Báo cáo tiếng Anh FTU Some methods PR Piaggio in Vietnam for several years.doc

Báo cáo tiếng Anh FTU Some methods PR Piaggio in Vietnam for several years

Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to thank my parents, my friendsfor supporting and encouraging me throughout the process of doing this graduationreport.

CHAPETR I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 6

1.1 Definition of public relation 7

1.2 The significance of public relation to Piaggio 7

CHAPTER II: REAL SITUATION OF PR ACTIVITIES OF PIAGGIO 8

2.1 Specific PR activities of Piaggio in previous years 9

2.1.1 Vespa festivals 10

2.1.2 Sponsoring for fashion shows 11

2.1.3 Inauguration of manufacturing factory in 2009 12

2.1.4 Other activities 13

2.2 Evaluation of PR activities of Piaggio 15

CHAPTER III: PERCEPTION IMAGE OF PIAGGIO IN CONSUMERS’ MINDAND CONSUMER HABIT OF USING MEDIA 3.1 Perception image of piaggio in consumers mind 17

3.2 Consumer habit of using media 19

CHAPTER IV: PR PROPOSALS FOR PIAGGIO4.1 General objectives 21

4.2 Proposed PR activities for the Piaggio company 23

4.3 Proposed PR activities for its products 25CONCLUSION

APPENDIXREFERENCES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

My report aims to suggest some PR proposals for Piaggio in VN to attractmore consumers Nowadays, PR becomes more and more important for businesses toconfirm the brand’s position in consumers mind as well as to raise the companies’profit, sales However , PR activities play an important role in helping the companyreconfirm its brand position as well as launch its new products like Piaggio VN toconsumers This report aims to give some PR proposals for piaggio VietNam to attractmore cusotmers as well as raise brand’s position in consumers mind.

The report are devided into four main chapters The first chapter is aboutPublic relation Readers will know more clearly about PR concept and its process.Moreover , the role of PR to businesses in general and for Piaggio company inparticular will be specificly clarified The second chapter is about specific PiaggioPR activities Also, in this chapter, PR activities of the company are pointed out andevaluated on the basic theory of the first chapter and the result of survey So, PRactivities of Piaggio has gained lots of achievements as well as has its ownproblems The awareness of Piaggio brand’s position as well as its new productsare not very high In other word, PR activities of this company are not successful inraising the knowledge of brand’s position in consumers’ mind In third chapter,readers will know about perception image of piaggio in consumers’ mind andconsumers’ habit of using media Again, the company don’t really leave impressiveimage in consumers’ mind Besides, readers will have more understanding ofconsumers’ using habit of media The second , third chapter will be the basis ofsuggestions in the last chapter for PR activities in the company The suggestionsaim to reconfirm its famous brand and launch its new products to consumers moreeffectively These are conveyed on the most favorite information channels Theseare famous magazines like heritage, gold…or popular websites such as dantri.vn,vnexpress.com, vietnamnet.vn … (according to the result of survey conducted onsirvina.com).

INTRODUCTION1 Introduction of the research topic

Nowadays, PR activities in Viet Nam has a lot of shortcomings Piaggio VietNamis not an exceptional one Entered Viet Nam from the beginning of 20th century,piaggio is not very successful in ancient motorbike line Recently , a manufacturingfactory of Piaggio is established in Vinh Phuc in 2009 with investment capitalthirty millions USD In addition, a factory will be inaugurated in 2012 withinvestment capital up to 40 millions USD Apparently, the company puts their bighope in Viet Nam motorbike market.

Therefore, PR activities will be very helpful to Piaggio in this time On the otherhand, they will help to launch its new products to consumers and help to the

company to reconfirm its brand position Because of these , the report “some PRproposals for Piaggio in Viet Nam to attract more customers” is complemented

2 Rationals

The report aims to measure, evaluate the effectiveness of Piaggio PR activities Thereport also give readers the consumers’ understanding, perception about thecompany Then, some PR propsals will be brought out to help the companydevelop more and attract more consumers To do this, it is neccessary to havethorough understanding about PR activities , the role of PR to the company andperception image of company in consumers’ mind.

