Search for Communication Revolution

Chapter 1 The Nature of Communication Advertising and marketing venues range from simple standalone billboard advertisements to complex, multilingual global websites, and social media posts, alternative methods expand. Connectivity and interaction with consumers through methods such as mobile marketing have changed much of marketing communications to real-time conversations as consumers make purchasing decisions. advertisers and companies have moved to innovative new approaches to reach ongoing and potential new customers. Communication involves transmitting, receiving, and processing information. As a person, group, or organization sends an idea or message, communication occurs when the receiver comprehends the infomation. Advertising and marketing messaging programs rely on effective communication. A commercial consists of cues placed in various media, such as the internet, television, magazines, and billboards. The message will be encoded on every venue. Messages travel to audiences through transmission devices. Marketing communications move through various channels or media. The channel may be a television station carrying an advertisement, a Twitter post, a magazine or a website. Decoding occurs when the message reaches one or more of the receiver’s senses. Consumers both hear and see television ads. Other consumers handle (touch) and read (see) a coupon offer. An individual can even smell a message. Quality marketing communication takes place when customers (the receivers) decode or understand the message as it was intended by the sender. In the bare advertisement on this page, effective marketing communications depend on receivers encountering the right message and responding in the desired fashion, such as by seeking out the company and purchasing its products. Many view communication in a manner that more closely resembles a “dance” between a sender and receiver, each transmitting and receiving verbal and nonverbal cues interactively. Both partners (companies and customers) deal with the challenge of noise and clutter as the interaction progresses. The marketing professionals involved in the communication process pay attention to each aspect of the communications model to ensure that every audience member encounters a consistent message. They make sure it cuts through noise and clutter. Common objectives marketing teams seek to achieve include an increase in market share, sales, and brand loyalty. Communicating with consumers and other businesses requires more than creating attractive advertisements. The communications model provides the foundation for advertising and marketing programs. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the coordination and integration of all marketing communications tools, avenues, and sources in a company into a seamless program designed to maximize the impact on customers and other stakeholders. The program covers all of a firm’s business-to-business, market channel, customer- focused, and internally-directed communications. The marketing mix, which consists of products, prices, distribution systems, and promotions, is the starting point. Traditional promotional activities include advertising, sales promotions, and personal selling activities. companies incorporate digital and mobile marketing, social media, and alternative methods of communication into the program. The marketing mix requires additional activities including database marketing, direct response marketing, personal selling tactics, sponsorships, and public relations programs. A complete IMC plan combines the elements of the marketing mix: products, prices, distribution methods, and promotions. An Integrated Marketing Communications Plan A strategic marketing plan forms the basis to an integrated marketing communications plan. The plan coordinates the components of the marketing mix to achieve harmony in the messages and promotions relayed to customers and others. A current situational analysis involves an examination of the firm’s present market situation. Next, marketers conduct a SWOT analysis by studying the factors in the organization’s internal and external environments. SWOT identifies internal company strengths and weaknesses along with the marketing opportunities and threats present in the external environment. Defining primary marketing objectives establishes targets such as higher sales, an increase in market share, a new competitive position, or desired customer actions including visiting the store and making purchases. Based on the marketing objectives and target market, the team develops marketing strategies. These strategies apply to the ingredients in the marketing mix and include all positioning, differentiation, and branding strategies. Marketing tactics guide the day-by-day activities necessary to support marketing strategies. The final two steps in the marketing plan consist of stating how to implement the plan and specifying methods to evaluate performance. Emphasis on Accountability and Measurable Results Company leaders expect advertising agencies to produce tangible outcomes. Any coupon promotion, contest, social media program, or advertising campaign should yield measurable gains in sales, market share, brand awareness, customer loyalty, or other observable results. The increasing emphasis on accountability and measurable results has been driven by chief executive officers (CEOs), chief financial officers (CFOs), and chief marketing officers (CMOs). According to Martyn Straw, former chief strategy officer of the advertising agency BBDO Worldwide, corporate executives and business owners are less willing to “funnel cash into TV commercials and glossy ads” that keep increasing in cost while appearing to achieve less and less. Many companies have replaced 30-second television spots with digital, social, and alternative communication advertisements. They connect marketing messages with special events in which names, profiles, and addresses of prospective customers can be collected and tracked. Straw suggests that marketing should not be viewed as an expense, but rather as an investment in which promotional dollars generate sales and profits. Mobile Marketing Currently, smartphones, tablets, and text messaging systems have created a new landscape and nearly a new language. Ingenious digital mobile marketing techniques create experiences with a brand rather than mere purchases with little or no emotional attachment. Many companies have cut traditional media expenditures, moving the dollars to digital media. Social media and digital channels provide consumers with access to a wealth of information about companies, products, and brands, many times as they begin the process of shopping or seeking a product or service. Individuals communicate with each other, sending favorable or unfavorable ratings and information. Consequently, digital and mobile marketing programs have evolved into a mandatory ingredient rather than an option. Integration of Media Platforms Consumers spend more than five hours each day in front of a screen that does not involve television. Understanding how consumers include multiple devices into their daily lives assists marketers in devising methods to reach them. Content grazing involves looking at two or more screens simultaneously to access content which is not related. For instance, someone watching TV and texting a friend at the same time is grazing. Investigative spider-webbing occurs when a consumer pursues or investigates specific content across multiple platforms, such as a person watching a football game and accessing stats for various players on a PC or mobile device. Quantum journey focuses on completing a specific task, such as when a consumer looks for a Chinese restaurant using a PC to locate one in the area, then obtains consumer reviews of the units close by on a smartphone, and finally employs a map app to locate the restaurant or to place an order. The fourth pathway, social spider- webbing, takes place when consumers share content or information across multiple devices. To reach consumers, marketers recognize that today’s consumers use multiple devices in several ways. Changes in Channel Power A marketing channel consists of a producer or manufacturer vending goods to various wholesalers or middlemen, who, in turn, sell items to retailers who offer the items to consumers. Recent technological developments have altered the levels of power held by channel members. Retailers seek to maintain channel power by controlling shelf space and purchase data that allows them to determine which products and brands are placed on store shelves. Through checkout scanners, retailers know which products and brands are selling. Many retailers share the data with suppliers and require them to ensure that store shelves remain well stocked. The size and power of mega-retailers mean manufacturers and suppliers have no choice but to follow their dictates. At the same time, the growth of the internet along with other methods of communication has shifted some channel power to consumers. Individuals wield greater power. Buyers who shop on behalf of organizations and other company members seeking business-to-business products are also quick to visit social media sites to complain about brands that did not deliver as promised. Consequently, a similar shift in channel power has taken place in the business-to-business sector. Fortunately, the environment is not completely negative. Approximately 50 percent of consumers share positive brand experiences. Increases in Global Competition Consumers desire convenience and high quality along with low prices. The company that delivers these features makes the sale, often regardless of location. Advancements in delivery systems make it possible for purchases to arrive in a matter of days from anywhere in the world. Increases in Brand Parity Many currently available products offer nearly identical benefits. When consumers believe that various items provide the same set of attributes, brand parity results. When it occurs, shoppers select from a group of brands rather than one specific brand. Brand parity means quality becomes less of a concern because consumers perceive only minor differences between companies and products. Consequently, other criteria such as price, availability, or a specific promotional deal affect purchase decisions. The net effect becomes a steady decline in brand loyalty. Emphasis on Customer Engagement The expanding number of available brands perceived to be roughly equivalent requires an additional response. To build loyalty, marketers seek to engage customers with the brand at every contact point; that is, any place where customers interact with or acquire additional information about a firm. An effective contact establishes two-way communication. Firms build levels of engagement by offering incentives and reasons for the consumer to interact with them. For customers to take advantage of these initiatives, however, they must develop emotional commitments to the brand and experience feelings of confidence, integrity, pride, and passion toward it. Focus on Convenience Many of today’s consumers value time in new and important ways. The term convenience marketing notes the increasing emphasis on making purchases simple and time-saving. Cause-related Marketing and Advertising Many organizations have noted a rise in interest in buying products attached to socially responsible efforts and causes. The Role of Integrated Marketing Communications “integrated marketing combines multiple types of outreach tactics to most effectively reach a brand’s key audiences at every phase of the customer journey.” Effective integrated marketing communications ensure a brand’s target audiences hear the same message across all traditional and alternative media channels. A single strategy should guide the creative development process for each campaign piece. An integrated approach sequences the release of individual campaign components in a manner that maximizes a customer’s journey from awareness to purchase as it connects a brand with each audience. Integrated marketing communications produce meaningful insights across multiple channels. The marketing team measures the impact of the individual components of a campaign and the various channels that are featured, although these elements should be analyzed within the context of the entire campaign. Summery of chapter 1 Communication consists of transmitting, receiving, and processing information. It is a two-way street in which a sender establishes a connection with a receiver. Effective communication forms the basis for a solid and successful marketing program. In the marketing arena, senders are companies seeking to transmit ideas to consumers, employees, other companies, retail outlets, and others. Encoding devices provide the means of transmitting information and include advertisements, public relations efforts, press releases, sales activities, promotions, and a wide variety of additional verbal and nonverbal cues sent to receivers. Transmission devices include the media and spokespersons that carry the message. Decoding occurs when the receivers (customers or retailers) encounter the message. Noise takes many forms in marketing, most notably the clutter of an abundance of messages in every available channel. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) takes advantage of the effective management of the communication channels. Within the marketing mix of products, prices, distribution systems, and promotions, firms that speak with one clear voice are able to coordinate and integrate all marketing tools. The fields of advertising, promotions, and marketing communications have experienced several new trends. Marketing departments and advertising agencies, as well as individual account managers, brand managers, and creatives, encounter strong pressures. They are held accountable for expenditures of marketing communications dollars. Company leaders expect tangible results from promotional campaigns and marketing programs. IMC plans are vital to achieving success. The explosion of digital media, new information technologies, and media strongly influence IMC programs through the use of channels such as mobile marketing. Marketing professionals seek to find ways to integrate all media platforms together to present a consistent message. Channel power has shifted in many ways. Company leaders adjust in order to maintain a strong market standing, and IMC programs can assist in this effort. New levels of global competition drive marketers to better understand customers and be certain that those end users hear a clear and consistent message from the firm. As consumers develop a stronger sense of brand parity, wherein consumers perceive no real differences in product or service quality, marketers seek to create situations in which a company or brand develops a distinct advantage. This may be difficult because consumers collect and integrate information about products from a wide variety of sources, including the internet and social media. Quality IMC programs help maintain the strong voice a company needs to ensure customers hear its message through an emphasis on customer engagement in all marketing activities. An increased emphasis on convenience combined with consumer preferences for firms featuring cause- related programs generates additional complications for marketing professionals. When a firm conducts business internationally, a GIMC, or globally integrated marketing communications system, can be of great value. By developing one strong theme and then adapting it to individual countries, the firm conveys a message that integrates international operations into a more coherent marketing package. The successful development of an IMC program helps firms remain profitable and vibrant, even when the complexities of the marketplace make these goals more difficult to attain. Chapter 2 Brand management A brand is the word, term, or phrase featured as the name of a product, product line, or company. Managing an organization’s brand image constitutes a critical element in the successful maintenance of an integrated marketing communications plan. A corporation’s brand image reflects the feelings consumers and businesses hold regarding the overall organization as well as its individual products or product lines. Advertising, consumer promotions, trade promotions, personal selling, the company’s website, and other marketing activities affect consumer perceptions. A strong brand generates major advantages for any good or service. The marketing team works to understand the firm’s overall image and the strengths of individual product brands in order to establish solid connections with consumers and business-to- business customers. Corporate and Brand Image A corporate or brand image expresses what the company and its products stand for as well as how it is to be known in the marketplace. creating a specific impression in the minds of clients and customers will be the goal of image management. Insurance companies often accomplish this by stressing helpfulness, safety, and security as elements of a powerful image. Consumer beliefs about a firm are more important than how company officials perceive the image. Although the actual version of the image varies from consumer to consumer or for each business-to- business buyer, the combined views of all publics determine the overall corporate image, which can be positive or negative. Components of Brand Image Brand images contain invisible and intangible elements. Consumers encounter these elements as they interact with a company or brand. A recent study of the restaurant industry indicated that the quality of a company’s goods and services ranked as the most important component of brand image. The willingness of a firm to stand behind its goods and services when something went wrong placed second. The third set of perceptions focused on whether the firm dealt with customers by being pleasant, helpful, or professional. An image consists of a unique set of features. A corporation’s image includes consumer assessments of company employees. A strong brand image provides tangible and intangible benefits. Organizational leaders devote considerable time and energy to constructing and maintaining a favorable brand image. Client companies expect advertising agencies to design marketing programs that take advantage of the benefits of a strong brand image. The Role of Brand Image—Consumer Perspective From a consumer’s perspective (or business customer’s perspective), brand image serves several functions. Positive assurance produces value when customers purchase goods or services with which they have little experience. Consumers often believe that purchasing from a familiar corporation will be a “safer” option than buying something from an unknown company. Taking a room at an unfamiliar hotel might feel riskier. Purchasing from a familiar firm reduces search time and saves effort. Purchasing from a highly recognized company often provides psychological reinforcement and social acceptance. Psychological reinforcement comes when a consumer concludes that she made a wise choice, resulting in confidence that the good or service will perform well. Social acceptance comes from believing that other individuals. The Role of Brand Image—Company Perspective From the firm’s point of view, a highly reputable image generates benefit. A quality image offers the basis for the development of new goods and services. The introduction of a product becomes easier when potential customers recognize the brand name and image. Long-term patrons become more willing to try new items and transfer trust in and beliefs about the brand to those products. A brand alliance, in which two companies use brand strength to develop and co-market a new product featuring both names (such as Old Spice and Head & Shoulders) has recently begun to emerge. Many customers believe they “get what they pay for.” Consumers often associate better quality with a higher price. A solid brand image allows a company to charge more for goods and services, which can lead to improved markup margins and profits. Firms with well-developed brand images enjoy customer loyalty, which leads to more frequent purchases. Dedicated customers are less inclined to make substitute purchases when competing brands offer discounts, sales, and similar enticements. Heightened levels of customer loyalty often lead to positive word-of-mouth endorsements, in person or digitally. Positive customer attitudes create stronger devotion to the brand, which then generates greater channel power. Retailers stock the brands customers view favorably and seek brands that pull people into stores. A product or brand with a notable image retains control and channel power when marketing items to retailers. A dominant brand image often attracts quality employees. Potential workers apply for jobs at companies with solid reputations, thereby reducing recruiting and selection costs. Southwest Airlines maintains the image of a great place to work, which assists in recruiting. A high quality workforce normally experiences lower turnover rates and other personnel problems. A strong reputation often leads to favorable ratings by Wall Street analysts and others in financial institutions, which help a company to raise capital when needed. Legislators and governmental agencies tend to act more sympathetically toward companies with unblemished, laudable reputations. Lawmakers may be less inclined to pursue actions that might hurt the business. Members of regulatory agencies will be less likely to believe rumors of wrongdoing. Brand Names and Brand Types A brand name establishes the overall banner for operations. The brand name is really the cornerstone of a company’s relationship with its customers. It sets an attitude and tone and is the first step toward a personality.”Brand names can be placed into four categories based on their actual, implied, or visionary meaning. Marketing the first two categories (overt and implied) should be easier because consumers more readily recall the name, which implies the type of good or service offered. The other two categories (conceptual and iconoclastic) necessitate greater efforts to ensure that consumers connect the name with the product. Brand names develop histories. They have personalities. Family Brands Many brands produce family trees. A family brand means a company offers a series or group of products under one brand name. Brand Extensions A brand extension involves the use of an established brand name on new goods or services. The extension might not be related to the core brand. Flanker Brands As an alternative to brand extensions, a flanker brand is the development of a new brand by a company in a good or service category in which it currently has a brand offering. A flanker brand may be introduced when company leaders conclude that vending the product under the current brand name might adversely affect the overall marketing program. Flanker brands are used in international expansion. Co-Branding Co-branding, or alliance branding, is the combination or alliance of two brands and takes three forms: ingredient branding, cooperative branding, and complementary branding. Ingredient branding involves the placement of one brand within another brand, such as Intel microprocessors in Dell computers or Nestlé chocolate in Pillsbury brownie mix. Cooperative branding is a joint venture in which two or more brands are placed in a new good or service, such as when Citibank combines American Airlines and Visa into a credit card. Complementary branding is the marketing of two brands together to encourage co-consumption or co-purchases, such as Velveeta cheese marketed with Rotel Tomatoes and Diced Green Chilies or Cinnabon products sold along with items at Pizza Hut and Schlotzsky’s locations. Co-branding succeeds when it enhances brand equity in both brands. Co-branding involves some risk. If the relationship fails to do well in the marketplace, both brands may be hurt. While risk cannot be eliminated, alliances between highly compatible brands of goods and services generally will be less precarious. Ingredient and cooperative branding tend to be less risky than complementary branding because both companies have more at stake and devote greater resources to ensure success. Brand Logos A brand logo is the symbol used to identify a brand. It should be designed to accentuate the brand name. A logo contributes an additional aspect to a brand’s image. Organizations spend millions of dollars selecting, meshing, and promoting brand names and logos. A strong name featuring a well-designed logo helps consumers remember brands