Chapter 16
Adversing, Public Relaons, and Sales Promoon
This chapter begins with the learning outcome summaries followed by a set of lesson plans for
instructors to use to deliver the content.
Lecture (for large sections) on page 4
Company Clips (video) on page 5
Group Work (for smaller sections) on page 7
Review and Assignments begin on page 8
Review questions
Application questions
Ethics exercise
Video assignment
Case assignment
Great Ideas for Teaching Marketing from faculty around the country begin on page 26
Learning Outcomes
16-1 Discuss the effects of advertising on market share and consumers
Advertising was defined as impersonal, one-way mass communication about a product or an
organization that is paid for by a marketer. Promotion makes up a large part of most brands’
budgets. Promotional spending is divided into measured and unmeasured media. Typically, more
is spent to advertise new brands with a small market share than to advertise older brands. Brands
with a large market share use advertising mainly to maintain their share of the market.
Advertising affects consumers’ daily lives as well as their purchases. Although advertising can
seldom change strongly held consumer attitudes and values, it may transform a consumer’s
negative attitude toward a product into a positive one. Finally, advertising can also change the
importance of a brand’s attributes to consumers. By emphasizing different brand attributes,
advertisers can change their appeal in response to consumers’ changing needs to try to achieve an
advantage over competing brands.
16-2 Identify the major types of advertising
A firm’s promotional objectives determine the type of advertising it uses. The two major types of
advertising are institutional advertising and product advertising. Institutional advertising is a
form of advertising designed to enhance a company’s image rather than promote a particular
product. Product advertising is designed primarily to promote goods or services, and it is
classified into three main categories: pioneering, competitive, and comparative. A product’s place
in the product life cycle is a major determinant of the type of advertising used to promote it.
16-3 Discuss the creative decisions in developing an advertising campaign
Before any creative work can begin on an advertising campaign, it is important to determine
what goals or objectives the advertising should achieve. The objectives of a specific advertising
campaign often depend on the overall corporate objectives and the product being advertised, and
are often determined using the DAGMAR approach (Defining Advertising Goals for Measured
Advertising Results). Once objectives are defined, creative work can begin (e.g., identifying the
product’s benefits, developing possible advertising appeals, evaluating and selecting the
advertising appeals, executing the advertising message, and evaluating the effectiveness of the
campaign). Customers buy benefits, not attributes. An attribute is simply a feature of the product
such as its easy-open package, special formulation, or new lower price. An advertising appeal
identifies a reason for a person to buy a product. Choosing the best appeal from those developed
usually requires market research. The advertising appeal selected for the campaign becomes what
advertisers call its unique selling proposition. Message execution is the way an advertisement
portrays its information. Injecting humor into an advertisement is a popular and effective
executional style. Evaluating an advertising campaign can be the most demanding task facing
advertisers.
16-4 Describe media evaluation and selection techniques
A major decision for advertisers is the choice of medium—the channel used to convey a message
to a target market. Media planning is a series of decisions advertisers make regarding the
selection and use of media, enabling the marketer to optimally and cost-effectively communicate
the message to the target audience. Major types of advertising media include newspapers,
magazines, radio, television, the Internet, and outdoor media such as billboards and bus panels.
Recent trends in advertising media include shopping carts, computer screen savers, DVDs, CDs,
interactive kiosks, advertisements before movies, posters on bathroom stalls, and
“advertainments.” Promotion managers choose the advertising campaign’s media mix on the
basis of the following variables: cost per contact, reach, frequency, characteristics of the target
audience, the flexibility of the medium, noise level, and the life span of the medium. After
choosing the media mix, a media schedule designates when the advertisement will appear and
the specific vehicles in which it will appear.
16-5 Discuss the role of public relations in the promotional mix
Public relations is the element in the promotional mix that evaluates public attitudes,
identifies issues that may elicit public concern, and executes programs to gain public
understanding and acceptance. Public relations is a vital part of a firm’s promotional mix.
Using these campaigns, companies can enhance their image and promote their products. Popular
public relations tools include new-product publicity, product placement, consumer education,
sponsorship, experiential marketing, and company websites. An equally important aspect of
public relations is managing unfavorable publicity in a way that is least damaging to a firm’s
image.
16-6 Define and state the objectives of sales promotion and the tools used to achieve them
Marketing managers can use sales promotion to increase the effectiveness of their promotional
efforts. Sales promotion can target either trade or consumer markets. Trade promotions may push
a product through the distribution channel using sales contests, premiums, P-O-P displays, trade
allowances, push money, training, free merchandise, store demonstrations, and business
meetings. Consumer promotions may push a product through the distribution channel using
coupons, rebates, premiums, loyalty marketing programs or frequent buyer programs, contests,
sweepstakes, sampling, and point-of-purchase displays. The biggest trend in sales promotions on
both the trade and the consumer side has been the increased use of the Internet.
Key Terms
Advergaming Coupon Product advertising
Advertising appeal Crisis management Product placement
Advertising campaign Flighted media schedule Public relations
Advertising objective Frequency Publicity
Advertising response function Frequent buyer program Pulsing media schedule
Advocacy advertising Infomercial Push money
Audience selectivity Institutional advertising Reach
Comparative advertising Loyalty marketing program Rebate
Competitive advertising Media mix Sales promotion
Consumer sales promotion Media planning Sampling
Continuous media schedule Media schedule Seasonal media schedule
Cooperative advertising Medium Sponsorship
Cost per contact (cost per
thousand or CPM)
Pioneering advertising Trade allowance
Point of purchase (P-O-P)
display
Trade sales promotion
Cost per click Premium Unique selling proposition
Lesson Plan for Lecture
Suggested Homework
The end of this chapter contains assignments for the BoltBus Publications video or the
product placement case.
