C) There are three types of informational appeals:
1) Conclusion drawing
2) One-versus two–sided arguments
3) Order of argument presentations
Transformational Appeals
A transformational appeal elaborates on a non-product-related benefit or image.
A) It might depict:
1) What kind of person uses a brand
2) What kind of experience results from using the brand
B) Transformational appeals often attempt to stir up emotions that will motivate
purchase.
E) Communicators also use positive emotional appeals such as:
1) Humor
2) Love
3) Pride
4) Joy
I) Attention getting tactics are often too effective and distract from brand or product
claims.
Message Source
Messages delivered by attractive or popular sources can potentially achieve higher attention
and recall.
A) What is important is the spokesperson’s credibility.
B) The three factors underlining credibility are:
1) Expertise
C) The most highly credible source would be a person who scores high on all three
dimensions—candor, humor, and naturalness.
D) If a person has a positive attitude toward a source and a message, or a negative attitude
toward both, a state of congruity is said to exist.
Marketing Insight: Celebrity Endorsements as a Strategy
A well-chosen celebrity can draw attention to a product or a brand. Celebrities can play a
strategic role for their brands; using celebrities poses certain risks.
Select the Communication Channels
Selecting efficient channels to carry the message becomes more difficult as channels of
Personal Communication Channels
Personal communication channels involve two or more persons communicating directly face-
to–face, person to audience, over the telephone, or through e-mail.
A) Personal communication channels derive their effectiveness through individualized
presentation and feedback.
B) Advocate channels consist of company salespeople contacting buyers in the target
market.
Non-Personal (Mass) Communication Channels
Non-personal communication channels are communications directed to more than one person
and includes media, sales promotions, events, and publicity.
A) Media includes print, broadcast, network, electronic, and display media.
B) Sales promotions consist of consumer promotions, trade promotions, and business and
sales-force promotion.
F) Companies can create events designed to surprise the public and create a buzz.
G) The increased use of attention-getting events is a response to the fragmentation of the
media.
1) The lasting effects of events on brand awareness, knowledge, or preference will
depend upon the quality of the product, the event itself, and its execution.
Integration of Communication Channels
Although personal communication is often more effective than mass communication, mass
media might be the major means of stimulating personal communication.
a. It is mediated by opinion leaders.
2) This two-step flow challenges the notion that consumption styles are primarily
influenced by a “trickle down” or “trickle up” effect from mass media.
a. People interact primarily with their own social groups and acquire ideas from
opinion leaders in their group.
Establish the Total Marketing Communications Budget
One of the most difficult marketing decisions is determining how much to spend on
promotion. Industries and companies vary considerably in how much they spend on
promotion.
Companies decide on the promotion budget in four common ways:
A) the affordable method
Affordable Method
Some companies set the promotion budget at what they think the company can afford.
This method completely ignores the role of promotion as an investment and the
Percentage-of-Sales Method
Some companies set promotion expenditures at a specified percentage of sales (current or
anticipated) or the sales price.
A) Supporters of the percentage–of-sales method see a number of advantages.
1) Promotion expenditures will vary with what the company can “afford.”
2) It leads to a budget set by the availability of funds rather than by market
opportunities.
Competitive–Parity Method
Some companies set their promotion budget to achieve share-of-voice parity with
competitors.
A) Two arguments are made in support of the competitive-parity method.
1) Competitors’ expenditures represent the collective wisdom of the industry.
Objective–and-Task Method
The objective-and-task method calls upon marketers to develop promotion budgets by
defining specific objectives, determining the tasks that must be performed to achieve these
Communication Budget Trade-Offs
A major question is how much weight marketing communications should receive in relation to
alternatives such as product improvement, lower prices, or better service.
1) The answers depends on where the company’s products are in their life cycles
Marketing communications budgets tend to be higher:
1) When there is low channel support
2) Much change in the marketing program over time
DECIDING ON THE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MIX
Companies must allocate the marketing communications budget over the eight major
modes of communication:
1. Advertising,
2. Sales promotion,
A) Within the same industry, companies can differ considerably in their media and
channel choices.
