Advertising and Public Relations

Chapter Objectives
1. Describe integrated marketing communication
(IMC) and classify IMC media, tools and
technologies.
2. Outline the steps in developing IMC, including
identifying a target audience and determining the
response sought.
3. Describe the communication process: selecting a
message, choosing the media, selecting a
message source and collecting feedback.
4. Define the ways of setting an IMC budget:
affordable, percentage-of-sales, competitive parity
and objective-and-task methods.
 Cont’d
5. Explain the nature of each IMC tool – advertising,
public relations, direct and digital marketing, sales
promotion and personal selling- and the factors
involved when setting the IMC program: type of
product and market, push versus pull strategies,
buyer-readiness states and product life-cycle
stage.

6. Describe the nature of media advertising, including

the main decisions involved: advertising budgeting,
setting strategy, creative execution, media
selection and evaluation in terms of
communication and sales outcomes.
 Cont’d

7. Define public relations and outline the more

common forms of this IMC tool.

8. Explain the need for socially responsible

marketing communication and describe how
this is achieved.
 Marketing Promotion

Communication by marketers that

informs, reminds, or persuades
potential buyers of the product,
so that they can be positively
influenced towards the product.
Integrated Marketing Communication
(IMC)
• IMC is the coordination of a firm’s promotional efforts
using major communication elements such as:

– Advertising.

– Sales promotion.

– Public relations.

– Direct and digital marketing.

– Personal selling.
 Cont’d

• A firm’s IMC program will consist of a

specific blend of the communication
elements that will most effectively meet
their objectives to inform, persuade, and
remind consumers of the firm’s product;
as well as to reinforce the consumers’
attitudes and perceptions.
 Cont’d
• Advertising
– Impersonal, one-way mass communication paid for by the
firm to raise awareness of the firm or its product
• Sales Promotion
– Specific additional marketing activities to generate a
significant short-term increase in sales volume
• Public Relations
– Additional publicity from credible sources to help create a
positive image within the general community
• Direct and Digital marketing
– Inexpensive means of targeting large numbers of consumers
• Personal Selling
– Direct approach aimed at convincing consumers to buy the
particular product
Marketing Communication System
 Developing IMC
• Communication has nine elements - Fig 12.2.
There are:
– Two major parties; the sender and the receiver of
the information.
– Two major communications tools; the message
and the media used.
– Four major communication functions; encoding,
decoding, response and feedback.
– The final element is noise (message interference).
 Elements in the Communication
Process
1. Sender. The party sending the message.
2. Encoding. The process of putting thoughts and
ideas into symbolic form ready for transmission.
3. Message. The set of symbols that are sent to the
intended target - the actual advertisement.
4. Media. The communication channel through which
the message moves from sender to receiver.
5. Decoding. The process by which the receiver
assigns meaning to the symbols encoded by the
sender - consumer watches the advertisement and
interprets the words and illustrations it contains.
 Cont’d

6. Receiver. The party that receives the message - the

consumer who sees the advertisement.
7. Response. Reactions of the receiver after being
exposed to the message - many possible responses.
8. Feedback. That part of the receiver's response which
is communicated back to the sender - research can
indicate whether or not the advertisement was liked.
9. Noise. The unplanned distortion of the message
during the communication process that results in the
receiver getting a message that is different to the one
the sender had intended.
Elements in the Communication
Process
Steps in Developing IMC
 Decisions in developing IMC

1. Identify the Target Audience

2. Determine Communication Objectives
3. Design a Message
4. Select a Media
5. Select a Message Source
6. Collect Feedback
 1.Identifying the Audience

• Must start with a specific audience in mind

• The audience may be potential buyers or
current users; those who make the buying
decision; or those who influence the decision
• The audience may be individuals; groups;
special publics; or the general public
 2.Determining Objectives

What response is the marketer trying to

achieve through the message?
Marketer needs to know what the target audience’s
‘state of readiness’ is, in regard to the product.

• Awareness - may not even recognise product

• Knowledge - aware, but knows very little
• Liking - knows enough to like or dislike
• Preference - likes product, but prefers others
• Conviction - prefers, but not committed to buy
• Purchase- needs more incentive to buy
 3.Designing the Message

• Rational Appeal - highlight the benefits

• Emotional Appeal - positive / negative
• Moral Appeal - highlight what is ‘right’
• Message Structure - what approach?
- how to present the ‘argument’
• Message Format - how to convey the
message.
 Cont’d
Ideally the firm’s message should:

– Get Attention
– Hold Interest
– Arouse Desire
– Obtain Action

( A framework known as the AIDA model)

 Designing Message - Content

• Rational Appeals
– These relate to the audience’s self interest, and indicate to
the consumer that the product will produce desired benefits.