and company messages. Consumers reduce search time when they look for product names identified by effective logos. Logos assist in-store shopping. A logo may be quickly recognized by shoppers. Logo recognition occurs on two levels. First, a consumer might remember previously seeing the logo. An image stored in the consumer’s memory will be jogged when it is viewed at the store. Second, a familiar logo might remind the shopper of the brand or corporate name. Successful logos inspire shared meanings among consumers, a process known as stimulus codability. Logos exhibiting high stimulus codability evoke consensual meanings within a culture or subculture. Creating quality logos may be challenging. Logos that pass the test of time are even more difficult to prepare and maintain. Logos reflect the brand. Consequently, a cheap, poorly designed logo suggests an inferior brand to consumers. Quality logos require careful thought, planning, and the expertise of designers who understand the principles behind creating or changing one into an effective version. A logo does not have to be complex and contain every element of the brand’s meaning. Simple logos can be valuable. Changing logos involves risk. Organizations cannot always predict consumer reactions, especially in social media outlets. Identifying the Desired Brand Image When creating a program to promote a desired brand image, the marketing team first evaluates the current image. They study the brand’s image in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses. This helps to compare the current image with competitors. The marketing team also tries to identify how those outside of a company view the brand. After a team understands how various groups view the brand, they make decisions regarding ways to correct misperceptions and/or build on the image that customers currently hold. Marketers tailor future communications to promote the target image. Creating the Right Brand Image The right image transmits a clear message about the unique nature of an organization and its products. A strong image accurately portrays what the firm sells, even in large corporations that offer multiple brands. In a business-to-business operation, creating the right image might be challenging. Rejuvenating a Brand’s Image Rejuvenating an image allows a firm to sell new products and can attract new customers. At the same time, reinforcing previous aspects of an image enables the company to retain loyal patrons and those comfortable with the original version. Quality image reengineering programs require companies to remain consistent with a previous image while at the same time incorporating new elements to expand the firm’s target audience. Successful rejuvenation includes attention to four key areas. First, former customers need to rediscover the brand. Successful rejuvenation involves building a brand community through social media, mobile technologies, and interactive marketing techniques. Energizing brand advocates and influencers to spread the word about the “new and improved” version of the brand becomes the goal. Changing a Brand’s Image Completely changing the image people hold regarding a company or a brand will be extremely difficult. Attempting to alter or shift an image becomes necessary when target markets have begun to shrink or disappear or when the brand’s image no longer matches industry trends and consumer expectations. At that point, company leaders consider what they wish to change, why, and how they intend to accomplish the renovation. Developing and Building Powerful Brands Developing a strong brand begins with identifying the reasons consumers buy a brand and why they rebuy the brand. A strong brand contains something salient to customers. Such a feature can come from several sources. A product or brand that provides benefits consumers consider important and of higher quality than other brands enjoys salience. Believing a brand represents a good value may create this advantage. The brand might be deemed superior to others because its image leads to customer loyalty based on such salient properties. Branding begins with awareness, which may be achieved by featuring the brand name prominently in repeated advertisements and other marketing messages. Repetition captures the buyer’s attention. It increases the odds that a brand and the accompanying message will be stored in a consumer’s long-term memory and recalled later during a purchase process. Effective brands feature authentic or unique elements. The brand name should be associated with the product’s most prominent characteristic that makes it stand out from competitors. Business and retail customers trust powerful brands. Trust results from the customer’s belief in the efficacy and reliability of the brand. It can be established over time through personal experiences. Trust occurs when the product performs consistently and fulfills the promise regarding its authenticity and uniqueness. To sustain that trust, the marketing team at Tide continues to pay attention to the brand’s image. Powerful brands focus on providing an experience that can be customized and personalized. Building powerful brands includes the effective use of social media. Messages should be authentic and in tune with the brand. Building brands incorporates the creative use of mobile marketing techniques. Marketers for more powerful brands have discovered ways to use mobile to enhance the customer’s experience through personalization and customization of content. Mobile advertising offers companies the opportunity to interact with customers anywhere at any time; however, the interaction should enhance the customer’s experience and not feel like an intrusion. A text or an ad every time the user turns on her phone quickly alienates even a brand-loyal customer. The final ingredient of a powerful brand results when the company acts ethically. Consumers want to purchase brands from companies that understand the importance of not harming the earth or people. Also, using sweatshops to produce products alienates customers. In essence, consumers tend to prefer brands sold by socially responsible companies. Brand Loyalty Brand loyalty constitutes the ultimate objective of building powerful brands. Consumers express loyalty when they purchase only one brand; they consider no other choice, regardless of price differences. The degree to which the brand has established a unique or authentic proposition determines a brand’s value. Such a value depends heavily on the “delight factor,” or the degree to which the brand exceeds basic expectations by delivering benefits or an emotional connection that enhances a consumer’s day-to-day life. Brand Equity Many companies encounter the brand parity problem, which takes place when consumers conclude that few tangible distinctions exist between competing brands in mature markets. Customers perceive only minor product differences and, in many product categories, even minor variations become difficult to identify. In contrast, brand equity summarizes a set of unique brand characteristics, such as those featured by Miller Transporters in the advertisement in this section. Equity helps to fight the brand parity problem. The perception of brand equity means that consumers view a good or service’s brand name as different, better, and one that can be trusted. In business-to-business markets, brand equity influences selections in the buying decision-making process. Brand equity dissuades consumers from looking for cheaper products, special deals, or other incentives. It prevents erosion of a product’s market share, even when a proliferation of brands is present and the company is subject to promotional maneuvers by competitors. Private Brands Private brands, private labels, and store brands are proprietary brands marketed by an organization and are normally distributed exclusively within the organization’s outlets. Private brands have experienced a roller-coaster ride in terms of popularity and sales. Advantages to Retailers Although private labels tend to be priced between five and 20 percent lower than national brands, they generate higher gross margins than national brands because middlemen are not used. Higher margins enable retailers to earn larger profits on private brands or, alternatively, to reduce the prices of the private brands to make them more attractive to pricesensitive consumers. Retailers that maintain the higher markup on private labels have the opportunity to use some of the margin for advertising and promotion. One emerging trend in retailing may be that loyalty to some retail stores has been growing while loyalty to individual brands has declined. Rather than going to outlets selling specific brands, many shoppers visit specific stores and buy from the brands offered by those stores. The increase in loyalty to retailers has caused several stores to expand offerings of private brand products. Doing so requires the retailer to develop private brands that are congruent with consumer images of the company. Emerging trends in the use of private labels include retailers spending marketing dollars on improving labels, on designing noticeable in-store displays, and on packaging. Retailers without large national ad budgets rely more on displays and attractive packaging. Packaging A product’s package provides the final opportunity to make an impression on a consumer. Packaging is a marketing activity as much as television advertising and social media. Surveys reveal that consumers plan about one-third of purchases prior to reaching a retail outlet. Many, however, make purchase decisions while in the store, especially due to the growth of mobile marketing tactics. Consumers often make retail purchase decisions based on familiarity with a brand or product at a specific store. Consequently, a unique and attractive package that grabs the buyer’s attention increases the chances the product will be purchased, sometimes as an impulse buy. In the grocery market, customers prefer fast, convenient, portable, and fresh foods. Someone who encounters an inferior package will be more likely to switch to another brand. Labels Labels on packages serve several functions. First, they must meet legal requirements. The label provides another marketing opportunity. It might make the difference in whether an individual purchases a particular brand. Simple, yet powerful, changes can be made to influence purchasing behaviors. A typical label contains the company’s logo and the brand name. Labels may reveal special offers and other tie-ins, such as a box of cereal with a toy inside. Labels often carry terms designed to build consumer interest and confidence. The words “gourmet,” “natural,” “premium,” “adult formula,” and “industrial strength” make a product appear to be a better buy. A company’s image, brand, logo, and theme extend to the design of the package and label, which grants the marketing team the opportunity to make the sale when the consumer is in the store making a purchasing decision. The placement of various methods for consumers to access product information and prices with mobile devices represents the most recent trend in labeling. Consumers often use the codes to view videos or instructions about how to use the product. While in a retail store, consumers access information about the product to see if it fits their needs. The information helps assure customers that they are purchasing the kind of product, size, style, or price that satisfies their desires. Ethical Issues in Brand Management A variety of ethical issues are associated with brand management. For years, the most common problem, brand infringement, occurred when a company created a brand name that closely resembled a popular or successful brand. International Implications In international markets, product development, branding, and maintaining an image are more complex. As noted previously, firms can employ either an adaptation strategy or a standardization strategy in promotional programs. These two approaches apply to the products as well as to brand names. With standardization, the same brand name and product are sold in all countries. With adaptation, the brand and/or the actual product may be different in each country or region. Using a standardized global brand reduces costs. Instead of advertising each local brand with a separate communication strategy, one standardized message can be sent. Standardized global brands also allow for the transference of best practices from one country to another. Further, purchasing a standardized global brand may be viewed as a better choice than buying a local brand. The global brand might have a higher perceived quality. Your Career: A Personal Brand Brands have characteristics, personalities, and an image. So do individuals seeking employment. Consider your personal brand image. Especially important will be the image you project to current and future employers. Is the image correct? If not, then now is the time to develop a plan to change it. In assessing a personal brand image, consider both tangible and intangible characteristics. Personal appearance conveys a great deal to a future employer. Mannerisms, including methods of speaking, gestures, and other factors such as eye contact create a personal brand image. They can indicate self-assurance or suggest a lack of self-confidence. Consider all of the ways in which you communicate. Something as simple as a voicemail message might transmit an aura of professionalism or signal something else. summery chapter 2 An effective integrated marketing communications program emphasizes a strong and positive brand image. A brand’s image consists of the feelings consumers and business-to-business customers have toward the organization and each individual brand. Brands carry both tangible and intangible elements. A brand name provides an overall banner. The logo accompanying the name presents the symbol used to identify the brand, helping to convey the overall image. Brands are names given to goods or services or groups of complementary products. Effective brands create an advantage, especially in mature markets containing fewer products or where service differences exist. Strong brands convey the most compelling benefits of the product, elicit proper consumer emotions, and help create loyalty. Various versions of brands include family brands, flanker brands, and co-brands. In each, marketers build brand equity through domination or the recognition that the brand has one key advantage or characteristic. Creating an effective image requires an understanding of how various consumers and organizations view the firm before seeking to build or enhance an image. Rejuvenating an image involves reminding customers of their previous conceptions of the company while at the same time expanding into a closely related area of concern. A strongly established image becomes difficult, if not impossible, to change. Private brands and private labels have grown in usage. Consumers view many private brands as having quality equal to or close to that of manufacturer brand names; however, they still expect price advantages in private label products. Company leaders remain aware of legal and ethical brand challenges. Brand infringement remains both a domestic and international problem. The phenomenon of brands becoming generic may also affect a new generation of products and services. International marketers utilize both standardization and adaptation tactics with regard to brands and products. Packages and labels must meet the legal and cultural needs of individual countries. KEY TERMS brand The word, term, or phrase featured as the name of a product, product line, or company brand image The feelings consumers and businesses have about the overall organization as well as its individual products or product lines brand association The connection of a product’s name with a specific meaning, concept, or idea brand alliance The co-branding of two powerful product names in the marketing of either an existing or a new product family brand A strategy in which a company offers a series or group of products under one brand name brand extension The use of an established brand name on goods or services not related to the core brand flanker brand The development of a new brand by a company in a good or service category in which it currently has a brand offering co-branding/alliance branding The marketing or alliance of two or more brands in a single marketing effort ingredient branding A form of co-branding in which one brand is placed within another brand cooperative branding A form of co-branding in which two firms create a joint venture of two or more brands into a new good or service complementary branding A form of co-branding in which the marketing of two brands together encourages co-consumption or co-purchases brand logo The symbol used to identify a brand, helping to convey the overall brand image stimulus codability Feelings attached to items that evoke consensually held meanings within a culture or subculture brand equity The perception that a good or service with a given brand name is different, better, and can be trusted private brands Also known as private labels and store brands, proprietary brands marketed by an organization are normally distributed exclusively within the organization’s outlets Chapter 3 Buyer Behaviors Enticing people to buy goods and services will be one of the primary goals of an integrated marketing communications program. Understanding how buyers make purchase decisions helps the marketing team achieve this objective. Two types of buyer behaviors—consumer buyer behaviors and business-to-business buyer behaviors—receive attention in this chapter. Utilizing the steps consumers and businesses follow when making purchase decisions assists the marketing team in creating quality communications. Finding ways to influence the consumer purchasing process constitutes a vital marketing communications activity. The first step occurs when the consumer experiences a need or want. A problem or gap exists between an individual’s current state and desired state. Marketing communications also trigger consumer needs. consumers enter the next phase of the process, an information search, which is one of the two stages most directly related to integrated marketing communications. Internal Search During an internal search, the consumer thinks about the brands she will consider. This group may not contain every brand the person previously experienced, because she eliminates brands associated with negative outcomes. The individual also removes brands she knows little about. In other words, the consumer quickly reduces the number of potential brands. A product with a high level of brand awareness or brand equity becomes more likely to be included in the consumer’s set of alternatives. External Search Following an internal search, the consumer makes a mental determination regarding an external search. When the customer has sufficient internal information, he moves to the next step of the decision-making process: evaluating the alternatives. A consumer who remains uncertain about the right brand to purchase undertakes an external search. Individuals gather external information from a variety of sources, including friends, relatives, posts on social media, advice from influencers and experts, books, magazines, newspapers, advertisements, in-store displays, and salespeople. The extent to which a consumer pursues an information search will be partially determined by his ability to search. A person’s educational level, combined with the specific knowledge he has about a product and the various brands in a specific category, make up the ability factor. Educated individuals tend to spend time searching for information. Consumers who possess extensive knowledge about individual brands and product categories often conduct more involved external searches. A person with more comprehensive knowledge of a product area might collect additional information even when she is not in the market for the product. Consumers at the other end of the spectrum also spend less time in the external search process for the opposite reason. They do not have knowledge about the product category and do not know what type of information to ask for or what type of information would be useful, which means they lack the ability to search for information. The degree to which an external search takes place further depends on the customer’s level of motivation. The greater the motivation, the more time spent on an external search. Motivation is determined by the consumer’s: •Level of involvement •Need for cognition •Level of shopping enthusiasm Individuals experience greater motivation to search for information when high involvement levels are present. Involvement summarizes the extent to which a stimulus or task is relevant to a consumer’s existing needs, wants, or values. The higher the price, the more time an individual spends searching for information. The need for cognition personality characteristic identifies individuals who engage in and enjoy mental activities. The search also depends on a person’s enthusiasm for shopping. The two final factors that influence an information search are the perceived costs versus the perceived benefits of the search. Higher perceived benefits increase the inclination to search. Additional information lowers the chances of making a mistake in the purchase selection. The cost of the search consists of several items: •The actual cost of the good or service •The subjective costs associated with the search, including time spent and anxiety experienced while making a decision •The opportunity cost of foregoing other activities to search for information (for example, going shopping instead of playing tennis or watching a movie). Consumers often consider elements of all three factors that make up an external search (ability, motivation, costs versus benefits) simultaneously. When the perceived cost of a search is low, and the perceived benefit is high, a consumer has a higher motivation to search for information. A consumer with a minimal amount of product knowledge and a low level of education becomes less likely to undertake an external search because the consumer lacks the ability to identify the right information. The consumer’s objective during an external search will be to acquire information leading to a better, more informed decision. Consumer Attitudes Effective marketing communications influence consumer attitudes. An attitude reflects the mental position taken toward a topic, a person, or an event that influences the holder’s feelings, perceptions, learning processes, and subsequent behaviors. Attitudes drive purchase decisions. A consumer holding a positive attitude toward a brand or who enjoys an advertisement becomes more inclined to purchase the product.Attitudes consist of three components: cognitive, affective, and conative. The cognitive component refers to a person’s mental images, understanding, and interpretations of the person, object, or issue. The affective component contains the feelings or emotions a person has about the object, topic, or idea. The conative component holds an individual’s intentions, actions, or behavior. These components occur in various sequences. One common order of events is: Cognitive → Affective → Conative a person first develops an understanding about an idea or object. The affective part of the attitude carries the general feelings or emotions a person attaches to the idea. Decision and action tendencies make up the conative parts of attitudes. An alternative process is: Affective→ Conative → Cognitive Advertisements and other marketing communications can first appeal to the emotions or feelings held by consumers in order to move them to like the product and make a purchase (the conative component). Cognitive understanding of the product comes after the purchase. Cognitive reasoning about renting the luxury car follows the emotional experience. Some attitudes result from a third combination of the components, as follows: Conative → Cognitive → Affective Purchases that require little thought, have a low price, or do not demand a great deal of emotional involvement might follow this path. No matter which path a consumer takes to develop attitudes, each component will be present to some extent. Consumer Values Attitudes reflect an individual’s personal values. Values are strongly held beliefs about various topics or concepts. Values frame attitudes and lead to the judgments that guide personal actions. Values tend to endure. They normally form during childhood, although they may change as a person ages and experiences life. Factors that affect a person’s values include the