All Notes Mcs

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
INTRODUCTION Marketing can be defined as a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. So marketing looks at the customer needs and the ability of the company to satisfy them. Thus, marketing plays a key role in the strategic planning of the company. The strategic plan defines the companys overall mission and objectives. Then the marketer must decide on the marketing mix, which will enable the company to reach its objectives. We define marketing mix as the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. In simpler terms the marketing mix is everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product. There are 4 variables, which marketers can use and they are known as the 4 Ps: product, price, place and promotion. A marketing mix means that the business must have a high-quality product, for sale at a price that is reasonable and at places where people can easily buy it. Promotion informs customers about the product and tries to encourage them to buy. In this module we are going to study in detail the 4 th P i.e. promotion. Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target consumers to buy it. Promotion is also known as Marketing Communications. The marketing communications mix also known as the promotion mix consists mainly of tools, which are used to communicate to the customers. They are namely advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal selling and Public Relations. Integrated marketing communications can be defined as the strategic choice of elements of marketing communications, which will influence transactions between an organisation and its customers effectively and economically. Integrated marketing communications involves coordinating the various promotional elements and other marketing activities that communicate with a firms customers. The aim of integrated marketing communications is to present a consistent image and consistent message to customers. In this module we are going to learn how to plan a promotional campaign, how to implement and evaluate the campaign. We will also see the various tools available to marketers to communicate to their customers. Definition of Marketing Communications Promotion can be defined as the coordination of all seller initiated efforts to set up channels of information and persuasion to sell goods and services or promote an idea. 1. Functions of Marketing Communications
In general terms the purposes of marketing communications are To inform customers: to provide them with information about the availability of a product, its contents and its design. To persuade consumers: to tell them that the product that they have purchased or that they are about to buy is the best one. To remind consumers: To tell them that the product that they last used was of that particular name.
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Without an effective promotional effort, even the best conceived products at the most attractive prices will hardly attract customers and will stay on the shelves. Elements of promotional strategy. Promotional strategy is the process of developing and maintaining a communications mix that utilizes company resources to their full potential in a way that is competitively attractive to target markets while contributing to the companys short run and long run marketing and organizational goals. Advertising is a paid non-personal communication from an identified sponsor using mass media to persuade or influence an audience. Sales promotion consists of short-term incentives to encourage purchase or sales of a product or service. Personal selling can be defined as a personal presentation by the sales force of a firm for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships. Direct marketing consists of direct communications with carefully targeted individual consumers to obtain an immediate response. Public Relations: Building good relations with the companys various publics by obtaining favourable publicity, building up a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavourable rumours, stories and events. Promotional management: It involves coordinating the promotional mix elements to develop a controlled, integrated program of effective marketing communications. Promotion is all those means by which marketers communicate to their target market. To be able to design the proper promotional mix the marketer must have a sound knowledge of what promotion can and cannot do and knowledge of the nature of each tool. Promotion can: communicate product benefits to consumers help to increase sales create awareness and establish favourable attitudes towards new products help to create brand preference among consumers help to secure distribution in outlets help to obtain greater cooperation and support from middlemen Promotion cannot: make consumer buy a product for which there is no need perceived persuade consumers that a product is superior when consumer experience with the product reveals the opposite.
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influence consumers to pay a higher than reasonable price when there is no greater value perceived by them. convince buyers to make extraordinary shopping efforts when competitive products are readily available at local outlets. So a promotional strategy no matter how brilliantly conceived, no matter how creatively executed cannot be expected to overcome fundamental weaknesses in the rest of the marketing strategy. Impact of the environment on the promotional strategy Before sending messages to the consumers, the promotional planner must analyze the different factors that will affect its promotional campaign. These factors are found in the environment of the company. The environment may facilitate or restrict the success of a given strategy. The environment is dynamic. The environmental context of promotion can be viewed at 2 levels depending on the degree of control the company may exercise over individual factors. External Environment The external environment is uncontrollable by the individual company. (PEST) The macro-environment e.g. Political (and legal) forces, Economic forces, Sociocultural forces, and Technological forces. These are known as PEST factors. Political and Legal Factors The political arena has a huge influence upon the regulation of businesses, and the spending power of consumers and other businesses. You must consider issues such as: 1.How stable is the political environment? 2.Will government policy influence laws that regulate or tax your business? 3.What is the government's position on marketing ethics? 4. What is the government's policy on the economy? 5. Does the government have a view on culture and religion? 6. Is the government involved in trading agreements such as EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, or others? Food Act, Laws and rules concerning advertisements, international relationships Government legislates on matters such as price controls, equal employment opportunity, safety and health at work, the amount of noise that the product can make e.g. vacuum cleaner Governments are large purchasers of goods and services Governments subsidize firms and industries and they help them survive and prosper. Governments protect home producers against unfair foreign competition
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Economic Factors Marketers need to consider the state of a trading economy in the short and long-terms. This is especially true when planning for international marketing. You need to look at: 1. Interest rates 2. The level of inflation Employment level per capita 3. Long-term prospects for the economy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, and so on recession, inflation, interest rate, growth rate, level of investment., GDP, GNP, monetary policy, BOP, exchange rate Sociocultural Factors The social and cultural influences on business vary from country to country. It is very important that such factors are considered. Factors include: 1.What is the dominant religion? 2.What are attitudes to foreign products and services? 3.Does language impact upon the diffusion of products onto markets? 4.How much time do consumers have for leisure? 5.What are the roles of men and women within society? 6.How long are the population living? Are the older generations wealthy? 7.Do the population have a strong/weak opinion on green issues? mobile phones, SMS, internet most women are working so affect door to door selling e.g. AVON Drought will affect food processors because of inadequate supply Technological Factors Technology is vital for competitive advantage, and is a major driver of globalization. Consider the following points: 1. Does technology allow for products and services to be made more cheaply and to a better standard of quality? 2.Do the technologies offer consumers and businesses more innovative products and services such as Internet banking, new generation mobile telephones, etc? 3.How is distribution changed by new technologies e.g. books via the Internet, flight tickets, auctions, etc? 4.Does technology offer companies a new way to communicate with consumers e.g. banners, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), etc?
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Introduction of new products: PCs, digital camera, webcam, DVD Changing ways of doing business email facilitates direct marketing It shortens the life cycle of products Operating Environment The operating environment of the company is semi controllable since actions by the company can affect or change the key elements within this environment though mostly in the long run. It consists of those factors that relate directly to the particular product business of the company Competitors Changes in the number of competitors, changes in competitive strategy, changes in product positioning Direct v/s indirect competitors Companys goals and objectives They serve as boundaries or constraints. They are set for the long term. Market share, return on investment, earnings per share, employee turnover Companys resources Financial resources Physical resources: plants, equipment Human resources COMMUNICATION The prime aim of marketing communications is to influence consumers buying behaviour. Because of this marketer need to know how communication works. Communication is defined as the sharing of meaning. The communication process Communication can best be summarized as the transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver in an understandable manner. The communication process is the guide toward realizing effective communication. It is through the communication process that the sharing of a common meaning between the sender and the receiver takes place. Effective communication leads to understanding. The communication process is made up of five key components. Those components include encoding, medium of transmission, decoding, response and feedback. There are also two other factors in the process, and those two factors are present in the form of the sender and the receiver. The communication process begins with the sender and ends with the receiver. The sender is an individual, group, or organization who initiates the communication. This source is initially responsible for the success of the message. The sender's

experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skill, perceptions, and culture influence the message. "The written words, spoken words, and nonverbal language selected are paramount in ensuring the receiver interprets the message as intended by the sender". All communication begins with the sender. The first step the sender is faced with involves the encoding process. In order to convey meaning, the sender must begin encoding, which means translating information into a message in the form of symbols that represent ideas or concepts. This process translates the ideas or concepts into the coded message that will be communicated. The symbols can take on numerous forms such as, languages, words, or gestures. These symbols are used to encode ideas into messages that others can understand. When encoding a message, the sender has to begin by deciding what he/she wants to transmit. This decision by the sender is based on what he/she believes about the receivers knowledge and assumptions, along with what additional information he/she wants the receiver to have. It is important for the sender to use symbols that are familiar to the intended receiver. A good way for the sender to improve encoding their message is to mentally visualize the communication from the receiver's point of view. To begin transmitting the message, the sender uses some kind of channel (also called a medium). The channel is the means used to convey the message. Most channels are either oral or written, but currently visual channels are becoming more common as technology expands. Common channels include the telephone and a variety of written forms such as memos, letters, and reports. The effectiveness of the various channels fluctuates depending on the characteristics of the communication. For example, when immediate feedback is necessary, oral communication channels are more effective because any uncertainties can be cleared up on the spot. In a situation where the message must be delivered to more than a small group of people, written channels are often more effective. Although in many cases, both oral and written channels should be used because one supplements the other. If a sender relays a message through an inappropriate channel, its message may not reach the right receivers. That is why senders need to keep in mind that selecting the appropriate channel will greatly assist in the effectiveness of the receiver's understanding. The sender's decision to utilize either an oral or a written channel for communicating a message is influenced by several factors. The sender should ask him or herself different questions, so that they can select the appropriate channel. Is the message urgent? Is immediate feedback needed? Is documentation or a permanent record required? Is the content complicated, controversial, or private? Is the message going to someone inside or outside the organization? What oral and written communication skills does the receiver possess? Once the sender has answered all of these questions, they will be able to choose an effective channel. After the appropriate channel or channels are selected, the message enters the decoding stage of the communication process. Decoding is conducted by the receiver. Once the message is received and examined, the stimulus is sent to the brain for interpreting, in order to assign some type of meaning to it. It is this processing stage that constitutes decoding. The receiver begins to interpret the symbols sent by the sender, translating the

