PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING II

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
BBM401
 Understanding Communication
• The process of passing any information from one person to the other
person with the aid of some medium is termed as communication. Sender ------------------ Receiver
• The first party who sends the information is called the sender and the
second party who receives the information, decodes the information and Information
accordingly responds is called the receiver or the recipient. Thus in
simpler terms communication is simply a process where the sender sends It is of utmost importance not only to
communicate but also effectively
the information to the receiver for him to respond
communicate. Please throw some
light on the first instance where Lisa
was not suitably promoted. She did
give her presentation, she did
❑ Parents will never understand that their child is hurt unless and until, communicate, then why was she
the child cries or shows his wounds. What is crying? A form of denied her promotion? She did not
communication. What does showing of wounds mean-The child wants effectively communicate. The trick is
to communicate to his parents that he needs to be immediately attended not only to communicate but
by the doctor effectively communicate. And if you
❑ In an organization, your boss will never give you your share of credit, can effectively communicate, the
unless and until you present your work in a well defined manner. How world is all yours
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will one present his/her work- by communication
 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Please go through the below diagram:
Karan (Sender)
(Content - Can be some information, data,
diagram, analysis, report)
(Information)↓ ↑(Feedback)
Arjun (Receiver)
(Decodes the information, understands the
information and responds)
• The above diagram goes a long way to explain the
communication process.
• Communication process is a simple process where a
message is being transferred from a sender to the
receiver. The receiver after receiving the message
understands the message in the desired form and then
acts accordingly.
1. The Process of Sending the Message
• The first party or the sender first thinks of information,
whatever he intends to communicate or transfer to the others.
Then he puts the information or the message in words or
prepare a content. The process of putting the thoughts in
words is called encoding. Finally the content after being ready
is transmitted to the receiver
2. The process of receiving the Message
• The message reaches the sender, who then decodes the
message or in simpler terms breaks the information,
understands it and responds to the receiver. The sender also
gives feedback to the receiver after he has understood the
complete information.
• Communication in simpler terms is a process of passing the
information from the first party (sender) to the second party
(receiver). Communication plays a vital role not only in
organizations or one’s professional career but also is essential
in day to day life
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Boss to his employee -“I want you to bring the file to my table”. Jenny to Duke -“Lets plan out a dinner tonight.“
• The boss left the poor employee confused as he forgot to
• After the dinner Duke was visibly upset as she was not
mention the name of the file and the employee also didn’t
bother to ask his boss. The boss did communicate to his
at all fond of Thai food and the restaurant had no other
employee but the message was not clear to his employee - An option. Jenny forgot to mention that she was planning
example of ineffective communication. to take Duke to a restaurant which only served Thai
food.
“I want water” is communication.
“I want a glass of lukewarm water from the blue jug” is effective communication.

• Communication is directly proportional to the choice of words or its content

• The more precise and crisp the content is the more effective the communication would be
• It is essential for the sender to use the correct words, phrases so that the information reaches the recipient bang on
• An individual first must be very clear about what he actually wishes to convey, then the information or the
thought should be clearly and sensibly put into correct and meaningful words/phrases also called as encoding
• Haphazard words and abstract ideas only create misunderstandings and confusions
• The target audience must also be kept in mind while preparing the content
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 ROLE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Let us go through the following example:

• Anshika works with a reputed firm with two members

directly reporting to her
• She wanted to complete an assignment by the day end
with two files being made where one file would have
the complete company profile, SWOT Analysis and
the other file would brief about the competitors
activities and how to improve her company’s position
in the market
• She called a team meeting in the morning and simply
told the team members to prepare a report
• She never mentioned the deadline
• The team members took their own sweet time and
failed to prepare the report in Parry’s desired format
• No point in guessing that they were severely
criticized by Parry
• Was it their fault ?
• Not at all, it was Parry’s fault, she did not effectively
communicate to her team

