Professional Application

Abstract
The research paper analyzed critical issues facing Steve Madden organisation and revealed varied issues that needed to be addressed in the IMC campaign. The researcher identified also critical challenges including economic challenges, competitive issues and communication challenges. The project outlined some of the communication objectives and communication campaign categorized audience in terms of demographic, geographic and psychological factors. Some of the selling ideas were analyzed and the key benefits for major selling ideas were revealed. Varied communication objectives were provided and the research analyzed the targeted market. Major selling ideas and the key benefits were included, as well as, the conclusion, which provided a short summary of the research paper. 
 
Introduction
Steve Madden, which is a recognized footwear brand face varied challenges that need to be addressed in the integrated market communications (IMC) campaign. The choice of product promotional blend required for communicating to the target market or audience should be integrated well because of varied techniques available in the market. Scholars have attempted to reveal the significant of integrated marketing communications as a marketing strategy for increasing organizational sales; thus implementing communication objectives is also imperative (Barger and Labrecque, 2013). The paper analyses critical issue facing Steve Madden organisation and reveals the issues that need to be addressed in the new campaign.

Part 1: Background Analysis
There are varied critical issues facing the company and that need to be addressed in the IMC campaign. One of the main fascinating problems in marketing is the implementation of communication messages, which is poorly done. Many companies fail to create an appealing message for advertising their products in the ever competitive business world; thus they fail to achieve their business objectives effectively. Advertising is one of the effective business strategies for meeting the demanding needs of the targeted market and also increasing the sales of the company. Billions of companies have attempted to incorporate technology in business process such as use of social media services such as Facebook, Twitter and many others but most of them have ended up failing due to poor communication messages. Hartley and Pickton (2000) argue that an integrated marketing communication requires a new way of thinking in order to achieve the demanding needs of the targeted customers. The IMC will address the significant of developing an effective advertising strategy, need for defining advertising objectives and also setting advertising budgets in order to meet the demanding needs of the organisation efficiently.
Another critical issue facing the company that should be addressed in the IMC is competition. Competition is one of the major challenges impacting organizational performance in many industries across the globe. Among the major competitors of the Steve Madden include Nike, Nine West and BCBG who also targeted varied customers in the market. However, the competition issue will be addressed and the audience will be addressed about varied ways of competing with their competitors in the competitive market. One of the effective ways of competing with the competitors is through use of effective pricing strategy or product promotion or differentiation strategy. However, employing Porter’s five forces that shape the industry competition is vital because these forces can enable the company not only to determine their profitability but also achieve a competitive advantage.
Lastly, the company also faces economic challenges owing to the economic downturn of 2007 to 2008.  The economic problem has contributed to increased rates of unemployment levels and overall slow growth in the company; thus these challenges will be addressed in the IMC campaign. The high costs of labor and increased technology advancement are among the aspects of economic challenges that will be addressed in the IMC campaign. There is need to expand the industry and also offer significant training programs in order to enable employees become productive.

Part 2: Creative Brief
Communication Objectives
Communication objectives are significant because they serve as the bench mark for sending information to the public about product and services offered in the market. The objectives should be realistic and the marketing objectives should be translated into communication objective; thus situation analysis will offer valuable information about communication objectives. Finne and Gronroos (2009) point out that marketing communication should have clear objectives which are attainable and measurable. Therefore, the following are some of the communication goals that the company will employ.
•    To increase sales by 10 percent and this is through creating brand awareness for the company.
•    To encourage consumers from the targeted market to purchase products form the company.
•    To segment market into varied group characteristics through employing media strategies or tactics in advertising in order to increase customer involvement with brand; thus increasing sales.
•     To employ effective selling ideas that can enable the company to increase their sales in the competitive business environment.

Target Market
Target is very significant for marketers because this helps them to select communication media and effective channels for delivering their brand message. It also builds brand commodities that suit the needs of varied groups of consumers and prevents wasteful time coverage. Target market can also enable the company to create and deliver effective message to a particular consumer group. The communication campaign will categorize audience in terms of demographic such as age, sex, religion, education, culture and many others. Therefore, the CIM will target varied range of people including kids, women and men. The major core market segment for the campaign ranges from 16 to 45 years of age, girls aging 6-21 years and men aging 20-40 years. It will also target older women and men of 55 years and above. It will also categorize them in terms of geographic location and also psychographic analysis such as the lifestyle and beliefs of the audience.

Major Selling Ideas
    Many people have great marketing ideas for brand products and services by the lack means of getting them to the market. It is vital to employ and define effective marketing ideas in order to enable the company to increase their sales and revenues. One of the significant selling ideas is creating patent for brand products that are distributed in the market. Copyright or patent rights are significant because they create brand awareness and protect company from competition. The use of patent rights as a selling idea will enable the company to increase brand awareness by 10 percent; thus enabling them to achieve their intended objectives of increasing sales effectively.
    Secondly, the company can create their websites, blogs and utilize social media sites for product promotion in the market. The use of Internet and other social media sites are vital because they can enable the company to reach many sellers across the globe within the shortest time possible (Barger and Labrecque, 2013). For instance, a direct mail will be sent to varied clients by utilizing a mailing list delineating the aforementioned market segments, which are residing within 50 miles of the store to a day of free children-friendly Easter activities.
    Lastly, employing direct marketing tactic in order to increase sales and one of the significant examples is the Easter event because this is a costlier option, which provides the most opportunity for brand awareness and creating publicity of the company throughout the community. The expectation is to increase product sales to the specified percentage increase in the number of regular customers and the use of exhibitions for product promotion will be employed to meet the demanding needs of consumers effectively. Use of direct marketing strategy allows for more accurate measure of effectiveness of the IMC better than any other tactic (Hackley, 2010).

Key Benefits
The target market should believe the major selling ideas because such ideas such as the use of patent rights will protect the company’s new brand from infringement by other companies. This is vital because brand protection will enable the company to increase their sales and achieve a competitive advantage in the market. Another benefit of using selling ideas especially the use of social media networking sites is that the company can reach many customers in shortest time in varied geographical areas. The use of direct marketing tact is also beneficial to the company since it can offer them an opportunity for creation of brand awareness.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the research examined the critical issue facing Steve Madden organisation and revealed the issues that need to be addressed in the new campaign. One of the most fascinating problems in marketing is the implementation of communication messages by employing advertisement strategy. Other critical challenges identified in the project included competitive issues and economic challenges. The research outlined some of the communication objectives and communication campaign categorized audience in terms of demographic, geographic and psychological factors. Some of the selling ideas were identified and the key benefits for major selling ideas were revealed. 

References
Barger, V. A., & Labrecque, L. I. (2013). An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective
on Social Media Metrics. International Journal Of Integrated Marketing Communications, 5(1), 64-76.
Finne, A., & Gronroos, C. (2009). Rethinking Marketing Communication: From Integrated
Marketing Communication To Relationship Communication. Journal Of Marketing Communications, 15(2/3), 179-195. doi:10.1080/13527260902757654
Hackley, C. E. (2010). Advertising and Promotion: An integrated Marketing Communications
 Approach. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Hartley, B., & Pickton, D. (2000). Integrated Marketing Communications Requires A New Way
Of Thinking. Journal Of Marketing Communications, 5(2), 97-106. doi:10.1080/135272699345699.
Keller, K. (2001). Mastering the Marketing Communications Mix: Micro and Macro
Perspectives on Integrated Marketing Communication Programs. Journal Of Marketing Management, 17(7/8), 819-847.