The United Colors of Benetton

The Message

The fashion brand called the United Colors of Benetton is about to introduce the social campaign aimed at drawing people’s attention to the problems related to the social inequality based on race, origin, and color of the skin. Despite the numerous declarations of the US government, the issue of equality for all is not undertaken. A lot of people are still humiliated and treated unequally due to their social status, color of the skin, and race. In other words, on a daily basis they have to cope with the challenges posed by the community of whites. The USA is still known for having closed communities for white people and ghetto for others. The people with colored skin still have to face a lot of pressures and unjust treatment. Therefore, in order to make the State, the Promised Land, free of any kind of inequalities or at least to inform people about their wrongness, the United Colors of Benetton launches the social campaign.

From the picture attached one could easily notice two hands – black and white – holding each other. Despite its simplicity, the picture sends several powerful messages. First, it shows that blacks and whites are united. They should be actually united against any kind of injustice. The joint fight and cooperation in fighting with the inequality would be beneficial to both sides since the society needs to develop. Additionally, if white-skinned people stand for the ones with black skin, then, during future occasions, the blacks will support the whites. All of the citizens of the USA should realize that they are equal. And only their joint initiatives and activities would provide better future to the whole society.

Secondly, this picture sends a strong unconscious message of equality for all people. Black and white men are standing by each other and, obviously, there is no difference between them. Thus, there is no reason to differentiate them through treatment or attitude. The example of two men handcuffed and standing near each other shows that the same situation might be applied to any person regardless of his or her color of the skin.

Finally, the observer of the advertisement might notice that two men are handcuffed. It represents the idea of limitation of the human creature by social inequalities. As could be seen from the picture, not only blacks but also whites are handcuffed. While gazing at this advertisement, the observers should understand that any inequality generates another inequality, which will inevitably occur within the US society. Therefore, all the citizens of the USA have to unite and fight against any cruelties and unhuman behavior towards black people simply due to their color of the skin.

The Goals of the Campaign

The overall aim of the presented campaign is to draw people’s attention to the problems of people with non-white color of the skin. Frequently, even without noticing the US citizens breach of the rights and freedoms of such people, this problem could not be left unresolved. Therefore, the first and foremost goal of this campaign is to admit that the problem of inequality still exists in the American society and that it should be properly addressed not only by the US government but also by the average citizens. Additionally, the campaign aims to inform people about the most frequent violations of the rights and freedoms of the people with non-white color of the skin. As an alternative, the goal of the campaign is to promote equal treatment and attitudes towards all people living in the USA, regardless of their race, color of the skin, or origin. The United Colors of Benetton also aims to make people more conscious about their behavior toward others with the help of its corporate culture and brand.

The Targeted Audience

It is worth noting that if people are aware of the problem, there will be more chances for its solution. However, the crafters of advertising strategy for the social campaign should consider the limit possibilities of advertising industry. Therefore, the target audience should be limited to the youth and adults till the age of 35-40 years old. The choice is not random since the production of the United Colors of Benetton is popular exactly among these categories of population. Additionally, considering their young age, it would be easier to persuade them to change their negative behavioral patterns toward the people with colored skin. Additionally, they are easily reached through the channels of integrated marketing communication.

The Advertising Strategy

A strong marketing strategy ensures that the marketing activities remain aligned with the aims of business and the aspiration for maximization of the profit retrieved as a result of marketing endeavors (Handlin, 2014). However, in the presented case, it should be noted that the advertising of brand is a secondary aim (Spaletta, 2014). The primary one is to draw attention to the problem of the social inequality. Therefore, all the further steps of the advertising strategy should be designed while considering the social character of the campaign.

The strategy includes several stages to follow. First, the area of influence should be measured. In addition, the advertisement cannot reach everyone. However, it is often is intended to follow this aim. In other words, it is important to identify the last consumer of the information or target audience.

Secondly, it is important to analyze the market and the activities of the competitors in the given sphere. Perhaps in order to solve the social problem, two or several brands might coordinate their efforts. During the process of evaluation, it is important to determine the strong and weak sides of each competitor as well as to define what makes its products unique and why the customers are interested in it. Further, it is important to set the objectives of the advertising strategy. However, they have been already provided before in this paper.

Moreover, it is important to focus on brand identity and its role in the resolution of social problem. A brand should reflect the company's identity and easily draw the attention of the customer. It should be challenging, promising, bright, and inspirational, or, it might be calm and aristocratic. It is rather hard to determine which one of the brand versions is the most suitable for the given organization. The person, who is responsible for its development, should consider that the brand after its creation will be communicated through all marketing channels.

