Discussion Ques

tions
CHAPTER 1
GROUP ONE
LECTURER: LE HONG DAC
 QUESTION 1:

Discuss the role of integrated marketing communications

in the marketing program for a brand such as Charmin, the
case outlined in your text. Discuss how Procter & Gamble
uses the various IMC tools to market Charmin and maintai
n its position as the leading brand of toilet tissue?

Khôi Nguyên
Denifition: (what is integrated marketing communicat
ions?)
It is a combination of IMC marketing communication acti
vities, closely linked with the given goals with consistent
and clear information, convincing customers to come to o
rganizations and businesses.
Roles:
- A method of communication, meeting the needs of custo
mers.
- Collaborate with different marketing methods to create a
n accurate campaign with a clear purpose.
- As a competitive tool in business: helps to increase prod
uct value, create product awareness, enhance brand reputa
tion, maintain public trust and good attitude towards the b
rand
Khôi Nguyên
Khôi Nguyên 1. Advertising
- Charmin still spends heavily on mass media advertising through television, magazines, and
banner ads to drive awareness, communicate information and maintain its brand identity.
- Digital/Internet advertising has also become an important part of the IMC program for
Charmin as online display are used as well as a variety of social media tools such as
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
 -Each Charmin Intermission is tagged and promoted in social
media to the surprise and delight of millions of relieved
consumers throughout the country. Charmin has also moved
into mobile marketing by sponsoring and then acquiring the
SitOrSquat app that helps consumers find the cleanest public
restrooms worldwide and also provides user-generated
listings of bathroom locations, ratings, hours of operation,
and other details. Nearly a million consumers have
downloaded the app and it has generated a tremendous
amount of earned media from bloggers on social media and
news stories in traditional media.

- Another example of how Charmin has pushed the

envelope in its use of social media and beyond is a series
of Charmin Intermissions created by Publicis New York.
The Charmin Intermissions are :60 and :30 television
commercials that invite consumers to use the bathroom
and “enjoy the go” instead of watching a traditional
commercial.

Khôi Nguyên
3. Sales promotion
- Sales promotion is also an important part of th
e promotional mix for Charmin including both
consumer and trade promotions. Trade promoti
ons are used to encourage retailers to stock and
promote the Charmin product line and by getti
ng them to use point-of-purchase displays and
other tactics while consumer promotions such
as contests, sweepstakes, coupons, price-off de
als and other incentives are used to generate sa
les.
4. Personal selling
- The company has a sales force that calls on ret
ail accounts and works to encourage them to c
arry and promote the brand as well as participa
te in various IMC programs.

Khôi Nguyên
 QUESTION 2:

Evaluate Procter & Gamble's decision to make digital and socia

l media such an important part of the IMC program for Charmin
. Why do you think P&G has been successful in using social me
dia in the IMC program for Charmin?

Khôi Nguyên
-P&G still uses traditional mass-media
advertising through TV, magazines, and
newspapers as well as out-of-home media
to drive awareness, communicate
information, and drive sales for the
Charmin product line.
-P&G also uses these offline channels to
influence online behavior by driving
consumers to its website
(https://www.charmin.com/en-us), which
provides information about the various
Charmin products, coupons, and other
promotional offers, tips, and articles, and
information on various causes supported
by the brand through the Charmin Relief
Project
Khôi Nguyên
 • Charmin is also promoted through various social media platforms that have beco
me an increasingly important part of the digital marketing campaigns of many co
mpanies. Consumers are encouraged to connect with Charmin through Facebook
and Twitter while commercials and other entertaining videos for the brand are av
ailable on YouTube as well as Vine.
Ex: Charmin's #tweetfromtheseat #enjoythego
campaign
When we talk about campaign humor hashtags,
this campaign will definitely be in the top 10.
Charmin's Twitter campaign humor hashtags are
based on people tweeting real situations or just
hypotheticals.
The interesting nature and end of this mission
created the hashtag to go viral on Twitter,
allowing the brand to reach a large amount of
fakes. It goes without saying that this campaign
has generated loads of hilarious posts from users,
which has extended the reach of the campaign far
beyond what it could do on its own. Khôi Nguyên
Link: https://twitter.com/Charmin
 Charmin is also using mobile marketing to connect with consumers on their smartphones by sponsoring t
he SitOrSquat app (Exhibit 1–1). Publicity for Charmin and its various marketing communication campai
gns is generated through social which results in a great deal of earned media for the brand.

- P&G has been successful in using social media as part of the IMC program for Charmin because the company and its
agencies have been very creative and recognized the importance of having entertaining as well as relevant content to
connect with consumers that uses humor as a key ingredient. Charmin engages consumers on social media not just by
focusing on toilet paper, but rather on the human experience of everything bathroom related. The Charmin social me
dia team is very active on social media and uses a variety of platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as
well as mobile marketing. The team continually monitors consumer sentiment and feedback across the various platfo
rms to fine-tune its messaging and keep the content relevant and engaging.