So the report focuses on three main points:

- Theories of PR and the role of PR to the company.

- Analyzing, evaluating PR activities of Piaggio, the company image inconsumers’ mind.

- Providing some PR proposals for the company to attract more customers.

3 Research questions

The report will focus on these following questions:

a What is Public Relation and the role of PR to the company?b How are PR activities conducted at the company?

c What are the specific PR proposals for the company?

4 Methodology

In this report, most information was collected and extracted English books,newspapers, and websites In addition, a survey of 100 consumers on sirvina(http://www.sirvina.com/WebSurvey/129488127685300000/63406F.aspx com)is carried out to serve the analysis of the report The analysis of report will baseon general reports, research results of company With these materials, the authorhas applied a number of research methods including statistical, synthetical, andanalytical and comparative methods to highlight the discussed issues.

5 Scope of the study

PR is a new and broad concept However , in this report the author will focus onreal situation of Piaggio PR activities, consumers’ awareness of the company andthen give some PR proposals

CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Definition of PR

There are many ways to define PR, but in the scope of this report, the author justfocus on some that is popular and easy to understand According to Wikipedia,“Public relations (PR) is a field concerned with maintaining a public image for

businesses, non-profit organizations or high-profile people, such as celebrities and

politicians Public relations is used to build rapport with employees, customers,

investors, general public and provides an organization or individual exposure totheir audiences through using topics of public interest and news items”

The International Public Relations Association defines Public Relations as “PublicRelations is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting theirconsequences, counseling organization leaders and implementing plannedprogrammers of action which will serve both the organization’s and the publicinterest.” However, some people suppose that PR is the practice of managingcommunication between an organization and its publics.

Another definition from the website http://www.prca.org.uk is that “Public relationis all about reputation It's the result of what you do, what you say, and what otherssay about you It is used to gain trust and understanding between an organizationand its various publics - whether that's employees, customers, investors, the localcommunity - or all of those stakeholder groups”.

Another definition from Philip Kotler in the book “principle of marketing”published in 1996, public relation means “building good relations with thecompany’s various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good“corporate image”, and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories, andevents”.

In short, PR aims to influence public opinion to create a positive image forcompany, organization, corporation through all media (press, newspaper,

newsletters, photographs, internet ) This fragment clearly describes the essence of

PR, which is an effort to change, modify, or influence public attitude and thoughtthat will turn into behaviors and actions

1.2 PR process

According to John Marston, a PR professor, PR process includes 4 steps calledRACE in the textbook “Nature of Public Relations” published in 1963 This word isthe abbreviation of PR process:

- Research- Action plan

- Communication tactics- Evaluation

Communication Tactics

EvaluationAction plan

Dynamic Model

(Source: online - pr.com)

So what is research? Research is the systematic gathering of information tounderstand: client organization, problem/opportunity; issues/environment, keyPublics Research is carried out by using secondary documents such as: library

books & periodicals, other published research, newspaper, magazines…and primarysource like surveys, interviews, or researches by walking around.

In the stage of step- action plan and communication tactics, we must develop astrategy that involves in setting objectives, key publics, and time line, budget for PRactivities.

Finally, it is the evaluation stage In this stage, research methods will be used toconsider whether PR activities get success or not The success of program will bemeasured by the numbers of exposure in media, the increase in consumers’awareness before and after the program Surveys are necessary for the company tomeasure the effectiveness of its PR activities.

In conclusion, Public relation is a two way process On the one hand, it seeks tointerpret an organization to society while on the other it keeps the organizationinformed about the expectation of the society Fundamentally public relation is ameans by which an organization improves its operating environment.

1.3 Measures to evaluate the effectiveness of PR activities

Evaluation is a measurement activity in order to systematically compare theeffectiveness of PR programs before & after implementing the program Toevaluate whether a PR campaign is effective or not, there should specific evaluatingcriteria Series of evaluating criteria are divided into two types

The first is the quantitative evaluating criterion which includes number of peopleattending the event, number of people who know the event and number of news,articles posted on the means of mass communication, the level of conveying themessage to consumers, as well as coverage of the message.

