Key Concepts in Marketing Communication and Pricing Strategies

Promotion

Communication that informs, persuades, and reminds to influence a response.

Competitive Advantage

Unique features perceived as superior by the target market.

Interpersonal Communication

Direct person-to-person communication.

Mass Communication

Large audience via media.

Noise in Marketing Communication

Anything that distorts or slows communication.

Goals for Promotion

Inform, persuade, remind, and connect.

Promotional Mix Elements

Advertising, Public Relations, Sales Promotion, Personal Selling, Social Media.

Paid Media

Bought ads.

Earned Media

Publicity like word of mouth.

Owned Media

Company-controlled media.

AIDA

Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

Product Life Cycle (PLC)

Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline stages of a product.

Push Strategy

Promoting to wholesalers/retailers to 'push' product to consumers.

Pull Strategy

Creating consumer demand to 'pull' products through the channel.

Measured Media

Traditional ads (TV).

Unmeasured Media

Coupons, social media.

Advertising Response Function

Knowing when ad spending stops being effective.

Types of Advertising

Institutional, Advocacy, Product (Pioneering, Competitive, Comparative).

Media Mix Factors

CPM, CPC, Reach, Frequency, Noise level, Flexibility, Lifespan.

Media Scheduling Types

Continuous, Flighted, Pulsing, Seasonal.

Public Relations Tools

New-product publicity, Product placement, Sponsorship.

Trade Sales Promotion

For retailers (e.g., trade allowance).

Consumer Sales Promotion

For customers (e.g., coupons).

Loyalty Marketing Program

Rewards repeat customers (Frequent-buyer program).

Price

Charge for product.

Revenue

Total sales.

Profit

Revenue - Costs.

Pricing Objectives

Profit maximization, Satisfactory profits, ROI, Market share, Sales maximization, Status-quo.

Elastic Demand

Demand sensitive to price.

Inelastic Demand

Demand not sensitive to price.

Dynamic Pricing

Price adjusts with market.

Surge Pricing

Price spikes during high demand.

Variable Cost

Changes with production.

Fixed Cost

Stays the same.

Markup

% added to cost.

Keystoning

Doubling cost.

Breakeven

When total revenue equals total costs.

Pricing Strategies

Skimming (high price), Penetration (low price), Status-quo (match competitors).

Quantity Discounts

Cumulative = Over time; Noncumulative = One-time.

Cash Discount

Discount for early payment.

Functional Discount

Discount for performing channel services.

Seasonal Discount

Discount for out-of-season purchases.

Rebate

Refund after purchase.

Zero Percent Financing

No-interest financing to encourage purchase.

Single Price Tactic

Everything costs the same price.

Leader Pricing

Pricing products low to attract customers.

Odd-Even Pricing

Pricing ending in odd numbers to seem cheaper.

Price Bundling

Selling multiple items for one price.

Two-Part Pricing

Fixed fee plus usage fee.

Geographic Pricing Types

FOB pricing, Uniform delivered pricing, Zone pricing, Freight absorption pricing, Basing point pricing.

Illegal Pricing Practices

Price fixing, Price discrimination, Predatory pricing.