quintessentially tv marketing, social media and ... films of their clients to a more urban...
TRANSCRIPT
Shahzad Mahmood
2
Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Background on Quintessentially ......................................................................................................... 3
Quintessentially TV ......................................................................................................................... 3
Role in the Organisation ..................................................................................................................... 3
Personal Experiences .............................................................................................................................. 3
Skills and Experiences Gained ............................................................................................................. 3
Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 4
SWOT Analysis..................................................................................................................................... 4
Background ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Strengths ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Weaknesses .................................................................................................................................... 6
Opportunities .................................................................................................................................. 7
Threats ............................................................................................................................................ 7
Boston Matrix ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Background ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Current Position: Scenario 1 & 2 ..................................................................................................... 8
Mintzberg’s Model .............................................................................................................................. 9
Background ................................................................................................................................... 10
Current Method ............................................................................................................................ 10
Situation Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 10
Background ................................................................................................................................... 11
Market Segmentation ....................................................................................................................... 13
Background ................................................................................................................................... 13
Organisational Structure ................................................................................................................... 13
Management Structure ..................................................................................................................... 14
Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 15
Viral Marketing, Social Media and Digital Marketing ....................................................................... 15
Marketing Planning Process .............................................................................................................. 17
Overall Experience of the Internship ................................................................................................ 18
References ............................................................................................................................................ 19
Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 19
Work Blog .......................................................................................................................................... 19
Shahzad Mahmood
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Introduction As part of my course, I took part in an internship for the remainder of my MBA. The internship is to
provide us with real life work experience, and I was fortunate to do mine at a company called
Quintessentially. I did not have any specific requirements for this internship. My objective was to
learn from what businesses are doing, and how they are recovering from the recent/current
economic crisis. I also wanted to expand my working knowledge, gaining more experience from
different areas of work and to try to understand how and if theory learnt from my courses are used
in application.
Background on Quintessentially
Quintessentially was founded in 2000 by Aaron Simpson, Ben Elliot and Paul Drummond. The newly
formed company started off as a luxury shopping portal for members. They soon evolved from
luxury shopping to offering other services, primarily a concierge service. They had an corporate
ethos of “accessing the inaccessible” and soon has found themselves operating in a niche market,
with the concierge service being their USP.
In the past decade Quintessentially has benefited with the growth of the luxury services market,
which has led them to 33 subsidiaries, each focused on a particular industry.
Quintessentially TV
Quintessentially TV (QTV) is a subsidiary or business unit of Quintessentially. It was started in 2010
and produces films for upper-class hotels, car manufacturers, small businesses and individuals. As
well as shooting videos, they also do in-house video editing, tailored to the customers need. Their
clients are separated into two parts: internal and external. The internal clients consist of other
Quintessentially subsidiaries, and the external are those that have no relation with the business.
QTV also specialise in distribution of videos. This gives them a USP, where they can shoot a video for
a client and at the same time, use their partners in distribution to showcase adverts and promotional
videos in locations such as airports, hotels and other public places.
The main people involved in QTV are Rebecca Tucker, the managing director, Poppy Tullo, the
producer and client support, and Matt Melvin, the creative director and cameraman. There are also
other freelance cameramen that offer their services to QTV.
Role in the Organisation
My role in the organisation was as an intern. The reason I took this internship was to understand and
learn about new businesses and the strategies used in them.
Personal Experiences
Skills and Experiences Gained
During my internship, there were many new skills, which I learned as well as skills that I already had
which were being utilised. Many of the new skills were mainly film and marketing orientated. Skills I
already had included presentation writing, creating invoices, and normal office duties.
Shahzad Mahmood
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• Video editing- as part of my internship, I had to be able to edit video footage, which was
then to be distributed through various channels. As I have never had experience in video
editing, I was able to grasp the concept quit quickly and was able to edit footage and adding
effects to a high standard. The software that was used was Adobe Final Cu Pro. Learning
how to use this software has given me much more appreciation to how television
advertisements are made and that the editing process is just as, or more important than the
actual shooting. As well as editing, I was taught how to covert files to different formats,
sizes, and quality for various purposes such as uploading in on different websites, for DVDs
or television.
• Social networking- although I am aware of social networking and use it on a daily basis,
during my internship I was taught how I could utilise them to promote QTV. The main source
was YouTube, the social video networking site. I had to upload videos and edit them on the
website itself, such as adding descriptions, annotations, tagging and replying to comments.
As a user of YouTube, it was the first time I was “behind the scenes” as it were. I never had
uploaded a video before and this is something I now know fluently. I also had to upload to
the popular Chinese video-sharing site Youku. This was more challenging as the whole
website is in the Chinese language which makes looking for options. I also had to update the
Facebook page, which I already had experience, and Twitter, which was new to me.
• Appreciation for marketing- I was never interested in marketing, but working at QTV, I was
amazed to see how marketing can be influential to a company. This goes for marketing
concepts used by QTV for themselves and their clients.
• Working in a semi-formal environment- previous job of mine including working in offices
with strict, professional codes of conduct. It was a good experience working in a setting
where there was a more relaxed atmosphere. These made it easier to work with other
people and were more approachable. This is method of office work is become the norm in
many places and will prepare for working in the future.
• Marketing concepts- working at QTV has made me do my own research into marketing
concepts, and which ones are right for a particular industry. I was also able to see which
methods are the norms for businesses and how effective it can be if used correctly.
