MARK3000 Test 4

What is marketing channel/supply chain management

4 Ps of marketing mix: place

Within the marketing industry, executive often overlook or underestimate the importance of place in marketing mix, simply because happens behind the scenes

Yet marketing channel management adds value because it gets the products to consumers efficiently, quickly, and at low cost

Importance of supply chain management

Merch is produced and distributed:

1. In right quantities

2. To right locations

3. At right times

Two key definitions to know

Supply chain represents ALL the organizations that figure into any part of the process of producing, promoting, and delivering a service or product to its user

Marketing channels: how the supply chain is organized and managed

Key parties in supply chain

Suppliers sell raw mats such as ingredients, jars, lids, etc. to manufacturer

Manufacturer sells finished products to wholesale companies

Whole say put product around country in distribution centers

Retailer buys from local distribution center then sells to consumer

Having supply chain is more efficient than the manufacturer paying for trucks and hauling goods to thousands of grocery stores over the country

Wholesales (middle man)

Firms that buy products from manufacturers and resell them to retailers

• Supplier to manufacturer for $3/unit

• Manufacturer to whole sale for $5/unit

• Wholesale to retail $7/unit

• Retail to consumer $9/unit

Convincing wholesalers and retailers to carry new product can be difficult (top-down approach)

• Some wholesalers wont take product unless already have retailer support and acceptance

Viral marketing program can help create interest among consumers, which triggers interest at retailer, which compels wholesale team to say yes (bottom-up approach)

Distribution center

facility for the receipt, storage, and redistribution of goods to company stores and may be operated by retailers, manufacturers, or distribution specialists

Fulfillment centers

Used to ship directly to individual customers

Marketing channels add value

Customers expect to have their goods delivered and services performed on time

Marketing channels can streamline number of transactions an org must make

Increase value for customers→ Costco offers competitive prices by cutting deals with manufacturers

Retailers more efficient and effective→ lower inventory

• Have what you need in stock to drive a sales increase

Inventory management through just-in-time systems

Inventory management systems- tracks goods through stores, warehouses, and DCs. As it name implies, just-in-time inventory management ensures goods get delivered only when they are needed

Also known as quick response (QR) inventory systems

• Ordering less merch, but on more frequent basis

• Many firms, such as H&M, Zata, Mango, Forever 21, have adopted QR inventory system

Designing marketing channels (direct vs. indirect)

What is difference between a direct vs indirect marketing channel?

Direct- moving goods directly from manufacturer to customer

• Think e-commerce DTC (direct to consumer) brands such as Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club

Indirect- you are moving goods from manufacturer through one (or more intermediaries) to get to customer

• Intermediaries would include wholesaler and/or retailer

Making information flow through marketing channels

Each step requires collection and dissemination of info

Flow1 (customer to store)

Flow2 (store to buyer)

Flow3 (buyer to manufacturer)

Flow4 (store to manufacturer)

Flow5 (store to distribution center)

Flow6 (manufacturer to distribution center and buyer)

Technologies like RFID help merch flow

RFID- tiny computer chip that can be placed on an item, box, case, or pallet of products that transmits info through a wireless scanner

Creative ways to get product to consumer

Amazon locker, curbside, ship to store for pickup

Deliver merch directly to customer from fulfillment center

Driverless delivery vehicles and drones are currently in the experimentation phase, but safety and federal regulations are still a consideration

Integrated marketing communications

IMC is a holistic approach where all aspects of marketing (advertising, promotion, public relations, direct marketing, digital marketing, sponsorships, events, etc.) work together toward a common goal

IMC unifies all aspects of marketing communications to deliver a consistent customer-focused message using all various communications channels available in today’s market

The goal of IMC is to ensure all various marketing mix (Four P) elements work together to deliver a consistent message

IMC takes the best of each communications medium and combines it to achieve the most effective marketing comms campaign possible

Not new but cointed in 1980s by Don Shultz from Northwestern University

Shultz published integrated marketing comms; putting it together and making it work, first textbook for IMC

Traditional marketing

• Company driver

• Goal: make sale/increase profits

• Media: print and broadcast

• One way convo: speaks at consumer

• Mass audience/general messages

• Uncoordinated messages

• Build awareness

Integrated marketing

• Consumer driven

• Goal: understand and meet needs of consumer

• Media: best media option to meet target audience

• Two way conversation: speaks with the consumer

• Personalized/tailored messages

• Coordinated messages

• Call to action

Components of comms process

Six comps of comm process

• the sender (coke co.)