The second is qualitative criterion like the public's attitude, whether PR programsleave unforgettable impression in consumers’ mind or not and how the programaffects consumers.

In a Pr program, evaluation of the effectiveness of a PR program means evaluatingthe impact of perception, attitude or behavior of consumers.

Measuring the public perception means investigating the public's attention to themessage, understanding the messages, their memory of messages Measuring the public attitude means finding out public opinions before, during andafter the a PR campaign or program or specific event

Measuring public behavior is to know whether these programs influenceconsumers’ behavior or not If yes, this will lead to the increase in the company’sprofit (vietnambranding.com).

In this report , a survey of 100 consumers questioned is to consider whetherspecific Piaggio PR activities are effective or not.

1.4 The significance of public relations to Piaggio Company.

Public relation plays a key role in helping business create strong relationships withcustomers.

Public relations involve supervising and assessing public attitudes, and maintainingmutual relations and understanding between an organization and its public Thefunction of public relations is to improve channels of communication and toinstitute new ways of setting up a two-way flow of information and understanding.Public relations are effective in helping:

* Corporations convey information about their products or services to potentialcustomers

* corporations craft their public image as well as confirm their brand’s position byraising funds, holding events or charity programs for poor people…

For Piaggio, PR activities help the company build consumers’ belief and confirm aninitial brand of vehicles in consumer’s mind when there are lots of strongcompetitors in Vietnam motorbike market like Honda, Yamaha, and SYM Moreover, that effective PR activities bring corporate image to every people will

appeal to talented staff to the company Because everyone would like to work inlarge organizations with professional working environment and he/she has lots ofopportunities to get promotion Besides, PR activities consists of communityprograms like charity, support program for the poor, the handicapped, the blind…will gain not only the truth but also good feeling from customers For example,typical PR activities like “Tiep Suc Mua Thi” of Thien Long corporation, “ UomMam Tai Nang” of Vinamilk Co, “ Ao Trang Ngoi Sang Tuong Lai” of Omocompany It is clear that apart from real value taken to society , these PR programsplay an important role in “ finding a stable position in customers’ mind”.Meanwhile, Piaggio company hardly set up many these like community programs.Finally, Piaggio established a new manufacturing factory in Vinh Phuc, Viet Namin 2009 This is a really starting point of Piaggio Vietnam This is important time tobroadcast corporate image and its products to consumers PR activities are the bestsolutions because they produce positive effects, convey the message “ Italian legendin Vietnam” of Piaggio VN In addition, PR activities also help consumers clearlyknow about its new products.

In conclusion, effective PR activities gain the confidence and good feeling fromconsumers about corporate image that advertising is difficult to bring to thecompany Because for PR activities, other people talks about the company whilefor advertising, the company itself talks about it Moreover, nowadays there are solots of advertising programs that make consumers get headache Therefore, theimage, the message percept by consumers will be more objective and reliable thaninterior information In fact, PR is the most effective way but the lowest cost tobuild good relationship with customers.

CHAPTER II: REAL SITUATION OF PR ACTIVITIES OF PIAGGIO2.1 Specific Piaggio’s PR activities

2.1.1 Vespa festivals every year

Certainly, Vespa lovers have to hear of Vespa festivals taken place from 2005 tonow In 2005, the festival was taken place in Da Nang, Hue In 2007 , the festivalwas held in flower city – Da Lat Mr Nguyen Vu Hoang - Director of TourismCultural Festival Center in Lam Dong said: "The Center organized this festival tocreate events for the cultural development of local tourism and meetthe needs of vespaers around the country” (camnangdulich.com).