message to their own set of experiences in order to make the symbols meaningful. Successful communication takes place when the receiver correctly interprets the sender's message. The receiver is the individual or individuals to whom the message is directed. The extent to which this person comprehends the message will depend on a number of factors, which include the following: how much the individual or individuals know about the topic, their receptivity to the message, and the relationship and trust that exists between sender and receiver. All interpretations by the receiver are influenced by their experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skills, perceptions, and culture. It is similar to the sender's relationship with encoding. After receiving a message, the receiver responds in some way and signals that response to the sender. The signal may take the form of a spoken comment, a long sigh, a written message, a smile, or some other action. "Even a lack of response, is in a sense, a form of response". Feedback is the final link in the chain of the communication process. Feedback is the part of the receivers response that the receiver communicates back to the sender. Without feedback, the sender cannot confirm that the receiver has interpreted the message correctly. Feedback is a key component in the communication process because it allows the sender to evaluate the effectiveness of the message. Feedback ultimately provides an opportunity for the sender to take corrective action to clarify a misunderstood message. "Feedback plays an important role by indicating significant communication barriers: differences in background, different interpretations of words, and differing emotional reactions". The communication process is the perfect guide toward achieving effective communication. When followed properly, the process can usually assure that the sender's message will be understood by the receiver. Although the communication process seems simple, it in essence is not. Certain barriers present themselves throughout the process. Those barriers are factors that have a negative impact on the communication process. Some common barriers include the use of an inappropriate medium (channel), incorrect grammar, inflammatory words, words that conflict with body language, and technical jargon. Noise is also another common barrier. Noise can occur during any stage of the process. Noise essentially is anything that distorts a message by interfering with the communication process. Noise can take many forms, including a radio playing in the background, another person trying to enter your conversation, and any other distractions that prevent the receiver from paying attention. Noise and Selectivity The communication process is not carried out in isolation. There are many senders competing with their messages for the attention of the receiver. As a result there is considerable noise in the environment and an individual may be bombarded by thousand messages each day. The task of the sender is to get his message to the receiver but there are a number of reasons why the target audience may not receive the message.
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Selective attention A receiver will not notice all the commercial messages that he encounters, so the sender must design the message in such a way so as to win attention in spite of the surrounding noise. Selective distortion In many cases receivers may change the information received if that information does not fit in with their existing attitudes, beliefs and opinions. People hear what they want to hear. 2 types of distortion: Amplification where receivers may add things to the message that are not there Leveling where the receivers do not notice other things that are there. The task of the sender is to produce a message that is clear, simple and interesting. Selective recall A receiver will retain in his permanent memory only a small fraction of the messages that reach him. The senders aim therefore is to get the message in to the receivers long term memory.
The three forms of marketing communications systems Oral communication Written communication Audiovisual system Factors affecting the choice of communication systems The firms promotional objectives The budget factor The proximity of the target audience The availability of communications infrastructure The familiarity of the target audience with the system Cost effectiveness of the technology used Mass Communication Mass communication refers to the different media which aim at addressing or communicating to a large undifferentiated market with a view to providing information to its members and favouring a commonness of thought, behaviour once the communications have had an impact or influence on the people.
Word of mouth communication It is personal communication about a product between target buyers and neighbours, friends, family members and colleagues.
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Word of mouth is the passing of information by verbal means, especially recommendations, but also general information, in an informal, person-to-person manner, rather than by mass media, advertising, organized publication, or traditional marketing. Word of mouth is typically considered a spoken communication, although web dialogue, such as blogs, message boards and emails are often now included in the definition. Word of mouth promotion is highly valued by marketers. It is felt that this form of communication has valuable source credibility. People are more inclined to believe word of mouth promotion than more formal forms of promotion because the communicator is unlikely to have an ulterior motive (i.e. they are not out to sell you something). Also people tend to believe people that they know. Word of mouth communication is also known as buzz. Buzz marketing organizations either pay people, or seek volunteers, to try new brands and then have agents talk them up among their social networks. Opinion leaders They are those people who act as leaders and who can influence other peoples decision about the purchase of a product or a commodity. These people are members of reference groups which consist of people having a set of common values and who probably stand out of the rest. Opinion leaders appear to exercise a disproportionate influence in forming and shaping the opinions of other people. These people will then orientate their behaviour towards that of the reference group. They are influential because: They are psychologically receptive They are perceived as authoritative Authoritative role Personality Age Experience Qualification
CONSUMER DECISION MAKING PROCESS Problem recognition Information search Alternative evaluation Purchase decision Postpurchase evaluation
To be able to influence consumer behaviour, a promotional plan must take into account how purchase decisions are made. Knowledge of the activities and thought processes

leading up to and after the act of purchase determines what type of promotion effort is needed and when it is needed. High Involvement Process Problem recognition Information search Alternative evaluation Purchase decision Postpurchase evaluation
Low Involvement Process Problem recognition Purchase decision Postpurchase evaluation
Characteristics affecting consumer behaviour Cultural culture, subculture, social class Social Reference groups, Family, Roles and status Personal Age and life cycle stage, Economic situation, Lifestyle, Personality and self concept Psychological. -. Motivation, Perception, Learning, Beliefs and Attitudes Types of buying decision behaviour HIP
Complex buying behaviour
Dissonance reducing buying
LIP
Variety
seeking buying behaviour
Significant differences between brands
Few differences between brands Problem recognition/Need recognition
behaviour
Habitual buying behaviour
The buyer recognizes a problem or need. The buyer senses a difference between his actual state and his desired state. Need can be triggered by internal stimuli (hunger, thirst, sex) or by external stimuli (advertisement, opinion leaders) Information search It is the stage where the consumer is aroused to search for more information. Sources of information:

Personal sources: family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances Commercial sources: advertising, salespeople, packaging and displays Public sources: mass media and consumer organisations Experiential sources: handling, examining, using the product e.g. test drive Evaluation of alternatives The consumer uses information to evaluate alternative brands in the choice set. The consumer ranks the brands. The consumer fact-finding activities help form opinions or attitudes toward alternatives. An attitude is a summary judgement reflecting a predisposition or feeling. It comes from beliefs or perceptions formed about a product according to specific attributes known as evaluative criteria. Beliefs are what the decision-maker considers to be facts about product performance. The evaluative criteria are those characteristics that a decisionmaker considers relevant and important in judging a product. Purchase decision The consumer takes the decision of buying the product. Post purchase evaluation Stage in which consumers take further action after purchase based on their satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Consumers expectations = products perceived performance satisfaction Consumers expectations > products perceived performance dissatisfaction Consumers expectations < products perceived performance delighted Decision processes The difference between LIP and HIP stems from the kinds and numbers of activities the consumer will engage in and the sequence of these activities.
HIP The decision making process begins with recognition of a problem. The consumer conducts a search for alternative solutions, evaluates these alternatives, and makes a choice. Finally, the consumer experiences the outcome of his/her choice. The process is extensive when an individual views the consequences of a decision as serious and important. Hoping to avoid the serious consequences of a poor decision, the consumer commits himself or herself to a high level of personal involvement. Time and effort are focused on gathering and evaluating all the relevant information. The process of information gathering and analysis will continue until the decision-maker is satisfied that additional time and effort will not yield a better decision.

Implication for promotion Problem recognition Problem recognition may arise from within the individual or from prompting by promotional activity. The formidable task faced by a salesperson soliciting new business is persuading the prospective client that a problem exists and needs to be addressed. Unless this is accomplished, the prospect has no reason to purchase. Successful Marketing communications require an understanding of the prevalent needs of the market place. The focus of the communications campaign is to show the consumer that the product or service promoted addresses a need of some significance Information search When the consumer is willing to search for external information, the marketer now has an opportunity to provide information on how its product might solve the consumers problem. Alternative evaluation An understanding of the attitude formation process increases the likelihood of persuasive communications. Persuasion may come about through control of consumer perceptions about product performance, and the importance attached to attributes entering in the evaluation process. Beliefs about product performance are affected by promotional messages. Favourable perceptions about product attributes lead to favourable attitudes. (E.g. orange is fashionable) Promotion may aim at changing the weight placed on evaluative criteria. (Colour, price, performance) Purchase decision While promotion is traditionally a persuasive activity prior to purchase, it may also be useful in a purchase decision. For e.g. pop display materials can generate awareness or reinforce beliefs at the purchase location. Special discount coupons may be the effort that convinces the consumer that it is the right time to buy. Post purchase evaluation Dealing with the customer does not stop after the completion of a sale. Where there are opportunities for repeat sales, ongoing communications may be necessary. Satisfactions should be reinforced. Dissatisfaction should be reduced or eliminated.
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LIP In LI decisions, the consequences of quick decision making do not seem to be serious. The consumer does not expect that additional effort will mean any significant improvement in the quality of the decision. Many LIPs are similar, and extended evaluation of competing brands would not identify a significantly better item among alternatives The LIP decision process begins with problem recognition. Purchase decision occurs without conducting any alternative evaluation. The experiences with the purchase decision provide the basis for formulating an attitude toward a product. Implication for promotion Problem recognition Problem recognition is temporal. It fades quickly from memory because more important thoughts take its place. The probability of action to fulfill a need diminishes rapidly after recognition. Unless purchase opportunities occur at the time of problem recognition, it may be that no action will take place. Since the need is relatively unimportant, one can postpone action and eventually just forget the need. Thus, advertising for LIP may not lead directly to purchase. Such advertising will build recognition of product benefits only after significant repetition. Marketers can take advantage of a given situation to stimulate problem recognition and immediate action. Pop displays are effective in attracting attention to a product and aiding recall of needs for LIPs. Purchase decision It is influenced by easily recallable information that an individual has stored in memory. Recognition of the brand is a key factor in the choice among LIP. Since there is little importance attached to the product, little or no serious product evaluation takes place. Consequently, items with distinctive features such as unusual package shapes, eyecatching colours or memorable brand names have an edge over competitors s products, since choice is often directed toward the item that comes to mind first. Advertising is used to create awareness of the product. Sales promotion such as pop and other merchandising devices is designed to trigger recall of the advertised product. The availability of the product and the immediate recall of the advertised product combined lead to purchase. Post purchase evaluation A favourable attitude influences future product choice but does not ensure that brand insistence will take place. Difficult to have brand loyalty for LIP as customers stay with the brand because the consumer simply does not want to spend time looking for better alternatives.

Brand switching can easily be triggered by aggressive promotion efforts (coupons, premiums) to encourage product trial. Promotional effort: Maintain or build top of mind awareness Vigilant about the promotional activities of competitors to avoid brand switching. Brand switching from competitors product to marketers product.
Characteristics affecting consumer behaviour Consumer purchases are influenced strongly by cultural, social, personal and psychological characteristics. Marketers cannot control these factors but must take them into account. Cultural factors Culture: The set of basic values, perceptions, wants, and behaviours learned by a member of society from family and other important institutions. Subculture: A group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences and situations. Social class: Relatively permanent and ordered divisions in a society whose members share similar values, interests and behaviours. Social factors Group: 2 or more people who interact to accomplish individual or mutual goals. Family Roles and status: persons position in each group and status is the general esteem given to it by society. Personal factors Age and family life cycle Occupation Economic situation Lifestyle: a persons pattern of living as expressed in his or her activities, interests and opinions. Psychological factors Motive: a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction of the need. Perception: The process by which people select, organize, and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world. Perception depends on selective attention, selective distortion, and selective retention. Learning: Changes in an individuals behaviour arising from experience.

Belief: A descriptive thought that a person holds about something. Attitude: A persons consistently favourable or unfavorable evaluations, feelings, and tendencies toward an object or idea.
Types of buying decision behaviour Complex buying behaviour: consumer-buying behaviour in situations characterised by high consumer involvement in a purchase and significant perceived differences among brands. Dissonance reducing behaviour: consumer-buying behaviour in situations characterised by high involvement but few perceived differences among brands. Habitual buying behaviour: consumer-buying behaviour in situations characterised by low consumer involvement and few significant perceived brand differences. Variety seeking buying behaviour: consumer-buying behaviour in situations characterised by low consumer involvement but significant perceived brand differences. Impact of culture on promotion Culture: The set of basic values, perceptions, wants, and behaviours learned by a member of society from family and other important institutions. Whilst on the surface most countries of the world demonstrate cultural similarities, there are many differences, hidden below the surface. One can talk about "the West", but Italians and English, both belonging to the so called "West", are very different in outlook when one looks below the surface. The task of the global marketer is to find the similarities and differences in culture and account for these in designing and developing marketing plans. Failure to do so can be disastrous. Culture also reveals itself in many ways and in preferences for colours, styles, religion, family ties and so on. The colour red is very popular in the west, but not popular in Islamic countries, where sober colours like black are preferred. The major elements of culture are material culture, language, aesthetics, education, religion, attitudes and values and social organisation. Language reflects the nature and values of society. Language can cause communication problems - especially in the use of media or written material. Values often have a religious foundation, and attitudes relate to economic activities. It is essential to ascertain attitudes towards marketing activities which lead to wealth or material gain, for example, in Buddhist society these may not be relevant. Therefore the marketing communications planner must be very careful when designing the message to send to the customers so as not to offend them. A joke : A disappointed salesman of Coca Cola returns from his Middle East (Dubai) assignment. A friend asked, "Why weren't you successful with the Arabs?"

