MARKET ANALYSIS

Advertising – The process

Advertising is a business process. It is a basic business tool that helps the advertisers
communicate with current and potential target audience for commercial as well as non-
commercial purposes. Advertising is considered as a business process in two ways: (i) it
plays a substantial role in the overall marketing program of a firm, and (ii) it affects the
economic system of a country. Advertising plays a role in (a) designing the marketing
mix, (b) achieving effective market segmentation, product differentiation, and positioning
(c) contributing to revenue and profit generation, and (d) enhancing customer
satisfaction.

a. Advertising’s role in the marketing mix

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing,

promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services, to create exchanges that
satisfy individual and organizational objectives. Marketing assumes a wide range of
responsibilities related to the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of
ideas, goods, or services. These areas of responsibility and decision making in
marketing are referred to as the marketing mix. Generally, the role of advertising in
the marketing mix is to focus on the ability of the advertising effort to communicate
with a target audience, the value a product or service has to offer. Because of the
consumers’ search for diverse values such as belongingness and prestige, the
marketers must determine which marketing mix factors to emphasize on and how to
blend the mix elements in just the right way to attract and satisfy customers. These
factors play a significant role in determining the message content and placement of an
advertisement.

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b. Advertising’s role in achieving effective market segmentation, product
differentiation, and positioning.

For advertising to be effective, it must work to support the organization’s general

marketing strategies. Some of the most basic strategies for cultivating customers are
market segmentation, product differentiation (discussed later), and positioning.

Market Segmentation
Through market segmentation, larger markets are broken up by various criteria. An
advertising agency has numerous clients. The segmentation can be done according to
the following variables:

• Demographics
Industry: Which industry spends the most on advertising?
Company size: What size clients does the agency have/focuses on?

• Operating Variables
Technology: What technologies are used?
User-nonuser status: Should the agency focus on heavy, medium, or light users or
nonusers?
Customer capabilities: Should the agency focus on clients requiring many
services or few services?

• Acquisition Approaches
General: Should the agency focus on companies that are FMCGs (fast-moving
consumer goods), MNCs (multi-national corporations) or Social Organizations?
Power structure: Should the agency focus on companies that are engineering
dominated, financially dominated, or marketing dominated?
Nature of existing relationships: Should the agency focus on clients with whom it
already has strong relationships or simply go after the most desirable clients?

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 General Acquisition policies: Should the agency focus on clients who prefer
credit payments/service contracts/sealed bidding/cash payment?
Acquisition criteria: Should the agency focus on clients who are seeking
quality/service/price?
• Situational Factors
Urgency: Should the agency focus on clients who need quick service?
Specific application: Should the agency focus on certain categories of its services
rather than all categories?
Size of Order: Should the agency focus on large or small orders?

• Personal Characteristics
Agency-client similarity: Should the agency focus on companies whose people
and values are similar to theirs?
Attitudes toward risk: Should they focus on risk-taking or risk-avoiding clients?
Loyalty: Should the agency focus on clients who exhibit high loyalty to their
associates?

Positioning
Positioning is the process of designing a brand in such a manner that it can occupy a
distinct and valued place in the target consumers’ mind relative to other brands.
Positioning also calls for communicating the distinctiveness through advertising. A
positioning decision comprises of two different decisions:

(i) A firm must decide on the external positioning for a brand, i.e., the niche the
brand will pursue in relation to all the competitive brands in the market;
(ii) An internal position must be achieved with regard to the other similar brands a
firm markets.

With the external-positioning decision, a firm must achieve a distinctive competitive

position based on design features, pricing, distribution, and/or promotion. Effective

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internal-positioning is accomplished either by developing vastly different products within
the product line or creating advertising messages that appeal to different consumer needs
and desires.
In this way, advertising helps create a distinctive position, both internally and externally,
and minimizes cannibalization among similar brands.

