Chapter 1

Question 1

The overall marketing function consists of three overlapping sets of activities or modes. What are they?

Answer 1

Mode 1 Basic offer

Mode 2 Persuasive communication

Mode 3 Promotional inducement

Question 2

The planning and management/strategy of intergrated marketing communication involves steps. What are they?

Answer 2

Step 1: Define the problem, challenge or opportunity

Step 2: Perform a situation analysis

Step 3: Define the target audience

Step 4: Define the brand positioning and consumer promise

Step 5: Set marketing communication objectives

Step 6: Determine the marketing communication budget

Step 7: Manage the marketing communication programme

Step 8: Co-ordinate and integrate efforts

Step 9: Evaluate, control and follow up

Question 3

Explain how the idea of marketing communication relates to and interlinks with the communication process.

Answer 3

**Note that marketing communication objectives depend on what the organisation wants to achieve.

Question 4

The communication concept is made up of four elements. What are they?

Answer 4

Information, people, time and format.

Question 5

Communication Objectives

Answer 5

*handboek

Question 6

Marketing Communication Objectives

Answer 6

*handboek

Question 7

The specific objectives that all marketing communications are directed at achieving.

These objectives include the following:

Answer 7

• building primary demand
• creating brand awareness
• providing relevant information (knowledge)
• influencing abilities and feelings
• creating desire
• creating preferences
• facilitating purchase
• creating loyal customers

Question 8

The communication process can be broadly analysed as consisting of sections or stages

Answer 8

Stage 1 (sender)

Stage 2 (message)

Stage 3 (receiver)

Question 9

Let us now focus on each of the individual elements that makes up the communication model.

Answer 9

Encoding

Message

Channel

Receiver

Response

Question 10

Elaborate on Encoding

Answer 10

The sender or source encodes/designs a message with the purpose of this message being decoded/understood by the receiver.

(Pay attention to the requirements of good encoding, which are listed in the prescribed book.)

Question 11

Elaborate on Message

Answer 11

The message is explained as the idea that the marketer wishes to put across to the receiver, and the marketer’s desire is to have this message positively accepted by the receiver.

Different objectives result in various causal actions or responses on the part of the receiver.

Make sure you can provide examples here.

Pay specific attention to the differences between the emotional and rational appeal of a message.

Question 12

Elaborate on Channel

Answer 12

This is also referred to as the medium of a message.

This illustrates the path that the message follows from sender to receiver.

The channel is the means of communication flow, and may be verbal or non-verbal.

The channel can also be defined as formal or informal.*

Question 13

Elaborate on the receiver

Answer 13

This is the target of all communication initiatives.

The receiver needs to be able to :

• understand the message
• attend to the message
• interpret the message
• retain the message and
• respond to the message

Question 14

Elaborate on Response

Answer 14

The receiver’s behavioural reaction or response can be classified as follows:

• acceptance of a particular image
• clear product positioning in the receiver’s mind
• experiencing a feeling/sensation
• experiencing a changed attitude
• having a crystallised view
• buying the product or buying the product more often

Question 15

Persuasive Communication Variables

Answer 15

*handboek Source variable Message variable Channel factors Receiver variable

Question 16

Noise of interference:

Answer 16

• Different perceptions
• Language problems
• Inconsistencies
• Status differences
• Distrust
• Emotional communication
• Apathy
• Resistance to change
• Cultural differences

Question 17

Noise can be classified as ………

Answer 17

Noise can be classified as any interference or disturbance that confuses a message or disrupts the communication process.

Question 18

Talk about Physical Noise

Answer 18

Noise includes any physical noise that prevents you from hearing, seeing, feeling or understanding a message.

Physical noise includes the drone of traffic, loud music, the message being given in a language you don’t understand, and something blocking your view so that you cannot read a poster.

Question 19

Talk about “Metaphorical noise”

Answer 19

“Metaphorical noise” is where the nature of the disturbance is not physical, but psychological or emotional.

