THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN FOR IMPERIAL...
Transcript of THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN FOR IMPERIAL...
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THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN FOR IMPERIAL BIRDS NEST INTERNATIONAL CO. LTD.
Maggie C.M. Li
A Project Submitted
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts in Communication
Supervisor: Dr. Kara Chan
School of Communication Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong June 2005
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Acknowledgement
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Kara Chan for her advice and
support throughout the process of doing this project. It is really my honor and
pleasure to have Dr. Chan to be my supervisor. I cannot imagine what would it be
without the patience, guidance and love of her. During the preparation of this project,
Dr. Chan has given me so many constructive ideas on how to design the questionnaire,
how to analysis data collected from the survey, and how to develop the whole
campaign, etc. I enjoy every single moment with her during consultation in the past
few precious months.
On the other hand, I am also very grateful to Ms. Cathy Yu, my dearest classmate and
friend, for her continuous support, encouragement and sharing. I will never forget
those nights we online together, worked overnight till sunrise for the project! I would
also like to thank all my friends, especially my high-school classmate Veronica, for
distributing and filling the questionnaires, for supporting and encouraging me to be
tough in facing all big challenges of this project.
All research described in this project was my own original work and was carried out
by myself under the supervision of Dr. Kara Chan.
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______________________
(Maggie Li Ching Man)
M. A. in Communication
School of Communication
Hong Kong Baptist University
Date: 10 June 2005
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Table of Contents
Executive summary 1
I. Situation analysis 3
Company analysis 3
Consumer analysis 6
Market analysis 15
Product analysis 19
Competitive analysis 22
II. Problems and opportunities summary 29
III. Target market profile 34
IV. Objectives 36
Marketing objectives 36
Advertising objectives 36
V. Marketing communication strategy overview 37
Advertising strategy 37
Sales promotion strategy 44
Public relations strategy 44
Direct marketing strategy 45
VI. Campaign evaluation 46
Conclusion 48
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Appendices Appendix I Survey on healthcare products consumption behavior (Chinese version) 50 Survey on healthcare products consumption behavior (English version) 54
Survey on healthcare products consumption behavior (Result) 59 Appendix II Table 1* Company history and development 4 Table 2* Respondents attitude and consideration when buying instant
birds nest 8
Table 3* Importance of respondents consideration when buying instant birds nest in terms of the mean 9
Table 4* Respondents perception of Imperial Birds Nest 11 Table 5* Respondents value and attitude towards health and life 12 Table 6* Importance of value and attitude towards health and life of
respondents in terms of the mean 12
Table 7* Respondents perceived image of the product Daily Birds Nest 20
Table 8 Birds Nest & Aloe Top 10 Advertisers (HK$ in thousands) in 2004 65
Table 9 Comparison of Imperial Birds Nest and three direct competitors 66
Table 10 Monthly trend of placing advertisements in the market of Birds Nest & Aloe (HK$ in thousands), 2003-2004 68
Table 11 Highest spend of media advertising expenditure by Imperial Birds Nest and three competitors in 2003 and 2004 69
Table 12a Competitive media advertising expenditure analysis by media, 2003 70
Table 12b Competitive media advertising expenditure analysis by media, 2004 71
Table 13a Competitive media advertising expenditure analysis by month, 2003 72
Table 13b Competitive media advertising expenditure analysis by month, 2004 73
Table 14 Advertisements of Imperial Birds Nest and three competitors 74 Table 15 Advertising expenditure by media of Imperial Birds Nest,
2003 2004 76
Table 16 Advertising expenditure by month of Imperial Birds Nest, 2003 -2004 77
Appendix III Storyboard A: TVC Storyboard of Women of new generation I 79 Storyboard B: TVC Storyboard of Women of new generation II 82 * Table 1 7: Please refer to the content.
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Imperial Birds Nest International Co. Ltd.
Marketing Communication Campaign 1
THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN FOR IMPERIAL BIRDS NEST INTERNATIONAL CO. LTD.
Executive summary
Imperial Birds Nest International Co. Ltd. is one of the most competitive birds nest
wholesaler and retailer in the market nowadays. A turnover of approximately HK$ 20
million is recorded each month. In order to build up a more vivid and clear image in
the public towards the company and products provided, a marketing communication
campaign would be carried out for Imperial Birds Nest especially focusing on its
instant birds nest best seller Daily Birds Nest. The one-year campaign would be
carried out throughout 2006, aiming at increasing sales and establishing top-of-mind
awareness of the product promoted.
As female consumers are still believed to be the most heavy users of instant birds
nest and are the motivating force of the consumer market, the female target audiences
aged 25-34, who are mainly engaged in clerical and professional industry, with
personal income of HK$10,000 20,000 are being targeted as the primary market
concerning the result of survey conducted, while career women of 35-44 would be
targeted as the secondary market.
A series of advertising strategy especially designed for addressing the target market
including TVC and print ad are created. With the advertisements, it is hoped that the
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Marketing Communication Campaign 2
key message of women of the new generation to pursue beauty and health at the
same time () would be built in
audiences mind, who would also have the feeling of self-esteem, identity, beauty and
health of being women of the new generation. Other marketing communication tools
like sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing would also be used
throughout the campaign.
In order to measure the effectiveness of the whole campaign, campaign evaluation
would be carried out at the end of 2006 using the method of posttesting. By measuring
the effects, awareness and recognition of consumers towards the product, it also
provides benchmarks for future campaign to develop.
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Imperial Birds Nest International Co. Ltd.
Marketing Communication Campaign 3
I. The Situation Analysis
Company Analysis
Imperial Birds Nest International Co. Ltd.
Imperial Birds Nest International Co. Ltd. (IBNI) has been developing local birds
nest trading and wholesaling business in Indonesia since 1964 and entered the Hong
Kong wholesale market in 1998. IBNI is one of Hong Kongs leading birds nest
importers, and operates wholesale and retailing services in both Hong Kong and
Canada. As IBNI has its own birds nest farming houses and large-scale plants in
Indonesia, it ensures a reliable source for its birds nest, including boat-shape, meshes,
loose pieces, cake and ball-shape birds nest. In 2003, IBNI started the business of
selling ready-to-serve birds nest in bottle, which leads the latest trend of the market
of instant birds nest.
Recently, Imperial Birds Nest has operated 11 retail shops in Hong Kong and 1 in
Canada, and has successfully introduced its products to the mass market. IBNI locates
its outlets in office buildings rather than ground floor shops. As a result, the company
succeeds to minimize costs and is able to sell its products at very competitive prices.
Its future plans are to develop the business in other international markets, build up a
distribution network in China, Taiwan, America and Canada, and launch different new
series of products to customers from different age groups and different social levels.
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Marketing Communication Campaign 4
According to the Sales and Marketing Director of IBNI, IBNI recorded a turnover of
approximately HK$ 20 million each month 1 . In addition, IBNI has spent
approximately HK$ 11,000 thousands2 for advertising and promotion expenditures in
2004.
Table 1 Company history and development
Year History and development 1964 Developed local birds nest trading and wholesaling business in Indonesia1998 Entered the wholesale market in Hong Kong 2001 Received the Quality Tourism Services Award from the Hong Kong
Tourism Board Cooperated and launched the Birds Nest Cake on Mothers Day with Maxim
2002
Received the SUPERBRANDS status Launched ready-to-serve birds nest in bottle Cooperated and launched the Birds Nest and Mango Cake on Mothers Day with Saint Honore Cake Shop Ltd. The first birds nest retailer to receive the Hong Kong Q-Mark quality certificate
2003
Received the SUPERBRANS status Won the 2004 Hong Kong Top Brand Award 2004
Received the SUPERBRANDS status in 3 consecutive years since 2002
1 Sing Pao. (January 25, 2005). A07 2 admango.com
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Mission
Imperial Birds Nests mission is ensures the supply of pure, natural and superior
quality products as IBNI aims at caring their customers health. In order to achieve
this goal, IBNI has set up its own birds nest farming houses in Indonesia to ensure a
natural production process with the strict quality control. Moreover, by locating its
outlets in office buildings rather than ground floor shops, IBNI sells its products at
very competitive prices, succeeds to minimize cost of rent which can be transferred to
the advertisements, so as to educate customers with the advantages of taking birds
nest and enables IBNI to have a good reputation in the market.