Advertising’s role in contributing to revenue and profit generation

The contribution to sales as a part of the revenue generating process is where advertising
plays a significant role. Advertising communicates persuasive information to audiences
based on the values identified in the marketing mix. This communication, which can
highlight brand features, price, or availability, attracts consumers. When a brand has the
right features, the right price, the right distribution, and the right communication, sales
will soar, and the firm will generate revenue. Thus, advertising makes a direct
contribution to the marketing goal of revenue generation.
The effect of advertising on profits is a bit more elaborate. This effect occurs when
advertising can help give a firm greater flexibility in the price it charges for a
product/service. Advertising can help create pricing flexibility by:

(i) Contributing to the economies of scale;

(ii) Creating brand loyalty

Advertising’s role in creating customer satisfaction

Advertising can communicate how a brand addresses certain needs and desires, and,
therefore plays an important role in attracting consumers to brands they will find useful
and satisfying. Advertising can go even further. It can help link a brand’s image and
meaning to a consumer’s social and environment affairs, and can even extend the linkage

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to the larger cultural issues of the consumers. Thus advertising delivers a sense of
personal connection for the consumers. Without advertising as a way to reveal the
availability of brands and draw out these connections of broader meaning, a firm’s ability
to deliver customer satisfaction would be limited.
The extent of advertising crosses the parameters of commercial ventures. It also permits
achieving different socially benefiting results. This practice of advertising is referred to
as social communication. Such social communication can benefit the society by changing
people’s beliefs and attitudes. Examples of such advertising includes Public Service
Announcements (PSAs) such as advertisements urging the consumers to buy products
marked with tax labels or NBR (National Board of Revenue) labels, Social Awareness
Campaigns such as the ones about voting rights of women, acid terrorism, drinking
arsenic-free water, etc.

The scope of the advertising industry

To fully understand the framework of advertising, the scope of advertising needs to be

appreciated. By any measure, advertising is an enormous global business. Annual
expenditures on advertising in the United States totals about USD 350 billion, with nearly
USD 515 billion spent worldwide. Worldwide advertising expenditure has been growing
about 9 to 10 percent/year, with the United States, Great Britain, Asia, and Latin America
leading the way. In the scenario of Bangladesh, this expenditure has increased by more
than 8 times from the early nineties till date. During the starting of the nineties, the total
amount of advertising expenditure was around BDT 500 million, which jumped to almost
BDT 1200 million in the year 2000, further increasing to BDT 3900 million for the
current year.

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Advertising in Bangladesh

Market History & Market Players

There was very little advertising practice in Bangladesh before independence. Due to
inadequate industrialization, demand for specialized advertising agencies was very
limited. Pioneers in the field such as Bitopi, East Asiatic (now Asiatic), and Interspeed
entered the market almost simultaneously in the year 1967. Their clientele comprised of
multinational companies like Lever Brothers Bangladesh Ltd., which had started to
increase the range of its products. Other advertising companies started operating after
independence.

The reasons that are, and will be, contributing to the development of the industry are:

1. Increasing amount of MNC operations in Bangladesh.

2. Increasing number of local players in almost every sector.
3. Increasing number of international advertising networks’ affiliation with local
agencies.
4. Growing competition and declining monopoly businesses and brands.

Various local agencies are getting affiliated with international advertising networks, such
trends introducing huge changes in the local advertising practices. This trend illustrates
the prospect of the advertising business in the country. Currently, there are 7 major
international advertising networks present in Bangladesh, which are affiliated with local
agencies:

□ Adcomm Ltd. – Lowe Worldwide Ltd.

□ Asiatic – JW Thompson
□ Bitopi – Leo Burnett
□ Unitrend – McCann-Erickson

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□ Interspeed – Ogilvy & Mather
□ Grey Advertising – Grey Worldwide
□ Madonna – Euro RSCG

There is no formal way of tracking of advertising agencies in the country. However, there
is an association, known as AAAB (Advertising Agencies Association of Bangladesh),
which was formed back in 1977. Currently, 37 member-agencies are registered with the
AAAB. AAAB decides on the membership application of the applicant based upon its
qualification and capability.

According to formal media sources, a total of 150 agencies are registered with
Bangladesh Television, while the number exceeds 500 when both the formal and
informal sectors are considered. However, around 80% of the formal market share is held
by the top nine advertising agencies of the country.

These agencies, in descending order of market share, are:

□ Adcomm
□ Asiatic
□ Bitopi
□ Unitrend
□ Grey
□ Interspeed
□ Popular
□ Madonna
□ Mattra

Other advertising agencies claim only about 13% of the market share, while the rest is
accrued to in-house advertisement of business firms and enterprises.

