Course: Marketing Strategy

Internal Assignment Applicable for June 2021 Examination

1. Founded in 2011 and launched in 2013 in St Jose California USA, Zoom Video
communications had made steady progress in the enterprise communications
domain with a structured growth pattern, the company also received regular
funding from venture funds and was listed on the New York Stock exchange in
2019. It was also the year in which Zoom hit profit territory. In December of
2019 Zoom had a total user base of 10 million; then, the pandemic struck. The
user load of Zoom zoomed from 10 million to 300 million by April of 2020.The
company faced a severe credibility crisis for its brand and had a tough time
managing security, customer satisfaction and other issues because of the sudden
increase of user base across the world. In hindsight it can be argued that Zoom
failed to see the opportunity that existed in the consumer segment and erred in
its strategy to focus more on enterprise customers. Assuming the Pandemic had
not struck and if you were the CMO of Zoom in November of 2020, what plans
would you make to acquire new customers? What would be your USP and how
would you focus on the core brand strategy to make the brand more relevant. (10
Marks)

Answer: Customer acquisition is the process of bringing new customers or clients to

your business.
The goal of this process is to create a systematic, sustainable acquisition strategy that
can evolve with new trends and changes. Customer acquisition is important for
businesses of any age and size.

Customer acquisition is the first step in retaining customers and turning them into
brand advocates. No matter how great your customer experience is or how engaged
your current customers are, you can never stop marketing to new customers. After all,
in order to grow, you need to continue adding new customers to your brand
community.

Zoom App can acquire new customers in following ways:

App Store Optimization (ASO)

App store optimization is the practice of attracting users to download an app based on
the title, keywords, ratings, and other ranking factors. Done right, ASO can drive a
huge amount of high-quality traffic to your app.
 Focus on key page elements. Including top keywords in the title tag, featuring
a mix of eye-catching screenshots, creating a recognizable app icon, and
writing an engaging app description can boost your visibility significantly
within App Store rankings.
 Localize app store pages for each target market, including search keywords.
Optimize for both search discoverability and conversions. By A/B testing page
elements, you can find out what works best to entice visitors to download and
launch your app.

Organic Mobile User Acquisition

Organic channels can be both an effective and cost-efficient way to drive app user
acquisition. Building a website, maintaining active social media channels, and
funnelling traffic to your app store page are all tactics that drive organic growth.
Organic campaigns are especially effective when complemented with paid ads, which
can boost organic app installs by 150%. Which only proves the importance of
diversifying your user acquisition efforts over several channels and strategies.
 Use smart banners to take users from your mobile website to the mobile app.
Include deep links to take visitors straight to a page within the app, or directly
to your app store page to install.
 Do content marketing. Create blog posts, infographics, videos, and ebooks
around topics your customers are interested in and searching for. Don’t just
create content for the sake of filling an empty blog — ensure that every single
piece of content is high quality and provides unique value for readers.
 Target the right traffic. Don’t neglect quality for the sake of quantity. Create
marketing personas that include details like age, gender, income, educational
background, location, job title, and interests to focus your efforts on the right
audience.

How to focus on the core brand strategy to make the brand more relevant

The USP of Zoom would be fast interface and will enables you to easily manage
up to 200-person meetings.

Slapping together a couple ideas and a logo is not a brand strategy. When it comes to
having a brand strategy, it’s not enough to simply have a few bullet points of what
you want to do. Brands today need both a thorough understanding of why they choose
certain strategies and a detailed outline of what their strategies will be.
Because the more detailed you are in your branding strategy, the easier it will be to
succeed when you execute those strategies.

Develop your brand around emotional benefits

List the features and benefits of your product / service. A feature is an attribute – a
colour, a configuration; a benefit is what that feature does for the customer.
Determine which benefits are most important to each of your customer segments.
Identify which benefits are emotional – the most powerful brand strategies tap into
emotions, even among business buyers.
Look at the emotional benefits and boil them down to one thing that your customers
should think of when they think of you. That’s what your brand should represent.