Khôi Nguyên
 QUESTION 3:

Discuss the role integrated marketing communications plays in

the marketing program of companies and organizations. Discuss
some of the ways the use of the various promotional mix tools h
as changed over the past decade and factors driving these chang
es

Cẩm Thơ
 a. Discuss the role integrated marketing communications plays in the
marketing program of companies and organizations

• IMC plays a role in communication function, grasping customer psy

chology, meeting customer needs, thereby building an effective co
mmunication plan.
• Communicate the brand message to a wider audience.
• As a tool to help compete in business: improve product value, impr
ove brand recognition
• Increase sales and profits
• Save costs and bring greater efficiency than individual forms of co
mmunication.
• Helping market-driven companies develop and maintain relationshi
ps with their customers, while increasing loyalty

Cẩm Thơ
Advertisement
Enterprises use advertising media to convey
information about the quality and advantages of
products to customers, create awareness, interest, and
love of customers about products and services. .
Direct Marketing
Businesses use phone, email, and other contact tools
(not human) to convey product and service information
to potential customers. Direct marketing is a way to sell
directly without intermediaries at a low cost.
Sales promotion
Businesses use promotions to stimulate consumption,
to increase sales immediately.
PR
This method helps businesses to establish and
maintain a positive impression of the public
about the business, as well as to know the
reviews and comments about their products and
services.
Personal sales
Personal selling is an effective support tool for
businesses to help reach customers, sales staff
will directly advise and answer questions that
customers are interested in. Through this form,
customers will clearly understand information
about products and services
Cẩm Thơ
b.Discuss some of the ways the use of the various promotional mix tools
has changed over the past decade and factors driving these changes.
• 1980, Promotional media are product samples, coupons, contests,
sweepstakes, premiums.
• 2016, the total marketing advertising expenditure of the business is spent
on traditional media advertising (television, radio magazines, outdoor
newspapers, cinemas), digital/online advertising, email marketing,
sponsorship and experiential/event marketing, and consumer and trade
promotion spending.
• Advertising spending is being shifted from traditional media such as
television and print to online digital advertising formats including search,
display and video ads, and social media.
• In 2020, USA spends 45% of total spending on media advertising. The
largest type of Internet advertising is paid search on search engines such
as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, which account for nearly half of all online
advertising costs.
• Spending on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
Snapchat will be the fastest growing digital channel in the next few years

Cẩm Thơ
 Factors driving these changes.

The factor driving this change is the rapid

development of technology, the internet and the
emergence of social networks.

Much of the growth in digital advertising is being

driven by mobile marketing, whereby ads, text
messages and promotions are delivered directly
to smartphones and tablets. This transformation
is due to consumers spending more time on
their mobile devices and less time with
traditional media.
Cẩm Thơ
 QUESTION 4:

Some of the ways technology is making it possible for con

sumers to avoid advertising messages and the impact this
is having on the advertising and media industries.

Cẩm Thơ
 a.Some of the ways technology is making it possible for consumers
to avoid advertising message

Many marketers are dealing with weapon being used by consumers to avoid
ad blockers. Most consumers have ad-blocking software installed on their
desktops and laptops, and many are now doing so on their mobile devices
(smartphones and tablets) to filter out most ads.

The battle to avoid being bombarded by mobile ads turned in favor of

consumers in the fall of 2015 when Apple revealed that it was adding
"content blocking" extensions in new iOS 9 operating system for its Safari
mobile browser. A few months later, ad blocking became available on Android
mobile devices like the popular Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets.

Cẩm Thơ
 b. The impact this is having on the advertising and media industries.

Blocking ads will make it difficult for the advertising

and media industry to reach target customers and
reduce sales of businesses. Marketers will have to
find ways to respond and reach customers more
effectively.

Ad blocking has the potential to undermine the

central business model of much of the Internet.
Companies that provide online content make money
by selling advertising space on web applications and
social media sites that we all visit, and they get paid
based on the number of viewers. or click an ad.

Cẩm Thơ
 QUESTION 5

Discuss how the digital revolution is impacting the ways mar

keters plan and implement their integrated marketing com
munications programs. Identify three specific technological
developments and discuss how each is impacting the IMC pr
ogram of companies.

GIA THINH
 a. Discuss how the digital revolution is impacting the wa
ys marketers plan and implement their integrated mark
eting communications programs.

Digital revolution has affected the planning and implementation of integrated marketing programs
in the following ways:
- Sending advertisement on the mobile of customers. Thus, it helps to build strong customer
relationships.

- Intrinsic touch points are created during the process of buying or using the product, such as
discussions with retail staffs. It also helps to improve the customer relationship management.

- Unexpected touch points are unanticipated references that customer gets which is beyond the
company’s control.

- Customer initiated touch points occur whenever a customer of prospect contacts a company. It
involves how company handles the iquiries and complaints of customers.

- Advertising through the social networking sites, like FB, and Twitter has gained popularity with
the increase in number of users for such site. It provides and effective medium to communicate
with the users.

GIA THINH
 b. Identify three specific technological developments and disc
uss how each is impacting the IMC program of companies.