The salesman explained, "When I got posted in Dubai, I was very confident that I will make a good sales pitch as Cola is virtually unknown there. But, I had a problem; I didn't know to speak Arabic. So, I planned to convey the message through 3 posters. First poster: a man crawling through the hot desert sand, totally exhausted and fainting. Second, the man is drinking our Cola and third, our man is now totally refreshed. Then these posters were pasted all over the place." "That should have worked," said the friend. The salesman replied, "Well, not only did I not speak Arabic, I also didn't realize that Arabs read from right to left..."
MARKETING COMMMUNICATIONS PLANNING To have an effective campaign, the promotion planner must know whom to contact and what to say to them. There are 3 related activities critical to the planning of a promotion campaign: Market segmentation, target selection, and product positioning. Market segmentation It is the partitioning of a large market with diverse needs and wants into sub markets or segments. These segments consist of individuals with similar needs and wants. Criteria when segmenting a market A relatively distinctive behaviour characterizes each group. One may describe each group by referring to measurable and understandable dimensions. Marketplace potential achieves reality when the marketer is able to locate and communicate with the consumers. The marketer needs a profile of the target group. Without a clear idea of who is a qualified prospect and who is not, the marketers message may be wasted on individuals who have little or no interest in the product The market potential has an appropriate size. Segments should define groups having sufficient demand to justify marketing effort. A groups demand emerges from population size and its purchasing power. There is a means of communicating with the segment. The marketer must discover effective and efficient means for communicating with that segment. Target market selection After segmenting the market, the marketer has to decide on which segment the marketing effort will be concentrated. Target market selection is the result of assessing the identified segments as to their potentials for the achievement of marketing and corporate goals.
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4 factors that influence the choice of the target market: 1. Determining the appropriate effort Effective segmentation identifies segments with different response tendencies. A marketer must consider each segments potential with a specific marketing effort. For e.g. in the toothpaste market there are 2 segments : decay prevention segment and economy segment. For the 1st segment the message should concentrate on the product benefit of decay prevention by creating awareness of the products decay prevention attributes. The other segment will respond to a campaign promising product value. The delivery of a message to each group may call for the use of different media. To know which effort will be more appropriate, research and analysis is conducted. 2. Assessment of the costs Different marketing efforts require different budgets. If a segment can be tapped/reached with pop materials, the cost to the marketer will be much less than the cost of a campaign directed to a segment that can be reached only with national prime time TV ads. The marketer must define the cost of the efforts necessary to produce the desired market response from a segment. 3. Analysis of the competitive environment The evaluation focuses on the no of competitors selling to a market, the market share, the degree of loyalty that competitors establish within the segment. Lots of competitors but no market leader, a new supplier will enter the market. If 1 supplier dominates the market, another supplier may enter the market if research shows customers will switch brands. 4. Projection of performance The assessment of the competitive environment together with the identification of the cost and effort needed to penetrate a segment help to predict accomplishment. The projected achievements can be expressed in the form of sales, market share, profitability, or some combination. If one projects that, a segment will meet or exceed established goals for sales, market share, or profitability, then the company selects that segment.
Product positioning If a customer buys a product it implies that the product by itself is appealing to the customer and also more appealing than competitors products. Product positioning analysis determines the product image-the impression of a product held in a consumers mind- that one wants to communicate to the target market. This image, if it is appealing and distinctive, occupies a place or niche in the mind and has a strong influence when a product choice occurs. PC IBM
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The product positioning decision is especially important for promotional strategy. Promotion communicates ideas, and these ideas in turn influence market response. The basic message idea about the product depends on the product image, those impressions about the promoted product that influence choice. Positive, distinctive impressions about a product increase the chances of its selection. The message that the promotional planner will send to customers depend on the positioning of the product. It will be that message that will create an image in the mind of customers. Types of positioning 1. Product attribute images Many brands appeal to consumers because of benefits that stem directly from product features. The promotion message concentrates on the consumer gains resulting from product performance. 2. Images based on symbolism When there are no significant differences between products, the position arises from broad symbolism rather than product performance. 3. Direct competitive positioning In a highly competitive setting a product may not be successful simply by being distinctive. It may have to convince consumers explicitly that it has adv over competitors product. E.g. 7up is an uncola. PROMOTIONAL PLANNING PROCESS Promotional management involves coordinating the promotional mix elements to develop a controlled, integrated program of effective Marketing communications . A promotional plan provides the framework for developing , implementing, and controlling the organizations integrated Marketing communications programs and activities. Promotional planners must decide on the role and function of the specific elements of the promotion mix, develop strategies for each element, and implement the plan. Promotion is only one part of the overall marketing plan and program and should be integrated into it. Review of marketing plan Before developing a promotional plan, marketers must understand where the company has been, its current position in the market, where it intends to go, and how it plans to get there. A marketing plan describes the overall marketing strategy and programs developed for an organization. There are 5 basic elements:
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Situation analysis (internal marketing audit, external analysis of the market competition and environmental factors). Specific marketing objectives Marketing strategy Implementation of marketing strategy Process for monitoring and evaluating performance and controlling program Promotional plan is an integral component of the marketing strategy. Promotion plan uses the detailed information of the marketing plan. Promotional program situation analysis Internal analysis Assesses the relevant areas involving the product offering and the firm itself. Capabilities of the firm and its ability to develop and implement a successful promotional program The organisation of the promotional department Review of the successes and failures of past programs Advantages and disadvantages of performing the program in house v/s advertising agencies Strengths and weaknesses of the firms from an image perspective Adv and disadvantages of the product Any unique selling points External analysis Focuses on such factors such as characteristics of the firms customers, market segments, positioning strategies and competitors Customer analysis: customers characteristics and buying patterns and decision process Customers perceptions, attitudes and lifestyles. Market analysis Attractiveness of various market segments and selection of target market How should the product be positioned i.e. what image or place should it have in consumers minds Competitive analysis Focus is on competitors promotional strategy Strengths and weaknesses, segmentation targeting and positioning strategies, promotional strategies, their budget, media strategies and messages they are sending to the market place. Analysis of the communication process How can the company effectively communicate with its target market? Consumer decision making process: HIP v/s LIP Which media to use? What are the communications objectives? Awareness, knowledge about benefits of a product, creating an image, developing favourable attitudes, preferences or purchase intentions. Budget determination What will the promotional program cost? How will the budget be allocated?

At this stage the budget determination is only tentative, it may not be finalized until specific promotional mix strategies are developed. Develop the Integrated Marketing Communications Program Decisions have to be made regarding the role and importance of each element and their coordination with one another. Each promotional mix element has its own set of objectives and a budget and a strategy for meeting them. Decisions must be made and activities performed o implement the promotional programs. Procedures must be developed for evaluating performance and making any necessary changes Monitoring evaluation and control It is important to determine how well the promotional program is meeting communications objectives and helping the firm accomplish its overall marketing strategies. The manager must know the reasons in order to take the right steps to correct the program.
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Review of marketing plan Examine overall marketing plan and objectives Role of advertising and promotions Competitive analysis Assess environmental influences Analysis of promotional situation analysis Internal analysis External analysis Promotional department organisation Consumer behaviour analysis Firms ability to implement promotional Market segmentation and target marketing program Market positioning Agency evaluation and selection Review of previous program results Analysis of communications process Analyze receivers response processes Analyze source, message, channel factors Establish communications goals and objectives Budget determination
Set tentative Marketing communications budget
Allocate tentative budget Develop IMC program Advertising Set advertising objectives Determine advertising budget Develop message strategies Develop media strategies Direct marketing Set direct marketing objectives Determine direct marketing budget Develop direct marketing strategies
Sales promotion Set sales promotion objectives Determine sales promotion budget Develop sales promotion strategies Public relations Set public relations objectives Determine public relations budget Develop public relations strategies Personal Selling Set personal selling objectives Determine personal selling budget Develop selling roles and responsibilities Integrate and implement marketing communications strategies Integrate promotional mix elements Create and produce ads Purchase media time and space Design and implement direct marketing programs Design and distribute sales promotion materials Design and implement public relations program Monitor, evaluate, and control integrated marketing communications program Evaluate promotional program results/effectiveness Take measures to control and adjust promotional strategies
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Review of marketing plan
Promotional situation analysis
Analysis of communications process
Budget determination
Develop Integrated marketing communications program
Advertising
Direct marketing
Sales promotion
Public relations
Personal selling
Advertising objectives
Direct marketing objectives
Sales promotion objectives
Public relations objectives
Personal selling objectives
Message strategy
Direct marketing strategy
Sales promotion strategy
Public relations strategy
Personal selling strategy
Media strategy
Integrate and implement marketing communications strategies
Monitor, evaluate and control integrated marketing communications program
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EVALUATION AND CONTROL Objectives The task of setting objectives must be done properly, because specific goals and objectives are the foundation on which all other promotional decisions are made. Budgeting for advertising and the other tools, as well as creative and media strategies and tactics, evolve from these objectives. They also provide a standard against performance can be measured. Objectives are the goals that the company wishes to achieve. Objectives are important because Facilitate the coordination of the various groups working on the campaign i.e. company and advertising agency, Public Relations firms. All the parities must know what the company hopes to accomplish through its Marketing communications program. (communications) Guide the development of the integrated marketing communications plan (planning). All phases of a firms promotional strategy should be based on established objectives. Objectives are also a guide for decision making. Choices should be based on how well a particular strategy matches the firms promotional objectives. (decision) Provide a benchmark against which success or failure of the promotional campaign can be measured. (measurement and evaluation of results) Integrated marketing communications objectives should be based on a thorough situation analysis that identifies the marketing and promotional issues facing the company. Promotional objectives evolve from the companys overall marketing plan and are rooted in its marketing objectives. Marketing objectives are stated in the firms marketing plan and are statements of what is to be accomplished by the overall marketing program within a given time period. (sales volume, market share, profits, return on investment). Promotional objectives/Marketing communications objectives are stated in the firms promotional plan and are statements of what is to be accomplished by the promotional plan within a given time period. Promotional objectives help to achieve the marketing objectives. Examples: To increase awareness. To position the product as the best value for money deal. To change beliefs of customers. To change attitudes of customers. To encourage trial of the product. To create interest in the product. To arouse desire for the product. To trigger action by the customer.
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Characteristics of objectives Objectives should be SMART Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Timed and targeted specific end results must be quantified wherever possible and can be measured should be realistic should be in line with the overall marketing strategy within a timeframe and should target particular customers
For e.g. Create awareness of the product among non-users by 20% within 6 months. Ways of generating promotional objectives The individual elements of one the communication models should be considered. Awareness Interest Desire Action Budget Once the objectives are set the promotional planner must see how much the campaign will cost and how much the company is willing to spend on the campaign. There are different methods, which are used to calculate the amount of money to be spent on the integrated marketing communications program. Same as last time method SALT This method produces an expenditure level that is the same as the previous budget period, subject only to adjustments for special circumstances such as product introductions or special promotional activities. Yr. 1 budget Rs 500 000. Cost of introducing new product Rs 100 000 Yr. 2 budget = 500 000 + 100 000 = Rs 600 000 Percentage of sales method It is a percentage of the forecasted sales. The historical percentage is calculated by taking the previous periods ratio of promotional expenditure to sales. All that can be afforded method This method is based on current financial circumstances The company allocates the fund that is left to promotional activities. It is calculated as follows: revenue expenses profit = amount to be spent on promotion. Competitive parity method With this method, the promotional planner will find out how much competitors are spending and they would allocate the same amount for their budget.