individual’s personality, temperament, environment, and one’s culture. Cognitive Mapping The manner in which individuals store information further affects decisions, because it influences recall. Knowing how people store, retrieve, and evaluate information assists the company’s marketing team in developing advertisements and marketing communications. Understanding how various thought processes and memories work constitutes the first step. Cognitive maps simulate the knowledge structures and memories embedded in an individual’s mind. Cognitive structures contain many linkages, and these exist on several levels. In terms of cognitive mapping, when a consumer receives information or sees an advertisement, it can be processed in two primary ways. New information that remains consistent with current information tends to strengthen an existing linkage. A different response occurs when a message has no current linkages. The customer creates a new linkage between the new information and brand. Additional research indicated that some customers felt uneasy or unsure about the company, primarily because no linkages for the Esurance brand existed in the minds of many potential customers. This was true especially for the older, multicar, higher-income individuals that Esurance sought to reach. As a result, company leaders had a choice: One approach would be to spend millions of dollars on establishing a brand name and linkages in the cognitive maps of consumers or partner with an established brand that was already present in peoples’ cognitive maps. Hearing something once may not cause it to be retained in a person’s long-term memory, due to differences between short-term recall and long-term memories. The cognitive mapping process explains the knowledge structures embedded in a person’s long-term memory. Ordinarily, a person holds information in shortterm memory for only a few seconds. As stimuli reach an individual’s senses, short-term memory processes them. Short-term memory retains only five to nine pieces of information, meaning new messages are either soon forgotten or added to long-term memory. A repeated message may lead an individual to become more likely to remember it because the message will be processed into longterm memory and placed into previously developed cognitive maps. Consumers also process information by linking the message to a new concept. In terms of a marketing perspective, strengthening linkages that already exist should be easier. Adding or modifying linkages will be more difficult. Cognitive mapping and persuasion techniques designed to change attitudes or tap into strongly held values represent two key ingredients of any IMC program. A marketing team that understands the needs and attitudes of the target market structures messages accordingly. A commercial should capture the consumer’s attention by exposing him to concepts that travel effectively through a core mental processing channel or peripheral channels, either through logic or alluring emotional appeals. Creatives design ads that reach the linkages consumers have already made between a product and other key ideas. Common linkages emerge between products and ideas, such as quality, value, low cost, expense, fun, sex, danger, practicality, exoticness, and others. Carefully planned marketing campaigns identify linkages that entice the consumer to buy a brand and to believe in or become loyal to that brand in the future. Evaluation of Alternatives The third step in the buying decision-making process will be the evaluation of alternative. Three models portray the nature of the process: the evoked set approach, the multiattribute approach, and affect referral. A person’s evoked set consists of the brands the person considers in a purchasing situation. An evoked set might be reviewed during both the information search and evaluation stages of the buying decision-making process. Two additional brand sets become part of the evaluation of purchase alternatives: the inept set and the inert set. The inept set contains the brands that are part of a consumer’s memory that are not considered because they elicit negative feelings. The inert set carries the brands that the consumer is aware of, and, as a result, the individual has neither negative nor positive feelings about them. Moving a brand name into the evoked sets of consumers may be the primary goal of a marketing message. The multiattribute approach assists in understanding high-involvement purchases. Consumers often examine sets of product attributes across an array of brands. The higher a brand rates on the attributes a consumer deems as important, the more likely it becomes the brand that will be purchased. From an integrated communication standpoint, the key will be to provide consumers with information about a brand or organization’s performance on criteria they are most likely to use. This can be achieved on a brand’s website or via social media posts, where consumers often gather information about high-involvement decisions. In advertising, a creative often features a product with multiple benefits by designing a series of messages. Advertisements highlight price, style, service contracts, software, memory, storage, or other product features. Marketers only present one or two of the benefits in a message. The concept of affect referral suggests that consumers choose brands they like the best or the ones with which they maintain emotional connections. The individual does not evaluate brands or think about product attributes. The affect referral model explains three things. First, the approach saves mental energy. Making a quick choice will be easier than going through the process of evaluating every alternative. Some purchases do not deserve much effort. Second, a multiattribute approach might have been used previously when making a purchase. The person already spent a great deal of time considering various product attributes, deciding which are most critical, and reaching a decision. Third, at times consumers develop emotional bonds with brands. Studying the steps consumers take while making purchasing decisions helps to create effective marketing communications. The environment in which consumers make purchases continually changes and evolves. Age Complexity Technology influences the ways children grow up. They are bombarded with advertisements, video games, television shows, movies, tweets, Snapchat photos, and a myriad of other images. Most become fashion-conscious as preteens. Many social observers believe children “grow up” much earlier. At the other end of the spectrum, some adults refuse to grow old. This trend challenges marketers to try to create messages that reflect these behaviors but do not offend or confuse more traditional middle-aged people. Gender Complexity Gender complexity refers to the manner in which the traditional roles, lifestyles, and interests of men and women have become blurred. The net result has been sweeping consequences in a variety of industries and for numerous products and product lines, beginning with toys no longer being designated for boys or girls but extending to gender-neutral grooming products, clothing, sports equipment, alcoholic beverages, and beyond. Active, Busy Lifestyles Active lifestyles impact consumer behaviors. Economic conditions and global competition force many individuals to work longer hours in order to protect their jobs. Time pressures account for increases in sales of convenience items as well as an emphasis on timesaving shopping methods, such as convenient and/or online purchases. Helpful services such as the home delivery of products, housecleaning providers, elder care, and lawn care are increasingly sought after by individuals and families. Diverse Lifestyles The percentage of young people who follow the traditional path of coming of age, marrying, and then having children continues to decline. Communication Revolution Advances in communication technologies influence consumers around the world and have dramatically shifted the ways citizens communicate with each other, with brands, and with companies. An individual who has a bad experience with a brand tells more than just a few friends and family members. An unhappy consumer has many ways to tell a large audience about the experience. Fortunately, companies use these same technologies to engage consumers and stimulate positive endorsements. Many companies monitor social media. Marketers listen to what consumers say and respond to them. Experience Pursuits Some people handle the stress of a hectic, busy lifestyle through occasional indulgences or pleasure binges, such as expensive dinners out and smaller luxury purchases. Pleasure pursuits include getaway weekends in resorts, short cruises, or visits to beaches. Recognizing that consumers often prefer experiences over things, companies provide customers with moments to remember rather than more items to put in their homes. Health Emphasis The messages featured ordinary people rather than celebrities and athletes. Instead of focusing on the solitary battles individuals face when exercising, the commercials featured communities and groups of people exercising together. Purchasing healthier foods with less sodium or ones with low sugar content are additional ways to pursue healthy lifestyles. At the same time, consumers do not want to sacrifice convenience. Busy lifestyles mean consumers are less willing to cook from scratch. They prefer prepared foods that can be assembled easily and cooked quickly. Business-to-Business Buyer Behaviors and Influences In business-to-business purchases, people still make the decisions. At the same time, when selling to a business organization, the marketing team knows that normally several individuals will be involved. The buying center consists of the group of individuals making a purchase decision on behalf of a business. This complicates buying decisions. The buying center contains five different purchasing roles: • Users—Members of the organization who actually use the good or service • Buyers—Individuals given the formal responsibility of making the purchase • Influencers—Individuals, such as engineers, who shape purchasing decisions by providing the information or criteria utilized in evaluating alternatives • Deciders—Individuals who authorize the purchase decisions • Gatekeepers—Individuals who control the flow of information to members of the buying center. These roles often overlap. A variety of members of the organization may serve as influencers because the roles usually are not fixed and formal. Each organization engages in a unique purchasing process. The process varies within an organization from one purchase decision to the next. Salespeople calling on a business seek to locate members of the buying center and understand their roles in the process. When these roles change from one purchase situation to another, the marketing and selling task becomes more complicated. Organizational Influences The organizational factors that influence ways employees make purchasing decisions include the company’s goals and its operating environment (recession, growth period, lawsuits pending, and so forth). The organization’s finances, capital assets, market position, the quality of its human resources, and the country in which the firm operates constrain purchasing options. Studies of organizational decision making indicate that employees tend to adopt heuristics or decision rules that reduce the number of viable options to a smaller, manageable set. Individual Factors At least seven factors exert effects on members of the business buying center. Personality Numerous personality facets exist. A decisive person makes purchase decisions in a different manner from someone who vacillates. Confidence, extroversion, shyness, and other personality traits shape the manner in which a person performs a buying-center role. An aggressive person takes charge and makes quick decisions. An extrovert tends to become more involved in the buying process than a more introverted individual. The extrovert spends more time talking while the introvert spends more time listening. The introvert might be too timid with salespeople and other members of the buying center and consequently fails to ask important questions. Roles An individual’s age, heredity, ethnicity, gender, cultural memberships, and patterns of social interaction modify the roles the person plays. Roles are socially constructed, which means people define how they intend to play roles as part of a negotiation process with others. A buying center member who views his role as merely giving approval to decisions made by the boss (the decider) does not actively participate. Motivation A person’s degree of motivation results from the match between the individual’s goals and the organization’s objectives. A factory foreman with a personal goal of promotion to vice president of operations becomes more likely to engage in purchasing decisions that might affect his performance and that of his department. The need for recognition motivates many individuals. For someone with a strong recognition need, the goal of making successful purchasing decisions will be to ensure that others recognize the effort because the person believes a link exists between recognition and promotions or pay raises. Level of Power A person derives her level of power in the buying process from the role in the buying center, her official position in the organization, and the impact of the purchase decision on a specific job. When a particular purchase decision directly affects an employee, she may try to gain more power through the buying process. Risk Companies often select certain vendors because buyers believe they pose the lowest risk. Risk avoidance leads buyers to stay with current vendors rather than switching. In marketing to businesses, reducing risk remains a priority, especially when signing large contracts or when a purchase might affect company profits. Levels of Cognitive Involvement Consumer and business buying behaviors are both influenced by levels of cognitive involvement. Individuals who have higher levels of cognitive capacity seek more information prior to making decisions. They ask more questions when interacting with a salesperson. They spend more time deliberating prior to making decisions. Personal Objectives Motivational forces, personality types, perceptions of risk, and the other individual factors shape personal objectives. These objectives might lead buyers to make purchases that help them politically in the organization, even when they are not the best choice. Types of Business-to-Business Sales Business buyers make different types of purchasing decisions. The marketing team adapts to the type of decision being made. The three categories of buying activities include a straight rebuy, a modified rebuy, and a new task. A straight rebuy occurs when the firm has previously chosen a vendor and places a reorder. This routine process normally involves only one or a few members of the buying center. When making a modified rebuy, the buying team considers and evaluates alternatives. Companies make modified rebuy purchases for four different reasons. First, when a company’s buyers are dissatisfied with the current vendor, they look for new options. A greater level of dissatisfaction creates a strong enticement to examine new possibilities. Second, if a new company offers what is perceived by a member of the buying center to be a better buy, the purchase decision may be revisited. A third type of modified rebuy occurs at the end of a contractual agreement. In new task purchasing situations, company employees consider a good or service for the first time or it has been a long time since the last purchase. Identification of Needs Just as consumers identify needs (hunger, protection, social interaction), businesses also make purchases based on needs ranging from raw materials to professional services. The manner in which managers determine business needs may be different. Derived demand, which creates many business needs, is based on, linked to, or generated by the production and sale of some other good or service. Once a need has been recognized, the order will be placed with the current vendor in a straight rebuy situation. When the purchase constitutes a modified rebuy or new task, members of the buying center move to the next step. Establishment of Specifications In a new task purchase, the parties spell out the most complete specifications. Many times, various vendors assist the buyer in developing clear specifications. In modified rebuy situations, managers examine specifications to ensure they are current and meet the company’s needs. While they occasionally change, normally most are minor alterations. Identification of Vendors Once officials finalize the specifications, they seek to identify potential vendors and ask for bids. Most businesses require formal bids. A vendor’s ability to write a clear proposal often determines whether that company’s bid succeeds. Effective proposals spell out prices, quality levels, payment terms, support services, and other conditions requested by the company. Vendor Evaluation Evaluations of vendors normally occur at two levels. The first, an initial screening of proposals, narrows the field of vendors down to three to five competitors. The second level of evaluation occurs as the firm undertakes a vendor audit. An audit becomes especially important when members of the company work to develop a long-term relationship with a supplier. Vendor Selection Once company officials study the vendors and consider the bids, the final choice can be made. In the decision-making process, members of the buying center experience the individual and organizational pressures presented earlier. The selection criteria used include quality, delivery, performance history, warranties, facilities and capacity, geographic location, technical capability, and per-dollar value. Negotiation of Terms In most purchasing situations, negotiation of terms will be a formality as the conditions have already been worked out. Postpurchase Evaluation In the business-to-business arena, the postpurchase phase represents a marketing opportunity. Vendors that provide high-quality products, make follow-up calls, and offer additional services often move into a straight rebuy situation. Dual Channel Marketing Firms sell virtually the same goods or services to both consumers and businesses in dual channel marketing. The approach fits several situations. The most common scenario occurs when a product sold in business markets is then adapted to consumer markets. As sales grow, economies of scale emerge. Larger purchases of raw materials combined with more standardized methods of production make it possible to enter consumer markets. Products including digital cameras, calculators, computers, fax machines, and mobile phones were first sold to businesses and then later to consumers. To make the move to the retail arena possible, prices must be lower and products need to be user-friendly. Spin-Off Sales Another type of dual channel marketing known as spin-off sales occurs when individuals who buy a particular brand at work enjoy positive experiences and, as a result, purchase the same brand for personal use. Marketing Decisions In dual channel marketing, a primary decision will be made about how to represent the product in each channel. The firm either emphasizes similarities between the two markets or focuses on differences. Messages emphasize the benefits individual segments derive from the product. Mobile phones marketed to businesses stress area coverage as well as service options. For consumers, mobile phone marketing messages center on the fashionable design of the product, ease of use, or price. In most cases, business customers and consumers seek the same basic benefits from products. In these situations, a single approach for both markets will be used. Tactics include: •Integrating communications messages •Selling the same brand in both markets •Scanning both markets for dual marketing opportunities In addition to creating economies of scale, integrating consumer markets offers another advantage: the potential to create the synergies that arise from increased brand identity and equity. An image developed in the consumer market can be used to enter a business market, or vice versa. Featuring one brand makes it easier to develop awareness and recall. For instance, a business customer who uses a company-owned American Express card may obtain another card from the company for personal consumption. Scanning both types of customers for new opportunities is part of dual channel marketing. Dual channel marketing often creates a major competitive advantage as products are sold in both markets. A complete IMC planning process includes the evaluation of potential business market segments as well as consumer market segments. Firms that integrate messages across these markets take major steps toward reaching every potential customer. International Implications Selling to consumers and businesses requires the marketing team to understand cultural differences related to products, messages, and selling techniques. Individual buyers and members of companies from other countries exhibit cultural differences as they consider purchising alternatives. Building a powerful brand represents an important activity in any IMC program. A strong brand means the product becomes part of the consumer’s initial set of brands to consider when making a purchase. A powerful brand crosses national boundaries and becomes part of an effective globally integrated marketing communications program. Organizations build successful global brands over time. It takes a combination of highquality products and effective marketing communications to reach that point. In business-to-business marketing, a visible global brand presence is equally crucial. The existence of multiple vendors, increasing perceptions of brand parity, and growing use of the internet make it impossible for a company to succeed using only price differentiation. To combat such situations, a strong brand is a necessity in the global environment. Brand equity increases the chances of being selected. Most marketing experts agree: It is no longer sufficient to be a great company; you must maintain a great brand presence. Chapter 4 An integrated marketing communications planning process requires careful oversight by the company’s marketing personnel and any agency the firm employs. They make decisions designed to match products to marketing messages and communications tactics. Successful efforts occur when the company’s marketing team identifies every opportunity to make quality contacts with current customers and potential new customers. Communications Research The communications planning process begins with research. Those individuals involved in designing a communications campaign try to thoroughly understand the product and the consumers (or businesses) who are potential buyers. More than basic product attributes influence purchase decisions. Many customers consider a product’s benefits. communications research goes beyond identifying demographic profiles or target markets. Key insights regarding how, when, why, and now where consumers purchase or use products emerge from effective research. Three primary research approaches are productspecific research, consumer-oriented research, and target-market research. Product-specific research identifies the product characteristics that turn into selling points. For example, the marketing team may wish to promote the most desirable app features for a mobile device. Consumer-oriented research assists marketers in understanding the context of a product’s use. An anthropological approach involves direct observations of consumers using the good or service, at home, at work, or in some other context such as when people are on vacation. Other research may feature a sociological analysis of social class issues, trends, and family life cycle changes. A third consumer-oriented approach analyzes psychological motives for product purchases, such as feeling sexy, powerful, or intelligent. Target-market research identifies the recipients of a communications campaign. For instance, product-oriented research may determine that one benefit of joining a fitness center can be improved heart health. Consumer-oriented research might indicate that the elderly and those who have developed heart trouble would be more likely to want this particular benefit. Thus, target-market research reveals the best market for a particular benefit of a good or service. One common approach used by agencies to understand a client’s customers is a focus group, which consists of