imc plan for venetian

8/3/2019 IMC Plan for Venetian

1/84

MBA TERM PAPERSCUSTOM ESSAY WRITING SERVICES

1

IMC Plan for Venetian


2/84


3/84


3

5.2.5. Factors Influencing Growth in Chinas Hospitality Industry ................................. 53

5.2.6. The Hospitality Industry in China........................................................................... 54

5.2.7. Future Outlook of Hospitality Industry in China and Asia Pacific ......................... 59

5.2.8. Changing Attitude of Marketing Strategy in Hospitality Industry ......................... 60

5. Analysis and Discussion ....................................................................................................... 616. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 65

7.

Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 71

References ..................................................................................................................................... 75Annexure ....................................................................................................................................... 81

Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................ 81


4/84


4

1. IntroductionMarketing Mix is but a set of strategies that an organization plans to undertake in the context of

marketing management i.e. the four Ps of marketing. The four Ps of marketing takes into its

fold the organizations strategies for products, price, promotion and place. Apart from product

and price; promotion too is an inevitable criterion that is instrumental in increasing the sales.

Contemporary market demands a substantial expenditure for the promotional activities.

Companies have realized that good products and attractive prices are not enough to generate

sales. Profit maximization is the ultimate aim of all organizations and proper execution of

promotional activities is the exclusive way through it. Promotional activities are crucial as they

not only communicate but also make the target audience conscious of the existing products and

services. Lancaster and Withey recognized marketing communication as an important tool of

marketing (Lancaster & Withey, 2007). Integrated marketing communication deals with the

promotional strategies of an organization. More specifically, it acts as a promotion mix.

Integrated marketing communication is a major area of marketing that has experienced a

significant revolution in the recent years. There are a number of tools that are used for

promotional activities. Integrated marketing communication techniques help one to choose the

most suited tool so as to reap the optimal promotional benefits. The primary objective of

integrated marketing communication is to deliver a clearly defined message to an identified

target audience in an effective manner (Brannan, 1995). To ensure sustainability, the companies

aim to build a brand value in the market. The integrated marketing communications helps one to

create a blend of strategies for relevant promotional tools like public relations, trade promotions,

sales promotions, advertising and other marketing tactics that goes into creating a brand image


5/84


5

for the company. Generally, the promotion mix or integrated marketing communication

encompasses general advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion and public relations (Jones

and Schee, 2008). These four elements of integrated marketing communication are blended to

suit the nature of products or services and the requirements of the market. The primary idea of

each and every element is however to communicate the main idea and purpose of the products

or services introduced by the company in the best possible way.

Since the last two decades, the world hospitality industry has been experiencing a stupendous

growth. A significant number of new hotel chains are coming up in most of the developed and

developing counties like U.S.A, Australia, U.K., France, Hong Kong, Singapore etc. The

hospitality industry includes hotels, resort, traveling destinations, clubs, bars, pubs and

restaurants etc. According to a report, the UNWTO had predicted an annual growth of around

4% in the global tourism sectors (Deloitte, 2008). As more numbers of people are now

travelling around the world, the profitability in the hospitality industry has gone up significantly.

However, in 2009, there has been a decrease in the international tourist arrivals. Such a market

scenario demands the organizations to implement such strategies that would attract the

customers. The hotel and the resort chains play an important role in promoting tourist

destinations. Therefore, promotional activities are crucial in this industry. The hospitality

industry is a service providing industry and thus has to deal with the customers directly. In

manufacturing industry, the company along with its intermediates plays an important role in

promoting its products. However, in the hospitality industry, the organization alone has to take

care of all the promotional activities like advertising, public relation to attract the customers.

Hospitality industry is the largest service providing industry and the degree of competition in this

industry is also high. Customers are considered as the engine of the hospitality industry.


6/84


6

Therefore, the foremost mission of this industry is to understand the requirements of the

customers. However, the entire mission would lose its significance if the customers are not aware

of the services provided by the service providers. The players in the hospitality industry should

thereby develop two ways of communication with its targeted customers. On the flip side,

customers of this industry do not easily shift their preference; hence brand loyalty is one

important factor that the players should capitalize on. Building brand value is thus one of the

crucial tasks in the hospitality industry. Recently, it has become increasingly difficult to develop

the customer loyalty in the hospitality industry.

The role of integrated marketing communication in the hospitality industry has become an

inevitable part of the entire marketing strategy. The branding strategy requires an extensive use

of brand development activities the purpose of which is to make the customers aware of the wide

range of services provided by the hoteliers. These awareness programs are meant to develop

proper communication with the customers. Different hotels, restaurants, clubs, bars have their

own way of attracting customers. They develop certain unique themes in their service quality to

do so. Integrated marketing communication is a promotion mix that helps to determine the

various tools of promotions so as to attract different segments of customers. Integrated marketing

communication focuses on four aspects of promotional activities i.e. general advertising, sales

promotions, public relation and direct marketing. In hospitality industry, general advertising and

public relation are two very prominent techniques to communicate with the customers. General

advertisements are helpful in spreading the awareness across the targeted regions. The global

hotel chains use it to attract the international customers. The electronic and online media are the

most commonly used mediums for general advertisements. These mediums are helpful to send


7/84


7

massages to the international customers. Public relation is another tool that helps in maintaining

a long lasting relationship with the customers in hospitality industry.

The Venetian

group is one the biggest players in the global hospitality industry. This group has

hotels, resorts, and casinos in Macau and Las Vegas. It is rated as a five star hotel aiming to

serve the high end and international customers. In 2007, it opened its new hotel and resort chain

in Macau. It has been playing a crucial role in making Macau one of the Asias most exciting

entertainment destinations and preeminent convention and exhibition venues (The Venetian

Macau-website). The Venetian Macau offers a wide range of hospitality that includes

entertainments, dining, and special suites for high end customers. The Venetian

management

organizes different types of events relating to sports, contests, parties, festivals etc. These events

are an integral part of branding and promotional strategies of the company. The Venetian has

been operating in Macau for the last two and a half years and the management is constantly

trying to develop its brand image in the Asian hospitality industry. The hospitality industry in

Macau is filled with big players offering five star services. Four Seasons Hotel Macau, Grand

Hyatt Macau Hotel, Grand Lapa Hotel Macau, Hotel Grand Lisboa Macau, Lisboa Hotel Macau

are some of the most competent rivals of The Venetian. The Venetian management is trying to

overcome the fierce competition by building a brand image. In this context, the integrated

marketing communication is a vital technique that The Venetian needs to include in its

strategies.

This research paper aims to promote the integrated marketing communication plans so as to

generate synergy in the marketing department of The Venetian which will be instrumental in

creating a brand image for the company. In order to achieve the goal, a detailed research and

study will be conducted. Apart from the introduction, this research work will also contain seven


8/84


8

broad sections. These are background, literature reviews, research methodology, findings,

analysis, conclusions and recommendations. The background section will discuss the rationale

for conducting this research. The literature review will discuss four major areas (integrated

marketing communication, synergy, organizational behavior and human resources management

model). The section devoted to research methodology will discuss about methods that will be

used to collect the relevant data for this study. Data that is collected will be interpreted in the

finding section. The primary and the secondary data will be elaborately analyzed in the analysis

and discussion section. With the help the data, various ideas and findings will be inferred in the

concluding section. At the end of the report, possible recommendations will be suggested.