Objective and task method The promotional planner establishes specific goals and objectives for the promotional effort for the period. Once these have been determined, management defines the actions necessary to achieve these tasks. Then the promotional planner allocates a cost to each task. The sum of these costs is the amount that should be allocated as promotional budget. Evaluation and Control To ensure an effective and efficient promotional effort the promotional planner should concentrate on the evaluation of performance and the exercise of necessary control. Good promotional management will detect problems as soon as possible and will identify the appropriate corrective action. Promotional campaigns can be very expensive in time and money and it is much less costly to prevent major problems than to remedy those problems after the fact. The value of a campaign is its ability to improve the companys competitive position. To estimate the value of a campaign, evaluation procedures must consider past efforts and performance and conclude whether or not the most recent campaign has contributed to the improvement of the companys position. A complete evaluation of performance considers not only how an organisation is doing relative to its own past but also how it is doing compared with its competitors. Goals of an evaluation and control system 1. To determine what has occurred, is occurring and will occur during the course of the campaign To give a true picture of activity taking place as a result of the promotional effort. The system seeks to monitor the performance and provide an accurate picture of what has happened, is happening and will probably happen in the market place because of the organisations communications efforts. 2. To measure the quality of the occurrences The evaluation system must make a statement of the worth of the promotional performance i.e. whether the performance is a good one or not. 3. To identify appropriate courses of action. Following the judgement of the performance, a corresponding action will be identified. There must be an action after getting the judgement on the results of the promotional effort. The basic objective of the control system is to provide clear signals of necessary actions to ensure that the promotion program is on the right track.
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Characteristics of an effective evaluation and control system 1. It incorporates into its evaluation and control procedures the objectives of the promotion. The performance of the campaign is judged against the objectives of the campaign. Therefore the objectives act as a benchmark for evaluating the program. Objectives should be SMART to enable a good judgement of the performance. E.g. increase in awareness level. If not precise then 3% may be good for someone or disappointing for someone else. 2. It measures areas of performance critical to the success or failure of the program. It is not economically feasible to track all possible results in the market place. Most of those factors will have no impact on the overall success or failure of the program. An effective evaluation system uses its financial and human resources efficiently by concentrating on the relevant rather than the trivial determinants of promotion performance. 3. It has the capacity to either initiate the necessary control action itself or provide indications as to the nature of those actions. A good control system minimises the amount of time between analysing a situation and effecting the appropriate actions. As more time passes between the recognition of an opportunity or problem situation and the taking of appropriate action the cost goes up. An evaluation and control system is a process. The process consists of stages of activities that occur sequentially or simultaneously. Steps 1. Defining the promotional effort The marketers principal objective is to find true indicators of promotional effort. The manager needs a measure or a set of measures that accurately reflects the work actually done with the 5 tools. expenditures the amount of money spent. It facilitates the comparison of effort levels across promotional elements. e.g. 100000 advertising and 200000 personal selling therefore 2 times more effort on ps. activity by medium Communication activity may be a more desirable measure of communications effort than just expenditures. Activity means the type of work being done, the type of services being employed, and the amount of such work and services for e.g. advertising on TV no of gross rating points purchased, personal selling number of calls per day, sales promotion number of samples distributed. use of multiple measures of effort A combination of the above measures is a better way of defining the promotional effort. 2. Selecting performance measures We need a precise knowledge of what has happened among the target audience. Performance measures are measures of communication and persuasion effects.

A promotion program is directed towards a defined specific audience with the intent of causing a specific response. The statement of the programs objectives reflect this; the objectives identify who is to be reached and what is to be the response (awareness, comprehension, conviction or purchase). Therefore the measurement of performance should be based on the goals. Specific performance measures 1. Audience analysis to determine whether the campaign has reached the intended audience. 2. Awareness measures to determine the degree of knowledge of the sellers offerings by the audience. (unaided recall measures and aided recall measures) 3. Comprehension measures to determine the amount of attention that the audience devoted to the promotional message. 4. Conviction measures to determine the judgements or conclusions that people draw from information. 5. Intentions measures to determine what a person or organisation expects to do within a given time. 6. Purchase measures to determine the events that are taking place in the marketplace. 3. Establishing standards A company derives the expectations of performance principally from the statement of objectives. If projected conditions are similar to the actual conditions of operation, then the objectives must be the standards on which to judge performance. 4. Comparing performance with standards The marketer must determine the direction and magnitude of the difference between expectation and performance. performance > expectation good performance < expectation bad We should determine whether there are significant differences, differences that exceed acceptable limits. It is necessary to establish decision rules to define the tolerable limits of deviation. 5. Executing appropriate action The control system identifies activities necessary to ensure that the program accomplishes its ultimate objectives. No action (i) When there is no significant deviation of actual performance from established goals. (ii) No action is taken in cases of differences when the manager concludes that such a deviation is only temporary. (iii) No action is taken if the cost of action outweighs the projected gains in the relevant period. Remedial/corrective action Addresses those areas where there are undesirable results. Preventive action

Preventive actions do not address any immediate deficiencies in the program. Their purpose is to check a problem before it has developed. Preventive actions are less costly to the company than remedial actions. The evaluation and control process
Define the promotional effort under evaluation Type of effort (national television, regional magazine coverage, coupons) Intensity of effort (by expenditure levels, or by activity for e.g. number of product samples distributed)
Identify relevant measures and standards Based largely on promotional objectives set before the campaign
Compare performance with standards
Execute appropriate action
Performance better than expectations
Performance equal to expectations
Performance less than expectations
No corrective action
Consider raising Standards
No corrective action
Undertake preventive action for future
Lower Take corrective expectation action
More intensive effort
Different effort
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MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY ADVERTISING

Definition Advertising is a paid non-personal communication from an identified sponsor using mass media to persuade or influence an audience. 1. 1.1 Types of advertising Brand advertising Focuses on the development of a long term brand identity and image. It tries to develop a distinctive brand image e.g. Coca Cola Retail advertising Focuses on the store where a variety of products can be purchased. The message announces products that are available locally, tries to develop a distinctive image for the store e.g. Spar Political advertising Used by politicians to persuade people to vote for them Directory advertising Helps people to find out how to buy a product or service e.g. yellow pages Direct response advertising It may use any medium including direct mail. It tries to stimulate a sale directly. The consumer can respond by telephone or mail and the product is delivered. Business to business advertising Includes messages directed at retailers, wholesalers, distributors and professionals (lawyers). It tends to be concentrated in business publications or professional journals. Institutional advertising/Corporate advertising The focus of this message is on establishing a corporate identity. Public service advertising Communicates a message on behalf of some good cause e.g. stopping drunk driving. These ads are created for free by advertising professionals and the space and time are donated by the media.
1.2
1.3 1.4 1.5
1.6
1.7 1.8
2. 2.1 2.2 2.3
Roles of advertising Marketing role Helps satisfy customer needs. Communication role Provides information that helps match buyers and sellers in the market place. Economic role Market power school: advertising is a persuasive communication tool used by marketers to distract consumers attention from the price of the product. Market competition school: advertising is a source of information that increases consumers price sensitivity and stimulates competition.
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2.4 Societal role Informs us about new and improved products and teaches us how to use these innovations. It helps us compare products and features. It mirrors fashion.
3.
Functions of advertising
There are 2 basic functions that advertising attempts to do: institutional advertising and product advertising 3.1 Institutional advertising
It is designed to create a positive attitude toward the seller. The intent is to promote the sponsoring organisation rather than the products it sells.
3.2
Product Advertising It aims to inform or to stimulate the market about the sponsors product. The intent is clearly to sell a particular product to the exclusion of competitors product. It can be classified as follows: Direct action advertising v/s Indirect action advertising Direct action advertising is intended to produce a quick response e.g. ads with expiry date.
3.2.1
Indirect action advertising is designed to stimulate demand over a longer period of time. These ads inform customers that the product exists, indicate its benefits, state where it can be purchased, remind customers to repurchase and reinforce this decision.
3.2.2
3.2.3
Primary advertising v/s Selective advertising Primary advertising aims to promote demand for a generic product e.g. chicken Selective advertising attempts to create demand for a particular brand Commercial advertising and Non commercial advertising Commercial advertising promotes a product with the intent of making a profit. Non commercial advertising tends to be sponsored by organisations that are not in business to make money e.g. charity organisations
4.
Overview of advertising management
Advertising management entails analysis, planning, implementation and control activities directed towards objectives, budgets, message development and media decision. Set objectives Estimate budget Devise advertising strategy Implement advertising plan Evaluate advertising program
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ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT 1. The advertising objectives
An advertising objective is a specific communication task to be accomplished with a specific target audience during a specific period of time. Steps to achieve effective communications: Identify target audience The audience will affect the decisions on what will be said, how it will be said, where it will be said and who will say it. Determine communications objectives i.e. what is the response sought Final response is purchase. The communicator needs to identify in which stage the target audience is and to which stage the target audience will be after the message. Design a message (message content, message structure, message format) The message should get attention The message should hold interest The message should arouse desire The message should obtain action Message content (what to say) The communicator has to figure out an appeal or theme. There are 3 appeals Rational appeals relate to the audiences self interest. Emotional appeals attempt to stir up positive or negative emotions. Moral appeals are directed to the audiences sense of what is right and proper. Message structure (how to say the message) 3 message structure issues Should the message draw a conclusion or leave it to the audience? Should the message present only a one sided argument or should it also admit its shortcomings? Should the message present the strongest arguments first or last? Message format (how to say the message) Depends on the media chosen. The communicator has to decide for Print media: headline, copy, illustration and colour. Radio: words, sounds and voices. TV: all previous elements and body language. Choose media 2 main types of channel of communications: Personal channel of communications Non-personal channel of communications Collect feedback Market research
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Purpose/Aim of advertising: Informative advertising aim is to build primary demand. Persuasive advertising aim is to build selective demand Reminder advertising aim is to keep consumers thinking of the product 2. The advertising budget Affordable method % of sales method Competitive parity method Objective and task method Same as last time method
Factors to be considered when setting advertising budget Stage in product life cycle New products typically need large advertising budgets as a ratio to sales than do low market share brands to build awareness and gain consumer trial. Mature brands usually require lower budgets as a ratio to sales. Market share High market share brands usually need more advertising spending as a percentage of sales than do low market share brands. Building the market or taking share from competitors requires larger advertising spending than does simply maintaining current share. Competition and clutter In a market with many competitors and high advertising spending, a brand must be advertised more heavily to be noticed above the noise in the market. Advertising frequency When many repetitions are needed to present the brands message to consumers, the advertising budget must be larger. Product differentiation A brand that closely resembles other brands in its product class requires heavy advertising to set it apart. When the product differs greatly from competitors, advertising can be used to point out the differences to consumers. The advertising strategy 2 major elements: 1. Creating advertising messages 2. Selecting advertising media

