Marketing Communications Notes

Introduction to Marketing Communications

  • Marketing communications aim to effectively convey messages to target audiences.
  • Understanding marketing concepts forms the basis for successful outreach.

Promotion and Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

  • Two approaches:
    • Outbound Marketing: Broadcasts messages broadly using various means:
    • Advertising (TV, radio, print, OOH)
    • Direct mail, e-mail, telemarketing
    • Public relations and personal selling.
    • Inbound Marketing: Consumers discover products through online techniques:
    • Search engine optimization (SEO)
    • Pay-per-click ads
    • Social media and microsites.

Components of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

  • IMC includes:
    • Social media marketing
    • Advertising
    • Mobile marketing
    • Personal selling
    • Public relations
    • Event marketing and sponsorship
    • Sales promotions
    • Direct response marketing.

Types of Marketing Strategies

  • Paid Media: Promotional channels paid for by the sponsor (e.g., traditional & digital media).
  • Owned Media: Channels owned/controlled by the company (e.g., websites, social media pages).
  • Earned Media: PR channels not directly paid for that gain traction due to interest (e.g., news articles, blogs).
  • Shared Media: Media shared by consumers with others (e.g., social media posts, word of mouth).

Steps in the Marketing Communications Process

  • Key factors include:
    • Promotional mix
    • Reach and frequency
    • Touch points
    • Competitor analysis
    • Budget considerations
    • Objectives and tasks.

Outbound IMC Promotion Mix

  • Tools include:
    • Advertising
    • Sales promotion
    • Public relations
    • Personal selling
    • Direct marketing.

Advertising

  • Definition: Any paid form of media for mass communication, including:
    • TV, radio, print, online/digital, and out-of-home media (e.g., billboards).

Advantages of Advertising

  • Broad reach at low cost per exposure.
  • Repeated message reinforces awareness.
  • Builds consumer trust and legitimacy.

Disadvantages of Advertising

  • Impersonal communication, one-way.
  • High costs for certain media types.

Advertising Objectives

  • Typical objectives include:
    • To inform, persuade, and remind consumers.
    • To increase demand and differentiate products.
    • To build a positive corporate image.
    • SMART objectives must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.

Advertising Budget

  • Budget strategies include:
    • Affordable, percent of sales, competitive, or objective & task-based.

Advertising Strategy

  • Focus on:
    • Message strategy: Attention, interest, desire, action (AIDA).
    • Message characteristics: Meaningful, believable, distinctive.

Appeals in Advertising

  • Rational: Functional benefits.
  • Emotional: Evoke positive or negative feelings.
  • Moral: Based on ethical considerations.

Types of Advertising Strategies

  • Animation, comparison, demonstration, dramatization, humor, mood/image, personality symbol, scientific evidence, testimonial, slice of life.

Media in Advertising

  • Media types include:
    • Newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, online, guerilla marketing, social media, direct mail.

Key Metrics in Advertising

  • Reach: Percentage of target audience exposed to the campaign.
  • Frequency: Average number of times a consumer sees the campaign.
  • Impact: Qualitative value of the campaign.

Advertising Evaluation

  • Techniques include:
    • Copy testing (pre-test vs. post-test).
    • Direct sales results.
    • Consumer/market research.

Public Relations (PR)

  • Advantages:
    • Enhances credibility and believability.
    • Engages audiences resistant to advertising.
    • Cost-effective if proactive.

Personal Selling

  • Pros: Personal two-way communication, builds relationships.
  • Cons: Long-term commitment, high cost of sales force.

Sales Promotion

  • Pros: Wide range of tools, captures consumer attention, encourages quick responses.
  • Cons: Short-lived impact.

Direct Marketing

  • Pros: Tailored messages, interactive, builds direct relationships.
  • Cons: May be perceived as spam.

Integrated Marketing Campaigns

  • Rely on multiple channels to convey the same message through diverse formats.
  • Increases familiarity and recall with the audience.

Case Study: Sick Kids Campaign

  • Capital campaign necessitating a shift in narrative.
  • Used consistent messaging across various media, including social, video, and traditional media.
  • Leveraged celebrity endorsements and community partnerships to enhance engagement.