Nokia: Failed Marketing Campaign Research Proposal Sample

Paper Instructions

Academic level – Graduate
Type of paper – Research proposal
Topic Title – (Brand): Failed marketing campaign
Instructions:

Identify a product/brand that is not successfully marketed or was in a maturity or decline stage of the PLC, thus needing a revitalization.

Justify your choice of the brand (if you are revitalizing a brand) or the product (if you are revitalizing a single product item or product line under a brand).

Research Proposal Sample

Nokia Company’s phone brand, which is in the decline stage, was chosen for the failed marketing campaign project. Nokia was one of the leading participants in the mobile phone business but, in recent years, has struggled to stay up with competitors. Despite these issues, Nokia has the potential for a remarkable comeback due to its brand history and recognition, aiming at a specific niche in the market and innovation focus.

One of the most significant strengths of the Nokia brand is its long history of operation in the market and broad distinction among customers. In southwest Finland in 1865, the small company Nokia grew into the giant mobile manufacturing firm people know today (Hussein, 2020). The current business has been developing for many years, creating one of the most known phones, Nokia, at the end of the 1990s. Many warmly recall their early Nokia handsets, and the company has a reputation for making high-quality, long-lasting phones. Nokia successfully provided new concepts, experiences, and technology (during that period) that people will never forget (Hussein, 2020). With this familiarity, Nokia can appeal to consumers searching for a credible and trustworthy brand. The brand can broaden its product line to include various gadgets, such as smartwatches or tablets, to appeal to a more extensive user base. Thus, by appealing to wide acceptance and rich history, Nokia’s marketing can attract new clients and start revitalization.

Another strategy that Nokia can employ is targeting a specific niche market by concentrating on characteristics consumers find valuable. Nokia was the first to develop a cellular network and was a mobile phone market leader in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Hussein, 2020). The brand captured customer loyalty through its long-lasting phones, famous for their strength. Nokia, for example, may target customers who want a phone with a long battery life or a phone with a high-quality camera to separate itself from competitors and offer a distinct value proposition to consumers. Nokia may also consider collaborating with other companies to develop co-branded items that appeal to specific target markets. Nokia attempted to resurrect itself first by leveraging its assets and Symbian operating system and then by forging an agreement with Microsoft and its Windows operating system, but failed (Lamberg, 2019). The company can now collaborate with technological giants in the maturity stage to avoid similar failures. Therefore, the Nokia phone brand can establish a single niche and collaborate with other companies to reach its previous competitiveness.

Nokia can also restore its competitive edge by shifting its innovation focus to modernizing phone manufacturing processes. After capturing more than 40% of the mobile phone market, Nokia lost its capacity to maintain its position against new entrants, iPhones, and Android phones, and lost its competitiveness after 2007 (Lamberg, 2019). This decline was strongly linked to Nokia’s lack of innovations for its phones compared to iPhones or Android phones. Nokia’s market failure was mainly due to its lack of innovation, its inability to grasp software’s unlimited applications and experiences, and a decline in hardware importance (Hussein, 2020). Nokia can effortlessly promote itself as an avant-garde visionary by creating unknown terrain in phone design and functionality. From ground-breaking advances in AI-driven user interfaces and immersive augmented reality experiences to game-changing improvements in battery endurance and ultra-fast wireless connection, the potential for Nokia phone innovation is limitless. Hence, the Nokia phone line has the potential for revitalization due to increased focus on innovating its product.

Nokia can back in the competitive market of phones by aiming at its brand history and consumer loyalty, entering specific phone niches, and driving innovation for its marketing campaign. The company’s phone line can again enter the maturity stage with a proper marketing campaign, revealing the changes completed by Nokia’s board. Targeting the brand’s history, its strength in a particular niche of phones, and its innovation path can attract new and old customers.

References

Hussein, R. (2020). How fear of change, lack of innovation led to Nokia’s failure?. International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy (2687–2293), 2(4), 43–48. https://doi.org/10.36096/ijbes.v2i4.222

Lamberg, J. A. (2019). Ringtone: Exploring the rise and fall of Nokia in mobile phones. J Int Bus Stud 50, 292–294. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-018-0188-y