2014)
Reputable client base Avicii, Decca, Odeon, Emeli Sande, Post Office,
Pot Noodle, Lynx, Kleenex, Land Rover, Jaguar, Ford Kuga, Tesco and
Black & Decker.
MasterCard positioning of master pass within international Territories.
(Shopnow.masterpass.com, 2013)
May have conflict of interest from the different mobile networks.
Are they just changing the form factor of the card?
Consumer uptake, is the new systems in place secure enough for
wide use.
Mcommerce wallet market is still fragmented with a range of services
that are available from a number of companies and all have their own
process and technology used to make transfers. (Hern, 2014) This has
lead to consumers looking for different experiences.
Opportunities Threats
Develop a platform for deveolping mobile marketing and wallet
services in the UK
To produce a form of standardisation for the technology without
duplication.
To sell insight of consumers to clients, then produce more effective
marketing opportunities.
Geotargeted ads and vouchers with payment and loyalty schemes
for now.
NFC integration
Paying in instalments good start with a large deposit.
Consumers attitude to mobile advertising
Competition: PayPal, Zapp (has already partnered with HSBC, First
Direct, Nationwide, Santander and Metro Bank) Google wallet, Amazon
payments and maybe Apple “iBeacon”technology for shortdistance
communications could create a fearsome competitor.
It might be missing a trick where Google and others are playing a
longer game with touch payments via NFC. (KNOWLES, 2012)
Other forms of currencies that do not go through EMV standards for
example Bitcoin. Could this lead to lack of a full picture of the UK
consumers for Weves clients, as this consumer data will not be collected.
http://www.theguardian.com/money/shortcuts/2013/m ay/20/
contactlesspaymentsconsumeraffairs
http://www.theguardian.com/medianetwork/partnerzo
neinfosecurity/rfidcontactlesspaymentsecurity
ww.theguardian.com/medianetwork/partnerzoneinfo security/
rfidcontactlesspaymentsecurit
18. 1 8 | B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
James Hanscomb - quotes
Use insight to report campaign analytics
Develop a new display advertising service
Operators provides rich data - this depends on end users
Hand set information
traffic information
Call data, location information like realtime information
Trigger location message
campaign history, what campaigns have been sent to who, did it
work? about building attributes of data
There is billions of rows of data
click through analysis, this along side some qualitative to find out
the how effective the campaign was. This is done through a smaller
sample with a follow up message.
WEVE doesn’t send any data out of the business out of the building
clients can choose attitudes to the data, but no one including ourselves
see the personal information because its all given User id numbers
and hashed.
Because of the service is more personal, we have to be careful on
what we can do with the data.
We are at the stage in our evolution when we are starting to understand
our data and where the gaps are. Like can we add goedemographic
data who are on pay as you go.
cameo call credit geodemographic
http://www.callcredit.co.uk/products-and-services/consumer-
marketing-data/segmentation-analysis
We overlay We know what type of phone and the features - to help
contextual
22 million of permissioned records
Longterm - beyond media to payment and loyalty - so from this will
be transactional data, more specific client owned data. This will also
open up to build things for clients schemes
Payments (take a while longer)
WEVE loyalty is a container for other loyalty schemes, this will enable
them on the moblie.
19. B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 1 9
Appendix 5
Point Implications on WEVE
Political The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998)
is a Federal copyright law that was meant
to curb Internet piracy of digital media. The
bill passed in the U.S. Senate by unanimous
decision on October 12, 1998 and was signed
into law by President Bill Clinton seventeen
days later. The act outlines the laws against
online privacy and the theft of data and goods
that can be sold by the licensed organisation
(Copyright.gov, 2014)
For WEVE, it is essential to follow this act as
it sets out the guidelines for an organisation
that practices in m-commerce. Furthermore,
the act will protect WEVE from hackers and
any other technological infringements.
Economical Shop.org (2014) said during the second quarter
of 2013, m-commerce dollars totalled $4.7
billion or 8.6% of the overall e-commerce
sales. Between the second and third quarters
of this year m-commerce grew 24%, compared
to 16% in e-commerce overall.
With m-commerce being a relatively new
technology, to already account for 8.6% of
all online commerce, WEVE as early entrants
could capitalise on this early success.
Social Twitter may be preparing to jump into the
mobile commerce game. According to leaked
documents obtained by the UK Telegraph, the
social network may soon make it possible for its
232 million users to purchase products directly
from their mobile devices. The documents
suggest that the service would be calledTwitter
Commerce, but there are not indications when
this service would be made available for certain.
Moreover, the leaked documents cannot
necessarily be considered accurate and they
could be nothing more than simple rumours
(Mobile Commerce Press, 2013).
With the high level of reach that social media
has, it will be a highly effective platform for
m-commerce. If WEVE could forge a partner-
ship with a social platform would push their
services to gain more exposure and could in
turn produce a further number of third party
relations for WEVE to improve their services
and reach.
Technological Mastercard will create the UK’s first compre-
hensive contactless payments platform
backed by the major mobile telecoms groups
in an attempt to simplify the fragmented m
commerce market. To allow users to use their
mobile phones to pay for goods and services,
they would have to replace their SIM cards with
one that has the technology embedded on it
and will also allow users to swipe their phones
to pay without internet connection or even
battery life (Financial times, 2014).
The joint venture between Mastercard and
WEVE will give the project some leverage as
Mastercard will have all the necessary data for
consumer interaction with payments and how
they use their mobile phone to pay for goods.
Furthermore, the new m-commerce enabled
SIM card will revolutionise how consumers
pay for their goods
20. 2 0 | B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E
Environmental Weather can have an adverse affect on consumer
buyer behaviour, in particular rain, snow and
extreme temperatures have been identified as
factors that can make shopping less attractive
and thereby, negatively affect retail sales and
bricks and mortar store traffic. For example,
when temperatures fall products like ice lollies
and sun screen see their sales fall, but the sales
of wellies and oats will increase. The weather
is a strong predictor of consumer behaviour
(Weather Source, 2013).
As WEVE offers their mobile wallet as a product,
it will affect their usage as consumers tend to
go shopping less when the weather is adverse.
However, the other product that WEVE offer
is their mobile marketing and therefore as
shoppers take their spending online rather
than going to bricks and mortar stores, there
could be a strong performance from this
WEVE product.
Legal Innovations in mobile commerce could intrude
on consumer privacy and risk the disclosure
of information that could harm consumers.
Government regulators such as the FTC and
the European Commission as well as consumers
are worried about this. Consumer concerns
and government regulation could impede the
development of mobile commerce innovations
that would benefit consumers by making it
easier for them to shop and get better deals
(Pymnts, 2013).
Privacy of consumer data is and has been a
key factor when it has come to the implication
of m-commerce and contactless payment. For
WEVE the key issue to look at how the new
SIM cards that allow contactless payment will
be secure and consumers will feel safe using
them over the traditional SIM they are used to.
Consumers will have to be reassured before
they use this technology.
Appendix 6
21. B ra n d S t rat e g y - C W 2 - W E V E | 2 1
Appendix 7
Appendix 7