Question 20

Feedback can be seen as:

Answer 20

A change in the respondent’s behaviour after the message was decoded or

action taken by the respondent after the message was decoded.

The receiver now becomes the sender who has decoded the feedback message back through the transmission channel to the original sender who is now the receiver of the feedback message.

In other words, the feedback is now the message itself.

Question 23

Define marketing communication.

Answer 23

This process of communicating with consumers and customers is called marketing communication.

These elements correspond to the four Ps of the marketing mix, namely product, place, price and promotion. Marketing communication is the fourth P (promotion)

Question 24

IMC

Answer 24

IMC is a concept of marketing communications planning that recognises the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines — for example, general advertising, personal selling, direct response, shopper marketing and sales promotion, public relations and alternative tools — and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency and maximum communications impact.

Question 25

Marketing Communication Tools

Answer 25

• advertising;
• personal selling;
• shopper marketing and sales promotion;
• direct response and database marketing;
• public relations and word-of-mouth;
• sponsorship and event marketing;
• digital media marketing;
• alternative communication channels.

Question 26

Advertising:

Answer 26

Many people assume marketing and advertising to be synonymous or the same, but that is far from the truth. Advertising can be defined as a paid, mass-mediated attempt to persuade.

Advertising is one of the most visible manifestations of a marketer’s communication efforts and few would claim that it is possible to be immune to the constant exposure to advertisements.

Advertising messages are delivered in a wide variety of formats using many different media, including print, television, radio, out-of-home and most recently, the Internet and social media.

The distinguishing feature of advertising is that it is a one-way form of communication with targeted consumers, referred to collectively as the target audience.

Advertising has four main purposes, namely to attract attention, to inform, to persuade and to remind.

When the product is new to the market, advertising’s main objectives are to grasp the attention of the prospective customers and to inform the target audience about the new product.

Advertising messages will be mainly informational, even educational — educating the target audience about new technology, for example.

Finally, advertising is persuasive and reminds the reader, viewer or listener about the brand and its features, advantages and benefits (FABs).

The role or task of advertising changes over the product life cycle. The role of advertising in the introduction phase of the life cycle, for example, will be to make people aware of the product and to create primary demand for it. As the product moves into the growth phase of the life cycle, the emphasis will shift to persuading customers to buy the product. During the maturity phase, the focus will fall more on reminder advertising and, in the decline phase, advertising may be stopped altogether as the company may not want to spend money on a product that may soon be discontinued.

Question 27

Personal Selling

Answer 27

Personal selling is a person-to-person process by which the seller learns about the prospective buyer’s wants, and seeks to satisfy them by offering suitable goods or services and making a sale.

This element dominates the marketing communication mix (in terms of money spent) in almost all situations.

It would probably be true to say that virtually all organisations start off by selling to a relatively small number of customers and this is best accomplished by personal selling.

In many cases the nature of the product offering is such that it is absolutely essential to present it in a personal way.

Personal selling certainly has several advantages, not the least of which is that each customer can be approached in a unique way.

But personal selling is expensive.

It is therefore necessary to establish whether or not it can be justified before simplistically assuming that it will be a part of the organisation’s marketing communication mix.

Question 28

Shopper Marketing and Sales Promotion

Answer 28

Shopper marketing is a strategy designed to influence and affect shoppers’ behaviour at retail touchpoints.

Shopper marketing is in fact brand marketing in the retail environment.

It includes discovering shopper insights, pathway management, displays, category management, merchandising, sales promotions and online buying.

Sales promotion is any activity that offers incentives, such as a trial or continued purchase, for a limited time period to induce a desired response from a targeted population.

To be effective, sales promotion should be directed at three groups. The first group is internal, ie within the organisation. In most instances this would mean the sales force. The next group would be members of the distribution channels, such as wholesalers and retailers. The last group to be targeted is consumers or shoppers. Specific objectives should be set for sales promotion to be effective.

Question 29

Direct Marketing

Answer 29

Direct response marketing is an interactive system of marketing that uses one or more advertising media to effect a measurable response or transaction at any location (Stone, 1986:1).