• Presentation making skills- As part of my internship, I was asked to make several
presentations for clients. The presentations were made as a sales pitch to prospective
clients, where details of the company, prices and other details. Although I have had
experience in making presentations as part of my course, I was able to see what is included
and the protocol for making one for business use. Each presentation was tailored made, and
I found that making a unique presentation for a client, they were more inclined to get back
to QTV.
Methodology
SWOT Analysis
Shahzad Mahmood
Strengths
•Brand
•Video content
•Unique distribution platform
•Partnerships
•Global demographics
•Support
Opportunities
•Online video channel
•New technology driven markets
•Growth of economy
•Seasonal events
Background
As a proven method for strategy, a SWOT analysis is used. The Swot comprises of internal (strengths
and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) points which gives a company an idea of
where there stand in a market and environment they are in.
Strengths
As outlined in the above diagram, the strengths for QTV lie within the brand name, unique
distribution platform and support. These strengths are able to make QTV more competitive and
thus, to stay in business. The Quintessentially b
and so, for clients who are aware of the parent brand, and now their reputation, they will also
perceive QTV as being a higher quality service compared to that of others in the market. Using the
Quintessentially brand name will also make it easier for prospective clients to identify them.
The distribution channels are the means to which a film QTV produces is shown to the audiences.
QTV have been able to secure contracts with a few advertisement
airline industries. This gives the opportunity for the clients to see where they would like their film to
be featured. The distribution channels are very safe, meaning that they follow a traditional approach
Environment
Unique distribution platform
Global demographics Weaknesses
•Stressed resources
•Time constraints
•Lack of funds
•Small team
•Unclear objectives
Online video channel
New technology driven
Growth of economy
Seasonal eventsThreats
•Clients taking advantage
•Growing market
•Competitive market
As a proven method for strategy, a SWOT analysis is used. The Swot comprises of internal (strengths
and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) points which gives a company an idea of
where there stand in a market and environment they are in.
As outlined in the above diagram, the strengths for QTV lie within the brand name, unique
distribution platform and support. These strengths are able to make QTV more competitive and
thus, to stay in business. The Quintessentially brand name carries a lot of weight in the luxury world,
and so, for clients who are aware of the parent brand, and now their reputation, they will also
perceive QTV as being a higher quality service compared to that of others in the market. Using the
will also make it easier for prospective clients to identify them.
channels are the means to which a film QTV produces is shown to the audiences.
QTV have been able to secure contracts with a few advertisement agencies operating in the hotel or
airline industries. This gives the opportunity for the clients to see where they would like their film to
be featured. The distribution channels are very safe, meaning that they follow a traditional approach
Internal Environment
Strengths
weaknesses
External Environment
Opportunities
Threats
5
Stressed resources
Time constraints
Lack of funds
Small team
Unclear objectives
Clients taking advantage
Growing market
Competitive market
As a proven method for strategy, a SWOT analysis is used. The Swot comprises of internal (strengths
and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) points which gives a company an idea of
As outlined in the above diagram, the strengths for QTV lie within the brand name, unique
distribution platform and support. These strengths are able to make QTV more competitive and
rand name carries a lot of weight in the luxury world,
and so, for clients who are aware of the parent brand, and now their reputation, they will also
perceive QTV as being a higher quality service compared to that of others in the market. Using the
will also make it easier for prospective clients to identify them.
channels are the means to which a film QTV produces is shown to the audiences.
es operating in the hotel or
airline industries. This gives the opportunity for the clients to see where they would like their film to
be featured. The distribution channels are very safe, meaning that they follow a traditional approach
Shahzad Mahmood
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such as showing them on TV screens at regular intervals. They are also shown in busy places such as
airports, and selected terminals. The distribution channels can however be improved, by getting the
agencies to look at other places to show videos such as at train stations, and instead of at the
passenger gates, but perhaps at the front end of the airport, close to the check in desks. Another
viable option would be to get spots on the CBS Outdoor LCD panels. This offers QTV to show the
films of their clients to a more urban demographic, and are situated in the most populated areas in
the UK, including busy streets, tube stations, train stations and even shopping malls.
In terms of support, QTV have the support of other departments, as well as the parent group. This
allows QTV to stay afloat, as well as synergise with the other departments. The other departments,
known as “Internal Clients” such as Quintessntially Wine and Quintessentially Driven are able to
have films produced for them at cost or a discounted rate. This in a way opens up the opportunity to
get separate contacts.
Weaknesses
A major weakness that QTV are experiencing is the stressing of their resources. This includes their
crew, equipment and working spacing. The film crew is very small and often free lancers are used.
This provides QTV with new talent coming to work for cheap, however free lancers can be unreliable
in the sense that they may not be as experienced, or the good free lancers may not be available for
certain shoots. QTV may want to have free lancers on contract, which would allow them easier
access to them, as well as using the free lancers to look for leads to which QTV can exploit. The work
space is small, as the office is shared with two other departments. I would be in the interest of QTV
to have another separate room where edits can be made and shown to the clients.
QTV, as I was told, started off with very little funds, in hopes of building up. The problem with
starting a new business with a very limited initial investment is that some business operations may
not be utilised. In the case of QTV, marketing operations are restricted to internet channels and
word of mouth. Although the internet can be a valuable tool, there is only so far a company can go
without paying for advertisement space to attract new customers. QTV should try to get some sort
of loan, or attract investors so that they can have the expenditure for promotional activity, which
they are lacking when used in the marketing mix.
