Keywords: ikea global expansion,
INTRODUCTION
The present age of globalization has greatly influenced the business methods which need to integrate advanced knowledge and experience of the diverse selection of media technologies and systems to be able to gain competitive advantages. Today, consumers live at an instant when every important idea, report, brand, image, audio and romantic relationship is likely to travel across every available route of communication which spread of multimedia content is fuelled top-down by the consolidation of press industry and bottom-up by popular usage of new tools of grassroots multimedia production and distribution (Baker, 2000). It really is significant to note that each medium has its affordances, its own market, and its particular cultural status and when diverse media interact with one another to constitute the communication environment; a solid business network is created. This paper is intended to highlight the business enterprise strategy of your incomparable international company i. e. IKEA, by specifically focussing on it global mass media communication stratagem.
1. 1 COMPANY OVERVIEW
IKEA is an international company and one of the most famous home furnishing brands of Sweden that has stores in many elements of the earth with operations in 42 countries and a total amount of 70 000 employees which 59 000 work in European countries. The prime target of the company is to "offer a wide range of well-designed, useful home furnishing products at prices so low, that as many people as possible can afford them" (IKEA, 2002). The theory is to produce and sell the best product for the lowest cost. In IKEA, the clients will get an considerable variety of products that they need to furnish their house (IKEA, 2006). It began in the 1940s and the group is solely owned by the building blocks through a holding company (INGKA keeping B. V). The biggest expansion has been around the past due 90th The first IKEA store exposed in Sweden 1958, outside Scandinavia the first store opened in 1973 (Switzerland). In 1985 the first establishment in america were made, 1998 in China and 2000 in Russia. Stand: 01 represents the brand placement of IKEA, worldwide.
The almost all the operations will be the retail business with 165 stores in 22 countries and a complete of 75% of the employees in this field. IKEA has been picked as a choice of brand that is positioned in UK and other EU established countries however, it is still growing and keeping its competitiveness across the globe and by preferring it as the make of choice, it is anticipated to benefit from the exceptional experiences and the logical strategies of a respected brand as IKEA.
1. 2 IDENTIFYING THE NECESSITY FOR GLOBAL EXPANSION
The worldwide extension of media market segments has generated an urgent need to understand the incessantly appearing global press culture which has given rise to the combination- pollination of nationwide and international ethnical customs, and the new styles and genres growing in this context (Grieves, 2005). The business world of today must adhere to the digital surroundings possessing significant obstacle for the businesses concerned with the idea of global enlargement as adaptation to these new technologies potentially accelerate long-standing trends into the world culture, insuring access to international markets (Belch and Belch, 2006). IKEA began to utilize progressive communication technology and e-business activities as a tool to effectively commune throughout the world, approximately in the year 1996. The proper management needs to position the global communication press as the centre of attention, in order to effectively permeate the brand worldwide; with the aim of obtaining maximum advantages from the advanced technological methods. IKEA is trying to dramatically improve its brand setting through implementing good communication strategies as currently the brand's businesses are mainly in European union countries and also have not accomplished to capture the actual market like India, having a large consumer base of 1 1. 15 billion. It is also important to notice that, a fresh economic insurance plan has been created in India and has been inviting for the contribution of the overseas companies to purchase the country, therefore; this could be the best occasion for the brand to establish its value within the Indian market. The inventive notion of IKEA to produce and sell the best product for the cheapest cost is exceedingly captivating for the Indian consumer bottom, where the bigger segment of population belongs to the middle class, wanting to adapt contemporary living style within affordable price. Relative to the underlying truth, IKEA will need to have a thorough strategy that ensures to provide the most important characteristics from the global extension of the brand with a particular emphasis on the use of press communication contrivance.
STRATEGIC MODEL OF GLOBAL Mass media COMMUNICATION
For the goal of situating the international brand of IKEA in the Asian region, specifically in India, a proper model for effective multimedia communication has been proposed (Shape: 01)
FIGURE: 01 MODEL OF GMC
followed by the precise explanation of every single stage of the suggested model. The
proposed model also identifies various factors to be studied into consideration before implementing the strategy. In a market that has been more global but also more volatile and in regular change, there is a demand for companies to be more effective, flexible and agile (Christopher, 2005). Following are some key factors to be well thought-out in order to achieve the purpose of global development of the brand.
2. 1 COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
A variety of Television channels with the extensive penetration across the globe is the simplest way to reach out and communicate the concept within the public. With the constantly evolving fads the impact of advanced e-tools is becoming quite typical (Bovee and Thill, 2009). Furthermore to print marketing, radio, phone, e-mail and talk options a number of social networking websites and blogging is utilized by the business enterprise organizations, as a resourceful strategy to promote their products.