• Transmitter (agency creating ad)

• Communication channel (media type used)

• Receiver (target consumer): decoding message

Additionally, there are noise and feedback factors at play

Noise from the environment (competitive messages)

• any interference that stems from competing messages, lack of clarity in message, or flaw in medium

Integrated marketing comms

Marketers must remember do not have control over decoding process, because each receiver (consumer) decodes message in own way

Senders adjust messages according to medium and receivers’ traits

Same ad may trigger different reaction

AIDA Model

AIDA model provides basis for understanding how marketing comms works

Awareness (AIDA)

Senders first must gain attention of consumer

Awareness metrics include:

• aided recall: when someone is prompted to think about brand

• Top-of-mind awareness: when someone responds “Harley” when talking motorcycle brands

Interests (AIDA)

The consumer must want to further investigate product/service

Interest can also be sparked by a little controversy

Once consumer is aware that company/product exists, comms must work to increase consumer’s interest level. Isnt enough to let people know that product exists; consumers must be persuaded that its worth investigating

Desire (AIDA)

After the firm has piqued the interest of its target market, the goal of subsequent IMC messages should move the consumer from “I like it” to “I want it”

Action (AIDA)

The ultimate goal of any form of comms is to drive receiver to action.

We want them to buy our product… or subscribe to our service

But purchase is one type of action

What other actions can IMC ask consumers to take?:

• Behavioral changes (don’t drink and drive)

• Attitude changes (that product is high quality)

• Physical actions (pick up the phone, log on to the websites, volunteer)

The lagged effect

Sometimes consumers don’t act immediately after receivijng a marketing comm because lagged effect- delayed response to marketing comm campaign

Marketing comms do not always have immediate impact

Multiple exposures often necessary

Difficult to determine which exposure led to purchase

IMC goal

Delivering right message, to right consumer, at right time

Channels used in an IMC strategy

For any comms to succeed, firm must deliver right message to right audience through right media. Ultimate goals for profits from long-term customers

No single channel necessarily better than other

Personal selling (channels)

A two-way communication between the buyer and seller to influence buying decisions

Salespeople can add significant value, which can make the expense worth it

The cost of communicating directly with a potential customer is quite high compared with other forms of promotion, but is simply the best and most efficient way to sell certain products and services

This form of IMC works best when the purchase is complicated, because the salesperson can customize the comms to meet the needs of that specific buyer and purchase situations, which other IMC elements cannot

Sales promotions (channels) Variety and conjunction

Sales promotions can be used in a wide variety of situations to stimulate demand among either end users or other channel members

Can be aimed at both end user consumers or channel members

Used in conjunction with other forms of IMC

Direct marketing (channels)

Communicating directly with target customers (no middleman) to generate a response or transaction

Growing element of IMC. As advertising has declined as a percentage of total comms budget, direct marketing spend has increased. Improvements to database tech has contributed to rapid growth

Direct marketing allows marketers to carefully target their consumers and personalize their message. This enables marketers to communicate with an audience that is more likely to respond to their message and generate a restul

Includes offline and online tactics such as telemarketing, e-mail and mobile marketing

Direct marketing ads generally include a call to action (CTA)

• Email with promotion, coupon, recommendations, etc

• Ads with ‘sign up now’, ‘order now’ CTA

Advertising (channels)

Most visible element of IMC

• Both online or offline

• (generally) Passive: no action required by consumers

Extremely effective at creating awareness and generating interest

Placement of announcements and persuasive messages in time or space purchased by biz firms, nonprofit orgs, gov agencies, and individuals

Public relations (channels)

‘Free’ media attention but requires a ton of work and personal relationships

Importance of PR has grown as the cost of other media has increased
As consumers are becoming more skeptical about marketing, PR is becoming more importance

PR team often facilitates executive interviews in publications, news media, etc.