1.1. Aims and ObjectivesIn the context of the present business scenario it may be observed that marketing is going

through a transitory phase wherein change is perhaps the only aspect that is constant. It is often

believed that marketing has become more a requirement than a strategy and this premise is

reinforced by Kotler, et al. (2001), who have defined marketing as a social and managerial

process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and

exchanging products and value with others (Copley, 2004). In the light of the changing facets

global environment that make marketing an indispensable business activity it is increasingly

evident that marketing communications play a vital role in strategic marketing. This in turn leads

to the recognition of integrated marketing communications (IMC) as a strategic tool that

enhances organizational competitiveness.

The American Association of Advertising Agencies (1993) had defined IMC as a concept of

marketing communications planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan


9/84


9

that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communications disciplines and combines them

to provide clarity, consistency and maximum communications impact through the seamless

integration of discrete messages (Baker, 2003). Hence, it may be comprehended quite clearly

that IMC is an indispensable tool that organizations use in order to optimize the efficiency of

marketing process and to gain competitive advantage. Based upon the theories supporting the

usefulness of IMC, this report will aim at evaluating how The Venetian

Macao Resort Hotel

(The Venetian) will be able to formulate an IMC plan. It will also analyze the steps that will be

required to manifest a successful integration of the plan and achieve synergy from the same.

Given the holistic nature of IMC the report will be constructed with due care in order to explain

how conflicts will be minimized, and simultaneously attempts will be made to demonstrate how

The Venetian will be able to enhance coordination as well as efficiency through the teams and

departments that are either interlinked or cross functional.

While giving form to this report, considerable research will be undertaken to analyze the

background of The Venetian

. This will be helpful in comprehending the necessity of IMC in the

hospitality sector. Following this, substantial literature review will be made to augment the

report with established views and ideas of prominent scholars. Owing to the nature of this

particular research, both primary and secondary research methodologies will be resorted to, in

order to gather authentic data pertaining to The Venetian as well as the sector within which it

operates. The research findings will be analyzed and discussed for the purpose of arriving at

conclusions. Finally, the report will be closed by providing a set of feasible recommendations

that might be used not only by The Venetian

but also any other similar organization.


10/84


10

2. Background2.1. Background to the Venetian

The management of The Venetian claims that this resort is the most exhilarating destination of

Asia. It can be further comprehended that the primary aim of The Venetian is to escalate

Macaos position to that of the most rewarding entertainment destination on Asias tourism map.

The property epitomizes grandeur as well as finesse and sprawls over a vast area. The

management further opines that the property is large enough to hold ninety Boeing 747 jumbo

jets, nowhere else in Asia will you find such a rare combination of facilities, attractions and

amenities than at this 3,000 suite flagship property (The Venetian-website). As Engelhart

(2002) had pointed out, a particular issue for Macao is the preservation of its heritage and

culture, with several sites in Macao having been nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Site

recognition (Hsu, 2006). Owing to this fact the resorts and casinos that operate in this region

have to play cautiously in order to receive positive response from the local residents.

Under such circumstances The Venetian

became the first international concession holder to

open a casino complex with The Sands in March 2004 (Hsu, 2006). Although The Venetian

has connections to the gaming paradise of Las Vegas and has faced limited competition in the

liberalized business environment of Macao, it is a noteworthy fact that liberalization has

subjected concession holders to uneven circumstances, owing to which The Venetian must

adhere to Macaos as well as Nevadas gaming legislation (or risk measures being taken by the

Nevada gaming authorities) (Hsu, 2006). The resort has incorporated the differentiation strategy

into their business model and is trying to transform the tourism business prevalent in Macao. In

order to match the aspects of this profitable genre of business in Macao with those that are in


11/84


11

practice in Las Vegas, The Venetian

is developing facilities such as huge convention, hotel,

retail, etc. and from such initiatives it may be anticipated that the development will be the sort

of flight into fantasy the company is known for in Las Vegas (Henry, 2008).

2.2. Rationale behind the ResearchThe Venetian

is a multinational player whose domain is the highly competitive and lucrative

hospitality sector. The two main factors that determine the success of this sector are leisure time

and disposable income. The organizations that exist in this particular domain are no different

than other corporate entities in that they too require combining various business functions such

as general management, finance, marketing, logistics, operations, and last but not the least

human resource. One of the most crucial variables that shape the business outcomes of this sector

is the usage rate and hence the players continually strive to augment their marketing plans with

the aim to maximize market penetration. Competent marketing strategies help in addressing to a

larger target audience and in turn widen the customer base. Hence, marketing communications

play a vital role in the manifestation of such strategies.

This sector is characterized by strong entry barriers that enhance competition. In the corporate

jungle the rule that prevails is survival of the fittest, and hence the players toil to augment their

individual competitive advantages in order to outperform their rivals. These phenomena can be

explicitly observed in the liberalized grounds of Macao, and hence The Venetian is necessitated

to develop a sustainable IMC plan in order to fortify its marketing activities. However, as the

name suggests, IMC is a holistic tool and hence the design as well as implementation of a

supporting plan involves the coordination among different teams and departments present within

an organization. The most common problem that ensues from the attempts to coordinate the


12/84


12

various business units and process partners is intergroup conflict that in turn impedes the

achievement of synergy and subsequently results in the failure of an IMC plan.

In the light of these observations, the current research will base itself on the need to analyze as

well as evaluate how an effective IMC plan may be formulated and successfully implemented in

order to achieve organizational synergy. Substantial efforts will be made to evaluate the extent to

which marketing, organizational behavior and human resource influence the success of IMC, and

simultaneously the financial angle will also be analyzed. The rationale of this research is largely

to envision from the perspective of The Venetian, the holistic endeavors that may effectively

lead to the formulation of a successful as well as sustainable IMC plan.

3. Literature Review3.1. Integrated Marketing Communication

James C. Reilly had opined that the practice of integrated marketing communications is

emerging as one of the most valuable magic bullets companies can use to gain competitive

advantage (Schultz, Tannenbaum & Lauterborn, 1993). The need that drives organizations

towards the achievement of IMC may be comprehended from the fact that professionals

associated with advertising, direct marketing, public relations and sales promotion are found to

be searching for common ground in order face the significant challenge that necessitates them to

sell to customers instead of markets. However, Reilly did also opine that smooth

communications should arise from excellent marketing strategies and management thinking. He

had argued that integration may turn out to be a restrictive concept if the primary focus remains

on media choice as well as execution, as there is no point in speaking with one voice if the

message makes no sense (Schultz, Tannenbaum & Lauterborn, 1993).


13/84


13

It has been observed that technology is one of the elements that have enhanced the demand for

IMC, and consequently mass media has lost to a great extent its prowess to deliver attractive

masses. As Schultz, Tannenbaum & Lauterborn (1994) has opined, technology has allowed

media organizations to begin identifying, segmenting, selecting, and attracting smaller, more

attentive and focused audiences for their audio, video, and print vehicles (Schultz, Tannenbaum

& Lauterborn, 1994). So high are the prospects of IMCs success through technological

interventions that marketing communications on a one-on-one basis have been made technically

feasible. However, they are yet to gain popularity owing to prohibitive costs. The logic that

underpins the discussion so far is that IMC, despite posing financial problems in certain cases, is

a strategic tool that organizations can hardly afford to overlook in the backdrop of the present

business environment wherein the most critical constraint is perhaps that of time.