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Growth of the Industry

The advertising industry is one of the fastest growing industries of the country. In the last
ten years, the competition has increased substantially with new agencies joining the
market; and former agencies expanding their services to meet new clients’ requirements,
getting technical assistance from international advertising networks to set new standards
for advertising in the country; and of course, technology offering more scope to the
media. The growth of the advertising industry since 1967 demonstrates a direct
relationship between the economic growth of the country and purchasing power of the
consumers. Informal advertising agencies are continually springing up in competition
with formal ones. The market size of the formal advertising agencies accounted for about
BDT 2 billion in 1999, while, in-house and outdoor advertisements by manufacturing or
service providing companies and the informal agencies (non-registered agencies and
individuals) accounted for about another BDT 1 billion. Currently, the market size of the
formal advertising agencies is an estimated BDT 4.2 billion (source: AAAB & The
Ministry of Information), and this number is continuously increasing.
(Industry growth has been discussed in detail later)

Competition

The type of market advertising can be categorized as is oligopoly. It is a market structure

in which a small number of firms compete. In oligopoly, the quantity sold by one firm
depends on that firm’s price and on the other firm’s prices and quantities sold. In the
advertising industry in Bangladesh, the prices charged by the leading firms are more or
less similar. The demand curve model is a kinked demand curve which is based on the
assumption that each firm believes that

1. If it raises it price, others will not follow.

2. If it cuts its price, so will the other firms.

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Product Differentiation

A firm practices product differentiation if it makes a product/provides a service that is

slightly different from the products/services of other competing firms. A differentiated
product/service is one that is a close substitute but not a perfect substitute for the
products/services of the other firms. Some consumers will pay more for one variety of the
product, so when its price rises, the quantity demanded falls, but it does not (necessarily)
fall to zero.
Advertising can help create a difference in the minds of the consumers. The ads may
emphasize on performance features or, it may create a different image of the brand. In the
advertising industry, advertising itself happens to be a service provided for the clients.
This service varies from agency to agency in terms of the amount which the individual
agencies charge the clients, the amount the television channels charge for airing the
advertisement, the charges imposed by the newspapers, outdoor pricings, etc.

Different firms compete against each other in this rapidly growing market, so of course
there needs to be a way to differentiate between their services. The individual firms have
specific pricing strategies, according to which they charge their clients.

For example, some agencies bill their clients according to the sales of the product they
advertised (Mother Advertising in the United Kingdom introduced this system after the
commission system was wiped out; in Bangladesh, no agency as of yet employs this
strategy). If the sales of the product increases as a result of the advertising, the agency
gets paid accordingly (percentage increase determines their fee).

In Bangladesh, the agencies receive commissions from the newspapers, the satellite
television channels, which differ from media to media. Apart from that, the agencies bill
their clients according to the following strategies:

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(i) Commission rate: Even though the commission rate fails to exist in most of
the world, some agencies here still charge their clients a particular amount, or
commission, for each brand/product. This rate can be as high as 25% and as
low as 15%, depending on the agency, the client, and the negotiation skills of
both the parties. At Adcomm, the commission rate was practiced till early
2004, when they use to charge 15% commissions for Unilever, which is
relatively low to the 21% charged from City Group of Industries.

(ii) Rate-card: A concept which originated from the television channels, the rate
card system consists of a detailed breakdown of all the costs under separate
headings like: tag-line, logo design, concept of the advertisement, designs (for
various media like newspapers, television, bill-boards), etc. But unlike the
television channels, an advertising rate-card was not an easily available
article. Agencies just mentioned the variables, but the actual card is only
provided to the potential clients. Grey, Bangladesh Ltd. has a rate-card, even
though it mainly bills according to the old commission rate.

(iii) Job-to-job basis: This is a modified version of the commission rate, where the
agency charges a commission for every job completed. The rate varies from
job to job; one particular client may have to pay different commission rates
for different jobs (concept, bill-board designs, etc.). Also, different
advertisement activities of an individual product may cost the client various
prices. The rates range from 10% to 30%. Usually, products which promote
social awareness, such as contraceptives, avail lower commission rates than
that of FMCGs.

(iv) Fees System: The fees system has mostly replaced the commission rate
system at Adcomm. Since late 2004, this system has been effective. Clients
are billed on an hourly basis, they make monthly payments accordingly.

