Promotion

“If you think advertising doesn’t pay, there are 25 mountains

in Colorado higher than Pikes Peak. Name one.”
The American Salesman
 Promotion

Communications Mix

Advertising
paid, non-personal, sponsor identified
public presentation offers legitimacy but suggests standardization
pervasive, allows repetition
allows amplifications by print, sound, color
a monologue not a dialogue
increase long-term awareness or short-term response
 Promotion

Communications Mix

Personal Selling
personal, paid, sponsor identified
immediate feedback
oldest, most powerful form of communication
develops relationships
forces buyer response
very expensive
longer term strategy than advertising
 Promotion

Communications Mix

Sales Promotion
other paid, not advertising or personal selling, sponsor identified
consumer trade, salesforce
insistent presence, can change behavior directly
can be demeaning
 Promotion

Communications

Publicity
not paid, sponsor not identified
high credibility
very dramatic, good and bad
difficult to control
 Promotion

Communications

Direct Marketing

Paid
Sponsor may or may not be identified
Personal or Impersonal
Telephone, fax, email, internet
supposedly highly focused target markets

…..or, is this just a channel of distribution…?

 Promotion

Communications Model

sender-encoding-message-decoding-receiver

promotion is a form of communication

…an information flow down the channel of distribution
 Promotion

Promotion Process

Who is the target audience?

What do you want them to do?
When do you want them to do it?
How do they seek and acquire information?
What information do they seek?
How do they use the information?

…all from the buyer behavior model

 Promotion

Target audience

must be specific
potential buyers
current users
Influencers

by segment
 Promotion

What response is sought?

Specific response from buyer behavior model

awareness
perception
attitude
preference
behavior
 Promotion

Message Development

message content
rational versus emotional
hard versus soft sell
fear appeals
humor
 Promotion

Message Development (cont.)

message structure

conclusion drawing
conflicting evidence

one versus two sided

one if audience already favorable
two if audience opposed or more educated
 Promotion

Message Development (cont.)

message format
headline
copy
color
speech rate
articulation
 Promotion

Media Selection

…from the communications mix

advocate
experts
social channels
experts

personal selling if product risky, expensive, infrequent purchase, or

high ego involvement
 Promotion

Media Selection (cont.)

reach - number of exposures

frequency - number of times exposed

impact - qualitative value of exposure

R x F x I = Gross Ratings Points

timing
continuous
intermittent
 Promotion

Source Effects

source credibility
expertise - physician, scientist, professor
trustworthiness - friends, family
likeability - humor, natural

source incongruity
opposite attitude between source and message
both move toward congruent position
…can use up a good source
 Promotion

Measuring Results
Must take a pretest on the desired factor
If you don’t, how will you know if the promotion actually changed
anything?
Exposure
Did you see the ad?
Recall of message content
Brand/store awareness
Attitudinal change
 Church’s Chicken Video

Marketing Communications Strategy

Marketing Communications Mix
Target Audiences
Sales Promotion
Advertising