The next step provides the exact determination of the tools used for target audience. The latter should correspond to the objectives of the campaign and, therefore, some traditional tools will be not included in the scope of application. First, there is a need to focus on the direct advertising. It might involve outdoor strategies (such as banners or commercials on public transport, for example), business directories, radio, TV, cinemas, magazines, newspapers windows, etc. Sales promotion could be implemented through issuing various discount coupons or launching loyalty initiatives. Public relations are boosted by the press launches, realizes, and PR events. For example, the United Colors of Benetton might hold a charity event with fundraising purposes. The personal selling might involve such techniques as e-mailing the customers, telemarketing, bulk mail, packaging design.

Digital marketing is another issue to be considered. They are considered as emerging channels, which become more popular every day. First, the information regarding campaign should be clearly indicated on the company's website. Additionally, it should call others to support the corresponding initiatives. Moreover, it should also involve the use of the social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, in order to strengthen the voice of the campaign. The company might also start a new blog informing its followers about the success reached in the given area. In addition, the mobile technologies, such as Bluetooth, could be exploited.

In addition to the aforementioned step, the United Colors of Benetton should establish close association with the other companies or organizations promoting equality for all people. The company should commit to the certain advertising obligations, which would be finally of great benefit for all the parties and for the total solution of the social problem.

Integrated Marketing Communication Plan

Integrated marketing communication plan is an inevitable part of the advertising strategy while addressing the social issues. In this regard the word 'integrated' is provided for the use of various channels in order to ensure communication with the target audience. Additionally, the word 'integrated' in the phrase 'integrated marketing communication' makes one suggest that the successful realization of IMC plan depends on the efforts of several key players. Traditional advertising refers to the situation when everything is decided by the advertiser. He determines the target, creates the advertisement, tests and distributes it. However, it usually costs more as compared to the unconventional advertising. In addition, it is not so interesting and fascinating; thus, it does not draw attention as much as the unconventional advertising does. Integrated marketing communication tools are more beneficial when compared to the traditional advertising since it promises low costs, faster diffusion, higher levels of the credibility of the info presented, etc. In addition, the audience is targeted easier than in the case with the conventional advertisements. Integrated marketing communication is a powerful approach that enables the companies to send their messages through various types of media as well as through their behavior, PR, etc. However, the traditional tools belonging to the integrated marketing communication still include TV, radio, journals, magazines, etc. The message that is transmitted through all these channels should be coherent even though it might sometimes be intended to reach various kinds of audience. In the given case, it would include the effect of the corporate image, brand, market segmentation, advertising, various promotion tools, advertising, PR-relations, customer relationship management, etc. Each element would be analyzed separately, which would provide the opportunities to anticipate potential benefits and drawbacks for the use of specific channel.

Communication teams consist of advertisers, sales promotion specialists, direct marketing division, personal selling, and public relation activities. Each of them is equally important for the efficient functioning of IMC. PR activities promote the brand and its production in mass media. The key goal of this division is to represent the company in the best light possible. Direct marketing provides the opportunity of direct contact with the end-clients. It includes the mailing, catalogues, letters, brochures, etc. Sales promotion is realized through the numerous loyalty campaigns, discount coupons, attractive offers for the loyal customers, etc. Personal selling occurs when the product is sold by the sales representative directly to the end-customer.

First, the attention should be drawn to the issues of public relations. Nowadays PR is considered as a powerful tool in fostering and creation of the communication with the general public. It also contributes to the creation of the corresponding favorable image. In addition, media is believed to be the strongest factor in building PR strategy. Indeed, the empire of TV-programs, channels and shows, magazines and brochures, any issues, including the most urgent ones, could be properly addressed. It is rather beneficial since it helps to reach the widest audience possible. And it should be noted that as opposed to other tools for reaching targeting audience, the PR strategies are sufficient enough to get into average individual regardless of his interest in the fashion brand. Additionally, in the scope of this marketing campaign one should not underestimate the importance of the social media resources. The reason is that more and more people with different social, cultural and economic backgrounds join its nets; and, therefore, all of them could be reached through the social media channels. The benefits of the latest are numerous. First, they are completely free of charge. Additionally, the company might create, for example, within the Facebook platform, the webpages dedicated to the specific issues in the framework of the general social problem. Moreover, the data, advertisements, ideas as well as pro-action commercials and posters could be, once they are published, shared by the subscribers. The latter will finally result in increased social awareness regarding the problem of social inequality based on the race in the given example. The integrated marketing communication plan, which strongly relies on the use of the social media, is also beneficial due to its ecological safety since the paper or other resources are not wasted. Everything is ecologically-friendly and free of any kind of pollution. In addition, to the exploitation of media resources under the framework of PR, it is necessary to add various online and offline platforms, including coupons, link exchanges leading to other websites, which support the same ideas, etc.