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 Example, Siemens Bangladesh Ltd. pays Adcomm an amount of 1500 Euros
per month for designing a fixed number of magazine/newspaper commercials.

Television

The TV channels charge the clients for airing the commercials. The client pays this
amount via a booking agent. Booking agents buy spots on a particular channel and
the client procures them. When a commercial is aired, the agency receives a
commission from the channel as well. The booking agents are employed by the
advertising agencies, and it is them how get the channels new clients.

TV commercials fall under the following categories:

1. Spot advertisements
2. Sponsorship of program
3. Package program/Telefilm & Shortfilm sponsorship
4. News spots

From information collected from BTV and two of the leading satellite channels of the
country, nTV and ATN Bangla, the tariffs are as follows:

BTV

For peak hours (7pm to 12am)

Duration Ordinary Fixed Time Immediately Midbreak in Midbreak on
before or after films news
news
30 seconds Tk 9450 Tk 14175 Tk 16065 Tk 17010 Tk 18900

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Rates are almost half during transmission hours before 7 PM. The commercial time
allowed to a sponsor in a 60-minute program is up to 180 seconds and the rate charged
per episode or program is Tk 80,000 early time, Tk 100,000 for peak time.
Bangladesh Television offers a discount of 25% on advertisements of books and
magazines not containing any advertisement and activities of registered cultural
organizations and voluntary organizations. Guidebooks for admission tests and
competitive examinations, test papers and publishing houses do not get this discount
facility. Bangladesh television however, imposes an additional surcharge of 60% on spot
and sponsored advertisement for all products, which are produced or assembled outside
the country.

The rate cards of two of the leading satellite television channels of the country, nTV and
ATN Bangla, are provided in Appendix (i) for comparison purposes.

Radio

Bangladesh Betar provides the only radio transmission in the country. Rates charged by
the Bangladesh Betar are much less than that of the television media: Tk 600 for each
transmission of a 15-seconds advertisement from 1st to 51st time. Bangladesh Betar
charges Tk 45,000 for sponsorship of a cricket match and Tk 30,000 for that of a football
match.

Newspapers & Magazines

There are currently around 24 national dailies, among which only 5 are English, the rest
are Bengali. Besides these national dailies, there are lots of regional dailies in different
parts of the country. There are some 16 advertisable magazines in the country. The
magazine industry, like the newspaper industry, has grown during the last decade. These
magazines are enabling the agencies to reach specific target audience. One major

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development in the newspapers/magazines publication in the country is the emergence of
the tabloid. It is a new trend in Bangladesh that has good prospects. Such tabloid
publication will increase the overall readership and will enable the advertisers reach
targets more specifically.

A leading English daily of the country, the Daily Star pays a commission of about 15% to
20% to all advertising agencies. The negotiation is not based on the size of the agency
itself but on the client they represent. If the Daily Star thinks a particular client is
promising (in terms of the extent of advertising they undertake), then the commission is
high. While with smaller clients the daily gives a lower commission. The Daily Star is
owned by Transcom Group of Industries and hence, charges very low for Pepsi and other
transcom products.

On the other hand, Amar Desh, a new Bengali daily, gives a very high commission of
maximum 40% in order to attract new agencies. They give the maximum commissions to
bigger agencies, not really taking into consideration which clients they represent.
Adcomm Ltd. receives a commission of 40% from Amar Desh.
The magazines have particular fixed charges and it more or less resembles that of the
newspapers.

Outdoor

In case of outdoor advertising, the clients pay the agencies at the rate of BDT 2900 per
job. The price is not subject to change with the size of the job. A 10-sqft bill-board design
will cost the client the same as a 2-sqft neon sign.
There are a few hoarding agents who control the outdoor advertising market, for
example, Tokyo Ad, Mukti Art, Neptune, Udoyon Art, etc. The amount charged by the
agents depend on a number of variables, such as: the material of the bill-board, the angle,
the colors used, the placement, etc.

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The other advertising activities such as event management, activation advertising, and
strategy planning, are special services provided by the agencies and are done according
to the clients’ requirements.

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Implication of Porter’s Five Forces Model

Porter’s model is based on the insight that a corporate strategy should meet the
opportunities and threats in the organizations external environment. Especially,
competitive strategy should be based on an understanding of industry structures and the
way they change.

