chapter 14 Flashcards
marketing communications
how firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers directly or indirectly about the products and brands they sell. they represent the voice of the company and its brands. technology has changed the way consumers process communications.
marketing communications mix
consists of eight major modes of communication:
1. advertising
2. sales promotion
3. events and experiences
4. public relations and publicity
5. online and social media marketing
6. mobile marketing
7. direct and database marketing
8. personal selling
advertising
any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor via print, broadcast, electronic, network, and display media.
it reaches geographically dispersed buyers. it can be pervasive, offers opportunities for dramatising brands and products, and enables the advertiser to focus on specific aspects of the brand or product.
sales promotion
a variety of short-term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or service including customer, trade, and business and sales force promotions.
it draws a stronger and quicker buyer response.
benefits: (1) draws attention to the product (2) provides an incentive that gives value to the customer (3) invites
the customer to engage in the transaction now.
events and experiences
company-sponsored activities and programs designed to create daily or special brand-related interactions with consumers.
can be seen as highly relevant because the consumer is often personally invested in the outcome. more actively engaging for consumers and are typically an indirect soft sell.
public relations and publicity
a variety of programs directed internally to employees of the company or externally to consumers, other firms, the government, and media to promote or protect a company’s image or its individual product communications.
extremely effective when coordinated with the other
communications-mix elements. the appeal is based on high credibility, the ability to reach prospects who avoid mass media and targeted promotions, and the ability to tell the story of a company, brand, or product.
online and social media marketing
online activities and programs designed to engage customers or prospects directly or indirectly raise awareness, improve image, or elicit sales of products and services.
three characteristics: (1) can be information- or entertainment-rich (2) can be changed or updated depending on response (3) message can be prepared and diffused quickly.
mobile marketing
a special form of online marketing that places communications on consumer’s cell phones, smartphones, or tablets.
distinguished by its ability to be (1) time-sensitive, reflecting when and where a consumer is (2) reach and influence consumers as they are making a purchase decision (3) always at their fingertips.
direct and database marketing
use of mail, fax, telephone, or internet to communicate directly with or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers and prospects.
more personal and relevant marketing communications. characteristics: (1) messages can be personalised for recipients (2) used to create attention and inform consumers with a call to action included (3) offer information that helps other communications.
personal selling
face-to-face interaction with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders.
most effective tool at later stages of the buying process, particularly in building up buyer preference, conviction, and action. qualities are (1) can be customized for individuals (2) is relationship-oriented (3) is response-oriented.
micromodels of marketing communications
concentrate on consumers’ specific responses to communications.
learn-feel-do
the audience has a high involvement with a product category perceived to have high differentiation. there is a cognitive, affective, and behaviour stage sequence.
do-feel-learn
the audience has high involvement but perceives little or no differentiation within a product category.
learn-do-feel
the audience has low involvement and perceives little differentiation.
steps in developing effective communications
- identify target audience
- determine objectives
- design communications
- select channels
- establish budget
- decide on media mix
- measure results
- manage integrated marketing communications
communications objectives
- establish need for category
- build brand awareness
- build brand attitude
- influence brand purchase intention
brand awareness
fostering the consumer’s ability to recognise or recall the brand in sufficient detail to make a purchase. consists of brand recall (important outside the store) and brand recognition (important inside the store). it provides the foundation for brand equity
establish need for category
is necessary for removing or satisfying the perceived discrepancy between a current motivational state and a desired motivational state. a new-to-the-world product will always start with this objective.
build brand attitude
help consumers evaluate the brand’s perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. relevant brand needs may be negatively oriented or positively oriented.
influence brand purchase intention
moving consumers to decide to purchase the brand or take purchase-related action.
message strategy
what is to say? when management searches for appeals, themes, or ideas that will tie into the brand positioning and help establish points-of-parity and points-of-difference.
creative strategy
how to say it? communications’effectiveness depends on how well a message is expressed as well as its content. creative strategies are the way marketers translate their messages into specific communication.
informational appeals
elaborate on product or service attributes or benefits. the best informational appeals ask questions and allow readers and viewers to form their own conclusions. these two-sided messages are more effective with more educated audiences and those who are initially opposed.
examples:
1. problem-solution ads
2. product demonstration ads
3. product comparison ads
4. testimonials from unknown or celebrity endorsers
transformational appeals
elaborate on a nonproduct-related benefit or image. they often attempt to stir up emotions that will motivate purchase. either negative appeals such as fear and guilt to get people to do things or stop doing things or positive appeals such as joy, love and pride.
it might depict:
1. what kind of person uses the brand
2. what kind of experiences result from use
message source
who should say it? the three most often identified sources of credibility are:
1. expertise (specialised knowledge to back claims)
2. trustworthiness (how objective and honest?)
3. likability (source’s attractiveness)
principle of congruity
implies that communicators can use their good image to reduce some negative feelings toward a brand but in the process might lose some esteem with the audience.
for example, if a liked celebrity endorses a disliked brand the consumer may end up liking the celebrity less or the brand more.
design the communications
- message strategy
- creative strategy
- message source
personal communications channels
let two or more people communicate face to face or person to audience through a phone, surface mail, or e-mail.
distinctions:
1. advocate channels
2. expert channels
3. social channels
advocate channels
consist of company salespeople contacting buyers in the target market.
expert channels
consist of independent experts making statements to target buyers.
social channels
consist of neighbours, friends, family members, and associates talking to target buyers.
personal influence
carries especially great weight when:
1. the product is expensive, risky, or purchased infrequently
2. the product suggests something about the user’s taste or status
nonpersonal (mass) communications channels
communications directed to more than one person and include advertising, sales promotions, events and experiences, and public relations.
integration of communications channels
personal communication is often more effective than mass communication, but mass media might stimulate it. mass communications affect personal attitudes and behaviour through a two-step process. first, the influence of media is mediated by opinion leaders and media mavens (who track new ideas and whose opinions others seek or who carry their opinions to others). second, people interact primarily with their own social groups and acquire ideas from others in their groups. third, mass communicators should direct messages specifically to opinion leaders and others engaged with media if possible and let them carry the message to others.
establishing a marketing communications budget
- affordable method
- percentage-of-sales method
- competitive-parity method
- objective-and-task method
competitive-parity method
some companies set their communications budgets to achieve share-of-voice parity with competitors.
objective-and-task method
defining specific objectives, identifying tasks to achieve these objectives, and estimating the costs of performing them.
this method is typically most desirable. advantage: it requires management to spell out its assumptions about the relationship among dollars spent, exposure levels, trial rates, and regular usage.
communications budget trade-offs
how much weight should marketing communications received compared to alternatives such as product improvement, lower prices, or better service?
factors in setting the marketing communications mix
- type of product market
- consumer readiness to make a purchase
- stage in the product life cycle
integrated marketing communications (IMC)
a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organisation are relevant to that person and consistent over time. this process evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communications disciplines and combines them seamlessly to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum impact of messages.
it can produce stronger message consistency and help build brand equity and create greater sales impact. it forces management to think about every way the customer comes in contact with the company, how it communicates its positioning, the relative importance of each vehicle, and timing issues.
varying cost-effectiveness in different product life cycle stages
introduction: advertising, events and experiences, and publicity.
distribution coverage: personal selling
inducing trial: sales promotion and direct marketing
growth: demand has its own momentum through word of mouth and interactive marketing.
maturity: advertising, events and experiences, and personal selling.
decline: sales promotion continues, other communication tools are reduced.
media coordination
can occur across and within media types, but marketers should combine personal and nonpersonal communications channels through multiple-vehicle, multiple-stage campaigns to achieve maximum impact and increase message reach and impact.