Another big weakness that QTV have is unclear objectives. Although the department know what
they are doing, and aware of their surroundings, they are still not sure in which direction they want
to head towards. QTV should assess where in the market they lie, and which options they have
available to them, for example, they can continue to produce videos for clients, or move on to
distribution of the videos and use contractors to produce videos. They may also want to create a
short term plan which they can use with conjunction with their budget and come up with achievable
objectives.
The QTV team is small, considering how much work they have between them. As mentioned above,
their only form of marketing is based on social media and networking, which is a lot of responsibility.
The team are constrained by time, and so this becomes a downfall for QTV. If they can hire students,
or more interns to just work on the social media content, this will leave the important tasks for the
rest of the team.
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Opportunities
For QTV there are a few strong opportunities which could help their cause. QTV, in order to make a
viable internet TV channel they will need to re-construct their website for ease of use. They would
then need to come up with good video content. As mentioned in their weaknesses, they have
unclear objectives. If they decide to go down the film production route, they can concentrate on
creating original video content, and have their own distribution channel rather than going into
partnerships. Original content focused on certain target markets could make them popular, as well
as include product placements which would generate an income stream.
New technology means that QTV could express their products on other platforms. They could sell, or
distribute for free their videos on iTunes, which can be played from a computer, iPod or iPad. They
can also create an application or “app” for mobile devices so that customers can view content not
just from QTV, but also integrate the Qube social networking into it. The app could be sold for a
small price which would also generate a small income. Apart from internet channel, QTV could also
make use of physical mediums, such as putting their videos on customised USB flash drives which
could be passed around to clients and customers.
Although QTV do attend various seasonal events, they should try to get the required accreditation so
that they can get access to more events, which would lead to more, diverse content and eventually
new customers and clients. They may also want to partner up with other media companies, which
have a more influential stance on public relation events.
Threats
The market for film production is growing. There are currently around 400 film production
companies nationwide in the UK. Many of them specialise in certain types of films such as sporting
events, weddings or professional adverts. In order for them to have a stable position in the market
they would need to retain some of their high profile clients so that they do not move on to the niche
film producers.
Along with the rapid growth of the market, QTV should also be aware of the competitiveness. Many
of the companies have been in the market for a long time and have a wealth of experience. Some of
these companies are using other forms of advertisement, such as Yell.com and Google Ads. QTV may
want to adopt these strategies to remain competitive with these companies.
Another threat is the fact that clients take advantage of QTV, in terms of asking for cost price
discounts, and additional edits. QTV need to take a more authoritative stance, they should let clients
know that breakdown cost of production is high. This however is a very sensitive matter, and should
be approached with precaution.
Boston Matrix
Shahzad Mahmood
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Background
The matrix shown above was created by a management consultancy group called Boston Consulting
Group (BCG), and they named the matrix the BCG Growth-Share Matrix. The matrix is based on cash
flow and works on the following assumptions:
• “market growth has an adverse affect on cash flow because of the investment ion such
assets as manufacturing facilities, equipment and marketing needed to finance growth
• “market share has a positive affect on cash flow as profits are related to market share”
(2010, Jobber).
The matrix has four categories: Stars, cash cows, question marks or problem children and
dogs. The axes that identify them are market growth rate and the relative market share.
• Stars: these are the market leaders in markets that are experiencing high market
growth. They have high profitability rates which are based on their strategic
objectives which are to maintain their market share and growth. Eventually when
the market levels, they will be transformed to cash cows.
• Cash cows: when the market has saturated, the leaders will be able to experience
continued profits because of their increased market share. Companies that are cash
cows need to retain their position by re-evaluating the market. Cash cows tend to
re-invest their extra profits to support problem children and question marks.
• Question marks/problem children: these continue to have large expenditures since
because of the rapid growth of the market. There is an opportunity to transform
them into stars, but require substantial time and investment. Most of the
investment for them will be spent on marketing strategies.
• Dogs: these are weak products that compete in low market growth. They struggle to
gain market dominance. The best strategy for dogs is to reposition them into a niche
market which they may be able to be salvaged.
The BCG is analyses the products and not the company. The primary products that QTV have are the
film productions and distribution channels.
Current Position: Scenario 1 & 2
For QTV, they can be placed in two positions: Problem children/question marks and dogs. The best
scenario for QTV is that they are problem children, where the appropriate strategy will help
Shahzad Mahmood
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transform them into a cash cow, or even a star. The worst case scenario would be that they are
dogs, and we will need to identify what can be done to make them more profitable.
Scenario 1 Transformation:
QTV’s products are problem children/question marks. They operate in a market with high growth,
but have low market share. The advantage of being in this position is that there is potential for them
to transform to being a star or cash cow.
For QTV’s transformation they should think about moving to a different market. They have the
Quintessentially brand name behind them, which is based on selling luxurious services. If QTV
position them in a high class market, where they target clients of a high profile nature. The strategy
they take to do this would need to take advantage of the clients in the other subsidiaries. If they
approach these clients offering services such as shooting special birthday parties, weddings, or other
private events, this would ensure a steady income stream. Another option is that they find a genre
and be the best at it. For example, one of their key clients, Aston Martin, the famous car
manufacturers have asked QTV to make them a launch film for one of their models. If QTV continue
to make videos of a similar nature for other clients such as Ariel or Jaguar, then they may gain a
positive reputation.
