Effective Marketing Communications to Win the Local Market : Case: Rock Shop - Hard Rock Helsinki, Finland

This Bachelor's thesis was conducted for Rock Shop, Hard Rock Cafe Helsinki. Rock Shop is located in the center of Helsinki, Aleksanterinkatu 21. The store sells fashion items such as the famous Hard Rock t-shirt, bag, hat, home decorations and accessories as well as the signature collectibles of the brand and so on. The overall objective of the study was to deter-mine recommendations for an effective marketing communications mix to reach and attract the Finnish market. The research question can be worded as "How can Rock Shop - Hard Rock Helsinki develop its marketing communications mix in order to attract local market?". The study includes a theory section and an empirical section that deals with the case compa-ny. The theory section discussed five elements of brand equity (awareness, loyalty, imagery associations, perceived quality and other assets) and the marketing communications mix, including advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling and direct marketing. The empirical part focused on the customer image of Rock Shop in customers' perception and what the company could do to improve the effectiveness of marketing communications. Primary data and secondary data was collected to answer the research question. Primary data was collected through an in-depth interview with sales and marketing manager of Hard Rock Cafe Helsinki and a survey to get a variety of answers from people living in Finland. Altogether 75 answers were collected for the survey from 17 April 2018 to 24 April 2018. The researcher gathered secondary data from theory books about brand equity and the marketing communications mix. The research showed differences between the current methods of marketing communications of Rock Shop and the preferences of the Finnish market. Recommendations for development include the implementation of separate marketing strategies and activities for Rock Shop and a careful customer segmentation which helps to deliver the value and brand messages to customers efficiently. To create strong brand awareness, the case company should also in-tensify its Internet marketing and use sponsoring as well as fashion Instagram influencers to make the brand more well-known in the local market