KitchenAid's new digital campaign will involve using three social media channels, including Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter, to attract its target customers, comprising millennials. The three platforms have been selected since millennials form a high proportion of their total users. Key strengths of the campaign include using all three platforms and the potential of reaching many millennials. Weaknesses include the lack of customization and weak click-through-rate of product advertisements. Opportunities include the increasing number of the platforms' users and introducing new advertising features by the platforms. Threats include ethical and legal problems due to breach of privacy. The digital metric will be evaluated through two KPIs, including follower growth and cost per lead by source.
Key Takeaways
The previous campaign results show that the brand's social audience is older than its desired target market even though the product is used by a variety of individuals from all age groups globally. The current audience is older than KitchenAid’s desired target. Forty percent of the social audience comprises individuals aged above fifty-five years. This result assisted the company in moving forward since the brand focused on attracting a much younger audience, preferably individuals aged below forty years. Millennials prefer Instagram and Pinterest the most. They constitute sixty percent or more of the audience on those platforms. Based on this result, the entity sought to use the two platforms in a greater capacity moving forward. There has been a nine percent increment in smoothie consumption in the last year. Based on research, blenders are being used frequently to create smoothies. This evidence suggests that millennials prefer small snacks to big meals when they are preparing food for themselves. Another finding is that millennials like smart and connected items, but they are also keen on kitchen products that are versatile and can assist them in finishing multiple tasks. In this sense, moving forward, the entity focused on devising new kitchen products that are multipurpose and incorporate the Internet of Things.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Recommendations
A key recommendation is to focus more on social media websites such as Pinterest and Instagram. Research indicates that millennials prefer Pinterest and Instagram to other social media platforms. Millennials form sixty percent or more of the audience in the two platforms. The entity should also use such platforms since the findings from past campaigns show a failure of the other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in attracting millennials who are typically the entity’s target customers. Past findings show that forty percent of the entity’s social audience comprises individuals older than the brand’s desired audience. Resultantly, the use of Pinterest and Instagram will allow KitchenAid to achieve its current campaign goal of increasing the awareness of its products among millennials.
KitchenAid should use its Instagram business account to showcase products such as tabletop ovens, blenders, juicers, and food processors. It should post product teasers regularly through posts which talk about each product and their benefits to users. Such teasers will allow KitchenAid to increase awareness and excitement without looking like it is trying too hard. The entity should also create sponsored advertisements to ensure it promotes the photos and videos of its products to millennials to boost their reach further than before (Robertson, 2018). KitchenAid should use Instagram stories to generate more leads among millennials. It should also partner with influencers for a greater reach among them. On Pinterest, KitchenAid should create vertical images showing its various products to maximize visual space and ensure millennials notice their products (Hayden, 2012). It should create a relevant link within every pin to ensure millennials are directed to the entity’s website for more information regarding the kitchen products. It should use rich pins to provide additional information on every pin, for instance, the price information.
Another vital recommendation is to increase the number of advertisements on social media platforms showcasing kitchen products, specifically blenders. In the past campaign, there has been a nine percent increment in smoothie consumption, and this scenario has led to the increased demand for blenders. KitchenAid should leverage its current online presence to take advantage of the high demand for blenders. Such a recommendation will allow the brand to realize its current campaign goal of seeing a ten percent increment in sales on its core countertop products, specifically blenders.
Channels
The most appropriate digital channels for the entity’s campaign include Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. The use of the three channels will enable KitchenAid to realize its goal of boosting the awareness of its products among millennials. Research indicates that millennials comprise 60% of the total Instagram users. 57% of individuals aged between 25 and 30 years use Instagram, while only 8% of users aged above 65 years use the platform (Chen, 2020). This evidence shows that the use of Instagram will allow KitchenAid to reach its desired market. In addition, in terms of gender, the majority of Instagram users are women. Resultantly, the platform will suit KitchenAid since it will be able to focus its advertising on two target personas, including the tasty chefs, typically females aged between 25 and 45 years, and kitchen pros, usually women aged between 30 and 55 years. Through sponsored advertisements, Instagram stories, and product teasers, KitchenAid can create awareness regarding its products, including tabletop ovens, blenders, juicers, and food processors among millennials.