Scenario 2 Transformation:
QTV’s products are dogs. This is a worst case situation for QTV. They have a low market share in a
market that is growing slowly, or not at all. There are not many advantages of being associated as a
dog, however there are ways in which they can improve their products position.
To transform themselves, they have some options. Quintessentially can cut their losses and divest.
Divesting is the opposite of an investment, where a company will let go of a subsidiary to focus on
other business opportunities. This, however is not a option for QTV or Quintessentially since there
could be a potential to grow. They will have to look at pragmatic issues, in this case, segment their
products to cater for a niche market.
Mintzberg’s Model
Shahzad Mahmood
Background
Henri Mintzberg, a management and business strategy academic has written about structuring
organisations. The above diagram, devised by Mintzberg sh
main body, the operating core consists of the workers that perform the main duties related to the
company. For Quintessentially, this would be the concierge department. They look for the members
and would be their biggest profit centre. The strategic
towards the overall mission of the organisation. They would be classified as top management. The
middle line managers link the strategic apex to the operating core. These, in terms of
Quintessentially groups would be the head of the individual business units. The technostructure
consists of those who serve the organisation by affecting the work of others; however they do not
do the work themselves. This can be the outside contracto
hire. The support staffs are those that aid the other employees outside the operating work flow. This
can be the IT department, or cleaners,
The above diagram shows the pressures on each of the parts, pulling in
Current Method
Quintessentially currently do not have enough pull from the strategic apex.
there are different variations of the above model, and the one that relates closely to
Quintessentially is the “machine bureau
The machine bureaucracy is a formal management structure
business. The main decisions are made from the top and carried down through the chain. In QTVs
case, Rebecca makes most of the big decisions, which looks at all aspects of the operations.
Situation Analysis
Henri Mintzberg, a management and business strategy academic has written about structuring
organisations. The above diagram, devised by Mintzberg shows the organisation in five parts. The
main body, the operating core consists of the workers that perform the main duties related to the
company. For Quintessentially, this would be the concierge department. They look for the members
profit centre. The strategic apexes are those charged with working
towards the overall mission of the organisation. They would be classified as top management. The
middle line managers link the strategic apex to the operating core. These, in terms of
Quintessentially groups would be the head of the individual business units. The technostructure
consists of those who serve the organisation by affecting the work of others; however they do not
do the work themselves. This can be the outside contractors or consultants that Quintessentially
hire. The support staffs are those that aid the other employees outside the operating work flow. This
can be the IT department, or cleaners,
The above diagram shows the pressures on each of the parts, pulling in their favour.
Quintessentially currently do not have enough pull from the strategic apex. According to Mintzberg,
there are different variations of the above model, and the one that relates closely to
Quintessentially is the “machine bureaucracy”, shown below.
The machine bureaucracy is a formal management structure which has a formal approach of doing
business. The main decisions are made from the top and carried down through the chain. In QTVs
case, Rebecca makes most of the big decisions, which looks at all aspects of the operations.
10
Henri Mintzberg, a management and business strategy academic has written about structuring
ows the organisation in five parts. The
main body, the operating core consists of the workers that perform the main duties related to the
company. For Quintessentially, this would be the concierge department. They look for the members
those charged with working
towards the overall mission of the organisation. They would be classified as top management. The
middle line managers link the strategic apex to the operating core. These, in terms of the
Quintessentially groups would be the head of the individual business units. The technostructure
consists of those who serve the organisation by affecting the work of others; however they do not
rs or consultants that Quintessentially
hire. The support staffs are those that aid the other employees outside the operating work flow. This
their favour.
According to Mintzberg,
there are different variations of the above model, and the one that relates closely to
which has a formal approach of doing
business. The main decisions are made from the top and carried down through the chain. In QTVs
case, Rebecca makes most of the big decisions, which looks at all aspects of the operations.
Shahzad Mahmood
Background
The situation analysis is a marketing tool that
situation analysis “represents an important component of real
al, 2008). This means that for a company to understand which marketing strategy to use, they need
to use the “5 C analysis” shown in the diagram above. The diagram starts at the centre, the
company, and fans out to climate, so we are looking at QTV from internal to external. T
analysis will be done only for QTV.
• Company- the first part of the analysis is about the company. The analysis will contain the
product line, image in the market, technology and experience, culture and goals
(www.netmba.com). QTV’s product
them using their contracted channels and editing footage. Their
recognised. They benefit from having Quintessentially in their name, howeve
unit, they will need to have their own external brand recognition in their specific market.
Their technology and experience is limited, due to not enough members in the team.
Although the existing members are very capable, they should perha
someone similar to help with the direction of films. Having an expert amongst them will
instantly give them more recognition and will gain acceptance as a high
company. The culture is not an issue. The culture is
Quintessentially group where
positive effect on the employees where they do not get stressed. The management is also
quite decentralised with helps with motivating
according to priorities. There is also a lot of delegation, especially within QTV, which again
maybe due to the small team. The goals, which is an important is lacking. QTV do have some
sort of direction, but ther
are undertaking many responsibilities
small. If they can realign their
instead of worrying about distribution, of vice versa, then they can focus resources on these
goals.
