Zero budget media planning: Classroom presentation

Ofcourse we need to spread our word so that our customers are lured to buy again and again.

But do we need to spend exhaustively and pay for each second or sq. cm. we use?
No?

Viral! 
Yes that is a brilliant solution for effective marketing.

Are there any more?
Another effective strategy is to associate with brands in the same Idea or Media or Product space and jointly market, thus decreasing their individual budgets. These brands are called as Brand-Associates. Lets see a few examples to easily identify these associates

Complimentary Use (Product Space)
TV channels wont have an audience if there are no TVs. Product categories which are used in collaboration with other categories can find opportunities of association with them. These are complimentary brands.

AXN wants to become the preferred Action channel. And a nice association they spotted was to tie-up with TV manufacturers as shown here.



Gulf News, the UAE's leading English daily newspaper, ties up with coffe chain, Tim Hortons, to reach out to new readers and convert them into subscribers. More in another post.



Compliementary Brand Idea (Brand Space)
Brands from different category that occupy similar emotional space in the consumer's mind can come together to engage with its consumer segment.
For eg. Mercedes Benz and Montblanc, brands that symbolise Success, could collaborate in a marketing campaign to lure its consumer segments. This could also be shown as a brand endorsing the other. And they could even share their database. A risk here could be alienation from customers in their segment who are loayalists of competiting brand. It could be easily avoided by restricting this collaboration in on ecampaign and moving on to other complimentary brands in future campaigns.


Product Placement: (Mediaspace)

Michelin tyres is planning a campaign in India. And they have a good looking car in their ads. Can they show their pilot ad to their French couternpart Renault and get them to put in a fraction of the cost of advertising. I dont see a reason why it wont sell with a auto brand if presented well.
Product placement opportunities in Ads is an effective way of identifying Brand Associates.
Another way of identifying Brand associates through the media space is to identify brands targetting the same consumer segment and thus using similar media to communicate with their audience. Such brands could easily collaborate to evolve a campaign that communicates both the brands effectively.


Heres an example of Mercedes associating with Google, the leading technology company to showcase the high end automation in its cars. It currently fits into the Compliementary Brand Idea strategy as Mercedes wants a rub off of the Google brand on itself to prove excellence in an aspect. But it could have easily been Product Placement and saved Mercedes a few media pennies if it had pitched Google differently






Zero Budget Media Planning
FSCIM, FSBEM,  JGBS, ISBM, FSLEEM, Dipti

See below a few examples of how promotions can even become a revenue generating opportunity

Also read: Brands Must Be Made Into Media Properties

, IMTEM