1.1.

MESSAGE STRATEGIES
1.1.1. Introduction
The effectiveness of integrated marketing communication largely depends upon message. Ideally, the message should get
attention, hold interest, arouse desire, and obtain action. Message consists of facts, opinion, appeal, idea, symbols,
pictures or convincing arguments about the product.

Main purpose of ad-copy is to communicate with the target audience. Advertiser wants to send some information, facts,
and appeals, in a convincing way so that the attention of audience can be attracted and their interest can be aroused and
they can be persuaded to buy the advertiser’s product.

The decision regarding message-content, message-format, and message-source depends upon factors like – competition,
consumer-characteristics, buyer-behaviour, product features, legal factors, amount of ad-budget, etc.

1.1.2. Categories of Message Strategy

A message strategy is the primary tactic or approach used to deliver the message theme. There are three broad categories
of message strategies:

Message Strategy
1.1.2.1. Cognitive Strategies
A Cognitive
cognitive message strategy is the presentation of rational arguments or pieces of information to consumers. These ideas
strategies Affective strategies
require cognitive processing. When a cognitive message strategy is used, the advertisement’s key message is about the
product’s attributes orstrategies
Conative the benefits. Customers can obtain these benefits by using the product. The goal of the cognitive
message strategy approach is to design an ad that will have an impact on a person’s beliefs and/or knowledge structure.
This can be accomplished by suggesting any one of a wide variety of potential product benefits. Foods may be described
as healthful, pleasant tasting, or low calorie. Cognitive message strategies make these benefits clear to potential
customers. There are five major forms of cognitive strategies:
1) Generic Messages: Generic messages are direct promotions of product attributes or benefits without any claim of
superiority. This type of strategy works best for a firm that is clearly the brand leader and is the dominant company in
the industry. The goal of the generic message is to make the brand synonymous with the product category.
2) Pre-emptive Messages: Pre-emptive messages claim superiority based on a product’s specific attribute or benefit.
The idea is to prevent the competition from making the same or a similar statement.
3) Unique Selling Proposition: A unique selling proposition (USP) is an explicit, testable claim of uniqueness or superiority
that can be supported or substantiated in some manner. Brand parity makes a unique selling proposition more difficult to
establish. Reebok claims it is the only shoe that uses DMX technology, which provides for a better fit. Reebok can use this
unique selling proposition because the company holds patents on DMX technology.
4) Hyperbole: The hyperbole approach makes an untestable claim based upon some attribute or benefit. When NBC
claims that its Thursday night line up is “America’s favourite night of television,” the claim is a hyperbole. These
claims do not have to be substantiated, which makes this cognitive strategy quite popular.
5) Comparative Advertisement: When an advertiser directly or indirectly compares a good or service to the
competition, it is the comparative method. The advertisement may or may not mention the competitor by name. This
approach, however, is not as effective as comparative advertising that states the actual competitor’s name.

1.1.2.2. Affective Strategies

Affective message strategies invoke feelings or emotions and match those feelings with the good, service, or company.
Such ads are prepared to enhance the likeability of the product, recall of the appeal, or comprehension of the
advertisement. Affective strategies elicit emotions that, in turn, lead the consumer to act, preferably to buy the product,
and subsequently affect the consumer’s reasoning process. Affective strategies fall into two categories:
1) Resonance Advertising: Resonance advertising attempts to connect a product with a consumer’s experiences to
develop stronger ties between the product and the consumer. Any strongly held memory or emotional attachment is a
candidate for resonance advertising.
2) Emotional Advertising: Emotional advertising attempts to elicit powerful emotions that eventually lead to product recall
and choice. Many emotions can be connected to products, including trust, reliability, friendship, happiness, security,
glamour, luxury, serenity, pleasure, romance, and passion.
1.1.2.3. Conative Strategies
Conative message strategies are designed to lead more directly to some type of consumer response. They can be used
to support other promotional efforts, such as coupon redemption programs, Internet “hits” and orders, and in-store
offers such as buy-one-get-one-free. The goal of a conative advertisement is to elicit behaviour. A conative strategy is
present in any television advertisement for music CDs that seeks to persuade viewers to call a toll-free number to
purchase the music. These ads typically encourage quick action by stating that the CD cannot be purchased at stores
and is available for only a limited time.

Action-inducing conative advertisements create situations in which cognitive knowledge of the product or affective
liking of the product may come later (after the actual purchase) or during product usage. For example, a point-of
purchase display is designed (sometimes through advertising tie-ins) to cause people to make impulse buys. The goal is to
make the sale, with cognitive knowledge and affective feelings forming as the product is used. In terms of an attitude
sequence, conative message strategies typically utilize the conative →cognitive →affective approach.
Promotional support conative advertisements are used to support other promotional efforts. Besides coupons and
phone-in promotions, a company may advertise a sweepstakes that a consumer enters by filling out the form on the
advertisement or by going to a particular retail store.

