Introduction 4
1. Advertising 4
2. Key Strategic Issues 6
3. Hotel Riu Guadalajara 6
3.2 Logo 7
3.3 Concept7
3.4 Target Market7
4. Media plan and Evaluation of media plan8
4.1 Setting media objectives:9
4.2 Evaluating existing and needed media:9
4.3 Setting the media budget10
5. Marketing Campaigns11
5.1 Cultural Marketing12
5.2 Social Media Marketing13
5.3 Commercials 13
6. Conclusion 15
Introduction
1. Advertising
Advertising is as much a psychological endeavor as much business endeavor. Advertising looks to the consumer to understand their message and act in the way that the advertisers suggest. Advertising can be tailored to cross cultural advertising which involves many of the critical factors that do not exist in single cultural approaches . Cross cultural studies can use self-reports which make the development of the research data helping to identify the best practice recommendations . Concerns about the environment are a top priority in cross cultural studies and much research has been done in this area. Along with the environmental advertising research there is a major emphasis on the recreation or leisure industries . The care of the environment and its preservation is an important concept for the tourist industry and they are vetted to sustain the environment. Marketing and advertising campaigns work together to bring the tourist to rural areas to enjoy the natural environment in many diverse cultural areas.
In the world of advertising the world is a marketplace. As a world marketplace advertising not only has to be cross cultural but informative . Different marketing and advertising strategies are used in communicating particular types of message. For example in the marketing of a hotel property in the city of Guadalajara Mexico the message to the consumer is going to be sustainably different from the marketing of its property in the countryside that has many acres of land and is places in an environmentally friendly place.
There are a finite number of messages that can be communicated to the consumer so that the decisions need to be made carefully. This is called advertising strategies and there are many including standardization and adaptation of advertising strategies to suit the customer base. International advertising is ongoing and many argue that one solid standardized method can be used in all countries with only minor changes . /this is appealing for companies with small advertising budgets as it limits the number of images and artwork needed for the campaigns. Second, it minimizes confusion among travelers who frequently travel. Third, a single campaign is spread across many different markets and saves media costs in the process. The true value of the campaign is in the framework on how the ideas about business models in a simple logical structure that reflect the current thinking in strategy .
The positive aspects of advertising are beyond number as it is an exponential growth on the Hotel Rui Guadalajara. Advertising encourages prospective consumers to view others enjoying the aspects of the Hotel that appeal to them. If they are looking for a place to enjoy a family vacation the Hotel offers it and will advertise in commercials on the family channels of television programs and in prime time television. This emotional type of advertising impacts the consumers behavior in that they will want the enjoyment that the Hotel offers. Positive advertising increases job opportunities as the advertising campaigns will employ some people but the greatest number of jobs open up when the Hotel is full of patrons.
The negative sides of advertising are limited. Most of the criticism of advertising is the manipulative aspects. The Hotel offers services and a lifestyle that is not for everyone. If you want that lifestyle, the financial status of the customer will determine whether or not this is available to the person watching the advertising. Advertising cannot manipulate you to go to a five star hotel if you cannot afford it.
2. Key strategic Issues:
Laddering is an interesting concept in advertising. Laddering is a qualitative marketing research method allowing participants to offer opinions about product choices. The data has to be sorted and measured which is time consuming. The technique is effective as peer to peer buying advice is a very well received marketing tool . Effective messaging though works well in the processing ease that a customer can elicit . This is a great marketing category for marketing the Hotel Rui Guadalajara.
3. Introduction to the Hotel Rui Guadalajara
The Hotel Riu Plaza Guadalajara looms over the city of Guadalajara, Mexico. It is 705 feet tall and towers the city as the tallest building and the second tallest in Mexico. It opened 44 floors in 2011. The hotel has 550 rooms for rent and a 44th floor penthouse and many restaurants and meeting rooms. The tall roof houses a heliport and maintenance rooms. The highly visible pinnacle rises above the top floor by adding 52 feet to the height of the building.
The building suffered a horrendous fire caused by an explosion of an LPG tank in which two people were killed during the construction problems. Work had to be suspended and the building was not completed until 2011.
The history of the hotel begins in 1953 with the Riu family beginning in the town of Mallorca on a family farm. John and his wife Maria bought a San Francisco Hotel which was a whole 80 bed capacity. This was the start of the international chain since then the family has more than 100 hotels in 19 countries. Most of their hotels had been in rural locations opening up the area to tourist. In 2010, the strategy shifted to the large city centers in several countries. They currently boast of 56 years of continuous family operations of hotels and resorts. The Hotel Riu Guadalajara was the first of the city hotels to be followed by one in New York City which just opened this past year.
