Week NINE: Marketing PR & Sponsorship

Question 1

What is the aim of marketing PR and what are the two types

Answer 1

= Aim to maximise opportunities to improve an organisations marketing communications objectives and outcomes

Proactive MPR:
= Tool for communicating a brand’s attributes in a positive way - typically used in conjunction with advertising, promotion, personal selling
- Press releases => products, newsworthy programs or events (eg. appointment of new CEO), move to new headquarters, new generation product, community service activity
- Product release => announce new products w/ relevant info about product features and benefits, inform interested readers how additional info obtained
- Executive statements => CEO quotes about industry development, trends, forecasts

Reactive MPR:
= Response to changing events that can have negative consequences for a company in terms of one or more of the public

Question 2

Outline the strengths and limitations of proactive MPR

Answer 2

Strengths

• Increase cynicism of consumers
• Increase product/brand equity
• Good stories can be spread online for no cost
• Free
• Support launch of new products
• Combats negatively publicity
• Reaches new segments

Limitations

• Mixed evidence
• Difficult to measure
• Difficult to control
• Becoming increasingly cluttered

Question 3

Outline how to build positive relationships and why positive MPR is important in offsetting negative MPR

Answer 3

Build positive relationships that are;

• Successful
• Innovative
• Efficient
• Future-oriented
• Prosocial

Consumers who like a brand are;
- Less likely to attribute blame to the company
- More likely to see the fault as representing a ‘one-off’ rather than permanent, stable issue
- More likely to see the response as severe and sufficient
=> Brands with low trust and low favourability will be sanctioned particularly hard by relevant stakeholders

Question 4

How should a brand respond to negative MPR

Answer 4

• Take responsibility (even when not directly at fault)
• Respond quickly
• Don’t try to deflect or mitigate behaviour/blame
• Be cautious with explanations (perceived as deflecting blame)
• Show empathy for those affected
• Make necessary changes (recalls, fix products)
• Compensate affected parties
• Address rumours (even if not true)
• Be sincere and honest

Question 5

What is cause-related marketing, its objectives and strengths & limitations?

Answer 5

= the giving of support, either funds or resources to particular charities and causes

CRM objectives

• Improve brand image
• Increase brand awareness
• Create good publicity
• Increase brand loyalty (positive WOM, increased purchase)

STRENGTHS
- Provides additional reasons for loyalty with customer base
- Thwart negative publicity
- Reaches new/different situations
airtime/print space is provided free of charge (if reported on)
- Integrates well with MPR
- Combats negative publicity
- Increase brand’s retail merchandising activity (companies want to stock ‘good’ brands)

LIMITATIONS

• Can backfire
• Mixed evidence on whether consumers attitudes lead to actual behaviour
• Difficult to measure
• Becoming increasingly cluttered

Question 6

What is sponsorship, how should sponsorships be selected and what are its strengths & limitations

Answer 6

= investment in an activity, person or event for access to the commercial potential associated with the activity, person or event

Image match-up:
- is the event consistent w/ brand image
Target audience fit:
- does the event reach the target audience
Sponsorship misidentification:
- is this event one the competition has previously sponsored?
Clutter:
- how many other sponsors are there?
Complement other marketing communication elements:
- does this complement existing sponsorships + fit with other communications from brand

STRENGTHS
- Gets around changing media habits
- Increase positive relationships
- Avoid clutter
- Enhance brand equity
targeted

LIMITATIONS

• backfire/difficult to control
• difficult to measure ROI
• cluttered