Considering the possible platforms, the company might specifically focus on the use of social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. All of them are very beneficial. First, all of them are the perfect tool for reaching the target audience, which is expected to consist mainly of youth. Undoubtedly, the latest category of population nowadays lives parallel in the virtual reality. Music, ideas, videos, news, inspiration is retrieved from these spheres. Thus, the communication through the social media platforms would be indeed effective. The product, which will be advertised, is clothes for the young generation. One of the tools for promoting these products on the Internet is Instagram or Facebook. The latter perfectly suits the goals of the advertising campaign. First, it helps to reach different customers through one posting (Smith, 2014). Then, it could be reposted by the followers and advertised further. Secondly, the images appearing on the Facebook or Instagram appeal to the emotions of the potential buyers where the latter are strongly influenced at the unconscious level. Thirdly, it is difficult to overestimate the popularity of these tools among the youth. Nowadays the photos of different products, from ties to dishes and toilets, have been stocked there, which finally results in the volumes of free advertising.

Considering the goals of the presented advertising campaign, it should be noted that the addressing of the social problem through the traditional tools of advertising and promotion is of primary importance. It, in turn, means that the advertisement of fashion brand is a secondary issue, though not less important since both of them should be associated and, finally, result in the benefits for both sides, namely those who are to be protected and to the brand itself. It is worth noting that the social issues that are communicated through the marketing campaigns, which are run in the fashion industry, are perceived in a way rather different from the traditional ones. The support or conscious choice of one brand over another, due to the initial willingness to support the brand in its fighting for the social fairness or equality, might be received even from those people who are not politically or socially involved in the social problem as well as in its resolution. It is a rather peaceful and, at the same time, powerful and strong way to show one's support to the people who are believed to be protected by the brand, which tries to rise social awareness about existence of the specific social problem and, in such a way, to offer some new ways of its solution (Naz, , Bilal, & Naeem, 2013). Consequently, wearing clothes designed by the United Colors of Benetton will mean that the people are supporting their brand while it is seeking social justice of all regardless of their skin color. Therefore, all of the aforementioned issues should be mentioned and implemented in the advertising strategy, which is another element of the integrated marketing campaign.

Advertising is extremely close to the PR, though there are some nuances. First, in order to locate the advertisement, the United Colors of Benetton will need to pay for this service to the magazines, journals, or radio stations, etc. Similarly, as in case with the public relations, public advertising offers a lot of opportunities, which are first and foremost related to the aim of reaching potential customers and people who are somehow interested in the given topic. Advertising provides the company with absolute freedom regarding the choice made about the content of the advertisement, the time it would be prospected as well as other important factors (Naz, , Bilal, & Naeem, 2013). Finally, the advertising enhances the voice of message transmitted through other channels of the integrated marketing communication and therefore is extremely important for addressing social issues.

Direct mailing is also a key way of communication. However, before implementing this tool, the company should conduct the survey among its customers in order to define their attitude towards the problem of the social inequality based on the race within their community. The customers, who severely oppose to the company's strategy, will receive the messages, which would slightly inform them about wrongness of their positions or opinion as well as about the consequences of their behavior and attitude. Through the direct mailing, the company might offer its clients to support its initiative by donating certain sum of money or purchasing specific items in order to support the charity-oriented activities of the company.

The corporate image as well as branding are two important tools of the integrated marketing communication, which indirectly transmit the message regarding the social issues. For example, the United Colors of Benetton might stress that its corporate culture provides fair and equal treatment of all employees regarding their backgrounds, race, financial conditions, or origin. In such a simple way, the company might set a pattern to be followed by other companies as well as by the customers. Additionally, the brand might emphasize the word 'united' in its name and claim that the people who are against any kind of social injustices can unite under the brand 'United Colors of Benetton' in order to fight with it. The benefits of using brand and corporate image might be less obvious and influential when compared to the advertising, PR, or direct mailing (Naz, , Bilal, & Naeem, 2013). However, it makes the message transmitted by the company sound stronger and more authentically. It is an undoubtable fact that no one respects the policy of double standards.