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120) What are the elements of the marketing communications mix?
Answer: The marketing communications mix consists of eight major modes of communication:
1. Advertising — Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or
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121) Briefly describe the macromodel of the marketing communications process.
Answer:
The macromodel of the communications process has nine key factors in effective
communication. Two represent the major parties — sender and receiver. Two represent the
122) Gravity is a company that markets customized T-shirts to its customers. Gravity runs an ad
that seeks to attract more customers. Apply the macromodel of the communications process to
describe the communication between Gravity and its target customers.
Answer: The macromodel of the communications process comprises of nine key factors in
effective communication. Two represent the major parties – sender (Gravity) and receiver
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123) Alan is an executive with an ad agency that has been entrusted with accounts for a used-car
showroom, a home appliances maker, and a soap company. With reference to response hierarchy
models, how does Alan plan communication strategies for the three accounts effectively?
Answer: All the four classic response hierarchy models assume that the buyer passes through
cognitive (learn), affective (feel), and behavioral stages (do), in that order. Since buying a car,
124) Derek is working on promoting his company’s Glazer brand of electronic razors.
Preliminary surveys have revealed that even though a sizable portion of the target market has
developed a liking for the product due to innovative advertising, few customers would actually
consider replacing their current razors with Glazers. How can Derek modify the communications
program to get customers to favor Glazers over other brands?
Answer: Student answers may vary.
Since customers are comfortable with their present electronic razors, Derek’s communications
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125) Derek is working on promoting his company’s Glazer brand of electronic razors. Market
research suggests that the target audience possesses an intent to use Glazers, but is dithering over
actually making the purchase. How can Derek modify the communications program to get
customers to purchase Glazer razors?
Answer: Student answers may vary.
126) Provide a general description of the four classic response hierarchy models.
Answer: Micromodels of marketing communications concentrate on consumers’ specific
responses to communications. All the response hierarchy models assume the buyer passes
127) What are the features of an ideal advertising campaign?
Answer: To increase the odds for a successful marketing communications campaign, marketers
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128) What are the steps involved in developing effective marketing communications?
Answer: 1. Identify target audience
129) When asked about their preferred brand of instant noodles outside a supermarket setting,
customers could not remember Nissin’s name, but relied on the distinct packaging to help them
spot the noodles while shopping. Describe how this problem can be addressed through the
objective of Nissin’s marketing communications.
Answer: The objective for Nissin’s marketing communications objective should be to build
130) Write a short note on “brand awareness” as an objective of marketing communications.
Answer: Brand awareness refers to fostering the consumer’s ability to recognize or recall the
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131) Compare and contrast the use of negative and positive appeals in advertising messages.
Answer: Communicators use negative appeals such as fear, guilt, and shame to get people to do
132) An ad agency has landed an account for Savola, a brand of healthy cooking oil. Describe
how the ad can incorporate negative appeals in its messages effectively.
Answer: Student answers may vary.
Negative appeals such as fear, guilt, and shame are used by communicators to get people to do
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133) Tiger Woods’ endorsement deals were terminated by a host of sponsors, including
Accenture, Gillette, AT&T, and General Motors. What are the reasons for these companies
dropping Woods from their promotional efforts?
Answer: Celebrities are likely to be effective when they are credible or personify a key product
attribute. Tiger Woods’ personal problems have resulted in the erosion of his credibility as a
134) Name a few products for which personal influence plays a significant role in marketing
communications.
Answer: Personal influence carries especially great weight (1) when products are expensive,
risky, or purchased infrequently, and (2) when products suggest something about the user’s status
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135) Derek is working on promoting his company’s Glazer brand of electronic razors. The
company estimates 50 million potential users and sets a target of attracting 8 percent of the
market. Derek hopes to reach 80 percent of the potential customers with an advertising message.
He would be pleased if 25 percent of the prospects that were aware, tried the Glazer. According
to further estimates, 40 percent of all triers will become loyal users. If the cost of exposing 1
percent of the target population to one impression is $4500 on an average, determine the
necessary advertising budget, according to the objective-and-task method.
Answer: Using the objective-and-task method, Derek can arrive at the marketing
136) What are the major characteristics of sales promotions as an element of the marketing
communications mix?
Answer: Companies use sales promotion tools—coupons, contests, premiums, and the like—to
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137) What is the role of advertising as a communications tool in marketing for business markets?
Answer: Although marketers rely more on sales calls in business markets, advertising still plays
a significant role:
138) How do the stages of buyer readiness affect the composition of a product’s marketing
communications mix?
Answer: Communication tools vary in cost-effectiveness at different stages of buyer readiness.
139) How do the stages in a product’s life cycle influence the marketing communications mix?
Answer: In the introduction stage of the product life cycle, advertising, events and experiences,
and publicity have the highest cost-effectiveness, followed by personal selling to gain
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140) Karl Lipton is marketing communications coordinator for a major electronics manufacturer.
He is assigned with charting out a communications strategy for a new range of mobile phones
developed by his company. How will Karl’s communications strategy look like over the course
of the mobile phones’ life cycle?
Answer: Mobile phones have relatively short life cycles. In the introduction stage of the phones’
life cycle, advertising, events and experiences, and publicity have the highest cost-effectiveness.
141) Briefly describe the process of measuring the results of marketing communications.
Answer: Senior managers want to know the outcomes and revenues resulting from their
communications investments. Too often, however, their communications directors supply only
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142) What is integrated marketing communications? What is its significance in the current
marketing environment?
Answer: Many companies still rely on only one or two communication tools. This practice
persists in spite of the fragmenting of mass markets into a multitude of minimarkets, each
requiring its own approach; the proliferation of new types of media; and the growing
143) How is coordination of media achieved through integrated marketing communications?
Answer: Media coordination can occur across and within media types, but marketers should
combine personal and nonpersonal communications channels through multiple-vehicle, multiple-