Porter has identified five competitive forces that shape every industry and every market.
These forces determine the intensity of competition and hence the profitability and
attractiveness of an industry. The objective of corporate strategy should be to modify
these competitive forces in a way that improves the position of the organization. Porter’s
model supports analysis of the driving forces in an industry. Based on the information
derived from the Five Forces Analysis, management can decide how to influence or to
exploit particular characteristics of their industry.

Threat of new market

entrants

Bargaining power of Competitive rivalry within Bargaining power

suppliers the industry of buyers

Threat of substitutes

1. Bargaining power of suppliers:

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In the context of the advertising industry, by the term ‘suppliers’ the production houses
are implied. The agencies do the strategy planning, concept & designs, etc. for a product,
and then it is handed over to the production houses for the shooting of the advertisements.
Some agencies have production houses as a sister concern, and hands the job to its own
house. Others, however, have to rely on the production houses to get the advertisements
complete. Also, the various media on which a product is promoted can also be considered
as the ‘suppliers’, since without the media, an advertisement is worthless. The bargaining
power of this category is likely to be high when:

• The market is dominated by a few large suppliers rather than a fragmented

source of supply
• There are no substitutes for the particular contribution
• The switching costs from one supplier to another are high

In the advertising industry scenario, the bargaining power of the production houses is
very high, since there are a handful of reputed production houses appropriately equipped
with the right resources and technology to meet the clients’ requirements.

In the case of the media, particularly for television, newspapers and magazines, the
second and the third statements are true. There is not many substitutes to choose from
when one considers the only satellite channels of the country. Similarly, advertising in a
newspaper with the highest circulation would not bring the same results as advertising on
one with half the circulation. The switching costs are also high, consider the switching of
a newspaper from The Daily Star (the English daily with the largest circulations) to New
Age (its circulation not even one quarter of that of The Daily Star). Similarly, switching
television channels (from nTV and Channel i to BTV) will cost the client very dearly.

2. Bargaining power of buyers

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 The term ‘buyers’ relate to the clients who advertise their products. The bargaining power
of this category is likely to be high when:

• They buy large volumes; there is a concentration of buyers

• The supplying industry comprises a large number of small operators
• The product is undifferentiated and can be replaces by substitutes
• Switching to an alternative product is relatively simple and is not related
to high costs
• Customers could produce the product themselves

In the advertising industry, the bargaining power of the buyers is not very high. Even
though the clients buy large volumes and they can also do the advertisement themselves
(in-house advertising), the industry is comprised of a small number of large operators.
The advertisement done by various agencies is not undifferentiated and cannot be
replaced by advertisement done by others. Also, switching to an alternative agency is
related to high costs to the client.

3. Threat of New Entrants

Even though the competition amongst the market players is very intense, it is not easy for
new companies to enter the market.
The threat of new entries will depend on the extent to which there are barriers to entry.
These are typically

• Economies of scale (minimum size requirements for profitable operations)

• High initial investments and fixed costs
• Brand loyalty of customers
• Scarcity of important resources, e.g. qualified expert staff
• Existing players have close customer relations, e.g. from long-term service contracts

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• High switching costs for customers

The minimum requirements for profitable operations are very high in the context of this
particular industry since there are numerous interlinked variables working together to
produce a commercial. The investments and fixed costs are high and brand loyalty exists
to a substantial extent amongst the clients. Clients who are enlisted with Adcomm Ltd.
are not expected to switch to a completely new agency overnight. Qualified expert staffs
are also hard to place and most of the existing agencies have long-term contracts with
their clients. Also, the switching costs in terms of quality, service, timeliness, is high for
the clients.

4. Threat of Substitutes

A threat from substitutes exists if there are alternative products/services with lower prices
of better performance parameters for the same purpose. They could potentially attract a
significant proportion of market volume and hence reduce the potential sales volume for
existing players.

Similar to the threat of new entrants, the treat of substitutes is determined by factors like:

• Brand loyalty of customers

• Close customer relationships
• Switching costs for customers
• The relative price for performance of substitutes
• Current trends

In the advertising industry, there aren’t any specific substitutes for the commercials
made, but the same or slightly differentiated service provided by a competitor can be
considered as a substitute. The first three variables have already been discussed; the
relative prices charged by various agencies are more or less the same. Hence, the threat of
substitutes is very minimal in the advertising industry.

