Chapter–by–chapter aids: Chapter 13
Instructor’s Manual to Accompany Essentials of Marketing IV–13-1
CHAPTER 13: PROMOTION – INTRODUCTION TO INTEGRATED
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
CHAPTER 13 – COMMENTS ON QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
13– 1. See section “Which Methods to Use Depends on Promotion Objectives” for a discussion of the
three methods.
13– 2. Integrated marketing communications concerns the intentional coordination of every
communication from a firm to a target customer to convey a consistent and complete message.
The focus on “consistent and complete” communications is important because in most firms
different people with different views of what‘s important. It isn’t reasonable to expect any
particular element in the promotion blend to carry the whole communications load, but it is
13– 3. The basic promotion objectives are to inform, persuade, and remind – while the four tasks are
getting attention, holding interest, arousing desire, and obtaining action. An example helps to
make this more concrete. As illustrated, the four tasks (with shifting degrees of emphasis) are
13– 4. Again, a specific example helps make the discussion more concrete. In the case of the security
system, it probably would be useful to discuss the difficulty of communicating with the various
influences in the purchasing decision. For example, the people who work in that area might be
concerned about how easy it was for authorized personnel to enter the area – and the risks of
Further, the discussion might cover the likelihood of the various influences seeing or reading
the various media – and how they would react to personal salespeople. Some media might not
successful in reassuring the clerical personnel that the system would not slow them down or
create problems, but that same style might not be at all successful with the company’s security
experts.
misinterpreted – by at least some consumers – regardless of the country in which it is
communicating. However, many of the communication problems that arise can be avoided –
perhaps even easily avoided – if “locals” are involved in developing, evaluating and criticizing
In Chapter 15, there is additional discussion of the formation of international mega–agencies.
One reason for these international corporate “networks” is to be certain that an agency has the
13– 6. The highly persuasive advertising in the market maturity and sales decline stages is probably
the culprit. Most of the products are essentially the same, but competition often centers on
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Part IV
aggressive mass selling rather than price–cutting or product improvement. This advertising may
have little or no informative content. This is especially disturbing to some critics. Consider, for
example, the ads for different brands of dishwasher detergent. Ads may give the impression
that the choice of the “correct” brand will prevent the user from being embarrassed by spotty or
effective on this chosen dimension – perhaps because consumers assume that all dishwasher
detergents should get their dishes clean.
13– 7. The use of direct–response promotion often involves a “building up” process. For example, the
direct response may simply be an expression of interest (rather than, say, a purchase).
However, given the expression of interest by the consumer, the seller might send mail
the next step.”
13– 8. This question asks the student to think about a topic that is discussed in more depth in Chapter
15, along with a number of other issues related to digital advertising. Students may give a
variety of answers, but they are likely to take the hint concerning the Internet and mention that
the information provided by the firm can be made available (say, by a link to a website) at the
information. Of course, the same sort of approach is used in physical “places” as well. For
example, a producer of video games might put a kiosk that features its games in the toy
department of a department store. Then, the customer could use the kiosk to get more
13– 9. The support supplied for each answer is extremely important here. This will reveal the
assumptions that have been made about the target market(s) and the nature of the product.
Some of these products (digital tape recorder, car batteries, and perhaps castings for truck
engines) could be both consumer and business products – and require several intermediaries
answers. It might be useful to have several students place their blends (and supports) on the
board. Then discussion can focus on why the blends are different – if they are – and if not, how
similar the supports are. Then it might be fruitful to discuss how the blends would change if the
Inexpensive plastic rainhats would probably involve personal selling in the channel, but
probably would not be supported with much mass selling or sales promotion. (You might ask
students to name a brand of inexpensive plastic rainhat. Few will be able to name one.)
Chapter-by–chapter aids: Chapter 13
Part IV
IV–13-4 Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy
13–13. The firm might want to target promotions specifically at the opinion leaders as part of an effort
to stimulate word–of–mouth communication. Also, see section “Adoption Processes Can Guide
Promotion Planning.”
innovators – who might be willing to try the product for their own pleasure or business use. The
innovators are likely to see technical announcements and publicity releases in specialty
magazines. The early adopters might have to be approached with mass advertising as well as
advertising would help confirm those who have already adopted – giving them the words they
can use to spread the “word” to others.
ignoring competitors’ promotion spending levels. To the contrary, the “task” that a firm needs to
accomplish with its promotion is certainly likely to vary depending on what competitors are
likely future actions.
13–16. The basic conflict arises because each of the promotion managers has at least some capacity
to accomplish the tasks that the other managers can do or are doing. If the firm happens to
have developed a poor promotion blend, a rearrangement of the blend might be much more
efficient, but it would require shifting of tasks among the promotion managers. This would
normally be resisted by those who would lose responsibility – as each one’s status and
compensation may be related to responsibility.
This problem might be reduced by encouraging the various promotion managers to see that all
are part of the firm’s marketing team and that integrating all of their efforts might improve the
promotion effort and the whole marketing program. One of the motivations for participating
could be learning how to develop marketing plans – i.e., to have the skills to become marketing
managers. Integrating all of the four Ps requires imagination and judgment and experience. By
participating in these efforts, individual promotion managers could broaden their experience
and increase their chances for promotion.