In order to achieve the most by deploying the least amount of time, organizations should

recognize its far reaching potentials and implement it within their business frameworks. Prior to

moving into further depths of this topic, it is necessary to understand the driving forces behind

IMC. The various propellants are enumerated and explained below:

1) Media Explosion accompanied by Fragmentation.With the advent of modern businesstrends and globalization, the corporate world has witnessed the phenomenon of media

explosion wherein there has been an incremental demand for enhancing media related

activities in order to optimize sales promotion. This had in turn led to media

fragmentation whereby the activities underwent categorization and specialization in order

to address specific needs of the organizations.


14/84


14

2) Market Demassification followed by Segmentation. Technological advancements haveled to the demassification of the global markets and this had resulted in profound

segmentation. Market segmentation had called for the development of alternate media

activities that are helpful in targeting different customer segments and thus the need for

IMC arose. It was also realized that niche as well as unitary markets can be optimally

penetrated through this strategic tool.

3) Revolutionary advancements in the field of Information Technology (IT).The ongoingadvancements that are taking place in the field of Information Technology (IT) have

significantly redefined traditional business concepts. With the multitude of

modernizations that it has brought along with it have given rise to concepts such as e-

Commerce and simultaneously, the nature of marketing communications have also

undergone changes.

4) Developments pertaining to Database Management Systems (DBMS). This is an areathat is worth mentioning because the development of massive customer databases along

with the enhanced ease in accessing as well as using them have subjected organizations to

more acute competition. Consequently, all sorts of marketing communications have been

necessitated to undergo relevant changes to cope up with the same.

5) Introduction of a vital business concept in the form of Relationship Marketing.Organizations have recognized that this particular marketing activity is of immense

importance in augmenting customer loyalty, and hence marketing communications have

to be modified in order to implement this as a regular process.


15/84


15

6) The importance of Brand Equity. In the current business scenario, the customers havebecome increasingly aware of their specific needs and thus organizations cannot easily

convince them with their products as long as they are satisfied. Owing to the social status

that brands impart, brand image as well as brand equity is a vital element for the

organizations that own them. Marketing communications play an indispensable role in

enhancing brand equity based on brand image.

7) Developments in the area of Digital Technology.Again, this is an ongoing phenomenon.Digital technology is being developed as well as diffused throughout the global business

environment through continual advancements in the fields of IT and IT enabled

technologies. With these advancements, the concepts of marketing communications are

undergoing a constant overhaul because of the enhanced interface shared by

organizations with their customers.

8) The proliferation of Globalization. With the fast paced rush towards globalization,organizations across the world are becoming multinationals that play in the global village

which hardly has any boundary per se. this rush is further boosted by transnational

powersboth political as well as economic. Quite obviously, this has added fuel to inter

organizational competition and has sky-rocketed it to extreme heights. It goes beyond

saying that the need of the moment is an effective IMC plan that will help organizations

in reaping the maximum benefits under such circumstances (Kitchen & de Pelsmacker,

2004).

This cross-functional concept was largely unrecognized and embryonic, apart from being

emergent, before a couple of decades. This was largely due to the fact that many practitioners as


16/84


16

well as academicians preferred to treat each promotional tool as separate and distinct, managed

differently, budgeted differently, certainly not integrated (Kitchen & de Pelsmacker, 2004).

However, the 1990s witnessed a chain of studies centered on advertising agencies and these had

exhibited certain features of IMC. It had been shown that this tool has an inherent capacity to

enhance the impact of communications as well as the effectiveness of creative ideas. Moreover,

the studies revealed that IMC provided greater consistency of the communication process

thereby making it more sustainable. Finally, the proponents of these studies had opined that IMC

would improve client return on communication investment (Kitchen & de Pelsmacker, 2004).

With the passage of time, IMC has gained importance across all business sectors and has become

an integral part of most organizations.

While many scholars have contributed towards the development of theories that have further

augmented IMC as a sustainable communications tool, Shimp (2000) had generalized its

characteristics and had enumerated five elements associated with it. He had opined that the aim

of IMC is to influence consumer behavior through targeted communication, and hence the

process should begin with the consumer and/or prospect and subsequently work backwards in the

direction of the communicator associated with the brand. He had further suggested that IMC

should use all forms of communication and all sources of brand or company contacts as

prospective message delivery channels (Kitchen & de Pelsmacker, 2004), while recognizing

that synergy along with coordination is required to build sustainable brand images, and

identifying the necessity to augment their brand relationships.


17/84


17

3.2. Organizational BehaviorOrganizational behavior (OB) may be described as a field of study which focuses on the

behaviors, attitudes, and performances of people within an organization that is at times cited as

the micro level of analysis (Vasu, Stewart & Garson, 1998). Hellengal et al. (1986) have

opined that OB is especially concerned with the influence of both the formal organization and

the informal organization on employees, the effect of employees on the organization, and the

work environments effect on both (Vasu, Stewart & Garson, 1998). OB has even been

recognized as a strategic element of business communication in the context of the healthcare

industry, and it has been reported that because of its dependence on behavior change, much of

the work of healthcare communicators seems better described as marketing than public relations

(Caywood, 2004).

In this context, it has further been said that integrated communication techniques came to

American healthcare long before the phrase integrated marketing communication was used,

thereby reinforcing the fact that two essential characteristics of integrated marketing

communicationsits customer orientation and its dependence upon relationship building have

long been mainstays of effective healthcare communication (Caywood, 2004). From a more

generalized perspective, it has been observed that the power of integrated marketing

communications derives from its essential focus attempting to change behavior of target

audiences; in order to manifest this organizational communicator(s) find various ways to

engage target audience members with the organizations products and services, who in turn start

accepting the information made available.


18/84


18

It is pretty understandable that OB has a great role to play in these contexts by aligning the

interlinked organizational departments through an effective communication process and help

them develop successful communication strategies for advertising their products and/or services;

furthermore, it ensures that relations between individuals or groups improve as both sides

understand that adjustments are being made to accommodate one anothers values and needs

(Caywood, 2004). It goes without saying that developing a successful IMC plan requires an

organization-wide holistic approach and hence the object of integrated marketing

communications is to identify and employ the variety of tools through which changed

organizational behavior can be highlighted; perhaps this is the fundamental reason why IMC

demands solid research to identify audiences and modify messages, and an obsession with

ensuring that the organizations marketplace is spoken to as if in one voice (Caywood, 2004).

Heider (1958) has put forward the balance theory in which he has argued that individuals strive

for consistency and avoid perceived inconsistency in behavior and attitude; this boils down to

the generalization that in sponsorship, the individual will seek a balanced relationship between

the event and the sponsor (Keillor, 2007).

IMC has been found to be an interesting domain that broadens the scope of marketing as well as

marketing communications to an extent where the entire organization is harmonized in such a

way that each functional unit (department) contributes towards the creation of a synergistic

environment. Concepts flourish within such an organizational environment through the balancing

act of OB, and this has been concisely explained by Noah Manduke (MD, Siegale & Gale) who

said great companies and brands share an unwavering organizational commitment to a common

purpose that creates uncommon value, these world-class organizations meticulously align their

behavior and communications around more than just a promise (Duncan, 2006). He has


19/84


19

furthered his opinion by adding that these organizations follow an ideal and stating that the

resulting brands dont just build a business; they create a cause with powerful emotional

underpinnings (Duncan, 2006). Thus, it is evident that organizations should mandatorily possess

the knowledge of OB in order to channelize their efforts towards aligning organizational

resources and processes in the course of developing an efficient IMC plan.

