Interaction of the product life cycle and advertising.
As you know, advertising strategy and tactics, the nature of individual events and the volume of investment in advertising activities directly depend on what stage of the life cycle the advertised product is at.
A special approach to advertising is needed at each stage of the product life cycle.
Advertising in the specialized press, depending on the life cycle of products in the segment of technical security equipment of the security market in 2008, was distributed as follows: advertising of the product/brand launch accounts for about half of the total amount of advertising, advertising with growth is 29%, reminder and supporting advertising in the printed press is no more than 23%.
The figures once again confirm that the security market is fast-growing and unsaturated.
Terminology.
In this study, advertising during the introduction of a product to the market is understood as informative (introductory) advertising, which introduces the consumer to the product. Advertising during growth is persuasive (affirmative, guiding) in nature, it is advertising the quality and prestige of the product. Intensive psychological impact on the consumer. The main task of advertising at maturity (saturation) is to support the level of sales and the formed image, stimulating, reminder advertising.
Distribution of advertising by segments depending on the product life cycle. Let's consider advertising in the press depending on the market segment. Diagram 1 «Segmentation of advertising by product categories» illustrates that about 70% of advertising is advertising of video surveillance equipment and systems. Advertising of other product categories — access control systems, fire alarms and integrated security systems — makes up about 10% for each category.
Diagram 1. Segmentation of advertising by product categories
Advertising when launching a product on the market (diagram 3): the video surveillance segment accounts for 72%, in the access control and management systems (ACS) segment – 7%, in the fire alarm system (FAS) segment – 14%, in the integrated security systems (ISS) segment – 7%.
The shares of advertising with growth (Diagram 4) in the segments were distributed as follows: the video surveillance segment accounts for 73% of advertising, the ACS segment — 3%, the OPS — 10%, and the ICB — 15%.
The shares of reminder advertising (Diagram 5) in the security market segments were distributed as follows: the video surveillance segment accounts for 66% of advertising, the ACS and OPS segments are 13% and 15%, respectively, and the ICB segment accounts for only 6%.
Image or product? The diagram data allows us to conclude that the most dynamic segment is the video surveillance segment, the advertising of which prevails over other segments at all stages of the life cycle. Based on the data, one can make an erroneous conclusion: the video surveillance segment is the key, large and most profitable. But this is only partly true. The video surveillance segment is the most technologically advanced and dynamic, the number of new products is increasing faster than in other market segments. The ACS segment is the most established segment, in which reminder advertising prevails over others. The most even indicators at all stages of the life cycle are in the OPS segment. Diagram 6 “Distribution of Advertising in the Press” allows us to conclude that, despite the fact that the security market is a high-tech market, image advertising, albeit slightly (53%), prevails over product advertising (47%).
One of the main tasks of B2B communications in industrial markets is to provide buyers with specific, technical information about products. This is what advertising modules in the specialized press were like several years ago. As Figure 9 shows, the situation is changing dramatically. Participants in the market of technical security equipment are not only trying to sell today, but are also concerned about tomorrow and are busy building brands that help buyers navigate the flow of information and provide them with additional benefits and advantages.
Diagram 2 «Ratio of Advertising Types by Product Life Cycle» illustrates the type of advertising preferred by security equipment market participants when promoting products depending on the product life cycle. When introducing products to the market in 2008, the print media accounted for 56% of product advertising and 44% of image advertising. In cases of growth and maturity, the ratio of image and product advertising was approximately equal. Let us consider the distribution of advertising depending on the product life cycle for each product category. The diagram illustrates that when introducing a product to the market, the share of image advertising in the video surveillance segment is 72%, ACS and IKB account for 11%, and in the OPS segment — 6%. When introducing a product to the market, the share of product advertising in the video surveillance segment is 75%, in the OPS segment — 17%, in the ACS and IKB segments — 4%.
The situation with the distribution of advertising by market segments during growth is very similar. The share of image advertising in the video surveillance segment is 71%, the IKB segment accounts for 25%, the shares of ACS and OPS are insignificant — 3% and 1%, respectively. The share of product advertising in the video surveillance segment is 74%, the OPS segment accounts for 20%, the shares of ACS and IKB are insignificant: 1% and 5%, respectively.
The diagram «Distribution of Advertising by Market Segments at Maturity» shows the shares of image and product advertising in four product categories. The shares of image advertising are distributed as follows: the video surveillance segment — 59%, the ACS and OPS segments — 14% and 16% respectively, the IKB segment — 10%. The shares of product advertising are distributed as follows: the video surveillance segment — 76%, the ACS and OPS segments — 12% and 9% respectively, the IKB segment — no more than 3%.
Summary. Advertising strategy and tactics, the nature of individual events and the volume of investment in advertising activities directly depend on what stage of the life cycle the advertised product is at. Each stage of the product life cycle requires a special approach to advertising. Almost 50% of advertising in the specialized press is advertising of the product launch, in terms of content 70% of the volume is advertising of components or video surveillance systems. At the same time, image advertising slightly prevails over product advertising.