Hotel Riu Guadalajara has several different arrangements to accommodate the travelers. Some hotel has an Adults only section to prevent to them being disturbed by the family friendly sections. The city hotels have access points to the local restaurants including a wide range of hotels within the hotels. Some hotels are an all-inclusive which is a full service plan that provides for all the needs of the guest for each meal, entertainment, and outdoor facilities located with the premises of the hotel. The guest pays one price and the amenities are included.
3.2 Logo
The logo of the Hotel Riu Guadalajara contains the family name and is easily recognizable. The role of the logo is to help to build a brand and the Riu name is a highly visible brand in the international hotel chain . This easily recognized logo builds the corporate identity and differentiates the expectations of the patron from other hotels.
3.3 Concept
Hotel Riu Guadalajara conceptualizes a mixture of the most desirable experiences of the hotel goers. It offers a beautiful environment in which to allow the hotel stay be to engulfed in the natural beauty of Mexico and its very soothing climate. It offers spas, pools, ocean views and other amenities for relaxation in one of the richest cultures of the world. The old ancient ruins backdrop the modern hotel concept which offers an experience in itself for the vacationer or business conference attendee as the hotel stay is an experience in itself.
3.4 Target Market.
The target market for the Hotel Riu Guadalajara is the leisure traveler and the business conference attendee. The Hotel targets the adult travelers as well as families as they offer many unique experiences for children such as the turtle who comes to greet and play with the children according to their website. The market includes those people of above moderate means as the rooms and packages are pricey and cannot be afforded by the middle class incomes. Hotel Riu Guadalajara is considered a luxury resort.
4. Media plan and Evaluation of media plan
A media plan involves a concerted effort to align all of the resources to help a company reach a targeted market. Timing and the proper placement of the ads is an important factor in the success or failure of the plan. Media planning involves four stages: :
1. Stating the media objectives,
2. Evaluating media
3. Selecting and implementing choices
4. Determining the budget
Individually these will be evaluated in the following text as regarding Hotel Riu Guadalajara.
4.1 Setting media objectives:
Reach: Hotel Riu Guadalajara is immersed in the beautiful Mexican La Gran Plaza Fashion Mall and attracts the higher end jet setting crowd. Advertisements will be taken out in television time as commercials, magazine advertisements and billboards.
Frequency: Hotel Riu Guadalajara uses the magazines that return the largest readership in their upscale clients. Advertisements can be seen in the high end magazines such as Travel and Leisure, Food and Wine, Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire and many Spanish and Mexican specific publications.
Continuity: the magazine ads are designed to run in the winter months. The television commercials run all year and the evening spots are chosen to appeal to the people working during the day.
4.2 Evaluating existing and needed media:
Hotel Riu Guadalajara focuses on high end travel and popular magazines. Airline magazines are also good sources of media advertising as most people flying are familiar with the beauty of Mexico and create a desire to go there. In-flight advertising is effective and creates a rare and ideal opportunity for the Hotel .
Billboards at the airports with the recognizable Riu logo are conditioning follow thru for the airline in flight magazines. Billboards are effective as a perception theory model of advertising .
Television commercials are a strategic tool that offers a large reach and very effective piece of the media campaign. They are probably the most expensive piece of media so it is imperative that the strategy be well thought. The Television ads reach millions of people and the Riu brand recognition is strong, The television commercials spots are high dwell time and high reach in industry jargon .
4.3 Selecting and implementing the chosen media
The question arises in this section as to what methods to use to move the message across the media and into the viewers causing an action. The selection process is complex and for the Hotel Rui Guadalajara the use of television commercials, billboards and magazine advertisements. Social media campaigns aside these three are the main media selections.
4.4 Setting the media budget
5. Marketing Campaigns
Based on the research above the marketing campaign for the Hotel Rui Guadalajara will begin with the issue of the cross cultural campaigns. Since the Hotel is in Mexico, the country attracts people due to its great climate so that is an item that is recognized universally. The picture of beautiful city location is attractive to all who are seeking a vacation or a business conference location. Marketing to the basic desire of people to enjoy the environment is a rather easy sell. However the Hotel needs more to the campaign than a singular message although the environment is a powerful one.
