Chapter 5 - MARKETING AND INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

communicate

The function of all elements of the integrated marketing communications program is to____

Organization’s IMC strategy

is implemented through the various communications it sends to current or prospective customers as well as other relevant public.

Organizations

send communications and messages in a variety of ways, such as through advertisements, brand names, logos and graphic systems, websites, press releases, package designs, promotions, and visual images.

Communication

• defined as the passing of information, the exchange of ideas, or the process of establishing a commonness or oneness of thought between a sender and a receiver.

• It is a process by which people send messages or exchange ideas or thoughts with one another in a verbal or non-verbal manner.

complex process

Communication is a ___

the sender and the receiver.

Two elements represent the major participants in the communication process,

message and channel

Another two are the major communication tools,

encoding, decoding, response, and feedback

Four others are the major communication functions and processes:

noise

The last element, ____, refers to any extraneous factors in the system that can interfere with the process and work against effective communication.

Source (or sender)

• a communication is the person or organization that has information to share with another person or group of people.

• an individual (say, a salesperson or hired spokesperson, such as a celebrity, who appears in a company’s advertisements) or a non personal entity (such as the corporation or organization itself).

encoding

The communication process begins when the source selects words, symbols, pictures, and the like to represent the message that will be delivered to the receiver(s). This process, known as __

Message

• contains the information or meaning the source hopes to convey. The message may be verbal or nonverbal, oral or written, or symbolic.

• must be put into a transmittable form that is appropriate for the channel of communication being used.

channel of communication

refers to the method through which messages travel from the sender to the receiver. ____ are broadly categorized as both non-personal and personal.

Nonpersonal channels

reach multiple individuals simultaneously without direct interpersonal contact, such as mass media like TV commercials and print ads.

Personal channels

involve direct communication between two or more individuals, including face-to-face interactions, email, or social media. Personal channels allow for tailored messages and direct feedback.

Word-of-mouth marketing

plays a significant role in influencing consumer behavior. It involves consumers sharing their experiences and opinions about products, services, and brands with others. Marketers employ various techniques, such as buzz marketing, to encourage positive word-of-mouth.

Buzz marketing

involves systematic efforts to generate favorable conversations about a brand or product, often leveraging social media and user-generated content.

Viral marketing

involves spreading marketing-relevant messages through individual consumers' cooperation, typically leveraging online communities and social media platforms. Success in viral marketing depends on factors such as message characteristics, individual sender/receiver traits, and social network dynamics.

Viral campaigns

aim to create engaging, entertaining, or informative content that encourages sharing among consumers.

receiver

the individual or individuals who receive and interpret the message from the sender.

Decoding

the process of transforming the sender's message into thought, heavily influenced by the receiver's frame of reference or field of experience.

• Effective communication occurs when the decoding process matches the encoding of the sender, ensuring the receiver correctly interprets the message.

Noise

refers to unplanned distortion or interference in the communication process. Examples include errors in message encoding, signal distortion in media transmission, and distractions at the point of reception.

• may also occur because the fields of experience of the sender and receiver don’t overlap.

Response

the receiver's reaction to the message, ranging from storing information to taking immediate action.

Feedback

the part of the response communicated back to the sender, allowing them to monitor message reception. Can be obtained through various means, such as customer inquiries, store visits, and coupon redemptions

• WHO the target audience is

• WHAT it knows or feels about the company’s product or service

• HOW to communicate with the audience

To communicate effectively with their customers, marketers must understand:

how audiences are identified and the process they undergo

This aspect delves into ______in responding to promotional messages, laying the groundwork for assessing controllable communication variables.

Identifying the Target Audience

• The marketing communication process really begins with identifying the audience that will be the focus of the firm’s advertising and promotional efforts. The target audience may consist of individuals, groups, niche markets, market segments, or a general public or mass audience.

• This entails determining specific demographics, psychographic, and behavioral attributes characterizing the intended recipients of marketing communications, which may range from individuals to market segments or the general public.

Individuals with Specific Needs

Certain products or services necessitate tailored communication tailored to individual requirements, often involving person-to-person interactions such as personal selling. Examples include life insurance, financial services, and real estate, which are promoted through this personalized approach.

Personal selling

involves direct communication between sales representatives and individual customers.

Advertising

utilizes mass media channels to reach a broader audience and raise awareness of products or services.

Direct marketing

engages with targeted audience segments through personalized communication channels

Communicating with Purchasing Groups

Marketers often engage with groups of individuals who influence purchasing decisions, such as buying centers or committees within organizations. Understanding their composition and decision-making process is vital for effective marketing.

