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ASSIGNMENT
SESSION NOV-DEC 2022
PROGRAM MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)
SEMESTER IV
COURSE CODE & NAME DMKT402– ADVERTISING AND SALES PROMOTION
CREDITS 4
NUMBER OF ASSIGNMENTS & MARKS 02
30 Marks each

Note: Answer all questions. Kindly note that answers for 10 marks questions should be approximate of
400 - 450 words. Each question is followed by an evaluation scheme.

Q. Assignment Set – 1 Marks Total Marks

No Questions
1. Define the term ‘advertising’. What are the objectives of advertising? 10 10
2. Describe the shifting patterns of consumption. What role does advertising 10 10
play in this?
3. Write a brief note on evolution of advertising agency. 10 10

Q. Assignment Set – 2 Marks Total Marks

No Questions
4. What is DAGMAR? How is it useful in establishing objectives? 10 10
5. Describe the AIDA model of consumer response hierarchy. 10 10
6. What is Gestalt psychology? Explain with examples how it resembles the 10 10
way a person fits in the advertising message with his/her existing
knowledge.

1. Define the term ‘advertising’. What are the objectives of advertising?

Advertising is a marketing tactic involving paying for space to promote a product, service, or cause. The
actual promotional messages are called advertisements, or ads for short. The goal of advertising is to
reach people most likely to be willing to pay for a company's products or services and entice them to
buy.

11 Objectives of Advertising
1) Introduce a product

The most common reason Advertising is used is to introduce a new product in the market.
This can be done by existing brands as well as new brands. Have a look at the latest IPhone
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in the market or a Samsung smartphone and you will find a lot of advertisement for these
new products. The objective of advertising here is to tell customers – “Here is the new
product we have launched”

2) Introduce a brand

There are many startups in the market today and many of them are services. Services are
generally marketed as a brand rather than marketing their individual service product. Thus,
Uber will market its own brand and introduce that Uber has started servicing customers in a
new market. Same goes for Oracle or Accenture – Companies which market their brand and
their presence in the market rather than marketing an individual product.

3) Awareness creation

According to the AIDA model, the most important job of advertising is to get attention which
is nothing but Awareness creation. Advertising needs to capture the attention of people and
make them aware of the products or their features in the market.

Example – Most of the Bank ads that you see are awareness campaigns. The ads that
advertise the benefits of savings / mutual funds or benefits on credit and debit cards are all
awareness creation ads.

4) Acquiring customers or Brand switching

One of the major objectives of advertising and the first objective of many advertising
campaigns is to acquire more customers. This is also known as making the customers switch
brands. This can happen by passing on a strong message so that the potential customer
leaves the brand which he is tied up with and comes to your brand.

Example – Most telecom companies launch plans and strategies just to acquire customers
and then advertise these strategies in the market so that the customer switches brands.
There is hardly any differentiation in the telecom market – thus advertising is a major way to
acquire customers. The Vodafone Zoozoo campaign was just that – Influence the customers
and create passion in such a way that they do brand switching,

5) Differentiation and value creation

A most important aspect of Advertising is to differentiate the product or the service from
those of the competitor. A customer can only differentiate between services based on the
value the firms provides over that of competitors.
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If a competitor is just advertising the features, whereas your firm advertises the promises
and commitments that it will keep, naturally more customers will “trust” your brand over
others. This is the reason that advertising is used commonly to create value and to
differentiate one brand from another.

Coca cola, Toyota, Amazon are some of the most trusted brands in the market. It is no doubt
that these brands are also amongst the top advertisers in their respective segments. These
brands target value creation as well as differentiation via their advertising campaigns.

6) Brand building

When a brand regularly advertises and delivers quality products and fulfills the promises it
makes, automatically the value of the brand is built. However, there are many other aspects
of brand building. One of the first ones is to advertise via ATL and BTL campaigns etc.