consumers talking about a particular topic, product, or brand in front of a moderator or panel who tracks consumer comments and ideas. The insights gained become crucial elements in the IMC planning process. Market Segmentation by Consumer Groups Communications research identifies the target markets a company seeks to serve. Target markets, or market segments, exist in two areas: consumer markets and business-tobusiness markets. A market segment consists of a set of businesses or a group of individual consumers with distinct characteristics. For a market segment to be viable, it should pass the following tests: •The individuals or businesses within the market segment should be similar in nature, with the same needs, attitudes, interests, and opinions. Persons or businesses within the segment are homogenous. •The market segment differs from the population as a whole. Segments are distinct from other segments and from the general population. •The market segment must be large enough to be financially viable to target with a marketing campaign. •The market segment must be reachable through some type of media or marketing communications channel. Market researchers spend considerable resources and time locating viable market segments. The market segmentation process consists of identifying the specific consumer and business groups that are the most likely to purchase the brand based on their needs, attitudes, and interests. Segments Based on Demographics One primary method of segmentation employs demographics, or various population characteristics. Typical demographic variables include gender, age, education, income, and ethnicity. Companies create goods and services to meet the needs of individual demographic segments. gender Many men and women continue to purchase different products, buy similar products with different features (e.g., deodorants), desire products for dissimilar reasons (exercise equipment, televisions), and buy the same products after being influenced by different kinds of appeals through different media. Recently, marketers have been thinking beyond male and female gender roles to recognize that not all individuals conform to one gender role. Although a shift to more gender-neutral products and messages has occurred, many product campaigns continue to target either males or females. age Marketing programs often concentrate on persons of a certain age, most notably children, teens, young adults, middle-age adults, and senior citizens. Age can be combined with another demographic, such as gender. Consequently, older women may be targets for certain types of vitamins and medical products, including those combatting osteoporosis. Young working women with children are more likely to notice advertisements for conveniences, including ready-made foods and snacks, and automotive oil and lube facilities. age and lifestage Many marketing professionals believe that age, by itself, may not be as useful for segmentation processes unless the additional information about the age group can be incorporated. Lifestage refers to a phase of life that can be coupled with age. The coupling of age with lifestage gives the marketing team a more precise view of the target market to be reached with a specific message. Income A family’s income level and educational attainment are often closely related. Members of lower-income homes, often with less education, primarily purchase necessities such as food, clothing, and housing needs; however, members of these households also buy mobile devices, automobiles, and other, costlier, products. As income and educational attainment increase, household members purchase from a greater selection of expensive items. ethnicity Ethnic marketing succeeds in some, but not all, product categories. In recent years, the ways marketing professionals approach ethnic marketing have changed. Rather than separate campaigns for each ethnic group, agencies take a more holistic approach that incorporates insights into various ethnic groups in order to create more universally appealing messages. Psychographics Demographics are relatively easy to identify. They do not, however, fully explain why people buy particular products or specific brands or the type of appeal that will work. To assist in the marketing effort while building on demographic information, psychographic profiles have been developed. Psychographics emerge from patterns of responses that reveal a person’s activities, interests, and opinions (AIO). Marketing experts combine the responses with demographic information to develop a more complete understanding of the target group. The VALS (Values and Lifestyles) typology categorizes respondents into eight different groups based on resources and on the extent to which they are actionoriented.16 The VALS typology includes the following segments: •Innovators—Successful, sophisticated, and receptive to new technologies. Their purchases reflect cultivated tastes for upscale products. •Thinkers—Educated, conservative, practical consumers who value knowledge and responsibility. They look for durability, functionality, and value. •Achievers—Goal-oriented, conservative consumers committed to career and family. They favor established prestige products that demonstrate success to peers. •Experiencers—Young, enthusiastic, and impulsive consumers who seek variety and excitement and spend substantially on fashion, entertainment, and socializing. •Believers—Conservative, conventional consumers who focus on tradition, family, religion, and community. They prefer established brands and favor American-made products. •Strivers—Trendy, fun-loving consumers who are concerned about others’ opinions and approval. They demonstrate to peers their ability to buy. •Makers—Self-sufficient consumers who have the skill and energy to carry out projects, respect authority, and are unimpressed by material possessions. •Survivors—Concerned with safety and security, focused on meeting needs rather than fulfilling desires. They are brand loyal and purchase discounted products. Based on Generations Marketing efforts target generational cohorts because the approach does not require the use of psychographic information but does possess the richness of psychographics. Marketing to generational cohorts highlights the common experiences and events that create bonds between individuals from the same generation. Generational segmentation proponents suggest that people experience significant events during late adolescence or early adulthood. These events create an impact on social values, attitudes, and preferences based on shared experiences. This tends to lead to common preferences for music, foods, and other products. A cohort group often responds favorably to the same type of marketing appeal. Segmentation by Geographic Area Marketing appeals made to people in a geographic area or region is geo-targeting. At times retailers seek to limit marketing communications programs to the specific areas where primary customers live in order to maximize the impact of advertising dollars. The company directs geo- targeted digital advertisements at specific regions with messages that fit consumers, the region, and specific events. Geo-targeting is a successful tactic used by restaurants. Geodemographic Segmentation Geodemographic segmentation identifies potential customers by combining demographic information, geographic information, and psychographic information. Geodemographic segmentation benefits national firms conducting direct mail campaigns or using sampling promotions. Benefit Segmentation Benefit segmentation focuses on advantages consumers receive from a product rather than the characteristics of consumers themselves. Marketers combine demographic and psychographic information with benefit information to identify viable segments. Regular exercisers tend to belong in one of three benefit segments. The first group, “Winners,” want to stay physically fit. This segment includes younger, upwardly mobile, and career-oriented individuals. The second group, “Dieters,” exercise to maintain their weight and enhance physical appearance. The third group, “Self-Improvers,” exercise to feel better and to control medical costs. Usage Segmentation The final type of consumer segmentation examines groups based on usage or purchases, including the company’s best customers or heavy users, average users, casual or light users, and nonusers. Marketers provide the highest level of service to the best customers while promoting the company to the other two usage groups in an attempt to move them up to the next usage group. This technique offers a business the following advantages: 1. A meaningful classification scheme to cluster customers based on a firm’s various levels of users. 2. The capability of reducing large volumes of customer data down to a few concise, usable clusters. 3. The ability to assign a cluster code number to each customer in the database. Each number is based on the customer’s actual purchases and other characteristics (e.g., address, amount spent, spending potential, demographics, etc.). 4. The capacity to measure the growth and migration of customers over time and from one cluster to another, which allows for the evaluation of marketing programs. 5. The opportunity to create unique marketing programs for each cluster that matches the characteristic of the clusters. Business-to-Business Market Segmentation Business segmentation efforts group similar organizations into meaningful clusters in order to create marketing messages specifically for them and to provide them with better service. Segmentation by Industry When segmenting by industry, many marketers use the NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) coding system. NAICS helps the marketing team examine specific industries, such as construction (23) or wholesale trade (42). There are also segments within specific categories. Segmentation by Size Marketers identify some segments based on a company’s sales volume or number of employees. Marketing approaches vary based on the size of a target prospect. Segmentation by Geographic Location Identifying market segments by geographic location achieves success. This approach benefits businesses with customers concentrated in geographic pockets. Segmentation by Product Usage Business markets may be segmented based on how companies will use the good or service. Some services such as financing, transportation, and shipping offer a variety of uses to individual businesses. By segmenting the market based on the type needed, Reynolds prepares specific marketing materials for various potential clients and their specific needs. Segmentation by Customer Value One final method of business segmentation examines the value associated with each customer. Business-to-business firms are more likely to use this approach than consumeroriented businesses due to the availability of in-depth data about each customer. Experts assign a more precise value to every individual business through sales records and other sources of data and information, placing them into low-, medium-, and high- value groups. Product Positioning Each target market or market segment will be selected, in part, because the company, product, or brand position matches the segment. Product positioning summarizes the perception in the consumer’s mind of the nature of a company or brand and its products relative to competitors. Positioning perceptions include variables such as the quality of products, the price, methods of distribution, packaging, image, and other factors. Typically, two elements stand out: The first is customer evaluations of the brand and the second is the brand’s standing relative to the competition. Consumers ultimately determine the position a brand holds. Approaches to Positioning Companies achieve effective positioning in several ways. Although some might try two or three approaches, such efforts generally only manage to confuse customers. Normally, staying with one approach achieves the best results. Product attributes Any product trait or characteristic that sets a brand apart from other brands may be considered an attribute. Competitors An individual firm might use competitors to establish position by contrasting its product against others. Use or application Another positioning involves the creation of a memorable set of uses or applications for a given product. Price-Quality relationship Businesses that offer products at the extremes of the price range may position by price-quality relationships. At the high end, quality becomes the emphasis. The low-end companies rely on price or value. Product User Another positioning strategy distinguishes the brand or product by specifying who might use it. Product Class Position may be based on product class. Cultural symbol Positioning a product as a cultural symbol will be difficult. When the company successfully achieves such a position, it gains a strong competitive advantage. Other Elements of Positioning A brand’s position will not remain completely fixed. Changing market conditions and other factors can shift a brand’s standing. Competitors might enter a market and usurp a brand’s position. Company leaders then decide whether to fight for the position through strong advertising or seek an alternate position. International Positioning In the international arena, effective positioning remains vitally important. Marketers make plans to establish an effective position when the firm expands into new countries. Often the positioning strategy presented in one country will not work as well in another. Marketing experts investigate the competition as well as the consumers or businesses that are potential customers. Marketing Communications Objectives An effective IMC planning process requires quality communications objectives. These objectives tie the organization’s context, target markets, and positioning approaches to the ultimate selection of budget figures. Further, communications objectives guide account executives and advertising creatives in designing the actual advertising messages. Many marketing professionals believe that benchmarks provide helpful tools. A benchmark measure establishes a starting point to be compared with the degree of change following a promotional campaign. In other words, the benchmark constitutes a baseline to be used in assessing future outcomes. Types of Budgets Communication objectives must be supported with an appropriate level of funding. Percentage of Sales In a percentage-of-sales budget, employees derive allocations from either sales from the previous year or anticipated sales for the next year. This method offers simplicity in preparing the budget. The approach also encounters problems. First, it tends to change in the opposite direction of what might typically be needed. In other words, when sales go up, so does the communications budget. When sales weaken, the communications budget will decline. In most cases, when sales fall, the communications budget should be increased to help reverse the trend. Further, during growth periods, the communications budget may not need to be increased. The method also experiences the disadvantage of failing to allocate money for special needs or to combat competitive pressures. Therefore, many marketing experts believe the disadvantages of the percentage of sales method tend to outweigh its advantages. Meet the Competition A meet-the-competition budget seeks to prevent loss of market share. Companies raise or lower expenditures to match amounts the competition spends. This format may be found in highly competitive markets in which intense rivalries exist. The potential drawback to meet-the- competition budgeting is that marketing dollars might not be spent efficiently. Matching the competition’s spending does not guarantee success. Market share can still be lost. Rather than how much is spent, how well money has been allocated, and how effectively the marketing campaign retains customers and market share should be the goal. “What We Can Afford” A “what we can afford” budget sets the marketing allotment after all of the company’s other budgets have been established. Company leaders allocate money based on what they feel can be spent. This suggests that management may not recognize the benefits of marketing communications. Instead, company leaders view marketing expenditures as non-revenue-generating activities. Newer and smaller companies with limited finances often employ the “what we can afford” approach. Objective and Task To prepare an objective-and-task budget, marketers identify the communications objectives to pursue and then calculate the cost of accomplishing each objective. The communications budget becomes the cumulative sum of the estimated costs for all objectives. Payout Planning With a payout-planning budget, management establishes a ratio of advertising to sales or market share. This method normally allocates greater amounts in early years to yield payouts in later years. Quantitative Models The objective and task approach to budgeting would assist marketers for Lunchables in identifying the most ideal level of spending to a specific communication goal. In some instances, information technology professionals develop computer simulations that model the relationship between advertising or promotional expenditures with sales and profits. These models may not be perfect. They do offer the advantage of accounting for the type of industry and product in the model. In most cases, quantitative models are limited to larger organizations with strong computer and statistics departments. Therefore, as the marketing team constructs a budget, they first examine the assumptions that drive the process. The newness of the product, the economy, and any other complicating factors should be reviewed when attempting to tie budgeting expenditures to marketing and communications objectives. A budget becomes finalized when the company marketing team specifies how funds will be spent on each of the major communications tools. Communications Schedules After establishing the total amount of dollars to be allocated to a project or brand, company leaders choose the proper schedule approach to reach each communications goal. Marketers emphasize one of three basic tactics to allocate communication funds: •Pulsating schedule: involves continuous advertising and communications during the year with bursts of higher intensity at specific times (more ads in more media). •Flighting schedule: Company leaders might also select a flighting schedule or approach, which presents communications during peak times but not at all during other times of the year. Firms the rely on the flighting approach often advertise more during peak seasons such as Christmas, seeking to send messages during the times when customers are most inclined to buy, or when they are on the hot spot. •Continuous schedule: Consumers purchase durable goods, such as dishwashers and refrigerators, on an “as needed” basis. IMC Components As has been noted, marketing communications consists of much more than traditional advertising. In fact, advertising expenditures may not make up the major portion of a marketing communications budget. In terms of dollars spent, media advertising normally accounts for about 40 percent of a marketing communications budget. Trade promotions and consumer promotions each receive about one-fourth of overall marketing expenditures. International Implications Globally integrated marketing communications (GIMC) programs are vital for international firms. Each message should fit a country’s language and culture. Brand names, marketing ideas, and advertising campaigns designed for one country do not always translate correctly to another. Consequently, understanding the international market becomes essential. Marketers try to make sure the company’s products and marketing messages will be understood in the region. When needed, the message can be tailored to an individual area. The goal is to create a borderless marketing plan that uses the same basic marketing approach for all of a company’s markets. This grants each subsidiary the freedom to determine how to implement that marketing plan; in essence, to think globally but act locally. It also presents the opportunity to maintain a theme while targeting the message to a given region. Another key to a successful GIMC involves developing local partnerships. Local partners can be marketing research firms or advertising firms that are familiar with the local language and culture. Communication segmentation means creating a communications package that effectively reaches all possible target markets in another country. Many times, companies seek to reach both consumer and business-to-business segments. A well-designed market communications analysis begins with the marketing team identifying the strengths and weaknesses of local competitors and places in which opportunities exist. They also develop an understanding of how the firm is perceived in the international marketplace. Finally, solid communications objectives should be established. Linguistics presents one major hurdle. Chapter 5 Today’s marketers face the challenge of developing advertisements that can be presented in multiple media outlets and break through the highly cluttered world in which people are increasingly adept at tuning ads out. Advertising campaign management is the process of preparing and integrating a specific advertising program in conjunction with the overall IMC umbrella. One advertising agency that has achieved success in advertising campaign management is Zehnder Communications. Advertising Theory In developing an advertising campaign, two theoretical approaches provide a foundation. The hierarchy of effects model and a means–end chain assist in developing effective campaigns. Advertisers also consider the mix of visual and verbal elements to be presented in an advertisement. The hierarchy of effects model clarifies the objectives of an advertising campaign. The model outlines six steps a consumer or a business buyer moves through when making a purchase: 1. Awareness 2. Knowledge 3. Liking 4. Preference 5. Conviction 6. The actual purchase These steps are sequential. A consumer spends a period of time at each one before moving to the next. Thus, before a person develops a liking for a product, she must first know about it. Once the individual has the knowledge and develops liking for the product, the advertiser tries to influence the consumer to favor a particular brand or company. Cognitive → Affective → Conative The sequence parallels the six-step hierarchy of effects process. As a general guideline, cognitive- oriented ads work best for achieving brand awareness and brand knowledge. Although the hierarchy of effects approach may help a creative understand how a consumer reaches a purchase decision, some literature has questioned the theory’s assumptions. For one, the six steps might not always constitute the route a consumer takes. A person may make a purchase (such as an impulse buy in a store or online) and then later develop knowledge, liking, preference, and conviction. Means–End Theory A means–end chain suggests that an advertisement should contain a message, or means, that leads the consumer to a desired end state. These end states are personal values. Means–end theory forms the basis of the Means–End Conceptualization of Components for Advertising Strategy (MECCAS) model. The MECCAS model explains ways to move consumers from product attributes to personal values by highlighting the product’s benefits. Advertisers link a product’s attributes to the specific benefits consumers derive. These benefits, in turn, lead to the attainment of a personal value. The MECCAS approach applies to business-to-business advertisements. Members of the buying center may be influenced by personal values, organizational values, and corporate goals. Verbal and Visual Images Many forms of advertising contain visual and verbal or written elements. A visual ad places the greatest emphasis on a picture or the optical element of the presentation. A verbal or written ad places more emphasis on the copy. Visual and verbal elements combine to create an advertisement that meets the desired stage of the hierarchy of effects model or the attribute-benefit-personal value chosen from a means–chain. Visual images often lead to more favorable attitudes. Visual images range from concrete and realistic to highly abstract. A concrete visual displays something recognizable as a person, place, or thing. In an abstract image, the subject becomes more difficult to recognize. Concrete pictures instill a higher level of recall than abstract images because they allow the image to be stored in the brain with both