The festival lasts 4 days from 29/4 to 1/5 There are about 300 different kinds ofancient Vespa from all over the country In this festival, vespaers ride decoratedvespas around Xuan Huong lake with the attention of a great number of viewers,and have photographs Besides, “ vespa queen”, “ vespa charm” prizes are alsogiven to the most beautiful lady and vespas In 2008, Dong Nai is the destinationselected of vespaers around the country In 2010, Ha Noi is selected to hold themeeting of vespa family This festival last 2 days with the title “ Three areas’meeting – Vespa friends” in Thien Duong Bao Son park Again , the festival is thetime for Vespaers to meet, exchange with one other The festival attracted nearlyabout 1000 Vespaers from all three regions: northern, central & southern region.The program is sponsored by forum vespafriends.com and Ha Noi vespa group.Apart from the aim to create playing yard for vespaers, the program also directstoward “ Great Celebration of 1000 Years of Thang Long, Ha Noi”.

2.1.2 Sponsorship for fashion shows in recent years

Besides organizing Vespa festivals, Piaggio focuses on mainly sponsoring forfashion shows in recent years The program aims to introduce its products toviewers by the appearance of Piaggio’s vehicles with famous models such as NgoThanh Van, Ha Anh , Phi Thanh van… These events catch the attention from alarge numbers of viewers In addition, in 2010, Piaggio Viet Nam sponsor theaward “ The Beautiful Women Who Audience Select” The prize is a Vespa lx pinkwith limited number This prize belongs to the official prize system of Miss Viet

Nam 2010 according to audience‘s selection through mobiphone this sponsoringprogram aims to convey the message “ Piaggio always go with the beauty” Theselike programs also help to contribute the increase in knowledge about Piaggio brandas well as confirm its position

2.1.3 Inauguration of a manufacturing factory in 2009

In 2009, Piaggio organized successfully the event “Inauguration of the first factoryin Viet Nam” with investment capital up to 30 million USD In 4 /2011, Piaggioheld Ground-breaking ceremony of the second factory in Vinh Phuc with the cost of40 millions USD It is scheduled to start in 2012 Its capacity of production is300.000 motorcycles per year instead of 100.000 ones in 2009 So, Piaggio reallyputs their big hope in Vietnam market.

2.1.4 Other activities

Every year, there are some videos, clips about Piaggio and its products on YouTubechannel These clips like “ Vespa – green action because of environment”, or “Vespa friendly to environment” Moreover, the company indirectly creates topics onforums like ttvnol.vn, vespafriends.com, vespafamily.com, webtretho.vn,diendanvespa.com to help customers with technical information, other supportservice These forums are the places for every member get experiences, shareinformation mutually about how to use vehicles as well as vehicles related matters.These forums are also the places for them to exchange, hold the meeting among theusers of Piaggio motorbike firm

2.2 Evaluation about the effectiveness of Piaggio’s PR activities

To measure how PR activities affect consumers, a survey of 100 people ( peoplewith different age and career ) was conducted on website sirvina.com firstly ,Vespa festivals with long travels attract a large number of users of this motorbike

line as well as gain admiration from others Mr.Hung - a tourist from Da Nangprovince said that: " This is a wonderful surprise for our family when we travel toDa Lat Vespas become more and more beautiful when they are decorated withvarious flowers in Da Lat This is really our unforgettable experiences " IanKitching , an English teacher in HCM yells “ great” when being questioned abouthis feeling with this festival (vietbao.vn) However, the festivals are not organizedsimultaneously everywhere so they don’t create widespread effect In fact, thefestivals are just taken place in some cities like Ha Noi, HCM, Da Nang, Da Lat,Hue From the result of survey, only about 30% said that they know about thesefestivals.

Next, the programs go with beauty, fashion like fashion shows that actually conveyits message about Piaggio motorcycle The Piaggio‘s vehicles always shine byfamous models in this festival night Meanwhile, they put some flesh to theattraction of fashionable designs The appearance of Piaggio’s motorbike in thisshow actually make viewers thirst for owning a motorbike like this because of itsbeauty, fashion and luxury Yet, due to the nature of the show, the guests are thepeople who are famous, or have status in society This makes people, especially formany consumers who have average income in Viet Nam feel difficult to access toits products In another word, consumers feel that these motorbikes are dedicated torich people According to the result of survey, 70 % interviewees agree that onlyrich people can use these motorbike lines It is not good for Piaggio Viet Nam whenthis company is in the stage of launch Piaggio Viet Nam motorbike with cheaperprice.