Creating advertising messages The message of an advertisement is the impression that the advertiser wants to leave in the audiences mind. Distinction between LIP and HIP will determine the content of the message and the amount of information to be given Message determinants: Target audience The advertiser should focus on the group with which he wishes to communicate. The developers of the message should understand the target audience thoroughly. Knowledge of the audiences decision process gives the advertiser an idea of the opportunities for advertising to influence product choice. Product The distinction here is whether the product is HIP or LIP LIPs are those products for which consumers will buy without paying attention to the information given. In fact the consumer does not require any information on the product to convince him to buy the product. The customers are familiar with the brand. So the message can be simple and memorable. The low involvement decision maker may find interest in the central values Attention is paid to an ad because of interest in the ad setting rather than in the product. The good feeling evoked by the ad may then carry over to the product. The ad will be full of imagery. HIPs are those products which customers will buy only if the information provided has convinced them. Product choice in a high involvement decision depends on attitudes formed through the processing of information. The theme for these products tends to be more complex. Advertisements promoting HIPs are more likely to influence market place decisions by stressing product attributes. The decision maker needs, wants and is very interested in product information so as to make a correct selection. For HIPs the message should present appealing information on product attributes. The advertiser must understand the important features of the product. Proper presentation of the product requires comprehension of what it does and how it does what it does. The product features are the springboard of message ideas. The message should concentrate on benefit that can come from these features. The development of ads across consumer decisions differs in the balance between stress on product attributes and stress on advertising mood. The graph on the next page suggests that mood and product information are basic elements in advertisements.
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High
Imagery
Relative Stress of advertising mood
Product attributes
Low Degree of consumer involvement with product
High
Competitive positioning In a competitive environment the audience is exposed to hundreds of messages daily. The audience cannot remember all messages. As a result selective attention and selective retention occurs. Positioning is important in a competitive environment. To have a good positioning the advertiser has to point out the benefits considered desirable by the target audience but more importantly benefits considered superior to those of competitors. The advertising message should present an image sufficiently distinctive to be remembered by the consumer. The product should occupy a unique place in the audiences mind so that when a choice has to be made, the advertised product comes up quickly and in a favourable light. Approaches to a message Effective communication results not only from what an ad says but also from how it says it i.e. the tone used or the manner of presentation. There are several approaches. Informative approach The audience receives an objective statement of facts or evidence. This approach is successful if the audience is actively seeking information from the advertiser, the assessment of facts is straightforward for the audience and the judgement is favourable to the advertiser.

Argument approach (reason why)
It presents not only facts but also judgements or evaluation of facts. This approach is desirable in a situation in which the benefits from the features are not that obvious to the reader and that the advertiser cannot be reasonably confident that the receiver will deduce those benefits. This is the case for innovative products. This approach is appropriate for high involvement decisions where the consumer wants to evaluate the information, so here the advertiser guides the evaluation.
Psychological appeal
In this approach, emphasis on product attributes is secondary. Emphasis will be on emotions, the mood that the ads settings convey. It is believed that an ads influence on the audience is more likely through an emotion appeal than through an objective rational highlighting of product features. (Low involvement product)
Repeated assertion
The basic message is usually very simple and appears repeatedly throughout the ads in words, graphics and sounds. This approach is appropriate where the frequency of the message idea is more apt to influence consumers than is the substance of the message particularly with LIP.
Command approach
It explicitly states the course of action the audience is expected to undertake and leaves no question as to what that is. Take a break, have a kitkat. This approach promotes familiar products or services where the directed behaviour is appealing and acceptable.
Symbolic association
An ads message draws upon connotations from its association with a symbol. The aim is to trigger ideas through the use of a symbol, word, illustration, person, music. With symbolic association, the advertiser must be certain that a link does indeed exist between the symbol and ideas. The use of symbols to present a message generally occurs with reminder advertising for familiar products. Symbols are frequently used for LIP where easy product recall is important for the sale. Assumes that the principal motivation for behaviour is the desire to associate with a person or group. This approach often appears in ads containing endorsements or testimonials from presumably admirable individuals and this approach assumes that there is social influence on the consumer decision.
Imitation approach
The message strategy
The first step in creating effective advertising messages is to plan a message strategy which will determine what general message will be communicated to consumers. The purpose of advertising is to get consumers to think about a product in a certain way. People will react only if they believe that they will benefit from doing so. In the search for benefits to features, many creative people start by talking to consumers, dealers, experts and competitors or others put themselves in the place of consumers and try to figure out the benefits consumers seek.
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Message strategy statements tend to be plain, straightforward outlines of benefits and positioning points that the advertiser wants to stress. These strategy statements must be turned into advertisements that will persuade consumers to buy or to believe something. The advertiser then must develop a compelling creative concept or big idea that will bring the message strategy to life in a distinctive and memorable way. A creative concept must have relevance, originality and impact. At this stage, simple message ideas become great advertisement campaigns. All agencies have copywriters and art directors who are responsible for dreaming up the creative concept and crafting the execution. The concept may come to mind as a visual, a phrase or a thought that uses both visual and verbal expression. The creative concept will guide the choice of specific appeal to be used in an advertisement campaign. Advertising appeals should have 3 characteristics: Meaningful pointing out benefits that make the product more desirable to consumers Believable consumers must believe that the product will deliver the promised benefits Distinctive they would tell how the product is better than the competing brands For e.g. a watch is expected to give accurate time, but advertisers cannot tell this to customers!!! Therefore advertisers use themes. SWATCH style and fashion ROLEX luxury and status The creative concept then becomes the springboard for the execution of the advertisement.
The message execution
The word execution refers to all the details & decisions involved in production of the advertisement. The impact of the message depends not only on what is said but also how it is said. The creative people must find the best technique, style, tone and format for executing the message.
Technique There are 2 basic literary techniques: lecture and drama 1. Lecture A lecture is a serious structured instruction given verbally to present knowledge and facts. Lectures are a form of direct address,. The speaker addresses the audience form the TV or written page and the audience receives the message at a distance. The speaker presents evidence and employs such techniques as an argument to persuade the audience. Advantages Cost less to produce More compact and efficient

Get right to the point Disadvantages Audience often becomes distracted by other matters Audience makes fun of the source Audience disputes every point These responses dilute or even cancel the message the advertiser wants to convey 2. Drama A drama is a story or play built around characters in some situation. A drama is a form of indirect address like a movie or a play. In a drama the characters speak to each other and not the audience. The audience is just an eavesdropper. Advertising dramas are essentially stories about how the world works. Viewers learn from these commercial dramas by inferring lessons from them and by applying those lessons by their everyday lives. A commercial drama can be very powerful as the viewer gets involved in the story development. The drama should be inherent to the product. From the viewers perspective conclusions drawn from dramas are their own, whereas conclusions urged in lectures are ideas that other people are trying to impose on them. Many TV ads combine lecture and drama. One common format begins as a drama, which is then interrupted by a short lecture from the announcer, after which the drama concludes.
Style o Straight forward factual message the advertisement usually conveys information. Such ads are rational rather than emotional o Demonstration and comparison o Problem solution also known as product as hero technique. The message begins with some problem and the product is presented as the solution to that problem. o Slice of life shows one or more typical people using the product in a normal setting. o Life style shows how a product fits in with a particular lifestyle. o Fantasy creates a fantasy around the product or its use. o Mood or image builds a mood or image around the product such as beauty, love or serenity. o Musical shows one or more people or cartoon characters singing a song about the product. o Personality symbol creates either an animated or real character that represents the product. o Technical expertise shows the companys expertise in making the product. o Scientific evidence presents survey or scientific evidence that the brand is better or better liked than one or more other brands.
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o Testimonial evidence features a highly believable or likable source endorsing the product.
Tone The advertiser must also choose a tone for the ad. Message tone reflects the emotion or attitude behind the ad. Ads can be funny, serious, sad, fearful. The advertiser must use memorable and attention getting words in the ad The uncola has more impact than 7up is not a cola.
Format Format elements make a difference on an ads impact as well as its cost. The illustration is the first thing the reader notices, it must be strong to draw attention. The headline must attract the right people to read the copy. The copy must be simple but strong and convincing. These 3 elements must work effectively together. Selecting advertising media 4 major steps in media selection Deciding on reach, frequency and impact To select media, the advertiser must decide what reach and frequency are needed to achieve advertising objectives. Reach is a measure of the % of people in the target market who are exposed to the ad campaign during a given period of time. Frequency is a measure of how many times the average person in the target market is exposed to the message. Impact is the qualitative value of a message exposure through a given medium for e.g. if demonstration is important, messages on TV will have more impact than messages on radio. In general, the more reach frequency and impact the advertiser seeks, the higher the advertising budget will have to be. Choosing among major media types Media Planners consider many factors when making their media choices: Media habits of target consumers. Nature of the product (car v/s fashion) Types of messages Cost Selecting major media vehicles Media vehicle can be defined as specific media within each general media type such as specific magazines, TV shows, or radio programs. Media planners must compute the cost per thousand persons reached by a vehicle. The media planner ranks each media vehicle by cost per thousand and favour those media vehicle with the lower cost per thousand for reaching target consumers.
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Deciding on media timing (continuity v/s pulsing) The advertiser must also decide how to schedule the advertising over the campaign. The advertiser has to choose the pattern of the ads. Continuity means scheduling ads evenly within a given period. Pulsing means scheduling ads unevenly over a given period of time. The idea behind pulsing is to advertise heavily for a short period to build awareness that carries over to the next advertising period. 3. Organising for advertising.
Advertising agency An advertising agency is defined as a marketing services firm that assists companies in planning, preparing, implementing and evaluating all or portions of their advertising programs. Functions of an advertising agency. An advertising agency provides the skills necessary in the management of an advertising campaign and a promotional programme. The basic services provided are planning, copywriting, layout and media selection. A full service agency is an agency capable of assuming all the responsibilities of a campaign. Organisation of an advertising agency. There are usually 4 departments. 1. Creative services department-develops and produces ads. 2. Media department-selects media and places ads 3. Research department-studies audience characteristics and wants 4. business department-handles administration activities. Criteria for selecting an advertising agency An organisation usually seeks an agency when it recognizes that it lacks some essential strength for the development or management of an advertisement campaign. There are 4 major considerations in screening prospective agencies: (i) Size Size: the amount of media billings representing the value (Rs.) of print space and broadcast time contracted for the agencys clients. the income the agency received form clients Large agencies offer more services under one roof than small agencies. 2 disadvantages of working with large agencies: The size of their operations results in high overhead costs and by setting minimum billing requirements, they tend to handle only large accounts. This discourages low budget advertisers. A small budget client is constantly concerned that its account will not receive the attention accorded to big clients. As a rule the client should seek an agency with accounts similar in size to its own. The clients accounts should not dominate the other agencys other business, nor should it be an insignificant part of the agencys activities.

