The more the merrier: An integrated marketing communications campaign for Western Union Services (Philippines) Inc.

Date of Publication

2011

Document Type

Bachelor's Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Commerce Major in Advertising Management

Subject Categories

Marketing

College

Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business

Department/Unit

Marketing and Advertising

Abstract/Summary

Western Union has been in the money transfer industry for over 135 years and unlie its competitors, it hasn't gone into any other ventures. Its concentration on money transfer services makes it an expert in its field that it is able to provide high quality service and security to its customers.

Around the world, Western Union has over 400,000 agent locations and in the Philippines, it has around 7,300. This makes it the money courier with the most branches in the country that some streets have around 2-3 agents locations at a time especially in urbanized areas.

Western Union is well known as a good money transfer service company in the country but because it originated the United States of America, it is sometimes seen as an alienating, intimidating, and expensive brand. It also has a reputation as being a courier that is secure but has too many identification requirements. This sometimes discourages people from using it. Western Union has also spent the past 3 years communicating to the public that it is a company that caters to their needs, is now easier to use, and is very accessible because of the number of locations available.

In the Philippines, services offered by money transfer companies are usually indistinguishable. They offer cash transfers, easy to meet requirements (such as IDs and forms that need to be filled out), and have friendly staff members. The competitive advantage Western Union has over its direct competitors is that it offers all that plus greater accessibility to tis branches locally and globally. Despite that however, it still has not been able to become the number 1 money transfer service in the country. In order to understand why this was so, the group conducted research on the brand, its competitors, and its market, which included everything from financial statements, market share estimates, industry trends, current and past advertising campaigns, and surveys and interviews. What the group discovered was that many people patronize money couriers, regardless of the price or brand, if they are easy to find because they are near them. The services offered will be of no use if they cannot find a brand. The groups campaign therefore wants to emphasize the message that Western Union has so many branches in the country that you will not be inconvenienced trying to find one. This will be done by creating 360 advertising campaign consisting of television, radio, print, out-of-home, transit ads, and merchandise advertising that show how easy it is to find Western Union's many branches. The main focus will be on the television commercial because the market is exposed to and responds to this medium the most. This will be directed towards the current users to maintain their loyalty and increase their use of the brand while at the same time causing those not using Western Union to try it at least once and/or make it their first-in-mind alternative to their current brand. This will make Western Union a money transfer company that is closer to the top of its industry and one of the most recalled brand names when topics of remittance or money transfer are discussed.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Accession Number

CDTU020505

Shelf Location

Archives, The Learning Commons, 12F, Henry Sy Sr. Hall

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