KitchenAid can also use Pinterest to create social traffic to its website. Research indicates that 67% of the users are below 40 years. In this case, the use of the platform will allow KitchenAid to target its desired market. Additionally, the majority of Pinterest users are women, given that eight in every ten women utilize the platform (Chen, 2020). Resultantly, the entity can effectively leverage its presence to attract two of its target personas, including the kitchen pros and the tasty chefs. Users use the platform to shop for various products, and, in effect, brands such as KitchenAid can use it to generate a considerable number of leads. They can also use pins to increase brand exposure effectively.
Another valuable platform that can be used by KitchenAid is Twitter. 31% of individuals aged between 25 and 30 years use the platform, while 26% of individuals aged between 30 and 49 years use the platform (Chen, 2020). Only 7% of individuals aged above 65 years use the platform. This evidence shows that majority of the users are millennials, who are the desired target market for KitchenAid.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths A key strength is the ability of the digital campaign to reach a large number of potential customers. The campaign carried out through various platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter can ensure that KitchenAid reaches its target audience. The use of the three platforms is another strength since KitchenAid can reach more millennials than before. | Weaknesses A key weakness of the digital campaign is the lack of website customization. The use of the three social media channels exposes KitchenAid to a low degree of customization. In this case, KitchenAid cannot customize content effectively to suit the needs of the millennials. Compared to Facebook, there is a weaker click-through-rate of product advertisements in the three platforms. |
Opportunities A vital opportunity of the digital campaign is the increasing number of Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest users. In addition, there is an increased number of advertising features and tools being introduced by the three platforms to boost advertising efficiency. | Threats A major threat of the digital campaign includes privacy concerns of the users of the three platforms. KitchenAid is keen on obtaining as much personal information as possible to identify the desired audience and target its advertisements to them. In this case, legal issues may arise when the target customer perceives the entity’s move as a breach of privacy. |
Evaluation Criteria
A key metric that will be used by KitchenAid to measure the success of its digital campaign is follower growth. This metric has been selected since it depicts the brand’s level of exposure. An increased number of Instagram or Twitter followers shows the increased level of the brand’s exposure. Another critical metric is cost per lead by source. The metric is important since it guides the entity in identifying the most profitable social media platform (Garcia, 2019). KitchenAid can discontinue the advertisements in the least profitable platform. Another key metric that should be used is the average engagement rate. The metric is significant since it shows KitchenAid whether its tweets are interesting to its audience. The engagement on the platform can be in terms of media engagement, profile clicks, retweets, and likes. On Instagram, the same metric can show the average number of individuals who have commented or saved one of KitchenAid’s posts. KitchenAid should also use the hashtag engagement metric on Instagram. Such a metric will allow KitchenAid to know whether its tags lead to the most engagement throughout all the posts. It should also be used since it can be easily found on Instagram Insights.
4-2 Final Project Milestone Two: Media Plan
Rationale
KitchenAid will utilize three social media channels, namely Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram, to increase the awareness of its countertop kitchen products among millennials. The three channels will allow the entity to achieve its campaign goals, including increase demand and sales of its products among individuals aged between 25 and 40 years. In its past campaigns, the entity has been using Facebook as its main platform for advertising, but this move has yielded undesired results given that a considerable proportion of its current audience is above 55 years. The entity's desired target market is not individuals aged above 55 years but those aged between 25 and 40 years. In effect, the selected channels should have a considerable proportion of the desired target market. Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest have a high proportion of users aged between 25 and 40 years. Based on research, 60% of the total Instagram users are aged between 25 and 40 years. 67% of the total Pinterest users are aged below 40 years. 80% of total Twitter users are well-off millennials (Aslam, 2021). Essentially, the three channels will allow KitchenAid to attract more millennials.
