MEDIA MARKETING COMMUNICATION

UNIT I

❖ Marketing Communication- Definition & Concept;

❖ Scope of Marketing Communication;
❖ Significance of Marketing Communication;
❖ Advantages of Marketing Communication;
❖ Limitations of Marketing Communication;
❖ Methods of Marketing Communication;
❖ Process of Marketing Communication.
1.1. Marketing Communication:
Marketing Communication refers to the means adopted by the companies to convey messages about
the products and the brands they sell, either directly or
indirectly to the customers with the intention to
persuade them to purchase.
It is essentially a part of the marketing mix. The
marketing mix defines the 4 P’s of marketing i.e
Product, Price, Place and Promotion. This is what
marketing communication is all about. It needs to be
very particular about different messages going to be
conveyed through different mediums.
Traditionally printed marketing was the whole sole
method of conveying messages to the consumers.
However, later on, emails, SMS, blogs, television and
company websites have become the trendy way of conveying the organization’s message to the
consumers. For example, one should use the same logo on the website like the one used in the email
messages.

1.2. Scope of Marketing Communication:

• It acquires new customers for brands by building awareness and encouraging trials.
• It also maintains a brand’s current customer base by reinforcing their purchase behaviour by providing
additional information about the brand’s benefits.
• Though it varies over time, it delivers and communicates superior customer value.
• It covers all the activities from conception of ideas to realization of profits.

1.3. Significance of Marketing Communication:

A business may have developed terrific products and put together a supremely talented management team,
but ultimately success hinges on persuading significant numbers of customers to select that company’s
products or services rather than buying from someone else. Growing a business comes down to the ability
to sell. Innovative strategies, a comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior and aggressive
communication of the company’s message combine to bring about sales success.
• Developing Strategic Vision:

One of marketing’s functions is to constantly look for new ways of growing the company’s revenues.
Strategic vision means being on the lookout for new opportunities and creating strategies for the company
to take advantage of them.

• Creating Brand Awareness:

For consumers to buy from the company, they first need to know the company exists and what it is selling.
Advertising and promotion strategies are formulated to reach as many potential customers as possible and
tell them what the company has to offer. To be successful, the company must have a good understanding of
what demographic groups are most likely to become customers and apply marketing expenditures to the
media that serve these groups.

• Expressing Competitive Advantage:

Marketing and communication strategies are designed to position the company as being superior to its
competitors. The marketing message must show specific reasons the customer should purchase its products
or services. Highlighting the shortcomings of competitors is another popular tactic.

• Fostering Goodwill:

Companies use communication strategies to build an image of being a good corporate citizens.
Publicizing the company’s charitable activities is one way this is accomplished. The marketing
department in a company also tries to find community, regional or national events the company could
participate in to generate publicity.

• Attracting Talent:

As companies grow, they need to continually attract the best talent available. Communication
strategies are used to show potential employees that the company is a good place to work. Many
companies have a large section of their websites devoted to presenting the reasons individuals should
be interested in working there.

• Informing Investment Community:

Companies send news releases out about milestones reached, such as sales or profits reaching a
certain threshold. They also announce major events, such as joint ventures, acquisitions or
introductions of new products. Besides creating general awareness about the company, the news
releases alert the investment community to what the company is accomplishing.
1.4. Types of Marketing Communication:

In order to smoother the road of selling products or service, marketing

communication is made available. It is the way to affect people to buy the
product or use the service while maintaining contact with the existing
customers. There are six types of marketing communication, they are;
• Advertising
• Public Relations
• Direct Marketing
• Sales Promotion
• Personal Selling
• Internet Marketing

1.5. Advantages of Marketing Communication:

• Increased brand visibility

• More excellent media coverage
• Thought leadership in your industry
• Consistent and clear messaging
• Enhanced search outcomes

1.6. Limitations of Marketing Communication:

With the steep upward climb in popularity and usage of the Internet come innovative and interesting new
avenues for advertisers to explore to reach potential consumers in a different way. Social networking has
been an explosive trend in the past few years that does not appear to be decreasing in popularity.
With every advance in electronic technology comes another opportunity to reach consumers in a brand new
way. An example of this advanced technology would be the method of targeting consumers through
messages sent via their phone or direct mail sent from lists created off of purchasing patterns.

• Traditional formats for advertising are changing with

technology and many of these advertising avenues are
crazily trying to find ways to stay in the game. Yellow
pages are an example of a media choice for advertising that
has moved into the online realm in order to keep business
viable and growing. More users are searching for names,
addresses and phone numbers online than in print versions
of phone directories.

• Other advertising methods have far more limitations and

are faced with the threat of destruction instead of innovation.
One such example of this is the roller coaster changes that
have taken place in the newspaper industry in the past decade.
Newspapers are a form of advertising that is shifting more and more rapidly to an online alternative, as
circulation numbers are declining at an alarming rate across the country.

• Others have adopted hybrid online and print versions of the paper or are going to a strictly online format.
Print newspaper readers are declining and online newspaper readers are on the rise and newspapers globally
have had to jump onto the bandwagon to get a functioning online newspaper in place or risk being left
behind in the dust.
1.7. Methods of Marketing Communication:

Successful small-business owners often use a variety of means

to get the word out about their products or services. Marketing
communication methods provide varied ways to deliver
promotional messages, allowing a company to reach potential
customers on many different levels. Understanding different
methods of communication can provide a boost to a
campaign’s success, regardless of whether the campaign is an
online or offline endeavour.

