Unit IV: Marketing Communication
Sandeep Kumar Singh,
Assistant Professor,
Dept. of Commerce,
CHRIST University
Companies must communicate with their customers & what they
communicate shouldn’t be left to chance.
A company's marketing communications mix, called its
promotion mix consists of the specific blend of:
Advertising–Mass communication, impersonal nature.
Personal selling–Door to door selling by sales staff.
Sales promotion–Short-term incentive to push sales.
Public relations–Building good relations with publics.
WoM Marketing–Using influencers and evangelists.
To communicate well, companies hire ad agencies, talented sales
personnel and public relations firms.
Integrated Marketing Communication
Integrated marketing communications (IMC) are composed of
advertising, sales promotions, trade shows, personal selling,
direct selling, and public relations. All these mutually reinforcing
elements of the promotional mix have as their common objective
the successful sale of a product or service. Once a market
offering is developed to meet target market needs, intended
customers must be informed of the offering’s value and
availability. Often different messages are appropriate for different
communications channels, and vice versa.
For most companies, advertising and personal selling are the
major components in the marketing communications mix. The
goal of most companies is to achieve the synergies possible when
sales promotions, public relations efforts, and advertising are
used in concert. The primary focus here is on international
advertising
Marketing Communication Process
To communicate effectively, marketers need to understand how
communication process works. It involves nine elements shown
as under:
Sender- The party actually sending the message to another party.
Encoding- Putting the message into symbolic form, words and
illustrations that will convey the intended message.
Message- The message (set of words, pictures or symbols) that
sender transmits, the actual advertisement for example.
Media- Communication channel through which message moves
from sender to receiver. Generally covers seven modes: in person,
over phone, over email, print, broadcast, telecast, display mode.
Decoding- Process by which the receiver assigns meaning and
interprets the message. The consumer reads the print ad and
interprets the words and illustrations it contains.
Receiver- The party receiving the message sent by the sender, the one
who actually reads/ sees the ad.
Response- The reactions of the receiver after being exposed to the
message, could be any response such as the customer becoming more
aware to actually purchasing the product.
Feedback- The part of the receiver's response communicated back to
the sender. Consumers saying they liked the ad and remember it, or may
be criticizing some specifics of it.
Noise- The unplanned static or distortion during the communication
process, which results in the receiver getting a different message than
the one the sender sent. It refers to anything that distracts the consumers
from the message. For example: Too many images in a print ad.
Steps in developing effective communication
Identifying the target audience: The target audience will heavily affect
the communicator's decisions on what will be said, where it will be said
and who will say it.
Determine communication objective: To move the customer along
different buying stages, awareness to final purchase.
Designing the message:
Message appeal (Rational versus emotional versus moral).
Message structure (Draw conclusion or leave it to audience, one sided vs
two sided arguments, strong arguments first?).
Message form (Tagline, illustration, sound, body language).
Message content (New information, practical messages, impactful).
Message Credibility (How trustworthy is the source of message?)
Choosing Media:
Personal mediums where two or more people communicate
directly with each other, face to face, over the telephone, through
the mail or even through an internet chat. More important in case of
expensive, risky goods. Use of influencers is prevalent.
Non-personal mediums are those where messages are shared
without personal contact or feedback, targeted at opinion leaders.
Eg: Print media, Broadcast media, telecast media, display media.
Collecting feedback:
Research on the effects of information shared – Remember the
message, Number of times they saw, Recall specifics, how they felt
about the message, attitude towards product and company before
and after the ad, result on purchase behaviour.
Setting the Promotion Budget
‘I know that half of my advertising is wasted, but I don't know
which half’ – John Wanamaker.
Industries and companies vary widely in how much they
spend on promotion. In some industries, a percentage of sales
method is followed. In some again, a percentage of production
cost method is followed.
In the same industry, you will find companies spending
different amounts for promotion.
New entrants,
Affordability,
Limited target market,
Uniqueness of product.
There are five common methods used to set the total budget
for advertising:
I) Affordable method
Companies set the promotion budget at the level they think the
company can afford. They start with total revenues, deduct
operating expenses and capital outlays and then devote some
portion of the remaining funds to advertising. (Too myopic, Ignores
impact of promotion).
II) Percentage-of-Sales Method
In the percentage-of-sales method, marketers set their promotion
budget at a certain percentage of current or forecast sales (Simple to
use, cost control).
III) Competitive-Parity Method
Under this method, companies set their promotion budgets to
match competitors. They watch competitors' advertising or get
industry promotion-spending estimates from publications or
trade associations and then set their budgets based on the
industry average (Collective wisdom of the industry).
IV) Incremental Method
Under this method, the previous year budgets are looked into
and then a small percentage increase is added to the same.
Budget may also increase in case of addition of new products.