Thirdly, forums play an important role in advertising, introducing its products aswell as supply information of product, product related matters Furthermore, forumsare the place for motorbike users to share, exchange information and hold themeeting Among forums, ttvnol.vn is considered one of the strongest forums Butsome people complain that they don’t often get answer from the admin of productsrelated topics If yes, it will take them few days to get answers This makes them

lose confidence in these forums Next, YouTube is the most initial social networknowadays Thus, a great number of businesses take advantage of this network tobroadcast its brand and products Piaggio is not an exceptional one The companyrelated videos, clips like Vespa adventures, Vespa –friendly to environment,Vespa- green action of environment… are broadcasted on you tube But thesevideos are not carefully prepared, the content & image are too simple, unattractive.This leads to a too small number of viewers In detail, video “Vespa – friendly toenvironment” just take about 32 viewers Or videos of Vespa festivals are alsoviewed by 340 people (Youtube.com) Whereas, the programs “I love Vietnam” thatis sponsored by Honda Vietnam company attracts 5 million watchers (vietbao.vn).So, this is a too big number compared to number of watchers in Piaggio’s programs.Finally, an important event for motorbike market in general and for Piaggio VN inparticular is the inauguration of the first Piaggio factory in Vinh Phuc in 2009 Thenewly set up factory aims to convey the message “Italian legend in Viet Nam” Itmeans that Piaggio motorbike line with fashion, luxury of Italian style appears inViet Nam, not in far place However, this event does not create a big echo toconsumers because there are only some print ads, articles about Piaggio Viet Nam.These are famous magazines, webs like Gold, Heritage magazine, nhipcaudautu.vn,Saigon economics time… Consequently, only 35% interviewees said that they haveheard of this event Meanwhile, this is key stage for Piaggio Viet Nam to launch itsnew products to all consumers Every year, there are 50 articles , stories about thecompany and its products on Heritage magazine, 45 on Gold , some on othernewspapers & websites (according to the result of Rich Media ‘s analysis) Forthese magazines, newspapers, this is a relatively large circulation But they lack ofregularity as well as large scale among lots of newspapers, magazines, websites….Therefore, these activities cannot give widespread effect, raise high increase in theknowledge of consumers about Piaggio brand.

CHAPTER III: PERCEPTION IMAGE OF PIAGGIO IN CONSUMERSMIND AND CONSUMERS HABIT OF USING MEDIA

3.1 Perception image of Piaggio in consumers’ mind

According to the result of survey, about 95 % people said that they have ever heardof Piaggio brand 60 % of these people know about this company through internet.35 % said that their knowledge of the company is through friends, relatives Therest is due to other information channels like radio, newspaper, magazines Piaggiois one of the most initial motorbikes in the world About 70% interviewees agreethat Piaggio is the brand with stylish, fashionable, and expensive motorbikes Only60% said that Piaggio is Italian brand Only 50% agree that they think of Piaggiofirst when talk about famous motorbike brand However, a large number up to 75%agree that only rich people can own this motorcycle line 55% people agree thatPiaggio motorbike line brings users the confidence, the pride as well as theadmiration from others when riding on these motorbikes Just 50% people agree thatPiaggio motorbikes spend a little gasoline 49 % people said that Piaggio has goodcustomer service, technical support, or regular check Only 20 % agree that piaggiois friendly to environment, and close to customers Just 5% said that Piaggio brandhas lots of community programs: charity, sponsoring programs for the poor, thehandicapped, the blind….

In summary, Piaggio is a famous brand not only in the world but also in Viet Nam.In general, the consumers in Viet Nam highly appreciate Piaggio brand (accordingto the result of survey) However, piaggio brand has not yet caught good feelingfrom consumers because the company is weak at customer service as well ascommunity programs which create the best impression in consumers’ mind.

