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After this brief discussion, draw the obvious comparison between the game of Taboo and these
internally or externally imposed limitations or choices. Then it’s time for the next phase of the
exercise.
The final stage of the exercise is the application of the Taboo rules in an advertising format. Ask
students to devise advertising messages or campaigns for specific product categories. The catch
is that there is also a list of words, visuals, or concepts that they are prohibited from using in the
formulation of these messages. A few examples include:
Product
Taboo Words. Visuals, Concepts
Deodorant
Odor, underarm, perspiration, smell, sweat
Toothpaste
Teeth, smile, breath, clean, plaque
Pain Reliever
Pain, aches, fever, child-proof cap, gelatin-
coated
Soft-Drinks
Sugar-free, refreshing, any celebrity
spokesperson, swimwear, other soft-drinks
Politician
Other politician(s), honesty, crime, taxes,
patriotism
Automobile
Automobile, driver testimonials, statistical
reports on automotive performance, handling,
luxury
Utilize a variation of this exercise in which students are forced to use certain other words,
visuals, or concepts or to take a certain approach. I refer to this as my “Must-Do” exercise. A
few examples are presented below:
Product
Must-Do Words, Visuals, Concepts
Deodorant
A romantic couple, monster trucks
Toothpaste
Lips, tongue, flowers
Pain Reliever
A mother and child, oatmeal, homework
Soft-Drinks
A cup of coffee, cookies, birthday cake, wine
Politician
Benjamin Franklin, a dollar bill, an aircraft
carrier, amber waves of grain
Automobile
Rocks, trees, wind (This one may be too easy.)
The construction of various Taboo or Must-Do situations is only limited by the imagination of
the instructor. In fact, the students themselves may be asked to come up with challenges for their
classmates.
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I find that this process can be used as a brief in-class exercise in a “principles” setting or can
form the basis for a major project in an advertising class. As part of a major project, the necessity
of excluding certain words, visuals, or concepts from the advertising message(s) challenges
students to be a bit more imaginative than might ordinarily be the case. Likewise, the forced
inclusion of certain Must-Do words, visuals, or concepts serves a similar function. The exercise
can also be adapted to a discussion of segmentation in advertising by focusing on the inclusion or
exclusion of certain words, visuals, or concepts based on the characteristics, needs, and wants of
the targeted segments.
It’s all in fun, but I do feel that the exercise creates a great deal of interest and comment relating
to the communication process. In the end, to do Taboo or not to do Taboo is the question every
instructor must face. Enjoy.
Application 2
An important concept in promotion is semiotics, or the study of meaning and meaning-producing
events. An understanding of semiotics can help you not only to identify objects (denotation) but
also to grasp the utility of images and associations (connotation). By manipulating connotations
of objects in advertising, you can create, change, or reinforce images for products. Thus,
semiotics is a powerful tool for brand management and promotion.
Activities
Purpose: To introduce students to the concept of semiotics and its role in promotion. An
understanding of semiotics allows students to not only identify objects, etc., (the denotative
meaning), but also to grasp the utility of images and associations (the connotative meaning) in
promotion. By manipulating connotations of objects in ads, for example, images for products
may be created, changed, and reinforced. Semiotics thus provides a powerful tool for brand
management, but a difficult concept to communicate.
Setting it Up: This application requires an initial set-up before a two-part exercise. In total, the
entire application should take around 75 minutes, but it can be tailored to specific course needs.
Although the class does the work together, this application is an individual project.
1. Make a list of ten images and associations that come to mind for each of the following
items: baseball, vinyl record album, spoon, rubber band.
2. Look through magazines and see if you can find print advertisements that include each of
the items (baseball, vinyl record album, spoon, rubber band) in a supporting role. What
seems to be the message of each ad? How does the item help create or reinforce an image
for the product being sold in the ad?
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3. Think of an everyday object of your own. What are its likely connotations? For example, a
dog in a car might signal a family vehicle, but a dog also connotes loyalty, “man’s best
friend,” and dependability. What images and associations are likely with your item? Make
a list of as many as you can.
4. Now use your object and list of associations to create an image for another product. Think
of the likely connotations your object will have for a certain target market and how such
connotations can support a brand image. For example, if your everyday object is a candle,
you might choose lingerie for your product, based on a candle’s romantic connotations.
This exercise was inspired by the following Great Idea in Teaching Marketing:
David M. Blanchette
Rhode Island College
Applying Semiotics In Promotion
Communicating concepts that utilize creativity can be quite challenging due to the abstract and
intuitive natures of the task. This is especially true in disciplines such as promotion, where
creativity is paramount.