Press release (channels)

Sprite returns to NBA article

Sales promotions (channels) Coupons/deals

Coupons

Deals from Starbucks (buy1 get1)

Mobile marketing (channels)

Form of online, direct marketing

Geofencing ads- invisible fences found around your store, comp locations, public locations enable you to send personalized messages to customers when ‘break’ fence

Online marketing (channels)

Article, copywriting, SEO, PPC, online directories, email marketing, news, web content, websites, socials, blogs, search

Presence: website

Publish: blog

Promote: email, marketing

Engage: social media

Integrate: marketing, automation

Web (online marketing)

Websites are #1 online tool:

• Establish brand image

• Educate consumers about products

• promote new products

• Help them find products

• Sell products (e-com sites)

• Provide customer service

Blogs (online marketing)

Online dairy with periodic posts:

• Brand specific blog

• Company blog

Effective to comm tends, announce special events, form community, build long-term relations, connect customers, and create loyalty and positive word of mouth

Google search engine/algorithm rewards websites include a blog

Social media (online marketing)

Creating community w/ consumers and fostering consumer-to-consumer interactions

Greate for promoting brand via 2 way comms

Sharing content, promoting products

Digital display (banner) ads/ sponsored social ads (channels)

Banners on websites and popups

Social media adds when scrolling

Integrated marketing comms (barbie)

Mass awareness: out-of-home billboards and theatrical branding

Experiential marketing: pop-up environments, themed destinations, immersive spaces

Brand partnerships: food, fashion, beauty, gaming, and lifestyle collaboration

Retail & merchandising: branded apparel, accessories, collectibles

Digital & social: highly 'shareable’ visuals designed for insta/TikTok

Visual consistency: one dominant color system and instantly recognizable aesthetic

Lifestyle infiltration: Barbie as an environment, not just a movie

How do firms determine whether their IMC strat worked

Planning for and measuring IMC success:

Understand the outcome the firm hopes to acheive

Determine if objective is short or long-term

Objective should be explicitly defined, measurable, and timebound

SMART objective

Specific: state what youll do. Use action words

Measurable: provide a way to evaluate. Use metrics or data targets

Achievable: within your scope. Possible to accomplish, attainable

Relevant: makes sense within your job function. Improves the biz in some way

Time-bound: state when youll get it done. Be specific on date or time frame

Know what want to achieve, before you begin

Objective to create awareness for product, firm would measure increases in customer knowledge and awareness

If goal to generate sales, promote social media ads, then sales would be objective measure

Type of IMC channel has impact on what we measure

• TV and radio- measure viewership ratings, # households that watch program

• Internet ads- measure impressions, click through rates

• Search- click

• Social media- impressions, engagement (likes, follows, views)

• Video ads- views, time spent viewing

• Mobile apps- downloads, time spent in app

• Loyalty program- offers redeemed, points entered, frequency of use

Setting and allocating the IMC budget

Many IMC elements require significant expenditures, and firms are reluctant to invest in marketing comms without some guarantee of return

There are two primary methods of allocating IMC budgets:

1. Rule of Thumb Methods- use prior sales and comm activities to determine the present comm budget

2. Objective & Task Method- determines the budget required to undertake specific tasks to accomplish communication objective

Competitive parity (rule of thumb budgets)

Set budget to equal share of market

Problems: we can’t take advantage of unique opportunities. If all brands do this, all market shares will stay the same over time (I want to grow my market share, not stay the same)

Percentage of sales (rule of thumb budgets)

Set budget to fixed % of forecasted sales in upcoming month/quarter/year

Problems: assumes the % used in past was sufficient and is still appropriate. Doesn’t take into account new plans for upcoming quarter/year (If you want to launch of a new product, you may not have enough money to be successful)

Available budget (rule of thumb budgets)

Calculate your sales, expenses, desired profit margin. Whatever is left over becomes IMC budget