(ii) Conflict accounts Advertising agencies try to avoid handling the accounts of competing clients. In this way conflict of interest is not likely to arise. (iii) Distinctive skills An agency usually develops a distinctive competence in a particular field (iv) Past performance The potential client may infer that past successes indicate a degree of expertise. Services offered by an advertising agency BASIC SERVICES Planning Copy writing Layout Media selection RESEARCH SERVICES Market research Consumer research Copy research Media research TRADE PROMOTION SERVICES Wholesaler promotions Dealer promotions Booklets, pamphlets, broadsides, catalogs, Exhibits SALES TRAINING SERVICES Planning sales meeting Salesmans manuals and portfolios Visual aids PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICES New product publicity News stories Company image building Consumer relations Employer-employee relations Agency compensation Agencies derive their revenues from 2 main sources: commission & Fees. 1. The commission system An agencys income is usually some % of the contracted costs of media time and space. 2. The fee system It provides revenue to the agency based on the services provided and the costs incurred.
PRODUCT SERVICES New product development Product design Creation of brand names Creation of trademarks Complete packing design MERCHANDISING SERVICES Displays Package inserts Banners, Streamers Other point of purchase material DIRECT MAIL SERVICES Letters, folders, booklets Brochures Sampling Couponing OTHER SERVICES House organs Premiums Contests Instruction booklets Calendars Annual reports Pricing

4. International advertising decisions International advertisers face many complexities not encountered by domestic advertisers. The most basic issue concerns the degree to which global advertising should be adapted to the unique characteristics of various country markets i.e. should the advertising programme be standardized worldwide or should the advertising programme cater for the specificities in local markets. Standardisation of the advertising programme produces many benefits: Lower advertising costs Greater coordination of advertising efforts A more consistent worldwide company or product image. But standardisation ignores the fact that country markets differ greatly in their cultures, demographics and economic conditions. Thus most international advertisers think globally but act locally. Advertisers may develop global strategies to guide their overall advertising efforts, specific advertising programs usually must be adapted to meet local cultures & customs, media characteristics & advertising regulations For e.g. MacDonalds provide halaal food in Mauritius as well as vegetarian menus. 5. Advertising evaluation The advertising program should evaluate both the communication effects and the sales effects. Measuring communication effects
This will tell whether the ad is communicating well.
Pre-testing methods Direct rating The advertiser exposes a consumer panel to alternative ads and asks them to rate the ads. These direct ratings indicate how well the ads get attention and how they affect consumers. A high rating indicates a potentially more effective ad. Portfolio tests Consumers view or listen to a portfolio of ads, taking as much time as they need. They are then asked to recall all the ads and their content, aided or unaided by the interviewer. Their recall level indicates the ability of an ad to stand out and its message to be understood and remembered. Laboratory tests Equipments are used to measure the psychological reactions to an ad (heart beat, blood pressure, pupil dilation). These tests measure the attention getting power of an ad, but reveal little about its impact on beliefs, attitudes or intentions. Post testing methods Recall tests The advertiser asks people who have been exposed to magazines or television programs to recall everything they can about the advertisers and products they saw. Recall scores indicate the power of the ad to be noticed and retained. Recognition tests The researcher asks readers of a magazine for e.g. to point out what they recognize as having seen before. Recognition scores can be used to assess the impact of the ad in

different market segments and to compare the ad of the company with the ad of the competitors. Measuring sales effects The sales effect of advertising is harder to measure than the communications effect. Sales are affected by many factors besides advertising such as product features, price and availability. Compare past sales with past advertising expenditures Test by spending different amounts on advertising in different markets keeping other factors constant. If all the market areas are similar and if all the other marketing effort in the area are the same, then differences in sales in the different markets could be related to advertising level. SALES PROMOTION Definition: Sales promotion consists of short-term incentives to encourage purchase or sales of a product or service. Sales promotion can: Gain new users and encourage repeat sales Encourage more frequent or multiple uses Introduce new or improved products or product uses Counter competitive activity Obtain feature pricing, display or other trade supports Capitalise on seasonal, geographical or creative advantages Induce trade ups to larger size or larger contracts Reduce or increase trade incentives Expand or improve distribution Motivate dealers, brokers sales force or franchise holders Sales promotion cannot: Turn poor shelf pricing into profitable volume Compensate for inadequate levels of advertising Overcome problems in packaging, quality or performance Reverse a downward sales trend for any length of time Compensate for an improperly trained sales force or dealer Overcome poor distribution. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE USE AND FORM OF SALES PROMOTION There are different factors which will influence the decisions of management when using and choosing and form of sales promotion. Stage in product life cycle
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Products require different sales promotional strategies as they move through the different stages of their product life cycle. Introduction stage sales promotion is used to secure initial distribution of new products. Growth stage competitors are entering the market, so company must stimulate demand for its own brand by using premiums, samples and coupons Maturity stage there is intense competition. Trade and consumer deals come into play to encourage brand switching by consumers. Decline stage sales drop dramatically as manufacturers want to reduce costs. Sales promotion still in use aim primarily at the trade (allowances and discounts) to maintain distribution. Competitive activity The strategy requires an assessment of what competitors are doing and a prediction as to what they are likely to do. In the short run sales promotion activities may be used to combat these competitive forces. Industry practice The way the other companies in the same industry react will have an impact on the sales promotion activities. If there is an extensive use of sales promotion in the industry then the company will have to adapt its sales promotion mix accordingly. Company strategy Corporate considerations also influence the use and form of sales promotions. Because of resource limitations, many companies now restrict the amount on sales promotion activities to a predetermined % of projected sales. SALES PROMOTION OBJECTIVES Sales promotion to the sales force Designed to stimulate, support and provide incentives for the sales people in its merchandising and selling efforts. The aim is to motivate the sales people to spend extra effort to pursue the sales goals of the company. A motivated sales force is crucial to the success of a marketing program. Achieving that motivation requires a well conceived and well executed sales promotion program. The long term goal of sales promotion is to increase overall sales and the short term goals are for e.g. securing new dealers, promoting sales of a specific item. Sales promotion to middlemen Designed to motivate middlemen toward providing active and enthusiastic support in marketing the products of the company. Middlemen are an extension of the sales force of the company and therefore have the same requirements for information, assistance and motivation. Promotions to the trade are essential to the success of a product as they gain the cooperation and active support of middlemen. Sales promotion to consumers
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Designed to provide consumers with incentives aimed at stimulating trial or continued use of incentives aimed at stimulating trial or continued use of specific products. 1. CONSUMER PROMOTION TOOLS Sales promotion activities directed primarily at consumers. Point of purchase displays Include displays and demonstrations that take place at the point of sale. It is used to attract the attention of the consumer in the store and to stimulate purchase of the product. Coupons Are certificates distributed by manufacturers to consumers, redeemable at retail outlets, giving the consumer a specified price reduction on a particular product. Premiums Are articles of merchandise provided free or at reduced prices to consumers as incentives to encourage their purchase of a specified product. Samples Are smaller versions of the actual product, containing a sufficient amount to enable consumers to make informed judgements of the products attributes. Contests and sweepstakes Contests require the participant to apply a degree of skill judged against that of other entrants. A panel of judges makes evaluations and awards prizes. E.g. creating slogans, writing an essay. Under the contest format, participants must usually submit a proof of purchase of the manufacturers brand in order to enter and be eligible for prizes. Sweepstakes are games of chance that do not require any demonstration of skill by the entrant. Winners are selected at random through a drawing from participants entry forms. No proof of purchase is needed. E.g. lottery. Consumer deals Are short-term promotions offering consumers a saving in the purchase of a product. 3 types of consumer deals: Direct price reductions offer the consumer the opportunity to purchase a product at a specified saving off the regular price. Bonus packs offers the consumer an opportunity to purchase more of a product with no increase in the products regular price. Refunds and rebates Offers to refund part of the purchase price of the product to the consumers who send a proof of purchase to the manufacturer. Advertising Specialties Distributions of useful articles of merchandise often bearing the advertisers name, logo and promotional message. They are given without cost or
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obligation, to preselected recipients as goodwill gestures. (key chains, ashtrays) Packaging The package is a products wrapping which helps to differentiate the product from competitor products. It is the most visible part of the product and is crucial to the success of many products. Patronage rewards Are cash or other awards offered for the regular use of certain products or services of the company.
2.
TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS
Sales promotion activities directed primarily at retailers and wholesalers. Discount It is a straight reduction in price on purchases during a stated period of time. The offer encourages dealers to buy in quantity or to carry a new item. Dealers can use the discount for immediate profits for advertising or for price reductions to their customers. Buying allowance The manufacturer gives a specific sum of money to the middlemen in return for a specific quantity purchased during a specified time period. Count and Recount To move merchandise out of a dealers warehouse and into the stores selling space, a manufacturer pays for each product unit moved from warehouse storage into the store itself. Buy back allowance It is an offer for a specified monetary incentive for new or additional purchases Free goods Dealers receive free merchandise for purchasing a specified amount of the product. Advertising allowances Are incentives given to middlemen for advertising a manufacturers product Dealer contests Sales meetings for dealers
3.
BUSINESS PROMOTION TOOLS
Sales promotion activities directed primarily at the sales force Contests Increase the motivation and productivity of sales personnel through an appeal to their competitive spirit. (cash prizes, merchandise, paid vacations etc). Sales meetings
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A means of disseminating information and stimulating greater effort. It helps to stimulate sales personnel to greater performance. Sales brochures These are distributed by manufacturers to their sales people. Sales brochures are useful when the product is available in a variety of models, styles and colors or has a number of optional features. A brochure will often present a technical explanation of the functions of the product. To the sales force, sales brochures serve as a way to keep up to date on new products, model changes, and style changes. They also constitute a giveaway that the sales force can use in its dealer relations efforts. Trade shows and exhibits Manufacturers promote a virtually endless variety of products. There are several reasons why exhibitors display their wares at trade shows. They may wish to introduce new products, make sales, generate sales leads, attract new distributors, promote the corporate image, conduct marketing research, observe the competition, or get immediate customer feedback. The fundamental reason for participation in forums is to provide selected markets with product information and to establish contact with qualified sales prospects. Exhibitors set up booths where they can display merchandise, conduct demonstrations, distribute samples, provide product literature and make media presentations. They are also eager to develop a mailing list of interested visitors for follow up by company sales personnel.
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED WHEN DEVELOPING THE SALES PROMOTION PROGRAM
Size of the incentive A certain minimum incentive is required for the success of the promotion. The larger the incentive, the larger will be the sales response. Conditions for participation The marketer must decide whether the incentive is open to everyone or only to select groups. Ways of promoting and distributing the promotion program The marketer will have to decide for e.g. whether the coupon should be included in a package or distributed at the store, by mail or in an ad. Each distribution method involves a different level of reach and cost. Length of the promotion If the sales promotion period is too short, prospects may miss it. If sales promotion period is too long, the deal will lose some of its act now force. Budget Marketers must consider the cost effectiveness of their sales promotion programs carefully.
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EVALUATION OF SALES PROMOTION PROGRAM The large number of variables makes the evaluation of sales promotion particularly difficult. Sales promotion activities are usually part of a promotional program. Given this fact, accurate measurement & evaluation of promotion components may sometimes be impossible. However there are some methods which may be used. Pretesting: tests Before the launch of the campaign, tests should be carried out to find out if the incentives are appropriate and of the right size. Consumers can be asked to rate or rank different possible sales promotions Sales promotions can be tried on a limited basis in selected geographic areas Post testing The sales promotion has already been implemented Comparison of sales before during and after promotion Consumer research Would show the kinds of people who responded to the promotion and what they did after it ended. Surveys Can provide information on how many consumers recall the promotion, what they thought of it, how many took advantages of it, and how it affected their buying. Experiments Can be carried out by varying factors such as incentive value, length and distribution method. PERSONAL SELLING Definition Personal selling can be defined as a personal presentation by the sales force of a firm for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships. It is a promotional activity that focuses on a target market of one buyer and then nurtures and encourages a rapid transition from problem recognition to purchase action. It involves two-way personal communication between sales people and individual customers whether face-to-face, by telephone, or through videoconferences. In complex selling situations personal selling can be more effective than advertising, which consists of one-way non-personal communication with target consumer groups. Sales people can probe customers to learn more about their problems. They can adjust the marketing offer to fit the special needs of each customer and can negotiate terms of sale. The personal selling process Prospecting and qualifying First step in which the salesperson identifies qualified potential customers.