One important creative concept in promotion is that of semiotics, the study of meaning and the
analysis of meaning- producing events. An understanding of semiotics allows students to not
only identify objects (the denotative meaning), but also to grasp the utility of images and
associations (the connotative meaning) in promotion. By manipulating connotations of objects in
ads, for example, images for products may be created, changed, and reinforced. Semiotics thus
provides a powerful tool for brand management, but a difficult concept to communicate.
A possible mechanism for helping students to understand the meaning and utility of semiotics for
promotion is a two-part experiential exercise that encourages the creative application of these
important concepts.
An initial explanation of memory structures, schematic associations, neural nets, schema
activation theory, and so on, may be quite useful in describing the basis for mental images and
associations. An elaboration of denotation and connotation processes may then follow. (Some
may prefer to forward these concepts within an information-processing framework.)
Following the discussion of semiotic concepts, the two-part experiential exercise may be
presented to facilitate understanding and encourage application of these concepts.
In part one, objects are presented to the class. The objective is to first identify the object, then
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19
give personal images and associations elicited by the object, and finally to speculate what
consumer segments would likely have richer, more meaningful images and associations. For
example, a 45 rpm record may be displayed and is generally easily identified by students.
Students then spontaneously volunteer images and associations (e.g., Happy Days TV show,
disco, turntable, Elvis, etc.). Particularly interesting images may be called on to be elaborated,
and are often quite interesting and even amusing. These spontaneous associations illustrate how
individualistic such connotations can be, and that sometimes there may be several students that
have shared connotations about an object. Lastly, students speculate about what the connotations
of other groups may be (e.g., people in their 40s and 50s). This helps students to see objects from
the perspective of others (especially if members of those groups are in the class), and leads to a
discussion of connotations and segmentation (i.e., for which segments might these connotations
be qualitatively and quantitatively different and richer?).
The objects used for part one of the exercise may be gathered from around the house and should
ideally represent a wide variety of objects. For example, ten objects for discussion might include
a baseball card, a depression glass juicer, a CD/DVD, an animal statue, a boomerang, a piece of
modern sculpture, a matchbook, a seashell, a horseshoe, and a tissue.
As a bridge between parts one and two, an advertisement may be displayed in which objects in
the ad help to create and reinforce an image for the product being sold. For example, a dog in a
car ad may initially appear to support the idea that this is a family car, or even that the car is like
one of the family. Yet upon further investigation of what the connotations of what a dog are,
students may see that images and associations such as man’s best friend, loyalty, and so forth,
are actually creating images for the brand—that is, that this car will never let you down.
Students are now ready for part two of the exercise, in which they can apply semiotic concepts.
The class may be split into groups, with each randomly selecting an object (e.g., a chess piece, a
penny, a golf ball, an egg, a rubber band, etc.). The task is to devise a way to use the object to
help create an image for another product. For example, if a group selects a candle, that group
needs to discern what the likely connotations of a candle will be for some target segment, and
how such connotations may create and support brand images for what they consider an
appropriate product. (For example, the group may select lingerie as the product and elaborate the
imagery that a lingerie ad has that includes a candle’s romantic connotations.)
An interesting idea for part two of the exercise is to offer a prize (such as complimentary copies
of Advertising Age or candy) to the winners (as selected by the instructor and/or the class) of part
two of the creative exercise.
The initial presentation and two-part exercise is designed to last about 75 minutes, but can easily
be tailored to varying lengths.
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20
Ethics Exercise
Integrated Marketing Solutions is a consumer-products marketing services firm. Currently, the
firm is handling the launch of a new book for one of its publishing clients. The campaign
includes advance review copies for key book reviewers, “Coming Soon” posters for booksellers,
an author book-signing tour, and several television interviews. Everything has been produced
and scheduled for release next week. Today, Jane Kershaw, the account executive, has learned
that although the book received numerous favorable reviews, the review quoted on all of the
promotional materials is fabricated.
1. What should Jane do?
First, Jane should alert the publishing company, her client, that the quote is fabricated and
recommend that the promotional materials be reprinted with an accurate quote pulled from
2. What does the AMA Code of Ethics say about accuracy in promotional materials? Go
to http://www.marketingpower.com and review the code. Then write a brief
paragraph on what the AMA Code of Ethics contains that relates to this issue.
The AMA Code of Ethics is very clear on this issue. One of the responsibilities of the
Video Assignment: Pepe’s Pizzeria
Pepe’s Pizzeria is a popular restaurant located in Connecticut. The CEO discusses the thought
process behind their marketing strategy, how promotions work for Pepe’s and the general
location strategy that comes into play when opening new locations.