This domain is also necessary to comprehend the multifarious interdepartmental as well as

interpersonal dynamics and reduce the chances of disturbances that may be potentially

detrimental to the organizational objectives. Stacks and Salwen (2008) have also thrown

sufficient light on the linkage between IMC and OB by categorizing the various ingredients of

integrated communications as (1) strong emphasis on liberal arts; (2) training in verbal, written,

and visual communications; (3) a solid understanding of business and organizational behavior;

(4) an understanding and respect for other communication disciplines and specialties; and (5)

mastery of basic research skills (Stacks & Salwen, 2008).

Therefore, it may be inferred that IMC is a highly interesting and challenging domain that can be

explored efficiently through the equally fascinating concepts of OB. While opining that the

evolution of social media and communication channels for marketing uses depends on a set of

underlying infrastructures: a core/technological infrastructure, a competitive/commercial

infrastructure, a political/regulatory infrastructure, and a social infrastructure; Owen and

Humphrey (n.d.) have stated that These act to enable or inhibit the diffusion of any new social

media or marketing tactics (Owen & Humphrey, n.d.). They have also highlighted the

importance of OB by adding that in order for a marketer to understand how these media or

tactics might change, evolve, or become useful, concern for changes in these infrastructures is

more important than simply looking at the media or tactics themselves (Owen & Humphrey,


20/84


20

n.d.). In a bid to associate the two concepts that are otherwise diverse, Robert Haas (n.d.) has

commented that companies have to wake up to the fact that they are more than a product on a

shelf; he has opined that theyre behavior as well (Serrat, 2010).

Based on the observation that marketers have come to agree that the parties to a transaction are

in fact exchanging one behavior with another as individuals or communities (Serrat, 2010),

perhaps the most relevant suggestions that can be put forward to in this context are as the

following:

1) Organizations should visualize marketing as change management, the success of whichhinges on explicit consideration of relevant determinants of intra-organizational

behaviors throughout marketing activities, institutions, and processes (Serrat, 2010); and

2) Furthermore, they should also accept that organizational behavior is central to marketingand branding: it is a management philosophy and infusing teams; a tactic with which to

drive inputs; and a measurement of the relevance, efficiency, efficacy, sustainability, and

impact of activities, outputs, and outcomes (Serrat, 2010).

It has been observed that every organization can possess a behavior: that starts with action, not

images or words, because clients, audiences, and partners judge organizations by what they do,

not what they say; and from the viewpoint of marketing management, certain elements of OB

are transparency, authenticity, interactivity, applicability, and sustainability (Serrat, 2010). It is

a noteworthy fact that the attributes of well regarded brand-owning organizations are

leadership, citizenship, pride, talent, innovation, transparency, and long-term view (Serrat,

2010). Prensky et al. (n.d.) have defined integrated communications as the process that refers to

the actual coordination effort within a marketing firm or among the several marketing firms


21/84


21

involved in the coordination (Thorson & Moore, 1996). They have also elaborated that process

addresses the organizational and managerial issues that will ultimately relate to likely success of

the integrated communications effort, and categorically explained that process is not only the

question of the organizational structure, but the issues of organizational culture, power, and

managers decision processes (Thorson & Moore, 1996).

These opinions are of commendable significance in the context of this research because it has

been reported that in many instances, the characteristics of the firms organizational structure,

culture, and politics dictate the content of the integrated communications that it produces, and

as has been theorized by Prensky et al. (n.d.), against the backdrop of the firms own strategic

goals, these organizational characteristics will have a significant impact on how the firms

managers think about integrated marketing communications (Thorson & Moore, 1996).

3.3. Human Resources ManagementVarey (2002) has defined IMC as the strategic analysis, selection, execution, evaluation and

control of all communicative actions that can effectively and efficiently enable and facilitate

productive exchanges in the providers stakeholder relationship network (Archer, n.d.). This

definition points at the fact that IMC requires an extensive interlinking across intra-

organizational departments to evoke a synergistic environment. It goes without saying that such

an activity calls for interventions from the perspective of human resource management (HRM).

Chitty et al. (2005) have opined that current marketing philosophy views Integrated Marketing

Communication (IMC) as imperative for organizational success, and have augmented their

opinion by saying that IMC is generally seen as requiring co-operation across all disciplines

within the marketing field, including advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and publicity


22/84


22

(Archer, n.d.). Hence the message is quite clear: organizations should aim at developing a

harmonized work environment wherein the different departments may contribute voluntarily

towards the manifestation of resource sharing.

An interesting argument has been put forward by Duncan and Moriarty (1997) who have opined

that IMC is only the tip of the integration iceberg and what is needed is a total re -integration

of marketing, and have commented that integrating the marketing communication function is

futile if contrary, more powerful messages are being sent by other actions of a company

(Archer, n.d.). The rationale that ensues from these scholarly parleys is that despite the difficulty

that organizations may face while achieving this cross-functionality, the reality for most

organizations is that integration does have to move beyond the confines of marketing to include

other areas of organizational life in order for major corporate objectives to be achieved (Archer,

n.d.). It has been observed that one area which has gained attention as a p articularly challenging

but necessary nexus for integration is using marketing techniques to attract potential staff,

furthermore, it has been found that promoting the corporate brand to attract workers is seen as

particularly important by managers, with the well-reported shortage of skilled workers (Archer,

n.d.). Therefore, the first obstacle that the human resource department faces is in the form of

recruitment. Taking into consideration the fact that there will certainly be a lack in supply of a

suitable workforce, Hogan (2002) has observed that The need for companies to differentiate

themselves in the employer marketplace is becoming critical (Archer, n.d.).

However, it has to be mentioned in this context that the global hospitality sector is highly

competitive and hence the bigger players engage in quintessential rivalry even while skimming

the labor market in order to tap the best talents available therein. This leaves just a handful of

candidates that the not-so-big players have to be satisfied with. The basic problem that arises


23/84


23

under such circumstances is that organizations cannot achieve a successful fit between a

particular job and the candidate. Such a problem is more pronounced in the context of IMC due

to its cross-functionality that obviously calls for enhanced knowledge, skills and

attitudes/abilities (KSAs).

It is evident that IMC poses a number of challenges to any organization that aim at implementing

it, and these challenges are perceived mainly by the key staff involved with the process,

particularly the human resources manager and marketing and public relations manager (Archer,

n.d.). Interactions with these incumbents reveal that barriers to IMC existed because of

misunderstandings between professional groups (Archer, n.d.). While the managers overseeing

the functions of public relations and marketing are of the general opinion that organizations

really aspire to be strategic and integrated, it has been observed that this is hindered to a large

extent by the reality and frustrations of working across departments and the sheer size of the

workload requirements (Archer, n.d.). They are also found to express their worries regarding

spending time and money on corporate branding to recruit staff, using IMC (Archer, n.d.), as

more often than not they are crippled by skills shortage. Much strikingly, it has also been found

that these managers often complain about territorial feuds (Archer, n.d.) that they feel to be

detrimental for the process.