• The collaborators are the next in
its customers. They help
Their distributors are large, which is a good point for QTV. Their own, internal distributors
are their websites where they show their videos that have been produced, as well as their
The situation analysis is a marketing tool that looks at the internal and external capabilities
situation analysis “represents an important component of real-world marketing practice” (Munoz et
that for a company to understand which marketing strategy to use, they need
to use the “5 C analysis” shown in the diagram above. The diagram starts at the centre, the
company, and fans out to climate, so we are looking at QTV from internal to external. T
analysis will be done only for QTV.
the first part of the analysis is about the company. The analysis will contain the
product line, image in the market, technology and experience, culture and goals
QTV’s product line consists of making high quality videos, distributing
them using their contracted channels and editing footage. Their image
recognised. They benefit from having Quintessentially in their name, howeve
unit, they will need to have their own external brand recognition in their specific market.
Their technology and experience is limited, due to not enough members in the team.
members are very capable, they should perhaps hire a script writer or
someone similar to help with the direction of films. Having an expert amongst them will
instantly give them more recognition and will gain acceptance as a high
company. The culture is not an issue. The culture is really based on the whole of the
Quintessentially group where the corporate culture is cheerful and relaxed. This has a
positive effect on the employees where they do not get stressed. The management is also
quite decentralised with helps with motivating employees, as they can set out their tasks
according to priorities. There is also a lot of delegation, especially within QTV, which again
maybe due to the small team. The goals, which is an important is lacking. QTV do have some
sort of direction, but there is nothing written in stone, so to speak. QTV is small, and they
responsibilities, which mean that their client turnover is short and
small. If they can realign their priorities, for example, focus more on making more films,
of worrying about distribution, of vice versa, then they can focus resources on these
The collaborators are the next in analysing the situation. Collaborators sit between QTV and
help the company deliver their products to the cus
Their distributors are large, which is a good point for QTV. Their own, internal distributors
are their websites where they show their videos that have been produced, as well as their
Climate
Competitors
Customers
Collaborators
Company
11
external capabilities. The
world marketing practice” (Munoz et
that for a company to understand which marketing strategy to use, they need
to use the “5 C analysis” shown in the diagram above. The diagram starts at the centre, the
company, and fans out to climate, so we are looking at QTV from internal to external. The situation
the first part of the analysis is about the company. The analysis will contain the
product line, image in the market, technology and experience, culture and goals
line consists of making high quality videos, distributing
however is not well
recognised. They benefit from having Quintessentially in their name, however as a business
unit, they will need to have their own external brand recognition in their specific market.
Their technology and experience is limited, due to not enough members in the team.
ps hire a script writer or
someone similar to help with the direction of films. Having an expert amongst them will
instantly give them more recognition and will gain acceptance as a high class production
really based on the whole of the
the corporate culture is cheerful and relaxed. This has a
positive effect on the employees where they do not get stressed. The management is also
employees, as they can set out their tasks
according to priorities. There is also a lot of delegation, especially within QTV, which again
maybe due to the small team. The goals, which is an important is lacking. QTV do have some
e is nothing written in stone, so to speak. QTV is small, and they
that their client turnover is short and
, for example, focus more on making more films,
of worrying about distribution, of vice versa, then they can focus resources on these
the situation. Collaborators sit between QTV and
the company deliver their products to the customers and clients.
Their distributors are large, which is a good point for QTV. Their own, internal distributors
are their websites where they show their videos that have been produced, as well as their
Shahzad Mahmood
12
YouTube channel, which they can directly control. Other external distributors are TVC and
AdLux, who work alongside QTV to distribute selected promotional videos in places such as
hotels or airports. Using these distributors allow QTV to get their videos out there, but the
question that needs to be asked if QTV specifically are getting credit for these videos. There
are also suppliers, which collaborate with a company. Luckily for QTV, they do not need to
make a commitment to resource suppliers, and can rent out equipment from wherever and
whenever. However another way to look at suppliers is to see them as resources to finding
new clients. Lastly, alliances: they are the ones that work with QTV. The alliances are
separated into production and distribution. The production aspect involves using a
contracted film production company to produce films on behalf of QTV, dues to them have
more experience and resources. The distribution side would involve the “contacts” that QTV
have to get their videos out there, and also to give them tip-offs of events or functions that
would lead to potential clients. A recent alliance with quintessentially Publishing and
Editorial means that all three business units, that a small can bring what resources they have
together and synergise. This is good strategic move for QTV, as well as the others, however
they will need to look at how the synergy can out a positive effect rather than fail, as it is
common that not all synergies work out.
• Customers- QTV has a fair amount of loyal clients. They also benefit from Quintessentiallys’
other business units who prefer to have their videos made in-house for a competitive rate.
Quintessentially need to secure some sort of market share. They are in a highly competitive
market, with many players. This means that there is a potential for growth. There are also
many market segments in which QTV can operate in. For example, many of these production
companies have segmented the market in parts such as creating specials films (weddings,
parties, events, promotions, etc.) this means that QTV should try see where they fit in the
segments. This would make their objectives and long-term goals more measurable and
achievable. They should also see where the customers sought out film producers. In this day
and age, it’s usually the internet and Google. QTV need to understand what the customers
search for on these types of websites and analyse the popularity of paid advertisements.
They also need to trends and the frequency of when customers purchase these products.
This can help for allocating funds for advertising. For example, if QTV specialise in producing
films for weddings, which many are held during the summer months such as June and July,
QTV may want to advertise a few months before this while people are planning their
weddings. They may also want to advertise then in bridal magazines, or collaborate with
wedding planners, or better yet, Quintessentially Weddings. They also need to look at the
motivation behind the purchase of their products. They have to show the customer that the
benefits of having a film shot for them will outweigh the costs. This will need a lot of
convincing. The best way to do this is to get testimonials, especially on their social
networking sites so that a larger audience can see them.