Preapproach Salesperson learns as much as possible about a prospective customer before making a sales call. Approach The salesperson should know how to meet and greet the buyer and to get the relationship off to a good start. Presentation and demonstration The salesperson tells the product story to the buyer showing the benefits and features of the product. Handling objections The salesperson identifies the objections of the customers and finds ways to turn these objections in reasons to buy. Closing The salesperson asks the customer for an order. Follow up Last step in which the salesperson follows up to ensure customer satisfaction after the sale Relationship marketing It puts the emphasis on building and maintaining profitable long-term relationships. Most companies are moving away from transaction marketing and are instead practicing relationship marketing which emphasizes building and maintaining profitable long-term relationships with customers by creating superior customer value and satisfaction. Relationship marketing is based on the premise that important accounts need focused and continuous attention. Role of the sales force The role of personal selling varies from company to company. Some firms have no sales people at all. (mail order catalogs, manufacturers reps, sales agents or brokers). However the sales force plays a major role in most firms. Companies that sell business products for e.g. Xerox, the sales force work directly with the customers. To these customers the sales force is the company. In consumer product companies that sell through intermediaries (wholesalers, retailers), final consumers rarely meet sales people or even know about them. The sales force serves a critical link between a company and its customers. In many cases sales people serve both masters, the seller and the buyer. Represent the company to customers They find and develop new customers and communicate information about the companys products and services. They also provide services to customers, carry out market research and intelligence work, and fill out sales call reports. Represent the customers to the company
They act in the interest of customers. Salespeople relay customer concerns about the products of the company products to people in the company who will take appropriate measures. They learn about customer needs and work with others in the company to develop greater customer value. SALES FORCE MANAGEMENT The analysis, planning, implementation, and control of sales force activities.
Designing sales force strategy and structure Recruiting and selecting salespeople Training salespeople Compensating salespeople Supervising sales people Evaluating sales people
Sales force strategy How the sales force structure should be structured? What should be the size of the sales force? Should salespeople work alone or in a team? How the sales force would perform their work i.e. field or telephone? Sales force structure Territorial sales force structure each salesperson is assigned to an exclusive geographic area and sells the companys full line of products or services. Product sales force structure each salesperson specialises in selling certain products of the company, not the full line. Customer sales force structure each salesperson is assigned to specific customers or along specific industry lines. Complex sales force structure combines the above structures. Sales force strategy Size of the sales force. Use of workload approach. Sales force is the most productive and yet the most expensive asset of the company. So increasing the n of salespeople ill increase sales and costs. Most companies use the workload approach to set sales force size. Using this approach a company first groups accounts into different classes according to size, account status, or other factors related to the amount of effort required to maintain them. It then determines the n of sales people needed to call on each class of accounts the desired n of times.
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Outside sales people. They travel to call on customers Inside sales people. They conduct business from their offices via telephone, fax, web sites or visits from prospective clients. Team selling. Companies use teams of people from sales, marketing, engineering, finance, technical support, and even upper management to service large, complex accounts. Recruiting and selecting sales people
Listing the traits of a desired salesperson Recruiting procedures Selecting salespeople Training sales people
Training programs : companys history and objectives, organisation, financial structure
Products, competitors Customers and their buying behaviour Principles of selling Field procedures and responsibilities Compensating sales people
Salary Commission Salary + commission Supervising sales people
Directs and motivates salespeople

Directs:
Developing customer targets and call norms Using sales time efficiently Motivates: Organizational climate Sales quotas Positive incentives Evaluating salespeople
To be able to evaluate the work done by the sales force we need good feedback. Feedback means getting regular information from salespeople to evaluate their performance.
Sources of information Sales report (work plan, annual territory marketing plans, call reports, expense reports) Personal observations Customers letters and complaints Customer surveys Talks with other sales people There are three ways of evaluating a salesman. 1. Comparing salespeople performance Compare and rank the sales performance of different salespeople. Such comparisons may be misleading. Salespeople may perform differently because of differences in territorial potential, workload, level of competition, and company promotion effort. Sales are not the best indicator of achievement. Management should be more interested in how much each salesperson contributes to net profits, a concern that requires looking at each salespersons sales mix and expenses. 2. Comparing current sales with past sales (performance of the salesman) 3. Qualitative evaluation of sales people Looks at the salespersons knowledge of the company, products, customers, competitors, territory and tasks. Personal traits also can be rated. (manner, appearance and speech) Benefits of formal evaluation of performance Management must develop and communicate clear standards for judging performance. Management must gather well-rounded information about each salesperson Salespeople receive constructive feedback that helps them to improve future performance Salespeople are motivated to perform well because they know that they will have to sit down with the sales manager and explain their performance. DIRECT MARKETING Definition It consists of direct communications with carefully targeted individual consumers to obtain an immediate response. Marketers communicate directly with customers on a one-to-one, interactive basis. They closely match their marketing offers and communication to the needs of narrowly defined segments or individual buyers.
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Benefits of direct marketing Benefits to consumers Home shopping is fun, convenient, and hassle-free. It saves time and introduces them to a larger selection of merchandise. They can do comparative shopping by browsing through mail catalogs and online shopping services. They do not have a salesman who is pressurising them to buy the product. Benefits to sellers Direct marketers can buy mailing lists and then personalise and customise their messages. They can build ongoing relationship with each customer. Direct marketing can be timed to reach prospects at just the right moment. Direct marketing materials receive higher readership and response. It also provides privacy i.e. the offer and strategy of the direct marketer are less visible to competitors. Mass marketing v/s one-to-one marketing MASS MARKETING Average customer Customer anonymity Standard product Mass production Mass distribution Mass advertising Mass promotion One-way message Economies of scale Share of market All customers Customer attraction One-to-one marketing Individual customer Customer profile Customised market offering Customised production Individualised distribution Individualised message Individualised incentives Two-way message Economies of scope Share of customer Profitable customers Customer retention
CUSTOMER DATABASE AND DIRECT MARKETING Customer database is an organised collection of comprehensive data about individual customers or prospects, including geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural data. Database marketing is the process of building, maintaining and using customer databases and other databases (products, suppliers, resellers) for the purpose of contacting and transacting with customers. Customer mailing list is simply a set of names, addresses and telephone numbers. Uses of customer database Identify prospects Decide which customers should receive a particular offer. Deepen customer loyalty Reactivating customer purchases

Database marketing requires a special investment. Companies must invest in computer hardware, database software, analytical programs, communication links, and skilled personnel. The database system must be user friendly. A well managed database should lead to sales gains that will more than cover its costs.
FORMS OF DIRECT MARKETING Face-to-face selling Professional sales forces locate prospects, develop them into customers, build lasting relationships and grow the business. Direct-mail marketing It involves sending an offer, announcement, reminder, or other item to a person at a particular address for e.g. letters, ads, samples, and foldouts. Forms of direct mail: Fax mail, E-mail, Voice mail Catalog marketing It involves selling through catalogs mailed to a select list of customers or made available in stores. Telemarketing It involves using the telephone to sell directly to consumers. Direct response television marketing 2 forms Direct response advertising and infomercials Direct marketers air television spots, often 60 or 120 seconds long, that persuasively describe a product and give customers atoll free number for ordering. TV viewers see 30-minute advertising programs or infomercials, for a single product. Home shopping channels They are television programs or entire channels dedicated to selling goods and services
Kiosk marketing Some companies place information and ordering machines-called kiosks- in stores, airports, and other locations. ONLINE MARKETING AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Online marketing is conducted through interactive online computer systems, which link consumers with sellers electronically. 2 types of online marketing channels Commercial online services: services that offer online information and marketing services to subscribers who pay a monthly fee such as CompuServe. Internet: The vast and burgeoning global web of computer network that links computers all around the world. Electronic commerce: The general term for a buying and selling process that is supported by electronic means Benefits of online marketing Benefits to consumers o Convenient, easy and private o Abundance of comparative information o Interactive and immediate Benefits to marketers o Customer relationship building o Reduce cost and increase efficiency o Flexibility o Global medium Online marketing channels/ Ways of conducting online marketing 1. Creating an electronic storefront buy space on a commercial online service This involves either renting storage space on the online services computer or establishing a link from the companys own computer to the online shopping mall. The online services typically design the storefront for the company and introduce it to their subscribers. For these services, the company pays the online service an annual fee plus a small percentage of the companys online sales. using corporate web sites 2. Placing advertisements online 3 ways: in commercial online services in internet newsgroups buy online ads 3. Participating in Internet forums, newsgroups, or web communities Forums: discussion groups located on commercial online services

Newsgroups: people post and read messages on a specific topic Web communities: a commercially sponsored web site, which allows members to congregate online and exchange, views on issues of common interest 4. Using online email or webcasting Webcasting: the automatic downloading of customised information of interest to recipients PCs, affording an attractive channel for delivering internet advertising or other information content. Challenges of online marketing Limited consumer exposure and buying Skewed user demographics and psychographics Chaos and clutter Security Ethical concerns Impact of information technology on direct marketing When considering information technology and direct marketing communications, the following key implications are of growing importance to marketers: It is easier for all levels to communicate to customers and therefore the development of relationship marketing techniques should be more effective The level of customer interactivity is becoming very powerful Communications are becoming faster and more economical Organisations are becoming more global and subject to more competition The Internet is getting more secure and accessible to more segments of the market The need to ensure consistent messages with other communications tools is very important. It is easier to obtain customer and competitor information. Customers are becoming more sophisticated in using technology. There are increases in changes in life styles, individualism, behaviour and shopping habits. There needs to be more research into the new IT literate consumer behaviour. There are software which are available to analyse consumer behaviour. The fragmentation of the traditional media with more emphasis on two-way communication is more apparent. PUBLIC RELATIONS A mass promotion tool. 1. Definition Building good relations with the companies various publics by obtaining favourable publicity, building up a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavourable rumours, stories and events. It is used to promote products, people, places, ideas, activities, organizations, and even nations.
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2. Role of Public Relations The primary objective of Public Relations is to establish and enhance a positive image of the company as a whole among its various publics. It seeks to persuade people that the company is an attractive organisation with which to do business. It does not promote the image of the product. Of course, a favourable corporate image among prospective buyers does assist in a very important way in concluding a sale. Public Relations is an indirect promotion tool. 3. Characteristics of Public Relations as a communication tool Inexpensive Audience specific Believability Lack of control Competition The publics addressed Customers Dealers and distributors Suppliers Financial community Employees Society/Community Government
4.
5. The Public Relations process Determining the Publics attitudes and opinions Find out how the various publics view the company and its products Determining appropriate changes in Company Behaviour Public Relations specialists now identify evaluate and propose appropriate changes in company behaviour and activity. For e.g. a more open attitude towards the press or changing a product line. Implementing changes in Company Behaviour Communicating changes in Company Behaviour Measuring awareness of change and remeasuring Public attitudes and opinions 6. Tools of Public Relations Community activities Participating in local community activities for e.g. sponsoring a youth movement Company publications They go internally to employees and externally to the distribution channel and ultimate customers. Internal newsletters keep employees informed of occurrences within the company and disseminate announcements of product introductions, personnel promotions, policy changes, and a variety of other company information. External publications provide links with current and prospective customers. Films

