Reflective critically on an aspect of your creative promotional work whilst at University.
The global scenario has changed considerably and it is due to this that the techniques used in promotion of a particular product or a movement has also changed. The customers have become more aware now and the size of the different markets has increased considerably (Aronczyk and Powers 2010). The given report will take the form of a critical reflection whereby I will be critically analyzing my work earlier in the course which was a L’Oreal campaign and provide it in relation to a social demand prevailing in the globe like that of the ethical aspect related to the promotion of irresponsible behaviour among the customers. I will outline how I have developed with respect to knowledge over the course in relation to understanding and grasping the concepts and theories.
The outlined brief of the given assignment on Promotional practices was based on L’Oreal Campaign ad of promoting the product in the Middle East Region countries and towns. The brief demanded a sample promotional practice in a conservative country like that of the Middle East and the outcomes with respect to the socio and the cultural aspects was to develop our ability to be considerate towards different cultures and the aspects of the culture that need to be considered while developing the promotional campaign (Arvidsson 2006).
The brief also demanded that as students we understand the dimensions of the different cultures and learn new methods of how a marketer while promoting needs to keep several factors in mind. When I had read the given brief regarding promotional practices, I was a bit unsure of how I would proceed in the given domain, however, with due research work and a deep understanding of the UAE culture and the history of L’Oreal, I developed my understanding skills and got a primary experience in gaining knowledge about how promotional activated work and the factors to be considered (Braun 2007). The assignment aimed to develop my skills as a marketer, which was achieved by the time the coursework was complete.
In order to research for the promotional practice that L’Oreal could possibly apply in the UAE Region, I followed a systematized method of sorting out information available and how this could be applied to my coursework. Before this brief, I could have stated that I have average research skills (Grainge and Johnson 2015). However, after the given coursework, I could state that my research skills were definitely exceptional and that this assignment helped me to enrich my skills.
For the given campaign I undertook research from primarily secondary sources which included sources like Journals, articles, Newspapers, Magazines and Social media (Hackley 2005). I realized that the demand of the brief was very detailed and for that purpose I would be required to read al articles and journals related to promotional practices in UAE, which would then serve as an advantage to me with regard to the development of the plan.
According to me, this research helped me to develop my research skills as stated earlier and helped me to further strengthen my theoretical knowledge and relate it to practical examples in the real world.
After the research was conducted, I could analyze that the UAE region can be described to be a rather conservative society whereby the female gender are not given their own rights and very often some women tend to live a vey restricted life. For this reason, the idea that developed from the research was to conduct a workshop ad a professional campaign in a mall in Dubai. I realized different societies have different approaches to varied promotional practices and the kind of promotional practices that have to be used for different countries vary from one another (Holt and Perren 2009). I came up to a conclusion that a live workshop and a Professional campaign would be the most suitable mediums of advertising and promotion in UAE.
When a promotional activity is being planned then it becomes very important for the business organization or the planners to see to it that the business maintains ethical standards while conducting the business ad that there exists no intention to promote irresponsible behaviour among the different customers (Wilson et al. 2016). However, while making the given assignment, I believe that the given debate was ignored as we did not consider the ethics of promoting irresponsible social behaviour (Ihlen, vanRuler and Fredrikkson 2009). Irresponsible social behavior among the consumers can be primarily defined as the behaviour which inculcates irresponsible service and the demand for those goods considerably increases which are pure materialistic in nature. This reflects that, the manufacturers or the marketers very often tend to lure the consumers into buying goods which are of no use to them In lieu of promoting the goods in a manner that the customer might feel is very important for them to use.
According to me, under the given debate of marketers trying to inculcate irresponsible social behaviour among the consumers and forcing them to buy the goods should have been applied in our given case of L’Oreal. It is a global brand offering the customers with all kinds of products which are primarily luxurious in nature. This tried to induce the women to make unnecessary purchase even if it’s not important (Klein 2001). Hence, the given promotional campaign has high chances of falling under the category of unethical move from the marketer’s side in the sense that, it would promote unnecessary and irresponsible buying behavior.
Previously, when I had not undertaken the given course, I was not aware of the given concept of unethical social behaviour and the responsibilities of the promoters in relation to it. This is the reason why we did not consider the given debate while forming the given plan. This course has developed my cognitive skills and gone to a far extent to teach me about the various ethical concepts associated with the business and their impact on the various activities a business concerned (Andrews and Shimp 2017). Looking back at my work, I now realize that I should have considered the ethical aspect of consuming a product like L’Oreal and worked upon accordingly in order t avoid any unethical practices of influencing the respective social behavior.