Targeting Market Niches and Segments

Marketers identify customers with similar needs and preferences, forming market niches or segments, which can be reached through personalized selling efforts or highly targeted media. As market segments expand, broader-based media like newspapers, magazines, and TV are utilized.

Challenges of Mass Communication

Mass communication, such as advertising, targets large numbers of present or potential customers but lacks two-way interaction for clarification. It's imperative for marketers to gauge how the target audience will react to the message and its implications for promotional planning and strategy.

The Response Process

• How the promotional efforts of the marketer influence consumer responses.

• A vital aspect of developing successful integrated marketing communication (IMC) programs is understanding how recipients respond to specific behaviors, like purchasing a product, and how marketers' promotional efforts influence these responses.

marketers aim solely to raise awareness of the company or brand

which can lead to interest in the product. In other instances, marketers may want to provide detailed information to change consumers' knowledge and attitudes towards the company/brand, ultimately influencing their behavior

AIDA MODEL(Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action)

It was developed to represent the stages a salesperson must take a customer through in the personal-selling process. This model depicts the buyer as passing successively through attention, interest, desire, and action. This is one of the oldest and most widely recognized models in marketing communication. It outlines a linear progression of stages that consumers go through when exposed to marketing messages, starting with grabbing their attention, generating interest, cultivating desire, and finally prompting action, such as making a purchase.

HIERARCHY OF EFFECTS MODEL

• It shows the process by which advertising works; it assumes a consumer passes through a series of steps in sequential order from initial awareness of a product or service to actual purchase. This model suggests that consumers move through a series of sequential stages in response to marketing stimuli. These stages typically include awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, and finally, the purchase or action stage.

• Unlike the AIDA model, which primarily focuses on the cognitive process, the hierarchy of effects model incorporates both cognitive and affective elements in consumer decision-making.

INNOVATION ADOPTION MODEL

• It evolved from work on the diffusion of innovations. This model represents the stages a consumer passes through in adopting a new product or service. Like the other models, it says potential adopters must be moved through a series of steps before taking some action (in this case, deciding to adopt a new product).

• This model focuses on the process through which new products or innovations are adopted by consumers over time. It categorizes consumers into different groups based on their willingness to adopt new products: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.

INNOVATION ADOPTION MODEL

The model emphasizes the importance of factors such as communication channels, social influence, and perceived characteristics of the innovation in driving adoption behavior. These models provide valuable frameworks for marketers to understand and predict how consumers respond to marketing communications and adopt new products or innovations.

FINAL HIERARCHICAL MODEL

It is the information processing model of advertising effects, developed by William McGuire. This model assumes the receiver in a persuasive communication situation like advertising is an information processor or problem solver.

1.They outline the series of steps that potential purchasers must undergo to transition from being unaware of a product or service to being ready to purchase it.

2. Potential buyers may find themselves at different stages within the hierarchy, presenting the advertiser with different sets of communication challenges.

Implications of the Traditional Hierarchy Models

Alternative Response Hierarchies

Michael Ray has introduced a model of information processing that outlines three different orderings of the three stages based on perceived product differentiation and product involvement.

These alternative response hierarchies include:

● Standard Learning Model

● Dissonance/Attribution Model

● Low-Involvement Model

The Standard Learning Hierarchy

• In many purchase situations, consumers typically follow the traditional communication model known as the standard learning model, proposed by Michael Ray.

• This model involves a sequence of learn → feel → do, where consumers gather information, develop feelings, and then take action, such as making a purchase. It's commonly observed in high-involvement purchases with significant brand differentiation, like industrial products or consumer durables such as personal computers and automobiles.

• Advertisements in these categories often provide detailed information to aid consumers in decision-making. For example, an ad for the Honda Pilot SUV might emphasize its adaptable Intelligent Traction Management system, appealing to both cognitive and affective aspects of the standard learning hierarchy.

The Dissonance/Attribution Hierarchy

Ray's second response hierarchy, the dissonance/attribution model (do → feel → learn), suggests that consumers first behave, then develop attitudes, and finally process information. This occurs when choosing between similar quality options with hidden attributes. Consumers may initially buy a product based on recommendations and later form positive attitudes to reduce post-purchase dissonance.

The Dissonance/Attribution Hierarchy

• In this model, marketers should acknowledge that attitudes can develop after purchase, influenced by mass media. Media mainly reinforce post-purchase decisions rather than affecting initial choices.

