MY "IGNORANCES": ASSIGNMENT ; AS THE DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS OF NIVEA, DEVELOP PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES USING THE 6(SIX) FORMS OF IMCs FOR THE NIVEA RANGE OF PRODUCTS.

According to doctor Diana Howard of the International Dermal Institute in her article titled “When razor meets skin:A scientific approach to shaving”, the average mans’ beard grows two(2) millimetres per day and there is ample opportunity to develop different skin problems during shaving. “As a matter of facts if the average man starts shaving at age 13 and continues until he is 85 years old and assuming he spends allof 5 minutes each day, he will devote over 6 monrhs of his life to just shaving his beard”. Most men after shaving their beard experience skin conditions such as rashes, razor-bumps, skin irritation, ingrown hairs, sensitization and inflammation that results in pre-mature aging.

As a result NIVEA one of the worlds best selling producers of skin care products with over 100years in the skin care business introduces NIVEA SKIN ENERGY Q10 SHAVING GEL to solve most shaving related skin problems by using skin’s own Coenzyme Q10 to produce a high performing gel that;

Ø Provides a close and comfortable shave.

Ø Improves the condition of the skin.

Ø Helps protect against cuts and irritations.

This shaving gel uses NIVEA FOR MEN’s expertise to create a close and comfortable shave which not only helps protect against irritation but, with added coenzyme Q10, also helps improve the condition of skin! For A truly multi-purpose shave.

The target market for the product (NIVEA SKIN ENERGY Q10 SHAVING GEL) are men who shave and are above the age of eighteen(18) years. The most effective promotional strategies using the six (6) forms of INTEGRATED MARKETING CONCEPTS for promoting the NIVEA SKIN ENERGY Q10 SHAVING GEL are;

Sales Promotion: is when all marketing acivities are combined in an attempt to stimulate quick buyer action or immediate sales of a product. In the first month of sales NIVEAS team will offer retail buyers extra boxes of NIVEA SKIN ENERGY Q10 SHAVING GEL to entice customers to buy the product by using buy 1 get 1 free promotions. We will convince trade customers(wholesalers and retailers) to add the product to their existing line of shaving products of which they will benefit from a 20% discount on every 5 boxes purchased.

Personal Selling: is a form of person to person communication whereby salespeople inform, educate and persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company’s products or services. The Nivea sales-team(sales people) will make house to house calls which will be aimed at persuading prospective customers to buy the product by providing the customers with information about how to use the products and the benefits derived from using it. The salespeople will also enjoy a 15% commission on the sales of the products they make, this wll energize the sales effort.

Advertising: is any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services, which uses the media with an identifiable sponsor. The most effective mass communications media for an advertising campaign for this type of product are magazines; a full page spread in Enjoy Accra magazine, a 30 second television advert, billboards on the principal streets of Accra and pop-ups on the internet pages of popular social networking website facebook. Flyers of the product will also be distributed to hotels, all in an effort to create awareness(price,features,benefits purchase points) of the product.

Sponsorship Marketing: is the practice of promoting the interests of a company and its brands by associating the company or one of its brands with a specific event. NIVEA SKIN ENERGY Q10 SHAVING GEL will sponsor the ghanaian soccer league. The sponsorship will take the form of naming the “man of the match” of the various matches the “NIVEA SKIN ENERGY Q10 SHAVING GEL man of the match”. The most outstanding player will receive a NIVEA hamper and also an amount of money. This will be done in order to associate the product with the best footballing talent in the country and also appeal to the male demographic who are mostly interested in football.

Publicly/Public Relations (P.R.): is non personal communication to a mass audience but the company does not pay for advertising time or space. Publicity usually assumes the form of news items or editorial comments about a company’s products or services. The P.R. department of NIVEA will send press releases and articles about the special benefits derived from using the product and how the special ingredient Q10 works and also before and after success pictures of men who shave with the product.

Point of Purchase/ Point of Sale Communications; they are displays, posters, signs and a variety of other materials that are designed to influence buying decisions at the point of purchase or point of sale. Nivea will provide displays, posters, signs and product stands to large retailers for use in their retail shops and also for further distribution to their customers.