73) 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.
74) 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?
75) Provide a general description of the four classic response hierarchy models.
76) What are the features of an ideal advertising campaign?
77) Marketing communication strategy can be decided by conducting an image analysis by
profiling the target audience in terms of ________.
A) brand knowledge
B) purchase patterns
C) demographic characteristics
D) income levels
E) psychographic characteristics
78) Which of the following is the marketing communications objective for a new-to-the-world
product, such as electric cars?
A) enhancing brand awareness
B) developing brand attitude
C) increasing brand purchase intention
D) encouraging repeat purchases
E) establishing category need
79) When Apple introduced the iPod in October, 2001, it was the first-of-its-kind product that
offered sizable storage capacity for songs and a portable device that was not seen before in the
market. Which of the following is most likely to have been the marketing communications
objective for the iPod at the time of its introduction?
A) developing brand awareness
B) building customer traffic
C) enhancing purchase actions
D) establishing product category
E) enhancing firm image
80) Which method for establishing the total marketing communications budget sets
communication budgets to achieve the same amount of share-of-voice as competitors?
A) comparative-parity method
B) objective-and-task method
C) affordable method
D) competitive-parity method
E) percentage-of-sales method
81) One of the possible objectives of marketing communications is helping consumers evaluate a
brand’s perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. Which of the following is a
negatively oriented relevant brand need?
A) normal depletion
B) sensory gratification
C) social approval
D) intellectual stimulation
E) value enhancement
82) One of the possible objectives of marketing communications is helping consumers evaluate a
brand’s perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. Which of the following is a positively
oriented relevant brand need?
A) problem removal
B) social approval
C) normal depletion
D) problem avoidance
E) incomplete satisfaction
83) One of the possible objectives of marketing communications is helping consumers evaluate a
brand’s perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. Which of the following relevant
brand needs is most likely emphasized by an advertisement for a luxury car?
A) problem removal
B) sensory gratification
C) normal depletion
D) intellectual stimulation
E) problem avoidance
84) Creative strategies refer to the ________.
A) way marketers translate their messages into a specific communication
B) amount of creative content in a communications message
C) degree of innovation involved in the marketing of a product
D) novelty of a marketing communication
E) type of medium used to deliver a marketing communication
85) A(n) ________ appeal is a creative strategy that elaborates on product or service attributes or
benefits.
A) aesthetic
B) informational
C) bandwagon
D) emotional
E) transformational
86) A(n) ________ appeal is a creative strategy that elaborates on a nonproduct-related benefit or
image.
A) logical
B) transformational
C) reasonable
D) informational
E) rational
87) Which of the following ads depict a transformational appeal?
A) Thompson Water Seal can withstand intense rain, snow, and heat.
B) DIRECTV offers better HD options than cable or other satellite operators.
C) NBA phenomenon LeBron James pitching Nike, Sprite, and McDonald’s.
D) Pringles advertised “Once You Pop, the Fun Don’t Stop” for years.
E) Excedrin stops the toughest headache pain.
88) Which of the following ads depict an informational appeal?
A) Thompson Water Seal can withstand intense rain, snow, and heat.
B) The California Milk Processor Board ran the successful “Got Milk?” ad to boost declining
sales.
C) VW advertised to active, youthful people with its famed “Drivers Wanted” campaign.
D) Pringles advertised “Once You Pop, the Fun Don’t Stop” for years.
E) KFC has marketed its fast-food products under the slogan, “Finger Lickin’ Good.”
89) ________ is one of the sources of a spokesperson’s credibility that refers to the specialized
knowledge that he or she claims to possess.
A) Trustworthiness
B) Expertise
C) Acquaintance
D) Likability
E) Professionalism
90) ________ is a source of a spokesperson’s credibility that describes how objective and honest
the spokesperson is perceived to be.
A) Likability
B) Expertise
C) Experience
D) Trustworthiness
E) Compassion
91) Which of the following sources of a spokesperson’s credibility describes his or her
attractiveness?
A) expertise
B) trustworthiness
C) likability
D) integrity
E) experience
92) Which of the following marketing communications principles implies that communicators
can use their good image to reduce some negative feelings toward a brand but in the process
might lose some esteem with the audience?
A) principle of closure
B) principle of duality
C) principle of delegation
D) principle of congruity
E) principle of neutrality
93) Which of the following personal communication channels consist of company salespeople
contacting buyers in the target market?
A) expert channels
B) social channels
C) advocate channels
D) independent channels
E) informal channels
94) Which of the following personal communications channels consist of family members,
neighbors, friends, and associates talking to target buyers?
A) expert channels
B) advocate channels
C) social channels
D) formal channels
E) sponsored channels
95) Top Gear is an award-winning British television series about motor vehicles, mainly cars. It
is presented by hosts who test drive new cars and provide reviews on the cars’ performance, their
prices, and other factors. Which of the following personal communications channels is Top Gear
closest to in description?
A) expert channel
B) formal channel
C) social channel
D) sponsored channel
E) advocate channel
96) Personal influence in marketing communications carries great weight when the ________.