visual and verbal elements. Visual Esperanto: Advertisers often feature visual imagery in international marketing. Global advertising agencies try to create visual Esperanto, the universal language that makes global advertising possible for any good or service. Visual Esperanto advertising recognizes that visual images contain more power than verbal descriptions and that they transcend cultural differences. Finding the appropriate image constitutes the most important challenge in creating visual Esperanto. The creative looks for one that conveys the intended meaning or message. Marketers then emphasize the brand’s identity with visuals rather than words. The creative uses words to support the visual image. Business-to-Business: In the past, creatives who designed business-to-business advertisements relied on verbal or written elements rather than visuals. The basis of this approach was the conclusion that most business people make decisions in a rational, cognitive manner. The Impact of Advertising Expenditures When developing advertising campaigns, there may be unrealistic assumptions concerning the relationship of advertising budgets to effectiveness. The factors present in the relationship include: •The communications goal •Threshold effects •Diminishing returns •Carryover effects •Wear-out effects •Decay effects Communications goals differ depending on the stage in the buying process. The hierarchy of effects model suggests that prior to making a purchase, a consumer goes through the stages of awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, and conviction. The communications objective and stage in the hierarchy of effects model influence the advertising goal, budget, and message to be sent. Threshold Effects At first, few behavioral responses occur, especially when companies rely mostly on advertising. Then, over time, a consumer who has been repeatedly exposed to a company’s message recalls the brand and eventually becomes willing to make an inquiry or purchase. Threshold effects occur at the point in which the advertising program begins to exert a significant impact on consumer responses. In some circumstances, threshold effects may be relatively easy to achieve. For instance, a new good or service might be so innovative that consumers become quickly aware of its advantages and buy the item immediately. Diminishing Returns Eventually, campaigns reach a point of saturation where further expenditures have a minimal impact. Diminishing returns are part of the concave Courtesy of Max Jordan/Piccadilly Restaurants downward function, in which incremental increases in expenditures in advertising result in smaller and smaller increases in sales. A marginal analysis reveals that further advertising and promotional expenditures adversely affect profits because sales increases total less than what the company spends on the additional marketing or advertising. Carryover Effects Consumers purchase many products only when they need them, such as washing machines and refrigerators. Promotions for such products should be designed to create brand recall, which occurs when the consumer has been exposed to the company’s message for so long that, when the time comes to buy, the individual remebers the brands name. This indicates the presence of carryover effects. Wear-Out Effects At a certain point, an advertisement or particular campaign becomes “old” or “boring.” Consumers begin to tune it out. Some develop negative attitudes if they become annoyed and conclude that the advertisement should be discontinued. This indicates wear-out effects. Decay Effects When a company stops advertising, consumers often begin to forget the message. This indicates decay effects. The presence of decay effects means that companies should continue to engage in some form of marketing communications to keep the brand in people’s thoughts. In-House versus External Advertising Agencies When undertaking an advertising program, deciding whether to use an in-house advertising group or an external advertising agency constitutes the first issue. In-house advertising generates several advantages. First, some marketing managers believe the approach lowers costs and retains better control of the message, which can be aligned with the brand and other company communications. Consequently, members of the marketing department conclude they have a better understanding of the firm’s products and mission and more quickly produce advertisements. An in-house program may be more consistent, due to a lower turnover rate in the creative team. While some companies take advantage of in- house programs, many outsource specific functions, such as writing, filming, recording, and editing advertisements. Most utilize media companies to plan and purchase media time (on television and radio) and space (in magazines, in newspapers, and on billboards). Many employ external agencies to handle social media activities. Advertising agencies provide a variety of options. Budget Allocation Considerations The size of the account affects the selection of an in-house team versus an external advertising agency. A small account may not be attractive to an advertising agency, because it generates lower revenues. When the agency charges a higher fee to compensate, it becomes too costly for the small firm. Smaller accounts create other challenges. Less money can be spent on media time and space purchases because the company spends the majority of the advertising budget on the production of the advertisement. Crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing involves outsourcing the creative aspect of an advertisement or campaign to the public. It delivers an alternative to creating commercials in-house or hiring an external advertising agency. Crowdsourcing can create a viral buzz as users view advertisements online, recommend or send favorites to friends, and post links. The costs of running the crowdsourcing campaign as a contest, paying prize money, creating the microsite to host the contest, and producing the commercial, combined with the time spent by the agency in choosing from the thousands of entries, are nearly equal to what would have been spent on an agency. Crowdsourcing, however, yields the advantage of involving fans and generating the buzz that surrounds the contest for the consumergenerated advertisement. Choosing an Agency Choosing an agency begins with the development of quality selection criteria. The choice of an agency represents a primary component of the advertising management process for many organizations. Goal Setting Company leaders first identify and prioritize corporate goals. The targets give a sense of direction and prevent personal biases from affecting selection decisions. Selection Criteria Firms with experience often set selection criteria in advance in order to reduce any biases that might affect decisions. Agency Size As noted earlier, company marketers consider the size of the agency versus the size of their own firms. Relevant Experience When an agency has experience in a given industry, the agency’s employees better understand the client firm, its customers, and the structure of the marketing channel. At the same time, the client company makes sure the agency does not have any conflicts of interest. An advertising firm hired by one manufacturer of automobile tires would experience a conflict of interest if another tire manufacturer attempted to hire the agency. An advertising agency might have relevant experience without representing a competitor. Such experience is gained when an agency works for a similar company operating in a different industry. Creative Reputation and Capabilities One way to assess an agency’s creativity is to ask for a list of awards the company has received. Production and Media-Purchasing Capabilities Agency capabilities should be examined when production and media-purchasing services are desired. A firm that needs an agency to produce a television commercial and also buy media time should check on these activities as part of the initial screening process. Other Criteria The final three selection criteria—other services available, client retention rates, and personal chemistry-are utilized during the final steps of selection. These criteria help make the final determination in the selection process. Creative Pitch When the company reduces the list to two or three finalists, the selection team asks each for a creative pitch. The advertising agencies chosen to compete provide formal presentations that address a specific problem, situation, or set of questions. The practice is often called a shootout. The presentations reveal how each agency would deal with specific issues that might arise during the preparation of a campaign. The process helps a client company choose the agency that best understands the issues at stake and offers a comprehensive approach to solving the problem or issue. Agency Selection During the presentation phase, company marketers meet with agency creatives, media buyers, account executives, and other people who will be involved with the account. Chemistry between employees of the two different firms becomes critical. The client company’s leaders should be convinced that they will work well together. Chemistry can break or make the final decision. Roles of Advertising Personnel Advertising agency employees perform a variety of tasks. In small agencies, an individual may carry out multiple roles. In a large agency, multiple individuals will be employed in the various departments and perform similar functions. The primary positions within the agency consist of the account executives, creatives, traffic managers, and account planners. The impact of big data and data analytics in marketing communications has led most agencies to employ data scientists. Account Executives The account executive acts as the go-between for the advertising agency and the client company. In some agencies, the executive will be actively involved in soliciting the account, finalizing details of the contract, and coordinating with personnel within the agency to make sure the advertisements meet the client’s specifications. In other agencies, especially larger firms, account executives do not solicit accounts. Creatives Creatives develop and design advertisements. They are either members of advertising agencies or freelancers. Some smaller agencies provide only creative advertising services without becoming involved in other marketing programs and activities. Creatives may appear to hold the “glamour” jobs in agencies because they get to actually create ads and marketing materials. At the same time, creatives work long hours and face enormous pressures to design effective advertisements that produce tangible results. Traffic Managers The traffic manager works closely with the advertising agency’s account executive, creatives, and production staff. The individual’s responsibilities include scheduling the various aspects of the agency’s work to make sure it is completed on time. During production, the traffic manager assumes the responsibility of making sure props, actors, and other items needed have been ordered and are in place at the time of the filming or recording. Account Planners The account planner provides the voice and serves as the advocate for the consumer within the advertising agency. Planners make sure the creative team understands the consumer (or business). Account planners interact with the account executive and the client to understand the target audience of the ad campaign. They then work to make sure the messages reach the right customers. The account planner assists in developing long-term communication strategies and provides direction for individual advertising campaigns. Data Scientists Companies and agencies have access to tremendous amounts of data. Mining this data to provide insights into brands and customers is the work of the data scientist. Digital and Social Media Managers and Consultants With the increase in social media and digital/mobile advertising, agencies now employ individuals to manage the functions. The critical key is to be sure that the digital imprint and social media presence of a brand remain consistent with all advertising messages. Communications must be integrated so that consumers receive the same message in every channel. Specialist Positions Larger agencies offer even more specialized services. Additional positions available in major agencies include the following: •Digital advertising specialist •Digital media planner •Interactive media planner •Web analytics consultant •Graphic artist •Web designer •Online advertising specialist (sales) •Sales researcher Advertising Campaign Parameters Producing effective advertising campaigns requires the joint efforts of the account executive, creative, account planner, and media planner. Advertising Goals Marketers derive advertising goals from the firm’s overall company and targeted communication and objectives that were presented in Chapter 4. Advertising goals are often more specific outcomes designed to have an impact in a shorter time frame that the larger company objectives, which will be pursued over time. Build Brand Awareness A strong global brand often constitutes a key advertising goal, especially for larger companies. Building a brand’s image begins with developing brand awareness. Brand awareness occurs when consumers recognize and remember a particular brand or company name as they consider purchasing options. Advertising presents an excellent venue to increase brand awareness. Successful brands possess two characteristics: the top of mind and the consumer’s top choice. These names are the top of mind brands. For example, when asked to identify fast-food hamburger restaurants. The term top choice suggests what the term implies: A top choice brand is the first or second pick when a consumer reviews her evoked set of possible purchasing alternatives. Provide Information Advertising achieves other goals, such as providing information to both consumers and business buyers. Typical information for consumers includes a retailer’s store hours, business location, or sometimes more detailed product specifications. Persuasion When an ad convinces consumers of a brand’s superiority, persuasion has taken place. Changing consumer attitudes and convincing them to consider a new purchasing choice can be challenging. Advertisers utilize several persuasion methods. One involves showing consumers the negative consequences of failing to buy a particular brand. Supporting Marketing Efforts Advertising often supports other marketing functions. Manufacturers use advertising to accompany trade and consumer promotions, such as theme packaging or combination offers. Many contests require additional advertising to be effective. Encouraging Action Many firms set behavioral goals for advertising programs. A television commercial encouraging viewers to take action by dialing a toll-free number to make a quick purchase serves as an example. Action-oriented advertising takes place in the business-to-business sector. Generating leads becomes the primary goal. Many business advertisements provide web addresses or telephone numbers so that buyers can request more information or make a purchase. The five advertising goals of building image, providing information, generating persuasion, supporting other marketing efforts, and encouraging action are not separate from each other. Media Selection Selecting the appropriate media requires an understanding of the media usage habits of the target market and then matching that information with the profile of each medium's audi-ence. The marketing team identifies the media the target market favors. In business-to-business markets, identifying the trade journals or business publications that various members of the buying center most likely read assists in the development of a print advertising campaign. Taglines A tagline should be something memorable that identifies the uniqueness of a brand or conveys some type of special meaning. “Just Do It” has been Nike’s tagline for many years. Taglines provide consistency across advertising platforms. Consumers often remember taglines and identify them with specific brands. A catchy tagline identifies a brand and then stays with it over successive campaigns. Consistency Repeatedly seeing a specific visual image, headline, copy, or tagline helps to embed a brand into a person’s long-term memory. Visual consistency becomes especially important because most customers spend little time viewing an advertisement. In most cases, an individual gives a casual glance at a print advertisement or cursory attention to a television commercial. Visual consistency leads the viewer and moves the message from short-term to long-term memory. Consistent logos, taglines, headlines, and campaigns aid in this process. Repetition increases consumer ad recall as well as brand recall. Some advertisers emphasize the principles present in variability theory. Creatives generate the effect by varying the situational context of a particular ad. Selecting two media to convey a message will generally be more effective than repeating an advertisement in the same medium. An advertisement placed in more than one venue reduces competing ad interference. In other words, a message presented on television and online via search engine optimization works better than one that appears only on television. Positioning map. Maintaining consistent product positioning throughout a product’s life makes it more likely that a consumer will place the product in a cognitive Campaign Duration The length or duration of a campaign should be identified. Using the same advertisement for an appropriate period of time causes the message to embed in the consumer’s long-term memory. It should be changed before it becomes stale and viewers lose interest; however, changing ads too frequently impedes retention. The criterion that typically determines when it is time to change a campaign is the wear-out effect. When consumers ignore ads and they no longer produce results, it becomes time to launch a new campaign. The Creative Brief When an advertising agency prepares a document to guide in the production of an advertising campaign or for a specific commercial, the document is a creative strategy or creative brief. A quality creative brief, when prepared properly, saves the agency considerable time and effort and results in a stronger advertising campaign for the client. The document serves as a critical creative road map that both the agency and brand/ client follow after the marketing phase is complete and the creative phase begins. The Objective A creative brief identifies the objective of the advertising campaign. The creative staff reviews the main objective (or goal) before designing specific ads or the advertising campaign. The objectives guide the advertising design and the choice of execution. The Target Audience The creatives need an understanding of the target audience. An advertisement designed to persuade a business to inquire about new computer software differs from one directed to consumers by the same company. The business advertisement focuses on the type of industry and a specific member of the buying center. The more detail available regarding the target audience, the easier it becomes for a creative to design an effective advertisement. Message themes can be oriented toward either rational or emotional processes. A “leftbrain” advertisement oriented toward the logical, rational side informs individuals using numbers, letters, words, and concepts. Left-brain advertising features a logical, factual, rational appeal. A number of rational attributes (size, price, special features) influence the decision to buy a car. At the same time, many consumers purchase cars for emotional reasons. The right side of the brain processes abstract ideas, images, and feelings. An automobile may be chosen for its color, sportiness, or other, less-rational reasons. The Support Support should be provided as the fourth component of the creative brief. Support takes the form of facts that substantiate the message theme. The Constraints Constraints apply to every legal and mandatory restriction placed on advertisements. Constraints spell out legal protections for trademarks, logos, and copy registrations. They specify all disclaimers about warranties, offers, and claims. After these components have been completed, the creative brief is ready. From this point forward, the message and the media match, and actual advertisements can be produced. Effective creative briefs take the overall IMC message and tailor it to a specific advertising campaign. This, in turn, gives the company a better chance of reaching customers with messages that return measurable results and help guarantee success. International Implications Advertising management involves significant expenditures overseas. The general processes used to prepare advertising campaigns remain fairly uniform. Some of the most important differences are in the areas of availability of qualified advertising agencies and the manner in which agencies are selected. Agencies in other countries might not follow typical procedures such as a shootout or the preparation of a creative brief. Advertising campaigns designed for an international audience require an understanding of the various languages and cultures that might be involved. Chapter 6 Advertising Design Message Strategies The message theme outlines the key idea in an advertising campaign and becomes the central part of the creative brief. The message theme helps the advertising team derive a message strategy, or the primary tactic or approach used to deliver the message theme. The three broad categories of message strategies include cognitive, affective, and conative approaches. Cognitive Message Strategies A cognitive message strategy presents rational arguments or pieces of information. The ideas require cognitive processing. The advertising message describes the product’s attributes or the benefits customers obtain by purchasing the product. A cognitive message strategy advertisement targets the person’s beliefs and/or knowledge structure by suggesting one of a variety of potential product benefits. Generic Messages An advertisement that directly promotes the product’s attributes or benefits without any claim of superiority transmits a generic message, which works best for a brand leader or one that dominates an industry. A generic message makes the brand synonymous with the product category. Generic message strategies stimulate brand awareness. Preemptive Messages A claim of superiority based on a product’s specific attribute or benefit with the intent of preventing the competition from making the same or a similar statement is a preemptive message. Unique Selling Proposition An explicit, testable claim of uniqueness or superiority that can be supported or substantiated in some manner is a unique selling proposition. Hyperbole An untestable claim based on some attribute or benefit is hyperbole. Comparative Advertising The final cognitive message strategy, a comparative advertisement, occurs when an advertiser directly or indirectly compares a product to the competition based on some attribute or benefit. The advertisement may mention the competitor by name or present a fictional or generic set of competitors. Comparative ads often capture the consumer’s attention. Comparisons frequently increase brand and message awareness. Consumers tend to remember more of what was said about a brand than when a non-comparative format presents the same information. Low believability and negative consumer attitudes constitute the potential downside of comparative ads. Many consumers think such ads are less believable. They view the sponsoring brand’s information as exaggerated and may conclude that the advertisement misstates information about the comparison brand to make the sponsor brand appear superior. This, in turn, leads to negative consumer attitudes toward the brand using the comparative approach. Another danger arises when consumers experience negative attitudes toward the advertisement, which then transfers to the advertiser’s product. This becomes more likely when a brand runs a negative comparative ad about the competition’s product. Affective Message Strategies Advertisements that evoke feelings or emotions and match those feelings with the good, service, or company feature affective message strategies. These messages attempt to enhance the likeability of the product, recall of the appeal, or comprehension of the advertisement. Affective strategies should elicit emotions that lead the consumer to act, preferably by buying the product and subsequently by affecting