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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1. Pepe’s now has seven locations and is considered a Connecticut staple. At what stage in
the product life cycle is Pepe’s Pizzeria?
a. The introduction stage
b. The growth stage
c. The maturity stage
d. The decline stage
2. What type of media would this video be classified as for Pepe’s?
a. Earned media
b. Owned media
c. Paid media
d. Informative media
3. In the communication process, what are the protesters doing to Pepe’s?
a. Decoding a message
b. Choosing a message channel
c. Sending feedback
d. Creating noise for other Pepe’s customers
4. Telling people where the Pepe’s locations are and what the Pepe’s brand is about fulfills
which goal of promotion?
a. Informing
b. Persuading
c. Reminding
d. Connecting
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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© 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
ANS: A
This type of advertising is informative: Here is our story and our pizza, and here’s our
location. Pepe’s believes customers will come back once they know this information.
5. Giving away free pizza generates what kind of marketing buzz?
a. Selling
b. Publicity.
c. Noise
d. Traditional
6. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, satisfy which goal of promotion?
a. Informing
b. Persuading
c. Reminding
d. Connecting
Case Assignment: Kraft Heinz Co.
In April 2015, Kraft Heinz Co. announced that they would be removing all artificial
preservatives, flavors, and dyes from its beloved mac and cheese. The change came about
because Kraft said parents were calling for improved nutrition and simpler ingredients. Mac and
cheese is a staple item in the diet of many American children.
“As we considered changing the ingredients of our classic Blue Box, we did so knowing we
had to maintain our iconic look, taste and texture,” said Greg Guidotti, Kraft Heinz’s vice
president of meals, in a statement. Artificial dyes yellow 5 and yellow 6 were replaced with a
combination of paprika, annatto, and turmeric to maintain the expected orangeish color.
Artificial preservatives were replaced with natural ones, and Kraft has also taken steps to include
more whole grains without changing the pasta’s flavor.
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23
In December 2015, Kraft delivered on its promise and their new and improved mac and
cheese hit store shelves, but they didn’t tell anyone it had happened. Instead of launching a
promotional campaign to preach about the improved product, Kraft kept quiet until millions of
boxes had been sold, and then they started talking. “We’ve sold well over 50 million boxes with
essentially no one noticing,” said Guidotti.
Kraft was worried that customers, particularly children, would perceive a difference in the
taste or texture of the new recipe mac and cheese even if there really was not one. This
psychological quirk is often a concern for food manufactures planning to make formula changes.
Their fears were founded, as posts began appearing on social media after their April
announcement that the product tasted different, even though no change to the formula had been
made yet.
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
24
© 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
campaign should someone notice the change in the ingredient list on the box prior to the big
reveal.
Kraft Heinz Co. is now among the growing list of companies eliminating artificial
ingredients from their products, including Hershey’s, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, General Mills,
Subway, and Panera Bread.
Sources: D. Goldman, “Kraft changed its mac & cheese recipe and nobody noticed,” CNN
Money, March 8, 2016, accessed October 17, 2016,
http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/08/news/companies/kraft-mac-and-cheese-recipe/; M. White,
“Kraft Reveals Revamped Mac and Cheese, 50 Million Boxes Later,” The New York Times,
March 20, 2016, accessed October 17, 2016,
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/21/business/media/kraft-reveals-revamped-mac-and-cheese-
50-million-boxes-later.html?_r=1.
TRUE/FALSE
1. By offering a mac and cheese free of artificial flavors, dyes, and preservations, Kraft Heinz
Co. has given itself a competitive advantage over other mac and cheese manufacturers.
2. Kraft’s television commercials featuring Craig Kilborn are an example of interpersonal
communication as he speaks directly to the audience.
3. Kraft took a risk with their promotional strategy by waiting three months before announcing
the change because the strategy relied heavily on the element of surprise.
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
26
d. both paid and earned media
e. both earned and owned media
4. Kraft employed the following tools in their promotional mix EXCEPT:
a. advertising
b. sales promotions
c. personal selling
d. social media
5. What stage is Kraft Mac and Cheese at in its product life cycle?
a. introduction
b. growth
c. maturity
d. decline
Great Ideas for Teaching Chapter 15
James S. Cleveland, Sage College of Albany
Discussion Board Topics to Encourage Participation
Discussion board questions provided to students to encourage them to engage in thinking and
writing about the content of the Principles of Marketing course usually take the form of a
provocative statement to which students are asked to respond. An example of this would be “All
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
27
PR is good PR.”
Discussion topics such as this one are abstract and often require that the instructor provide an
initial reply to show students what is expected of them in their own replies. For students with
limited work experience, this approach may be quite appropriate. For adult students with
extensive experience as employees and consumers, however, the abstract nature of such topics
can be frustrating.
I have developed, therefore, a series of discussion board questions to use with experienced, adult
students. These questions are designed to encourage them to use their experiences as employees
and consumers as doorways to better understand the course material, and to make their own
responses more interesting to themselves and to the other students in the class who will read and
comment on them.