IBNI also guarantees of refund for customers. Customers who are not satisfied can
change or return the product within 15 days of purchase. This makes IBNI stand out
from other competitors and build strong confidence in customers.
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Consumer analysis
Buying instant birds nest has become a trend for Hong Kong people recently,
especially for those women who want to take birds nest for the purpose of skincare
and healthcare but can hardly spare time to cook birds nest for themselves due to the
heavy workload and pressure. In the past, taking birds nest was being treated as rich
person and people of older age. But nowadays this perception has been changed in
many peoples mind.
According to the population census, there are about 596,000 women aged 25-34
(about 17% of the total female population)3. And concerning the survey conducted by
the Democratic Alliance for betterment of Hong Kong in 2003, about 45% of citizens
have bought healthcare products mainly for building up resistance (37.1%), fitness
(20.6%)4, etc. They obtained information about healthcare products mainly through
advertisements and leaflets.
The survey
A survey was conducted by the author in April 2005. A questionnaire was delivered to
a convenient sample of 50 female respondents recruited through personal contacts.
Sixty-two percent of them aged 25 34, most of them worked in professional and
clerical jobs. About 78% were married, and 74% of the respondents were tertiary
3 Mid-year Population by age Group and Sex, Hong Kong Government (2004), Population Census. 4 www.dab.org.hk (October 3, 2003)
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educated or above.
The questionnaire consisted of three parts. The first part collected information about
respondents general consuming habit of healthcare products and instant birds nest,
and their attitude and consideration when consuming instant birds nest. Then, they
were asked to express their impression and perception towards Imperial Birds Nest
and other competitors, and one of its products Daily Birds Nest. The final part
contained psychographic information of the respondents, such as their lifestyle and
value towards health, and also the demographic information. The Chinese and English
version of the survey questionnaire and results are shown in Appendix I. Table 2 and
table 3 below show respondents attitude and consideration when buying instant birds
nest by expressing their opinions from strongly agree to strongly disagree and in
terms of the mean. Table 4 summarizes respondents perception of Imperial Birds
Nest, while table 5 and table 6 show respondents value and attitude towards health
and life by expressing their opinion from strongly agree to strongly disagree and in
terms of the mean.
Consumers buying habit
In order to get a closer look of the heavy users of instant birds nest, only women are
chosen as respondents of the survey. From the survey conducted, it showed that 88%
of respondents have bought healthcare products in the past one year mainly for the
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purpose of healthcare (40%) and skincare (30%). They bought healthcare products
when they needed (54%) or when there was special promotion and discount (38%).
There were 66% of the respondents who have bought instant birds nest in the past
one year mainly for the purpose of beauty (70%) and healthcare (20%). Most of them
bought instant birds nest for their own use (58%), and would normally spend less
than $200 per month (54%) on buying instant birds nest.
Table 2 Respondents attitude and consideration when buying instant birds nest
Very
important
(%)
Important
(%)
Neutral
(%)
Not
important
(%)
Very
unimportant
(%)
variety of products 2 24 44 30 0
quality of products 74 24 2 0 0
goodwill of the brand of products 52 46 2 0 0
package of products (outlook, size,
delicacy)
0 44 30 24 2
ingredients of products 56 38 6 0 0
the originate of birds nest 18 60 20 2 0
price 38 62 0 0 0
advertisements 4 44 38 14 0
recommendation from relatives and
friends
18 72 8 2 0
the shops are nearby 0 38 38 20 4
the shops are located on the street or
in a building
0 24 50 24 2
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Table 3 Importance of respondents consideration when buying instant birds nest in
terms of the mean Importance Consideration Mean* 1 Quality of products 1.28
Goodwill of the brand of products 2 Ingredients of products
1.50
3 Price 1.62 4 Recommendation from relatives and friends 1.94 5 The originate of birds nest 2.60 6 Advertisements 2.62 7 Package of products (outlook, size, delicacy) 2.84 8 The shops are nearby 2.90 9 Variety of products 3.02 10 The shops are located on the street or in a building 3.40
* 5-point scale (1=very important; 5 very unimportant)
Cross-tabulation analysis indicated that:
1. By comparing the mean, it was found that women considered quality of the
product as the most important factor when buying instant birds nest, followed by
goodwill of the brand, ingredients of product, price and recommendation from
relatives and friends.
2. Women aged 25-34, had tertiary education or above, and engaged in clerical and
professional jobs, were more likely to agree that quality of product was very
important.
3. Women engaged in occupations other than clerical and professional jobs (like
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housewives, service industry, etc.) with lower personal income (HK$10,000
20,000), were more likely to agree that goodwill of the brand of instant birds
nest were important.
4. Women who engaged in clerical jobs with lower income, were more likely to
think that recommendation from relatives and friends was much more important
than advertisements when making consumption decision, and even on one who
aged 35 or above thought that advertisement was very important to them.
5. Women aged 25-34 with lower income were more likely to think that price was
an important factor affecting their buying intention of instant birds nest.
Perceived image of Imperial Birds Nest
The questionnaire asked respondents to rate their perceived image of Imperial Birds
Nest on seven-point scale of appropriateness of different adjectives and description.
Respondents generally considered Imperial Birds Nest professional (4.90),
fashionable (4.70), and credible (4.68). However, respondents also considered the
brand costly (3.88) and with less advertisement (3.88). Perceived image of
Imperial Birds Nest to the customers was not distinctive, as most of the grading lean
towards 4, which was only a neutral degree.
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Table 4 Respondents perception of Imperial Birds Nest
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Traditional Fashionable
Image is blur Image is clear
Less product
variety
Many product
variety
Unprofession
al
Professional
Not Credible Credible
Costly Inexpensive
Bad service Superior service
Less
advertise-
ment
Many
advertisement
Cross-tabulation analysis indicated that:
1. Concerning age, income, career and education, all the respondents actually had
similar perception towards Imperial Bird Nest. Only very slightly differences
concerning age, income and education could be found as most of them weighted
neutral for different adjectives and descriptions.
2. Women with tertiary education or above and aged 25-34, were more likely to
perceive Imperial Birds Nest fashionable, professional and credible.
3. Women with lower personal income (HK$10,000 20,000) were more likely to
perceive products of Imperial Birds Nest costly.
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Consumers value and lifestyle
Table 5 Respondents value and attitude towards health and life
Strongly
agree
(%)
Agree
(%)
Neutral
(%)
Disagree
(%)
Strongly
disagree
(%)
Health is very important to me. 54 46 0 0 0
I worry about aging of my body very soon. 20 58 18 4 0
Extrinsic beauty is much more important than
intrinsic beauty.
6 20 48 26 0
I do mind people criticize my appearance. 8 46 34 12 0
I can accept new things easily. 6 52 32 8 2
Fitness is essential for carrying out job duties
efficiently.
34 48 16 2 0
Table 6 Importance of value and attitude towards health and life of respondents in terms of the mean Importance Statement Means* 1 Health is very important to me. 1.46 2 Fitness is essential for carrying out job duties
efficiently. 1.86
3 I worry about aging of my body very soon. 2.06 4 I can accept new things easily. 2.48 5 I do mind people criticize my appearance. 2.50 6 Extrinsic beauty is much more important than
intrinsic beauty. 2.94
* 5-point scale (1=very important; 5 very unimportant)
Cross-tabulation analysis indicated that:
1. Women agreed most to the statement health is very important to me, followed
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by fitness is essential for carrying out job duties efficiently. It seemed that
health was much more important than extrinsic beauty and appearance in their
mind.
2. Women aged 25-34, had tertiary education or above and with lower income were
more likely to agree that health was very important to them and fitness was
essential for carrying out job duties efficiently. It might be due to the reason that
they were mainly the group of manpower and labor, who needed extremely good
condition of health in carrying out job duties.
3. Concerning other statements like I worry about aging or extrinsic beauty is
much more important than intrinsic beauty, respondents had similar view no
matter they were of which group of age, career, income and education. They
mostly agreed that they worried about aging and disagreed that extrinsic beauty
is much more important than intrinsic beauty.