Problem: There’s no connection between expenses and sales/profits

Objective and task (budgets)

Determine budget required to accomplish smart objective

Based on facts and data from various agencies and media providers

Advantages: you’re making informed decisions based on SMART and various stakeholders
It considered real-time market dynamics, promotional periods, economic factors, consumer trends

Problems: while appears better than various rule of thumb methods, need to be aware it can be costly and time-consuming to get a real number

While $ figure you get is fact based, might not be able to afford it. Therefore, wasted time and agency fees to create budget can’t implement

Return on investment (marketing metrics)

ROI formula considers costs of creating, maintaining, and promoting a product. Includes cost of purchasing materials, salaries, budget for ad campaigns, etc.

ROI is important for assessing profitability of your business

Return on marketing investment (marketing metrics)

ROMI is used to understand how much is earned from every dollar invested in marketing. Marketing expenses include costs of advertising, promos, events, agency fees and other activities

ROMI is important for evaluating effectiveness overall strategy & promotion

*** Return on ad spend (marketing metrics)

ROAS is measure of return on investment a biz spends on advertising. Used to check how money has returned from investments in individual ad campaigns or channels

ROAS is a metric that shows the effectiveness of a particular advertisement ad campaign or media channel. ROAS is needed to make decisions on specific marketing actions

Traditional media metrics

TV, radio:

Reach (number of people, impressions, you expose to ad)

Frequency (num of times they see or hear your commercial

Gross rating points (GRP): when measuring IMC success, company should examine when and how often consumers have been exposed to various marketing comms
Formula: GRP= Reach*Freq (evaluate effectiveness of media)

Real world- GRP is outdated because measures the total population you’re reaching. For the past 20+ years, marketers have been using TRP (targeted rating points)

Advertising

Paid form of comms delivered through media from an identifiable source about an org, product, service, or idea designed to persuade the receiver

The most visible form of integrated marketing comm

Many actions take place, and opinions formed, before an ad is seen by target audience

Every one of us may encounter the same brand in a given day, but each method of exposure might be different for every person

Integration is important- ensures a cohesive message across all channels

Step 1: identify target audience (ad campaign)

Has to happen in this order

Conduct research to identify target audience

Info is used to set the tone and select the media

Success of an ad program depends on how well advertiser can identify target audience

Firms conduct research to identify target audience, then use info they gain to set tone for advertising program and help them select the media they will use to deliver the message to that audience

Step 2: Step advertising objectives

Objective of an ad campaign are derived from overall objectives of marketing program

Advertising plan must be specific to identified target audience and include the strategic objectives and tactics to be used

All ad campaings aim to achieve certain objectives- inform, persuade, remind

Informative advertising (objectives)

Used to create and build brand awareness

Push consumer through buying cycle to a purchase

Typically used at early stage of product life cycle (PLC) as want to build brand image and initial sales

Persuasive advertising (objectives)

When product has gained a certain level of brand awareness, firms used persuasive advertising to motivate consumers to take action

Consumer goods firms such as Stanley use persuasive advertising to convince consumers to take action- switch brands, try a new product, or continue to buy the product

Generally, occurs in the growth and early maturity stages of the product life cycle (PLC) when competition is most intense

May be used to reposition an established brand in later stage of PLC

Reminder advertising (objectives)

Is communication used to remind or prompt repurchases, especially for products that have gained market acceptance and are in the maturity stage of their life cycle

Communication used to remind, or prompt repurchases

Occurs after products have gained market acceptance and are in maturity stage

Push marketing

A marketing tactic to push your products and services to potential customers.

When you launch a new product, you use push marketing to stand out from a cluttered advertising environment

Examples:

• Direct marketing

• Digital marketing - banner ads, search

• Billboards in high traffic locations

• TV advertising

Pull marketing

Marketing tactic to entice consumers to come looking for your product or service. Used for long term relationship building and loyalty programs to keep consumers coming back to your brand/company

Examples:

• blogs to inform about your business

• SEO to showcase your web content

• How-to video series

• Social media & influencer

Product focused (focus of advertisements)

Most ads are product focused

Inform, persuade or remind about particular product or service

Institutional focused (focus of advertisements)

Inform, persuade or remind about issues related to places, politics, industry, etc.