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 • Effective communication plays a very important role in
ROLE IN ORGANIZATION achieving organizational goals. The role of effective
communication in an organization starts from the day an
employee joins the firm. It is the prime responsibility of
the human resources department to clearly inform the
employee the rules and policies of the organization for
him to perform efficiently
• Effective communication is important at all the levels in
an organization. Every individual should be on the same
platform and the clarity of ideas, messages is mandatory
for smooth flow of work
• The team leader must make it a point to effectively
communicate what he actually expects from his fellow
workers
• The details, the important deadlines, must be made very
clear to the employees to expect productivity from their
side. The team members should also be clear about their
goals and can work accordingly. Instead of verbal
communications e-mails are a better option for effective
communication.
• Don’t just speak, use whiteboards, diaries and the
recipients must note the information in notepads to
prevent loss of data and enhance the output. 6
 • It is essential for organizations to promote their brands well among
the end-users not only to outshine competitors but also survive in the
long run. Brand promotion increases awareness of products and
Integrated Marketing services and eventually increases their sales, yielding high profits and
Communication revenue for the organization.
• To understand integrated marketing communication, let us first
understand what does brand communication mean?

1. Brand communication is an initiative taken by organizations

to make their products and services popular among the
end-users
2. Brand communication goes a long way in promoting products and
services among target consumers
3. The process involves identifying individuals who are best suited
to the purchase of products or services (also called target
consumers) and promoting the brand among them through any
one of the following means:
• Advertising
• Sales Promotion
• Public Relation
• Direct Marketing
• Personal Selling
• Social media, and so on
 Integrated Marketing
Communication
• Integrated Marketing Communication - Let us now
understand what does integrated marketing
communication mean?
• Integrated marketing communication refers to
integrating all the methods of brand promotion to
promote a particular product or service among target
customers
• In integrated marketing communication, all aspects of
marketing communication work together for increased
sales and maximum cost effectiveness
 Various components of Integrated Marketing
Communication:
• The Foundation - As the name suggests, foundation stage involves detailed analysis of both the product as well as target
market. It is essential for marketers to understand the brand, its offerings and end-users. You need to know the needs, attitudes
and expectations of the target customers. Keep a close watch on competitor’s activities
• The Corporate Culture - The features of products and services ought to be in line with the work culture of the organization.
Every organization has a vision and it’s important for the marketers to keep in mind the same before designing products and
services. Let us understand it with the help of an example. Organization A‘s vision is to promote green and clean world.
Naturally its products need to be eco friendly and biodegradable, in lines with the vision of the organization
• Brand Focus - Brand Focus represents the corporate identity of the brand
• Consumer Experience - Marketers need to focus on consumer experience which refers to what the customers feel about the
product. A consumer is likely to pick up a product which has good packaging and looks attractive Products need to meet and
exceed customer expectations
• Communication Tools - Communication tools include various modes of promoting a particular brand such as advertising,
direct selling, promoting through social media such as facebook, twitter, orkut and so on
• Promotional Tools - Brands are promoted through various promotional tools such as trade promotions, personal selling and so
on. Organizations need to strengthen their relationship with customers and external clients
• Integration Tools - Organizations need to keep a regular track on customer feedbacks and reviews. You need to have specific
software like customer relationship management (CRM) which helps in measuring the effectiveness of various integrated
marketing communications tools