The database of potential customers is vital.

The real key to the understanding of this rapidly growing tool is the word measurable. Indeed, more than with any of the other elements of the marketing communication mix, the marketer is able to measure the effectiveness of a particular campaign with surprising accuracy.

And therein lies its appeal, since marketers are under increasing pressure to account for the money they spend on any form of marketing communication. One of the main criticisms is that it frequently uses unsolicited direct mail, which is often labelled junk mail.

Question 30

Public Relations and word of mouth

Answer 30

Defines public relations (PR) as ‘… the management, through communication, of perceptions and strategic relationships between an organisation and its internal and external stakeholders.’

Used appropriately PR can significantly enhance an organisation’s marketing efforts.

The most visible result of an organisation’s public relations activities is publicity.

This is frequently, and mistakenly, referred to as free publicity because an organisation that gets favourable publicity in a newspaper or trade journal, or on television, does not pay the medium directly for the exposure.

Word-of-mouth (WOM) is a non-paid form of communication, usually interpersonal communication face-to-face or via digital means regarding products, brands or services.

These discussions can be positive or negative.

It has always been said that WOM is probably the most powerful tool of marketing communication because it is spontaneous, unbiased and trustworthy.

Companies are realising more and more that planned WOM (word-of-mouth and word-of-mouse) can create excellent results for them.

Question 31

Sponsorship and event marketing

Answer 31

Sponsorship is the marketing communications activity whereby a sponsor contractually provides financial and/or other support to an organisation, an individual or a team in return for rights to associate the sponsor’s name, company, product or brand and logo with the sponsored event or activity.

Sponsorship is an important part of IMC, but very often large amounts of money are expended without the sponsor receiving much benefit.

Corporate sponsorship of events has become a major promotional activity for many organisations.

Event marketing, which may be part and parcel of a sponsorship deal, is the marketing of a product at sport, cultural, charity or other events. Event marketing and branded entertainment are often linked.

Question 32

Digital Media

Answer 32

In the past ten years electronic media, now known as digital media, has become very prominent and important in marketing.

The use of the Internet, world wide web, e-mail and mobile technology has become commonplace, and few people can imagine a world without the internet, e-mail or cell phones.

Most consumers in their teens have grown up with mobile technology and social media as the norm, and not as something new.

Some marketers talk about screenagers and the mobile youth. These are consumers who are connected wherever they are, and communicate through mobile devices (primarily cell phones) on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

The potential of these media is being unlocked daily and a lot more emphasis will be placed on them in the future.

Question 33

Alternative communication channels and media

Answer 33

Alternative communication channels and media have been developed to break through the mass media clutter.

These unexpected and unconventional media channels thrive on engagement and visual impact in a connected society.

They have a disruptive approach as their foundation, and often consist largely of user-generated content.

Ambient marketing uses product relevance in an unusual way. Colgate, for example, uses the inside of pizza box lids to convey the message, ‘don’t let your dinner breath become your morning breath’.

Buzz marketing relies on generating a social media buzz that is often supported by word-of-mouth communication. Technology-created buzz is often mind-boggling and talked about.

Other alternative communication tools or media include augmented reality, sensory branding, product placement, non- linear advertising and video networks.

Question 34

Mode 1

Answer 34

Basic offering

1- Product or terms of sales

focus on benefits to satisfy customers needs.

Question 35

Mode 2

Answer 35

Persuisave Language

1- non personal verbal communication

• Personal verbal communication
• Non verbal communication

They use marketing communication messages to stimulate the wants and needs by encouraging customers to imagine the benefits of the basic offer

Question 36

Mode 3

Answer 36

Promotional Inducements

1- representing character of basic offer

• price related inducements
• external inducements

They use the benefits above the basic offer to motivate retailers and customers to adopt to the marketers plan of action

Question 37

Persuisave communication variables

Answer 37

question

listening

body langauge

magic words

total communication skills

Question 38

Face to face barriers

Answer 38

authority

specialisation

network disruption

info overload

time pressure