(Mistakes of earlier years are carried forward and amplified
in a manner).
V) Objective and Task Method
Under this method, the company sets its promotion budget
based on what it wants to accomplish with promotion. The
method entails:
(1)Defining specific objectives;
(2)Determining tasks needed to achieve these objectives;
(3)Estimating the costs of performing these tasks and
justifying every component therein.
The sum of these costs is the proposed promotion budget.
Setting the Promotion Mix
Company must divide the total promotion budget among the main tools -
Advertising, Personal selling, Sales promotion, Public Relations.
Companies within the same industry differ greatly in how they design their
promotion mixes. Avon spends most of its promotion funds on personal
selling and catalogue marketing, whereas Revlon spends heavily on
consumer advertising.
Companies are always looking for ways to improve promotion by
replacing one tool with another that will do the same job more
economically. Telemarketing over field sales, more focus on sales
promotion spending to gain quicker sales.
Designing the promotion mix is even more complex when one tool must
be used to promote another. British Airways running ads to promote their
air miles based promotion.
FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE OF PROMOTION
MIX
I) Marketing Objective
-Advertising helps reach out to geographically dispersed buyers.
-Advertising’s public nature makes products look legitimate.
-Personal selling is more effective in the later stages of buying.
-Quick adjustments can be made during the communication.
-Sales promotion is short lived but quickest way to push sales.
-PR is very believable and contributes to positive brand image
-Word of Mouth is more credible as it is not a marketing source.
II) Affordability Range
Affordability will also affect your marketing expenditure.
If funds are limited it will be tougher to hire celebrities, PR teams.
III) Type of Product/ Industry
Consumer goods – Advertising and Sales Promotion.
Industrial goods – Personal selling is more preferred.
IV) Push versus Pull Strategy
Push strategy involves pushing the products through designated
distribution channels like distributors, wholesalers and retailers
using techniques like personal selling and trade promotion.
Pull strategy involves use of advertising to pitch the products to
consumers. If successful, the consumers will demand the products
from the intermediaries who will place demands in front of the
producer.
V) Buyer readiness stages
Advertising and Public Relations will help in building
awareness and knowledge about the products. Personal Selling
helps more with the preference and conviction part. Sales
promotion along with personal selling will help in concluding the
sale.
VI) Product Life Cycle stages
Introduction– Advertising and Public Relations exist;
Growth– Advertising remains, Sales Promotion not reqd.,
Maturity– Personal Selling is top priority, SP > Advertising
Decline– Advertising becomes merely a reminder, sales promotion
is at the highest level.
Evaluating Effectiveness
Effectiveness looks at whether or not the goals set has been
achieved or not. It focuses only on end results as opposed to
efficiency.
Marketing/ Advertising Effectiveness looks at fulfilment of
marketing goals – higher sales, larger profits, bigger market
share.
The right parameters are needed to compute the Return on
Advertising (ROA) with ease.
Commonly followed methods are:
Survey method,
Posttest only design,
Pretest-Posttest design,
Diary Panel Method.
While evaluating effectiveness of advertisement or any other
marketing strategy, three things are looked into:
Recall: How much of the advertisement is still in the memory of
the viewer? Product details? Brand name? USP of the product?
Impact: Did it have an effect on the purchase behaviour of the
consumer? Did it influence him/her to make a purchase?
Specifics: Was the advertisement appealing or distasteful or
offensive?
ADVERTISEMENT EFFECTIVENESS SAMPLE
QUESTIONNAIRE
Marketing Communication Models
AIDA Model
-Developed by American businessman Elmo Lewis in 1898.
-An acronym, it stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
-It is a model used in marketing that describes the steps a customer goes
through in the purchase process.
Attention: Trap the attention of consumers.
Interest: Arouse interest in the product by right positioning.
Desire: Create intent to purchase, highlighting positives.
Action: Encourage the customer to buy the product finally.
The AIDA formula is frequently supplemented by two other factors:
Satisfaction and Trust.
Criticism: Relatively fixed sequence isn’t real.
Hierarchy of Effects
-Marketing Communication model by Lavidge & Steiner (1961).
-Explains the processes involved from the moment we view a product
advertisement to actual purchase.
- Six stages in the model which is divided into three categories of
consumer behaviour.
I) Cognitive– Awareness, Knowledge (Focus on USP and VSP).
II) Affective– Liking, Preference (Focus on values, emotions).
III)Conative– Conviction, Purchase (Focus on persuasion by providing
demos and free trials).
Awareness -> Knowledge -> Liking -> Preference -> Conviction ->
Purchase
Does marketing communication really cause a hierarchy of effects?
Response sequence doesn’t always operate like this.
DAGMAR Approach
Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results.
This approach, propounded by Russell Colley attempts to guide customers
through the ACCA model in 1961.