• Competitors- as mentioned above, QTV operates in a highly competitive industry, and so
they have many competitors. The competitors are segmented into direct and indirect
competitors. Although there are a large number of them, it is safe to assume that they are
all, or most of them, are indirect competitors, meaning that they do not have a direct
influence over QTVs operations, but they influence how clients choose a company to
produce a film. Because the market is so big, there isn’t one company that has a substantial
amount of market share, however there are more affluent companies that have been in the
Shahzad Mahmood
market for a long time and have built up a loyal client base. QTV should, as mentioned
above, look at which segment they want to target, and seek out the competition and try to
directly compete with th
take advantage of sharing clients and expertise.
• Climate- the climate is also known as the macro
PESTLE-DG analysis (political, economical, socia
demographic and global). Understanding the external climate can help QTV seek out
trends and the direction in which the market is heading in. This is very time consuming, but
there are government agencies tha
done to benefit the Quintessentially group as a whole.
Market Segmentation
Background
As mentioned several times above, for QTV to be competitive they may want to segment
themselves. The reason why segmentation is important is because not all customers are the same,
or require the same product. The market at this time is saturated with film
and are the treating the market as one, i.e. mass marketing their products. Although it is desirable to
mass market, there is not enough room in the current market to mass market.
segment, they will need to look at c
within that particular segment, brand loyalty, required market share, and the potential of increasing
sales. QTV already have the base of being a luxury product. They can segment themselves as pu
meeting the needs of members that are part the Quintessentially concierge and other products,
which means that all their film production will be done internally. In order to accomplish this they
will need to advertise and build relationships directly
The diagram at the top of this section looks at the requirements which need to be matched against
the segment (Jobber, 2010). The most important aspect would be the unique needs. QTV will need
to justify to their clients the need for change and how they can offer
Organisational Structure
The Quintessentially Group has 30 business units that operate beneath the Concierge. Other
business units include wine, gifts, flowers and aviation.
Identifiable
market for a long time and have built up a loyal client base. QTV should, as mentioned
above, look at which segment they want to target, and seek out the competition and try to
directly compete with them. They may also what to have a strategic alliance with them
take advantage of sharing clients and expertise.
the climate is also known as the macro-environmental factors which are
DG analysis (political, economical, social, technological, legal, environmental,
demographic and global). Understanding the external climate can help QTV seek out
trends and the direction in which the market is heading in. This is very time consuming, but
there are government agencies that have already outlined most of the data, and could be
done to benefit the Quintessentially group as a whole.
As mentioned several times above, for QTV to be competitive they may want to segment
themselves. The reason why segmentation is important is because not all customers are the same,
or require the same product. The market at this time is saturated with film production companies,
and are the treating the market as one, i.e. mass marketing their products. Although it is desirable to
mass market, there is not enough room in the current market to mass market.
segment, they will need to look at certain aspects, such as the size of the segment, competition
within that particular segment, brand loyalty, required market share, and the potential of increasing
sales. QTV already have the base of being a luxury product. They can segment themselves as pu
meeting the needs of members that are part the Quintessentially concierge and other products,
which means that all their film production will be done internally. In order to accomplish this they
will need to advertise and build relationships directly with Quintessentially clients.
The diagram at the top of this section looks at the requirements which need to be matched against
The most important aspect would be the unique needs. QTV will need
need for change and how they can offer better films
Organisational Structure
The Quintessentially Group has 30 business units that operate beneath the Concierge. Other
business units include wine, gifts, flowers and aviation.
RequirementsIdentifiable
Accessible
Substantial
Unique Needs
Durable
13
market for a long time and have built up a loyal client base. QTV should, as mentioned
above, look at which segment they want to target, and seek out the competition and try to
em. They may also what to have a strategic alliance with them and
factors which are basically a
l, technological, legal, environmental,
demographic and global). Understanding the external climate can help QTV seek out certain
trends and the direction in which the market is heading in. This is very time consuming, but
t have already outlined most of the data, and could be
As mentioned several times above, for QTV to be competitive they may want to segment
themselves. The reason why segmentation is important is because not all customers are the same,
production companies,
and are the treating the market as one, i.e. mass marketing their products. Although it is desirable to
mass market, there is not enough room in the current market to mass market. If QTV decide to
ertain aspects, such as the size of the segment, competition
within that particular segment, brand loyalty, required market share, and the potential of increasing
sales. QTV already have the base of being a luxury product. They can segment themselves as purely
meeting the needs of members that are part the Quintessentially concierge and other products,
which means that all their film production will be done internally. In order to accomplish this they
with Quintessentially clients.
The diagram at the top of this section looks at the requirements which need to be matched against
The most important aspect would be the unique needs. QTV will need
better films.
The Quintessentially Group has 30 business units that operate beneath the Concierge. Other
Shahzad Mahmood
14
The concierge service from Quintessentially brings in many members are the most popular service
offered by them. Concierge can be classified as a cash cow, where any profits gained from them are
used for re-investment into Quintessentially which has produced the smaller business unit. This
structure is fairly common and works well for Quintessentially. However, the allocation of re-
investments should be reviewed and see how they could support the sprouting business units such
as QTV.
