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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
1
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.
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?
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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a. Informing
b. Persuading
c. Reminding
d. Connecting
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
"As we considered changing the ingredients of our classic Blue Box, we did so knowing
© 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.
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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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
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
“Anytime there’s a suggestion of what something should taste like, some aspect of taste,
In March 2016, three months after the change, Kraft launched their promotional
campaign, essentially calling it the “world’s largest blind taste test.” They invited customers to
The promotional mix also features a documentary-style two-minute online video; digital
display ads; promotions through Pandora online radio, Snapchat, and ESPN’s “SportsCenter”;
© 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.
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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Guidotti said the feedback has generally been positive since they made public the
December change to the formula, though there have been a few who say they did notice the
Kraft Heinz Co. is now among the growing list of companies eliminating artificial
Sources: D. Goldman, “Kraft Changed Its Mac & Cheese Recipe and Nobody Noticed,” CNN
Money, March 8, 2016, accessed October 17, 2016,
“Kraft Reveals Revamped Mac and Cheese, 50 Million Boxes Later,” The New York Times,
March 20, 2016, accessed October 17, 2016,
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.
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-1 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
2. Kraft’s television commercials featuring Craig Kilborn are an example of interpersonal
communication as he speaks directly to the audience.
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-2 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
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.
© 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.
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-1 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
4. A mother sees Kraft’s television commercial and now plans to buy more mac and cheese
because her child already likes it and it no longer contains artificial ingredients. She correctly
decoded the message of Kraft’s communication.
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-2 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
5. Kraft is employing the push strategy with their marketing campaign.
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-7 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. By waiting three months to make the announcement about the change in formula and pointing
out that no one noticed the change, Kraft’s ads were able to call their customers to __________.
a. attention
b. interest
c. desire
d. action
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-5 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
2. A social media post by a customer claiming to have noticed a taste different in the mac and
cheese is an example of __________.
a. positive noise
b. negative noise
c. positive feedback
d. negative feedback
© 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.
Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-2 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
3. Kraft’s “It’s changed. But it hasn’t.” campaign is an example of __________.
a. paid media
b. earned media
c. owned media
d. both paid and earned media
e. both earned and owned media
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-4 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
4. Kraft employed the following tools in their promotional mix EXCEPT:
a. advertising
b. sales promotions
c. personal selling
d. social media
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-4 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
5. What stage is Kraft Mac and Cheese at in its product life cycle?
a. introduction
b. growth
c. maturity
d. decline
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 15-7 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Strategy MSC: BLOOMS: Level I Knowledge
Great Ideas for Teaching Chapter 15
James S. Cleveland, Sage College of Albany
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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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
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
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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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 sections 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?
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
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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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
In class, have students who reviewed the same article check to see if they perceived the same
Students tend to enjoy this project, as it keeps them current on marketing issues, critical and
Michelle DeMoss, Stetson University
Are You a Promotional Message?
Promotional messages are ubiquitous, surrounding us through television, mail, computers,
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
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
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Chapter 15: Marketing Communications
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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
© 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.