2. 2 MANAGING TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS
In order to get the trust of the consumer it is vital to develop strong marriage by demonstrating the trustworthiness of the brand. The trustworthiness of the brand is based after how effectively the note has been communicated to the mark audience especially during the initial stage of introducing a brand (Griffin, 2008). Television commercials reach to the masses and also speak out loud about the brand image as the facial skin of the brand is straight in contact of the audience. Once the reliability of the brand has been accepted by the prospective audience, the concentrate of the communication can be shifted towards job orientation i. e. the success of the business.
Regardless of the efficiency of the communication approach that has been developed with a thought of extending business activities, the most critical aspect is the use of the right language or spotting the value of the neighborhood dialects spoken by the mark groups a brand is supposed to reach. Regarding to Grosse (2002) the largest challenges in taking care of communication strategy will be the intercultural environment and also to deal with the technology and managing cultural differences. Because the suggested strategy is to talk to the Indian populace hence, vocabulary factor is of great relevance.
2. 4 TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES
Using technology for communication has two possibly clear areas of matter, one is ensuring the technology works and second is to guarantee the effective use of technology (Grosse, 2002). There may be level of resistance from a populace portion either not familiar or more comfortable with the use of advanced e-tools used for communication and therefore, the strategy must be a mixture of communication techniques depending upon the understanding of the prospective audience.
SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
The strategy must be aimed by a skillful team that comes with an in-depth understanding of communication and are also appreciative towards vocabulary and cultural diversity.
RATIONALE OF PROPOSED COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
A wide range of communication tools are used as method of achieving the consumers with the advertising meaning for the setting of an brand image. The suggested strategy is a blend of utilizing global press communication tools with an try to position IKEA within the Indian market which includes a huge consumer base but also posses tremendous cultural diversity and therefore a blend of strategic plan is anticipated to attain the desired results of extending the operations of IKEA, though in a new backdrop but with a strong consumer platform.
3. 1 SETTING-UP THE AGENDA
The agenda for the group of activities as suggested in the model is specified the following:
Introduce the brand prominence by conveying positive message to the target audience;
Develop the understanding of the mark audience about the conception of the brand through the use of multimedia source as a essential tool of communication;
To enhance the growth and profitability of the business by global expansion.
The interior clients are directly involved in the fieldwork including decision-makers, other key stakeholders, the researchers and team working on the brand extension project. It really is significant for the inner client to exchange information on a regular basis that may generate a dynamic stratagem benefitting all partners (Morgan and Pritchard, 2000). The exterior clients are the general inhabitants or the prospective audience to that your brand will be introduced.
3. 3 Aim for AUDIENCE
The initial period to situate the brand of IKEA by making use of smart strategy based on global press communication is to recognize the needs within the prospective audience in order to devise an idea that is best suited with the needs of consumer and similarly benefits the organization.
After calling the consumer platform and setting up a community appealing by discovering needs and forming relationships, the next step is to execute the chosen strategy.
MIXED COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
The reason for specifically making the brands is to persuade consumers to demonstrate the behavior that can make the organizations to accomplish their vision assertion and fiscal targets. Therefore, the communication and online marketing strategy of your brand has immediate and compelling impact upon the business enterprise goals of an organization. The communication channels provide as the medium that is used to transmit the main element information about the brand to the mark audience and provide methods to develop the understanding that the organization expect to achieve from those who receive their message. The most significant brand building activity is romance building through effective communication channels and once the bond with the buyer bottom part has been developed, it requires to be constantly reaffirmed by the brand through regular advertising, publicity methods, social networking systems and brand extensions (Masterman and Real wood, 2006). The exercise is normally aimed to bolster the bond with consumers by offering products or services that bring them more near to the brand. Predicated on careful examination of IKEA's brand image and Indian consumer market, a blended communication strategy has been proposed, inclusive of the next communication mediums:
4. 1 Printing MEDIA
The use of print out media specifically paper, offers extensive penetration within masses in a advanced manner. Paper can be the main source of handy information which can provide up-to-date information to a more substantial portion of audience as it is handily accessible. Furthermore, local newspapers can also be utilized to spread out the meaning to neighborhood.