In addition, the three channels suit the entity in targeting its desired market, which comprises females. The majority of users on almost all the chosen platforms are female. As of October 2020, more than 75% of the total Pinterest users were female (Clement, 2020). On Instagram, the proportion of female users aged between 25 and 44 years was 25.1%, while the proportion of male users was 23.9%. The use of the three platforms provides an immense opportunity for KitchenAid to reach female consumers effectively.
The three channels also suit the entity’s desire to use video marketing. KitchenAid is keen on creating short videos showcasing how consumers can use its countertop products such as tabletop ovens, blenders, juicers, and food processors. Most users on Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram prefer audiovisual content since it captures their attention quickly through visual and audio stimulation.
Targeting Specifications
Each media channel will have its own targeting parameters that will allow KitchenAid to reach its target audience. On Instagram, the targeting parameters will include location, demographics, interests, and behaviors. The entity will seek to target Instagram users mainly from the US since the entity is based in the North American country. Demographics, specifically age and gender, are other key targeting parameters. KitchenAid will be keen on attracting individuals aged between 25 and 40 years since they form the majority of the platform's users and have the potential of increasing the entity's revenues considerably. Millennials are likely to purchase the entity's blenders to make smoothies. KitchenAid will seek to attract female Instagram users since they are more likely than men to cook and, as a result, use the entity’s kitchen-based products (Kadeswaran et al., 2020) . The entity will aim to reach individuals based on interests, for instance, those who love cooking. In addition, behaviors including prior purchases and product usage will also be used in targeting users. Target personas, including the tasty chefs and kitchen pros, are likely to have used the entity's kitchen-based products.
The key targeting parameters on Pinterest include demographics, location, and interests. KitchenAid will seek to attract US-based female Pinterest users aged between 25 and 40 years. It will seek to target users who are interested in elaborate food creations and those who are highly interested in cooking. In this case, the entity will be able to attract target customers who fit the two primary target personas, namely the tasty chefs and kitchen pros.
On Twitter, the main targeting parameter will be demographics. In effect, KitchenAid will target female Twitter users aged between 25 and 40 years.
5-2 Final Project Milestone Three: Content Plan
Requirements
KitchenAid will use different content types to create a more engaging experience for its target audience of millennials. A key content type is video. KitchenAid will display video posts on its three social media platforms, namely Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. The short videos will showcase how customers can use the countertop appliances such as blenders, juicers, and food processors. The short videos will reveal key information regarding the operation of the different appliances. Videos are typically more engaging than images and, in this case, will attract a considerable number of millennials on the three social media platforms (Lieb, 2012) . The maximum length of the videos will be one minute since Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter users like to scroll quickly, given that their time is at a premium.
Another content type is links, which, when clicked, will take users to the entity's website to make a purchase or learn more about the countertop kitchen products. The links will enable KitchenAid to generate a considerable amount of sales revenues from users who choose to click on the links found in the entity's social media platforms. Another type of content that will be used by KitchenAid includes images. Each image will display a single product, the product features, and the sales price. In this sense, the entity will create images for a tabletop oven, blender, juicer, and food processor. The images, displaying visual content, are highly digestible for Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest users who like to scroll quickly through content. Images are easy to create and edit and, in this case, will suit millennials who are accustomed to edited pictures and those with filters.
Touchpoint Map
Messaging Guidelines
KitchenAid will ensure that its video length is short, preferably 1 minute. The video content will match the three social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. For instance, those on Pinterest and Instagram will have a higher resolution than those on Twitter. The video descriptions will highlight the type of product being demonstrated. Short descriptions will ensure that millennials are attracted to the video content, given that such individuals are keen on scrolling quickly and spending as little time as possible on each post. The brief messaging will allow KitchenAid to meet its campaign goals, including increasing the awareness of its products among millennials and realizing a ten percent increment in its main countertop products. The strong call to action will match the campaign objectives. KitchenAid will ensure that it has colorful texts in its images to maximize content effectiveness, specifically among millennials. Such individuals are highly responsive to colorful materials, and color contrast can elicit powerful feelings from them. In this sense, millennials will feel an attachment to the brand leading to increased awareness.