Specifically, the Hotel Riu Guadalajara, needs to encourage the campaigns to include the beauty of the climate and surrounding. People need to be shown as enjoying the swimming and the sunsets on the decks. All of these natural scenes add to the draw to the Hotel in Mexico.
5.1 Cultural Marketing
Additionally, to appeal to cultural mores the restaurants of the Hotel cater to many tastes and carry food choices that appeal to many cultures. The pictures of food are enticing but coupled with the additional message of environment it raises the desire of the consumer. The Hotel has 40 themed restaurants. Good food is offered for all different likes and dislikes. The restaurants are themed restaurants meaning that many cultures are representatives. The philosophy of the food at the restaurants is an important concept. The appeal to the cultural sense is that the great chefs know that there is more to food than taste. The chefs appeal to all senses and all cultures. For example, the cultures of Japan, Italy, American Steakhouse and several others are all prepared according to the idea that there is more than food in fine dining experiences.
The added options to the Hotel advertising is the appeal to both business conference business and the opposite end that of family friendly events. In the family area a friendly sea turtle from one of the National Parks is there to meet the children and younger people. The entertainment available to children is enough to keep them excited and enjoying their vacation while either being in the parent company or in a babysitter situation. In the business conference sector the needs of the state of the art computer and media equipment is important but probably not as important as the amenities that can be given to the conference attendees. In order to be successful the conference needs attendees so making the conference desirable for the attendees is most important. The Hotel has so many attendees’ amenities that can be used to persuade a successful number of attendees.
5.2 Social Media Marketing
Specifically in the social media experience, the use of ladders type of advertising is effective. Many prospective customers read the reviews of other travelers. These reviews are posted on many sites and not just on the Hotels social media but on many travels related sites. Peer to peer reviews are an important event celebrated by ecommerce. Sales from many ecommerce sites have used the traditional ladders technique to build a comfort level with the ability to rely on reviews of prior customers.
The Facebook pages and all other social media are filled with the ability to post selfies and other enjoyment portraits for the potential reviewers to enjoy. The statistics though show that 22% of travelers who use social media are simply looking for a deal . So that is a very low statistics so the social media campaign needs to be made more interactive. The lack of any customer interaction with the various campaigns could be the reason of the lack of responses. The Hotel could add the interaction of the video. People actually watching others enjoying the facility along with commenting on a review are a powerful method of convincing prospective travelers.
5.3 Commercials
The message does not have to focus on all the amenities or positive experiences that people are having at the hotel. The cultural aspect is important so perhaps the video can show the treatment of many different cultures enjoying the facility. Culture means so much in the lives of people that the cultural message will be well received. Identifying with the ability of others to enjoy the Hotel will create the desire of the members of the culture to want to use the Hotel.
The single cultural message can capture the attention of people in many areas such as the Aflac duck, or the Geico, and so on. The one logo that identifies the Hotel can be replicated to the many cultures and offer a method of identification. The integrated marketing approach of the single icon with a cultural message creates a personal experience.
One of the most well watched advertisement is at the Super bowl. In looking at some of the commercials we can see that the one symbol portraying the message. Message strategies were more consistent across media that were more creative strategies . Every year the message of the Super Bowl commercials are talked about and recognized many months after the event. The commercials even have their own television show that explains the strategies and go deeper into the development into the commercial space. The creative strategy that can be applied to the Hotel marketing usually does not extend beyond the one time appearance. The Hotel message strategy is define “what to say” and then develop the strategy that focuses on “how to say it”.
With this in mind the social media and television site would be the best to help the customers visualize the experiences. The sight of the beautiful environment where the Hotel is located will offer a beautiful back drop for the visual experience. The business conference tourist will appreciate the beauty of the area and remember the one or two items in the message of what is said. The importance of what is said is the one idea that needs to be remembered.
6. Conclusion
In conclusion, the main idea of the Hotel Rui Guadalajara is the awesome cultural advantages that are offered. With a single graphic and visual message the many people that the Hotel needs to attract will find the message attractive. The social media sites that allow for videos and people enjoying the properties will receive the best message translation. The message of what is said will resonate with the prospective customers and the ability to spend some time in the same way as the people in the video. This attracts other to want to enjoy the same amenities.
People going to Hotel Riu Guadalajara are going for the decadence. They are financially able to enjoy the better parts of life. To market to this group of people one would use techniques that indicate the Hotel as the best return on their investment dollar. People with financial resources like to make sure that they are getting their money's worth and in the Hotel the food choices, entertainment, and luxury are all geared toward this end.
1 Travel Sites use of social media
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