the consumer’s reasoning process. Resonance Connecting a brand with a consumer’s experiences in order to develop stronger ties between the product and the consumer is affective resonance advertising. A new form of resonance advertising, comfort marketing, gained traction when marketers looked for ways to encourage consumers to purchase brand name rather than generic products. The approach reassures consumers looking for value that a branded product stands the test of time. Comfort marketing involves bringing back vintage characters, themes, and jingles to evoke fond memories when times were better. To ensure the brand does not look old-fashioned, most refresh the mascot, music, taglines, and other aspects of the ad. Emotional An emotional affective approach attempts to elicit powerful feelings that enhance product recall and choice. Many emotions connect to products, including trust, reliability, friendship, happiness, security, glamour, luxury, serenity, pleasure, romance, and passion. Companies incorporate emotional appeals into both consumer-oriented and business-to-business advertisements. Members of the buying center in a business are humans who make purchasing decisions based on more than rational thinking. Emotions and feelings affect choices. Conative Message Strategy A conative message strategy seeks to lead directly to consumer responses. They often support other promotional efforts, such as coupon redemption programs and cash-back rebates, or encourage consumers to access a website. The advertisements pursue the goal of eliciting behaviors. Conative ads typically encourage quick action by stating that the item cannot be purchased in stores and will be available for only a limited time. With conative advertising, cognitive knowledge of the brand or affective liking of the product often come later (after the actual purchase) or during product usage. One note of caution regarding conative strategies has emerged. What have been termed assertive advertisements, in which consumers are directed to “buy this,” or “do this,” or “don’t do that” have yielded some resistance, especially among the most loyal consumers. Research indicates that people do not like to be told what to do by brands they enjoy the most, and doing so may damage relationships with them. Consequently, assertive ads seem best suited to newer or less well-known products. Types of Advertising Appeals Advertisers employ numerous advertising approaches. Of these, seven advertising appeals have achieved the most success. Normally, one or a combination of these types of appeals appears in an advertisement. Fear Appeals Advertisements featuring fear appeals are commonplace. Advertisers employ fear appeals because they work. Fear increases viewer interest in an advertisement and can enhance the ad’s persuasiveness. Many individuals remember commercials with fear appeals better than they do warm, upbeat messages. Consumers pay attention to ads using fear and are more likely to process the information conveyed, which makes it possible to accomplish an advertisement’s main objective. Severity and Vulnerability When developing fear advertisements, the creative incorporates as many aspects of the behavioral response model as possible. A business-to-business advertiser offering internet services tries to focus on the severity of downtime if a company’s internet server goes down or is hacked. Another ad describes the firm’s vulnerability by showing the probability that a company’s server will crash or can be hacked into and have its customer data stolen. Rewards to Response Efficacy Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards constitute the first factor. Intrinsic rewards come from gaining social acceptance by quitting and feeling healthier. Appeal Strength The strength of the appeal constitutes another key factor in a fear approach. Most advertisers believe a moderate level of fear produces the best results. A low fear level may not be noticed and might not be convincing in terms of severity or vulnerability. An advertisement containing a strong fear level also backfires when the message generates feelings of anxiety. This leads the viewer to avoid watching the commercial by changing the channel or muting the sound. Consequently, a fear appeal should be powerful enough to capture a viewer’s attention and to influence her thinking but not so scary that she avoids watching the advertisement. Humor Appeals Clutter presents a significant problem in every advertising medium. Capturing a viewer’s attention continues to be difficult. Even after grabbing the audience’s attention, keeping it can be challenging. Humor has proven to be one of the best techniques for cutting through clutter, by getting attention and maintaining it. Consumers, as a whole, enjoy advertisements that make them laugh. The best results occur when the humor connects directly with the product’s benefits. The advertisement should link the product’s features with the advantage to customers and personal values in a means–end chain. Although a funny advertisement captures the viewer’s attention, cuts through clutter, and enhances recall, it can go wrong. One consistent issue has been that truly funny ads are hard to create, most notably because what one person thinks is humorous another does not. Advertisers avoid allowing the humor to overpower the message. Humor fails when consumers remember the joke but not the product or brand. In other words, the advertisement is so funny that the audience forgets or does not catch the brand’s name. Sex Appeals Sexual appeals help break through clutter. Sexual themes in ads, however, do not always work. Sex no longer has shock value. Today’s teens grow up in societies immersed in it. One more sexually oriented ad captures little attention. An increasing backlash against sexuality in advertising has taken place, as more and more take issue with being objectified by a commercial or marketing piece. Subliminal Approach Placing sexual cues or icons in advertisements in an attempt to affect a viewer’s subconscious utilizes a subliminal approach. Sensuality Many women respond more favorably to a sensual suggestion than to an overtly sexual approach. An alluring glance across a crowded room draws attention to the product. Many view sensuality as being more sophisticated, because it relies on the imagination. Images of romance and love may be more enticing than raw sexuality. Sexual Suggestiveness A suggestive advertisement hints that sex is about to take place. Nudity or Partial Nudity Products that contain sexual connotations or elements, such as clothing, perfume, and cologne, may feature a degree of nudity. Some ads are designed to solicit a sexual response while others do not. Overt Sexuality Advertisements for sexually oriented products featuring overt approaches will normally be deemed acceptable. Overt sexuality becomes more controversial when applied to other types of products. Decorative Models Placing individuals to adorn products as sexual or attractive stimuli into advertisements is the decorative model approach. The individuals serve no purpose other than to attract attention. Effectiveness of Sex Appeals Numerous studies examined the effectiveness of sexual appeals and nudity in advertising. Almost all concluded that sex and nudity increase attention. At the same time, brand recall tends to be lower than advertisements with other types of appeals. It appears that although people watch the advertisement, the sexual theme distracts them from noticing the brand name and other message elements. Societal Trends When an advertising team determines the level of sex appeal to feature in an advertisement, they consider society’s views and prevalent levels of acceptance. Just as economies go through cycles, attitudes toward sex in advertising experience acceptance fluctuations. Criticisms of Sex Appeals One common criticism of sexually based advertising is that it perpetuates dissatisfaction with one’s body. Often, thin females adorn print and television advertisements. Research indicates that many women feel unhappy about their bodies and believe they are too fat after viewing advertisements featuring thin models. With males, the reverse is true. Many men worry they are not muscular enough and are too thin or too fat to buy the item. It does not make any difference whether the male views a male model or a female model in advertisements. The idea that advertising objectifies women has caused some marketing professionals to respond. Music Appeals Music often adds an important ingredient to an advertisement. A musical theme connects with emotions, memories, and other experiences. Music is intrusive; it gains the attention of someone who previously was not listening to or watching a program. It may provide the stimulus that ties a particular musical arrangement, jingle, or song to a certain brand. As soon as the tune begins, consumers recognize the brand being advertised because they have been conditioned to tie the product to the music. Music gains attention and often increases the retention of information when it becomes intertwined with the product. Even when a consumer does not recall the ad message argument, music can lead to better recall of an advertisement’s visual and emotional aspects. Rational Appeals A rational appeal follows the hierarchy of effects stages of awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, and purchase. A creative designs the advertisement for one of the six steps. An ad oriented to the knowledge stage transmits basic product information. In the preference stage, the message shifts to presenting logical reasons that favor the brand, such as the superior gas mileage of an automobile. A rational advertisement should lead to a stronger conviction about a product’s benefits, so that the consumer eventually makes the purchase. Rational appeals rely on consumers actively processing the information presented in the advertisement. The consumer must pay attention to the commercial, comprehend the message, and compare the information to knowledge embedded in a cognitive map. Messages consistent with the current concepts in a person’s cognitive map strengthen key linkages. New messages help the individual form cognitive beliefs about the brand and establish a new linkage from her current map to the new brand. Emotional Appeals Emotional appeals are based on three ideas. First, consumers ignore most advertisements. Second, rational appeals go unnoticed except for consumers in the market for a particular product at the time it is advertised. Third and most important, emotional advertising often captures a viewer’s attention and creates an emotional attachment between the consumer and the brand. Most creatives view emotional advertising as the key to brand loyalty. Creatives want customers to experience bonds with the brand. Many times, visual cues in advertisements are key components of emotional appeals. Although individuals develop perceptions of brands based largely on visual and peripheral stimuli, this does not happen instantly. With repetition, perceptions and attitudinal changes emerge. Scarcity Appeals Scarcity appeals urge consumers to buy a product because of a limitation. It can be that a limited number of the item is available or that the product will be sold for only a short period of time. Executional Frameworks An executional framework or execution signifies the manner in which an ad appeal will be presented and a message strategy conveyed. Each is matched with the type of appeal and message strategy as part of the overall advertising design process. Animation Executions The use of animation has risen dramatically. The growing sophistication of computer graphics programs makes new and exciting advertisements possible. Successful animated films continue to generate interest in animation advertising, which can be featured in television spots, on the internet, and in movie trailers. Companies place single shots of animated characters in print ads. The rotoscoping process facilitates digitally painting or sketching figures into live sequences, which makes it possible to present both live actors and animated characters in the same frame. The creative can merge or modify various live scenes. Historically rotoscoping was an expensive process; however, the cost has declined, and many advertising agencies have increased usage of the approach as a result. Slice-of-Life Executions In slice-of-life commercials, advertisers provide solutions to everyday problems. Slice-of-life commercials depicted common experiences— especially the problems people encountered—and introduced the brand to solve the problem. The slice-of-life format contains four components: encounter, problem, interaction, and solution. Business-to-business advertisements utilize the slice-of-life method because it allows the advertiser to highlight the ways a brand meets specific needs. Storytelling Executions Storytelling does not include an encounter where a brand solves a problem faced by a consumer or business, as in the slice-of-life approach. Instead, a storytelling execution resembles a 30-second movie with a plot or story in which the brand is more at the periphery rather than at the center of the ad. A “hard-sell” approach directly presents a brand’s benefits or features. The storytelling format enables the viewer to draw his own conclusions about the product. Testimonial Executions A testimonial type of execution has achieved success for many years, especially in the business-to-business and service sectors. A customer relating a positive experience with a brand offers a testimonial. In the business-to-business advertisements, testimonials from current customers add credibility to the claims. Most business buyers believe what others say about a company more than they believe what a company says about itself. Testimonials enhance company credibility to retail customers. Endorsers and famous individuals do not always have high levels of credibility, because consumers know they are being paid for their endorsements. The same holds true for paid actors who look like everyday consumers. The most believable testimonies come from everyday people and/ or actual customers. Authoritative Executions Advertisers use the authoritative execution to convince viewers of a brand’s superiority. Expert authority constitutes one form. The ads employ a physician, dentist, engineer, or chemist, who describes the particular brand’s advantages compared to other brands. Firms also feature less- recognized experts, such as automobile mechanics, professional house painters, and aerobics instructors. These individuals talk about the attributes or benefits of the product that make the brand superior. Many authoritative advertisements include scientific or survey evidence. Demonstration Executions A demonstration execution displays how a product works. It provides an effective method for communicating the product’s benefits to viewers. Business-to-business ads often present demonstrations. These allow a business to illustrate how a product meets the specific needs of another business. Fantasy Executions Fantasy executions lift the audience beyond the real world to a make-believe experience. Some are realistic. Others might be completely irrational. Viewers often recall the most irrational and illogical ads. Fantasies deal with anything. Common fantasy themes include sex, love, or romance. Some marketing experts believe sex and nudity in advertising have lost impact. Instead, advertisers feature a softer, more subtle presentation. Fantasy fits with target audiences who prefer a tamer presentation. Instead of raw sexuality, fantasy takes them into a world of romantic make-believe. Informative Executions Informative advertisements speak to the audience in a straightforward manner. Agencies prepare them extensively for radio commercials, where only verbal communication takes place. Informative ads are less common in television and print because consumers tend to ignore them. With so many ads bombarding the consumer, it takes more than the presentation of information to capture someone’s attention. Consumers who are highly involved in a particular product category pay attention to an informational ad. Business buyers in the process of gathering information for either a new buy or a modified rebuy will notice an informative commercial. A slice-of-life might combine a fear appeal with a cognitive message strategy. Informative ads may be humorous, as can animations. Testimonials or demonstrations are rational or emotional and can deploy any of the three message strategies. As the advertising campaign comes together, one element remains: finding the face or voice for the product. Sources and Spokespersons When creating a commercial or ad, the final issue facing the creative, the company, and the account executive will be the choice of the source or spokesperson, who delivers an advertising message visually and/or verbally. Selection of this individual often constitutes a critical choice. Celebrity Spokespersons Of the four types, celebrity spokespersons are the most common, even though their appearances in ads have waned. Additional Celebrity Endorsements Three additional variations of celebrity endorsements include celebrity voiceovers, dead person endorsements, and social media endorsements. Celebrities provide voiceovers for television and radio ads without being shown or identified. Agencies use a voiceover because the celebrity provides a quality voice to the advertisement, even when individuals listening to the ad do not recognize the voice. Celebrities can take a script and bring it to life. One negative of voiceovers is that they can be a distraction to the consumer if they become focused on identifying the speaker rather than hearing the content of the ad. A dead person endorsement occurs when a sponsor uses an image or past video or film featuring an actor or personality who has passed away. Dead person endorsements are somewhat controversial but are becoming common. CEO Spokespersons Instead of celebrities, advertisers can employ a CEO as the spokesperson or source. Experts Expert sources include physicians, lawyers, accountants, and financial planners. These experts are not celebrities or CEOs. Experts provide backing for testimonials, serve as authoritative figures, demonstrate products, and enhance the credibility of informative advertisements. Typical Persons Typical persons are one of two types. The first includes paid actors or models who portray or resemble everyday people. The second is actual, typical, everyday people. Source Characteristics In evaluating sources, most account executives and companies consider several characteristics. The effectiveness of an advertising campaign that utilizes a spokesperson depends on the degree to which the person has one or more of the characteristics. Credibility The composite of attractiveness, similarity, likeability, trustworthiness, and expertise creates credibility, which in turn affects the receiver’s acceptance of the spokesperson and message. People believe credible sources. Attractiveness Two forms of attractiveness are physical and personality characteristics. Physical attractiveness contributes an important endorser asset. Advertisements presented by physically attractive spokespersons fare better than advertisements with less attractive people, for both male and female audiences. The attractiveness of the spokesperson’s personality will also be important to many consumers because it helps viewers form emotional bonds with the spokesperson. Similarity Closely related to attractiveness is similarity. Consumers are more inclined to be influenced by a message delivered by a similar person. Likeability Attractiveness and similarity are closely linked to likeability. Consumers respond positively to spokespersons they like. Viewers often like an actor or the character played by the actor in a movie. Trustworthiness A celebrity may be likeable or attractive but may not be viewed as trustworthy. Trustworthiness represents the degree of confidence or the level of acceptance consumers place in the spokesperson’s message. A trustworthy spokesperson helps consumers believe the message. Expertise Spokespersons exhibiting higher levels of expertise become more believable. A Key Source Characteristic: Character Issues Many advertisers now carefully research celebrity spokespersons, seeking to ensure that no adverse publicity or behaviors can be found in the person’s past. Incidents such as embarrassing videos, racially charged or sexually demeaning comments, or other inappropriate actions tend to live forever on the internet. Matching Source Types and Characteristics The account executive, agency, and corporate sponsor, individually or jointly, choose the type of spokesperson. They can choose a celebrity, CEO, expert, or typical person, and the specific individual should have the key source characteristics. In terms of trustworthiness, believability, persuasiveness, and likeability, celebrities tend to score well. These virtues increase when the match between the product and celebrity consists of a logical and proper fit. International Implications Many of the international implications of advertising design have been described in this chapter. Marketers adapt message strategies, advertising appeals, and executions to cultural differences. In other cultures, body odor does not carry the same meaning. Another example is when marketers adjust sexual appeals to fit the laws and customs of a region. Advertisers seek to understand these differences before designing advertising messages. Care should also be given to language and translation. An international company or a firm seeking to expand into additional countries should adapt every element of a marketing communications program to local conditions. Sources and spokespersons may have differing levels of success, depending on the culture of the country involved. Chapter 7 Successful marketing involves identifying target markets and finding the media to reach the members of those markets. Once the advertising team identifies the best media, creatives design clever, memorable, exciting, and persuasive advertisements. When an advertising campaign succeeds, it may not only reach customers in traditional ways (television, magazines, radio) but in the new world of digital media, it will be passed along and shared via the internet and in other ways. Traditional media continue to play an important role in developing a fully integrated marketing program. Estimates suggest that expenditures for traditional media, while declining, continue to represent substantial amounts of money. The Media Strategy A media strategy involves analyzing and choosing media for an advertising and marketing campaign. Careful research will be required. To further complicate account executive and media buyer jobs, prices for advertising time and space have risen. Client budgets for advertising have not gone up as quickly, even as demands for results and accountability increase. The marketing team faces difficulties in locating cost-effective media outlets. After developing a media strategy, other aspects of media selection proceed. Media Planning Media planning commences with a target market analysis. It involves understanding the processes customers use in making purchases and factors that influence their final decisions. One method of addressing media planning starts with a study of the media choices that members of a specific, defined target market might make at different times during the course of a day. A marketing analysis provides a comprehensive review of the marketing program. It includes a statement about current sales, current market share, and prime prospects to be solicited (by demographics, lifestyle, geographic location, or product usage). The elements include a pricing strategy based on the product, a description of the item’s benefits and distinguishing characteristics, and an analysis of the competitive environment. An advertising analysis states the primary advertising strategy and its budget. The media strategy spells out the media to be featured and the creative considerations. The media schedule notes when ads will appear in individual vehicles. The justification and summary outlines the measures of goal achievement. It also explains the rationale for each media choice. Several individuals take part in media planning. In addition to account executives, account planners, and creatives, most agencies utilize media planners and media buyers. In smaller agencies, the media planner and media buyer may be the same person. In larger companies, they are usually different individuals. Some agencies employ media firms