Public Service Adverting (PSA) focused (focus of advertisements)

Under Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rules, broadcasters must devote a specific amount of free airtime to PSA

Used to raise awareness of public welfare issues

Step 3: determine the ad budget

Setting the promotional budget is not easy, and advertising often is largest single expenditure in promotional budget

Thus, firms must carefully weigh benefits of advertising vs other comms when deciding how much to allocate

Ad budget considerations

Rule that advertising plays in attempt to meet overall promotional objectives

Expenditures vary over course of Product Life Cycle

Nature of market and product influence size of budget

Step 4: convey the message

The USP (unique selling proposition) concept conveys key benefits to target audience. A good USP communicates the unique attributes of the product and thereby becomes a snapshot of entire campaign

• Red bull→ Gives you wiiiiiings!

• Nike→ Just Do It

• Ford→ Build Ford Tough

• They all uniquely identify a brand

Unconventional advertising (convey message)

Guerrilla marketing is an ad strategy concept designed for businesses to promote their products or services in an unconventional way with little budget to spend

Make your message compelling/memorable (convey message)

Appeals depend on target audience, chosen media, and type of product/service

Each appeal persuades in different ways. Whereas informational appeals are more cognitive and persuade using rational thought, emotional appeals persuade by triggering an emotional response rather than offering rational arguments

Informational appeal: helps consumers make purchase decisions by offering factual info

Emotional appeal: aims to satisfy consumers’ emotional desires rather than their utilitarian needs. Create a bond between consumer and brand with emotion. Customers with emotional relation will recommend co. at 71% rate. Relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Step 5: evaluate and select media

Ability of any one media outlet to reach a mass audience is declining due to fragmentation of media and proliferation of new media outlets

This trend represents a double-edged sword, because fragmenting media has also allowed for very fine targeting in media buys

**entire media landscape is fragmented (i.e. No shortage of ways to see particular show)

Job title: media planner

Key concepts:

1. Select the media (media planning)

2. Combination of media used (media matrix)

3. Mass media (large audience) vs.

4. Niche media (more targeted)

Mass media: ideal for reaching large, anonymous audiences. include outdoor/billboards, newspapers, magazines, radio, and television

Niche media: more focused, reach narrower segments, target unique demographics or interests, HGTV, Transworld skatebording, Popstar

1st responsibility of media planner

Determine how firm would use both mass and niche media in same campaign

Often firms will use mass media to reach broad audience with a product message and then choose specific niche media to customize that same message for various audiences.

They build out plans that match the media types (mass and niche) to the target audience

• Plan would be different if wanted to reach Teen 13-17 vs Women 35-54 vs Men 18-24

Types of media and advertising

2nd responsibility of media planner

determining the Advertising Schedule-

Three types of schedules:

1. Continuous runs steadily throughout the year

2. Flighting is implemented in spurts

3. Pusling combines continuous and fighting with base schedule with increased intensity during certain periods

Ad scheduling

Every advertising campaign has a set duration, and during that period, marketers must determine how often and when to show the ads

Ad campaign duration - Summer 2024 (Memorial Day until Labor Day)

Step 6: create advertisements

Create ads:

Types of medium determines execution style

Creativity plays major role in this stage

Creativity should not overshadow message

Execution style must match medium and objectives

Creating ads

Ads attempt to make max use of medium’s ability to deliver the message

Think about the benefits and limitations of various media

For example, television enables advertisers to combine imagery, movement, and music, whereas radio must rely solely on sound to deliver message

Step 7: assess impact using marketing metrics

Did achieve SMART objectives?

The effectiveness of an ad campaign must be assessed before, during, and after campaign has run

Firms can use Pre-testing, Tracking, and Post-testing

Marketers can also assess impact without detailed dashboards, GRPs/TRPs, impressions, etc.