Each question has three parts:
1. First, there is a sentence or two from the students’ textbook introducing the topic. By using
the text author’s own words, students are enabled to locate relevant material in the text
more easily, the text content is reinforced, and confusion resulting from use of variant
terms or expressions is minimized.
2. Second, there is a reference to text pages the students should review before proceeding.
Since the goal of the exercise is for students to apply the course content to their own
experiences, reviewing the content first is important.
3. Third, there is a request for the students to think about or remember some specific situation
in their experience to which they can apply the text material, and a question or questions
for them to address in their replies.
Here are additional discussion board questions developed for Chapter 15 of MKTG11. Each is
written to fit the same text cited above but could easily be rewritten and revised to fit another
text.
Series A
1. Integrated marketing communications is the careful coordination of all promotional
messages—traditional advertising, direct marketing, 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.
2. Review the information about IMC and the promotional mix from section 15-6 and 15-7 of
your text.
3. Then think about a product you have considered buying lately or one you recently bought.
What elements of the promotional mix were used for this product? Where they integrated?
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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How or how not?
Gary M. Donnelly, Casper College
Marketing Communication Process
The following is an activity that is used mostly in promotions class:
Select one advertisement from a magazine and one advertisement from a newspaper and evaluate
their effectiveness using the marketing communication process.
1. Identify the source.
2. How effectively and what methods were used in encoding the message?
3. What is the message and is it effectively stated? Is it a one sided, two sided, comparative
message, etc.?
4. What is the medium and how effective do you feel the magazine or newspaper would be in
getting the message across?
5. How would the audience translate the message sent by the source and would all readers get
the same meaning?
6. Who is the audience (target market)? Could there be other audiences other than the
intended target market?
7. What form of feedback does the source expect to get from its audience? Does the
advertisement do an effective job of communicating the type of feedback they want to the
audience?
8. Were there any hints of noise that might interfere with the communication process at any
stage?
9. Overall, how effective or ineffective will these advertisements be, and why or why not?
How would you improve the companies’ communication processes to make the
advertisements more effective?
Nancy M. Can, Community College of Philadelphia
Marketing in the News: Truthful or Biased Reporting?
Newspapers carry many articles concerning marketing, ranging from new product introductions
to product liability cases. Sometimes the reporting is factual and neutral; other times it is slanted
toward the company, consumers, plaintiff, government agencies, and so forth.
Early in the term, assign students the task of collecting twelve marketing-related articles from
three different local, regional, or national newspapers. Make and distribute forms (to be attached
to each article) in which the student: 1) summarizes the article, 2) checks off whether the
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
29
reporting in the article is neutral, pro-company, pro-consumer, pro-plaintiff, or pro–other non-
company entity (specify), and 3) checks off whether the article is Associated Press (AP) or other
national wire service, newspaper’s own reporting, newspaper’s own editorial, or other (specified)
type of article. Then the student should look for trends in biased reporting in various newspapers.
In class, have students who reviewed the same article check to see if they perceived the same
slant in the article as their classmates. In closing the class session, have the class try to discover
patterns of biased reporting, editorial writing and selection of wire service articles in various
newspapers.
Students tend to enjoy this project, as it keeps them current on marketing issues, critical and
analytical in their reading of newspaper articles and interacting with their classmates.
Michelle DeMoss, Stetson University
Are You a Promotional Message?
Promotional messages are ubiquitous, surrounding us through television, mail, computers,
sporting events, paper coffee cups, restaurant menus, and even public restroom stalls. These
messages have become so commonplace that many people are numb to them, and no longer are
aware of the significant exposure to this communication.
Why is there so much emphasis on promotion in today’s marketplace? Savvy marketers know
that simply presenting a brand in promotional messages on a large number of occasions may
make an individual’s attitude toward the brand more positive. So, repeating an advertisement or
brand name could increase liking and subsequent purchase of the brand without changing a
person’s knowledge of that brand.
This exercise encourages students to experience the effects of promotions in their daily lives by
becoming still and observing the different types of promotional activities occurring around them.
Specifically, students are asked to:
1. Write down all of the possible mediums in which they are exposed to promotional
messages for one week. Make sure to have a class discussion concerning the possible
mediums such as promotional messages embedded in television programs, video games,
and on clothing before assigning this exercise.
2. Count the number of promotional messages that they are exposed to for one day.
4. Write down what, if any, impact these experiences have had on their perceptions and
attitudes during this week.
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Discussion should center around any shift in students’ perspective concerning the impact of
promotions on their own lives. An intriguing discussion that can takes place during the course is
whether there should be limits on promotional messages in terms of their placement, frequency,
and content. Students may find it interesting that other countries place restrictions on promotions
concerning these issues.