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 5. Competitive Rivalry between existing players

This force describes the intensity of competition between existing players (companies) in
an industry. High competitive pressure results in strains on prices, margins, and
profitability, for every single company in the industry.
Competition between existing players is likely to be high when:

• There are many players of about the same size

• Players have similar strategies
• There is not much differentiation between players and their products,
hence, there is much price competition
• Low market growth rates (growth of a particular company is possible only
at the expense of a competitor)

In this industry, the competitive rivalry amongst existing players is quite significant,
since there are quite a few players of about the same size and they have slightly
differentiated but analogous pricing strategies. However, the services provided are very
much different, and market growth rates are also significant.

The departments working within An Ad Agency:

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There are basically five departments in AN AD AGENCY. One of them works around
the production of advertisement and other ensures smooth functionality of the
organization. In the following figure all the departments of AN AD AGENCY.
The mission of these departments is to produce quality advertisements for their clients.
As a result, the advertisements should drive sales, create an increased in awareness, an d
the firm's profits should go up.
• Client Services Department
The basic function of the client service department is to maintain relationship with the
clients and prospects. They communicate the thought of both the parties between two
parties. They are one of the most important parts of AN AD AGENCY because they are
the persons who find out the things customer needs and finding the need is one of the
most useful ways to keep the customers happy. This department is the blood circulation
of the whole organization and it co-ordinates within the functions of the various
department in the agency.

This department of AN AD AGENCY is also important t for research purpose. This gives
some important t information to the AN AD AGENCY authority, like
a. Effectiveness of the campaign
b. Market power of the subject product
c. Customer reaction about the product or the ad campaign
d. Finding out the reasons that makes a product fails to have more sale or gain more
sail.
e. Market background of the product
This information helps AN AD AGENCY authority to take decisions like
a. Whether AN AD AGENCY works for the client or not
b. What type of promotional campaign is needed to help develop the market
condition?
c. What was the success of the campaign?
d. What change is needed in the campaign?
e. What changes are expected by the buyers in the product? Etc.
• Media Department

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Now a day number of full service agency is getting lower and lower every day. AN AD
AGENCY is one of the few full service agencies in Ban gladesh. That’s why they have to
select the media they are going to use to publish or to show any certain advertisement.
The media department of AN AD AGENCY finds out the most profitable way from the
combination of coverage, cost and product type to air the advertisement. The media
department also finds out the programs that a client can sponsor. Media timing is also one
of the important functions of the media department.

The media selection method is a little bit hard-hitting here in Ban gladesh. In case of
TV broadcasting media, the important factors considered by the AN AD AGENCY are:
1. Coverage of the network (BTV has the highest coverage)
2. Type of product (some products can’t be advertised in national TV before 10)
3. Cost
4. TRP rating (In case of sponsorship, agencies follow a rating called television
rating point, TRP.)

In case of Print Media selection, the important t factors are

1. Type of the news paper or magazine
2. Circulation
3. Cost
• Creative department
This is the engine of the organization because it is them whom make AN AD AGENCY
popular an d effective to the clients. They perform certain acts. Some of them are given
below.
a. Developing theme for a TV commercial
b. Developing headlines, sub-headlines and body messages for an advertisement to
be printed on papers.
c. Designing the look of the artists in a commercial
d. Visualizing the idea
e. Preparing jingles
f. Finalizing layout etc.

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Adoption of foreign ad ideas according to the prescription by the client in case of
multinational ad.
• Finance department:
The finance department of AN AD AGENCY functions like finance department from any
other business organ ization. The extra thing it does is the budgeting for any
advertisement campaign or product promotional campaign.
• HR department:
This department helps to find out the best people, who can suits with this organ ization.
This department also motivates the employees in various ways.
• Recruiting of new employees are their concern.
• Training and development of the interns are going in a good way is also their
concerns.
• Compensation, employee benefit, leaves and service rules program and up
gradation.
• Placement an d performance appraisal of employees
• Preparing related reports
• Reporting to the Executive Committee/ Board on related matters.