Experitmental testing:

• Conducted in a controlled environment (lab setting)- brain scan to detect emotional response to visual ad, eye tracking, etc.

• Conducted in field test- using observation to guage reactions to watching ad (think Super Bowl commercial and live reactions)

Survey testing→ learning consumers’ view through a survey method

Regulatory and ethical issues in advertising

Advertising regulation exists on federal, state, and local levels and host of self-regulatory agencies oversee various forms of advertising

Marketers in US-based corporations need to be aware of US laws (Fed, State, and Local) as well as international laws where they also do business

• Ads that ‘pass’ US regulations may not be permissible in other markets

• EU laws are stricter the US

• Ads from other countries may violate US laws

• Products that exist in other countries may not be permissible in US

Federal trade commission

Primary US gov agency to enforce federal consumer protection laws

Enforces truth in ad laws; defines deceptive and unfair ad practices

The FTC often apply more specialized rules for certain industries such as financial and healthcare, because there is more risk to consumers

The FTC also has special rules for social media endorsements. The FTC revised Endorsement Guides in June 2023 to keep them up-to-date with the ways advertisers now reach consumers to promote products and services, including through social media and review

Definition of truth in advertising

Truth in advertising is the FTC-enforced concept of being truthful and accurate about products and services offered

The FTC can issue fines or penalties to businesses that fail to follow truth in advertising standards

Deceptive advertising

Deceptive or false advertising can lead consumers to purchase products that are counterfeit, defective, or even dangerous

Juul E-Cigarettes, for example, are being marketed as safe alternative to cigarettes despite containing more nicotine on average

Federal communications commisions (FCC)

Regulates interstate and international comms by radio, television, satellite, and cable

• The FCC does not regulate online content

• The FCC does impose certain restraints an obligations on broadcasters and cable networks (not premium cable i.e. HBO, MAX, SHOW)

Enforces restrictions on broadcasting material that promotes lotteries (with some exceptions); promotes cigarettes, little cigars, or smokeless tobacco products; or that perpetuates a fraud.

Also enforce laws that prohibit or limit obscene, indecent, or profane language. CONSUMERS CAN WRITE TO FCC AND COMPLAIN

Food and Drug Admin

Regulates food, dietary supplements, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices (including radiation-emitting devices such as cell phones), biologics (biological issues), and blood products

Regulates package labeling and inserts, definition of terms such as light and organic, and required disclosure statements (warning labels, dosage requirements, etc.)

All product claim ads, regardless of the media in which they appear, must include certain key components within main part of the ad:

• The name of the drug (brand and generic)

• At least one FDA- approved use for the drug

• The most significant risks of the drug

FDA print vs TV guidelines

Print- product claim ads also must include ‘brief summary’ about the drug that generally includes all risks listed in its approved prescribing information

• Under the Food and Drug Admin Amendments Act of 2007, print ads need to include following statements: ‘You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to FDA. Visit MedWatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088’

Broadcast- product claim ads (TV, radio, telephone) must include the following:

• The drug’s most important risks (‘major statement’) presented in the audio (that is, spoken) AND

• Either all the risks listed in the drug’s prescribing info or variety of sources for views to find the prescribing info for the drug

The US Postal Service

USPS delivers mail and packages

Regulates advertising that uses the mail and that involves fraud, obscenity, or lotteries

EDDM- Every Door Direct Mail service

Special rates for non-profit organization advertising mailed

Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives

Regulates manufacturing and sales of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives

Regulates the advertising for alcohol, including warning labels, and determines what constitutes false or misleading advertising

The ATF shares jurisdiction the the FTC over alcohol rules and enforcement.

Currently, the standard is that alcohol advertisements can only be placed in TV media where 71.6% of the audience is over the legal drinking age

Responsible drinking messages are not required under federal law. Alcohol industry’s voluntary guidelines for marketing and promotion do not provide a definition of responsible drinking

Legal term: puffery

Legal exaggeration of praise, stopping just short of deception, lavished on a product.

The line between what is legal and illegal is more difficult to discern when it comes to puffery.