A) product being marketed is a convenience item
B) purchase of the product is considered to be safe and risk-free
C) product suggests something about the user’s status or taste
D) product being marketed is purchased on a frequent basis
E) product or service in questions is used without being recommended by others
97) Which of the following is a form of mass communications channel?
A) interactive marketing
B) personal selling
C) public relations
D) word-of-mouth marketing
E) sales presentations
98) Which of the following statements is true of the two-step approach to mass communications?
A) The influence of mass media on public opinion is more direct, powerful, and automatic than
marketers have supposed.
B) Communications through mass media bypasses opinion leaders and reaches the individual
buyers.
C) The two-step flow supports the notion that consumption styles are primarily influenced by a
“trickle-down” or “trickle-up” effect from mass media.
D) According to the two-step flow, people interact primarily within their own social groups and
acquire ideas from opinion leaders in their groups.
E) Two-step communication suggests that mass communicators should direct messages to groups
of buyers who interpret the message and act accordingly.
99) Which of the following is a characteristic of the affordable method of establishing a
marketing communications budget?
A) fixed annual budget
B) suitable for long-range planning
C) priority given to role of promotion as an investment
D) calculated to reflect what the company can spare for marketing communications
E) based on the immediate impact of promotion on sales volume
100) Which of the following is NOT true about the two-step process by which mass
communications affect personal attitudes?
A) The influence of mass media is mediated by opinion leaders, people whose opinions others
seek or who carry their opinions to others.
B) The influence of mass media on public opinion is not as direct, powerful, and automatic as
marketers have supposed.
C) The two-step flow supports the notion that consumption styles are primarily influenced by a
trickle-up or trickle-down effect from mass media.
D) People interact primarily within their own social groups and acquire ideas from opinion
leaders in their groups.
E) Two-step communication suggests that mass communicators should direct messages
specifically to opinion leaders and let them carry the message to others.
101) Gabrielle is the chief marketing officer of Boyd Pharmaceuticals. She is meeting with
Trent, the chief financial officer to decide on the company’s marketing communications budget.
After extensive discussions, they decide that the size of the budget will be calculated as a
fraction of the overall turnover. What method did Gabrielle and Trent use to arrive at the
marketing communications budget?
A) affordable method
B) objective-and-task method
C) competitive-parity method
D) activity-based method
E) percentage-of-sales method
102) Which of the following is an advantage of using the percentage-of-sales method to
determine the marketing communications budget?
A) The percentage-of-sales method encourages stability when competing firms spend
approximately the same portion of their sales on communications.
B) The percentage-of-sales method views sales as the determiner of communications rather than
as the result.
C) The percentage-of-sales method leads to a budget set by market opportunities rather than the
availability of funds.
D) The percentage-of-sales method encourages experimentation with countercyclical
communication or aggressive spending.
E) The percentage-of-sales method encourages building the communication budget by
determining what each product and territory deserves.
103) Which of the following is a disadvantage of using a percentage-of-sales method to
determine the marketing communications budget?
A) It discourages stability when competing firms spend approximately the same percentage of
their sales on communications.
B) By using a percentage-of-sales method, communication expenditures tend to be extremely
high irrespective of what a company can afford.
C) It discourages management from thinking of the relationship among communication cost,
selling price, and profit per unit.
D) Dependence of the percentage-of-sales method on year-to-year sales fluctuations interferes
with long-range planning.
E) The percentage-of-sales method views sales as the result in itself rather than the determiner of
communications.
104) Gabrielle is the chief marketing officer of Boyd Pharmaceuticals. She is meeting with
Trent, the chief financial officer to decide on the company’s marketing communications budget.
They pore over the sales reports and other financial records and determine the amount of
resources they can spare for marketing communications, after resources have been allocated to
other functions, such as R&D, logistics, etc. What method did Gabrielle and Trent use to arrive
at the marketing communications budget?
A) objective-and-task method
B) affordable method
C) competitive-parity method
D) activity-based method
E) percentage-of-sales method
105) Gabrielle is the chief marketing officer of Boyd Pharmaceuticals. She is meeting with
Trent, the chief financial officer to decide on the company’s marketing communications budget.
They decide to trust in the prevailing collective wisdom of the industry as a whole, and not
wanting to instigate a communications war, settle on spending only as much as their nearest
market rival does on marketing communications. What method did Gabrielle and Trent use to
arrive at the marketing communications budget?
A) objective-and-task method
B) affordable method
C) competitive-parity method
D) activity-based method
E) percentage-of-sales method
106) Marketing communications budgets tend to be higher when there ________.
A) is high channel support
B) exists hardly any change in the marketing program over time
C) are infrequent product purchases in large quantities
D) are differentiated products and nonhomogeneous customer needs
E) are many easily reachable customers spread over small geographic territories
107) Qualities such as candor, humor, and naturalness make a spokesperson ________, which is
an important component of spokesperson credibility.
A) likable
B) an expert
C) trustworthy
D) transformational
E) informational
108) Though the target audience can be profiled in terms of demographic, psychographic, or
behavioral segments, it is often useful to do so in terms of usage and loyalty.