Advertising process between client and an AD AGENCY

The communication process between the client and the ad agency is quit delicate and the
following section presents this delicate process of communication.
Clients Problem
At first the client communicates and fixes a meeting with the AN AD AGENCY
officials and they express their problem and the type of remedy (if they have an). In the
long years of doing business the common problems AN AD AGENCY hear from the
clients are
a. Sales is getting low
b. Arrival of new competitor
c. Launch of new brand
d. Market rumor etc.

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The agency needs to understand the client’s business and have a good knowledge of the
dynamics of the market in which the client operates. Equally, the agency should also be
aware of the motivations and decision-making processes of end consumers. A new
product or service, new situation or changing market conditions may provide the starting
point for a new role to be performed by advertising, direct marketing, personal selling,
sales promotion, event sponsorship, or internet marketing.
Internal Briefing by Account executive
Account executive, the head for managing the activities related to a certain brand,
communicates with the client and gets hold of their problem. Then he brief to the
departments related to the planning of the promotional campaign. A group is assigned to
the problem. The group briefed generally contains,
a. Media planners
b. Creative directors
c. Finance Department
d. Client service department
Conducting Research
Client service department conducts a research about the product in the market.
The main objective of conducting this research is to;
a. Gather information about the image of the company and product,
b. Gather information about current promotion
c. Gather customer complaints
d. Gather customer prescriptions.
Planning the campaign
It’s a juggernaut work to plan for a promotional campaign. Generally the
members of the above mentioned group take part in the planning process. The things they
generally plans are,
a. Goal of the campaign
b. Type of promotion, ATL or BTL
c. Type of advertisement, printed or TVC
d. Budget of the advertisement
e. Media planning

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Here ATL means above the line promotional campaigns like TVC, Paper advertisement
etc. on the other hand BTL means sampling, posters etc.
Reaching presentation
Although it is named as the client’s presentation but actually the presentation is
presented by the account executive. They present the outline of the plan they have
prepared.
A sample plan for Frutika, by AN AD AGENCY was like this
a. The goal of the campaign is to communicate with all kinds of people with a new
product.
b. Both ATL & BTL promotion will be applied.
c. Several TV advertisements and RDC will be aired every day in almost 6 channels.
d. Press ad of Frutika was also a concern of an ad agency. Their targets will the top
reading news papers and magazines of Bangladesh
Final Approval Presentation (Client’s presentation)
After performing all the planning works the agency has to take the final approval of the
client. The agency presents the detail campaign plan to the client and asks for work order
on that plan.
Achieving censorship certificate
In case of broadcasting in the national TV or Radio, the scripts have to be approved by
the television and radio authority. Then the work of production can be started.
Producing the advert(s)
After getting approval from all the parties the agency call the respective department
related to respective works. The creative department design the layout of the
advertisement, they will design the slogans, texts, images for the paper and the total
outline including, dress, background, script, cinematography for a TV Commercial. The
production department then produces the banners, posters, billboards etc. On the other
hand client service department of AN AD AGENCY contacts with the director and get
into negotiation about the compensation of the director and they also explains the total
visualization of the advertisement. Then the director asks for casts and crews and shoots
the total advertisement. After that the shoots are edited and converted to three type of

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advertisement (in case of huge advertisements). They create three different versions for
the three different phase of the campaign which are,
a. Introduction
b. Memorizing
c. Promotional
The campaign appears
The time span between the briefing of the account executive by the client and the
campaign appearing can be as little as six or eight weeks for a simple photographic
newspaper execution, to twenty weeks plus for an animated TV commercial, personal
selling drive, sales promotion campaign, event sponsorship, public relation activities.
Controlling
Like all management process advertising also has a controlling sphere. In this
stage the performance of the campaign is judged after 1 month, 3 month and 6 month of
the launch of the campaign. Then the result is compared with the perceived result. If the
result is positive then generally the campaign stops else the research department again
performs a research to find out the reason of the failure of the campaign..
After finding out the problem, the agency prescribe some action to the client and
if permitted than works accordingly.
Advertising Industry Lifecycle and new trends
While overall growth in the advertising industry is predicted, sectors of the industry
appear to be in a mature phase with traditional media such newspaper advertising revenue
falling in the US and the rise of digital media and search engines such as Google and
Yahoo.
This has meant that both media owners and advertising agencies have had to take this
into account and think carefully about their strategy. With the dawn of the internet came
many new advertising opportunities. Popup, Flash, banner, Popunder, advergaming, and
email advertisements (the last often being a form of spam) are now commonplace. The
ability to record shows on digital video recorders (such as TiVo) allow users to record the
programs for later viewing, enabling them to fast forward through commercials.
Additionally, as more seasons of prerecorded box sets are offered for sale of television
programs; fewer people watch the shows on TV. However, the fact that these sets are

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sold, means the company will receive additional profits from the sales of these sets. To
counter this effect, many advertisers have opted for product.