Brands have different objectives of Advertising. Brands like P&G and HUL regularly invest
funds in building a good brand value for the parent brand. By doing so, even if one brand is
affected, the parent brand is untouchable.

Recently we observed the problems of Maggi in India where Maggi was banned completely
due to high lead content. However, this did not affect the parent brand Nestle much and
neither affected its other brands like Nescafe which had done their own brand building and
were independent of the parent brand. This brand was built by good products and constant
advertising towards building brand equity and making a connect with the audience.

7) Positioning the product – Product and brand recall

One of the key factors in the actual purchase of a product is the products recall and the
brand recall at the time of purchase. Amongst the objectives of advertising, one objective is
to correctly position the brand in the minds of the customer.

Examples include premium brands like Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Hermes or others which are
clearly positioned premium. This position is achieved by first having a very premium product
line which is high priced but it is also achieved by buying premium advertising and placing
the ads in media vehicles which are very premium.

Besides premium marketing, we can also look at niche marketing. Kent is a company which
has focused all its advertising on its purification capability. They claim they are the masters
of water purifiers. Their repeated advertising creates a high product and brand recall in the
minds of the customers thereby positioning them as the top purchased brand in the water
purifier segment.
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8) Increase sales

Naturally, with so many steps being taken to advertise the product, it is no doubt that one
of the objectives of advertising is to increase sales. Many a times this objective is achieved
via advertising. However, if the campaign is improper or the audience is not targeted
properly, then advertising can fail in its objective.

Nonetheless, there are many seasonal products wherein an immediate increase in sale is
observed due to advertising. The best example is Ice cream brands which advertise heavily
during the summer months because they know that advertising will immediately influence
the sales figures. They do not waste money in advertising during the winter season at all.

Similarly, you will see many ads of raincoats during rainy season and ads of winter wear
during winter seasons. All these ads are placed to increase the sale of the product
immediately.

9) Increase profits

With the value being communicated and the brand being differentiated as well as sales
being increased, there is no doubt that advertising can contribute a lot to increasing profits.
Advertising should never be looked at as an expense or a liability. In fact, it is an investment
for a firm just like a brand is an investment.

Look at the likes of Siemens or Bosch – Brands which have invested heavily in positioning
themselves on the basis of their German engineering. As a result, today they demand high
profits in whatever segments they operate in or whatever products they sell.

10) Create Desire

Again, referring to the AIDA model, one of the key factors in advertising is to create a desire
for the product so that the customer wants the product. Brands which are known to do this
are BMW, Audi, Harley Davidson, Adidas and others. These brands are master of advertising
where they create so much desire for the product that the customer absolutely wants a
product even if he doesn’t need it.

2 Describe the shifting patterns of consumption. What role does advertising play in this?
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BASIS FOR ACTION

4.3. Poverty and environmental degradation are closely interrelated. While poverty results
in certain kinds of environmental stress, the major cause of the continued deterioration of
the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production,
particularly in industrialized countries, which is a matter of grave concern, aggravating
poverty and imbalances.

4.4. Measures to be undertaken at the international level for the protection and
enhancement of the environment must take fully into account the current imbalances in
the global patterns of consumption and production.

4.5. Special attention should be paid to the demand for natural resources generated by
unsustainable consumption and to the efficient use of those resources consistent with the
goal of minimizing depletion and reducing pollution. Although consumption patterns are
very high in certain parts of the world, the basic consumer needs of a large section of
humanity are not being met. This results in excessive demands and unsustainable lifestyles
among the richer segments, which place immense stress on the environment. The poorer
segments, meanwhile, are unable to meet food, health care, shelter and educational needs.
Changing consumption patterns will require a multipronged strategy focusing on demand,
meeting the basic needs of the poor, and reducing wastage and the use of finite resources
in the production process.