In recognition of the fact that some mainstream marketers have prescribed integrated marketing

communication as the cure-all for common marketing challenges it may be said that

integration must be attempted beyond the relatively narrow confines of marketing

communication (Archer, n.d.). Corporate branding is undoubtedly a multidisciplinary activity

and obviously requires IMC. In light of this fact marketers must interact not only with human

resources departments but also with other professions and senior organizational directors in


24/84


24

order to rout the potential barriers that include sub-cultures within organizations, territorial

feuds, a lack of time and resources and the discomfort with marketing felt by traditional

professions (Archer, n.d.). Christensen et al. (2008) have thrown light upon the linkage between

organizational structure and HRM and have opined that flexible integration may be more

achievable within organizations than the traditional notion of controlled IMC, simply because of

the disparate voices and divisions that exist within and between organizational departments

(Archer, n.d.).

Figure 1: The IMC Landscape

(Source: Kitchen, de Pelsmacker, Eagle & Schultz, 2006)

As has been illustrated through the figure appended above, the process of IMC consists of

various activities that may be categorized as tactically oriented, image oriented, behavior

oriented and strategically oriented. The underlying principle in the overall IMC landscape is that

these groups of activities need to be efficiently coordinated. While the figure points at the

necessity of organizations to undertake public relations, brand advertising, consumer sales

promotion and direct response advertising during the process of successfully implementing IMC,

it is clearly understood that such activities should go hand in hand, which in turn calls for


25/84


25

effective recruitment and selection, training and development (T&D), performance management

systems (PMS) and conflict resolution. Kitchen et al. (2006) have provided commendable insight

in terms of the role that HRM plays in the manifestation of an IMC plan, and the same is

illustrated through the following figure.

Figure 2: Components of IMC

(Source: Kitchen, de Pelsmacker, Eagle & Schultz, 2006)

The various organizational activities that are required to be diligently undertaken in order to

develop and implement an IMC plan include (1) accounting and finance, (2) operations

management, (3) supply chain management (SCM), (4) sales (followed by customer service), (5)

human resource management (HRM), (6) research and development (R&D) management, and

(7) managing the external partners. These components are aligned through organizational value

processes in order to develop the IMC strategy and target the market with it in order to enhance

customer value. In this context it may be said that the quality and skills of the people who

deliver service and manage relationships with customers directly reflects HR strategy, and


26/84


26

Kitchen at al. (2006) have argued that HR managers are required to be party to marketing and

sales strategy in order to be able to recruit and train people appropriately to implement the

strategy (Kitchen, de Pelsmacker, Eagle & Schultz, 2006).

Correlating this argument with the cross-functionality of IMC, it may be said that the HR

department has to be an integral process partner and should actually be a party to all the

functional areas that contribute towards the development of IMC. IMC is an outcome of total

integrated marketing, which according to Hulbert et al. (2005) depends on effective human

resource management (Hulbert, Capon & Piercy, 2005). While arguing that human resource is

central to the achievement of competitive success, they have also opined that knowledge as well

as knowledge management (KM) will become increasingly essential for organizational prospects

against the backdrop of the present information age and hence managing this intellectual capital

is much more an issue of people management than it is of information technology (Hulbert,

Capon & Piercy, 2005). It has been observed that General Electric (GE) which is in a very real

sense, a source of good for many different stakeholders in many different parts of the world;

furthermore it has been found that this belief is even reflected in the firms previously long-

running and still well known integrated marketing communications campaign theme (Sims,

2007). Irrespective of the sector(s) that they belong to, organizations should recognize the cross-

functionality of IMC and hence the important role that HRM plays in its context.


27/84


27

3.4. The Achievement of SynergyFigure 3: The Evolutionary Phases of IMC

(Source: Schultz & Schultz, 2004)

As has been illustrated through the figure appended above, the four phases that may be observed

during the course of evolution of IMC consist of tactical coordination, redefining scope of

marketing communication, application of Information Technology, and financial and

strategic integration (Schultz & Schultz, 2004).

Most of the organizations start their IMC activities with tactical coordination, and it has been

observed that an IMC initiative is driven by the desire to achieve better coordination,

consistency, and synergy between the various tactical, external communication activities

(Schultz & Schultz, 2004). Embarking on their mission to implement an IMC plan organizations

have been observed to focus primarily on using this tool in order to accomplish one sight, one

sound, one voice (Schultz & Schultz, 2004) through its efforts in terms of outbound

communications. At this stage the organizational objectives are (1) to more effectively

orchestrate the delivery of messages into the marketplace and (2) to apply the strengths of each


28/84


28

communication discipline or technique so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and

the optimal message impact is achieved (Schultz & Schultz, 2004).

Organizations are increasingly recognizing the importance of IMC and this has been revealed

through the fact that most of them use some form of written policies, manuals, or procedural

guidelines to achieve consistency and integration in their communication ; furthermore, it has

been found that while having such tools in place does not guarantee a successfully integrated

outcome, it is considered by the best practice partners to be the minimum standard (Schultz &

Schultz, 2004). The activities that are deemed vital for promoting IMC programs are meetings as

well as other forms of direct, personal communication (Schultz & Schultz, 2004), and hence it

may be understood that enhanced interpersonal interactions lead to the manifestation of

knowledge sharing among the process partners, thereby helping them in achieving synergy.

Best practices in the area of IMC also entail the usage of meetings productively and to

communicate effectively with other areas of the organization, including research, sales, and

customer service, and it has been observed that a further organizational characteristic is the

extent to which best practice partners expect their agencies and other marketing service suppliers

to attend these cross-functional planning meetings (Schultz & Schultz, 2004). Subsequently, it

has been reported that organizations are taking charge of the integration process themselves

rather than looking to ad agencies or other suppliers (Schultz & Schultz, 2004) this in turn

throws light upon the fact that such an endeavor demands that the organizations should develop

and integrate knowledge pertaining to IMC within their frameworks in order to be self sufficient.

Interdepartmental knowledge sharing and enhanced interactions both formal as well as

informalhelp to a great extent in the manifestation of a synergistic environment.


29/84


30/84


30

interdepartmental competition as well as conflict also poses a major threat to the development

and implementation of a successful IMC plan.

Harris (1993) has laid emphasis on the fact that synergy cannot be achi eved if marketing and

PR is seen as rivals rather than allies, albeit he has found it rather odd that many PR

professionals and academics reject this view and see it as an attempt by marketers to hijack an

important part of the PR function and place it under marketings control (Kitchen, de

Pelsmacker, Eagle & Schultz, 2006). However, in this context, Kitchen et al. (2006) have opined

that there is evidence of a move towards closer integration of corporate and marketing

messages, and hence the need for closer cooperation between marketing and PR practitioners

(Kitchen, de Pelsmacker, Eagle & Schultz, 2006), which in turn contradicts the argument of

Harris. They have further elaborated the facet of synergy by recognizing marketing public

relations (MPR) as a communications tool used to help change attitudes and beliefs or assist in

creating sales and furthering their opinion by saying that MPR being maintained as detached

and distinct from corporate communications, organizations should realize that they often require

integration and synergy in order to contribute substantially to the success of an overall

communication program (Kitchen, de Pelsmacker, Eagle & Schultz, 2006).

Despite all the contradictions that have been presented so far in terms of theories pertaining to

the linkage between IMC and the achievement of synergy, it is worthwhile to take note of the

fact that IMC is a goal worth pursuing because using multiple communication tools in

conjunction with one another can produce greater results than tools used individually and in an

uncoordinated fashion (Shimp, 2009). Owing to the obvious fact that multiple methods

combined can yield more positive communication results than do the same tools used


31/84


31

individually or in an uncoordinated manner, it can be comprehended that there is a synergistic

effect of using multiple well-coordinated marcom tools (Shimp, 2009).