Conduct brand research

Building a brand strategy in a bubble is a bad idea. It’s important to understand how
your competitors and other businesses your audience engages with are branding
themselves.
Of course, you don’t want to be a copycat. However, you can learn a ton from what’s
working for them, how your audience responds to certain tactics, and even what your
competitors aren’t doing in their branding. Looking at existing brands can give you
both creative inspiration and strategic insights to help you set yourself apart from the
crowd.

Craft an exceptional customer experience

 Customer experience is the great equalizer of businesses. Sure, a competitor might
offer the same products or services at a cheaper price, but if they treat their customers
poorly or fail to address small but significant details, it won’t matter. People are
willing to spend a little more money or time for a better experience.
Plus, satisfied customers can become mini-marketers for your business, spreading the
word about their positive experience, writing customer reviews, and recommending
you to others like them.

CONCLUSION
Branding is crucial for products and services sold in huge consumer markets. It’s also
important in B2B because it helps you stand out from your competition. Your brand
strategy brings your competitive positioning to life, and works to position you as a
certain “something” in the mind of your prospects and customers.

2. You are the marketing director of ISL, The Indian Super league which is India’s
premiere soccer league. ISL viewership has grown 16% in 2020-21 season over
2019-20 season, but the league compares poorly with the 400 billion viewers
delivered by the IPL in 2020. What would you attribute this lag in viewership
despite soccer being the world’s most popular sport? Do a comparison using the
4P’s of marketing between the IPL and ISL leagues and create a marketing
strategy for the league such that it can increase viewership as well as fan
engagement. (10 Marks)

Answer: The Indian Super League is the highest level professional football league in
India. It started on 21st October 2014 with 8 teams. Its main goal was to promote and
grow a footballing culture in India. ISL is played in a format similar to the IPL
(Indian Premier League). Since its focus is more on exposer and growth, there is no
system of Relegation and Promotion in the ISL. 

Cricket is way more appealed and accepted. Also Indian cricket team is the best
cricket team (at least one of the best) in the world keeping aside the fact that very few
nations play cricket.
While football on the other hand has a very less appeal in India. But football
acceptance have increased in India with ISL though.

Comparison using the 4P’s of marketing

Product Strategy:
IPL is a cricket tournament based out of India having players from all over the world.
BCCI is primarily responsible for conducting IPL, and it is often said to be the
brainchild of Lalit Modi- former chairman and commissioner of IPL. A total of 8
teams have played in each IPL season, in a double round robin tournament. The top 4
teams advance to the semi-finals, with top 2 teams playing against each other in
Qualifier 1 and 3rd and 4th placed teams playing against each other in eliminator. The
winner of Qualifier 1 advances to the finals and loser of qualifier 1 plays against
winner of eliminator in Qualifier 2.
Whereas, The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional football league, which
represents the sport's highest level in Indian football system. It is organized by the All
India Football Federation and their commercial partners Football Sports
Development. The league currently comprises of 11 clubs. Each season of the
tournament generally runs from November to March. During the league stage of the
competition, each club plays against all the other clubs in a round-robin style. At the
end of the league stage the team with the most points gets declared the Premiers and
presented with a trophy named League Winners' Shield, and the top four clubs
qualifies for the play-offs. The season then culminates with the ISL Final to determine
the Champions who are presented with the ISL Trophy.

Pricing Strategy:
The average prize money the winning team gets is 15 Crore, with runner’s up, third
and fourth position holders getting 10 Crore, 7.5 Crore and 7.5 Crore respectively.
This total of 40 Crore is awarded to the top 4 teams and the bottom our teams are not
awarded anything. The average amount each player gets is approximately 80 Lacks.