• Written Word:

The written word still demands respect in the digital age. Written
ads appear on everything from billboards to website blogs and those who understand how to influence this
method can communicate almost any message to their customer base. Written messages should be clear,
brief and deliver the message without causing confusion. Puns and humour may work fairly well when
written, but mockery and other verbal techniques almost never do. Written word examples include emails,
blogs, letters, fliers and websites.

• Images, Videos and Charts:

Visual media have a very strong impact on viewers and can create lasting impressions. Images of people
enjoying the product, videos of how to use the product or service and charts delivering the benefits of the
product through numbers or graphs can all enhance the credibility of the advertisement. Remember when
using such tools that potential customers may not be 100 percent attentive. Customers might view television
ads and online videos while performing other tasks and Internet-browsing clients often skip content without
getting into detailed charts or graphs.

• Power of Music:

Music can affect potential clients who aren’t actively watching or reading. Music in ads can range from
licensed tunes to a simple series of notes designed to remind patrons that a particular chip is inside their
computers or a favourite meal is available at a nearby restaurant. Music works well in some environments.
For example, radio and television ads often benefit from a catchy jingle or signature tune. Websites should
avoid the use of music unless the user has the choice to turn it on or off.

• Additional Information:

Marketing campaigns depend heavily on the multimedia choices a company makes. Combining multiple
techniques can create wildly interactive media experiences that take off quickly online or become television
ads that stick in the minds of viewers. Choose carefully from the many different methods and strive for a
balance between clarity, catchiness and impact.

1.8. Process of Marketing Communication:

Marketing communications consist of integrated activities in which the targeted audience is identified and a
well-coordinated promotional program is prepared to generate the desired response from the audience. In
recent years Marketing Communication is used by most marketers as building customer relationships at the
stages of pre-selling, selling, utilization and post utilization. Due to differences in customers, different
programs of communications are developed for specific segments and niches.
There are certain steps that should be involved in the effective marketing communication process. The
marketing and promotional activities should focus on these steps in order to attract a huge portion of long
run customers. Following are the steps that make the communication process effective.

• Identification of the Target Audience:

The first step in the effective marketing communication process is to identify the target audience. These
audiences may be potential customers or other people that can influence the decisions of these customers.
The audience may include individuals, groups, the general public or the special public. The audience has a
direct effect on the decisions of the communication, like what to say? How to say? When to say? And etc.

• Determination of the Communication Objectives:

In this step, the marketing communicator should clear the objectives of the communication process. In most
situations, the purchase is required by the marketing communicator, but the purchase is made after a
prominent customer decision-making process. The communicators should also understand the standing
position of the customer.

Generally, there are six Stages of Customer Readiness through which a customer pass to make a purchase,
they are;

i) Awareness
ii) Knowledge
iii) Liking
iv) Preference
v) Conviction
vi) Purchase.
The target group of the marketing communicator is not much familiar with the new product or its silent
features. So the marketing communicator should create awareness and knowledge of its new product and
features. But this is not the surety to the success; the new product should also provide superior customer
value too.

• Designing of the Message:

In this step of marketing communication, the communicator focuses upon the design of the message. Any
message that can attract the attention, develop the interest, arousal of desire and stimulate the action is the
effectively designed message. Besides this, the marketing communicator also decides about the content and
structure of the message.
• Message Content:

In this step of the marketing communication process, the content of the message is decided. The theme or
an appeal is suggested that can bring the desired response from the audience or receiver. Following are the
three appeals that should be used in this regard.

o Rational Appeal: The self-interest of the audience is focused on the rational appeal in which the
benefits are availed by the usage of the products or services.

o Emotional Appeal: In this case, positive or negative emotions are stimulated to encourage the
purchase of the product.

o Moral Appeal: In this situation, morality is included in the message to influence the targeted
customers.

• Message Structure & Format:

In this step the important issues of the message structure together with the message format is analyzed. In
marketing communication of a product, it must be decided that the message must include the conclusion or
may keep the audience to get a conclusion from them. Or the message presents either only the strengths of
the product or both the strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, the format of the message is also focused on
which the size and shape should be used, eye-catching colours and headlines etc are decided in the most
effective manner.

• Choosing Media:

The channels of communication are decided in this step of a marketing communication process, which may
take the following two forms.

o Personal: In this channel of communication two or more persons directly communicate with each
other like face to face, through the mail, on the telephone or through a chat on the internet. Personal
Addressing and feedback are allowed in personal communication.

o Non-Personal: Non-personal messages are spread through these channels which also excludes the
option of feedback. Such channels include print media, display media, broadcast media, online
media etc.

• Collecting Feedback:

This is the last step of the marketing communication process in which the feedback from the target
customers will be collected. This can help the marketer to alter the promotion program or other marketing
activities. For this purpose, the buying behavior of targeted customers is analyzed in the light of the new
product. Questions may also be asked to the customers to collect their views about the positive and
negative aspects of the new product.