Imc Report

IMC REPORT

1.a. Defined itself as the worldwide online marketplace, eBay is the bridge between buyers and sellers to trade

almost anything (eBay, 2015). Simply put, eBay has targeted audience of any ages, classes and demographics

who have access to the internet and seek for bargains. “The eBay audience is so vast that even when we drill

down to minor shopping segments our numbers are still big enough to hold up” (eBayadvertising, 2015).

However, the focus may change over time. eBay first started a TVC in 2002 to define itself amongst other

retailers and in 2004 highlighted the “everyone” characteristic with “The power of all of us” to show that

anyone may have their favoured item sold on eBay. Because people have different tastes, eBay stressed out in

2005 ads “You can get “It” on eBay” that they offered a variety of items for sales to widen the target audience’s

scale. However, since 2010 with the boom of smart devices, eBay focused more on the mobile segment users

with “When it’s on your mind, it’s on eBay” to emphasize the convenience of using the application to trade. To

sum up, eBay’s advertisement use varied situations to connect with different people to expand the scope of

targeted audience as “everyone”

b. Advertising is essential in building brand awareness (Blakeman, 2007) and in this case covers TVC, print,

banner and rich-media ads. Its positive sides include large audience reach and pulling new customers (Chitty et

al, 2008). However, one-way communication often leads to low level of immediate response (0.01%) (Egan,

2007) and difficulty understanding audience.

Celebrity endorsement with the 15 comedians recording vignettes about eBay shopping experience is another

tool. The practice is common for supporting corporate or brand image. While it can draw public attention,

polish the reputation and introduce new brands, the downside may include overshadowing the brand, public

controversy and expensive cost (Erdogan, 2010).

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