This chapter’s online study tools include flashcards, visual summaries, practice quizzes, and
other resources that can be assigned or used as the basis for longer investigations into
marketing.
Lesson Plan for Video
Company Clips
Segment Summary: BoltBus
BoltBus is Greyhound’s curbside, express bus service. BoltBus operates primarily in the
Northeast between major hubs, with some other service in the Northwest. This clip covers how
BoltBus reaches its target markets through advertising, promotion, and social media.
These teaching notes combine activities that you can assign students to prepare before class, that
you can do in class before watching the video, that you can do in class while watching the video,
and that you can assign students to complete as assignments after watching the video in class.
During the viewing portion of the teaching notes, stop the video periodically where appropriate
to ask students the questions or perform the activities listed on the grid. You may even want to
give the students the questions before starting the video and have them think about the answer
while viewing the segment. That way, students will be engaged in active viewing rather than
passive viewing.
Pre-class Prep for You Pre-class Prep for Your Students
Preview the Company Clips video segment
for Chapter 16. This exercise reviews
concepts for LO1–LO5.
Review your lesson plan.
Stream the video HERE.
Have students review and familiarize
themselves with the following terms and
concepts: effects of advertising, types of
advertising, advertising appeals, executing
the message, and media decisions in
advertising.
Ask students to look for an example of
American youth-targeted advertising. If it’s
in print, have them bring it to class.
Assign students to study Exhibit 16.1 in
their textbook for discussion in class.
Video Review Exercise
Activity
Warm-up
Briefly discuss students’ findings from the Pre-class Prep youth ad. Discuss the
specific medium of the ad, the execution style, and the product/service being
promoted. Ask if the students have seen ads for the same products that weren’t
aimed at youth and, if so, how the ads differed.
In-Class
Preview
Discuss Exhibit 16.1, Common Advertising Appeals. You can have students
complete the diagram individually, as teams, or as a full-class activity, starting
with brainstorming for examples and then pointing out that the advertising
appeal becomes what’s known as the company’s, or product’s, unique selling
proposition.
Discuss Exhibit 16.2, Eleven Common Executional Styles for Advertising.
Brainstorm for examples, and point out that the message execution is the
starting point of the AIDA process.
Discuss Exhibit 16.3, Advantages and Disadvantages of Major Advertising
Media. Point out that the product being advertised and the message used to
advertise it have great impact on selecting the proper medium.
Have copies of the Company Clips questions (below) available for students to
take notes on while viewing the video segment.
Viewing
(Solutions
below.)
1. Who does BoltBus consider to be its core consumers? How does the company
use that knowledge to decide how they market BoltBus?
2. Which type of product advertising does BoltBus use?
3. Does BoltBus use consumer sales promotion? If so, what is the primary
promotion they use?
Follow-up
Divide students into groups of three to five and have them pretend that they
are working for a company who wants to develop an advertising program
using transportation sources, such as BoltBus. Give them 10 to 15 minutes to
develop an outline for an advertising campaign that targets the BoltBus
customer. Have as many groups as time allows and share their outlines with
the class.
Solutions for Viewing Activities
1. Who does BoltBus consider to be its core consumers? How does the company use that
knowledge to decide how they market BoltBus?
Students’ answers will vary. BoltBus considers its core customers to be university students
going home or taking weekend trips, or young professionals doing the same. Based on this
knowledge, BoltBus uses a lot of social media, particularly Twitter, to advertise to these
groups.
2. Which type of product advertising does BoltBus use?
Students’ answers will vary. Students can argue for either competitive or comparative
advertising. Competitive advertising is more applicable because BoltBus describes its
brand attributes (leg room, plugs, Wi-Fi) without making direct comparisons. However,
they also discuss market share and having lower prices than other buses, which could be
interpreted as comparative advertising.
3. Does BoltBus use consumer sales promotion? If so, what is the primary promotion
they use?
Students’ answers will vary. On the one hand, they can argue that the consistently low
prices negate the need for consumer sales promotion. On the other hand, the $1 ticket could
be considered a sweepstakes or contest, since only one is offered per ride.
Lesson Plan for Group Work
In most cases, group activities should be completed after some chapter content has been covered,
probably in the second or third session of the chapter coverage. (See “Lesson Plan for Lecture”
above.)
For “Class Activity: Prime-Time Television,” provide the information and the questions
asked by the class activities as described later in this chapter. The class activity was
designed to be completed by one person, but each student should bring his or her findings
to class and discuss them in small groups.
Application exercises 1 and 2 are both suited to group work. Application 1 is an interesting
group assignment to be done out of class. Application 2 can work as an in–class activity,
but you can also send students to do videotaping outside of class and then review videos in
class.
Class Activity: Prime-Time Television
Ask students to watch one hour of prime-time television and answer the following questions.
They will need a watch or clock with a second hand and undivided attention during commercials.
In a one-hour (full 60-minute) period, how many minutes were devoted to advertising?
How were they distributed throughout the hour?
How many commercials were 60 seconds long? 45 seconds? 30 seconds? 15 seconds?
Were there any other commercial lengths?
Was the same product advertised more than once during the hour? Were the commercials
identical?
In a “pod” of several commercials, do you feel that one position is strongest? Is being first
the best? Is being last the best? Why?
How well do the commercials fit with the program? Do the programs and the products
have similar target markets?