DISCUSSION OF COMPUTER-AIDED PROBLEM 13: SELECTING A
COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL
In this problem, the owner of a chain of retail stereo stores is deciding what media to use in promoting a
new store. The different media reach different audiences, require different “front end” costs for preparing
ads, and yield different results in terms of customer awareness and purchases. The student analyzes the
data and decides which media to use. This problem emphasizes the importance of ads being targeted to
reach the market, and with evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different media.
The initial spreadsheet for the problem is given below:
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter-by–chapter aids: Chapter 13
P L U S – Spreadsheet
FM Station
Magazine
Total Audience Size (People)
100000
*
200000
*
Audience Percent in Income/Age Group
70.00
*
60.00
*
Percent of Audience Local Residents
95.00
*
65.00
*
Number of “Prospects” in Audience
66500
78000
Preparation Cost for Ad
200.00
*
2000.00
*
Cost of One Ad “Insertion”
150.00
*
1800.00
*
Objective: Percent of Prospects Aware
80.00
*
80.00
*
Insertions Needed to Achieve Objective
60
*
6
*
Total Cost for All Ads
9200.00
12800.00
Number of “Aware” Prospects
53200.00
62400.00
Cost per Aware Prospect
0.173
0.205
Percent of Aware Who Will Buy
2.00
*
1.50
*
Likely Number of Buyers
1064
936
Cost per Buyer
8.647
13.675
Answers to Computer–Aided Problem 13:
a. Based on the initial spreadsheet (given above), FM radio appears to be the more cost–effective
medium. The cost per buyer for radio is $8.65 vs. $13.67 for the magazine.
The problem description and spreadsheet imply that either media plan would achieve the objective
(expressed in terms of the percent of “prospects” who are aware of the new store). This issue is
developed in more detail in later questions. But, in discussing student recommendations, the
discussion will sometimes turn to qualitative advantages and disadvantages of the two media. If the
instructor wants to go in that direction, such a discussion can provide an interesting contrast to the
more quantitative flavor of the spreadsheet – and thus highlight why marketing managers usually
need to consider both qualitative and quantitative criteria.
b. Given the data on the spreadsheet (see below), the agency’s proposal does not appear to be good
idea. Although the number of ad insertions would be lower, the high front–end cost of developing the
ad would increase the total cost per buyer of the effort to $9.12 per buyer, up from $8.65 per buyer
on the initial spreadsheet.
P L U S – Spreadsheet
FM Station
Magazine
Total Audience Size (People)
100000
*
200000
*
Audience Percent in Income/Age Group
70.00
*
60.00
*
Percent of Audience Local Residents
95.00
*
65.00
*
Number of “Prospects” in Audience
66500
78000
Preparation Cost for Ad
2500.00
*
2000.00
*
Cost of One Ad “Insertion”
150.00
*
1800.00
*
Objective: Percent of Prospects Aware
80.00
*
80.00
*
Insertions Needed to Achieve Objective
48
*
6
*
Total Cost for All Ads
9700.00
12800.00
Number of “Aware” Prospects
53200.00
62400.00
Cost per Aware Prospect
0.182
0.205
Percent of Aware Who Will Buy
2.00
*
1.50
*
Likely Number of Buyers
1064
936
Cost per Buyer
9.117
13.675
c. The What If data display below shows the effects of different levels of awareness on the two kinds of
costs for the radio ad. The point here is that the cost–effectiveness of the ad varies significantly
Part IV
depending on how well the ad stimulates awareness – and ultimately converts “aware” prospects to
buyers. For example, if only 50 percent of the prospects become aware, the cost per buyer is $14.59.
This poor result would make the magazine ad more cost effective (at $13.67 cost per buyer).
However, if as high as 70 percent awareness is achieved,, the cost per buyer is reduced to $10.42.
This would be less expensive than the magazine ad.
The instructor can use this question/analysis to raise issues related to the importance of having
specific objectives – and trying to determine if those objectives are being achieved. Many firms don’t
set clearly defined objectives for their advertising – and those that do sometimes just assume that the
objectives have been achieved. Although it is often difficult to trace the effectiveness of ads all the
way to a “cost per buyer” (as is assumed in this simple example), it is possible to use research to
determine if specific intermediate objectives – such as awareness levels – have been achieved.
Chapter-by–chapter aids: Chapter 13
prices. When you check the website, there are a number of unfavorable, anonymous reviews. You also
notice that there are about 30 very upbeat reviews of the competing restaurant. Your friend wants you to
help give the competitor “what he deserves” and write some negative reviews about that restaurant.
Would you do what he asks? Why or why not? What else could you do?
Online reviews may amplify the effects of word–of–mouth – instead of telling a few friends, an online
review may be read by hundreds or even thousands of potential customers. Word–of–mouth can have a
strong influence on consumer choice – especially for service–oriented businesses like restaurants. Yet,
unlike traditional face–to–face word–of–mouth, the online variation may be more easily manipulated. There
have been media accounts and rumors of people posting false recommendations and reviews to boost
ratings at various sites. This scenario reflects a real concern with consumer–generated media – its
credibility.
