Marketing Strategy & Communication

Timeline

September 2020 - December 2020

Tools

Canva, Market Research

Mock Client

Zoom Video Communication

Background

In the fall of 2020, I collaborated with five other students to develop various marketing plans to improve the branding and advertising trajectory of our mock client, Zoom.

Disclaimer

The project described here is a simulated exercise conducted for educational and professional development purposes only. It is not associated with or endorsed by Zoom. Any references to brands, products, or services are fictitious and used solely for illustrative purposes. No confidential or proprietary information of any actual company has been used in this project.

I. Report Overview

To develop a comprehensive strategic integrated marketing plan for Zoom, a real technology company facing challenges in increasing market share and brand visibility. This report will include a SWOT analysis, budget planning, marketing timeline, and more.

II. Key Findings

During the peak of COVID-19 restrictions, Zoom experienced a significant increase in daily users, jumping from 10 million to 200 million as businesses and schools transitioned to continue their work digitally. This led to a 741.98% increase in Zoom's net income compared to 2019.

Zoom has strengthened its competitive position and profitability by partnering with B2B companies, resulting in a substantial increase in direct traffic. The company has gained the nickname "Zoom University" due to its significant growth through buzz marketing. The keyword "Zoom" alone generates over 6 billion impressions in searches which implies that they already have a strong brand awareness. To continue this growth, we would want to target small and big enterprises as well as continue to explore new strategies, both digitally and traditionally.

III. Strategies & Creatives

As Zoom is becoming more widely used, this is a good time to increase promotional efforts.

Our first strategy will be LinkedIn. This is a platform with many professionals and it would be a great place for us to connect with our target audience. We plan to engage with users by stirring up their curiosity in Zoom's product offerings, which we will have "Learn More" as our call to action. In the post, the content will highlight how Zoom stands out as a reliable video conferencing option, emphasizing its strong security track record and its compliance with industry standards.

In summary, this LinkedIn post will cover all stages of the marketing funnel, allowing users in the awareness stage to engage with those in the post-conversion stage.

Our second strategy involves publishing an article in the Wall Street Journal about meeting etiquette, focusing specifically on video conferencing meetings. Through this, we aim to indirectly promote Zoom by highlighting it as a reliable video conferencing platform, hence their motto "Reliable Connections Bring Happiness." The Wall Street Journal is a widely trusted digital news source, making it an ideal platform for our advertisement.

In the marketing funnel, the user in this case would be in the consideration stage. If they have already clicked on the article, this shows that they want to learn more, and reading this article provides reassurance on the product offering.

Our third strategy involves placing billboard ads in busy cities such as Times Square, Downtown LA, and other areas with a high concentration of businesses and corporations. The ads will be designed to be simple and memorable for people commuting to work. Research has shown that 71% of drivers pay attention to billboards, indicating that this strategy can effectively increase brand awareness.

In the marketing funnel, we expect this strategy to primarily target the awareness stage, with the potential for some users to move into the consideration stage if they become more interested.

IV. Wrap Up

Altogether, we hope that these strategies will continue to build brand awareness and engage more users in discussions about Zoom's product offerings. We are entering a new era of remote work, and Zoom can take advantage of this opportunity to showcase how they can support. This project has helped me with my direction in how I would like to take my marketing career. In fact, I became very interested in market research and strategy development after completing this project.

Interested in learning more? Let's connect on LinkedIn!