3.5. Other Relevant LiteratureFigure 4: Effect of Sales Revenue and Gross Profit on Marcom Costs

(Source: Yeshin, 1998)

From the figure appended above, it can be easily understood that organizational expenses in

terms of marketing communications is a direct function of sales revenue and gross profit. It has

been found that several attempts have been made to transfer the learning from the principles of

economic theory to that of budget determination, and this boils down to the fact that the

principles of marginal analysis suggest that a company should continue to increase its marketing

communications expenditure until the point where the increase in expenditure matches, but does

not exceed, the increase in income which those expenditures generate (Yeshin, 1998). It is quite

obvious that budgets with respect to marketing communications are components of the marketing

budget taken as a whole, and hence companies must consider the variety of demands for


32/84


32

expenditure from a wide range of different sources, and demands for expenditure on marketing

communications must compete with all these other areas (Yeshin, 1998).

IMC has the potential to wrap communications around customers and help them move through

the various stages of their buying process (Smith & Taylor, 2004), as a result of which the

organization gets the chance to simultaneously strengthen its image and build up a dialogue,

while nurturing its association with the consumers. Thus, relationship marketing is an area that is

exceptionally augmented by the implementation of IMC. In the long run this provides

organizations with an invaluable benefit in the form of well-established customer relations that

invigorate their position the market. Hence, successful IMC does not only escalate the image of

the brand(s) but also create a superfluous reflection about the organization as a whole in the

psyche of the consumers. Furthermore, it is also helpful in widening the customer base and hence

the revenue earning potential of the organizations that have implemented IMC as an integral

component of their marketing activities.

IMC can also boost up sales by stretching messages across several communications tools to

create more avenues for customers to become aware, aroused and, ultimately, make a purchase;

in the light of this fact, it can be said that carefully linked messages also help buyers by giving

timely reminders, updated information and special offers which, when presented in a planned

sequence, help them move comfortably through the stages of their buying process and this

reduces their misery of choice generated by the wide range of competitive offerings (Smith &

Taylor, 2004). During the course of this research it has been found in certain instances that

despite its seeming advantages integrated marketing communications (IMC) is not fully

accepted in academia or fully adopted in the communications industry, largely because of its

supposed difficulty to implement (Egan, 2007).


33/84


33

On a whole the literature review that has so far been undertaken as a vital component of the

current research has been designed in such a way that it throws light upon the fundamental facets

of IMC as well as the multiple roles that it plays within the framework of organizations. Owing

to the fact that globalization is setting in and in turn redefining the context of modern business,

competitiveness in all the economic sectors is at an all time high, and the same can be observed

in the case of the hospitality sector which demands attention by virtue of being exceptionally

lucrative.

Figure 5: Customer-Driven Marketplace

(Source: Iacobucci & Calder, 2007)

The importance of marketing channels as well as that of marketing media has been illustrated

through the figure appended above. It goes without saying that marcom is indispensable for the

success of any organization because it augments the marketing initiatives and hence helps in

capturing more and more attention from the target audience. Being far more effective than the

conventional communication practices, IMC has a far-reaching influence of the target audience


34/84


34

distributed over a larger target market. With proper interventions in terms of IT and Information

and Communications Technology (ICT), the process of IMC has more or less replaced the

conventional communication tools and had redefined the way most of the organizations used to

undertake their promotional activities.

4. Research MethodologyResearch not only implies gathering data and information but the actual purpose of it is to find

the answers to the questions raised. It is a chronological set of efforts that helps to create better

insight. It helps to find the reasons that lead to certain facts. Research helps to visualize all the

facts through a detailed study of practical and present situations resulting in a more

comprehensive understanding of the subject. Research can be conducted in any field of interest.

In the field of marketing, the research is used as an important tool. Research conducted for

marketing is known as marketing research. It is a process that helps one to gather and analyze

data related to products and services. Generally, marketing research is helpful to analyze the

potential market before launching new products or services. However, it is also very useful in

identifying the reasons behind the decreasing sales or fading brand image. A successful

marketing research helps an organization to decide the manner in which it will be able to achieve

its goals by implementing proper strategies. It provides a company with valuable information

regarding to the customers tastes and preferences. It also helps to determine the effective way of

establishing communication and relations with the customers.

The findings of this research are helpful for achieving synergy. This can be done by

implementing the integrated marketing communication plans. This research has disclosed

valuable information for drafting a proper marketing and promotional strategies. In order to


35/84


35

survive in the competitive market, this useful information should be evaluated and relevant

recommendations that are suggested be followed.

4.1. Primary ResearchTo meet the objectives of this project, primary and secondary researches have been conducted.

The primary research helps one to find the original data pertaining to the topic. To obtain

specific and relevant answers, a set of questionnaire has been designed that includes 30

questions. The 30 questions have been answered by six respondents and all of them are related to

The Venetian and the hospitality industry. In order to get a better insight of the concerned topic,

the respondents with high profile in the hospitability industry have been chosen. All of them are

experienced top level managers having a profound knowledge of the current market scenario.

These designed questions have been framed to explore the six major facts related to integrated

marketing communication and The Venetian

. Firstly, the set of questions have attempted to find

out the current market scenario of the hospitality industry. The degree of the competition among

the major rivals of The Venetian

has also been evaluated. Secondly, the role of integrated

marketing communication in avoiding the effects of competition has been attempted to figure

out. It has pointed out the role of integrated marketing communication in the marketing

activities. Thirdly, it attempts to find the manner in which integrated marketing communication

has been interpreted to establish the prevailing organizational communication. Fourthly, the

importance of human resource management in materializing the integrated marketing

communication to achieve the desired synergy for the marketing department has been analyzed.

Fifthly, the manner in which financial aspects should be restructured and handled to implement

the integrated marketing communication has also been analyzed. The data have exposed the


36/84


36

measures by which the implementation can be made more cost effective. Lastly, the role of top

managements in implementing the integrated marketing communication plans has been figured

out.

In order to meet the objectives of this research paper, the primary research has been chosen. The

results of the primary research may be qualitative or quantitative but in the research paper, the

primary research will disclose the qualitative data. The qualitative data will help to understand

the role of decision makers and organization culture in developing and implementing the

integrated marketing communication strategy. The qualitative data gathered through primary

research will help in exploring the ways in which an organization will be able to implement the

IMC to obtain its optimal benefits.

4.2. Secondary ResearchSecondary research is conducted on the basis of the previous research findings and other sources

of data. The authentic sources of secondary data disclose valuable facts. It is not always possible

for an individual or a small organization to collect all the data through primary sources. For

example, data on huge economy, or global reports on certain fields. The given research topic

demands an analysis of the secondary data. The data on the hospitality industry of the world

along with that of Asia and China have been obtained through various secondary sources. The

primary focus has been given to the current trend of hospitality industry and its future growth.

The Venetian

Macau is situated in China. Therefore, various factors driving the hospitality

industry in China has also been analyzed. The secondary data have been collected from the

various authentic sources like journals, periodical, annual reports etc.

c


37/84


37

Figure 6: No. of Visitors (Percentage)

According to Mr. Miu, on an average 25000 to 30000 visitors come to this place every day. The

visitors are mostly from the Asian countries. Around 4 % of the visitors are from Thailand, 17 %

people are the local Macau inhabitants, 49 % of the visitors are from Hong Kong and 26 % of the

people come from Mainland China. It has been noticed that the maximum number of people

come from the Hong Kong territory followed by Mainland China. A research has been conducted

by the authorities of City of Dreams to check the satisfaction level of the visitors coming to this

leisure destination. The research report reveals that around 80 % of the visitors are satisfied with

the service and facilities they are availing in this region.