3.2 The consumers’ habit of using media

About 95% people said that they access to internet frequently, more than one times /a day And internet is also the most means of media they use.

The following table expresses the level of the most means of media among 100consumers questioned in the survey.

(Source: The result of survey of 100 consumers on sirvina.com

70% said that internet is the most favorite means of media they use to searchinformation, read news Online newspaper is means of media that consumers wouldlike to receive news about Piaggio most Also according to the result of survey, themost favorite information channels are news.zing.com, dantri.vn, vnexpress.com,vietnamnet.vn Information channels that provide economic news arenhipcaidautu.vn, saga.vn, Saigon economics time, Vietnam economics time,vneconomy.vn These are the most favorite channels people use to search foreconomic information.

CHAPTER IV: SOME PR PROPOSALS FOR PIAGGIO4.1 General objectives

According to the assessment of PR activities in Piaggio and perception image inconsumers mind, proposed PR activities will be divided into two followingdirections: proposed PR activities for Piaggio brand & for its products For piaggiobrand, PR activities focus on the increase in knowledge, awareness of an initial,famous, fashionable brand with Italian style and gain good feeling from consumersthrough the improvements of community programs For its products, PR activitiesaim to reconfirm dominant characteristics of this motorcycle line: fashionable,durable, little gasoline, modern, stylish In addition, there are some stories to raisethe confidence, pride of users as well as the admiration from other transporters.These messages are conveyed and public through information channels such asfamous magazines, newspapers, websites, and social networks …These areinformation channels which are widely covered, accessed most by consumersaccording to the result of survey.

4.2 Proposed PR activities for Piaggio brand

According to the evaluation of piaggio PR activities, the company has had lots ofPR activities in recent years However, due to lack of widespread scale, it is nothighly effective These are some specific proposals for PR activities for Piaggio.Firstly, the company should organize Vespa festivals periodically in large scale.Three Vespa festivals are held synchronously every year This will cause an echoand catch great attention from consumers Secondly, the company ought to focusmore company related forums with current PR groups A professional PR group onforums will be very help to deal with rumors, bad news or even complaints fromconsumers They will know how to relieve these kinds of news and help to improvecompany’s image in consumers’ mind For instance, there are some complaints

about Piaggio motorbike’s quality, this PR group will find ways to make it a normalthing and let the topic toward direction that is good for the company In addition, toserve customers better, Dr.Know (a specialist who knows everything about productrelated matters) will be hired to answer all queries for users and provide usefuladvice for customers so that they feel safe to use motorcycles Also, the companywill take chance to release positive message to enhance its brand as well as clarifyall related rumor Forums are the places that attract the most number of people.Therefore , for the company related forums like Piaggio.com, diendanvespa.vn ,vespafamily.com , a writing contest of the best memory of life that is related topiaggio motorcycle line should be held and the best writer will be awarded Thiscontest not only gives participants excitement but also leaves unforgettablememories in consumers’ mind about this famous brand.

In short, the shared & contributed information, experiences from the forum will bevery helpful for writing advertorials, adjusting communication business programand products also So, apart from the aim to give information, the forum is veryideal to consolidate solidity, connection among Piaggio community Thirdly infashion shows that take place per year, the company should hold auctions of VesPa.Money received will be given to the poor, the handicapped… This will be highlyappreciated by consumers and get positive thought of the company Besides, theimage of Piaggio motorbike with famous models appeared on newspaper, magazinewill prove an initial brand’s position of high class, stylish, fashionable motorbikeline.

Next, the company should improve its community programs Only 10% people saidthat they have ever heard of charity or sponsoring programs It is the sponsoringprogram for the prize “The beautiful women who audiences select” in Miss VietNam in 2010 It is clear that the company lacks of community programs that arevaluable to society and the best way to get good feeling from consumers as well asincrease brand ‘s position in customers’ mind The company can hold fund raisingprograms in auctions, exhibitions or charity programs for the poor The company