In ISL, The winning team of the match will receive a Match Bonus of $680
(approximately ₹50,000). The Best player of the game will win the Man of the Match
award and $680 (about ₹50,000). The game-changing move of the match will be
awarded Moment of the Match award, and the player will receive $350
(approximately ₹25,000)

Place & Distribution Strategy:

All the matches of IPL, except the 2009 and 2014 have been held in India itself. IPL
2009 was held in South Africa while the first leg of IPL 2014 was held in UAE. It
may be a weekday evening or a weekend afternoon/evening, spectators come in huge
numbers to support their home teams.

The 2014 Indian Super League Final was an association football match between the
Kerala Blasters and ATK played on 20 December 2014, at the DY Patil Stadium in
Navi Mumbai. 2015 Indian Super League was played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,
Delhi and Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Wrestling Hall. The 2018–
19 Indian Super League season was held at Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai,
Maharashtra.

Promotion & Advertising Strategy:

Each team has its sponsors and advertisements set up. Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata
Knight Riders and Dhoni’s Chennai super kings have been most active teams in terms
of visibility and popularity over the media. All the teams are active on various social
media handles, showing previous years’ highlights and popular innings of players of
respective teams.
Whereas in ISL, Stars from Bollywood and Cricket being the co-owners of most of
the ISL teams becomes the natural brand ambassadors for their teams. E.g. Kerala
Blasters –Sachin Tendulkar, Athletico de Kolkata- Saurav Ganguly, Mumbai City FC
– Ranbir Kapoor, North East United- John Abraham, FC Pune City- Salman Khan.
In 2014, Hero MotoCorp became the first title sponsor of the Indian Super League in
a deal that would last through 2016.  Nivea became the official match ball sponsor for
the session 2018–19.

Marketing strategy for the league

Conduct the event at right time

 IPL is conducted in the month of April and May. May and June is that time of the
month when there are no major cricketing tournaments and also people are in a
holiday mode. The children are completely free of their exam burden. So this is the
perfect time for ISL to engage with the audience.

Big brands joining hands

ISL should be a conglomerate of all the big brands from all the industries. So in order
to create more buzz about it, big brands like Nokia, HP, Asian Paints, Berger Paints,
Blue Star, Ceat Tyres, Crompton, Dollar, Domino’s, Ford, Haier, Luminous, Pidilite,
Sleep Well, Vanessa etc. could be associated. So this step could add a more
extravaganza to the tournament. People will be more excited as they would be happy
to see the players getting associated with the brands that they are using.

Influencer marketing of a higher level

A particular team of ISL could market products of a certain brand. Similarly, every
player can engage in some or the other influencer marketing stunt.
So with this, a digital marketer can learn how to use the influencer marketing
techniques at the right time and at the right place so that the people will start
following your brand.

CONCLUSION
ISL witnessed impressive fan numbers in last year’s event that could kindle hopes of a
reversal of the status quo.
With a cumulative reach of 168 million viewers and 261 million impressions for the
2019-20 season, ISL seemed on the brink of a revolution in Indian football. It was
also broadcast on 11 channels across the India and digitally streamed globally as well.

3. You are the marketing director for super events a successful event organization
working with top movie stars and organizing one of the marquee events in the
annual entertainment calendar. The business was doing well, but the pandemic
has thrown your organization in turmoil.

a. As the marketing director what strategies would you evolve in ensuring your
organization remains relevant in the post pandemic world? Create two new
product ideas for the company. (5 Marks)

Answer: The Events industry is an integral feeder market for both the hospitality and
tourism sectors and like everything else has been hard hit by the pandemic and the
lockdown.
A consequence of quarantine, lockdown, and isolation has resulted in an imminent
shift to the adoption of digital solutions. From virtual events to hybrid solutions and
offline participation, the landscape of event management has experienced drastic
changes. While hardly anything will become the death knelt for in-person gatherings,
the shift to hybrid and virtual event management will impact the event industry
tremendously for the foreseeable future.

