Ch. 12 & 13 - Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

Question 1

How do companies communicate to consumers?

Answer 1

Promotion (e.g. advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, digital media)

Question 2

What challenges do companies face when trying to communicate with customers?

Answer 2

• There is lots of noise in the environment which can drown out their message
• Competition (companies need to determine how to get consumers to focus on them)

Question 3

Traditional Marketing

Answer 3

Different forms of promotion are seperate: each campaign is developed by different agencies hired by a company. Result: no universal message

Question 4

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

Answer 4

Coordinating all of your touch points to form a consistent image for your brand or product

Question 5

Touch Point

Answer 5

Anywhere a consumer comes in contact with your product/brand

Question 6

What are the 5 steps of a IMC campaign (marketing communications process)?

Answer 6

Recall the 5 M’s:
1. Set objectives and identify target audience (Mission)
2. Decide budget (Money)
3. Choose message (Message)
4. Decide media mix (Media)
5. Evaluate effectiveness (Measurement)

Question 7

Campaign Objectives

Answer 7

Communication task to be accomplished with a specific target audience during a specific time

Question 8

List 4 methods companies can use to budget marketing campaigns

Answer 8

• Affordable
• Percentage-of-Sales
• Competitive-Parity
• Objective-and-Task

Question 9

Affordable Budgeting

Answer 9

Budgeting based on what a company thinks it can afford (marketing not prioritized)

Question 10

Percentage-of-Sales Budgeting

Answer 10

Budgeting based on a percentage of current or forecasted sales

Question 11

What is the main flaw of percentage-of-sales budgeting?

Answer 11

Generally, promotion leads to sales, but the percentage-of-sales method operates on the belief that sales lead to promotion

Question 12

Competitive-Parity Budgeting

Answer 12

Set budget to match competitors. The idea is to budget to keep up with your competition

Question 13

Objective-and-Task Budgeting

Answer 13

Set objectives and determine tasks to achieve objectives. The budget is the sum of task costs

Question 14

What should good messages accomplish?

Answer 14

Good messages should
- Get attention
- Hold interest
- Obtain action

Question 15

What is a major challenge of IMC?

Answer 15

Designing each promotional activity to communicate the same message

Question 16

How can messages be classified?

Answer 16

Messages can be classified based on execution and tone

Question 17

What are the different concepts behind a message (execution)?

Answer 17

• Slice of life (everyday events)
• Lifestyle (what you could experience)
• Fantasy
• Personality Symbols
• Scientific
• Endorsement/Testimonials
• Mood (artistic)

Question 18

Message Tone

Answer 18

The emotion a message conveys (can be a powerful motivator)

Question 19

True or False: Creating fearful messages will intimidate your consumers away from your product.

Answer 19

It depends. Creating fear in your consumers can be very effective if not overdone. If ads are too scary, people tune the ad out and stop paying attention (and they miss the main message of the ad)

Question 20

What are the different components of the media mix?

Answer 20

• Reach
• Frequency
• Impact
• Engagement

Question 21

Reach (Media Mix)

Answer 21

The percentage of people in the target audience who are exposed to the message

Question 22

Frequency (Media Mix)

Answer 22

How many times the average person in a target audience is exposed to the message

Question 23

Impact (Media Mix)

Answer 23

The qualitative value of a message’s exposure through a given medium

Question 24

Engagement (Media Mix)

Answer 24

Whether the consumer is encouraged to do something (e.g. click a link, pay attention, share)

Question 25

What selection criteria do companies use to determine what mediums to use in their marketing campaign?

Answer 25

• Consumers’ habits and lifestyle
• Specific product attributes
• Cost constraints

Question 26

How do companies measure campaign effectiveness?

Answer 26

Return on campaign investment (measure before and after campaign), communication effects

Question 27

Communication Effects

Answer 27

Includes click-through, recall, attitude toward product, preference, visits, and sales. These are easier to measure, however they don’t necessarily translate into behaviour

Question 28

Advertising

Answer 28

Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponser

Question 29

Product Placement

Answer 29

Products appearing in alternative outlets (e.g. TV, movies)

Question 30

Why are product placements effective?

Answer 30

You usually have the viewer’s full attention as they are usually engrossed into the media they are watching so they will see your product

Question 31

Sales Promotion

Answer 31

Short-term incentives designed to encourage the immediate purchase of a product or service. Consists of consumer promotions and trade promotions

Question 32

Consumer Promotions

Answer 32

Short-term marketing tools used to encourage immediate consumer purchase

Question 33

Trade Promotions

Answer 33

Short-term promotional tools used to generate support with wholesalers, distributors or retailers

Question 34

Give a few examples of consumer promotional tools

Answer 34

E.g. coupons, premiums, contests, rebates, sweepstakes, bonus packs, loyalty programs (long-term)

Question 35

Personal Selling

Answer 35

Two-way personal communication between salespeople and individual customers (a paid, personal form of selling). It has big impact, but it is expensive

Question 36

6 weapons of influence

Answer 36

• Reciprocation
• Commitment & Consistency
• Social Proof
• Authority
• Liking
• Scarcity

Question 37

Reciprocation (weapon of influence)

Answer 37

People’s tendency to feel a need to return a favour

Question 38

Commitment & Consistency (weapon of influence)

Answer 38

Pressuring a consumer to buy a product based on their past favourable opinion of the product

Question 39

Social Proof (weapon of influence)

Answer 39

Look to others for information (use others as a verification for quality)

Question 40

Authority (weapon of influence)

Answer 40

Persuade a consumer to buy a product because a trusted authority figure recommends it. People tend to trust authority figures

Question 41

Liking (weapon of influence)

Answer 41

Buying a product because it is liked by people you like

Question 42

Scarcity (weapon of influence)

Answer 42

Pressure a consumer to buy a product by tapping into their fear of missing out (FOMO)

Question 43

Door-in-the-face Technique

Answer 43

Start by asking for a big request (expecting to be rejected), and then ask for a smaller, more reasonable request. People tend to accept your smaller request as they feel a need to compromise.

Question 44

Public Relations

Answer 44

Includes obtaining favourable publicity, building a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavourable rumours, stories, and events

Question 45

Direct Marketing

Answer 45

Marketing that communicates directly with target customers to generate a response or transaction

Question 46

Event Marketing

Answer 46

Companies involve their brand in an experience or occasion with the goal of heightening awareness, creating positive associations, and desired response.

Question 47

Sponsership

Answer 47

Companies pay for inclusion at an event (often advertising)

Question 48

Digital Marketing

Answer 48

Online tools for communicating with consumers (websites, blogs, social media, etc.). Targeted impact can be easily and quickly measured; modifications can be quickly assessed.