Management Structure
the management structure is a traditional hierarchy, with the Co-founders of Quintessentially on the
top, then managing director of QTV below. Since QTV is a business unit, they have a indirect
relationship with the higher-ups, which means that the MD has a lot of more responsibility and has
to make managerial decisions by herself. The team is also small which, has leaves many aspects of
running the business to a few. They should try to get more experience people related to certain
business aspects, for example, they may want to hire a marketing, or business strategy consultant
who can formulate goals and objectives that QTV can follow.
Quintessentially Group
Quintessentially Concierge
Quintessentially TV
Aaron Simpson
Rebecca Tucker
Poppy Tullo
Matt Melvin
Dave
Danny
Ben ElliotPaul
Drummond
Shahzad Mahmood
15
Recommendations
Viral Marketing, Social Media and Digital Marketing
For a company such as QTV, whose primary product is creating and distributing films, it is important
for them to make their video content “viral”. The term viral marketing is relatively, making its first
appearance during the mid-nineties with the popularity of email and email-related advertising
(Bampo et al, 2008). Bampo et al state that “conventional wisdom holds that the viral marketing
process is both random and unmanageable” (Bampo et al, 2008). The authors suggest that because
viral marketing is dependent on peer-to-peer activity, a company will find it difficult to control the
direction of the marketing direction. In other words, it can cause a positive or negative effect.
QTV are using several popular channels used by businesses to promote themselves virally: YouTube,
Facebook, Twitter and other smaller video sharing websites.
• YouTube- the popular video sharing website, recently acquired by Google boasts the largest
share in the video sharing/social websites. They have high number of users and views and
benefit from Google’s searching algorithms that make it the best for finding the right video
in the least amount of time. Andrew Hampp is an advertising and marketing guru who has
analysed the viral video market and come up with models to follow to make a successful
viral campaign. Hampp says to pick an attention grabbing concept when making a film, for
example, “...four types of videos that tend to strike a chord with Break’s audience of young
males can broadly be categorized as ‘funny,’ ‘sexy,’ ‘wow,’ and ‘ow’.” (Hampp, 2011).
Hampp continues to say that those that are “funny” and “wow” tend to be popular with ads,
however linking videos to current affairs or being topical directed to a particular audience
can gain many views. Hampp also suggests to “encourage engagement”. This means asking
views directly for a response to the video. This is usually done by asking for video responses,
or asking viewers what they would do differently. The video responses on YouTube are
usually done by other YouTube channel owners, and so users in their network will eventually
be attracted to QTV’s channel. Hampp stresses the use of celebrities in their videos; “while
having a household name can certainly boost awareness and even search results, it’s not the
end-game to securing viral success. Hampp continues to point out that if a celebrity is
already active online, either with twitter or have a personal blog, then they will gain more
popular online than celebrities that are the opposite. As part of using social networking, QTV
may want to hire a popular YouTube personality to star in videos, such as interviews at
premiers etc. “But leveraging relationships with key bloggers, press and online personalities
is the secret sauce to a hit campaign with lots of earned media” (Hampp, 2011). With these
popular bloggers or video bloggers have already gained a fan base that are loyal, and their
inclusion in videos will help secure more views.
• Twitter- As far as Twitter goes; I personally not fully sold on the concept. There is a degree of
usefulness of the popular social networking site, but many companies often under-utilise, or
do not understand how to use it to its full potential. Twitter is a micro-blogging service,
which means what you would normally write in a blog post, you want to condense this down
to 140 characters. After looking at how QTV uses their Twitter accounts, and doing some
research on Twitter “etiquette”, I was able to find strategies that would best work for them.
QTV does not have a set schedule for twitter. Susan Gunelius writes: “spend your time
Shahzad Mahmood
16
wisely by setting aside a specific time in the morning, midday, and late afternoon to use
Twitter for business purposes, sharing content and engaging with other users during that
time” (Gunelius, 2011). Twitter feeds should not also only consist of tweets, but retweets,
sharing things from other sources, inspirational quotes and trending topics (Campbell, 2010).
QTV follow many people and businesses. This leads to an overflow of tweets on the
homepage, which means that checking up on competitors or see what important clients are
up to. Campbell says “don’t follow everyone who follows you on Twitter. Conduct targeted
keyword searches for individuals, companies, and other industry players who are important
to you or who you want to have as a client” (Campbell, 2010). Gunelius continues to say
suggest that you should not over promote yourself. “No one will want to interact with you if
you’re constantly talking about yourself and promoting your business” (Gunelius, 2010). QTV
should spend more time looking at the important people, or asking tips, from even their
competitors about, for example, what new software to use, cameras etc. Using Twitter is a
long and time consuming process, and should be undertaken by everyone in the QTV
department, and not just the responsibility of one employee.
• Facebook- the popular social networking site consists of over 500 million users, which means
that if used correctly, Facebook can be used to find new clients and users to view QTVs
content. Looking at QTVs Facebook page, there are many things that they will need to do to
make it worthwhile. There are overall goals that QTV should aim towards: get found by
people, connect and engage with potential customers, create a community and promote not
only the content they produce, i.e. films and videos, but blogs, and other resources
(www.hubspot.com). This is a common problem QTV is having. They need to gain more
clients and gain popularity, and the way to do that is to show interest in the potential clients.
They should also focus more on interacting with existing clients. Since QTV operates in a very
competitive industry, and they should continue to satisfy their clients, and check up on them
on a regular basis.
