Role of marketing communications

Marketing communication is the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade and remind consumers about the products and brands they sell. It is the voice of company and its brands by which it can establish and build relationships with consumers. It can also perform many functions for consumers. They can tell or show consumers how and why a product is used, by what kind of person, and where and when. marketing communications allow companies to link their brands to other people, places, events, brands, experiences, feelings, and things.

The changing marketing communication environment

y The environment of marketing communication is

changing rapidly.
y Technology and other factors have profoundly changed

the way consumers process communications.

y The rapid diffusion of powerful broadband internet

connections, ad-skipping digital video recorders, multipurpose cell phones, and portable music and video players have forced marketers to rethink a number of their traditional practices.

Contd
y These dramatic changes have eroded the effectiveness

of the mass media. In 1960,companies had limited media options; television channels had not made their presence felt in South Asian countries at that time. y However, with an explosive growth of the mass media in South Asia, all these have changed over the last few years. y There are over 50 television channels in Pakistan, about 30 in Bangladesh, a dozen in Sri Lanka, and over 100 in India.

Contd
y The number, the language, and the nature and type of

programs aired by the television channels make South Asia one of the most complex markets in the world. y In addition, there has also been a tremendous growth of the FM radio channels in the region. y The print media has also grown considerably in South Asia, making the media budgeting, media, and the measurement of communication impact are becoming increasingly difficult.

Contd
y 2 forces are to blame for the demise of what used to be

the most powerful means of hitting the consumer marketing bulls eye. y One is the fragmentation of audiences and, y with the advent of digital technology and the internet.

Marketing Communications, Brand Equity, and Sales

y In this new communication environment, although

advertising is often a central element of a marketing communications program, it is usually not the only one or even the most important one in terms of building brand equity and driving sales. Example: Mahindra & Mahindra chose to introduce their new vehicle Scorpio.

Marketing communications mix

y

y y

Advertising - Any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Sales promotion- A variety of short term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or service. Events and experiences- Company sponsored activities and programs designed to create daily or special brand related interactions. Public relations and publicity- Variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company's image or individual products.

y Direct marketing- Use of mail, telephone, fax, email of

internet to communicate directly with or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers and prospects. y Interactive marketing- Online activities and programs designed to engage customers or prospects and directly or indirectly raise awareness, improve image, or elicit sales of products and services. y Word of mouth marketing- People to people oral, written and other sorts of communications regarding the experiences of a particular brand. y Personal selling- Face to face interactions with one or more prospective purchases for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions and procuring orders.

Contd
y The products styling and price, the shape and color of

the package, the salespersons manner and dress, the store dcor, the companys stationery all communicate something to the buyers. y Every brand contact delivers an impression that can strengthen or weaken a customers view of a company. y Marketing communications activities contribute to brand equity by creating awareness of the brand; linking the right associations to the brand image in consumers memory; eliciting positive brand judgments or feelings; and/or facilitating a stronger consumer-brand connection.

Marketing Communication Effects

y The manner in which brand associations are formed does

not matter. In other words, if a consumer has an equally strong, favorable, and unique brand-association, the impact in terms of brand equity should be identical. y But these marketing communications activities must be integrated to deliver a consistent message and achieve the strategic positioning. y The starting point in planning marketing communications is an audit. y From the perspective of building brand equity, marketers should be media neutral and evaluate all the different possible communication options according to effectiveness criteria as well as efficiency considerations.

INTEGRATING MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS TO BUILD BRAND EQUITY

Sales promotion

Advertising

Events & Experiences

Brand awareness

Public relations and publicity Direct & interactive marketing Word of mouth marketing

Brand image Marketing communications program Brand Equity Brand response

Brand relationships

Personal selling

Direct marketing

The Communications Process Models

y 2 MODELS 1. 2.

a macro model a micro model

Macro model of the communications process It contains 9 elements. 2 represents the major parties in a communication sender and receiver. 2 represents the major communication functions encoding, decoding, response, and feedback. The last element in the system is noise.

The communications process model

Sender Encoding Message Media Decoding Receiver

Media

Feedback

Response

Developing Effective Communications

Identify target audience Determine objective Design communicatio ns Select channels

Manage integrated marketing communications

Measure results

Decide on media mix

Establish budget

Select the communications channels

y Personal communications channels y Non personal communications

channels y Integration of communications channels

Factors in setting the marketing communications mix

yType of product market yConsumer readiness to make a

purchase, and yStage in the product life cycle.

Personal communications channels

y Personal communications channels let 2 or more persons

communicate face-to-face, person-to-audiences, over the telephone, or through e-mail. y Personal communication channels derive their effectiveness through individualized presentation and feedback. advocate channels b) expert channels c) social channels
a)

Non personal communications channels

y Non personal communications channels are communications

directed to more than one person and include media, sales promotions, events and experiences, and public relations. Media b) Sales promotions c) Events and experiences d) Public relations
a)

Integration of communications channels

y Mass

communications affect personal attitudes and behavior through a two-step process. y This two-step process has several implications.  first, the influence of mass media on public opinion is not as direct, powerful, and automatic as marketers have supposed.  Second, the two-step process challenges the notion that consumption styles are primarily influenced by a trickledown or trickle-up effect from mass media.  Third, two-step process communication suggests that mass communicators should direct messages specifically to opinion leaders and let them carry the message to others.

Type of product market

Although marketers use advertising less than sales calls in business markets, advertising still play a significant roles: Advertising can provide an introduction to the company and its products. If the product has new features, advertising can explain them. Remainder advertising is more economical than sales calls.

Contd
y Advertisements offering brochures and carrying the

companys phone number are an effective way to generate leads for sales representatives. Sales representatives can use copies of the companys ads to legitimize their company and products. Advertising can remind customers how to use the product and reassure them about their purchase.

y Yet an effectively trained company sales force can

make 4 important contributions:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Increased stock position Enthusiasm building Missionary selling Key account management

BUYER-READINESS STAGE
y Communication tools vary in cost-effectiveness at different y y y y y

stages of buyer readiness. Advertising and publicity play the most important roles in the awareness-building stage. Customer comprehension is primarily affected by advertising and personal selling. Customer conviction is influenced mostly by personal selling. Closing the sale is influenced mostly by personal selling and sales promotion. Reordering is also affected mostly by personal selling and sales promotion, and somewhat by remainder advertising.

PRODUCT LIFE-CYCLE STAGE

y Communication tools also vary in cost-effectiveness at

different stages of the product life cycle. y In the introduction stage, advertising, events and experiences, publicity have the highest costeffectiveness, followed by personal selling to gain distribution coverage and sales promotion and direct marketing to induce trial. y In the growth stage, demand has its own momentum through word of mouth.

Contd
y In

the maturity stage, advertising, events and experiences, and personal selling all become more important. y In the decline stage, sales promotion continues strong, other communication tools are reduced , and salespeople give the product only minimal attention.

Determine the communications objectives

y Category need. y Brand awareness. y Brand attitude. y Band purchase intention.

THANK YOU