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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
1
Review and Assignments for Chapter 15
Review Quesons
1. What is a promotional strategy? Explain the concept of a competitive advantage in
relation to promotional strategy.
Although students’ answers will vary, they should address some of these points: The role of
promotion strategy is to convince target customers that the firm’s product offerings provide
a competitive advantage over the competition. The factor that will either heighten or lessen
2. Why is understanding the target market a crucial aspect of the communication process?
Successful communication requires a degree of a common “language” or overlapping
frames of reference between the source and the receiver. Even people who speak the same
language often interpret the same words in completely different ways. Perhaps the greatest
3. Discuss the attention, interest, desire, and action (AIDA) concept. How do these
different stages of consumer involvement affect the promotional mix?
The AIDA concept was developed to explain the process through which consumers reach
4. Explain the difference between a “pull” promotional strategy and a “push” promotional
strategy. Under what conditions should each strategy be used?
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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“Push” strategies are commonly used for new products for which consumers have little
information and for complex products for which it is necessary for consumers to have the
5. Discuss the importance of integrated marketing communications. Give some current
examples of companies that are and are not practicing integrated marketing
communications.
Integrated marketing communications carefully coordinate all the promotional activities to
produce a consistent, unified message that is customer-focused. Marketing managers work
Applicaon Quesons
1. As the promotional manager for a new line of cosmetics targeted to preteen girls, you
have been assigned the task of deciding which promotional mix elements—
advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling—should be used in
promoting it. Your budget for promoting the preteen cosmetics line is limited. Write a
promotional plan explaining your choice of promotional mix elements given the
nature of the product, the stage in the product life cycle, target market
characteristics, type of buying decision, available funds, and “pull” or “push”
strategy.
2. Why might a marketing manager choose to promote his or her product using
persuasion? Give some current examples of persuasive promotion.
Persuasive promotion is typically used to build customer loyalty for a product in the
growth stage of the product life cycle. At this point in a product’s development, the target
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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3. Choose a partner from the class and go together to interview the owner or manager of
several small businesses in your city. Ask them what their promotional objectives are
and why. For example, are they trying to inform, persuade, or remind customers to
do business with them? Also determine if they believe they have an awareness
problem or whether they need to persuade customers to come to them instead of
competitors. Ask them to list the characteristics of their primary market, the
strengths and weaknesses of their direct competitors, and how they are positioning
their store to compete. Prepare a report to present in class summarizing your
findings.
4. How does a website’s ease of use affect its ability to create attention, interest, desire, and
action? Visit the kitchen and bath pages of Kohler’s website (http://www.kohler.com)
and determine how successful the company is at moving consumers through the AIDA
process.
5. Use Radioguide.com (http://www.radioguide.com/) to find a listing of radio websites in
your area. View several of the stations’ sites and compare the promotions featured.
What conclusions can you draw about the target market of each station based on the
types of promotions they are currently running? Would any of the promotions entice
you to tune to a station that you normally don’t listen to?
6. Visit teenresearch.com. What research can this company offer about the size and
growth of the teen market, buying power of teenagers, and their buying habits? Why
might these statistics be important to a company targeting teenagers in terms of
marketing communications and promotional strategy?
While responses will vary, reference to the importance and size of the market, costs of
7. What do you think is the role of Hallmark’s website (http://www.hallmark.com/) in the
company’s integrated marketing communications plan? What seems to be the
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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marketing function of the site? Do you think the site is effective?
Applicaon Exercises
Application 1
Many people are not aware of the rationale behind certain advertising messages. “Why do
One way to understand the vagaries of the encoding process is to think of the popular board
game Taboo by Hasbro. In this game, each team tries to get its members to guess a word without
Purpose: Many students are unclear as to the rationale behind certain advertising messages, so
Setting It Up: This works as an individual assignment, but is an exceptional group project. This
is because it blends many modalities, is an engaging activity, and provides students with what
Activities
1. Select a product from the list below, and then create a print advertisement or a television
storyboard for that product. As part of the exercise, give your product a brand name. Taboo
words, visuals, and concepts are given for each product type. Taboo items cannot be
present in your work.
Product Taboo Words, Visuals, and Concepts
Deodorant Odor, underarm, perspiration, smell, sweat
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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2. Now create a second ad or storyboard for your product. This time, however, you must use all
the words, visuals, and concepts that are listed in the right column.
Product Must-Use Words, Visuals, and Concepts
This exercise was inspired by the following Great Idea in Teaching Marketing:
Lynn R. Goodwin, University of St. Thomas
Taboo or Not Taboo, That Is the Question
When discussing the communication process in my advertising class, many of my students have
some difficulty understanding the artistry inherent in the encoding process. More precisely, many
students are unclear as to the rationale behind certain advertising messages. “Why did Infiniti ads
show rocks and trees instead of automobiles?” they ask. Or, “Why did MCI show a waif with a
funny accent and hat jumping around on a rock strewn beach?”
Many of us, not being privy to the innermost workings of certain ad agency brains, may have no
answer to these types of questions. Here is an exercise that helps students understand the
vagaries of the encoding process.
Begin by bringing a copy of Taboo (Hasbro’s well-known game) to class. The object of the game
Following the playing of Taboo, enter into a brief discussion of how the game relates to the
Use ethical (prescription) pharmaceuticals as an example and point out that certain health claims
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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After this brief discussion, draw the obvious comparison between the game of Taboo and these
The final stage of the exercise is the application of the Taboo rules in an advertising format. Ask
Product Taboo Words. Visuals, Concepts
Deodorant Odor, underarm, perspiration, smell, sweat
Toothpaste Teeth, smile, breath, clean, plaque
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
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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The construction of various Taboo or Must-Do situations is limited only by the imagination of
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
It’s all in fun, but I do feel that the exercise creates a great deal of interest and comment relating
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
Activities
Purpose: To introduce students to the concept of semiotics and its role in promotion. An
understanding of semiotics allows students not only to identify objects, etc. (the denotative
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
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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2. Look through magazines and see if you can find print advertisements that include each of
3. Think of an everyday object of your own. What are its likely connotations? For example, a
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
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
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 not only to
A possible mechanism for helping students to understand the meaning and utility of semiotics for
An initial explanation of memory structures, schematic associations, neural nets, schema
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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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
give personal images and associations elicited by the object, and finally speculate what consumer
The objects used for part one of the exercise may be gathered from around the house and should
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
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
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
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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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.
Ethics Exercise
Integrated Markeng Soluons is a consumer-products markeng services rm. Currently, the
rm 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 execuve, has learned
that although the book received numerous favorable reviews, the review quoted on all of the
promoonal 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
The situation can be further complicated by the publisher’s knowledge of the fabrication. If
the publisher is aware of the fabrication and wants to proceed anyway, then Jane is in an
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
marketer with regard to promotions is “avoidance of false and misleading advertising.” In
© 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.