According to this model, every purchase encounters four steps:
Awareness: To improve the consumer’s awareness of the product.
Comprehension: Understanding the product and firm is essential.
Conviction: Customer evaluates different products and plans to buy.
Action: This step involves the final purchase of the product.
The theory also suggests that the advertising goals for any campaign should
have certain key attributes that will help the company evaluate effectiveness of
its campaigns.
Should be time bound – to see whether or not the objective has been
achieved within a specific time period.
Should be directed towards a target audience – Who (Are you
targeting youngsters, adults, elderly?) and Where (Geographical
areas) are the focus points
Should be concrete and measurable – No vague mentions. The tasks
need to be a precise statement of what the advertiser wants to
achieve through the communication.
Should specify the change sought – What changes do you want to see
in the consumers’ attitude or perception or awareness? The changes
can then become the parameters for evaluating the effectiveness.
Ethics in Marketing Communication
When users tend to dislike an ad, that dislike is extended to the advertiser too
and it is going to affect their brand value in the end. Remember, the consumer
experience is paramount. Some questionable marketing practices include:
-Advertorials: An ad that looks like an article. No claims are made stating
it’s a company generated advertisement. Stealth mode.
-Pop ups: A small window that appears in front of the main window. Most
hated and irritating advertising technique.
-Pop unders: A small window that appears behind the main window, that
you can’t see unless you close the main window.
-Interstitial ads: Advertisements that are screened before your expected
content, without an option to bypass them. Examples could be of ads in
YouTube.
-Bait and switch: Offers that do not even exist in reality. Considered as a
fraud in some countries.
-Comparative Advertising: When they are degrading rival products.
Illegal in Germany and Belgium, Acceptable in Spain and Portugal,
Acceptable with limits in India - (Sprite, Patanjali).
-Falsehood: When they give misleading information about a product
regarding its quality, history. Advertising Standard Council of India forces
companies to withdraw their ads (Landmark Immigration promoted
themselves as #1 consultant with 95% success, were penalized for false
claims).
-Use of stereotypes: Showing men as office goers, women doing household
chores. Pink colored vehicles for women.
-Use of sex appeal: Use of nudity, sexual imagery etc. Women are
portrayed as sex objects, devaluing women’s image (Axe Deo ads, Slice Ad)
-Concealment of facts: Presenting only brighter side of the story,
hiding unflattering information (Side effects of drugs).
-Manipulative Ads: Using jingoism and other emotional appeals
to win over customers. (Hero, Tata).
-Surrogate Advertising: When advertising a particular product is
banned by law or looked down upon, marketing other products with
the same name is pretty common. (Royal Challengers, Haywards
5000)
-Health claims: Companies have a moral and legal obligation to
give solid proof of any health claims they make (Patanjali tooth
paste ad that claims of being effective against pyorrhea, teeth
yellowing, swelling of gums tagged misleading by ASCI).
-Puffery: Unnecessary exaggeration (Nothing outlasts an Eveready
battery).
-Advertising to Children: Controversial products (alcohol,
tobacco, gambling).
-Religious Advertisements: Benetton’s ‘Unhate’ campaign which
showed a fake picture of the Pope kissing an Egyptian Imam leading
to a huge uproar (60 pc hike followers, 3000 articles and 600 TV
reports).
In 2017, Meat & Livestock Australia released a video promoting
lamb consumption. The ad aimed at depicting unity showed Gods and
deities sitting at the table and sharing food. Lord Ganesha was one.
-Political advertisements: Ram Mandir in BJP’s manifestos? Use
of twin towers collapsing followed by a get tough on terrorism
speech?
Legal Constraints across the World
I) In Germany, it is illegal to use any comparative
terminology; you can be sued by a competitor if you do.
II) Belgium and Luxembourg explicitly ban comparative
advertising, whereas it is clearly authorized in the United
Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal. The directive covering
comparative advertising allows implicit comparisons that do
not name competitors, but bans explicit comparisons between
named products.
III) A variety of restrictions exist around the world.
Advertising of pharmaceuticals is restricted in many countries.
IV) Advertising on television is strictly, controlled in many
countries. China is relaxing some regulations while
strengthening others.
V) In Kuwait, the government-controlled TV network allows
only 32 minutes of advertising per day, in the evening.
Commercials are controlled to exclude superlative
descriptions, indecent words, fearful or shocking shots,
indecent clothing or dancing, contests, hatred or revenge shots,
ethnic derision, and attacks on competition.
VI) In Malaysia, all commercials have to be made in their
local languages only.
Main Focus Areas
Theoretical Aspects:
-Elements of Promotional Mix.
-Methods of determining promotional budget.
-Marketing Communication Process.
-Differences between different Promotion tools.
Practical Aspects:
-Application of DAGMAR, yet again.
-AIDA Model,
-Ethical issues in Advertising.