Given below are certain constraints which were faced while researching for the data on the promotional campaigning:
Purchasing power and irresponsible buying
While addressing the promotional campaign, I did not take into aspect the unethical social irresponsible purchasing behavior that the promotion might inculcate in the given consumer base. This domain was missed upon.
The given course work helped me to improve my research and analysis skill as well. While researching for the different information available and the various environmental factors I realized that before I had taken up the course, I was not well acquitted with the different concepts and theories in the coursework related to Promotion (Powell 2013). This included knowledge of engaging in research and data. However the course has helped me to improve my skills and made me a better manager.
The primary commercial aims of the work were as follows:
The given objectives are considered to be the primary motivating factor towards the promotional campaign. Hence, for the given aspect the promotion of the workshop was made using various social media enterprises and billboard advertising the workshop event was also carried out very successfully with maximum coverage from the expected crowd (Hair Jr and Lukas 2014).
Another aim was to engage in effective marketing campaigns. This means that the campaign which was to be conducted for the consumers needs is to be effectively made to induce professionalism.
The third objective was to increase the revenue of the company.
According to me, with respect to the given aspects I was able to plan the workshop at Ola Al Fares which went quite effectively. Secondly the promotional campaign being discussed, it was well conducted. I believe that the campaign was successful in all domains and that all the different objectives set out could be easily attained due to the effectiveness of the campaign.
The regulations in UAE are very strict and hence it becomes difficult for certain marketers to abide by the rules (McAllister and West 2013). However as explained by the tutor in the coursework, the promotional companies should see to it that all the legal as well as the social aspects have been adopted. The fairs and workshops have been conducted considering the timings of the malls in Dubai. The work shop was considered keeping in aspect the industrial price of the product and the demand in the given domain. Therefore according to me all the industrial aspects of the promotional activity were followed and all the laws were kept in mind.
When I first began the course, I had a basic idea of how promotion takes place, the various tools required and the techniques which can be applied. However I was not aware of the concepts like social and ethical considerations in the given domain (Fill and Turnbull 2016). When the course took place I came to know about various ethical problems in the industry and how it is essential to consider these ethical and social aspects while conducting any promotional activity. I realized that while designing any promotional activity it becomes very important for the firm to consider these aspects and that if such aspects are not considered the sentiments of the target audience might be affected.
I came to understand that any promotional communication campaign or a workshop has a two way effect. Companies generally try to earn profits and very often avoid this concept but it is important for promotion professionals and marketers to realize that every promotional activity has a social impact on the audience and is often judged on ethical grounds as well. Hence, over the course I have understood how important a role ethics plays in any business relationship
Conclusion
Therefore from the above analysis on the Promotional project undertaken during my coursework, it can be stated that, although the given assignment on L’Oreal had been conducted in a professional manner and all relevant aspects have been covered, there were still certain aspects that I was unable to apply in the given promotional practice. These self learning aspects have been stated in various sections of the report and have been compared against theory. The political and social effects on the campaigning have also been provided in the assignment. The most important learning according to me was the social and cultural beliefs that govern a customer.
References
Andrews, J.C. and Shimp, T.A., 2017. Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communications. Nelson Education.
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.
Aronczyk, M. and Powers, D, 2010. Blowing Up the Brand: Critical Perspectives on Promotional Culture. New York: Peter Lang
Arvidsson, A. 2006. Brands: Meaning and Value in Media Culture. London and New York: Routledge.
Braun, T. 2007. The Philosophy of Branding: Great Philosophers Think Brands. London: Kogan Page.
Fill, C. and Turnbull, S.L., 2016. Marketing communications: brands, experiences and participation. Pearson.
Grainge, P. and Johnson, C., 2015. Promotional screen industries. Routledge.
Hackley, C., 2005. Advertising: Communicating Brands. London: Sage.
Hair Jr, J.F. and Lukas, B., 2014. Marketing research (Vol. 2). McGraw-Hill Education Australia.
Holt, J. and Perren. A., 2009. Media Industries: History, Theory and Method. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Ihlen,O., vanRuler. B. and Fredrikkson M., 2009. Public Relations and Social Theory: Key Concepts and Figures. NewYork and London: Routledge.
Jackson, S., 2013. Reflections on communication and sport: On advertising and promotional culture. Communication & Sport, 1(1-2), pp.100-112.
Klein, N. 2001. No Logo. London: Flamingo.
McAllister, M.P. and West, E. eds., 2013. The Routledge companion to advertising and promotional culture. Routledge.
Powell, H., 2013. Promotional culture and convergence: Markets, methods, media. Routledge.
Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M.J. and Gremler, D., 2016. Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm. McGraw Hill.
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