• For instance, an ad for Haiku fans reinforces past purchases while promoting brand quality to potential buyers. This response hierarchy is common in purchase scenarios where consumers are involved, especially after the purchase. Marketers may resist this perspective, challenging the notion of mass media's impact on initial decisions. However, the model emphasizes the media's role in post-purchase reinforcement. Marketing efforts should not only encourage brand selection but also strengthen choices for continued purchasing patterns.

The Low-Involvement Hierarchy

• The most captivating among Ray's suggested response hierarchies is the low- involvement hierarchy, which depicts the transition from cognition to behavior to attitude change in a learn → do → feel sequence.

• This model is observed in scenarios where consumer engagement in the purchase process is minimal. Ray indicates that this hierarchy is prevalent when purchase decision involvement is low, brand alternatives show little differentiation, and mass media advertising, especially through broadcast channels, holds significance.

low-involvement hierarchy

consumers tend to passively acquire information rather than actively seeking it out. Advertisers need to understand that passive and uninterested consumers may pay more attention to non-message elements such as music, characters, symbols, and slogans or jingles than to the actual content of the message.

Implications of the Alternative Response Models

• Advertising and consumer research acknowledge that traditional and alternative response hierarchies do not fully explain all consumer behaviors.

• Consumers utilize various sources of information, including advertising, to form attitudes and make purchase decisions.

• Studies suggest that advertising can mitigate negative trial experiences when processed before the trial but can have adverse effects if experienced afterward. Recent research indicates that advertising influences consumers' sensory interpretation of brand experiences and their recall.

Implications of the Alternative Response Models

These response models offer insights into consumer behavior and guide promotional strategies. They challenge the notion of highly involved consumers and suggest that attitude development may occur post-purchase. Marketers must assess the communication situation and determine the likely response process, considering factors like involvement levels and product differentiation. Planning models that consider these factors aid marketers in developing effective integrated marketing communications strategies tailored to the specific product and consumer decision process.

The Social Consumer Decision Journey

• The environment of consumer response to advertising and integrated marketing communications (IMC) has transformed with the pervasive influence of digital content and social media.

• Consumers are now empowered with easy access to information and the ability to share experiences and opinions about brands and products.

• Studies, such as one conducted by the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), emphasize that consumers are constantly evaluating potential purchases, shifting between passive and active shopping modes.

• Traditional linear models of consumer behavior are challenged by research, suggesting a more iterative decision-making process.

• McKinsey & Company's Global Digital Marketing Strategy group introduced a "consumer decision journey" framework, highlighting the nonlinear nature of consumer paths to purchase.

consumer consider purchase

views your brand on retailer site and is impressed by enthusiastic user reviews

consumer evaluates brand

watches youtube video posted by enthusiastic owner showing the product innovative users

consumer buys product

photographs the product in store, post it for others to comment on, and receives personal message with coupon from the brand

consumer interacts with brand after purchase

follows your expert on Twitter to receive product updates; retweets to friends

consumer advocate for brand

comments on your representative’s helpful advice in a user forum, then likes your facebook page

consumer bonds

tips friends on foursquare after revisiting your store to purchase again

The Social Consumer Decision Journey

● The framework identifies four stages: consider, evaluate, buy, and enjoy-advocate-bond, emphasizing the dynamic interactions consumers have with brands.

● An expanded framework incorporates social media, recognizing its pivotal role in consumer decision-making

● Social media enables consumers to engage with brands across various touchpoints, influencing perceptions and purchase decisions.

● Marketers must adapt IMC strategies to target specific stages of the consumer decision journey, utilizing both paid media and owned/earned media channels.

● Providing platforms for consumers to share experiences and engage in post-purchase discussions fosters brand loyalty and affinity.

● While digital media dominates marketing budgets, the significance of offline advertising and brand perceptions remains throughout the consumer journey.

● Marketers must maintain brand visibility and relevance across both digital and traditional channels to effectively navigate the evolving consumer landscape.

Attention:

Consumers’ first encounter with an advertisement begins with their attention.

Perception

Once the consumer’s attention is captured, they begin to perceive the message. This includes recognizing the product or brand being advertised, as well as the emotions, benefits, or value propositions being communicated.

Language

When a consumer reads or hears an advertisement, their cognitive processes engage in decoding the message. Consumers interpret the words, visuals, and tone based on their existing knowledge, context, and prior experiences.

Reasoning

Consumers engage in reasoning to interpret the advertisement's message.

Emotional Appeal

Advertisements can evoke feelings of happiness, nostalgia, fear, or excitement, impacting purchase decisions.

Psychological Impact

Ads can shape consumers' attitudes towards a brand or product, creating a lasting impression

Short-Term Memory

Information is temporarily stored in short-term memory, capturing consumer's attention for later recall.