Legal Issues
KitchenAid may encounter various legal issues due to its generated content. A key legal issue is being sued due to copyright or trademark infringement. KitchenAid may generate its content on its social media platforms using copyrighted or trademarked content. For instance, the entity's logo, which may be found in the image advertisements, may be similar to those of another company. Such a scenario will constitute trademark infringement. KitchenAid may be responsible for copyright infringement if the text found in its advertising content is not original (Baase, 2013) . In these cases, legal action may be brought against the entity by the aggrieved firm. If found guilty of infringement, KitchenAid may be required to pay hefty fines.
Another legal issue may arise from FTC violations, specifically if KitchenAid does not clear contracts with the paid influencers and check their posts regularly to check for compliance. The FTC can go after KitchenAid if its paid influencers do no reveal their dealings with the company. Breach of FTC laws will lead to heavy fines for KitchenAid.
Another legal issue that KitchenAid may encounter includes violation of privacy policies. The content created by KitchenAid, for instance, links to external content, may direct consumers to the entity's website. The website may collect the user's personal information without informing them of how it will be used. In this case, the user may bring forth legal action against the company for breach of their privacy.
Ethical and Cultural Issues
The creation of online content that can be accessed by individuals of all genders and ethnics groups brings about ethnic and cultural problems. A key ethical issue is related to exaggeration. The entity may use language that exaggerates the features or uses of the product being promoted. In this scenario, such exaggerations may deceive consumers who might purchase KitchenAid's products as a result of the outlandish claims. KitchenAid can avoid this ethical issue by using clever and honest language that reveals the truth about its products. A key cultural issue is the use of slang, which may not resonate with all individuals from different ethnic backgrounds. The entity may use language that degrades individuals from one ethnic group. The language may also be offensive to individuals from one gender or sexual orientation. KitchenAid's products are designed for female consumers, but the use of language targeting such individuals may not be perceived well by men (Parsons, 2019) . KitchenAid can avoid such an issue by using language that resonates with individuals of all ethnic backgrounds, gender, and sexual orientation. It should use the input of specialists in devising the language for its different content.
7-1 Final Project Submission: Campaign Proposal Assignment
Short-Term Recommendations
KitchenAid can employ the following recommendations to enhance its social media campaign. The business can create and share a brand story on its social media platforms. According to Lundqvist et al. (2013), a well-developed story can develop positive connection with a brand. It can eventually increase customers' ability to purchase products associated with the brand. A brand story will help KitchenAid because stories captivate consumers, and they are more easily remembered than other business facts. The business can create a powerful story and employ it as part of its digital campaign to generate an emotional association between the brand and the target consumers. A powerful and compelling brand story can help attract new clients and enhance consumer loyalty. Another important recommendation that can help KitchenAid improve its marketing campaign is user-generated content (UGC). UGS is a powerful tool that organizations can use to promote services or products because consumers trust other consumers' reviews more than claims from brands. KitchenAid can implement a well-planned UGC on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to establish customer engagement, increase traffic, and ultimately increase conversions (Agarwal, 2020). Another significant recommendation that can help KitchenAid improve their campaign is employee advocacy. The strategy will require employees to act as ambassadors of the brand on social media platforms. KitchenAid can ask its employees to share experiences of the product on their Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest handle. Employee advocacy can help grab the interest of potential consumers. Thomas (2020) believes employee advocacy can help businesses such as KitchenAid increase sales, develop employee loyalty, and maintain online vibrancy and presence. Employees are a more trusted source of recommendation for potential buyers than celebrities who offer endorsements because they know more about products and are more approachable. Implementing these three recommendations will help KitchenAid enhance its social media campaign.