The films may provide public service information, entertainment, or background information on the company or industry. Displays and exhibits It aims at the public or the target audience of prospective customers. Participation in fairs e.g. the American fair. Salon de la maison. Special events Publicity The most commonly used tool of Public Relations. Publicity is just one tool of Public Relations. Definition Publicity is defined as a non-paid news or information message published on behalf of an identified sponsor. It uses all media types to carry the companys message to the target audience. The editorial portion and not the advertising portion of the media carries the message. Advantages Inexpensive Reaches mass audience High message credibility Disadvantages Lack of control over appearance and timing Lack of control over content of communications Competition and clutter Objective To present to the target audience a believable message that will persuade the audience to act as the communicator wishes Characteristics Publicity is essentially a form of news. To attract the attention of an editor, it needs to meet the criteria of a good news story. Publicity must be timely and current. Publicity must be of interest to a significant portion of the mediums audience. Publicity must be accurate and true. Publicity if it has a dramatic content has an advantage. Subjects Any occurrence within the company that meets the news criteria and conveys a positive image of the company is a suitable subject for publicity. Product introductions Personnel activities Financial activities Special events Publicity forms 5 main forms News or press release A one or two page announcement of a newsworthy event distributed broadly to all media of interest and may include a photograph. News or press conference

Used for major announcements. The press gathers at a central location to hear the announcement and to ask questions and explore various dimensions of the story. Feature story Not necessarily news. It consists of an article exploring the company or a particular aspect of its operation in some depth. Photographs A photograph may sometimes have a greater appeal to some editors than a news release on the subject. Very often used when it has a dramatic or a human-interest perspective. Letters to the Editor It can be a useful approach for discussing company views and positions on matters of community or company interest. Press relations An important element in the success of any publicity program is the establishment and maintenance of positive relationships with the media that are expected to carry the companys publicity. Positive relationships with the press i.e. with editors, reporters, columnists, commentators. Negative publicity Negative publicity harms the organisation. The occurrence of such events is often outside the companys control. How to handle negative publicity? Organisations should dispatch news coverage of negative events rather than try to discourage or block it. This approach not only has a tendency to diminish the fall out from negative events but also fosters a positive relationship with media personnel. Such relationships are essential if news personnel are to co-operate with an organisation and broadcast a favourable news stories. Facts are likely to be reported accurately but if news coverage is discouraged then rumours and misinformation may be reported. Evaluating Public Relations Public Relations results are difficult to measure because Public Relations are used with other promotional tools and its impact is often indirect. Evaluation methods Number of exposures in the media. Public Relations people give the clients a clippings book showing all the media that carried news about the product. Such exposure measures do not tell how many people actually read or heard the message, nor what they thought afterwards. Change in product awareness, knowledge, and attitude Assessing the change requires measuring the before and after levels of these measures.
7.
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8. Steps of implementing a Public Relations campaign Setting Public Relations objectives Choosing Public Relations messages and vehicles Implementing the Public Relations plan Evaluating Public Relations results. SOCIAL ASPECTS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS Promotion is the most visible of all business disciplines. The effects of promotion range from providing information to help consumers make intelligent buying decisions to changing attitudes. Promotion has the opportunity to contribute to the social well being or to abuse it by the actions of a few self-centered individuals. This leads to resentment on the part of society and consumer groups like ICP (Institute of Consumer Protection) and lACIM (Association des Consommateurs de lIle Maurice). Criticisms of Promotion / Marketing communications Marketing communications make people buy things that they do not really need. Marketing communications have created materialistic values in our society that are detrimental to important goals like social well being. Marketing communications are often deceptive and misleading, especially for disadvantaged consumers. Marketing communications are often annoying and in poor taste. Marketing communications often provide inadequate information to assist consumers in making decisions about complex products. LEGAL ASPECTS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS All organisations have to engage in promotional activity, using the various elements of the marketing communications mix. The organisations freedom of action is constrained by the regulatory process. The regulation of promotion is more dependent on selfregulatory codes of practice, particularly with regard to advertising and sales promotion. The nature of regulation The rules governing the acceptability of marketing communications can be summed up in a phrase that is widely recognised by advertising practitioners and the general public: Promotion must be legal, decent, honest, and truthful. Legality Advertisements should not contain anything, which is in breach of the law, or omit anything required by law. For e.g., adverts should not show discrimination on the grounds of colour, race ethnic origin, sex and marital status. Decency The Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964 state that it is an offence to publish an obscene article whether to gain or not. An article is defined as obscene if the effect is

likely to deprave or corrupt persons who are likely to see, read or hear the matter embodied in it. In a business context, more specific examples include the Indecent Advertisements Act 1970 which states that it is an offence to send an unsolicited material which describes or illustrates human sexual techniques. Honesty and truthful presentation The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 prohibits any person, in the course of trade or business, from applying a false description to goods, or from supplying or offering to supply any goods with a false trade description. The act defines a trade description as an indication, either direct or indirect, regarding such issues as quantity, size, composition, and method of manufacture, fitness for purpose, approval or endorsement by any individual or organisation and the past history of the product. The Advertising Standards Authority The ASA applies the Codes of Advertising Standards without the need for government involvement. The ASA supervises the system of control on the content of advertisements in all nonbroadcasting media e.g. cinema advertising, leaflets, print etc. Established in 1962 as an independent arbiter, ASAs role is to protect the interests of the consumer by improving and maintaining good standards of advertising. The ASA is independent of the advertising industry. The ASA expects that advertisements should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the consumer and to society and conform to the principles of fair competition generally accepted in business. Statement of Ethics Ethical Norms and Values for Marketers PREAMBLE The American Marketing Association commits itself to promoting the highest standard of professional ethical norms and values for its members (practitioners, academics and students). Norms are established standards of conduct that are expected and maintained by society and/or professional organizations. Values represent the collective conception of what communities find desirable, important and morally proper. Values also serve as the criteria for evaluating our own personal actions and the actions of others. As marketers, we recognize that we not only serve our organizations but also act as stewards of society in creating, facilitating and executing the transactions that are part of the greater economy. In this role, marketers are expected to embrace the highest professional ethical norms and the ethical values implied by our responsibility toward multiple stakeholders (e.g., customers, employees, investors, peers, channel members, regulators and the host community).
ETHICAL NORMS As Marketers, we must:
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1. Do no harm. This means consciously avoiding harmful actions or omissions by embodying high ethical standards and adhering to all applicable laws and regulations in the choices we make. 2. Foster trust in the marketing system. This means striving for good faith and fair dealing so as to contribute toward the efficacy of the exchange process as well as avoiding deception in product design, pricing, communication, and delivery of distribution. 3. Embrace ethical values. This means building relationships and enhancing consumer confidence in the integrity of marketing by affirming these core values: honesty, responsibility, fairness, respect, transparency and citizenship. ETHICAL VALUES Honesty to be forthright in dealings with customers and stakeholders. To this end, we will: Strive to be truthful in all situations and at all times. Offer products of value that do what we claim in our communications. Stand behind our products if they fail to deliver their claimed benefits. Honor our explicit and implicit commitments and promises. Responsibility to accept the consequences of our marketing decisions and strategies. To this end, we will: Strive to serve the needs of customers. Avoid using coercion with all stakeholders. Acknowledge the social obligations to stakeholders that come with increased marketing and economic power. Recognize our special commitments to vulnerable market segments such as children, seniors, the economically impoverished, market illiterates and others who may be substantially disadvantaged. Consider environmental stewardship in our decision-making. Fairness to balance justly the needs of the buyer with the interests of the seller. To this end, we will: Represent products in a clear way in selling, advertising and other forms of communication; this includes the avoidance of false, misleading and deceptive promotion. Reject switch tactics. manipulations and sales tactics that harm customer trust. Refuse to engage in price fixing, predatory pricing, and price gouging or bait-and-
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Avoid knowing participation in conflicts of interest.
Seek to protect the private information of customers, employees and partners. Respect to acknowledge the basic human dignity of all stakeholders. To this end, we will: Value individual differences and avoid stereotyping customers or depicting demographic groups (e.g., gender, race, sexual orientation) in a negative or dehumanizing way. Listen to the needs of customers and make all reasonable efforts to monitor and improve their satisfaction on an ongoing basis. Make every effort to understand and respectfully treat buyers, suppliers, intermediaries and distributors from all cultures. Acknowledge the contributions of others, such as consultants, employees and coworkers, to marketing endeavors. Treat everyone, including our competitors, as we would wish to be treated. Transparency to create a spirit of openness in marketing operations. To this end, we will: Strive to communicate clearly with all constituencies. Accept constructive criticism from customers and other stakeholders. Explain and take appropriate action regarding significant product or service risks, component substitutions or other foreseeable eventualities that could affect customers or their perception of the purchase decision. Disclose list prices and terms of financing as well as available price deals and adjustments. Citizenship to fulfill the economic, legal, philanthropic and societal responsibilities that serve stakeholders. To this end, we will: Strive to protect the ecological environment in the execution of marketing campaigns. Give back to the community through volunteerism and charitable donations. Contribute to the overall betterment of marketing and its reputation. Urge supply chain members to ensure that trade is fair for all participants, including producers in developing countries. IMPLEMENTATION

we expect AMA members to be courageous and proactive in leading and/or aiding their organizations in the fulfillment of the explicit and implicit promises made to those stakeholders. We recognize that every industry sector and marketing sub-discipline (e.g., marketing research, e-commerce, Internet selling, direct marketing, and advertising) has its own specific ethical issues that require policies and commentary. An array of such codes can be accessed through links on the AMA Web site. Consistent with the principle of subsidiarity (solving issues at the level where the expertise resides), we encourage all such groups to develop and/or refine their industry and discipline-specific codes of ethics to supplement these guiding ethical norms and values.
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MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

Low Involvement Process Problem recognition Purchase decision Postpurchase evaluation

Significant differences between brands

Few differences between brands Problem recognition/Need recognition

Habitual buying behaviour

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

Review of marketing plan

Promotional situation analysis

Analysis of communications process

Develop Integrated marketing communications program

Direct marketing objectives

Sales promotion objectives

Public relations objectives

Personal selling objectives

Direct marketing strategy

Sales promotion strategy

Public relations strategy

Personal selling strategy

Integrate and implement marketing communications strategies

Monitor, evaluate and control integrated marketing communications program

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

Compare performance with standards

Execute appropriate action

Performance better than expectations

Performance equal to expectations

Performance less than expectations

Consider raising Standards

Undertake preventive action for future

Lower Take corrective expectation action

More intensive effort

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY ADVERTISING

1.3 1.4 1.5

2. 2.1 2.2 2.3

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

Overview of advertising management

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY