5/20/2021 IGNITOR Student

,…… The following discussion first presents the traditional view on this matter (favoring a pre-
sales, or communications, objective) and then introduces the heretical position (preferring
a sales objective). In the manner of Hegelian dialectic— that is, stating a thesis, identifying
its opposite (antithesis), and then offering a synthesis of positions—we will present the tra-
NOTES
ditional and heretical views as thesis and antithesis, respectively, and follow these with a
synthesis of positions.

The Traditional View (Thesis)

This view asserts that using sales as the objective for a branded product’s marcom effort is
unsuitable for two major reasons. First, a brand’s sales volume during any given period is the
consequence of a host of factors in addition to advertising, sales promotions, and other ele-
ments of the marcom program. These include the prevailing economic climate, competitive
activity, and all the marketing mix variables used by a brand—its price level, product quality,
distribution strategy, and so forth. It is virtually impossible, according to the traditional view,
to determine precisely the role advertising or other marcom elements have had in influencing
sales in a given period, because marketing communications is just one ofmany possible determi—
nants of a brand's sales volume.
A second reason that sales response is claimed to represent an unsuitable marcom objec-
tive is that marcom's effect on sales is typically delayed, or logged. For example, advertising
during any given period does not necessarily influence sales in the current period but may
influence sales during later periods. On the one hand, advertising for a particular automobile
model this year may have limited effect on some consumers’ purchasing behavior because
these consumers are not presently in the market for a new automobile. On the other hand, this
year 's advertising can influence consumers to select the advertised model next year when
they are in the market. Thus, advertising may have a decided influence on consumers’ brand
awareness, product knowledge, expectations, attitudes, and, ultimately, purchase behavior,
but this influence may not be evident during the period when the effect of advertising on
sales is measured.
Advocates of the traditional view thus argue that it is misguided to use sales as the goal for
a particular marcom effort. Their view, fundamentally, is that it is idealistic to set sales as the
objective because marcom’s exact impact on sales cannot be accurately assessed.

The Heretlcal View (Antlthesls)

Conversely, some marcom authorities contend that marketing communicators should always
state objectives in terms of sales or market share gains and that failure to do so is a cop-out.
The logic of this nontraditional, or heretical, view is that marcom's purpose is not just to cre-
ate brand awareness, convey copy points, influence expectations, or enhance attitudes but
also to generate sales. Thus, according to this position it is always possible to measure, if only
vaguely and imprecisely, marcom's effect on sales. Pre-sales, or communication, objectives
such as increases in brand awareness are claimed to be "precisely wrong," in contrast to sales
measures that are asserted to be "vaguely right."E
To better understand the logic of this vaguely right versus precisely wrong thinking (or VR
versus PW for short), we need to examine closely the constituent oppositional elements: right
versus wrong and precise versus vague (see Figure 5.3). First, the issue of right versus wrong
concerns the choice of marcom objective. The heretical view contends that a sales objective
is the right objective and that any other objective is wrong. Second, the issue of preciseversus

. Choice of Objective Chosen objective is Right or Wrong

I Accuracy of Measurement Accuracy is Pœcise or Vague
(i.e., lmprecise)

say…
92 Material @ The Logic of Vaguely Right versus Precisely Wrong Thinking

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