chapter 14

Question 1

marketing communications

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

marketing communications mix

Answer 2

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

Question 3

advertising

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

sales promotion

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

events and experiences

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

public relations and publicity

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

online and social media marketing

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

mobile marketing

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

direct and database marketing

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

personal selling

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

micromodels of marketing communications

Answer 11

concentrate on consumers’ specific responses to communications.

Question 12

learn-feel-do

Answer 12

the audience has a high involvement with a product category perceived to have high differentiation. there is a cognitive, affective, and behaviour stage sequence.

Question 13

do-feel-learn

Answer 13

the audience has high involvement but perceives little or no differentiation within a product category.

Question 14

learn-do-feel

Answer 14

the audience has low involvement and perceives little differentiation.

Question 15

steps in developing effective communications

Answer 15

1. identify target audience
2. determine objectives
3. design communications
4. select channels
5. establish budget
6. decide on media mix
7. measure results
8. manage integrated marketing communications

Question 16

communications objectives

Answer 16

1. establish need for category
2. build brand awareness
3. build brand attitude
4. influence brand purchase intention

Question 17

brand awareness

Answer 17

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

Question 18

establish need for category

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

build brand attitude

Answer 19

help consumers evaluate the brand’s perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. relevant brand needs may be negatively oriented or positively oriented.

Question 20

influence brand purchase intention

Answer 20

moving consumers to decide to purchase the brand or take purchase-related action.

Question 21

message strategy

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

creative strategy

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

informational appeals

Answer 23

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

Question 24

transformational appeals

Answer 24

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

Question 25

message source

Answer 25

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)

Question 26

principle of congruity

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

design the communications

Answer 27

1. message strategy
2. creative strategy
3. message source

Question 28

personal communications channels

Answer 28

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

Question 29

advocate channels

Answer 29

consist of company salespeople contacting buyers in the target market.

Question 30

expert channels

Answer 30

consist of independent experts making statements to target buyers.

Question 31

social channels

Answer 31

consist of neighbours, friends, family members, and associates talking to target buyers.

Question 32

personal influence

Answer 32

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

Question 33

nonpersonal (mass) communications channels

Answer 33

communications directed to more than one person and include advertising, sales promotions, events and experiences, and public relations.

Question 34

integration of communications channels

Answer 34

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.

Question 35

establishing a marketing communications budget

Answer 35

1. affordable method
2. percentage-of-sales method
3. competitive-parity method
4. objective-and-task method

Question 36

competitive-parity method

Answer 36

some companies set their communications budgets to achieve share-of-voice parity with competitors.

Question 37

objective-and-task method

Answer 37

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.

Question 38

communications budget trade-offs

Answer 38

how much weight should marketing communications received compared to alternatives such as product improvement, lower prices, or better service?

Question 39

factors in setting the marketing communications mix

Answer 39

1. type of product market
2. consumer readiness to make a purchase
3. stage in the product life cycle

Question 40

integrated marketing communications (IMC)

Answer 40

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.

Question 41

varying cost-effectiveness in different product life cycle stages

Answer 41

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.

Question 42

media coordination

Answer 42

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.