IMPORTANCE OF IMC
• Integrated marketing communication plays an
integral role in communicating brand message to a
larger audience
• Integrated Marketing communication helps in integrating
all essential components of marketing to communicate
similar message to potential and existing end-users
• Integrated marketing communication goes a long way
in creating brand awareness among customers at a
minimal cost
• Integrated marketing communication is essential not only
for business to business marketing but also for direct
interaction with customers. Organizations implementing
integrated marketing communication not only
successfully promote their brands among target audience
but also develop trust among them who would always
stick to their brands, no matter what
• Integrated marketing communication scores
over traditional ways of marketing as it focuses
on not only winning new customers but also
maintaining long term healthy relationship
with them.
• Integrated marketing communication ensures two
way dialogue with customers - a must in all
business. Customer feedbacks need to be
monitored well if you wish to survive in the long
run. Remember, their feedbacks are valuable and
need to be evaluated carefully. Gone are the days
when marketers used to rely only on advertising
and simple promotions to make their brand
popular among end- users
• Marketers do not also have to think really hard as
to which marketing tool is really effective in
creating brand awareness
• Integrated marketing communication saves
time which is often lost in figuring out the best
marketing tool
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 Promotion-Mix
i. Meaning of Promotion-Mix:
• Promotion-mix refers to an optimum combination of
different promotional tools and techniques; with a view
to maximizing sales and profits.
• The need for promotion-mix arises because all
promotional tools and techniques are not equally
effective and appealing. Promotion mix imparts a
variety to the promotional efforts of the marketing
manager.
ii. The main elements of promotion-mix are:
i. Advertising
ii. Salesmanship (or personal selling)
iii. Sales promotion techniques 11
 Factor Influencing Promotion-Mix
1. Type of Product:
• In case of industrial goods and consumer durables, where demonstration of the product is required to
explain their manner of handling, instructions for safety etc.; personal selling must be emphasized more
than advertising and sales promotion
• Standardized popular goods require more of advertising than personal selling to maintain and extend their
demand
2. Age of the Product:
• For new and innovative products, personal selling is better; as salespersons can easily educate and
convince prospects about the nature and utility of such products
• Alongside, aggressive advertising is also necessary to prepare a base for demand creation
3. Number of Consumers and Their Spread:
• If the number of consumers is small and they are concentrated in particular geographical regions; personal
selling might be more effective and cheaper
• If, however, consumers are large in number and are widely spread; advertising might produce better
results in terms of creating awareness about the product
4. Promotion Budget:
• Different elements of promotion-mix have different financial implications
• The size of the promotion budget i.e. funds available for promotional purposes might have a decisive say,
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in the formulation of the promotion-mix
 Factor Influencing Promotion-Mix
(Contd…)

1. Stage of the Product Life Cycle:

❑ Stage of the life cycle which a product is passing through, has an important influence on promotion-mix.
During introduction stage e.g. there might be a need for emphasis on all aspects of promotion-mix to
create maximum awareness about the product. At the saturation stage, aggressive advertising might better
meet promotional requirements
2. Strategies Used by Competitors:
❑ An ideal promotion-mix of a company must be formulated against the background of the promotional
strategies of competitors. In fact, it is desirable that the promotion-mix of a manufacturer must be in tune
with the promotion-mix of leading competitors, in order to better face the challenges posed by them
3. Appeal to Prospects:
❑ Different promotional techniques have different influences on prospects, depending on whether they are:
• Urban or rural
• Educated or uneducated (or less educated)
• Service-class people or business class people
• Rich, poor or average, in financial terms, and so on.

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 Importance of Advertising
1. Advertising is important for the customers
• Just imagine television or a newspaper or a radio
ADVERTISING channel without an advertisement! No, no one can any
day imagine this. Advertising plays a very important
role in customers life. Customers are the people who
buy the product only after they are made aware of the
• Marketing communications is essentially a part of products available in the market. If the product is not
the marketing mix advertised, no customer will come to know what
• The marketing mix defines the 4Ps of marketing products are available and will not buy the product
and Promotion is what marketing even if the product was for their benefit.
communications is all about 2. Advertising is important for the seller and companies
producing the products
• It is the message your organization is going to
• Advertising helps increasing sales
convey to your market • Advertising helps producers or the companies to know
• You need to be very particular about different their competitors and plan accordingly to meet up the
messages you are going to convey through level of competition.
different mediums • If any company wants to introduce or launch a new
product in the market, advertising will make a ground
for the product
Objectives of Advertising • Advertising helps creating goodwill for the company
Four main Objectives of advertising are: and gains customer loyalty after reaching a mature
• Trial age.
• Continuity • The demand for the product keeps on coming with the
• Brand switch help of advertising and demand and supply become a
never ending process 14
• Switching back
Advertising Process

❖ Step 1 - Briefing: the advertiser needs to brief about the product or the service which has to
be advertised and doing the SWOT analysis of the company and the product.
❖ Step 2 - Knowing the Objective: one should first know the objective or the purpose of
advertising. i.e. what message is to be delivered to the audience?
❖ Step 3 - Research: this step involves finding out the market behavior, knowing the
competitors, what type of advertising they are using, what is the response of the consumers,
availability of the resources needed in the process, etc.
❖ Step 4 - Target Audience: the next step is to identify the target consumers most likely to
buy the product. The target should be appropriately identified without any confusion. For e.g.
if the product is a health drink for growing kids, then the target customers will be the parents
who are going to buy it and not the kids who are going to drink it.
❖ Step 5 - Media Selection: now that the target audience is identified, one should select an
appropriate media for advertising so that the customers who are to be informed about the
product and are willing to buy are successfully reached.
❖ Step 6 - Setting the Budget: then the advertising budget has to be planned so that there is
no short of funds or excess of funds during the process of advertising and also there are no
losses to the company.
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Advertising Process (Contd…)