A discussion of the topic could go in many different directions. While students should view the practice as
unethical, it prompts the broader question – what if the competition does it? Does this open the door for a
firm to engage in unethical practices as well? Students should recognize that this type of practice could
lead both firms down a dangerous ethical path. What would employees think about the management of
What else could you do? Students might suggest talking to the website staff – perhaps they could find out
what types of control are in place to prevent the competing restaurant from behaving in this manner. Is it
possible to gather more proof and bring it to the attention of the review site, which may take action?
Review sites like this (see also Epinions.com, CNET.com, and Amazon.com) are usually very concerned
about companies that might try to game its rating system because if reviews at their sites lose credibility,
shoppers are less likely to visit their sites.
Part IV
Chapter–by–chapter aids: Chapter 14
14– 1. See Exhibit 14-1. Strategy decisions should be made by the marketing manager because
personal selling is only a part of Promotion – which is only one of the four Ps. All of these must
be interrelated to have an effective marketing strategy. Leaving these decisions to a sales
manager commonly results in the personal selling area being run as an autonomous unit –
spending the money allocated for personal selling. Once one accepts the concept of
market–oriented strategy planning, it is clear that the marketing manager should set the
strait–jacket the various marketing specialists. As indicated here, only a few decision areas
need to be treated. But they are important because they determine the nature of the personal
selling job – and affect its cost, the resulting sales, and the profitability of the firm.
14– 2. As with all questions of this type, it is extremely important to specify the target customers, the
nature of the product, and now, the place policies. Without some assumptions, it is almost
14– 3. See the answer to Question 14-2.
14– 4. This would usually call for a fairly high–caliber order getter, who may be very useful in the early
stages of the product life cycle. Then, when the product is fairly well accepted, the marketing
manager may be able to use order takers who can follow through on the promotion job.
14– 5. Those specialty shops which can retain good order takers or even order getters – or who are
owned by good order takers/getters – may grow in sales as customers who desire special
service lack decent alternatives to these specialty shops. If mass selling develops strong brand
familiarity, however, then lower caliber order takers or perhaps even vending machines may be
able to complete the transactions. For the majority of heterogeneous shopping products, this
does not seem too likely, though.. And these are the products specialty shops have
14– 7. Students can readily identify with this common situation. In a class discussion, an instructor
may want to solicit a broad range of different experiences, “Can someone describe a
particularly bad example of customer service?” A follow–up question might be, “Would you buy
from this company again?” Sometimes you have interesting responses, for example, when a
cable TV company or Internet service provider is involved. Since these companies have little
to no competition in most areas, students may say, “I have to keep buying from them – but I
Part IV
of customer service. The discussion is best focused on ways to improve customer service.
After this part of the discussion slows, an instructor might ask, “Can anyone describe a
particularly good customer service experience?” and “What does this company do right?”
These experiences reinforce and extend the text’s discussion of customer service. The series
of examples help to demonstrate the importance of good customer service and some tactics
that work.
14– 8. Few college campuses have a position of customer service rep – or something similar.
Students will likely advocate for such a position. Most have had at least some problems with
registration, buying books, paying bills, in–class instruction, etc. It is interesting to discuss why
colleges do not have such a position – all have salespeople (recruiting staff). But the costs of
switching colleges can be pretty high – so maybe schools feel little incentive to invest in
customer service systems that primarily impact retention. This may be penny–wise and pound
the detriment of service quality. Such programs give CSRs an incentive to quickly get a
customer off the phone. This increases the likelihood of transferring a problem to another CSR
– and customers may have to start all over describing their problem. Or a CSR might give a
sales in the future. More broadly, this example shows how compensation schemes can
influence employee behavior.
14–10. Have two different pay scales – one for the experienced salespeople with much higher
incentives, perhaps a straight commission, and another with almost straight salary but enough
incentive to encourage rapid learning on the job. After a training period, the new person could
14–11. The intention here is to have students compare actual sales presentations they have
experienced with their notion of what would be an “ideal” sales presentation. The “ideal,” of
course, would depend upon the nature of the target market, and the rest of the marketing mix.
14–12. Students today are aware of many forms of presentation technology. And, of course, the low
cost of portable presentation technology – typically available on a laptop – makes its use
increasingly practical. Such an approach might have a number of benefits. As noted in the
relatively unskilled salesperson to deliver high quality information that is standardized and
consistent – usually the goal of canned presentations. The buyer’s interest may also be
14–13. The comments for Question 14–12 apply here. The only difference is that here the focus is on
the consultative sales presentation.
14–14. It is possible to conceive of a static society that had little or no need for personal salespeople.
The channels and relationships that had been established by previous promotion efforts could
continue serving the consumer satisfactorily – as long as preferences did not change and no
Depending on how carefully the law was written, even written contracts between buyers and
sellers might be prohibited, except to state prices and quantities. In this case, new customers