Financial Institution Marketing

Financial institution marketing refers to the various marketing policies of the financial
institutions. For the promotion of the various financial products and services offered by
financial institutions, it is necessary to lay out an efficient marketing plan. From savings
to loans, millions of customers turn to financial institutions for sound, save advice. With
significant competition in the marketplace, financial institutions need to stand out and
grab the attention of risk-averse consumers’ during an economic recovery in Bangladesh.
When it comes to marketing, financial institutions stick with terms, subjects and formats
that are most familiar to them. While safe can be good in our bank accounts, it won’t set
apart from competition, nor will it keep you top of mind for their clien. Marketing has
become an integral part of business development and maintenance, but it is also an area
that is sometimes forgotten.

Financial institutions focus on the practical implementation of marketing methods for

selling their financial products and services. In order to do that, it is essential that the
financial institutions utilize their marketing resources and functions in a proper way. For
launching their products, the financial institutions take into consideration a number of
factors, which include the timing, degree, and blend of customer demand.

Usually, the financial institution marketing services can be categorized into the following
types:

Marketing research and analysis

• Marketing strategy

• Implementation planning

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 • Process, project, and vendor management

• Leadership and organizational management

• Reporting

• Measurement

• Feedback and control systems

For the selling purpose of the financial products and services, financial institutions often
take the assistance of various advertising firms. They provide valuable marketing advices
and techniques to numerous banks, credit unions, and various other financial services
providers.

Various techniques that are implemented for enhancing sales of financial products and
services include the following:
• Cross selling of equity and debt capital market products, such as stocks, bonds,
and CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations)

• Formulation of marketing plans and market research

• Assessment of client financing and other facilities and recommendation of

suitable action

• Supervision of the functions of the relationship managers

• Keep informed and cover capital market activities and corporate finance

• Advising and training staff

• For marketing the financial products and services, the various forms of
advertisements that are utilized include the following:

• Consumer media print advertisements

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 • Web banner advertisements

• Annual report

• Logo

• Informational brochures and displays

• Consumer radio advertisements

• Poster

• Newspaper advertisements

Usually, a common trend is seen in the marketing of financial products which is a product
launched by a company is immediately followed by another company. However, this is
not beneficial all the time.
Here are some smart and easy tips on marketing solutions to help the financial institutions
succeed:

1. Knowing about the brand. Consider the personality of company and stick to it. Be
consistent in companies message, values, slogans, images and colours. These items
should not only be consistent with each other but also with product. Make sure everyone
that represents thye company knows the brand and portrays that message.

2. Knowing the audience. To know about the brand is only half the challenge. The other
half is to know about the audience. Financial institution should research their audience.
Who do they trust? What do they like? Where do they go for information? When do they
need your services? Why are you targeting them? How do they communicate?

3. Keep it simple. The financial industry can be overwhelming to their audience. Not
everyone understands the difference between stocks and bonds and it can be easy to mix
up RRSPs and RESPs, so make sure to keep marketing communication clear and simple.

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It will help the customers feel at ease, which can be extremely important given the
subject matter. It can be that simple.

4. Keep with the times. We live in a world of constant change, from interest rates to the
latest in mobile technology. This week’s trends will be different than next week’s trends.
It’s important to stay tuned to what your audience is watching, using and listening. This
will help to predict upcoming trends and use them to communicate effectively.

5. Utilize social media. Social media has become the hottest thing since parity. With so
many different sites and applications, it can be overwhelming – and tricky – to
understand when and how to use each. Pick the tool that best suits with the brand,
audience and product and incorporate it into the rest of the marketing initiatives.

While the role of financial institutions has remained consistent, we must acknowledge
that clients’ needs have changed. Companies must learn to stand out through effective
marketing communications to demonstrate an understanding of clients’ needs. The time
to act is now. By investing in effective marketing today.

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