Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
favor of promotional techniques that generate immediate sales responses and those that are more easily
measured, such as direct marketing. Online advertising has earned a bigger share of the budget as well due to
consumer preferences, individual differences, and personal goals.
56. Describe informative promotion with examples.
Answers will vary. Informative promotion seeks to convert an existing need into a want or to stimulate
interest in a new product. It is generally more prevalent during the early stages of the product life cycle.
People typically will not buy a product or service or support a nonprofit organization until they know its
purpose and its benefits to them. Informative messages are important for promoting complex and technical
products such as automobiles, computers, and investment services. For example, shortly after Google
unveiled the Google Glass wearable computer and display, it released a series of commercials showing
various practical uses for the device. A commercial titled “How It Feels” demonstrated point-of-view video
and photo capture, messaging, video chatting, search, weather, mapping, and more. Even though it did not
overtly explain the device‘s functions, the ad informed viewers how the device could record once–in-a–
lifetime moments and provide the perfect solutions for life’s little problems. Informative promotion is also
important for a “new” brand being introduced into an “old” product class. When modern-day cooler
manufacturer COOLEST began its Kickstarter campaign, it used video to inform backers about its product’s
benefits. Unlike a traditional cooler, the COOLEST cooler features a rechargeable blender, a portable
speaker, storage for plates and cutlery, and a USB outlet. When the product launched, COOLEST again used
informative promotion to distinguish itself from seasoned competitors. New products cannot establish
themselves against more mature products unless potential buyers are aware of them, value their benefits, and
understand their positioning in the marketplace.
57. Briefly explain the AIDA model.
Answers will vary. The AIDA model proposes that consumers respond to marketing messages in a cognitive
(thinking), affective (feeling), and conative (doing) sequence. First, a promotion manager may focus on
attracting a consumer’s attention by training a salesperson to use a friendly greeting and approach or by using
loud volume, bold headlines, movement, bright colors, and the like in an advertisement. Next, a good sales
presentation, demonstration, or advertisement creates interest in the product and then, by illustrating how the
product’s features will satisfy the consumer‘s needs, arouses desire. Finally, a special offer or a strong closing
sales pitch may be used to obtain purchase action.Most buyers involved in high-involvement purchase
situations pass through the four stages of the AIDA model on the way to making a purchase. The promoter’s
task is to determine where on the purchase ladder most of the target consumers are located and design a
promotion plan to meet their needs.
58. Briefly explain the integrated marketing communications (IMC) concept. What are the reasons for its growing
popularity?
Answers will vary. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the careful coordination of all
promotional messages—traditional advertising, direct marketing, social media, interactive, public relations,
sales promotion, personal selling, event marketing, and other communications—for a product or service to
assure the consistency of messages at every contact point where a company meets the consumer. Following
the concept of IMC, marketing managers carefully work out the roles that various promotional elements will
play in the marketing mix. Timing of promotional activities is coordinated, and the results of each campaign