4.6. Growing recognition of the importance of addressing consumption has also not yet
been matched by an understanding of its implications. Some economists are questioning
traditional concepts of economic growth and underlining the importance of pursuing
economic objectives that take account of the full value of natural resource capital. More
needs to be known about the role of consumption in relation to economic growth and
population dynamics in order to formulate coherent international and national policies.

 Adopting an international approach to achieving sustainable consumption

patterns

4.8. In principle, countries should be guided by the following basic objectives in their efforts
to address consumption and lifestyles in the context of environment and development:

(a)  All countries should strive to promote sustainable consumption patterns;

(b)  Developed countries should take the lead in achieving sustainable consumption
patterns;

Developing countries should seek to achieve sustainable consumption patterns in their

development process, guaranteeing the provision of basic needs for the poor, while
avoiding those unsustainable patterns, particularly in industrialized countries, generally
recognized as unduly hazardous to the environment, inefficient and wasteful, in their
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development processes. This requires enhanced technological and other assistance from
industrialized countries.

4.9. In the follow-up of the implementation of Agenda 21 the review of progress made in
achieving sustainable consumption patterns should be given high priority.

B) Data and information

 Undertaking research on consumption

4.10. In order to support this broad strategy, Governments, and/or private research and
policy institutes, with the assistance of regional and international economic and
environmental organizations, should make a concerted effort to:

(a)  Expand or promote databases on production and consumption and develop

methodologies for analysing them;

(b)  Assess the relationship between production and consumption, environment,

technological adaptation and innovation, economic growth and development, and
demographic factors;

(c)  Examine the impact of ongoing changes in the structure of modern industrial economies
away from material-intensive economic growth;

(d)  Consider how economies can grow and prosper while reducing the use of energy and
materials and the production of harmful materials;

(e)  Identify balanced patterns of consumption worldwide which the Earth can support in
the long term.

 Developing new concepts of sustainable economic growth and prosperity

4.11. Consideration should also be given to the present concepts of economic growth and
the need for new concepts of wealth and prosperity which allow higher standards of living
through changed lifestyles and are less dependent on the Earth's finite resources and more
in harmony with the Earth's carrying capacity. This should be reflected in the evolution of
new systems of national accounts and other indicators of sustainable development.

C) International cooperation and coordination

4.12. While international review processes exist for examining economic, development and
demographic factors, more attention needs to be paid to issues related to consumption and
production patterns and sustainable lifestyles and environment.

4.13. In the follow-up of the implementation of Agenda 21, reviewing the role and impact of
unsustainable production and consumption patterns and lifestyles and their relation to
sustainable development should be given high priority.
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3) Write a brief note on evolution of advertising agency.

The Pre-Internet Era

This era was all about newspaper and magazine commercials. The business was
simple back then. Companies or individuals used to buy various ad slots at
discounted prices from the newspapers and sell them to big brands with a markup.  

Yes, that is it. No other services. Just an amalgamation of the best slots sold at the
right time to make money. 

During this era, the first advertising agency came into existence. It was in the year
1786 that Mr. William Taylor opened his office in London that is today known as the
first advertising agency in the history of marketing companies. 

But Mr. William was not the one behind the spread of the agency concept across the
Globe. It is said that it was Volney B. Palmer, who made the concept of agencies go
viral. She then opened her first agency in America in the 1840s.

However, she never expanded the services that came under the banner of  digital
advertising. Back then, Palmer’s agency was just buying ad slots from newspapers.
Hence, she was only a broker with no control over the creative aspect of the
advertisements. 

And then came the superheroes of the agency business - N.W. Ayer & Son. At N.W.
Ayer & Son, the advertising agency not only sold ad slots at a markup but was also
involved in planning, visualizing, writing, and executing the  entire marketing plan for
businesses. 

The Post Internet Era

The post-internet era was totally different. With globalization and no barrier to
entry, numerous companies came into existence, which simply meant more
competition. One way to move ahead of the competition was  great advertisements,
and this is what made the concept of  digital advertising agencies to burst all over the
world economy.

The post-internet era agencies or the present-day marketing companies are not just

restricted to online media buying. Their services involve creating ads, content,
graphics, blogs, video, etc. and deploy them on various content
promotion channels. 
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The agencies are responsible for understanding the  marketing goals of a company
and designing the complete campaign around the same. With  new
technologies coming in, the whole advertising ecosystem seems to have expanded in
ways that were unknown in the pre-internet era.

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4 What is DAGMAR? How is it useful in establishing objectives?

The DAGMAR model defines the four steps of an effective advertising campaign as causing
awareness, comprehension, conviction, and action. The model stresses defining the
segment of the market that the campaign seeks to reach. DAGMAR also requires an
evaluation of the campaign's success against a pre-set benchmark.
According to Russell Colley, there are various advantages of well-founded
objectives. These are:

 Be concrete and measurable

 Have a well-defined target audience or market
 Identify the benchmark and the degree of change
 Specify a timeframe to accomplish the objective
TARGET AUDIENCE
 DAGMAR claims the target audience is well defined. A group of potential
customers, who have the highest likelihood of purchasing the product, is the
target market. Identifying the target market includes the process of
demographic, geographic, and psychological segmentation. Target markets can
be segmented into Primary and secondary groups.
 Primary markets are the main target audience, on whom the marketing efforts
are mainly focused.
 Secondary markets are the target audience on whom the marketing efforts will
focus after the primary market goals are achieved. After identifying the target
audience, the organization devises objectives for advertising and later the
objectives for communication.
CONCRETE AND MEASURABLE
 The objective of communication should be a precise and clear statement of
whatever message the advertiser wants to communicate to the target audience.
 The specification must include all the details and descriptions of the
measurement procedure.
SPECIFIED TIMEFRAME AND BENCHMARKS
 A good objective has a specified time frame, during which the objective is to be
achieved. Understanding the specifications enables advertisers to define goals
that will yield the best result.
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Setting a specific timeframe assures effective evaluation of results. The
timeframe should be realistic to prohibit skewed results from static marketing.
 Creating the benchmark is essential for an appropriate measurement of the
effectiveness of the advertisement.
WRITTEN GOAL
 The goal should be committed on a paper. When the goals are clearly written,
basic shortfalls and flaws are exposed, it becomes eventually easy to determine
whether the goal contains the crucial aspects of the DAGMAR approach.
OBJECTIVES OF DAGMAR APPROACH
 Persuade a prospect to visit the showroom.
 Growth in market share.
 Improve sales turnover.
 Perform complete selling function.
 Advertise a special reason to buy.
 Stimulate impulse sales.
 Remind people to buy.
 Create awareness about the product and brand existence.
 Create favourable emotional disposition towards the product.
 Impart information regarding benefits and distinctive features of the product.
 Combat and offset competitive claims.
 Correct false impressions, wrong information and other hindrances to sales.
 Aid sales force with sales promotion and selling activities and boost their
morale.
 Establish brand recognition and acceptance.

5 Describe the AIDA model of consumer response hierarchy.

The AIDA Model, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action model, is an
advertising effect model that identifies the stages that an individual goes through during the
process of purchasing a product or service.

he steps involved in an AIDA model are:

 Attention: The first step in marketing or advertising is to consider how to attract the
attention of consumers.
 Interest: Once the consumer is aware that the product or service exists, the business
must work on increasing the potential customer’s interest level.

For example, Disney boosts interest in upcoming tours by announcing stars who will be

performing on the tours.

 Desire: After the consumer is interested in the product or service, then the goal is to
make consumers desire it, moving their mindset from “I like it” to “I want it.”
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For example, if the Disney stars for the upcoming tour communicate to the target audience
about how great the show is going to be, the audience is more likely to want to go.

 Action: The ultimate goal is to drive the receiver of the marketing campaign to

initiate action and purchase the product or service.

Therefore, the AIDA model says that Awareness leads to Interest, which leads to Desire,
and finally, Action.

Let us consider ways to use the AIDA model by looking into each part of the hierarchy.

First Step: Attention

Often, the attention part is overlooked by many marketers. It is assumed that the product or
service already got the attention of the consumers – which may or may not be the case. In
any event, don’t just assume that everyone is already aware of your product. One of the
best approaches to attracting consumer attention is what’s called “creative disruption” –
breaking existing patterns of behavior through a highly creative message. This can be done
in several ways:

 Placing advertisements in unexpected situations or locations. This is often referred to

as guerrilla marketing.
 Creating shock in advertisements through provocative imagery.
 An intensely targeted message. This is also referred to as personalization.

Essentially, the goal is to make consumers aware that a product or service exists.

Second Step: Interest

Creating interest is generally the hardest part. For example, if the product or service is not
inherently interesting, this can be very difficult to achieve. Make sure that advertising
information is broken up and easy to read, with interesting subheadings and illustrations.
Focus on what is most relevant for your target market in relation to your product or service,
and on conveying only the most important message you want to communicate to
consumers.

A good example of this is Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” ad campaign that focused on the
fact that Wendy’s hamburgers contained more beef than their competitors’ hamburgers.

Third Step: Desire

The second and third steps of the AIDA model go together. As you are hopefully building
interest in a product or service, it is important that you help customers realize why they
“need” this product or service.
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Think about how the content in infomercials is presented – they aim to provide interesting
information on the product, along with the benefits of buying it – benefits that ideally make
consumers want the product more and more. Infomercials do this extremely well by
showing the product being used in several creative situations. Convey to the audience the
value of the product or service, and why they need it in their life.

Fourth Step: Action

The last step of the AIDA model is getting your consumer to initiate action. The
advertisement should end with a call to action –  a statement that is designed to get an
immediate response from the consumer. For example, Netflix uses persuasive text to
convince the consumer to try their free trial. Netflix communicates how convenient their
product is and highlights its value, then urges consumers to sign up for a free trial.

Good advertising should elicit a sense of urgency that motivates consumers to take action
RIGHT NOW. One commonly used method for achieving this goal is making limited-time
offers (such as free shipping).

New Developments in the AIDA Model

Many criticize the AIDA model for being too simplistic. For example, the AIDA model does
not take into consideration different possible points of sale. Marketing will be very different
for a customer visiting an online store than it is for a customer looking to purchase a new
car at a dealership. Therefore, there are many variations of the AIDA model such as the:

 AIDCAS (Action, Interest, Desire, Confidence, Action, Satisfaction) model

 REAN (Reach, Engage, Activate, and Nurture) model
 NAITDASE (Need, Attention, and Interest; Trust, Design, and Action; Satisfaction and
Evaluation) model

6 What is Gestalt psychology? Explain with examples how it resembles the way a person fits in the
advertising message with his/her existing knowledge.

Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and behavior
as a whole. When trying to make sense of the world around us, Gestalt psychology suggests
that we do not simply focus on every small component. Instead, our minds tend to perceive
objects as elements of more complex systems.

Gestalt therapy is based on the idea that overall perception depends on the interaction
between many factors. Among these factors are our past experiences, current environment,
thoughts, feelings, and needs. Gestalt therapy involves key concepts such as awareness,
unfinished business, and personal responsibility.7
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The main goal of Gestalt therapy is to help us focus on the present. While past context is
important for viewing yourself as a whole, a Gestalt therapist will encourage you to keep
your focus on your present experience.
Research suggests that Gestalt therapy is effective at treating symptoms
of depression and anxiety, and it may help people gain confidence and increase feelings
of self-efficacy and self-kindness.8 It is often a helpful way to structure group therapy.
The therapeutic process is reliant on the relationship between the client and therapist. As a
client, you must feel comfortable enough to develop a close partnership with your therapist,
and they must be able to create an unbiased environment where you can discuss your
thoughts and experiences.