to handle media planning and buying or hire a subsidiary agency. The tasks involved in media planning continue to evolve. Professionals in the field make extensive use of marketing analytics, which may be defined as the practice of managing and studying metrics data in order to determine the ROI (return on investment). Media Planners The media planner formulates a program stating where and when to place ads. Media planners work closely with creatives, account executives, account planners, agencies, and media buyers. The creative should know which media will be used to help design effective messages. Creatives construct television ads in different ways than for radio, newspapers, or magazines.Media planners provide valuable services and are in high demand. The issue of accountability for advertising results combined with the need to create a return on investment on marketing dollars has led the media buying side of an agency to hold greater importance. Media planning influences the strategic approach. The media planner conducts research and examines various metrics and analytics projections to match the product with the market and media. The media planner matches the target market with the venues potential customers would most likely view. The media planner gathers information about various traditional media. This includes newspaper and magazine circulation rates along with the characteristics of the people who read them. Media Buyers After the media are chosen, the media buyer purchases the space and negotiates rates, times, and schedules for traditional media ads. Media buyers maintain contact with media sales representatives. They know a great deal about rates and schedules. Media buyers watch for special deals and tie-ins between media outlets (for example, radio with television or magazines that have the same owner). A spot ad is a one-time placement of a commercial in a medium. Agencies negotiate rates individually based on the number of times the ads appear. Small versus Large Markets Some research indicates that little connection exists between the size of an advertising firm and the prices it can negotiate. Companies base media costs on the time of the actual purchase (closer to the day the ad is to run) rather than the size of the agency. The quality of media choices, creativity, financial stewardship, the agency’s culture and track record, and the relationship between the agency and the medium’s sales representative lead to differences in the effectiveness of various advertising campaigns. The quality of the media selections made combined with the advertisement’s content determines levels of success. Advertising Terminology Advertising has its own unique set of terms and measures. Reach represents the number of people, households, or businesses in a target audience exposed to a media vehicle or message schedule at least once during a given time period, which normally consists of four weeks. How many targeted buyers did the ad reach at least once during a four-week period? Frequency The average number of times an individual, household, or business within a particular target market is exposed to a particular advertisement within a specified time period— again, usually four weeks—constitutes frequency. It specifies how many times the person encountered the ad during a campaign. Opportunities to See In media planning, instead of frequency, buyers use opportunities to see (OTS), or the cumulative exposures achieved in a given time period. Gross Rating Points Gross rating points (GRPs) measure the impact or intensity of a media plan. Advertisers calculate gross rating points by multiplying a vehicle’s rating by the OTS, or number of insertions of an advertisement. GRPs provide the advertiser with a better idea of the odds that members of the target audience actually viewed the commercial. By increasing the number of opportunities to see or frequency, the chances of a television viewer seeing an advertisement rises. Cost To evaluate how cost-effective one medium or ad placement is compared to another, the cost per thousand (CPM) figure can be calculated. Marketers calculate CPM using the following formula: CPM = (Cost of media buy/Total audience) X 1,000 Ratings and Cost per Rating Point Ratings measure the percentage of a firm’s target market exposed to a television show or the number of readers of a print medium. Marketers often use a measure called the cost per rating point (CPRP). The cost per rating point formula that measures the relative efficiency of a media vehicle relative to a firm’s target market is: CPRP = Cost of media buy:Vehicle: s rating An alternative method of determining whether an ad has reached the target market efficiently is a weighted (or demographic) CPM value, which can be calculated as: Weighted CPM = Advertisement cost : 1,000 Actual audience reached Continuity The exposure pattern or schedule used during a campaign signifies its continuity. The three types of patterns are continuous, pulsating, and discontinuous. A continuous campaign uses media time in a steady stream. A flighting (or discontinuous) campaign schedule, in which advertisements run at only certain times of the year, differs from the first two approaches. A pulsaiting shedule are ads placed randomly during the entire year, especcialy during the holidays. Impressions The final advertising term is impressions. The number of gross impressions represents the total exposures of the audience to an advertisement. It does not account for the percentage of the total audience that sees the advertisement. Achieving Advertising Objectives Advertisers consider the number of times a person will be exposed to an advertisement before it creates an impact. Most agree that a single exposure will not be sufficient. The actual number inspires a great deal of debate. The Three-Exposure Hypothesis Most media planners believe an advertisement requires a minimum of three exposures for an advertisement to be effective. The three-exposure hypothesis, as developed by Herbert Krugman, suggests that an advertisement can make an impact on an audience regardless of individual needs or wants. Further, the intrusion value of an advertisement represents the ability of a medium or an advertisement to capture the attention of a viewer without her voluntary effort. This reasoning concludes that it takes at least three exposures to capture a viewer’s attention. Recency Theory Currently, many advertisers believe that clutter has diminished the viability of the three-exposure hypothesis. Recency theory notes that a consumer exhibits selective attention and focuses on personal needs and wants as he considers advertisements. When a consumer pays attention to messages that might meet his needs or wants, the closer an exposure to a commercial is to the purchase decision, the more powerful the ad becomes. Recency theory proposes that one ad exposure may actually be enough to affect a person or business that needs the product being promoted. Additional exposures may not be necessary. Therefore, companies should advertise almost continually to ensure an advertisement reaches a buyer when she thinks about making a purchase. In the business-to-business arena, recency theory suggests that advertisements should appear in a number of outlets and over a longer period of time rather than running a series of ads in one trade journal. Many times, buying centers consist of several members, each with differing responsibilities. Making sure each one sees an advertisement would mean placing ads in every journal that might be read by buying center members. To facilitate the purchasing process for a company seeking to acquire an audio-conferencing system, the media buyer purchases space in trade journals, human resource journals, sales journals, and business journals. Effective Reach and Frequency Seeking to discover the minimum number of exposures needed to be effective may be based on two concepts: effective frequency and effective reach. Effective reach identifies the percentage of an audience that must be exposed to a particular message to achieve a specific objective. Effective frequency refers to the number of times a target audience must be exposed to a message to achieve a particular objective. The effective frequency concept implies that a minimum number of exposures will be needed. Effective frequency and effective reach provide crucial guidelines. Other elements enhance effective frequency and effective reach. They include the size and placement of an advertisement. The number of different media used in a campaign also influences effectiveness. In general, a campaign featuring ads in two types of media, such as television and magazines, generates greater effective reach than a campaign in only one medium, such as magazines only. Brand Recognition Brand recognition requires an emphasis on the visual presentation of the product and/or logo. Traditional media that are effective at maximizing reach include television, billboards, magazines, the internet, and direct mail. Brand Recall To increase brand recall, frequency becomes more important than reach. Repetition helps embed a brand in the consumer’s memory. Repetition makes it more likely that a particular brand will come to mind. Media Selection Effectively mixing advertising media remains a vital element in the design of a quality advertising campaign. To do so, marketing professionals consider the advantages and disadvantages of each individual medium. Television No medium has undergone more radical change than the television industry over the past decade. Many experts believe the internet and the corresponding venues it has created have reduced the impact of traditional television. This new challenge to television advertising may be labeled provider fragmentation. The emergence of such new methods for watching television shows delivered via the internet has led to the emergence of various providers, thereby increasing the number of programs individuals can access and the corresponding fragmentation of viewing audiences. In spite of the decline in traditional television viewers, for many brands and companies, the medium remains a viable advertising option. At the same time, advertisers should be aware that television viewing has changed. Advantages of Television Advertising Television provides the most extensive coverage and the greatest reach. A single advertisement can reach millions. Television provides intrusion value. Commercials featuring a catchy musical tune, sexy content, or humor can quickly capture a viewer’s attention. Television offers opportunities to be creative in designing advertisements. Visual images and sounds can be incorporated in a commercial. Advertisers demonstrate products and services on television in a manner not possible in print or using radio advertisements. Disadvantages of Television Advertising Clutter constitutes the primary problem for television advertising. Many programs include 31 commercials per hour and take as long as 19 minutes to run. As a result, many viewers switch channels during the breaks. Often, low recall exists, especially for commercials placed in the middle of an advertising segment. Messages at the beginning or near the end of the break have better chances to be recalled. Ratings To gain a sense of how well an advertisement fared in terms of reaching an audience, a given program’s rating can be calculated. The typical ratings formula is: Rating = Number of households tuned to a program : Total number of households in a market C3 Ratings A new rating system has become available. The C3 rating calculates a score for the actual commercial time slot rather than the television program. It computes a commercial’s rating plus any viewing of the commercial three days after the original ad ran. Many firms now use the C3 rating to determine national television advertising rates. Marketers calculate the C3 rating by computing the average rating of all commercials within a particular pod or commercial segment. Ratings Providers ACNielsen is the primary organization that calculates and reports ratings and shares. The company provides information regarding shares of stations in local markets known as designated marketing areas (DMAs). Data-gathering techniques used by Nielsen include diaries written by viewers who report what they watched, audience meters that record what is being shown automatically, and people meters that track the viewing habits of individual members of families. Experts further refine the figures to help advertisers understand whether an advertisement reached a target market. Within rating and share categories, viewers are subdivided by certain demographics, such as age, income, gender, educational level, and race or ethnic heritage. One new approach to television advertising involves more precise targeting. Local and Regional Television Advertising For local and regional companies, spot TV may be the best television advertising option. In many cases, national brands supplement national commercials with spot TV purchases in select markets. Media planners use this approach primarily due to the high cost of national ad time and because many prime-time slots sell out during the spring, shortly after they go on the market. Dynamic Advertising Television networks, cable, and satellite TV companies have introduced a new technology that helps advertisers zero in on specific target markets. Dynamic advertising allows a company such as DirecTV to obtain consumer information from marketing research firms and combine it with the company’s data to send targeted ads to its subscribers who meet specific criteria and live in targeted areas. Another version of dynamic advertising involves sending follow-up ads to a person’s mobile device after viewing the ad on TV. Millennial Media’s new technology can insert follow-up video ads into webpages or apps being viewed by individuals who have already watched the ad on television. The retargeting process transmits follow-up messages targeting individuals who have already viewed the ad on television. Retargeting creates additional opportunities to re-engage consumers and to transmit sequential messaging. Social Media and Television Currently, many consumers watch less TV as they spend more time online. For others, the opposite takes place. Social media, mobile, and the internet enrich television viewing experiences and drive consumers to watch more programs. Individuals who spend considerable time with social media tend to watch more TV, although some of it may be on tablets and other portable devices. YouTube and Television Many companies and advertising agencies post television commercials on YouTube. Some ads are placed on the site simultaneously with the TV launch (called in-stream) while others are submitted to YouTube prior to the national launch (called pre-roll). Super Bowl Advertising The Super Bowl continues to be the biggest television advertising event of the year. Many of the 110 million households tune in to see new ads as much as to watch the game. Social media changed Super Bowl advertising. Many of the commercials first show up on YouTube, Facebook, the company’s website, or on the agency’s site prior to the game. As noted, pre-roll teaser ads entice viewers to watch the entire commercial during the game. Pre-rolling ads generates excitement and allows viewers to see, share, and discuss the ads before, during, and after the game. Many companies and agencies spend as much time developing a marketing plan for the pre-roll as they do for the actual Super Bowl commercial. Further, another approach involves the release of extended versions of an advertisement with more content or additional information about the ad spot on the website. Radio Despite CDs, iPods, audiobooks, smartphones, and other types of audio devices, many still listen to the radio daily. One factor that has somewhat diminished the number of listeners who use traditional radio has been the switch to new types of providers. The effect is especially profound among younger people. Most radio ads are produced locally and with small budgets. Advantages of Radio Advertising Quality radio advertisements cause the listener to remember the message by creating powerful images to visualize and by employing repetition. These actions move the information from the consumer’s short-term to long-term memory. Sound effects and lively tunes assist in the process. Through repetition, a person hears an advertisement often enough to generate recall. A radio station reaches definable target markets based on its format, such as talk radio, lite mix, oldies, or country. A firm can advertise on a specific type of station across the country. Radio advertisers examine the rating and share of a program as well as the estimated number of people listening. Arbitron calculates these numbers for local stations. Radio inspires intimacy. Listeners often feel personally close to DJs and radio personalities. The attachment grows over time. Hearing the same individual becomes more personal and intimate, especially if the listener has a conversation with the DJ during a contest or when requesting a song or talking about a hot political issue. The bond or intimacy level gives the radio personality a higher level of credibility and an edge to goods and services the radio celebrity endorses. Local radio also enjoys the advantage of being the most viable medium for events such as high school or college sports and other community gatherings. Radio advertising offers a low- cost option for local firms. Ads can be placed at ideal times and adapted to local conditions. For business-to-business advertisers, radio provides the opportunity to reach businesses during working hours. Disadvantages of Radio Advertising Short exposure time creates one problem for radio. Most commercials last 15 or 30 seconds. Listeners involved in other activities, such as driving or working on a computer, may not pay attention. Further, people often use radio as a background to drown out other distractions, especially at work. It can be challenging for national advertisers to cover large areas with radio advertisements. To place a national advertisement requires contacting several companies. Out-of-Home Advertising Billboards along major roads are the most common form of out-of-home (OOH) advertising; however, there are others. Outdoor advertising includes signs on cabs, buses, park benches, and fences of sports arenas. A blimp flying above a major sporting event constitutes another form of out-of-home advertising. Advantages of Out-of-home Advertising Out-of-home advertising offers long life. For local firms, billboards and other out-of-home advertisements provide quality exposures, because the messages will primarily be seen by residents. Out-of-home provides a low-cost medium in terms of cost per impression. It features a broad reach and a high level of frequency when advertisers purchase multiple billboards or venues. Every person traveling past a billboard or who sees a moving message counts as an exposure. Disadvantages of Out-of-home Advertising Short exposure time remains the major drawback of out-of-home advertising. Drivers pay attention to the traffic as they pass by a billboard. As a result, advertisers keep messages short. Print Media Printed outlets continue to be an important component of traditional media. A growing number of print magazines and newspapers have developed digital versions to be viewed on computers, tablets, and smartphones. In some cases, the digital format will be identical to the print version. In others, the site includes additional or different content. Just as websites became essential for businesses, print media companies now develop digital components to compete effectively. Magazines For many advertisers, magazines represent a secondary choice in media buying. Recent research indicates, however, that magazines often deliver a quality option. Advantages of Magazine Advertising Use of magazines facilitates high levels of market segmentation by topic area. Even within certain market segments, such as automobiles, a number of magazines exist. High audience interest is another advantage. People reading magazines tend to view and pay attention to advertisements related to their needs and wants. Often, readers linger over an ad for longer periods of time because they read magazines in waiting situations, such as in a doctor’s office, or during leisure time. The high level of interest, segmentation, and differentiation, when combined with high-quality color, are ideal for products with well-defined target markets. Trade and business journals remain the primary choice for business-to-business marketers. Magazines have long lives that reach beyond an immediate issue. An avid magazine reader might examine a particular issue several times and spend a considerable amount of time with each issue. Disadvantages of Magazine Advertising Magazine advertisements require a great deal of lead time and are expensive to prepare. They may be less viable for more general consumption products such as basic necessities. In general, magazines deliver an effective advertising medium. In both consumer and business markets, it appears that magazines, used in conjunction with other media, enhance the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. Newspapers For many smaller local firms, newspaper ads, billboards, and local radio programs provide viable advertising options. Newspapers are distributed daily, weekly, or in partial form as the advertising supplements found in the front sections of grocery stores and retail outlets. The online versions have also become viable options for local businesses. Advantages of Newspaper Advertising Promoting sales, retail hours, and store locations is easier. Short lead time permits retailers to quickly change ads and promotions. Such flexibility presents the advantage of allowing advertisers the ability to keep ads current, and ads can be modified to meet competitive offers or to focus on recent events. Newspapers retain high credibility levels. Most readers rely on newspapers for factual information. A recent survey of shoppers revealed that newspapers were the most trusted source of information for purchase decisions. Disadvantages of Newspaper Advertising Newspapers cannot be easily targeted to specific market segments, although sports pages carry sports ads, entertainment pages contain movie and restaurant ads, and so forth. Newspapers have short lives. Once read, a newspaper will be cast aside, recycled, or destroyed. If a reader does not see an advertisement during the first pass through a newspaper, it may go unnoticed. Readers rarely pick up papers a second time. When they do, it is to continue reading, not to reread or rescan a section that has already been viewed. Media Mix Marketers recognize the importance of selecting the proper blend of traditional media outlets for advertisements. As they prepare campaigns, advertisers make decisions regarding the appropriate mix of media. Media planners and media buyers provide information regarding the most effective type of mix for a particular advertising campaign. The media multiplier effect suggests that the combined impact of using two or more media will be stronger than using either medium alone. Media Selection in Business-to- Business Markets Fewer differences between consumer ads and business-to-business ads exist, especially on television, outdoor, and the internet. In the past, business-to-business advertisements were easy to spot because the content was aimed at another company. Marketers seldom used television, outdoor, or the internet. Now companies spend more than half of all business advertising dollars on nonbusiness venues. Several factors explain the shift to nonbusiness media. First, business decision-makers also consume goods and services. The same psychological techniques used to influence and gain consumer attention can be used for business decision-makers. Second, reaching business decision-makers at work can be challenging. Gatekeepers (office administrators, voice mail systems, etc.) often prevent the flow of information to users, influencers, and decision-makers. Third, clutter among the traditional business media makes it hard for a company to be noticed. Business advertisers recognize that a strong brand name can be a major factor in making a sale. International Implications Understanding media viewing habits in international markets constitutes an important part of a successful advertising program. In many global markets, television continues to be the most dominant major advertising tool. Large global media agencies encountered some criticism in recent years from marketing managers who complain about