An integrated marketing communications campaign for the brand Bambu Technologies

• Main Author: Valencia, Tara Rotesa A.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2016
• Subjects: Marketing
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/5295
• Institution: De La Salle University

Bambu Technologies was founded by two Filipinos John Climaco and Boy Siojo. The two are based in California, U.S.A as working professionals. Hence, Bambu Technologies was initially founded in 2012, in Los Angeles California as a small outfit and workshop that produce bamboo bike frames and offer Build-Your-Own bamboo bike frame classes. In the Philippines, Bambu Technologies is operated by their partner, Emmanuel Batungbacal. All three are professionals, avid cyclists, and outdoorsmen turned bike builders for a cause. Each Bambu Tech bikes are hand-built and each bamboo frame produced from their workshop go thru rigid worksmanship and quality standards for bike frame builds. The founders and their partner believe in progressive livelihood opportunities presented by these renewable product source- the bamboo. Coupled with the Filipino craftsmanship, they aim to make the Bambu Tech a recognizable outfit that embody what social enterprises are for- to operate and follow their own vision literally and to give back to a community by employing methods and practices that are sustainable. After a series of one on one interviews with the Philippine partner, Bambu Technologies , most specially in the Philippines is challenged to book customers for BYO (build-your-own) bamboo bike frame workshops, on top of that Bambu Tech also does not register immediately as a bamboo bike company. The company also has limited marketing initiatives in place, with no present marketing plan to support their top-notch operational objectives. All the partners are well-equipped with technological skills, training, certification, tools and equipment, raw materials, manpower and or technical assistants, even a venue to conduct their business. All these areas have been covered by Bambu Tech in the Philippines except for one critical area: an aggressive marketing plan and an achievable short term list of objectives, at least in the Philippines alone. Their vision, most especially of Emmanuel Batungbacal is focused on the primary purpose of a social enterprise-- that is to champion a sustainable cause that will mutually benefit the industry it belongs to and the community of bamboo farmers it is dependent to. Mr. Batungbacal also wants to bring back the novelty of building or crafting something from scratch, hence he is very much inclined to promote the B-Y-O product offering of Bambu Technologies. This alone is also the definitive unique selling proposition of the company, B-Y-O bamboo bike frames. In this proposed integrated marketing campaign for Bambu Technologies, the MMC graduate student, Tara Valencia, will propose short to mid-term marketing communication goals that will aim to immediately address Bambu Tech's pressing marketing issues and challenges. A marketing audit and a brief marketing and industry research will be conducted in the course of this campaign proposal and its immediate and critical output will be presented as primary objectives in the IMC Recommendations part of this campaign proposal. The IMC campaign proposal will not include realistically unattainable plans and will therefore stick to a more pragmatic approach and goals given the current capacity of Bambu Tech Philippines. After a thorough process of research and a number of briefing sessions with the Philippine partner of Bambu Tech, IMC recommendations based on Bambu Tech's current capacity to operate will be formed and created. Figures generated from the survey, as well as interviews gathered from the resource person himself has lead to this conclusion: the primary issue of Bambu Tech is brand awareness. Bambu Technologies is in the intro or launch phase of their product lifecycle, and without the concrete and structured presence of brand awareness initiatives, their marketing approach in the market will remain challenged to develop in the next stage, let alone increase their sales in the Philippines. The researcher will focus and create a strategic short-term marketing plan, surrounding brand awareness and will plot objectives that aim to boost the areas where the Bambu Technologies struggle.