Quite recently, QTV has started uploading it’s content on the Chinese version of YouTube, called
Youku. With more of Chinas youth looking towards the internet for entertainment (Madden, 2010)
this has opened up a new market for brands. The research done by Madden shows that more of
Chinas youth do not have Television sets, and so the next best thing for them is the internet. For
QTV, this can present a new business opportunity. They can create content that will be viewed by
the Chinese, especially “younger viewers seek out entertainment online because the programming
aired by national broadcaster China Central Television and local channels doesn't appeal to the
under-30 crowd...” (Madden, 2010). This brings the idea of creating, new, original content for this
new audience.
An idea which I bought forward to QTV was to create “webisodes”, which are short clips featured
only on the internet, “Original minishows for the Internet were all the rage online before the
Internet bubble burst in 2001. Now they're back, this time as advertising vehicles, courtesy of a
robust online ad market and growing broadband audience” (Graham, 2005). Graham explains in his
article that new generation of webisodes show more advertising which have a higher rate of being
viral. Webisodes have been used by many large organisations such as Ikea, Procter and Gamble and
Kraft (Hampp, 2010). Hampp has also explained the speed at which these videos become viral,
“Mindshare Entertainment on behalf of clients Sprint and Unilever, became a massive hit on MSN,
Shahzad Mahmood
17
accumulating more than 16 million views by its second season and eventually becoming a sitcom for
ABC” (Hampp, 2010). If QTV can get sponsors to pay for their brands to be shown in these short
segments, then QTV can produce videos that they can show to a wide audience. With increased
broadband speeds around the world, the video content would reach a larger target audience that
would not mind watching a branded clip if it is entertaining enough. This will also give QTV the
competitive edge they need to make their products into stars.
Marketing Planning Process
Business mission
Marketing audit
SWOT analysis
Marketing objective
Core strategy
Competitive advantage
Marketing mix decisions
Organisation and implementation
control
Strategic thrust
Target markets
Redefinition
Marketing
planning at the
business level
Strategic objectives
Competitor targets
Marketing
planning at the
product level
Shahzad Mahmood
18
The above model is called the marketing planning process (Jobber, 2010). It is used as a framework
to understand what marketing processes are required when planning, to aid decision making
processes and the stages of the key elements of the marketing process. The process starts with a
business mission defined by Ackoff as “a broadly defined, enduring statement of purpose that
distinguishes a business from others of its type” (Achoff, 1987). The business mission will explain the
scope of the business, as well as prepare QTV for any environmental change (Jobber, 2010). The
marketing audit looks at the business environment, both macro and micro. QTV and Quintessentially
can make use of the marketing audit if they are to know where they are presently and where they
want to be. The SWOT analysis, as mentioned in the previous section looks at the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats. There are then the marketing objectives, which is made up
of two parts: strategic thrust and strategic objectives. The strategic thrust “defines the future
direction of the business in terms of which products to sell in which markets” (Jobber, 2010). This
would refer to the segments which QTV may want to take so that they can outline marketing
objectives. The strategic objectives “are product-level objectives relating to the decision to build,
hold, harvest or divest products” (Jobber, 2010). QTV should look at where they make the most sales
and focus on that rather than ones that require too many resources, which should be divested.
Following the marketing process will help QTV create a planned approach to being recognised in the
market. It will also help create milestones which they could use to track their progress.
Overall Experience of the Internship
The overall experience of working at QTV has been a good experience, in terms of learning. I was
able to work a relatively new company. The industry is was also new to me. It required more
professional customer services, and also learning new skills which has made me open to searching
for a wider variety of jobs. The place itself was extremely homely. The open office plan was new to
me, since I was used to working in cubicles. The open office plan allows better communication
within the team and other departments.
Working at QTV also has let me see problems which companies are facing that operate in
competitive industries. This has also made me realise that there are other ways to make a business
successful. This has led me to have an marketing and strategy.
Shahzad Mahmood
19
References
Achoff, R. I. (1987). Mission Statements, Planning review. 15(4), 30-2.
Bampo, M., Ewing, M. T., Mather, D. R., Stewart, D., & Wallace, M. (2008). The Effects of the Social
Structure of Digital Networks on Viral Marketing Performance. Information Systems Research, 19(3),
273-290.
Campbell, D. (2010). what's your social media strategy?. Black Enterprise, 41(4), 74-76.
Graham, J. (2005). Webisodes return, now as advertising. USA today.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/business/2005-10-23-webisodes_x.htm
Gunelius, S. (2011). Twitter Do's and Don'ts. BusinessWeek.com, 6. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Hampp, A. (2010). IF you build a web series around it, will they come?. Advertising Age, 81(29), 13.
Hampp, A. (2011). how to make your branded video go truly viral. Advertising Age, 82(9), 46.
Jobber, D. (2010). Principles and Practice of Marketing (sixth edition). McGraw-Hill
Madden, N. (2010). As Chinese youth head online, marketers follow with content. Advertising Age,
81(32), 6.
Munoz, C., & Huser, A. (2008). Experiential and Cooperative Learning: Using a Situation Analysis
Project in Principles of Marketing. Journal of Education for Business, 83(4), 214-220.
Sherwin, L. (2009). [Mintzberg Models diagrams] Mintzbergs Model on organisational structure.
http://www.lindsay-
sherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/html_change_strategy/07_mintzberg.htm
Appendix
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