The survey indicated that respondents normally get information of healthcare products
before consumption from relatives and friends recommendation (48%) and
advertisements (26%). They bought healthcare products whenever it was needed
(54%) or when there was special promotion and discount (38%). Most of them spent
less than $300 (60%) on healthcare products each month. Respondents got update
information about healthcare products mainly from magazine (62%) which belonged
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Marketing Communication Campaign 14
to entertainment and gossip type (60%) among all other categories. Respondents spent
mainly on shopping (46%) and dining (46%) and nearly half of the respondents
possessed four credit cards or more (48%). More than 74% of respondents had visited
overseas in the past one year.
From the demographic perspective, current users of instant birds nest were women
aged 25-34 (70%), with tertiary education or above (67%), mainly engaged in
profession and clerical jobs (50%) with personal income of HK$ 10,000 to 14,999
(40%). Most of them were single (76%) and lived at self-owned property (55%).
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Marketing Communication Campaign 15
Market analysis
With the gradually recovery economy after SARS in 2003 and the rise of health
consciousness, it is obvious that the industry of birds nest of Hong Kong is
developing rapidly and has more room to go further in the coming years.
Overall situation
By comparing private consumption expenditure of personal care of Hong Kong
people in 2002 and 2003, the amount increased by HK$ 9.8 million and grew by
9.3%5. For the total advertising expenditure in birds nest and aloe market, there was
an increase from HK$ 159,874,740 in 2003 to HK$ 164,471,820 in 2004, representing
an increase of 3%6.
It is not surprising that the market of instant birds nest has developed at a rapid rate
starting from 1998 with the first instant birds nest developer Lo Hong Ka, due to
the rise of health-consciousness of Hong Kong people especially after SARS.
Estimated by the experts in the industry of birds nest, the total sales of birds nest in
2004 was over HK$ 30 billion, in which 5% of HK$ 150 million was the total sales of
instant birds nest7. With the rise of health-awareness and under the Individual Visit
Scheme of Mainland Chinese visitors, it is believed that the prospect of instant birds
5 Private Consumption Expenditure by Component, Hong Kong Government (2004), Population
Census. 6 www.admango.com 7 Singpao. (October 23, 2004) A06
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Marketing Communication Campaign 16
nest industry would look bright in the foreseeable future.
Recent development
In order to minimize costs and thus able to sell the products at very competitive prices
with good quality, more and more instant birds nest niche shops are chosen to be
located in office buildings rather than ground floor shops, which even ensure
consumers to receive one-to-one service from salesman to customer comfortably in
the niche shops. Moreover, in order to explore more possibilities in attracting younger
customers who mainly fall in the group of female, aged 25 or above, with occupation
and increasing spending power and do concern about their own appearance and health
condition, a lot of brands producing instant birds nest also provide customers with
online shopping and re-design outlets with brighter color and younger look, in order
to change the traditional perception of customers about birds nest.
According to the survey conducted, customers who purchase instant birds nest
nowadays are mainly young lady who aged 25-34. They purchase instant birds nest
rather than cooking by themselves because it is convenient and can avoid the problem
of time-consuming due to the long and harsh working hours. As it is obvious that
instant birds nest industry still has its growing and developing opportunities, many
brands and companies also enter the market. The first developer of instant birds nest
entering the market was Lo Hong Ka. Other brands selling different kinds of products
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Marketing Communication Campaign 17
including Brands, Eu Yan Sang, Tung Fong Hung, Wai Yuen Tong, etc, also followed
suit, while Imperial Birds Nest also entered the retail market of instant birds nest
industry in May of 2003.
Concerning the survey, respondents were asked to name those brands they knew
producing instant birds nest in the market. It was found that brands that immediately
came to their mind were Lo Hong Ka (38%), followed by Brands (18%), Imperial
Birds Nest (14%) and Wai Yuen Tong (10%). It showed that customers still have deep
and clear impression about Lo Hong Ka which is the first provider of instant birds
nest in the market.
Market potential
With the CEPA, Individual Visit Scheme, advanced technology and customers
awareness of improving health condition and tackle against aging, it is believed that
the market of instant birds nest would still have more room for growing, not only for
Hong Kong market but also for the global market with the increasing demand of
birds nest from customers.
Threats to future development
Although the demand of birds nest from customers is huge in the future, there is still
threat existing in the market of birds nest. For environmentalists, they aware of the
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use of endangered species like barn swallows as food. TRAFFIC North America and
World Wildlife Fund U.S. have done a survey about this phenomenon in Hong Kong
and awareness of using endangered species as food was highest among those who
take the food more frequently8. This may have some threats to the sale of instant
birds nest in the market as people afraid that barn swallows will become extinct
gradually.
On the other hand, fake instant birds nest would also affect the business in the whole
market of birds nest. In October 2004, it was the first time to record suspected case of
fake instant birds nest according to the spokesmen of Customs and Excise
Departments Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau and the Consumer Council9.
Consumers are hard to differentiate and identify the real and fake instant birds nest. It
will greatly threaten the operation of the market as the production cost of the fake one
is only less than $20 with sold out price for nearly $400.
8 http://www.traffic.org/tcm/results-page5.htmlt 9 South China Morning Post. (October 23, 2004). EDT3, The Standard. (October 23, 204). A06.
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Product analysis
When we look into the market of instant birds nest, it is easy to find instant birds
nest in different packages, sizes, bottles, or in different flavor with rock-sugar, sugar
free, with ginseng, etc, fulfilling different needs of customers. In order to attract
female customers who are heavy users of instant birds nest, most of the instant birds
nest appear in the market nowadays are packed in small bottles, emphasize no sugar
and no preservatives to enhance health value, The packages are usually of feminine
style with pastel color. It is expected that more flavor would be invented and packages
would be of mini-size enabling easy-carry.
The product: Daily Birds Nest
One of the products Daily Birds Nest () produced by Imperial Birds Nest is
especially chosen for promotion in this market communication campaign, as it is
believed that Daily Birds Nest is of high quality which is specially produced with
the finest Indonesian Royal Birds Nest. The most crucial attribute is that, Daily
Birds Nest is vacuum-packed in seven small bottles separately for one week dosage,
for which there was no similar package prior to its launch in May of 2003. It is easy to
carry and consumers can consume once a day which is really convenient. In addition,
it helps restoring a fine and fair complexion of ones youthfulness, strengthens our
body and gives the face a healthy glow with radiance.
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Marketing Communication Campaign 20
According to the survey conducted, it was found that customers would consider
quality, ingredients of products, goodwill of brand and price as crucial factors when
buying instant birds nest. It is strongly believed that Daily Birds Nest fulfill what
customers really need as first phase bird nest is used for production in which quality
and source of birds nest are guaranteed. Besides, customers buy instant birds nest
mainly due to its convenience. As Daily Birds Nest is packed in small bottles with
no stabilizer and preservatives, customers can simply take one bottle for one day
dosage which is not needed to be refrigerated before consuming. For the factor of
price, a pack of Daily Birds Nest with seven small bottles costs HK$308 and is
intended to be consumed for one week dosage. Some customers may be hindered by
the price as most of them spend less than HK$200 (54%) or HK$200-500 (36%) per
month on buying instant birds nest.
Table 7 Respondents perceived image of the product Daily Birds Nest
Strongly
agree (%)
Agree
(%)
Neutral
(%)
Disagree
(%)
Strongly
disagree
(%)
Daily Birds Nest leads
the trend of instant birds
nest
0 34 48 16 2
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Marketing Communication Campaign 21
Daily Birds Nest which
is vacuum-packed in
seven small bottles serve
what the consumers need
2 46 42 8 2
Daily Birds Nest is the
best and credible choice
for healthcare
0 16 70 12 2
On the other hand, respondents were asked to express their feeling of the product
Daily Birds Nest. Although most of the respondents remained neutral towards the
statement of Daily Birds Nest leads the trend of instant birds nest and Daily
Birds Nest is the best and credible choice for healthcare, nearly half of the
respondents did agree that Daily Birds Nest which is vacuum-packed in seven
small bottles serve what the consumers need. It implied that consumers did think that
this attribute of Daily Birds Nest was different from other brands and became
important characteristic and unique asset of this product.