Ex: Match.com claims that it leads to ‘better first dates’, puffery because better is subjective

Line between puffery and deception is a fine one. Obvious exaggerations are not problem; it is more subtle issues that create problem

The line is currently drawn by FTC which determines how many individuals hold false belief as result of ad. It is very gray in advertising law

When creating puffery ad, essential that claims stay subjective

Subjective statement is something that is based on opinion, while an objective statement is based on fact

Claiming to have most delicious soft drink is an example of a subjective statement, since every customer will have a different opinion of what ‘delicious’ means

Claiming that knife is so sharp it can cut through stone would be false advertising if it can be shown that knife is not actually sharp

Public relations

Public relations involve managing comms and relationships to achieve various objectives such as:

• Building and maintaining a positive image of the firm

• Handling unfavorable stories or events

• Maintaining positive relations with media

In many cases, public relations activities support other promotional efforts by generating free media attention and general goodwill

• It is critical comp of any marketing campaign because maintaining a positive rep in the market essential to success

• Designed to build trust, credibility and goodwill between biz and public

PR goals

• Build and maintain a positive company image

• Raise the co.’s rep with the public

• Maintain good relations

• Generate goodwill with public

• Enhance a co.’s online and offline presence

• Manage a co.’s rep during a crisis

ADs vs PR

PR disciplines

• Media relations

• Community relations

• Corp social responsibility

• Crisis management

• Social media management

• Content development and management

• Investor relations

Various tactics in PR toolkit

Firms often distribute PR toolkits to communicate with various audiences. Some toolkit elements are designed to inform specific groups directly, whereas others are created to generate media attention and disseminate info

Various elements of PR toolkit could include:

• Press releases

• Media kits

• Media inquiry responses

• Newsjacking (most famous example)

• Journalists and bloggers

• Community event sponsorships

• New conferences

‘News-Worth’ PR topics

• Mergers/Acquisitions

• Hosting/Attending an event

• Opening a new office

• Launching a new product

• Hiring a new executive

• Awards received

• Rebranding

Effective press release

• Use a catchy headline

• Convey the value of the press release

• Include a quote

• Provide a background info on topic

• Include co. overview info

Just because you meet all criteria of a ‘news-worthy’ press release it doesn’t mean your story will get picked up by publisher. Odds are 1:100

• having a relationship on the inside is key, but no guarantee

PR and consumer trust (vs ads)

In recent years, importance of PR has grown as the costs of other forms of marketing comms have increased

At the same time, influence of PR has become more powerful as consumers have become increasingly skeptical of marketing claims made in other media

In many instances, consumers view media coverage generated through PR as more credible and objective than any other aspects of IMC program because firm not buy space in print media or time on radio or tv

Who manages social media

Depending on the co., social media management is handled by either the marketing team or PR team

PR team is all about relationship builing, trust building, managing questions/crisis

Marketing team is about outward (push) comms with secondary goal of long-term relations and short-term engagements (likes, follows)

From outside view, there’s no wrong answer in terms of who should ‘own’ social

• Inside view- bother sides are very opinionated on why should be them

Crisis management

It is process of preparing an org for a major event that threatens the org, its rep, stakeholders, or general public

Public relations professionals play a vital part in crisis comms

During a crisis, main goal of PR dept would be to inform all interested parties about current situations, potential risks, and planned actions. A well-prepared crisis plan should contain the first type of message that will be sent out to the world

This generic message should restore trust in org and give some time to investigate issue at hand

Crisis management key points to remember

Be proactive and build a crisis plan before something goes wrong

React to crisis quickly

• Know who from PR/mgmt is in charge of internal and external comms

• Pull in customer service and social media teams as they are front line for questions/concerns

Be open with comm; close down all comms and going silent in midst of crisis is biz suicide

Be honest; honest builds trust

• Stick to facts and don’t speculate. Don’t overpromise

• Own mistakes

Investor relations

Investor relations (or IR) is a specific sub-discipline of public relations

Investor relations teams focus on how a company communicates with investors, shareholders, government authorities and the financial community

PR deals with co to public (external) coms

IR deals with interal relations