Post-COVID-19 events will require thermal scanning at entrances. Therefore, event

organisers should prepare for it. If the venue is not well equipped for thermal
scanning, it will jeopardise the security of the conference. While there is speculation
as to whether thermal scanning helps to curb the spread, it is an expected layer of
 protection. Installing thermal cameras in the venue will also give the invitees some
reassurance.

Virtual Escape Room

Escape rooms have become incredibly popular over the past several years and are a
fun group activity. However, being locked inside an enclosed space for an extended
period of time is clearly not consistent with pandemic safety guidelines.
Luckily, there's still a way to experience the fun of escape rooms remotely by joining
a digital version. Virtual escape rooms are a great way to get people to connect online,
whether it's for a casual social event or a competitive corporate team building activity.
If you're organizing the latter, try pitting different teams against each other and
offering a prize to the winners to add to the excitement.

Online Paint Night

Paint nights are popular events that are typically held at bars and restaurants, where
participants can join for a low price and snack while they paint. They make for great
fundraisers, and are yet another event type that can relatively easily be pivoted to
virtual.
You'll need to look for an artist who can volunteer to teach the painting class
virtually, and all ticket sales can go towards the fundraiser. Be sure to clearly list the
materials that participants will need in advance, or consider sending them a kit as part
of their registration.

CONCLUSION
Once a raging necessity, offline events are now only held when it is of the utmost
importance. Though the benefits of an in-person event shine through in terms of social
interaction, there is still time before the world resumes to it without fear. With data
not always translating well virtually, offline events with strict SOPs in place are being
hosted as per need basis for successful event management during COVID.

b. How would you reposition your company’s brand in the future? Create a
marketing plan for the two new product ideas that you have created in the
previous question. (5 Marks)

Answer: As one develops their event planning business, it's important to market in
order to grow your client base. 

Networking. For most planners, networking is at the top of the list in terms of

developing a strong client base. Networking can help your business in two ways. If
people have met you and know what services you offer, they may refer business to
you or use your service themselves. Furthermore, networking with hotels, caterers and
so on will give you a chance to meet some of the people whose services you may need
as you plan events.

Advertising. Print advertising covers a broad range, from a free—or inexpensive—

Yellow Pages advertisement to an ad in a glossy national publication costing tens of
thousands of dollars. Most planners agree that an ad in the Yellow Pages makes good
business sense. A line advertisement, simply listing your business name, is often
provided free of charge when you connect your phone (if you have a landline). You
can also opt for a display advertisement -- the bigger, bordered ads in the Yellow
Pages -- but there's a charge for these.

Marketing Plan
Design a stellar event website
The event website is where your prospective attendees convert to actual attendees. For
that reason alone, it's arguably one of your most important pieces of marketing
collateral.
An exceptional event website is a marketing strategy in and of itself, as a positive user
experience will yield higher enthusiasm for the actual event. With that in mind, invest
considerable time and effort into building an event website this is well-designed in
terms of both appearance and user experience. 
When developing the aesthetic of your event website, make sure to let your event
brand shine. Using consistent colours and fonts on all pages will unify the brand and
keep the event memorable in the minds of website visitors.

Develop a serial event content strategy

Because an event is a singular moment that attendees are looking forward to, building
anticipation within event marketing campaigns will help to drive action.
Content marketing is the go-to channel for building up momentum before the event.
More specifically, episodic content that focuses on a “behind-the-scenes” aspect of
the event can be an effective way to develop considerable excitement.
This series of interviews features individuals that will be performing at the flagship
event and dives into the background of each speaker to give attendees a fuller scope
of his/her expertise. This interview series does well to offer engaging and consistent
content to viewers in order to increase excitement for the event.

CONCLUSION
When it comes to event management, very few rules are set in stone. Because every
event is different, each one requires a unique approach. To be a great event manager,
then, you need to be as flexible as you are organized. This flexibility is what lets you
adapt, learn, and change to make each event better.