the inability to provide effective media buys throughout all the countries where their clients operate. Although a few agencies do cover the world, it is difficult to be strong in every country in which an agency has a presence. The global agency may not be the best option in every country. For this reason, local media agencies and the consortium of independent agencies believe they have a better opportunity to increase their market shares. Chapter 10 Alternative Marketing Programs Developing alternative marketing programs requires creativity and imagination. Marketers identify places where a consumer’s path intersects with a brand’s presence or creates an intersection point. They prepare attentiongetting marketing messages for those points of contact, which provides the opportunity to supplement mass media and digital advertising with more targeted methods. Alternative marketing relies on buzz, word-of-mouth, and lifestyle messages at times and in places where consumers relax and enjoy hobbies and events. Utilizing these venues in an integrated marketing program that speaks with a clear voice and message will be the goal. Buzz Marketing Traditional advertising should be part of any alternative campaign, including one designed to recruit specialized truck drivers at hiring events. Buzz marketing programs continue to thrive. Estimated expenditures for these programs total more than $1 billion annually. Buzz marketing, or word-of-mouth marketing, emphasizes consumers passing along product information. A recommendation by a friend, family member, or acquaintance carries greater credibility than an advertisement. Buzz is more powerful than words spoken by a paid spokesperson or endorser. Consumers Who Like a Brand A consumer who genuinely likes a brand and tells others about it presents the most compelling endorsements. Enthusiasts deliver messages in person or through social media. Sponsored Consumers Companies sponsor individuals as agents or advocates to introduce new products, share information, and announce special events. This works best when these individuals, or ambassadors, like the brand. A program can involve individuals talking one-on-one to others, or they can host house or block parties to present the product to a group of friends and family. These approaches differ from influencer marketing, because influencers seek to reach larger audiences via social media. Brand ambassadors and other individuals make contact with more specific sets of consumers. Brand Ambassadors Customer evangelists, or brand ambassadors, are individuals who favor the brands they sponsor or endorse. The company offers incentives and rewards in exchange for advocacy. Marketers select an ambassador based on his devotion to the brand, level of influence, and the size of his social circle. Once recruited, the ambassador delivers messages to her family, friends, reference groups, and work associates. Some are asked to develop grassroots, no- or low-cost marketing events and to promote the brand on the internet through blogs or on social networks. Brand advocates should be upfront and honest about their connections with the company. House or Block Parties Some brand ambassadors host house or block parties. The key to these events was that the host served as an influencer among his or her friends and associates. Company Employees A final group of advocates includes company or agency employees. The company or agency decides whether they should pose as customers or identify themselves as being affiliated with the organization. It encourages: •Honesty of relationship—be honest about the relationship between consumers, advocates, and marketers. •Honesty of opinion—be honest in presenting opinions about the brand, both good and bad. •Honesty of identity—clearly identify who you are. A new trend, employer branding occurs when companies showcase employees discussing what it is like to work for a particular company. In the past, human resource departments used this approach to attract quality employees. Then marketing departments realized that employer branding appealed to customers as well. ads may appear to be a recruiting tool because the individuals talk about the company and the work environment. At the same time, showing pride and confidence in a company transmits a strong brand message. Marketers know that what employees say about a company carries considerable weight. Those who like a company where they work share positive thoughts. Consumers hearing the comments will often be favorably impressed. Buzz Marketing Stages Buzz marketing can be compared to how a virus replicates. The process consists of three stages: inoculation, incubation, and infection. The inoculation stage corresponds to the product being introduced. During incubation, a few innovators or trendsetters try the product. In the infection stage, widespread use of the product occurs. Only a few companies have successfully deployed buzz marketing during the inoculation stage, or product introduction. In most cases, buzz marketing does not work well at this stage unless the company employs brand agents or brand ambassadors. Otherwise, generating word-of-mouth communication can be virtually impossible. Social media provides an alternative method for developing product and brand awareness. Through blogs and social networking, brand managers generate awareness and buzz, especially when they locate passionate early adopters who are willing to share their enthusiasm within their spheres of influence. Buzz Marketing Preconditions Advertising and buzz communication programs from actual customers typically cannot create a successful buzz by themselves unless the marketing team meets preconditions. The brand must be unique, new, or perform better than current brands. It should stand out and have distinct advantages over competitors. Although not essential, memorable advertising helps to produce buzz. Intriguing, different, and unique advertising captures attention and inspires talk among people. Getting consumers involved enhances word-of-mouth communications. Buzz marketing works for two reasons. First, as noted, people trust someone else’s opinion more than paid advertising. Second, consumers enjoy rendering their opinions and sharing thoughts. Buzz Marketing and Fund Raising One special form of buzz marketing involves word-of-mouth via social media designed to raise money for a charity or altruistic group. Stealth Marketing Another form of buzz marketing, stealth marketing, applies surreptitious practices to introduce a product to individuals while not disclosing or revealing the presenter’s true relationship with the brand. Someone posing as a tourist might ask people to take a photo with her smartphone and then talk to them about the device. An attractive model ordering a beer or soft drink can tell everyone about how great it tastes. In both instances, the company pays someone to extol the product’s benefits. Stealth marketing thrives on social media due to the ease of creating videos and offering brand endorsements. Most people are not inclined to pass along traditional advertisements and clips. The result has been a rise in stealth approaches as an alternative. Some argue that stealth marketing offers a shrewd way to reach consumers and generate buzz. Guerrilla Marketing Guerrilla marketing programs obtain instant results using limited resources. Historically, guerrilla marketing offered one of the most successful alternative media marketing programs. The tactic features creativity, quality relationships, and the willingness to try unusual approaches. These programs were originally aimed at small businesses; however, now, numerous firms take advantage of guerrilla marketing. A quality system emphasizes a combination of media, advertising, public relations, and surprises to reach consumers. Guerrilla marketing utilizes alternative tactics and venues to focus on finding unique ways of doing things. To be successful, the marketing department must change its thinking process. Discovering “touchpoints” with customers constitutes the first step. Touchpoints include the places where the customers eat, drink, shop, hang out, and sleep. Next, the marketing team identifies unique and memorable ways to reach them at one or more of those places. To do so requires imagination and unorthodox thinking. The objective should be to create excitement that spreads to others by word-of-mouth and social media. Guerrilla marketing involves interacting with consumers, not just sending a message. Building relationships with customers should be the outcome. Guerrilla marketing requires an aggressive, grassroots approach to marketing. It should produce buzz. When carried out properly, guerrilla marketing becomes a powerful marketing weapon. Lifestyle Marketing A program that helps companies make contact with consumers in more offbeat and relaxed settings, lifestyle marketing involves identifying marketing methods associated with the hobbies and entertainment venues of a target audience. Lifestyle marketing includes contacting consumers at places such as farmer’s markets, bluegrass festivals, citywide garage sales, flea markets, craft shows, stock car races, and other places where large concentrations of individuals convene. A wide range of consumer lifestyles creates potential target groups, from relatively standard habits to more edgy and extreme behaviors. Experiential Marketing Another alternative marketing form, experiential marketing combines direct marketing, personal selling, and sales promotions to create a single consumer experience. It typically involves direct marketing through interactive means such as special events and free samples. Experiential marketing seeks to engage consumers with the brand, rather than merely providing free samples. To increase the probability that a positive experience will occur from an experiential marketing event, companies follow these steps: Step 1 Choose a clear, concise market segment to target. Step 2 Identify the right time and place to involve consumers with the brand. Choose opportunities that fit with consumers’ lives and when they can engage with the brand emotionally and logically. Step 3 Make sure the experience reveals clearly the brand’s promise and represents the brand well to consumers. Allowing consumers to enjoy the benefit of a good or service before actually making a purchase gives the program the greatest chance for success. Product Placements and Branded Entertainment Most marketers believe getting a product noticed has become increasingly difficult. In response, many firms have increased product placement and branded entertainment expenditures. Each combines the popularity of an entertainment venue with a specific brand. Product Placements The planned insertion of a brand or product into a movie, television show, or program, a product placement attempts to influence viewers. Product placements have been a part of motion pictures since the beginning of the industry. Brand placement features of a low cost per exposure to viewers. Branded Entertainment The integration of entertainment and advertising by embedding brands into the storyline of a movie, television show, or other entertainment medium is branded entertainment. The use of branded entertainment has increased with the rise of “reality” television shows. The success of branded entertainment in reality shows has led to its use in scripted television shows. Branded entertainment may also be found in novels, plays, songs, and movies. Achieving Success The specific medium or media involved will have an impact on effectiveness. Placement clutter causes some television programs to lose clout when too many brands are shown, which means no one brand stands out. The same can occur in movies when too many brands are embedded into scenes. Product placements and branded entertainment work because no “call to action” appears. Instead, they seek to raise brand awareness and generate positive feelings about the brand. When a consumer’s favorite actor enjoys a particular brand, or her favorite show contains a particular brand, it becomes more likely that the individual will transfer those positive feelings to the brand. When a consumer sees a brand placement of a product he has purchased, it may reinforce the feeling that a wise decision was made, further validating the original purchase choice. Company tactics The manner in which marketers place the brand into a movie or show will be important. Brand insertions work best when they seem logical. In other words, the most effective placements are those woven into the program in ways that appear to be natural parts of the story. Brands shown in the background that seem to be artificially inserted will be less effective. For some companies, product placements in movies make it possible to bypass the legislation and guidance intended to control advertising to children and young adults. The usage of product placement and branded entertainment budgets have grown for several reasons. First, a brand’s appeal may strengthen when it appears in a non-advertising context. Second, the perception of what others think about a brand is important to consumers. For many, it can be more significant than how the consumer views the brand. Seeing the brand used in a television show, a movie, or a book makes the brand appear to be acceptable and even desirable. Third, seeing others use the brand provides reassurance for individuals who have made purchases. Fourth, for individuals who place little value in brand names and branded products, having a brand placed in a program provides evidence of the brand’s advantages. The evidence may be strong enough for them to consider buying the item. the Media’s Perspective For moviemakers and television producers, money will be the primary motivation behind product placements and branded entertainment. In the past, brand mentions were incidental or used by movie producers to create realism in a film. They now generate additional income. Alternative Media Venues Many companies look for unusual and unlikely places to attract attention. Video Game Advertising Product placements in video games are common. Products can be part of a stand-alone game purchased at a retail store and played on the computer, or they are placed in an internet video game. In-game brand placement enjoys all of the advantages of brand placements and branded entertainment. Video game advertising reaches young people who have become more difficult to contact through traditional media. In addition, it has the added feature of interactivity. Video game advertising takes several forms. The original and most widespread form of video game advertising involves locating a brand placement in the game. Numerous companies offer video games to be played on branded websites. These branded video games are called advergames. In addition to game-related websites, the social gaming market attracts advertisers. According to Nielsen, gaming has surpassed email as the second most popular online activity just behind social networking. Mobile games Another popular approach involves mobile gaming that drives traffic into retail outlets. Mobile games overcome the problem because the games are policed, accountable, and do not allow usergenerated content. Malicious political and social content cannot make its way onto mobile games, thereby creating stronger brand safety. New video game technology Product placements within a game face the disadvantage of soon becoming overlooked. To combat this problem, Massive, a media company, pioneered a technology that rotates or changes ads in online video games in real time. Advertisers insert new ads and products into the online game each time the person plays it. By changing the ads, the marketing team delivers time- sensitive promotions, and the advertising remains current. Females and video games In the past, most marketers believed that mostly teens and young adult males enjoyed video games. Benefits of video game Advertising Online video games present advertisers with the luxury of generating quality web metrics. Advertisers track the length of ad exposure in an online game. In most cases, the marketers are able to tie in demographic information to find out who views the in-game ad, how long they play, and how often. These metrics then make it possible to target ads specifically to the consumer, demographic group, location profile, or type of player. From a marketing communications perspective, gaming offers considerable potential. As more females purchase gaming devices and play games tailored to them, sales will increase. Further, the ability to reach girls, young women, and mature women with products placed in the games or advertising messages embedded in them presents a potentially powerful method to develop brand awareness and brand loyalty in an alternative medium. Cinema Advertising Prior to a movie showing, theaters present advertisements during pre-feature programming. Some products have direct relationships with the movie; others are totally unrelated. Although clutter exists in the sense that the commercials often run consecutively and will be mingled with new movie previews, they are delivered to what is essentially a “captive” audience waiting for the feature to start. Other Alternative Media A number of additional media alternatives exist. Ads appear on subways and other public facilities as local and state governments struggle to balance budgets. Parking lots, stairs, and escalators feature advertising displays. Airlines increase revenues by presenting advertisements on flight-ticket jackets and using in-plane signage. Shopping bags, clothes, and restaurant menus provide additional advertising venues. A new form of alternative media utilizes facial recognition technology. The popularity of nontraditional formats to deliver advertising messages continues to increase. Each time an innovative marketing professional identifies a new venue, a segment of the advertising community jumps on board. These methods make it possible to send messages that either cut through or go around clutter to reach people in moments when they may be more receptive to an advertisement’s content. In-Store Marketing Consumers make approximately 60 percent of purchase decisions while in a retail store. Except for point-of-purchase (POP) displays, many marketing departments pay little attention to in-store marketing. Funds devoted to it represent a small percentage of advertising and marketing budgets. This means that some companies miss key opportunities. To understand the potential of in-store advertising, consider the factors that affect consumers as they purchase clothing. In-Store Marketing Tactics A large percentage of purchase decisions are still made in retail stores. Retailers engage consumers through signage, end-aisle displays, ceiling banners, and overhead mobiles. Color, light, and sound are elements of in-store marketing. Placing and using video screens and television monitors to present messages represents the newest and most expensive in-store marketing tactic. Many retailers have exchanged static signs with hightechnology media. They replace shopping carts with broken or unreadable static signs with video screens. Digital media within the store offer retailers the opportunity to customize messages to fit the store and the aisle where the display is located. Point-of-Purchase Marketing Traditionally, one of the most important components of in-store marketing has been point-of-purchase (POP) displays, which include any form of special exhibit that advertises merchandise. Retailers locate point-of-purchase displays near cash registers, at the end of an aisle, in a store’s entryway, or anywhere they might be noticed. Point-of-purchase advertising includes displays, signs, and devices used to identify, advertise, or merchandise an outlet, service, or product. POP displays serve as an important aid to retail selling. Point-of-purchase displays remain highly effective tools for increasing sales. Many manufacturers view point-of-purchase displays as an attractive way to display a brand more prominently. Some retailers hold a different perspective, believing that POP materials should either boost sales for the store or draw customers into the store. Retailers will be less interested in the sales of one particular brand, and instead want to improve overall sales and store profits. Retailers prefer displays that educate consumers and provide information. As a result, they set up displays that match their own marketing objectives. Designing Effective Point-of-Purchase Displays Effective POP displays clearly communicate the product’s attributes. A quality display incorporates the price and other promotional information. It encourages the customer to stop and look, pick up the product, and examine it. A customer who pauses to examine a product on display becomes more inclined to buy it. A successful display makes a succinct offer that the customer immediately understands. In most cases, a display has a limited time to capture the customer’s attention. If it fails, the customer moves on. Colors, designs, merchandise arrangements, and tie-ins with other marketing messages constitute critical elements of effective POP displays. The best point-of-purchase displays integrate with other marketing messages. Logos and message themes featured in advertisements appear on the displays. Measuring Point-of-Purchase Effectiveness Manufacturers and retailers both endeavor to measure the effectiveness of POP displays. Linking the POP display into a point-of-sale (POS) cash register makes it easier to gather results. Codes on the display items enable the POS system to pick them up. Then, individual stores measure sales before and during a point-of-purchase display program by using cash register data. The data helps the retailer’s management team identify the time to withdraw or change a display as sales decline. The technology aids retailers in identifying the displays that exhibit the largest impact on sales. A retailer might deploy this method to test different types of POP displays in various stores. The most effective displays can then be expanded to a larger number of stores. From the manufacturer’s viewpoint, point-of-sale data helps to improve POP displays. The data may also be used to strengthen partnerships with retailers. These bonds help the manufacturer weather poor POP showings. Retailers are more willing to remain with any manufacturer that tries to develop displays that benefit both parties. Brand Communities The ultimate demonstration of brand loyalty and brand devotion takes the form of brand communities. In most cases, a symbolic meaning links individuals to the brand community and other owners of the brand or product. The interactions lead to a sense of identity and inclusion. A shared set of values and experiences that integrate with feelings about the brand occurs. Brand communities do not form for every product or company. They cannot be created by the company or product; however, a marketing department can facilitate and enhance a community experience. A company with a strong brand community maintains a positive image, has a rich and long tradition, occupies a unique position in the marketplace, and enjoys a group of loyal, dedicated followers. Most brand communities require some type of face-to-face interactions, although the internet does provide a venue for members to contact each other and to blog about the product. Marketers seek to facilitate and enhance the community in which customers participate. Building a brand community begins with sponsoring events bringing product owners together. In addition to company-sponsored events, marketers encourage other venues for interactions. The internet provides another place for owners and participants to talk, such as those who use Fitbit to maintain exercise programs while getting social support from other enthusiasts. Customers visit through blogs, chat rooms, or social network microsites. A company can become involved in these exchange venues. Employees should openly identify themselves. Brand communities enjoy company involvement and want an honest exchange of comments. While providing venues and means to enhance a brand community spirit, the company continues other advertising and marketing programs. Brand communities normally emerge for brands with strong images. Such images must be maintained. Marketers feature the pride of owning the brand in advertisements, making its uniqueness and position in the marketplace clear. International Implications Alternative marketing methods appear in other countries. Marketers pay to run ads, just like they would on television.

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