Mr. Miu was also questioned on the status of their position in the industry. He did not seem to be

very optimistic about their position in the industry. In the casinos of Macau, the utilization of the

table space is decreasing. At the same time, the destination City of Dreams is aiming to cater to

the mass and therefore has kept its minimum bet per game quite low. However, because of this,

the revenue generation in the casino is also quite low. People are much aware of The Venetian

in Cotai strip, but they are not much acquainted with City of Dreams. Exposure is high in the

Hong Kong territory, but it is quite low in rest of the regions. The retail prospective reveals that

the overall retail position of City of Dreams is not in tune with its mass profile. The shops in


38/84


38

the shopping areas of Boulevard where City of Dreams is located are all luxurious brands.

However the lack of proper synchronization has resulted in disappointing sales figure in these

shopping centers. The food and beverage prices are quite low, thus catering to the mass visitors

and enjoying attractive revenue. Among the hotels, Hard Rock is mainly based on theme, while

Hyatt focuses on luxury business travel and Crown caters to the premium class. Further growth

in the leisure destination is not very likely due to certain pertinent reasons; the main reason being

the lack of enough space. Some factors on the other hand, encourage City of Dreams (COD) to

grow faster as compared to The Venetian. There are two upcoming projects for COD in the next

two to three years; one being Wynn which comes next to Hyatt and the next project is Galaxy

Mega resort. Both of the projects are going to be huge. Apart from all these, the leisure

destination has no further space for development. In conclusion it can be said that, The

Venetian is not really a competitor of COD, it is but the corporate group Melco Crown

Entertainment. The main competitor of this leisure destination is Lisboa situated in the Macau

Island. Mr. Miu is thinking to apply the process of international marketing communication

within his organization, although he is of the opinion that some other factors need to be

strengthened first. The leisure destination is trying to enhance the service and distribution of

greeting allocations. Internal situation needs to be altered and everybody needs to work for the

development of Dream Service. Integration of the different divisional service is very significant

in this case. The destination has a number of branded cars to cater to the needs of their clients;

however they do not use them much for fear of dirt and the sun. As per Mr. Miu, the current

situation of the organization is not as encouraging as the operating team is too defensive in

propagating their interests and is not willing to sacrifice their interests. Mr. Miu has mentioned

business unit cooperation to be the most influential method of implementing integrated


39/84


39

marketing communication. The IMC plan has been made sustainable by the successful campaign

of Lucky Purple. The promotional process incurred them a cost of around USD 12 millions,

although it did not add much to the business perspective. However, the operation departments

have not been very much cooperative in this program as the program was not driving business to

their stalls and outlets. Many divisions were not much interested in this campaign as it would

demand a number of changes in their operational processes. Nobody even tried to fetch

cooperation from the operation departments. However, he agreed that marketing department

would have the maximum weight in the implementation of IMC, but one cannot ignore the

significance of the operation department. Internal communication is necessary to enhance the

processes and materialize the implementation process. As per the organizational hierarchy, the

direction of the communication flow is quite clear which helps to maintain the consistent tone in

the big campaigns. However COD has a number of brand managers and the communication with

the operation managers are of varied intensity. Some have regular meetings, but in few cases

lack of communication has been identified. Marketing and communication department are the

significant components of the internal communication system. The marketing department does

not interfere in between the operational activities. Middle management is responsible for the

internal communication between cross functional departments. However it has been noticed that

communication enhances revenue, which in turn would fetch revenue for the leisure destination.

As the food and beverage segment has a better communication within the marketing and the

operation department, it contributed to make the department the highest revenue contributor

among all the divisions. On the other hand, a lot of communication gap has been noticed in the

casino department which resulted in failure of the division. As per Mr. Miu, the communication

flow must be initiated by the president and CEO of the organization. He is only able to bring


40/84


40

everyone together and attain the cooperation from the operational managers. In this way only, the

synergy is only attainable. As the group is dealing in hospitality industry, there are certain teams

which are really crucial for the internal marketing communication including operation

departments, PR and sales procurement. Brand marketing departments are necessary but up to a

certain extent. As per him, finance and HR has nothing to do with the cross functional teams and

can be done without them. One main issue in this regard is that each of the departments thinks of

their own objectives and responsibilities rather than aligning them with the company objectives.

In City of Dreams, the human resource management team does not entertain and support the

cross functional integration. However, training and development has been quite significant to

train the employees to be in touch with the customers and to offer quality service to them. The

industry is very much competitive and one cannot expect to fetch required man power from their

rivals. Finance has little to do in IMC implementation. Budget monitoring is the job of the

financial managers, but when they get special instructions from the top management, they just

approve the same wherever it is asked. Mr. Miu has suggested some ways, through which the

implementation can be of cost effective. For each of the marketing activities, key performance

activities (KPI) needs to be set. The budget allocation must be done with proper planning and

profitability measurements must be monitored periodically. When Mr. Miu was asked about the

role of CRM in the enhancement of the benefits offered by the IMC plan, he said the CRM in

COD is not up to date. Mr. Miu has made it clear that so far no such integrated marketing

campaign has taken place in Macau and he would prefer to consult with the professional for

proper justification of the plan. The group does not have enough knowledge, skills and abilities

to justify the implementation process. In the implementation of IMC plan, Mr. Miu accepted the

strength of better working relationships. Top management is supposed to have no contribution


41/84


41

towards the implementation of the IMC plan. However, he was unanswered while he was asked

about the impact of IMC on their stakeholders and on their value chain.

Mr. Brendon Elliott, the Vice President of sales of The Venetian

Macao Resort Hotel, the

leisure destination. He was asked the same question as Mr. Albert Miu. However, he did not

avoid the question of income and specified that on an average their monthly income is around

USD 5 Millions with an average occupancy rate 92.4 %. He is quite happy with the position of

the hotel, hitting occupancy rates at the upwards direction. The sales team is giving its effort to

attract the people with high disposable income. In The Venetian, the consumers are in the trade

off of decision making whether to spend their income on tangible items or rather spend it in

leisure and entertainment. Sales force influence the decision making process in favor of the

intangible experience. Even they have strategy to make their guests spend more on stay. Brendon

has identified Disney Land and Ocean Park to be the main rivals of The Venetian

on the

attractiveness and awareness of the leisure destinations, City of Dreams from the casino

perspective. Mr. Brendon is more interested to make Macau as a travel destination rather than

particularly focusing on Venetian only. Moreover Venetian has its own identity as an integrated

resort, not only for gaming but also for leisure. Mr. Brendon is also giving a though to the IMC

plan and have a midterm master plan in his mind. Focusing would be still on Venetian and Four

Season. However he is very much optimistic to implement IMC plan as the new president feels

strongly about the same. Apart from the marketing department, revenue management, sales,

destination marketing can proved to be significant to implement the plan and sustain the same.