Advertising : The most cost-effective way to reach large numbers of consumers

with an advertising message, valuable tool for building company or brand equity
because it is a powerful way to provide consumers with information as well as to
influence their perceptions, create favorable and unique images and associations
for a brand.

Direct marketing: It involves a variety of activities, including database

management, direct selling, telemarketing, and direct respone advertising
through direct mail, online, and various broadcast and print media. Direct
marketing tools and techniques are also being used by companies that
distribute their products through traditional distribution channels or have
their own sales force.

GIA THINH
Digital/Internet Marketing: the most dynamic and revolutionary changes of an era in the history of marketing and
IMC. Interacitve media allow for a two day flow of communication whereby users can particiapte in and modify
the form and content of the information they receive in real time. Social media, which refers to online means of
communication and interactions among people that are used to create, share, and exchange content such as
information, insight, experiences, perspectives, and even media themselves.

GIA THINH
 QUESTION 6

Discuss the opportunities and challenges facing

marketers with regard to the use of mobile
marketing. What are some of the ways marketers can
use mobile marketing as part of their IMC program?

GIA THINH
a. Discuss the opportunities and challenges facing marketers with regard to
the use of mobile marketing.

Mobile marketing is marketing through

the use of mobile. The increase in use
of smart phones has dramatically
shifted the way people go online and
boosted purchase through the internet
on mobiles.

GIA THINH
Oppurtunities:
- Messages can be delivered that are specific to a consume
r’s location.
- Development of economic, efficient, and productive mark
eting.
- Building brand loyalty by sending mobile coupons directl
y to the consumers.
- Ease of advertisement focussing the target customer.
- Capability to more closely and precisely measure the effe
cts of their advertising.
- Opportunities to gather valuable personal information abo
ut the customer.
- Development of creative ways to connect with consumers.

GIA THINH
Threats:
- Increases the annoyance of customer.

- Leakage of valuable information of customer.

- Threat from the information hackers.

- Imitation of mobile apps by rival firms.

GIA THINH
b. What are some of the ways marketers can use mobile marketing as part of thei
r IMC program?

Developing their own brand specific applications as well as games, videos, and ads
.
Starbuck has developed apps
for Iphones and Android
mobile devices that allow
customers to find Starbucks
location, look up nutritional
information, order ahead and
pick up drinks to avoid
waiting in line, and manage
their Starbucks Rewards
accounts.
GIA THINH
 QUESTION 7:

What is meant by a consumer contact or touchpoint? Cho

ose a specific company or brand and discuss how it is usi
ng the four categories of touch point discussed in the chap
ter?

Bảo Long
 QUESTION 7:

What is Touchpoint?
-Interaction between Company and customers
-Anytime, anywhere
Company-created Touchpoint:
Planned marketing communication message created
by the company

Bảo Long
Intrinsic Touchpoint:
Customers experience during the
process of buying or using product

Bảo Long
Unexpected Touchpoint:
Did you heard about
Information customer received that Vinamilk yet? I heard it’s
company can’t control good for your kids?

Bảo Long
Customer-initiated Touchpoint:
When a customers contact a
company

Bảo Long
 QUESTION 8:

What is meant by categorization of touchpoint into paid, o

wned, earned media? Choose a specific company or bran
d and discuss how is it using these three categories of me
dia

Bảo Long
Paid Media:
Channels that needs to paid to use

Bảo Long
Owned Media:
Channels that can be controlled by company

Bảo Long
Earned Media:
Channels that comes from general public

Bảo Long
 QUESTION 9:

Find an example of company or brand that has reduced its

spending on traditional mass-media advertising and is allo
cating more of its IMC budget to digital media. Do you agr
ee with this decision or do you think this company or bran
d should be main-taining its spending on traditional media
advertising?

Hồng Cẩm
 Find an example of company or brad that has reduced its spe
nding on traditional mass-media advertisig and is allocatig mo
re of its IMC budget to digital media.

• Example: Starbucks has an outstanding image that i result of the quality of i

ts coffee and other as well as its reputation as a socially responible compan
y. The company is recognized as a good citizen in its dealings with commun
ities, employees suppliers, and the environment.

Hồng Cẩm
 Do you agree with this decision or do you thing this company or bran
d should be maintaining its spending on traditional media advrtising?

I agree with that opinion.

Reasons for the growing importance of the integrated marketing com
munications persective include a rapidly changing enviroment with re
spect to consumers, technology, and media. The IMC movement is a
lso being driven by changes in the ways companies market their pro
duct and services.

Hồng Cẩm
 QUESTION 10:

Why is it important for those who work in marketing to und

erstand and appreciated marketing communications tools
and how they can be useds effectively?

Hồng Cẩm
 Because:

Tradition approach to teaching advertising, promotional strategy, or marketing com

munications courses have often treated the various element of the promotional mix
as separate functions. As a result, many people who work in advertising, sales pro
motion, direct marketing, digital/ Internet, or public relations tend to approach mark
eting communications problems from the perspective of their particular specialty.

Hồng Cẩm
END