With all characteristics of convenient, healthy, nutritious, with supreme quality and
easy-to-carry, it is believed that Daily Birds Nest (sugar free or with rock sugar)
would be trustworthy and tailored-made for customers who are health-conscious but
busy.
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Marketing Communication Campaign 22
Competitive analysis
Comparison with three direct competitors
Followed by the rise of awareness towards health conscious, there are more and more
companies selling instant birds nest products. Recently, there are over 30 competitors
selling instant birds nest in the market, which fall into two main categories:
traditional Chinese medicine pharmaceuticals at the same time selling Chinese
medicinal materials, like Wai Yuen Tong, Eu Yan Sang, etc.; and new brand selling
instant birds nest not more than 10 years, like Lo Hong Ka, Imperial Birds Nest
(IBN), etc. Table 8 (Appendix II) shows the top 10 advertisers of the market of Birds
Nest and Aloe in 2004.
In the market of instant birds nest, most of the competitors of Imperial Birds Nest at
the same time are selling different kinds of products related to health while IBN only
focus on the business of instant birds nest. Lo Hong Ka, Wai Yuen Tong and Eu Yan
Sang are the most direct competitors to IBN in the market recently. Comparison of
different features including products offered, location and distribution, etc. of IBN
and these three competitors are summarized in the table 9 (Appendix II).
Obviously, Wai Yuen Tong and Eu Yan Sang are the remarkable leaders in the industry
over the century, in which confidence and belief is already built in consumers mind.
However, Lo Hong Ka is the first one in the market which started the business of
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Marketing Communication Campaign 23
instant birds nest in 1998, while Imperial Birds Nest followed suit in May of 2003.
For the distribution network, Imperial Birds Nest has a quite even distribution in
Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories, with 2, 4 and 4 outlets respectively.
Consumers can also purchase instant birds nest of IBN in Mannings as it is the
exclusive shop selling products of IBN. However, Wai Yuen Tong and Eu Yan Sang
have 45 and 29 retail shops respectively, and products can be purchased through
numerous channels, like Mannings, Watsons, department stores, etc. This may hinder
the intention of purchase of IBNs consumers.
For the product category, unlike other competitors, IBN focuses only on products of
instant birds nest. The most outstanding product of IBN is Daily Birds Nest
, which is vacuum-packed in seven small bottles separately for one week
dosage. Other competitors like Wai Yuen Tong and Eu Yan Sang also offer other
health supplements like Pak Fung Pill, pearl power, chicken essence, etc, and Lo
Hong Ka also has instant aloe vera, which meets the needs of different people.
Imperial Birds Nest is the first one in the market that invented the 7 days package
of birds nest. Later on, Wai Yuen Tong also followed suit, with 6 little bottled instant
birds nest in one package. When we look at the price per gram, Imperial Birds Nest
is the most expensive ($2.2 / g) among Lo Hong Ka ($1.39 / g), Wai Yuen Tong
($1.74 /g) and Eu Yan Sang ($0.71 /g).
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Marketing Communication Campaign 24
Competitive media advertising analysis
Advertising expenditures by media
Imperial Birds Nest and its three direct competitors are heavy spenders of
advertisements in the market of Birds Nest and Aloe. During the period of 2003 and
2004, the total expenditure of media and advertising of the four brands were HK$
41,060,000 and HK$ 42,109,000 respectively, represented 25.68% and 25.6% of the
total ad spend of the birds nest and aloe market. The total ad spend and monthly trend
of placing advertisements in the market of birds nest and aloe is shown in table 10
(Appendix II).
Among four, Lo Hong Ka was the highest spender of advertising throughout 2003 to
2004, while Imperial Birds Nest took the third place in 2003 and came up as the
second highest spender in 2004. The highest spender, Lo Hong Ka, spent mostly on
newspaper (print ad) as the influential promotion and marketing tool. (Table 11 and
12a, Appendix II)
Both Lo Hong Ka and Eu Yan Sang tended to place print ad on newspaper, which
were 62.04% and 43.94% respectively of the total ad spend of each brand in 2004,
while Imperial Birds Nest was more likely to choose magazine (52.69%) as the
promotion channel. On the other hand, Wai Yuen Tong tended to place TVCs on Jade
(TVB) (46.69%). Other channels such as TVCs on ATV Home and First vision were
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Marketing Communication Campaign 25
also being used as promotional tools in 2004. (Table 12b, Appendix II)
Advertising expenditures by month
Due to the Golden Week in October 2003, most of the brands placed heaviest
amount on advertising in September that year, including Wai Yuen Tong and Imperial
Birds Nest which spent HK$ $5,593,000 (41.89%) and HK$ 2,172,000 (25.09%)
respectively. (Table 13a, Appendix II)
However, in 2004, there was a great change. For Lo Hong Ka (14.08%) and Eu Yan
Sang (32.6%), the peak purchasing month was May, while Imperial Birds Nest
placed the heaviest amount on advertisements in December (22.04%), and Wai Yuen
Tong on January (23.92%). This might due to the spending pattern of placing
advertisements during festivals of Christmas and Chinese New Year of the two
advertisers. (Table 13b, Appendix II)
Advertising execution of Imperial Birds Nest and three direct competitors
By looking at the advertisements of Imperial Bird Nest and three direct competitors,
we can see different advertising execution style are being used by different advertisers
in order to spread different key message to their target audiences.
For Imperial Bird Nest, other than straight-sell and factual message telling
audiences the advantage of taking instant birds nest, mood and image are also
being used for advertising appeals. The promotional strategy of Daily Birds Nest is
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Marketing Communication Campaign 26
Birds Nest for women of new generation . In different print ad used
mostly as the key advertising medium of Imperial Birds Nest, a beautiful, fashionable
woman with self-esteem is shown as image girl, promoting key message of women
of new generation; new style; new birds nest which aims at grasping the attention of
career women of younger age. (Table 14, Appendix II)
For Lo Hong Ka, celebrity is used as the key advertising appeal since its development
in 1998. Ms. Esther Kwan () as a celebrity endorser before 2004, described her
own life of being a busy artist and how she maintained her beauty and strength for
work by taking the product everyday in the TVC. The advertisement adopts the
advertising execution of testimonial and slice of life, which targets people of
different age and enhances the professional image of the brand with Ms. Kwans
sharing of her own experience.
For both Wai Yuen Tong and Eu Yan Sang, factual message is mostly being used as
the advertising execution, as the traditional and professional images are already built
in customers mind. The advertisements mainly concern on disseminating the message
of providing customers with products of good quality and heart.
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Marketing Communication Campaign 27
Marketing communication of Imperial Birds Nest
Advertising expenditures by media
By looking at the advertising expenditures spent on media by Imperial Birds Nest, a
rapid change in spending pattern could be noticed during the year of 2003 and 2004.
In 2003, it spent HK$ 6,588,000 on newspaper, which was the heaviest part of the
total ad spend that year (81%). On the other hand, it only spent $1,252,000 (15%) on
magazines and $278,000 (3%) on MTR. (Table 15, Appendix II)
In 2004, it only spent HK$ 4,234,000 (40%) on newspaper and switched to use
magazines as the main tool of advertising that year. The advertising expenditure on
magazines was HK$ 5,559,000, which was 53% of the total expenditure that year. It
spent HK$ 757,000 (7%) on TVB Jade. Although there was such a change on the ad
spend pattern, Imperial Birds Nest still used print ad as its main stream of placing
advertisements instead of TVC, and the total amount of advertising expenditure had a
rise of HK$ 2,433,000 (30%) from 2003 to 2004.
Advertising expenditures by month
The advertising expenditures of Imperial Birds Nest (Instant Birds Nest) in 2003 and
2004 were HK$ 8,656,000 and HK$ 10,824,000 respectively. In 2003, the peak
season of placing advertisements was September (25%), followed by June (20%) and
May (18%). In 2004, December was the peak season (22%), followed by September
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Marketing Communication Campaign 28
(17%) and January (14%). For the ad spend pattern, Imperial Birds Nest used a
pulsed media schedule in both 2003 and 2004. (Table 16, Appendix II)
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II. Problems and Opportunities
From the situation analysis, problems and opportunities were uncovered. As Imperial
Birds Nest started its business for selling instant birds nest in 2003, image of the
company actually is not distinctive. It will hinder the sales of products. However, it
may also be a good opportunity for its positioning in the market with various
competitors and get new users for the brand and products.