❖ Step 7 - Designing and Creating the Ad: first the design that is the outline of ad on papers
is made by the copywriters of the agency, then the actual creation of ad is done with help of
the art directors and the creative personnel of the agency.
❖ Step 8 - Perfection: then the created ad is re-examined and the ad is redefined to make it
perfect to enter the market.
❖ Step 9 - Place and Time of Ad: the next step is to decide where and when the ad will be
shown.
❖ The place will be decided according to the target customers where the ad is most visible clearly
to them. The finalization of time on which the ad will be telecasted or shown on the selected
media will be done by the traffic department of the agency.
❖ Step 10 - Execution: finally the advertise is released with perfect creation, perfect placement
and perfect timing in the market.
❖ Step 11 - Performance: the last step is to judge the performance of the ad in terms of the
response from the customers, whether they are satisfied with the ad and the product, did the
ad reached all the targeted people, was the advertise capable enough to compete with the
other players, etc. Every point is studied properly and changes are made, if any.
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• We all see many billboards and banners advertising one or the other thing, but
only the smart ones catch our eye
• In this slide we’ll understand what is technique that is being used to create
the content and how it can be made effective

ADVERTISING COPY
• The banner in the above discussion is called advertisement (ad) copy

Let’s define ad copy

• An advertising copy is a term used to describe the main text used in the advertisement. The
text could be a dialogue, a catchy punch line or a company’s dictum
• It is a print, radio or TV advertising message that aims at developing and retaining an interest
of the target customer and prompting him to purchase the product within a couple of seconds

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 ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD ADVERTISEMENT COPY
• Credibility- An ad copy must focus on the credibility or the reliability of the ad. The
copywriters should essentially flaunt an element of reliability in the ad so that the consumers
are convinced to go ahead with the product. The credibility of an advertisement is the extent
of honesty in the ad message
• Attention- The keywords, punch lines or phrases that seize the attention of the potential
consumers or some component in the ad that attracts the target audience is essential in a
good advertising copy
• Assurance of benefit– An advertisement copy must contain some promise of the benefits
that the product offers if the consumer purchases and uses the product
• Brief and clear- An ad copy must be brief and clear, i.e. it must be to the point. It doesn’t
mean that the copy must omit the important elements of the ad. A clear copy is easy and
quick to be read by the readers. It is self-explanatory, definite, and precise. Clarity makes
way for interpretation.
• Apt and conforming- The copy must be apt and must match the needs of the prospects. A
copywriter has to use the most suitable USP. Every ad copy must meet the conforming
standards and rules acceptable to the advertising media and the laws of the land. A copy
that offends the morality challenges religious beliefs of the people is not welcomed by any 18
media
 TYPES OF ADVERTISEMENT COPY
The advertisement copies can be divided into six main types:
1. Human Interest Copy
• Human interest copy entices the emotions and senses of its prospective customers rather than the
intellect and judgment
• This advertisement copy defines the product to people instead of sticking to facts. Human Interest
copy gets to selling part indirectly or reluctantly
• It focuses on people’s undying interest in themselves, their families and friends
2. Reason Why Copy
• A Reason Why advertising copy offers reasons as to why the consumers are expected to buy the
product of a particular brand
• The reason why copy appeals directly to the intellect or the judgment of an individual than the
emotions
• It tries to explain the product qualities and benefits by giving evidence in the forms of testimonials,
guarantees, customer experiences, and so on
3. Educational Ad Copy
• An educational ad copy attempts to inform, update and prompts its clients to buy a product by
educating the prospective customers.
• It is designed to educate the public about the attributes of the product 19