They have a team named as Destination Marketing, which is responsible to find out the

appropriate product to the consumers as per the consumer behavior. The sales team is

responsible to attract the prospective customers to The Venetian. Mr. Elliott emphasizes on the


42/84


42

fact that international communication among the departments is very important to enhance the

implementation process. The long term vision can be achieved and revenue can be generated if

there is a proper communication ambience between the destination marketing team and casino

marketing team. Mr. Elliott has segmented his team into different divisional sales teams to drive

different factors to generate revenue. Figures reflect that in near future the main contributor to

the revenue would no longer be the casino department. So, from the early stage, effort has been

put to make The Venetian as an integrated region rather than only gaming destination. Cross

functional teams are very much crucial in this industry to encourage the communication, which

in turn would encourage the revenue generation. Among them the most essential teams are

Destination Marketing, MICE marketing, C&E, Mall Management and transportation. The

Venetian is here to emerge as overall travel and entertainment, so all the operation departments

are crucial to the marketing team. Revenue management is looking at the pricing and the revenue

point of view. Finance is said to be moderately significant, but procurement division seems to be

insignificant for the industry. The inter-departmental dynamics is quite strong in this case and

they act as a multi department team; this has only been possible for the new president Human

resource management is not so important in the implementation of IMC; however the training

and development of the employees to enhance their skills is significant. Financial division assists

an organization to offer cost effective measurements for the group. Unlike City of Dreams they

are much confident to be able to fetch manpower from their rivals. Mr. Elliott has suggested that

cross charge for various responsibilities in the integration of the marketing and other teams can

result in low cost. Sharing of resources and finance can incur less cost for the hotels and casinos

in there. Some internal charges also can be removed to implement a cost effective plan. As per

his opinion, sales function is important but internet can make considerable contribution to


43/84


43

enhance the same. Right now the group is not doing quite well on the implementation of CRM,

but in near future they may think about it considerably. Networking is much of importance as

this would help the team to know the much significant roles to enhance the process. The group

would like to take the help of their in house professionals first and if needed would like to

consider the outside consultants. The property has a skilled management team, but Mr. Elliott did

not comment on their execution level. Mr. Elliott knows that if they implement this IMC plan

successfully, competitors may copy the same. The Venetian must include some differentiation

characteristics in the implementation to enhance it further.

The next respondent is Jacqueline Wu, the Vice President of public relations of Venetian Macau

Limited. Her department is in parallel but quite separate with the sales and marketing. She looks

after the corporate communication and properties communication in the hotels and casinos like

Sand China, Venetian and Four Seasons. The Venetian

has positive figures on the market share.

As per her opinion, among these companies, Sand China is supposed to have a good growth in

near future. As per her the chief rival of the group is going to be Galaxy Mega Resort which is

going to open in the near future. The group has positioned itself quite as similar as The

Venetian with well developed facilities for casino and MICE. As per Ms. Wu, City of Dreams

is not a much powerful competitor as they have few facilities to match up with The Venetian.

Jacqueline shared an observation that gaming and hotel market can become quite confined in the

future. That is why The Venetian

has started expanding its market to other potential ones across

the globe. Recently it has done a 13 cities road show in China, which has included all the second

tier cities as well. The group has been making a good use of the integrated effort to attract more

customers using the two way approach towards the travel agents and the prospective visitors.

Venetian must establish itself as an integrated leisure destination including gaming, leisure and


44/84


44

business travels and MICE facilities. Ms. Wu said from her very experience in the Galaxy, an

integrated approach towards the marketing and bring up a consistent tone within all channels can

be fruitful in the implementation of IMC. To sustain the implementation of IMC, the integrated

marketing communication must match with the operation and physical experiences in alignment

with the corporate business strategy. Ms. Wu has justified some of the tactics for the IMC

implementation and has included that operation and marketing departments must work in a

consistent manner. If the communication is not in alignment within the departments, the

corporate structure can be a big challenge for the IMC implementation. For the implementation

process finance and PR departments in alignments with the legal departments is necessary. HR is

also very much important as it is supposed to facilitate internal communication within the

organization. The procurement department has nothing to do with the IMC implementation

process. As per Ms. Wu, apart from the training g and development department, recruitment is

much necessary to attract the qualified and skilled people. As per her, networking can have a

significant role in the whole communication process. However, the top management must pay

enough attention to align the corporate structure with its goal, so that everybody in there can

understand the importance of integrated internal and external communication. However this

always introduces pride issue among the departments as each of them wants to lead the process

and gain the credit for the implementation process. In case a successful IMC plan is implemented

one can expect the changes.

The next respondent was Ms. Jennifer Chan, the Assistant Manager- Destination Marketing of

The Venetian

Macao Resort Hotel. Ms. Chan has agreed that an average the hotel occupancy is

quite good in this property. As per her, entertainment is going to be one of the significant

developments in the region. Venetian is doing good as they have offered their gaming to the


45/84


45

mass market. A few hotels are doing well in this industry, but they need to attract more traffic

in the coming future. Among all the business divisions, MICE business is doing quite well with

the generation of considerable revenue. According to Ms. Chan, City of Dreams is the biggest

rival of the property. Marketing activities include focusing on the prospective market to

encourage revenue generation and sometimes even they can have the road shows to generate

exposure to the new markets. To a surprise, Ms. Chan does not have any thought to implement

the IMC as there is no instruction from the senior management. As per her, apart from the

marketing department, the PR department is supposed to have the maximum weight as they are

going to control the PR budget and encourage awareness to the mass media. Internal

communication needs to be enhanced to materialize the implementation. To encourage the

organizational communication, the roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defines so to

avoid confusion. As per her, the organizational structure is very much complicated to encourage

between the departments. The employees in The Venetian

are mostly performance oriented and

they are just bothered of their own performances rather than working towards the organizational

goal. Apart from the marketing teams, PR, Hotel operation and other operation management

teams are significant in the cross functional teams. Finance department is moderately significant

in this perspective. The employees work together when they are told to work in a team. The

inter-departmental dynamics are sufficient to bring in the synergy among the departments. In

synchronization with the other people, she found the training and development program to be

only useful HR function for the for the cross functional team activities. Finance department

approves the budget whenever the budget is approved by the upper management. In some other

question regarding CRM, cost effective measurements she was not able to give a proper reply as


46/84


46

she does not have much idea about the same. As per her, networking makes things mush simpler.

However as per her, the IMC concept is not so strong within the industry.

Mr. Julian Chow is working in The Venetian

Macao Resort Hotel as the Vice President of

Brand marketing. Among all the interviewees he is the only one who has been staying with the

organization since pre-inception period and knows the company best. The last 12 months

revenue has been amounted to USD 4 billion with an average occupancy rate of 90 %. Out of

some 3000 rooms, around 700-800 rooms have been complimentary to the VIP guests of casino.

Total casino utilization rate is around 57 % with around 60000 visits per day to Venetian. In

terms of number of rooms, Venetian has 10 % of the market share and in terms of revenue the

leisure destination has scored 15 %. Talking about their position in the industry, he said that for

hotel the company rates can be assumed to be the positive indicator of their growth, while for

gaming he has been quite apprehensive. Gaming industry is supposed to have less growth in

future compared to the hotel industry; so future seems bright in the hotel industry rather than in

the gaming sector. According to him, the main competitors would include City of Dreams and

Galaxy Mega Resort. The company has been doing well still its inception; however, the company

is still aggressive on new customers acquisition. To intensify this, the marketing spending is

supposed to increase by 10 % in the next years. Venetian has taken a number of marketing

activities to acquire new clients, encourage repetitive visits. The property has spent around USD

9 million on the media purchase. He has been thinking to give a thought to the IMC concept. The

organization structure of The Venetian is segmented into different business functions and they

have their own departmental goals to ac

imc plan for venetian

Documents