Oreo Case Study
Marketing is an area of interest to business firms that should be well managed to realize competitiveness. The case of Oreo presents issues of marketing in a competitive world, where technology is leveraged by firms to reach out to clients and maintain their presence in the market world (Marshall & Johnston, 2019). Oreo had several challenges before and after it adopted social media marketing that is important in understanding how an entity can overcome difficulties to emerge as a successful player in a particular segment of the market.
The first problem Oreo had was how to move to the modern marketing approach that was content creator based. The company had for many years relied on a conventional marketing approach that was complex, slow, less effective, and costly to market its products. However, with the advent and use of computer and digital technologies, the competitive business had shifted from the olden system of marketing to include new marketing techniques that included the use of online platforms world (Marshall & Johnston, 2019). The problem was because the company had not adopted new technology in its marketing, which threatened stagnation of its performance in the market.
Oreo had also an issue with a formulaic, repetitive approach to the promotion of the brand. The company needed a change in how it approached marketing to keep up with the new market demands. The world was shifting, and sobs were competitor’s worlds (Marshall & Johnston, 2019). The change was inevitable. However, the marketing department needed to come up with an effective strategy to achieve this. The company had to look into the mirror and determine what the appropriate move to take was. A repetitive approach was an issue that had been created by Oreo’s marketing team, which had stuck with the traditional approach to marketing for long. Redundancy in the approach to promotion highlighted the dire need for a new strategy in marketing. As a consequence, social media was identified as a solution and a new frontier in marketing.
Oreo adopted social media marketing to enhance the marking and the value of its brand. Social media gave the company a cheaper and more effective avenue to reach out to clients worldwide. The new approach to marketing revolutionized the brand, creating a strong presence across the world (Marshall & Johnston, 2019). Social media was backed by websites and an app, which bolstered sales of the firm because clients would make purchases online, underpinning the value of adopting a new marketing strategy.
Alternatives
The alternatives to social media included sticking to traditional marketing techniques such as mainstream media promotional campaigns. The company would make numerous adverts to try and compete with content creator’s based marketing approach. The alternative would be very expensive to Oreo, implying that the firm would not sustain such an approach.
The other alternative was the blending of traditional and modern marketing approaches. Social media marketing and mainstream media marketing can be combined to ensure that Oreo attained maximum impact in reaching out to clients (Kingsnorth, 2019). However, this approach comes with an extra cost. Business firms seek to reduce the cost of running the business. The use of social media should help in reducing the cost of marketing.
The last alternative is the use of social media and apps alone to market the Oreo brand to consume across the world. The option is cheap, innovative, and more effective. However, it does not effectively cover the olden people who are not conversant with social media and, by extension, the use of digital technologies (Kingsnorth, 2019). Oreo is also consumed by adult members of society, underscoring the inability of social media alone to reach out to all potential customers. However, social media use is instant and allows Oreo to reach out to clients from wherever they are with ease. The company can also monitor market trends or gather business intelligence about trends and thus determine how to approach products, services, and marketing in the near future (Kingsnorth, 2019). Oreo has achieved much through online marketing that it would have attained if it relied on the traditional marketing approach.
Of the three alternatives, the second, which is a mix of social media and conventional marketing, can best solve the issue Oreo has about marketing. The use of social media would mean that the company reduces its expenditure on mainstream media promotional campaigns (Kingsnorth, 2019). A multifaceted approach to marketing remains the most effective alternative in the modern business world (Marshall & Johnston, 2019). Oreo is not exceptional; the company had invested in both to bolster its efforts to reach out to clients. Therefore, a promotional mix is the best alternative for Oreo to promote its brand.
In conclusion, the mixed approach to marketing is ideal for Oreo to try to address its inadequacies in brand promotion. Social media and digital marketing has emerged as a new frontier in the promotional campaign, but it does not cover all market segments, especially the old. Oreo will reach out to all targeted customers through mainstream media and social media promotional campaigns. The company should balance expenditures on the two to ensure that the cost is within a reasonable range.
References
Kingsnorth, S. (2019). Digital marketing strategy: An integrated approach to online marketing. Kogan Page.
Marshall, G., & Johnston, M. (2019). Marketing Management 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill Education.