Long-Term Memory

Successful advertisements embed the brand or product into the consumer’s long-term memory, making it more likely to be remembered.

Repeated exposure

increases the chance of recalling the product.

Evaluating Options

Consumers evaluate the product against their needs, preferences, and available alternatives.

Cognitive Dissonance

Consumers may experience cognitive dissonance when encountering conflicting information about a product.

Motivation to Buy

Advertising is most effective when it triggers a consumer’s motivation to take action.

Call to Action (CTA)

Direct request for immediate action, helping to convert attention into actual purchase behavior.

Conversion

The final step in the buying process, where the consumer makes a purchase.

Memory

Consumers assess whether their expectations were met based on their experience with the product.

Post-purchase dissonance

Consumers may experience post-purchase dissonance if they feel uncertain or dissatisfied with their decision.

Cognitive Response Approach

One of the most widely used methods for examining consumers’ cognitive processing of advertising messages is the assessment of their cognitive responses, the thoughts that occur to them while reading, viewing, and/or hearing a communication.

The Communication Process

• Aimed at CPG marketers that allows them to upload their customer relationship management (CRM) databases and better target messages to their consumers on the social media site.

• CPG markets are also recognizing the value of using digital and social media to build brand advocacy and as valuable tools for reaching consumers when they are at the consideration stage of the purchase process, rather than just as a way of building brand awareness.

Counter Arguments

are thoughts the recipient has that are opposed to the position taken in the message.

Source-Oriented Thoughts

A second category of cognitive responses is directed at the source of the communication. One of the most important types of responses in this category is source derogation, or negative thoughts about the spokesperson or organization making the claims.

Ad execution

Consumers' thoughts about advertisements can be favorable or unfavorable, impacting their attitudes toward both the ad and the brand. Advertisers are particularly interested in consumers' affective reactions to ads, as these reactions can influence advertising effectiveness and purchase intentions. Studies show that people who enjoy a commercial are more likely to perceive the brand positively.

Attitude Toward the Ad (A→ad)

Represents consumers' feelings of favorability or unfavorability toward the ad itself. Consumers' feelings about the ad may be as important as their attitudes toward the brand in determining an ad's effectiveness.

elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion

developed by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo, explains how persuasive messages influence attitudes by considering differences in consumers' processing and response

ELM (elaboration likelihood model)

attitude change depends on the extent and nature of elaboration, or processing, of relevant information in response to a message. High elaboration occurs when receivers carefully consider and evaluate message content, while low elaboration involves making inferences based on simple cues.

Elaboration likelihood

• determined by motivation and ability to process the message, influenced by factors like involvement, personal relevance, knowledge, and opportunity.

• The ELM identifies two routes to persuasion: the central route and the peripheral route.

• Under the central route, receivers actively engage with the message content, scrutinizing arguments and evaluating their quality. Favorable cognitive responses lead to positive attitude change, while unfavorable responses result in negative change. Attitude change through central processing is relatively enduring and resistant to subsequent efforts to change it.

Central route to persuasion

The receiver is viewed as a very active, involved participant in the communication process whose ability and motivation to attend, comprehend, and evaluate messages are high.

Peripheral route to persuasion

The receiver is viewed as lacking the motivation or ability to process information and is not likely to engage in detailed cognitive processing.

Advertising Effects

Vakratsas and Ambler reviewed numerous studies on advertising effects and concluded that traditional hierarchies of effects, which suggest a linear sequence from awareness to purchase, lack empirical support. Instead, they propose three critical intermediate effects:

cognition (thinking),

affect (feeling), and

experience (feedback based on purchasing and usage outcomes).

• These dimensions are influenced by factors such as motivation and information processing ability, which can vary across individuals and situations.

Criticism of Hierarchy Models

Critics, like Hall, argue against hierarchical models and advocate for models that prioritize affect and experience in the advertising process. They suggest thatadvertisers should focus on understanding how advertising impacts cognition, affect, and experience without assuming a specific sequence of responses.

Value of Hierarchy Models

Despite criticisms, some, like Thomas Barry, argue that hierarchical models still hold value in predicting behavior and guiding advertising strategies. They provide frameworks for planning, training, and conceptualizing advertising efforts.

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

William Weilbacher highlights that marketing communications encompass more than just advertising, including public relations, sales promotion, social media, and other activities. Hierarchy models need to evolve to consider how consumers synthesize information from various IMC activities.

Understanding Communication Process

The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding the communication process as a foundation for studying and evaluating integrated marketing communications. This understanding aids in making informed decisions in planning, implementing, and evaluating marketing communication programs.