B) Companies are always searching for ways to gain efficiency by replacing one
promotional tool with others.
Characteristics of the Marketing Communications Mix
Each communication tool has its own unique characteristics and costs.
Advertising
Advertising can be used to build up a long-term image for a product or trigger quick sales.
A) Advertising can efficiently reach geographically dispersed buyers.
B) Certain types of advertising require large budgets; others do not.
1) Pervasiveness
2) Amplified expressiveness
3) Impersonality
Sales Promotion
1) Ability to be attention-getting
2) Incentive
3) Invitation
Public Relations and Publicity
Marketers tend to underuse public relations, yet a well-thought–out program coordinated with
the other promotion-mix elements can be extremely effective.
A) The appeal of public relations and publicity is based on three distinctive qualities:
1) High credibility
Events and Experiences
A) There are many advantages to events and experiences:
1) Relevant
Direct and Interactive Marketing
The many forms of direct marketing—direct mail, telemarketing, and Internet marketing—
share three distinct characteristics.
A) Direct marketing is:
1) Customized
Word-Of-Mouth Marketing
Word of mouth also takes many forms online or off-line. Three noteworthy characteristics are:
A) Influential
Personal Selling
Personal selling is the most effective tool at the later stages of the buying process, particularly
in building up buyer preference, conviction, and action.
A) Personal selling has three distinctive qualities:
1) Personal interaction
Factors in Setting the Marketing Communications Mix
Type of Product Market
Communication allocations vary between consumer and business markets. Consumer
markets tend to spend comparatively more on sales promotion and advertising.
A) Business marketers tend to spend comparatively more on personal selling.
B) In general, personal selling is used more with:
1) Complex
a. In markets with fewer and larger sellers.
C) Advertising combined with personal selling can increase sales in the business markets,
advertising still plays a significant role:
1) Advertising can provide an introduction to the company and its products.
2) If the product has new features, advertising can explain them.
D) Personal selling can also make a strong contribution in consumer goods marketing.
E) An effectively trained company sales force can make four important contributions
1) Increased stock position
2) Build enthusiasm
A) Advertising and publicity play the most important roles in the awareness-building
stage.
Product Life-Cycle Stage
Communication tools also vary in cost-effectiveness at different stages of the product life
cycle.
A) In the introduction stage:
1) Advertising and publicity have the highest cost-effectiveness
B) In the growth stage:
1) Demand has its own momentum through word–of-mouth
C) In the maturity stage:
1) Sales promotion
D) In the decline stage:
1) Sales promotion continues to grow strong
Measuring Communication Results
Senior managers want to know the outcomes and revenues resulting from their
communications investments.
A) Too often, communications directors supply only outputs and expenses.
B) After implementing the communication plan, the communications director must
measure its impact on the target audience.
4) How they felt about the message.
MANAGING THE INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
PROCESS
Many companies still rely on only one or two communication tools. This practice persists
in spite of the fragmenting of mass markets into a multitude of minimarkets, each
requiring its own approach; the proliferation of new types of media; and the growing
sophistication of consumers.
This planning process evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communications
disciplines—for example, general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and
public relations—and skillfully combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency,
and maximum impact through the seamless integration of messages.
Coordinating Media
Media coordination can occur across and within media types, but marketers should combine
personal and non-personal communications channels through multiple-vehicle, multiple–stage
campaigns to achieve maximum impact and increase message reach and impact.
A) Promotions can be more effective when combined with advertising.
Implementing IMC
In recent years, large ad agencies have substantially improved their integrated offerings.
A) To facilitate one-stop shopping, these agencies have acquired promotion agencies,
public relations firms, package-design consultancies, Web site developers, and
direct-mail houses.
D) It forces management to think about every way the customer comes in contact
with the company, how the company communicates its positioning, the relative
importance of each vehicle, and timing issues.
Marketing Memo: How integrated is your IMC program?
In assessing the collective impact of an IMC program, the marketer’s overriding goal is to
create the most effective and efficient communications program possible. The following six