1.1.3. Sources and Spokespersons

Source means the person involved in communicating a marketing message, either directly or indirectly. A direct source is a
spokesperson that delivers a message and/or demonstrates a product or service, like tennis star Andre Agassi who endorses
Head tennis rackets. An indirect source, say, a model, does not actually deliver a message but draws attention to and/or
enhances the appearance of the ad. Marketers try to select individuals whose traits will maximize message influence. The
source may be knowledgeable, popular, and/or physically attractive; typify the target audience; or have the power to reward or
punish the receiver in some manner.

Selecting the right source and spokesperson to use in an advertisement is a critical decision. Approximately 20% of all
advertisements use some type of celebrity spokesperson. Payments to celebrities account for around 10% of all
advertising dollars spent. A celebrity endorser is used because his or her stamp of approval on a product can enhance the
product’s brand equity. Celebrities also help create emotional bonds with the products. The idea is to transfer the bond
that exists between the celebrity and the audience to the product being endorsed. This bond transfer often is more
profound for younger consumers. Older consumers are not as likely to be influenced by celebrity endorsements. Still,
many advertisers believe they are effective.

1.1.3.1. Source Characteristics

As defined by Belch (2005), a person who is involved in communicating the marketing message whether in direct or
indirect manner is known as the “source”. The process of social influence results in an individual adopting the attitude
advocated by the communicator. The process takes place in three stages and this process influence the source. The three
stages are compliance, identification, and internalisation.

The sender or source of a communication could be a person or organisation that has information to share with another
person or group of people. The individual could be a salesperson of the company or hired spokesperson such as a
celebrity who appears in a company’s advertisements.

Herbert Kelman developed three basic categories of source attributes. Each influences the recipient’s attitude or
behaviour through a different process.
1) Source Credibility: Source credibility implies the spokesperson’s positive characteristics which affects the receiver’s
acceptance of the message. The credibility of a source comes from expertise, trustworthiness or a combination of the
two. Does Virat Kohli give the credibility, the brand he endorses demands? Well, depends upon the perception of the
consumers about him. And a marketer has to be careful in understanding that perception.

“Expertise” is the extent to which the source is perceived to have the ability of making correct assertions by virtue of
having the relevant skills. “Trustworthiness” is the degree to which the audience considers the communicator and the
assertions to be valid.

The use of expertise and trustworthiness helps in creating a positive attitude towards the message and hence leaves a
positive influence on the receiver. Using celebrities (like him), experts in the given domain or corporate leaders (in
case of Dell), as the spokesperson generally help in giving credibility to the message being delivered.
 In terms of persuasion a communicator seen as knowledgeable and expert in one’s own field is more persuasive than
one with less expertise similarly a communicator is seen as unbiased or has no underlying motive for advocating a
communication is supposed to be more reliable.
Applying Expertise
Perceived expertise of the celebrity endorser was found to be a significant factor in explaining purchase intentions then
their attractiveness or trustworthiness. Thus for celebrity spokesperson to be truly effective they should be knowledgeable,
experienced and qualified to talk about the product.

Applying Trustworthiness
While expertise is important, the target audience must also find the source believable. Source trustworthiness in
general sense is listeners trust in the speaker. It is difficult to establish trustworthiness in case of celebrity endorsers
as consumers know that the endorser is being paid for advocating the message in such situations source
trustworthiness can be increased by use of publicity and events. There have been instances where instead of using
celebrity in advertisements they were roped in various events and product launch parties where they talked in general
sense about the product on television and chat shows to make message more credible.
Using Corporate Leaders as Spokespeople
In some cases corporate leaders are used as spokesperson in order to enhance source credibility. Examples include
endorsement by Narayanmurthy of Infosys and CEO of Pespsico India. Not all CEOs have necessary qualities to be
effective company spokesperson. The fact that they are CEOs does not mean that they will automatically be highly
persuasive spokesperson.
When CEO credibility is high and product or company image is positive, the use of CEO may have an enhancing effect.
When CEO image is positive and company/product image is negative CEO might be able to move product/company
image in a positive direction but attention should be given to the effect of advertising. There is every possibility that
continued use might further increase CEO credibility and have no effect on company image.
2) Source Attractiveness: Next important aspect is attractiveness of the source. It leads to persuasion through the
process of identification. The source of the message should be attractive enough to concentrate the viewer’s attention
towards the advertisement but not to an extent that it overshadows the brand itself.
More favourable evaluations of the product and the advertisement are made when attractive models are used.
Identification occurs when consumers adopt attitudes and behaviour advocated by the source because they get
satisfaction in the idea of being similar to the source. Identification is not like internalisation where information from an
attractive source is integrated into the belief system of the consumers; the consumers may conform only till the source
remains relevant or attractive to them.