• Emotional Appeals
– These attempt to generate positive or negative emotions in
consumers that can motivate them to make a purchase.

• Moral Appeals
– These are directed to the audience’s sense of what is
socially and morally right.
 Message - Structure/ Format
• Message Structure - three structure issues:
– Whether to draw a conclusion, or leave it to the audience
– Whether to present a one-sided or two-sided argument
– Whether to present the strongest argument first, or last

• Message Format
– The communicator needs a strong format for the message.
– In print advertisements, the communicator decides on the
headline; copy; illustration; and colour.
– For radio, chooses words; sounds; and voices.
– For TV, all elements, plus body language, are considered.
 4.Selecting Media
• Personal Communication channels
– Channels through which two or more people
communicate directly with each other, including
face-to-face; person-to-audience; telephone; or
through the mail.
– Extra important for ‘high risk’ purchases

• Non-personal communication channels

– Channels that carry messages without personal
contact or direct feedback, including media;
events; and particular environments.
 5. Selecting Message Source

• The impact of the message on the audience is

also affected by how the audience views the
sender of the message.
• Messages delivered by a highly credible source
are more persuasive, e.g. entertainers; athletes;
industry professionals.
• Sources are made credible by those who are
well liked, trusted; or viewed as an expert.
 6.Collecting Feedback

• After sending the message, the communicator

must assess what effect the message had on
the target audience

• This might involve asking target audience if it:

– remembers the message; how many times it
was seen; what specific points are recalled;
how they felt about the message; past and
present attitude to the product or company.
 Setting the IMC Budget
• Common methods used to set total IMC budget:

1. Affordable method
only what the firm can afford to spend.
2. Percentage-of-sales method (cause or result?)
as a % of current or projected sales.
3. Competitive-parity method
to match what competitors spend.
4. Objective-and-task method
estimate the cost of the tasks to meet set objectives.
the most logical approach, but the most difficult to use.

Each method has advantages/ disadvantages

 Setting the IMC Mix
• The marketer needs to divide the total IMC
budget among the major communication
categories, using specific media, tools, and
technologies to achieve marketing objectives:
– Media advertising
– Public relations
– Sales promotion
– Direct and digital marketing
– Personal selling
Different companies within the same industry can
differ greatly in how they design their IMC mix.
 Considerations in Developing IMC

• Companies need to consider many factors

when developing their IMC program, including

– type of product and market;

– ‘push’ versus ‘pull’ strategy;
– buyer-readiness state;
– product life-cycle stage.
 Type of Product/ Market

• Business vs. Consumer product

• Cost of the product
• Level of ‘risk’ involved
• Major differences in B2C and B2B markets

• Consumer (B2C)
– more emphasis on advertising and sales promo
– much less on personal selling

• Industrial (B2B)
– greater emphasis on personal selling
 Push/ Pull Strategies
• PUSH strategy involves pushing the product
through marketing channels (intermediaries), who
are then expected to generate interest from
the final consumers/ end-users to encourage
purchase of the product

• PULL strategy aims the marketing activities

directly at final consumers who are then expected
to ‘demand’ that intermediaries make the product
available to enable consumers to buy.
 Buyer Readiness
• The ‘state of readiness’ helps determine which
communication approach will be most effective
• Awareness and Knowledge stages
• Use of Advertising and PR

• Liking; Preference; and Conviction stages

• Use of Personal selling and Advertising

• Ready to Purchase stage

• Use of Direct marketing; Sales calls and Sales
promotion
 Which stage in the PLC

• Introduction; Growth; Maturity; Decline

• Each stage of the Cycle will display

different characteristics and, therefore,
each may require a different approach

• Some IMC elements are more / less

suited to particular PLC stages
 Main Decisions in Advertising
Advertising Objectives
specific tasks for specific audience

Budget Decisions
will depend on item/ market/ competitors

Message Decisions
what needs to be communicated, and how

Media Decisions
Media type/ message frequency
Main Decisions Fig 12.7
 Setting Advertising Objectives
• The objective is a specific communication
task to be accomplished with a specific target
audience, during a specific period of time.
• Advertising objectives can be classified by
purpose, whether their aim is to inform;
persuade; or remind. Will result in:
– Informative advertising.
– Persuasive advertising.
– Comparison advertising.
– Reminder advertising.
Possible objectives Fig 12.8
 Setting Advertising Budget

• After determining its advertising objectives,

the company can set its advertising budget for
each product.