Deriving problems from the situation analysis
Company Analysis
Although Imperial Birds Nest started the business of selling birds nest since 1997, it
has started to sell instant birds nest since May of 2003. Throughout these years,
image of the company still not distinctive and advertisements are still insufficient in
promoting the company and products to most of the customers.
Problem
Imperial Birds Nests image is not distinctive enough while promotion and
advertisements are still not sufficient.
Consumer Analysis
Customers do think that the product Daily Birds Nest of Imperial Birds Nest
serves what the customers need. However, most of the customers are not brand loyal
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Marketing Communication Campaign 30
as they do not really think that the product is the best and credible choice for them.
Problem
Consumers are not brand loyal and can easily find other substitutes in the market.
Market Analysis
Both the company and product are new and not clear enough to the customers. They
prefer brands that have been historically identified in the market of instant birds nest,
thinking other brands as more trustworthy.
Problem
Consumers are greatly influenced by brands that have been historically identified and
have to take time for accepting new brands and products.
Product Analysis
Consumers concern most about the quality of products but could hardly tell
differences between various products. When they come to the brand Imperial Birds
Nest and the product Daily Birds Nest, they may not be able to distinguish from
other competitors brands.
Problem
Consumers could hardly identify valuable attributes of the product Daily Birds
Nest and perceive the brand similar to other competitors brands, which may hinder
their intention to purchase the product.
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Competitive Analysis
In 2003, Imperial Birds Nest was the first developer in the market for inventing
Daily Birds Nest, which is vacuum-packed in seven small bottles for one week
dosage. However, it has not made use of this privilege and later on competitors which
are historically identified also followed suit. Consumers may change their preferences
and even think that it is a new invention of those competitors.
Problem
Imperial Birds Nest has not make use of the new invented product for its positioning
in the market, which makes new competition becomes more severe.
Deriving opportunities from the situation analysis
Company Analysis
With its own birds nest farming houses in Indonesia, Imperial Birds Nest ensures
products are made with the best quality. Also, locating its outlets in office building
rather than ground floor shops helps in minimizing cost of rent for further
development of the company.
Opportunity
Imperial Birds Nest sells its products with the best quality and very competitive
prices due to its own property for production and location.
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Combined Consumer and Product Analysis
Consumers pursue high quality when buying instant birds nest. However, they do not
aware of the distinctive attribute of Daily Birds Nest that, it is produced with the
finest first-phase birds nest. Credibility and perception of professionalism can be
enhanced by focusing on this attribute.
Opportunity
The product Daily Birds Nest contains a highly desired attribute that consumers are
unaware of.
Market Analysis
There is still room for the development of instant birds nest market due to the rise of
health-consciousness of consumers, who look for instant birds nest with good quality
and handy. The package design of Daily Birds Nest would be able to develop
further with the trend.
Opportunity
The package design of the products serves as privilege together with the further
development of the market of instant birds nest.
Competitive Analysis
Direct competitors of Imperial Birds Nest mostly focus on building their brands with
the image of professionalism. However, Imperial Birds Nest also associate its image
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with women of new generation and self identity, which differs itself from others and
builds up its brand equity with new image.
Opportunity
The company differs itself from other competitors which are historically identified
with promoting image of women of new generation.
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III. Target Market Profile
According to the data of Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, there are
about 596,000 women aged 25-34, representing 17% of female population. Women
who are in the mentioned group are usually the heavy buyers of instant birds nest,
who normally spend less than HK$ 500 per month (58%) on buying instant birds
nest.
Demographic characteristics
With the consideration of survey conducted, the primary and secondary target markets
are defined. The primary market of female consumers aged 25-34, who are mainly
engaged in clerical and professional jobs, with personal income of HK$ 10,000
20,000 are being targeted. Most of them are single, tertiary educated or above, who
lived at self-owned property. For the secondary market, female aged 35 to 44 who are
mainly career women with great spending power are targeted, aiming at grasping
most of the potential consumers for instant birds nest in the market.
Psychographic characteristics
The target audiences, according to the survey conducted, place most of their concern
on the quality of instant birds nest, followed by goodwill of brand, ingredients of
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products and price. They usually buy the product for their own use and quite rely on
recommendation from relatives and friends in making consumption decision. They
treasure health very much and agree that health and fitness are essential for carrying
job duties efficiently. Although at the same time they care about their appearance, they
do think that health is much important and intrinsic beauty is far more important than
extrinsic beauty. The target audiences usually get the most update information about
healthcare products from magazine, usually those entertainment and gossip one. They
usually spend on shopping and dining, travel quite often and most of them are credit
card holders with more than four cards.
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IV. Objectives
Marketing objectives
The marketing objective of this campaign is to increase sales of Daily Birds Nest
of Imperial Birds Nest 20% compared to the previous year by the end of the one-year
campaign in 2006.
Advertising objectives
The advertising objective of this campaign is to increase top-of-mind awareness of the
product from 14% (Appendix I, survey result, Question 10) to 30% of the target
audiences (career women aged 25-34, with personal income of HK$ 10,000 20,000),
by the end of the one-year campaign in 2006.
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V. Marketing Communication strategy overview
After the analysis of the situation and delineation of the problems and opportunities, a
series of marketing communication strategy would be carried out, including
advertising, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing. The whole
campaign would be focused on advertising as it is believed to reach our target market
most. Supporting with other communication tools, the message would be able to
deliver to more efficiently and help in building brand and credibility of the product.
Advertising strategy
In order to establish awareness of the product Daily Birds Nest to our target
audiences, TVC, as a means of the creative strategy, would be focused in promoting
the product for our primary target market, while print ad would be used as an assisting
tool for addressing mainly primary market together with secondary target market. The
following advertising series, which contain two TVC: Women of new generation I
( I), and Women of new generation II ( II), are used
for promotion during the year of 2006 while print ad would also be used.
Key message of TVC
The series of two TVC are used to show that Daily Birds Nest, which is convenient
for consuming, helps women of the new generation to pursue beauty and health at one
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single time easily. It is hoped that audiences would have consonance and build
awareness of the product.
Storyline of the first TVC Women of new generation I
Two characters having similar age, appearance, background, Ms. A and Ms. B, would
be shown to illustrate the effect of having or not having the product. Ms. A still laying
on bed till 8:00 a.m. while Ms. B looking in the mirror with beauty and confidence;
Ms. A had cake after lunch as dessert while Ms. B took instant birds nest as dessert;
Ms. A working at office who lose energy and work only got half done, while Ms. B
worked very efficiently with full energy. Finally, both Ms. A and Ms. B finished work
that day, Ms A looked really tired while Ms. B still looking bright and full of strength.
The secret of Ms. B to keep healthy and beautiful was the instant birds nest Daily
Birds Nest she kept with her at her bag, which was produced with first-phase finest
birds nest. At the end, the message of taking one bottle of Daily Birds Nest
everyday can attain health and beauty at the same time was shown (Storyboard A,
Appendix III)
Rationale
Various elements like main character, combination of different execution styles,
slogans and taglines, etc, are used in the creative strategy. This interaction among
various elements is believed to be able to enhance persuasive power and become
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cohesive selling message.
Character
The two female characters aged around 28 are selected to address the target audiences
of 25-34 years old in order to increase the persuasive power. Ms. B looks young,
healthy, beautiful, energetic with strength, and is a career women who has to maintain
her fitness and health condition for supporting heavy workload, which is a common
situation faced by women in new generation nowadays. The supreme effect of taking
the product is shown with the big contrast with Ms. A, who looks exactly the same
with Ms. B but is actually bad at health condition.
Advertising appeal
Emotional appeal rather than informational appeal is being used in the TVC to raise
consumers physical and psychological needs for purchasing the product in order to
attain and satisfy the need of maintaining good condition in health and beauty.
