Invent Media Indoor Advertising

1. Invent Media Facts and Communication Invent Media is a Romanian fully privately owned company established in 2005. After about 6 years of experience in the field it takes pride in managing an impressive portfolio of clients renowned for their strict need for quality communication. The companys clients opted to promote both their image and products in the elevators included in the Invent Medias network (office buildings, for example). Invent Media is one of the leading players in the indoor advertising market from Romania, together with its partners operating a network of elevators and indoor areas at a national level and offering three types of packages: Home, Office and Hotel. Which is the target audience? We speak about active persons, undergraduate and graduate diploma holders, working in multinational companies from the biggest office buildings, earning 200 to 2000 Euros per month. There is also an extended target audience that includes friends, acquaintances and relatives, with similar incomes, that visit the locations in question. To better understand the way the business goes, let me present the 3 departments the company has: 1. Acquisition Department - involves the acquisition of sites that are then offered to the customers. In communicates with the sales department to establish if the spaces that spaces which are to be sold are available. This department also mediates the communication between Invent Media and the buildings landlords. 2. Sales Department - the second department through which we propose to our clients exposure solutions in indoor spaces. We have developed some flexible packages both for residential blocks as well as for office buildings. Most of the communication between Invent Media and its clients happens in this department. Here, the offers, prices, spaces are presented so both parts, client and company, are to be happy with the campaign results. 3. Logistics Department they work together and continuously communicates with the other two departments so all the advertising campaigns can reach, physically speaking, the contracted locations. This department is in charge of media maintenance, neutralizing, posting and monitoring the campaigns.
Alexandra Ilie - Field Assignment in Business Project 1 2nd year, MA Program in Communication and Advertising

2. The PR Marketing Relation From the 5 types of relationships between marketing and public relations proposed by Kotler and Mindak (1986), I was first tempted to choose the last one: the marketing=public relations model as this model seems to be typical for small businesses as it is the one I am talking about in this paper. But this model speaks about an overlap between public relations and marketing, neither is likely to be very sophisticated or highly developed. (J. G. Hutton Defining the Relationship Between Public Relations and Marketing, Ch. 4, pg 208 ) which here is not the case. Invent Medias activity is based on product development, physical distribution, location analysis, competitive analysis and basically, advertising. A better look at the differences between marketing and public relations shows that the model that fits best the activity of the company Im working in, is the marketing - dominant model. Taking into consideration the activity we develop (providing indoor advertising spaces for our clients), the marketing side is more developed as we maintain the relations with our clients, search for new ones, develop offers after periodical market, pricing and distribution and audiences segmentation research. All of the previously mentioned aspects are practically marketing activities. We dont have PR department; all the aspects which refer to PR were externalized to a PR agency who dealt with press releases, interviews, and articles which were published in magazines. In the last two years, PR issues were ignored. However, we can speak about some PR elements when we refer to the feedback measurements we carry on after our campaigns. So, members of the Sells Department, request some information about the results the campaign had. But this activity turns very fast into a marketing matter as all our marketing strategies directly depend on the feedback we receive from our clients. As Ducan (1993) said, IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication) is the process of strategically developing and controlling or influencing all massages used to build and nourish relationships with costumers (J. G. Hutton Defining the Relationship between Public Relations and Marketing, Ch. 4, pg 211). Without realizing it, PR functions are exercised during our meetings with our potential customers, meeting which rely on communicating the services we offer and where practical, we promote our image. There are clients who decide that this kind of face to face interaction is not absolutely necessary, and decide to discuss all the details by mail. Even in this case, promoting our image is very important.
Alexandra Ilie - Field Assignment in Business Project 1 2nd year, MA Program in Communication and Advertising

3. Ho to improve? From my point of view, Invent Media can improve its activity and can incase its profit by taking into consideration the principal objectives of the public relations. As we all know, maintaining a positive, attractive and powerful public presence and the establishment and long-term development of direct contacts with different audiences and media can bring free, positive advertising with credibility and high efficiency due to the fact that they are not often seen as a commercial step, interested only in economic aspects. So, a direct communication with both opinion leaders and media representatives can influence the organization's public image in the market, and in front of its customers. It also increases the confidence in the organization. This is a vital aspect in the advertising industry and should be taken into account by the managing director. Another element that can be valued by an organization is that public relations are very flexible, they can adapt to any situation, public or available resources. (Zbuchea, A. Pnzaru, F., Galalae, C., Essential guide promotion, Triton, Bucharest 2009, pg 29). I have been speaking about external type of public relations and I think that now it is time to refer at the internal type of them. Given that the atmosphere is quite relaxed at work, PR functions can operate in conditions in which employees talk about daily activities, managing to create a positive image of the company. Otherwise, no parties or special internal events which could have a bigger impact are organized. 4. Conclusions In conclusion, in the company Invent Media, the relationship between PR and Marketing is an uneven, in which the marketing is the dominant part and PR exercises its functions in a natural way, we can say that even unconsciously, without a real and sustained effort to develop this direction. Becoming aware of PR value and taking seriously the benefits that it can bring current business could bring a plus to the business development. From my point of view, applying a "Public Information Model"( Procopie R., Public relations. Evolution and Perspectives, Triton, Bucharest, 2005, pg 18 ), namely a one-way communication based on real information and as complete as possible, on a policy of transparency, in which the truth is the element that binds the public to the organization would be most suitable.

Alexandra Ilie - Field Assignment in Business Project 1 2nd year, MA Program in Communication and Advertising

5. Bibliography Hutton, James, Defining the relationship between public relations and marketing. Public relations handbook (Heath, R.). 2005, 205-214 J. G. Hutton Defining the Relationship between Public Relations and Marketing, Ch. 4, pg 17-60 Zbuchea, A. Pnzaru, F., Galalae, C., Essential guide promotion, Triton, Bucharest, 2009

Alexandra Ilie - Field Assignment in Business Project 1 2nd year, MA Program in Communication and Advertising