Source attractiveness is more related to physical attributes such as similarity, familiarity, and likability.

Applying Similarity
Similarity is used in influencing the receiver by choosing the source to be someone towards who the receiver can feel
a sense of similarity. In order, for the audience to like the source and better understand the message, the
communicator and the source should possess similar needs, goals, interests and lifestyles. Similarity as a source
attribution is also used to create situations where the message receiver is feeling empathy and make the consumers to
think they could see themselves being in that situation.

Applying Familiarity
According to Belch and Belch (2001), familiarity can be considered as the level of knowledge a celebrity possesses
of a brand. When a company considers choosing a celebrity for their advertising campaign, they need to analyse the
previous knowledge a celebrity has or how he/she will utilise their knowledge in the exposure phase. The authors
believe that this will be an attribute that the respondents will observe as too difficult to evaluate and therefore the
authors will exclude it from the research process. Furthermore, the respondent might find it to be diffusive.

Applying Likability
Likability is the most important reason for using celebrities for advertising. The idea is to hire someone (movie star, TV
star, sports star, musician and other popular public figures) who is admired amongst a large number of audience. A study
by Friedman et al. (1978) found that celebrities who are liked will be trusted product endorser. Thus individuals accept
influence from an attractive/likable celebrity because of desire to identify with this person.
3) Source Power: The power dimension of Kelman influences communication through a process called compliance.
The source power exists when the source can reward or punish the receiver. In advertising context it is very difficult
to use source power directly but an indirect way could be to use authoritative personality, example could be Amitabh
 Bachchan for polio eradication advertisement campaign. In this campaign Amitabh is portrayed as a Big Brother and
he tries to persuade audience for participation in Polio Eradication programme.

There are few important factors affecting on source power. The source must possess perceived control meaning that
the source needs to be able to administer positive or negative sanctions to the message receiver. In addition perceived
concern needs to be reflected so the receiver feels that the source cares whether or not the receiver conforms.

Finally, the receiver’s estimation on whether the source is able to observe conformity affects source power. Through
the process of compliance the receiver accepts the persuasion of the source and acquires to his or her position in
hopes of obtaining favourable reaction or avoiding punishment. Through this process, the source is perceived as
having power.

1.1.3.2. Types of Sources

Selecting the right source and spokesperson to use in an advertisement is a critical decision. Four types of sources are
available to advertisers:
1) Celebrities: Of all sources celebs are typically the most common. Celebs help create emotional bond with the
products. For example, Sachin Tendulkar has been the favourite brand ambassador for many brands due to his
connects with the people. Whenever it comes to excellence, only a few names come up to demonstrate the dominance
in their respective fields. The case is same with BMW and Sachin Tendulkar too. The carmaker has always excelled
in whatever it brings into the market, while the latter needs no introduction for his contribution and success in the
world of cricket. Now both the names are coming together in a spirit of partnership.
2) CEOs: Instead of celebs advertisers can use a CEO as the spokesperson or source in the advertising appeal as famous
and affable CEO becomes a major assets for his company and its products.
3) Experts: Expert Sources includes physicians, lawyers, accountants and financial planners. These tend not to be
famous but they provide backing for testimonials, serve as authoritative figures, demonstrate products and enhance
the credibility of informative advertisements. For example, the ad of Sunsilk shows the credibility of experts from all
over the world in creation of New Sunsilk Shampoo.
4) Typical Persons: Final category is the typical person sources. They can either be paid actors or models or typical
everyday people used in advertisements. For example, Hero Honda ad campaign featuring Indian citizens displaying
their pride for Hero Honda.

1.1.4. Forms of Digital Marketing Communications

1) Social Media Marketing: Social media marketing is all marketing which goes on within social networks such as
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, and many more. For example, Facebook has quite a complex social media
advertising program, which allows the advertiser to focus on over 1 billion people, based on their location, age and
other attributes. There are other sections on marketing teacher with more detail on Facebook advertising programs.
2) Opt-in E-mail Marketing: Opt-in e-mail marketing is exactly what it says on the tin. Visitors or clients are
encouraged to opt in, or in other words sign up for an e-mail newsletter. It is that simple! The idea is that participants
opt-in with permission, rather than simply being added to a database without their knowledge. This is also known as
permission marketing.
3) Display Advertising: Display advertising is often the first type of advertising that springs to mind when thinking
about the Internet; display advertising is simply the adverts that are seen when visiting any website. Examples could
include banner adverts which run across the top of Page, or far more rich and complex adverts such as video adverts;
many of the banner adverts and display adverts that are seen are part of large programs such as Google AdWords, or
similar.
4) Online PR or Digital PR: Online public relations, or Digital Public Relations (DPR), tend to be digital marketing
communications which encourage a positive perception or profile of the business or organisation. However the
business will be aiming to generate positive blogs, re-tweets, Facebook shares, and similar online PR. Be aware that
PR whether online or off-line does have a cost, and public relations is not free. Viral campaigns whereby an
interesting or entertaining fact or video is circulated by e-mail or social networks is probably a better example of a
contemporary public relations approach.
5) Search Engine Marketing: Search Engine Marketing, or Search Engine Optimisation SEO, employ marketing tools
which attempt to gain the best position possible for your business in search engines such as Google or Bing. Once the
website has attracted a new visitor, the positioning of text or Calls-To-Action (CTA) will keep a visitor on the site for
longer, and will start to move them along the marketing tunnel.