Execution styles
A combination of execution styles is used for advertising, including slice of life and
comparison, etc. Slice of life can provide consumers with real situation, build up the
consonance and increase purchase intention. Comparison of the similar characters for
taking and not taking instant birds nest demonstrates the effect of the product. Of
course, humor is slightly used in the advertisements. Mood and image are also used to
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serve great effect in building consumers emotional mood of the product.
Logo and slogan
The repetition of logo and product in four different scenes helps in building memory
and enhancing importance in audiences mind. The slogan ,
points out the main attribute, and both the position and identity
of the product, which helps consumers to keep in mind that women in new generation
can attain health and beauty at the same time with the product easily.
Storyline of the second TVC - Women of new generation II
Two ladies Celia and May who aged 28 something are jogging on the running
machines in a gym room. Celia was full of energy while May was sweating and
breathless. Later, Celia danced in the dancing room in fast pace and happily while
May was resting on the floor with deep breath. May was so surprised about Celias
condition of health and the reason why she always looks beautiful even without
make-up. Celia shared her experience for being a beautiful and healthy woman of new
generation that she took a bottle of Daily Birds Nest everyday. She shared the
product with Celia. At the end, the message of taking one bottle of Daily Birds Nest
everyday can attain health and beauty at the same time was shown (Storyboard B,
Appendix III).
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Rationale
The second TVC actually is an extension of the first one. The theme is just similar
focusing on two ladies aged around 28, who are both career women and care about
healthy and appearance, aiming at our primary target market again. Once again,
combination of various execution styles can be seen in this TVC, including slice of
life, dramatization, mind and image, etc.
Character
Two female characters Celia and May, who aged around 28 are selected. They are
both career women but one is more healthier than the other as she takes the product
everyday. Two different characters make the contrast of taking or not taking the
product much more explicit. It would be a great attempt to increase the persuasive
power and address the target audiences of 25-34.
Advertising appeal
Once again, emotional appeal is used rather than informational appeal, as such piece
of incident do happen in our daily life very common. In this way, audiences can easily
put themselves into the situation shown in TVC and raise their psychological needs
for purchasing the product in order to maintain good condition of health and beauty as
Celia in the TVC.
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Execution styles
A combination of execution styles including slice of life, factual message, mood and
image, are used for advertising. Similar execution styles are used as TVC I as to
maintain consistency of the whole advertising campaign. First of all, slice of life and
dramatization are used to provide audiences with the real situation. The whole TVC II
was taken place at gym room, which is a common place for females to have exercise
and gathering. By comparing two characters for taking or not taking the products, it
demonstrates the effect of the product and thus builds up audiences consonance and
increase buying intention. Mood and image are also used in order to raises awareness
and emotional mood of audiences by persuading them the need of buying the
product.
Logo and slogan
As TVC II is the extension of the first one, slogan is kept to be exactly the same as
TVC I, to maintain the consistency with the first one and also enhance the clear image
of both the company and product. It is hoped that the slogan shown lastly at the
billboard , would keep audiences in
mind of the key message that, the product is easily consumed which is the best choice
for women in new generation to maintain good condition of health and beauty.
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Key message and storyline of Print ad
Besides the TVC, print ad would also be used as one of the advertising strategies,
mainly for addressing female audiences of primary together with secondary market
who aged 35 to 44 with career. The key message would be just similar to TVC,
focusing on the attribute of the product which is convenient for consuming, and
enabling consumers to pursue health and beauty at the same time.
For the print ad, it would be designed for a double page spread issued on magazine.
Two female characters, one aged around 28 and one around 36. They stand in the way
of back to back, smile happily with great self-esteem, energy and confidence. They
are both upholding the little bottle of the product in their hands. Information in words
like the originate of birds nest used, the description of ingredients, the nutrition and
effect of the product would be appeared on the print ad which do not appear on the
TVC in detail. The logo of Imperial Birds Nest and the slogan
, , would still be used on print ad to maintain the consistency
of the whole set of advertising strategy. The whole tone and color would keep as
feminine as the package of Daily Birds Nest, which mainly used pastel color like
light pink, light yellow, etc.
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Sales promotion strategy
In order to induce new customers to buy the product and retain current users and
encourage them for more frequent use, consumer-oriented promotions including
couponing, premiums, etc, would be used. Coupons would be posted on various kinds
of newspapers and magazines after the month that advertisements have been launched.
Price reduction for 20% of the selling price would be offered to consumers for
purchasing the second pack of product to encourage them for purchasing more.
Premiums like small shopping handbag or jewellery box with the brands logo, would
be given to consumers who spend over certain amount for money to increase their
buying intention at the promotion period, which lasts for one to two weeks each time.
These may boost sales of the products in a very short period of time.
Public relations strategy
Public relations activities would be carried out at non-peak season for advertisements
to remind consumers of the product. Other than press release, exclusive interviews
with artists would be arranged for press every two months, to share their own tips for
keeping good condition in both health and appearance and own experience and
advantage of taking instant birds nest. Moreover, press conference like inviting
famous chef of five-star hotel to demonstrate light and healthy dessert using the
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product around summer, sponsoring charity activities, holding joint functions with
different companies, like dessert shops, cake shops, etc, to invent some new cuisine
with the product, etc. All these would help in building clearer image of the company
and product with the lowest cost.
Direct marketing strategy
With the strength of accountability over advertising, direct marketing would also be
used as communication tools. Loyalty program would be carried out as usual, to hold
the loyal consumers. They are asked to join the VIP membership, direct email and
newsletters would be distributed regularly to inform them with the latest information
of the company and products. Moreover, catalog selling like small brochure of health
tips, catalogues of recipes making use of the product, etc, would be distributed at
niche shops, counters selling the products, etc.
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VI. Campaign evaluation
In order to measure the effectiveness of the campaign, evaluations would be carried
out at the end of the campaign, for measuring the effects, awareness and recognition
of consumers, and also providing benchmarks for future campaigns to develop.
Posttesting of TVC and Print Ad
Posttesting is believed to be most effective way for evaluation. Field tests would be
used as the means of posttesting. Mall intercept interviews would be used rather than
focus group concerning the budget, which would be carried out randomly at Mongkok,
Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay, of which minimum 200 female consumers who
indicated that they have seen or read TV and print advertisements would be
interviewed.
As the advertising objective is to establish awareness among target audiences who are
career women aged 25-34, recognition test would be the essential part for testing
consumers memory and recognition about the product. Questions concerning whether
they can remember what is the key message, logo, product, concept and layout of the
print ad and TVC would be asked. Also, which part of the ad consumers like most and
which media they can recall for seeing the ad would also be asked, for adjusting later
on of the media strategy and whole campaign.
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Marketing Communication Campaign 47
Other evaluation methods
Other evaluation methods like distributing coupons at counters selling the product,
counting the number of inquiries would also be used, as it is very important for
evaluating other marketing communications tools like measuring the effects of sales
promotions, public relations and behavioral effects of consumers.
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Conclusion
With the analysis of situation, delineation of the problems and opportunities, target
market profile and objectives, a whole set of marketing communication strategy are
especially designed for addressing the target markets of the product Daily Birds
Nest produced by Imperial Birds Nest. It is hoped that after the launching of
campaign and with the campaign evaluation, the marketing and advertising objectives
are found to be obtained successfully, with the raise of awareness of both the product
and the company, and also the key message women of the new generation to pursue
beauty and health at the same time is built in all consumers mind.
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Marketing Communication Campaign 49
Appendix I
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1. ? 2. : ()
3. ?
4. : ()
5. :
$200 $200 500 $500 800 $800 1,000 1,000 6. ? ()
7. : ()
( ) 8. ? ()
9. ,
9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5
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9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 10. :
______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________
11. ? 4 , 1 , 1 4
__________ __________ __________ __________
12. ? 4 , 1 , 1 4
__________ __________ __________ __________
13. 1 7, 1
; 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Marketing Communication Campaign 52
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14. ,:
14.1 14.2 14.3 15. ?
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 16. ,?
()
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Marketing Communication Campaign 53
17. ? ()
18. : ()
19. ? ()
()
20. , ? 1 2 3 4 21. : 22. : 0 1 2 3 4 23. :
24. :
$10,000 $10,000 14,999 $15,000 19,999 $20,000 24,999 $25,000 29, 999 $30,000
25. :
$300 $300 1,000 $1,000 - 2,000 $2,000 - 3,000 $3,000 26. : 27. : 28. :
29. : 18 24 25 34 35 44 45 54
55 64 65
~ ~
!
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Survey on healthcare products consumption behavior (Blank sheet) Hello! I am a master student of School of Communication in the Hong Kong Baptist University. I am now conducting a survey concerning instant birds nest. The information you provided would only be used for academic purpose and kept confidential. Thank you. (Please tick your answer at appropriate place.) 1. Have you ever bought healthcare products in the past one year? Yes No 2. You buy healthcare products for: (Only pick up the most suitable one)
beauty and skincare slimming healthcare build up resistance others
3. Have you ever bought and taken instant birds nest in the past one year?
Yes No 4. The reason you buy instant birds nest is: (Only pick up the most suitable one)
convenient much cheaper easy to carry saving time and labor 5. The amount you spend on buying instant birds nest per month on average:
less than $200 $200 500 $500 800 $800 1,000 1,000 or above
6. Where do you buy instant birds nest usually? (Only pick up the most suitable one)
birds nest niche shops supermarket pharmacy counter others 7. You usually buy instant birds nest for: (Only pick up the most suitable one)
yourself parents gifts ( child pregnant women elderly) 8. What effect would you expect from taking instant birds nest? (Only pick up the most
suitable one) healthcare build up resistance beauty slimming others
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9. Do you think the following are essential when buying instant birds nest? (Please tick your answer in the following)
Very important
important neutral Not important
Very unimport
ant 9.1 variety of products 9.2 quality of products 9.3 goodwill of the brand of products
9.4 package of products (outlook, size, delicacy)
9.5 ingredients of products 9.6 the originate of birds nest 9.7 price 9.8 advertisements 9.9 recommendation from
relatives and friends
9.10 the shops are nearby 9.11 the shops are located on the
street or in a building
10. Please list the brands that you know in selling instant birds nest:
______________________________any other? ______________________________any other? ______________________________any other? ______________________________any other? ______________________________any other?
11. Which of the following brand of instant birds nest you think is the most worthy for
consumption? 4 is the most worthy for consumption, 1 is the most unworthy for consumption, 1 4 can only be used for once. __________ Imperial Birds Nest __________ Lo Hong Ka __________ Eu Yan Sang __________ Wai Yuen Tong
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12. Which of the following brand of instant birds nest you think the price is the most reasonable for consumption? 4 is the most reasonable for consumption, 1 is the most unreasonable for consumption, 1 4 can only be used for once.
__________ Imperial Birds Nest __________ Lo Hong Ka __________ Eu Yan Sang __________ Wai Yuen Tong
13. Please use 1 to 7 to express your perception and impression towards the niche shop in
office buildings Imperial Birds Nest. 1 represents your impression towards description on the left; 7 represents your impression towards description on the right. (Please tick your answer in the following)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Traditional Fashionable Image is blur
Image is clear
Less product variety
Many product variety
Unprofessional
Professional
Not credible Credible Costly Inexpensive Bad service Superior
service Less advertise- ment
Many advertisement
14. What do you think about one of the product line Daily Birds Nest of Imperial
Birds Nest:
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Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
14.1 Daily Birds Nest leads the trend of instant birds nest
14.2 Daily Birds Nest which is vacuum-packed in seven small bottles serve what the consumers need
14.3 Daily Birds Nest is the best and credible choice for healthcare
15. Do you agree with the following statements? Strongly
agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
disagree15.1 Health is very important to me. 15.2 I worry about aging of my body
very soon.
15.3 Extrinsic beauty is much more important than intrinsic beauty.
15.4 I do mind people criticize my appearance.
15.5 I can accept new things easily. 15.6 Fitness is essential for carrying
out job duties efficiently.
16. Where do you get information of healthcare products before consumption usually?
(Only pick up the most suitable one) advertisements recommended by relatives and friends media recommended by doctors, nutritionist website others
17. When would you consume healthcare products usually? (Only pick up the most suitable one)
once it is needed with special promotion and discount launch of new product with free gift
18. Where do you get the most update information about healthcare products: (Only pick
up the most suitable one) TV radio magazine website
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19. Which type of magazine you usually read? (Only pick up the most suitable one)
fashion gossip lifestyle (such as gardening, interior design, etc.) finance and news do not read any magazine
20. Have you ever been to travel in the past one year? No Yes once twice three times four times or above
21. You usually spend money on: entertainment shopping dining 22. Number of credit card on hand: 0 1 2 3 4 or above 23. Occupation:
housewife service industry clerical executive profession student unemployed others
24. Personal income per month:
No income less than $10,000 $10,000 14,999 $15,000 19,999 $20,000 24,999 $25,000 29, 999 $30,000 or above
25. How much do you usually spend on healthy products per month:
less than $300 $300 1,000 $1,000 - 2,000 $2,000 - 3,000 $3,000 or above
26. Education:
primary or below F.3 graduated F.5 graduated tertiary or above 27. Marital status: single married 28. Your house is: self-own rent public estate hostel
29. Age: 18 24 25 34 35 44 45 54 55 64 65 or above
~ The End~
Thank you!
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Survey on healthcare products consumption behavior (Result) Hello! I am a master student of School of Communication in the Hong Kong Baptist University. I am now conducting a survey concerning instant birds nest. The information you provided would only be used for academic purpose and kept confidential. Thank you. (Please tick your answer at appropriate place.) 1. Have you ever bought healthcare products in the past one year? Yes (88%) No (12%) 2. You buy healthcare products for: (Only pick up the most suitable one)
beauty and skincare (30%) slimming (12%) healthcare (40%) build up resistance (14%) others (4%)
3. Have you ever bought and taken instant birds nest in the past one year?
Yes (66%) No (34%) 4. The reason you buy instant birds nest is: (Only pick up the most suitable one)
convenient (48%) much cheaper (6%) easy to carry (2%) saving time and labor (44%)
5. The amount you spend on buying instant birds nest per month on average:
less than $200 (54%) $200 500 (36%) $500 800 (6%) $800 1,000 (0%) 1,000 or above (4%)
6. Where do you buy instant birds nest usually? (Only pick up the most suitable one)
birds nest niche shops (60%) supermarket (12%) pharmacy (10%) counter (14%) others (4%)
7. You usually buy instant birds nest for: (Only pick up the most suitable one)
yourself (68%) parents (20%) gifts (22%) 8. What effect would you expect from taking instant birds nest? (Only pick up the most
suitable one) healthcare (20%) build up resistance (8%) beauty (70%) slimming (0%) others (2%)
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9. Do you think the following are essential when buying instant birds nest? (Please tick your answer in the following)
Very important
(%)
Important(%)
Neutral(%)
Not important
(%)
Very unimpor-tant(%)
9.1 variety of products 2 24 44 30 09.2 quality of products 74 24 2 0 09.3 goodwill of the brand of products
52 46 2 0 0
9.4 package of products (outlook, size, delicacy)
0 44 30 24 2
9.5 ingredients of products 56 38 6 0 09.6 the originate of birds nest 18 60 20 2 09.7 price 38 62 0 0 09.8 advertisements 4 44 38 14 09.9 recommendation from
relatives and friends 18 72 8 2 0
9.10 the shops are nearby 0 38 38 20 49.11 the shops are located on the
street or in a building 0 24 50 24 2
10. Please list the brands that you know in selling instant birds nest:
Lo Hong Ka (38%) Brands (18%) Imperial Birds Nest (14%) Wai Yuen Tong (10%) Home of Swallows (8%)
11. Which of the following brand of instant birds nest you think is the most worthy for
consumption? 4 is the most worthy for consumption, 1 is the most unworthy for consumption, 1 4 can only be used for once. Wai Yuen Tong (60%) Imperial Birds Nest (52%) Eu Yan Sang (48%) Lo Hong Ka (40%)
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12. Which of the following brand of instant birds nest you think the price is the most
reasonable for consumption? 4 is the most reasonable for consumption, 1 is the most unreasonable for consumption, 1 4 can only be used for once. Wai Yuen Tong (58%) Imperial Birds Nest (56%) Lo Hong Ka (44%) Eu Yan Sang (42%)
13. Please use 1 to 7 to express your perception and impression towards the niche shop in
office buildings Imperial Birds Nest. 1 represents your impression towards description on the left; 7 represents your impression towards description on the right. (Please tick your answer in the following) (Presented in %)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Traditional 2 8 10 20 26 26 8 Fashionable Image is blur
0 12 14 44 16 8 6 Image is clear
Less product variety
0 0 18 60 20 0 2 Many product variety
Unprofessional
0 0 0 32 48 18 2 Professional
Not credible 0 0 4 42 38 14 2 Credible Costly 2 14 18 36 22 6 2 Inexpensive Bad service 0 0 2 54 38 4 2 Superior
service Less advertise- ment
6 6 20 42 18 4 4 Many advertisement
14. What do you think about one of the product line Daily Birds Nest of Imperial
Birds Nest: (Presented in %)
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Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
14.1 Daily Birds Nest leads the trend of instant birds nest
0 34 48 16 2
14.2 Daily Birds Nest which is vacuum-packed in seven small bottles serve what the consumers need
2 46 42 8 2
14.3 Daily Birds Nest is the best and credible choice for healthcare
0 16 70 12 2
15. Do you agree with the following statements? (Presented in %) Strongly
agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
disagree15.1 Health is very important to me. 54 46 0 0 015.2 I worry about aging of my body
very soon. 20 58 18 4 0
15.3 Extrinsic beauty is much more important than intrinsic beauty.
6 20 48 26 0
15.4 I do mind people criticize my appearance.
8 46 34 12 0
15.5 I can accept new things easily. 6 52 32 8 215.6 Fitness is essential for carrying
out job duties efficiently. 34 48 16 2 0
16. Where do you get information of healthcare products before consumption usually?
(Only pick up the most suitable one) advertisements (26%) recommended by relatives and friends (48%) media (8%) recommended by doctors, nutritionist (14%) website (0%) others (4%)
17. When would you consume healthcare products usually? (Only pick up the most suitable one)
once it is needed (54%) with special promotion and discount (38%) launch of new product (0%) with free gift (8%)
18. Where do you get the most update information about healthcare products: (Only pick
up the most suitable one) TV (30%) radio (4%) magazine (62%) website (4%)
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19. Which type of magazine you usually read? (Only pick up the most suitable one) fashion (18%) gossip (60%) finance and news (4%) lifestyle (14%) do not read any magazine (4%)
20. Have you ever been to travel in the past one year? No (26%) Yesonce (42%) twice (4%) three times (18%) four times or above (10%)
21. You usually spend money on: entertainment (8%) shopping (46%) dining (46%) 22. Number of credit card on hand: 0 (10%) 1 (8%) 2 (20%)
3 (14%) 4 or above (48%) 23. Occupation:
housewife (6%) service industry (10%) clerical (34%) executive (2%) profession (8%) student (8%) unemployed (0%) others (8%)
24. Personal income per month:
No income (6%) less than $10,000 (32%) $10,000 14,999 (40%) $15,000 19,999 (12%) $20,000 24,999 ( 2%) $25,000 29, 999 (2%) $30,000 or above (6%)
25. How much do you usually spend on healthy products per month:
less than $300 (60%) $300 1,000 (34%) $1,000 - 2,000 (4%) $2,000 - 3,000 (2%) $3,000 or above (0%)
26. Education:
primary or below (6%) F.3 graduated (0%) F.5 graduated (20%) tertiary or above (74%)
27. Marital status: Single (78%) married (22%) 28. Your house is: self-own (56%) rent (12%) public estate (30%) hostel (2%)
29. Age: 18 24 (18%) 25 34 (62%) 35 44 (12%)
45 54 (4%) 55 64 (4%) 65 or above (0%)
~ The End~
Thank you!
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Appendix II
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Table 8 Birds Nest & Aloe Top 10 Advertisers (HK$ in thousands) in 2004 No. Advertisers Total
HK$ (000) 1 Imperial Birds Nest 33,763 2 Eu Yan Sang 18,814 3 Hing Kee Java Edible Birds Nest 18,753 4 Lo Hong Ka 17,412 5 Wang On Group () 14,206 6 Brands 10,312 7 Hon Fu Loi 10,065 8 Tsan Kee Swallow Dessert Shop 8,894 9 Ming In Birds Nest 5,589 10 4,462 Source: admango
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Table 9 Comparison of Imperial Birds Nest and three direct competitors Imperial Birds
Nest ()
Lo Hong Ka
()
Wai Yuen Tong
Eu Yan Sang
Establishment 1964 1998 1897 1879
No. of retail shop Total: 10 shops
HK (2), Kln.(4),
N.T. (4)
Total: 32 shops
HK (7), Kln. (16),
N.T. (9)
Total: 45 shops
HK (11), Kln. (16),
N.T. (18)
Total: 29 shops
HK (7), Kln (14),
N.T. (8)
Mission / Promise Aim at caring
customers health
/ Change and
return product
within 15 days of
purchase.
Spirit:
Convenience,
Natural, Care
and Trust /
Promise: Enhance
your vitality.
Living motto:
Preparing
medicine with
dedication;
Growing strong
with reputation.
Motto: Care for
Mankind.
Services provided Importers
wholesale and
retailing services
Wholesale, retailing
services and
importers
Retailing services,
wholesale and
importers
Retailing services,
wholesale and
manufacturing
Product category First Phase
Golden Silky
Birds Nest /
Daily Birds
Nest
Instant Birds Nest /
Aloe Vera / Pearl
Anew Pearl Powder
/ 7 Leaf Ginseng
Instant Birds Nest /
Young Yum Pill,
Pak Fung Pill,
Ganoderma
Lucidum Spores,
Pearl powder and
pearl pills, Tibetan
Wild Cordyceps,
etc.
Bottled Birds Nest
/ Bak Foong Pills/
Bo Ying Compound
/ Chicken Essence /
Herbal jellies /
Ginseng wines, etc.
Special promotion Club Simple Perfect Card
Classic & Platinum
VIP
VIP membership
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Marketing Communication Campaign 67
Awards Superbrands
status in 3
consecutive years
since 2002 /
Quality Tourism
Services Award /
Hong Kong Top
Brand 2004 / the
first birds nest
retailer to receive
the Hong Kong
Q-Mark quality
certificate
2002 Hong Kong
Top Ten
Brandnames / 2002
Enterprise 50
Award in Malaysia
2001 Hong Kong
Top Ten
Brandnames /
Superbrands
status in 2002
Price Daily Birds Nest
20g x 7
() $308
Instant Birds Nest
(350g) $485
30g Supreme Little
Swallow Birds
Nest (30g x 6)
30
$313
Birds Nest with
Rock Suger
(70g x 6)
$298
Other distribution
channels
Mannings Wing On
Department Stores
Mannings /
Watsons / Parkn
Shop / CR Care
Mannings /
Watsons /
Wellcome /
Parkn Shop /
Jusco / drug store
chains / medical
halls / provision
shops
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Table 10 Monthly trend of placing advertisements in the market of Bird's Nest & Aloe (HK$ in thousands), 2003 - 2004
2003 2004 Jan 27,368.76 26,458.18Feb 8,589.49 5,853.78Mar 11,770.84 6,746.56Apr 15,159.67 13,038.75May 21,400.58 18,771.81Jun 6,872.36 11,974.73Jul 9,989.01 11,851.50Aug 7,675.02 12,103.40Sep 18,907.87 17,277.09Oct 9,283.70 10,642.94Nov 8,588.24 12,234.12Dec 14,269.20 17,516.96Total 159,874.74 164,471.82
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
HK
$ ('0
00)
Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov
Month
Bird's Nest & Aloe - Monthly trend
2003
2004
Source: admango
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Table 11 Highest spend of media advertising expenditure by Imperial Birds Nest and three competitors in 2003 and 2004 2003
Imperial Birds
Nest