• Introductory ad copies are usually created in this way

 TYPES OF ADVERTISEMENT COPY (Contd…)
The advertisement copies can be divided into six main types:
1. Institutional Ad Copy
• Institutional copy doesn’t sell its goods and services. Institutional ad copy aims at promoting the
selling house
• It focuses to build a strong reputation for the selling house
• The main objective of this type of ad copy is to create, maintain, and increase the goodwill through its
philosophy, objectives and policies so that the prospective customers register it in their minds
2. Suggestive Copy
• A suggestive copy suggests or attempts to convey the message to the readers directly or indirectly and
prompts them to purchase the product
• Suggestive ad copy works best when the reader is confused regarding the quality of the product and is
juggling with decision making regarding his purchase
3. Expository Copy
• Expository copy conflicts with the Suggestive copy
• An Expository copy doesn’t conceal anything about the product but instead exposes the facts that are
clear and apt
• It describes the product features, uses, merits, operation and benefits of the products or services
• Even a swift glance registers quickly in the consumer’s mind and is quite easy to remember or pick up 20
 SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion is a
marketing strategy where the
product is promoted using
short-term attractive initiatives
to stimulate its demand and
increase its sales

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 Sales Promotion Methods
• Coupons: Usually reduce the purchase price or offered as cash. Need to state the offer clearly and make it easy to
recognize
• Demonstrations: Excellent attention getters. Labour costs are usually high
• Frequent User Incentives: Major airlines, helps foster customer loyalty to a specific company. Credit card companies.
Trading stamps-Co-ops back in England, foster retail loyalty
• Point of Purchase Display: Outside signs, window displays, counter pieces, display racks. 90% of retailers believe that
point of purchase materials sell products. Essential for product introductions. Also with 2/3 of purchasing decisions
made in the store, they are important
• Free Samples: Stimulate trial of product. Increase sales volume at the early stage of the product life cycle and obtain
desirable distribution. Most expensive sales promotion technique
• Money Refunds/Rebates: Submit proof of purchase and mail specific refund, usually need multiple purchase for
refund. Helps promote trial use, due to the complexity of the refund, it has little impact. Customers have a poor
perception of rebate offered products. Used extensively in the Auto and Computer industry
• Cents-off Offer: Strong incentive for trying a product-very similar to coupons, but are a part of the package
• Sweepstakes: A type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. Sweepstakes began as a
form of lottery that were tied to products sold. By definition, the winner is determined by luck rather than skill
• Contest: Consumers compete based on their analytical or creative skills. Must be accurate or you will anger customer
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 Contd…

• The major function of sales promotion is

to serve as a connecting link or a bridge
between advertising and personal selling
which are the two wings of promotion
• Through effective advertisement work,
sales promotion helps salesmen to boost
up selling
• Producers can introduce new products by
sales promotion. It reminds the
consumers about the product through
advertisement
• Sales promotion can promote the product
sales
• It stimulates them to buy the product
• All the buyers must be attracted, urged
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and even persuaded to buy the products
 Public Relation Activities
Here are some ways of enhancing an organization’s
brand image:
• Addressing the media
• Speaking at various press conferences, seminars.
• Advertisements to correctly position the brand,
Pamphlets, Brochures, magazines notices,
• Public relations is an important component of the newsletters and so on.
marketing communications mix • Corporate Social responsibility(CSR Activities)
• It is traditionally defined as management activity • Introducing various loyalty schemes for
that attempts to shape attitudes and opinions held by a customers like membership cards, premium
company's stakeholders clubs so as to retain the customers.
• Public relations provides visibility for the company • Various events, shows and activities.
and it allows it to be properly identified and
understood by its stakeholders
• Any person that has a vested interest in a company's
activities is considered as a stakeholder
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 Functions Of Public Relations
The functions of public relations manager and public relations agencies include:
• Anticipating, analysing, and interpreting the public opinion and attitudes of the public towards the brand and
drafting strategies which use free or earned media to influence them
• Drafting strategies to support the brand’s every campaign and new move through editorial content
• Writing and distributing press releases
• Speechwriting
• Planning and executing special public outreach and media relations events
• Writing content for the web (internal and external websites)
• Developing a crisis public relations strategy
• Handling the social media presence of the brand and responding to public reviews on social media websites
• Counselling the employees of the organisation with regard to policies, course of action, organisation’s
responsibility and their responsibility
• Dealing with government and legislative agencies on behalf of the organisation
• Dealing with public groups and other organisations with regard to social and other policies of the
organisation and legislation of the government
• Handling investor relations 25
THANK YOU!