1.1.5. Placing Ads and Promotion Online

Marketers need to locate the space and pay for it in order to get their ads to appear online. A lot of options are available to
marketers:
1) Premium Booked Media: Premium booked media work very much in the traditional manner of advertising; the
advertiser makes contact with the premium media provider (usually a single company that supervises a central, high-
end online space) and explores advertising options. This involves negotiation regarding targeting and pricing for the
appropriate space in the media and is typically a costly yet high-profile choice.
2) Advertising Network: An advertising network, or ad network, connects businesses that want to run advertisements
with websites that wish to host them. The principle attribute of an ad network is the gathering of ad space and
matching it with the advertiser’s needs. The term ad network is media neutral, but is often used to imply “online ad
network” since the marketplace of aggregated publisher ad space and advertisers is increasingly found on the Internet.
3) Advertising Exchange and Programmatic Buying: An ad exchange is a technology platform that facilitates the
buying and selling of media advertising inventory from multiple ad networks. Prices for the inventory are determined
through real-time bidding (RTB). The approach is technology-driven as opposed to the historical approach of
negotiating price on media inventory. This represents a field beyond ad networks as defined by the Interactive
Advertising Bureau (IAB), and by advertising trade publications. Programmatic Buying describes online display
advertising that is aggregated, booked, flighted, analysed and optimised via demand side software interfaces and
algorithms. While it includes RTB it also includes non RTB methods and buy types such as Facebook Ads API and
the Google Display Network.
4) Social Media Advertising Placement: One of the major benefits of this type of advertising is that advertisers can
take advantage of the users’ demographic information and target their ads appropriately. Social media targeting
combines current targeting options (such as geo targeting, behavioural targeting, socio-psychographic targeting, etc.),
to make detailed target group identification possible. With social media targeting, advertisements are distributed to
users based on information gathered from target group profiles. Social network advertising is not necessarily the
same as social media targeting. Social media targeting is a method of optimising social media advertising by using
profile data to deliver advertisements directly to individual users. Social network advertising refers to the process of
matching social network users to target groups that have been specified by the advertiser.
5) Native Advertisement: Native advertising is the concept of creating ads that are so cohesive with the page content,
assimilated into the design, and consistent with the platform behaviour that the viewer feels the ad belongs there.
Promoted search results and sponsored social media posts are popular examples of native ads. Both formats provide
the same kind of value to users as the organic search results and user-generated social media posts. As consumers
become more resistant to traditional forms of advertising, Fortune 500 brands and consumer startups alike are
allocating bigger budgets towards content marketing and non-disruptive ad formats.
6) Mobile Advertising: Mobile advertising targets users according to specified demographics. Mobile networks
identify related mobile profiles and preferences and displays corresponding advertisements when consumers
download and uses data services like games, applications (apps) or ring tones. The Mobile Marketing Association
(MMA) is a non-profit global trade association that fosters mobile marketing and advertising technologies. It
regulates associated terms, specifications and best practices. MMA also oversees global mobile advertising units in
messaging, applications, video, television and also on the Web. Mobile advertising can be done in the following
ways:
i) Mobile Web: Text tagline ads, mobile Web banner ads, WAP 1.0 banner ads, rich media mobile ads.
ii) Multimedia Messaging Service: Short text ads, long text ads, banner ads, rectangle ads, audio ads, video ads,
full ads.
iii) Mobile Video and TV Advertising Units: Ad breaks, linear ad breaks, nonlinear ad breaks, interactive mobile
video and TV ads.
iv) Mobile Applications: In-app display advertising units, integrated ads, branded mobile applications, sponsored
mobile applications.
7) Ad Servers: An ad server is a piece of advertising technology (AdTech) that is used by publishers, advertisers, ad
agencies, and ad networks to manage and run online advertising campaigns. Ad servers are responsible for making
instantaneous decisions about what ads to show on a website, then serving them. On top of that, an ad server collects
and reports data (such as impressions, clicks, etc.) for advertisers to gain insights from and monitor the performance
of their ads. On the most basic level, an ad server is to ads what WordPress is to content. In the same way WordPress
is used to manage a website’s content, ad servers are used to manage and display online advertising content to the
right user on a website.