• The role of advertising is to positively affect

the level of demand for the product.

• A company wants to spend only that amount

of money needed to achieve the sales goal.
 Cont’d
• Specific factors to consider include:

– Stage in the product life cycle: new products need

larger budgets.
– Market share: high market-share brands usually need
more advertising spending as a percentage of sales.
– Competition and clutter: in a market with many
competitors, more advertising is necessary.
– Advertising frequency: many repetitions requires more
budget.
– Product differentiation: a brand that closely resembles
other brands will require more advertising to help
differentiate it from the competition.
 Developing Advertising Strategy
• A large advertising budget does not guarantee
a successful advertising campaign. Two
advertisers can spend the same amount on
advertising, yet produce very different results.
• The first step in creating effective advertising
messages is to decide what general message
will be communicated to consumers.
– this is the message strategy
 Message Execution
• Slice-of-life: shows the product being used in a
typical situation.
• Lifestyle: shows how product fits a particular lifestyle.
• Fantasy: creates a fantasy (suggested situation)
around the product or its use.
• Mood or image: builds a mood or image around the
product, such as beauty; love; or serenity.
• Musical: shows people or cartoon characters singing
a song about the product.
 Cont’d
• Personality symbol: creates a well known
character that represents the product.

• Technical expertise: shows the company’s

expertise in making the product.

• Scientific evidence: presents survey or scientific

evidence to indicate that the brand is better, or
better liked, than other brands.

• Testimonial evidence: features a highly believable

or likeable source endorsing the product.
 Selecting Advertising Media

• The advertiser chooses advertising media to

carry the message.
• The major steps in media selection are:

1. Deciding on reach, frequency and impact.

2. Selecting major media types.
3. Deciding on media timing.
4. Selecting specific media vehicles.
Profiles of Main Media Types
 Advertising Evaluation
• Measuring communication effect (copy testing).
• Three major methods of advertising ‘pre-testing’
– Direct rating ads rated by panel of consumers
– Portfolio tests level of consumer recall
– Laboratory tests physiological testing (attention
getting)
• Two popular methods of advertising ‘post-testing’
– Recall tests how well the ad was noticed
– Recognition tests how ad compares to competitors
 Measuring Sales Effect

• The effect of advertising on sales is often much

harder to measure than the communication effect,
because sales are influenced by many other factors.
• What volume of sales might be generated by an ad
that increases brand awareness by 20%, and brand
preference by 10%?
• One way to measure the effect advertising has on
sales is to compare past sales with past advertising
expenditures. Another is to conduct experiments.
• However, measuring the results of advertising
expenditure is difficult and inexact.
 International Advertising Decisions

• The major decision is the extent to which global

advertising should be adapted to the unique
characteristics of markets in various countries.
• Standardisation delivers benefits, such as lower
costs and greater coordination of global efforts, but
ignores important elements like cultural differences.
• Most companies try to think globally and act locally.
• Costs and legislative requirements in different
countries will always need to be considered.
 Public Relations Decisions
• Another major mass-communication tool is
public relations, which aims at building good
relations with the company’s various publics,
using different tools:
– Press relations
– Product publicity
– Public affairs
– Lobbying
– Investor relations
– Development
The objective is to build a good ‘corporate image’
 Major Public Relations Tools

• News
• Public speeches
• Special events – public openings
• Written materials
• Audiovisual materials
• Corporate identity materials
• Community service activities
 Socially Responsible Marketing
Communication
• Advertising
– Companies must avoid false/ deceptive advertising.
– Advertisers must not create advertisements that
have the capacity to deceive the audience.
– Sellers must avoid bait-and-switch advertising that
attracts buyers under false pretences.
• Personal selling
– Companies must ensure their salespeople follow the
rule of ‘fair competition’ when selling products
directly to the public.
 Cont’d

• Direct and Digital Marketing:

– Direct and digital marketers and their customers

usually enjoy mutually rewarding relationships.

– However, unfairness, deception and fraud from

aggressive markets can sometimes occur.

– Direct marketing can also have a major impact on

individual privacy.