4. 2 NON-VISUAL Press: RADIO
The opportunity of Radio as a medium to focus on both advertisers as well as consumers is huge as it may provides a mean to attain out to a mass audience of Indian market. Country wide radio stations reach most remote areas where there is no TV network. Furthermore, the biggest differences are that Radio is a totally local medium and hence the promotions campaigns can tailor to meet local preferences. It is cost effective medium with a smaller turnaround time.
4. 3 VISUAL Multimedia: TELEVISON
Reaches large audience, increasingly including rural human population and is the best medium for strategic selection as greater segment of it audience in India are home women and for a brandname like IKEA, women founded consumer market is much more suitable as it greatly involves furniture.
4. 4 E-TECHNOLOGY
Globalisation has greatly shortened the distances between people across the world by the assistance of electronic digital communication media (Pike, 2008). The communication has now become swift and speedy with much larger opportunities for interactive contact. E-mediums like email, chats, weblogs and interpersonal networking sites have significantly upgraded the global connection and have also offered a system for businesses to remarkably grow within the desired market segment. Though India is regarded as a third world country, however the technological advancement in the region has been great and therefore, integrating e-based communication strategy within the enlargement plan is of fundamental meaning.
EVALUATING THE GLOBAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
The press communication strategy gets the capability gravely influence a brandname image in a good or a negative manner. It is important to notice that, when an international brand strategies a growing country to put its brand by gradually promoting the brand image by using media communications, there is a possibility of consumer foundation resistance scheduled to certain factors as for example, the press may portray the brand image as symbolic of modernity that may not be appropriate for conservative segment of populace. If the correct message is not conveyed by effective communication channels it is quite possible that the brands may be portrayed as the vanguards of a foreign domination which can be very harmful to the image of your brand (Guffey, 2009). Moreover, any bad reports about the brands can disperse like wild flame across borders, for instance; Coke discovered in Belgium, where in fact the outsides of some containers were contaminated with a fungicide, causing a health scare (Kotler and Armstrong, 2007).
5. 1 Reviews ON THE RECIEVER
The procedure for communication is not a one of many ways course and is also comprised of two essential elements i. e. developer and a device as running a business conditions communication is the method of sending note to the buyer and obtaining positive or negative effect from the consumer based on their encounters (Kanuk and Schiffman, 2006). After the implementation of any communication strategy it's important to test the effect of the meaning and the communication tool before finalizing it as a long lasting exercise. Alterations to the strategy must be essentially based on the consumer's opinions.
5. 2 IDENTIFYING THE STRENGTHS
IKEA is an exceedingly good quality brand having simpler yet powerful range of products which may have a great reputation worldwide. To be competitive within the Indian market IKEA needs to identify its main competition. The brand itself is exceedingly complacent but since it is calling new market segment therefore, it requires to build deeper proposal & romance building with the prospective audience (Keller, 2006). The mixture of communication stratagem gets the tendency to offer the brand with distinctive competitive edge however; IKEA needs to place few alternatives in order to profoundly create the brand in the mark market.
5. 3 IDENTIFYING THE WEAKNESSES
Being new to the Indian market, IKEA might face lots of troubles to efficiently run and sustain an effective multimedia communication marketing campaign. The ever-changing global environment also illuminates the necessity to conform effectively and immediately with the environment. Furthermore, the promotional strategy becomes ineffective, when consistency is not maintained to talk to the prospective audience. It is also very significant to develop a marketing communication strategy with extensive regional or global promotions in a logical effect (Pickton and Broderick, 2006).
CONCLUSION
Global marketing is the process of centering an corporation`s resources on the choice and exploitation of global market opportunities regular with and supportive of its short and long-term tactical aims and goals (Baker, 2000). This newspaper is an try to propose the best possible media communication technique to situate the make of IKEA which can be an internationally regarded brand across the globe; in the larger consumer basic market i. e. India. It has been constituted that the tactical options and communication strategies must be constantly reassessed. It is very critical for the brand professionals to repair on the best plan of action because of their brands in a specific market, based on a critically analysing the relevant interior and external influences of the target setting upon the brands. The analysis is rolling out the global brand proposition model with a distinctive framework by evaluating the associated environmental factors and in doing so, suggesting a blend of communication strategies that is best suited to IKEA. The ideas of the mixed communication strategy expressed in this paper are driven from the proper model for global media communication. The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the ways where IKEA competes in global environment specifically in the picked region i. e. India, by using different communication techniques as the method of communication. The analysis concludes that for a global positioning of any brand, a corporation must be mindful in using the press communication techniques prior to globalizing its functions as the methods might are unsuccessful and lead to loss of revenue or even closure of the company and therefore, choosing a correct communication strategy is of great substance.