Predictions
Various emerging technologies and trends will reshape the digital market world over the following years. KitchenAid can use these emerging technologies and strategies to improve its digital advertisement campaigns. The business should incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to enhance its marketing campaigns. KitchenAid will have a better comprehension of marketing and sales-qualified leads. Additionally, ML and AI can help KitchenAid forecast sales more accurately, improve the precision of pricing, optimize marketing campaigns, and offer insights into consumer preferences (Mitić, 2019). The application of machine learning and artificial intelligence positively impacts revenue growth and consumer satisfaction. Another critical trend that KitchenAid can employ to enhance the quality of its digital campaign is conversational marketing. Consumers want instant communications with businesses, and brands react by utilizing conversational marketing. KitchenAid can employ conversational marketing to enable one-on-one, real-time connections between customers and the business. The business can use intelligence chatbots and real-time messaging to connect, qualify, and capture the best leads (Cancel & Gerhardt, 2019). This approach will help KitchenAid answer potential consumers' questions, listen to their feedback, and uncover novel ways to offer better services and products. One other trend KitchenAid can employ to improve its digital campaign's quality is personalization. The business can use personalized marketing to recommend items that every consumer would appreciate because e-shopping is tailored for them. Personalized marketing can help KitchenAid drive web traffic by acquiring and retaining consumers (Behera et al., 2020). KitchenAid can employ personalized products, content, and emails to tailor messaging to individual customers. It will help enhance consumers' personal experience based on previous actions, demographics, purchase history, and browsing behavior. Leveraging these emerging technologies and trends will help KitchenAid increase its digital presence.
References
Agarwal, M. (2020). Importance of user-generated content as a part of social media marketing that drives customer‟ s brand awareness and purchase intentions. The International Journal of Analytical and Experimental Modal Analysis, 12(2), 3071-3085.
Aslam, S. (2021). Twitter by the numbers: Stats, demographics & fun facts . OMNICORE. https://www.omnicoreagency.com/twitter-statistics/ .
Baase, S. (2013). A gift of fire: social, legal, and ethical issues of computing technology . Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson.
Behera, R. K., Gunasekaran, A., Gupta, S., Kamboj, S., & Bala, P. K. (2020). Personalized digital marketing recommender engine. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services , 53, 101799.
Cancel, D., & Gerhardt, D. (2019). Conversational marketing: how the world's fastest growing companies use chatbots to generate leads 24/7/365 (and how you can too). John Wiley & Sons .
Chen, J. (2020). Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2020 . sproutsocial. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/ .
Clement, J. (2020). Distribution of Pinterest users worldwide as of October 2020, by gender . Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/248168/gender-distribution-of-pinterest-users/ .
Garcia, A. (2019). 5 digital marketing KPIs you need to track . redbamboo MARKETING. https://redbamboomarketing.com/5-kpis-every-digital-marketer-needs-to-track/ .
Hayden, B. (2012). Pinfluence: The complete guide to marketing your business with Pinterest . John Wiley & Sons.
Kadeswaran, S., Brindha, M. D., & Jayaseelan, R. (2020). Social media as a gateway for accelerating women empowerment. Parishodh Journal, 9 (3), 4876-4885
Lieb, R. (2012). Content marketing: Think like a publisher-- how to use content to market online and in social media . Indianapolis, Ind: Que.
Lundqvist, A., Liljander, V., Gummerus, J., & Van Riel, A. (2013). The impact of storytelling on the consumer brand experience: The case of a firm-originated story. Journal of Brand Management , 20(4), 283-297.
Mitić, V. (2019). Benefits of artificial intelligence and machine learning in marketing. International Scientific Conference on Information Technology and Data Related Research , 472-477.
Parsons, T. D. (2019). Ethical challenges in digital psychology and cyberpsychology . Cambridge University Press.
Robertson, M. (2018). Instagram marketing: How to grow your Instagram page and gain millions of followers quickly with step-by-step social media marketing strategies .
Thomas, T. (2020). Employee Advocacy as a Marketing Strategy to Power Brand Promotion: an Employee Perspective. Marketing and Management of Innovation, 2, 167-181.
