Advertising Practices

Marketing
It includes several tasks from identifying consumer needs

to fulfilling them, market research, product research &
development, distribution management, pricing,
promotion, competitor’s research.
“The process of planning and executing the conception,
pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and
services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and
organizational objectives” – The American Marketing
Association, Chicago
Marketing
The definition of marketing by AMA recognizes
“exchange” as a central concept in marketing.
It therefore clears that more than one party is involved
in the process, making it a two way process.
It also hints at mutually benefitting deals
“The science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to
satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies
unfulfilled needs and desires. It defines, measures and quantifies the
size of the identified market and the profit potential. It pinpoints which
segments the company is capable of serving best and it designs and
promotes the appropriate products and services.” by Dr. Philip Kotler
Philip Kotler explained that marketing is “meeting the needs of your

customer at a profit.”
All exchanges may not involve tangible products like automobile,

detergents, household goods. Exchanges may include services and
ideas too. For example ‘Teach India Campaign’ or opportunity for
social work which will provide emotional satisfaction to the volunteers
(intangible)
Marketing
According to William J. Stanton, ‘Marketing is a total
system of business activities designed to plan, price,
promote and distribute want-satisfying products to
target markets to achieve organizational goals.’
Edmund Jerome McCarthy’s concept of 4 Ps of
marketing is considered significant for market
analysis. The concept is based on 12 elements of
Borden’s marketing mix.
12 elements of Borden’s Marketing Mix
ProductPricin
planning g Brandi
Persona ng
l selling Channels of
distribution
Advertising
Market
ing Mix
Promotions
Fact finding &

analysis
Packaging
Physical
handling
Display
Servicing
Marketing Mix (4 Ps of Marketing)
PRODUCT PRICE PLACE PROMOTION
This includes all This deals with Placement or Includes all
activities related to activities related to distribution refers to activities concerned
the conception & setting the price for all activities with informing
planning of the the product. involved in getting consumers about an
actual product that Decisions regarding the product to the organization’s
fulfills consumer’s retail & wholesale final consumer. The offerings ,
needs & wants prices, margins of distribution persuading them to
Decisions channel members, channels, market buy it and
regarding product discounts & coverage, locations, reminding them,
quality, design, allowances, credit inventory, about it from time
features, sizes, terms, payment transportation etc to time. Promotion
varieties, brand period are a part of are decided. includes
name etc. ‘pricing’ function advertising, sales
promotion, Direct
Marketing, PR,
Personal Selling &
other
unconventional
media
Marketing Communication Mix
The 4th ‘P’ of marketing called Promotion, is also
called Marketing Communication.
Marketing communication involves all activities
concerned with effectively communicating product
information to selected target audience.
A Target Audience is the group of consumers to whom
marketing communication messages are directed.
All marketing communication is done with a purpose.
It is a set of all tools to market a product. A marketing
communication manager can choose from various
tools such as advertising, sales promotion, public
relations, personal selling, direct marketing, special
events etc.
These activities or communication mix can be divided
into:
a. High Control messages
b. Low Control Messages
Low Control Messages: are spontaneous and not designed
formally.
Crisis Management Shareholder Interaction
Employee Behaviour Consumer word of mouth
Basically includes:
Public Relations Publicity
High Control Messages: the elements of
communication mix over which an organization has
greater control since they can be explicitly planned,
executed and delivered to consumers.
Advertising Sales Promotion
Direct Marketing Special events
HIGH LOW
CONTROL CONTROL
MESSAGE MESSAGES
S
ADVERTISING, PUBLICITY, EMPLOYEE

SALES CRISIS BEHAVIOUR,
PROMOTION, MANAGEME CONSUMER
DIRECT NT, PR WORD OF
MARKETING, MOUTH
SPECIAL
EVENTS(ACTIVATI
ON)
Marketing Communication Activities can loosely be
classified as:
a. Above the Line (ATL)
b. Below the Line (BTL)
c. Through the Line (TTL)
Promotional activities carried out through mass media like TV,

Radio, Internet etc
ATL
+BTL
Non media activities like events and activations

S. No ABOVE THE LINE BELOW THE LINE
1. Uses Media Non Media activities involving
interaction with consumers
2 More effective where target group is 2. Effective when Target Group is
very large limited and specific
3. Focuses more on delivering ‘a 3. Focuses more on delivering ‘an
message’ experience’ (touch and feel of the
product
Tools of Marketing Communication Mix
Direct
Publicity
Marketing
Tools
internet/
Sales promotion interactive
marketing
salesmanship Public relations
Advertising
Advertising
Derived from Latin word ad verter which means ‘to
run towards’ or ‘to attract attention to’.
Advertising is any paid form of non personal
presentation and promotion of goods, ideas and
services by an identified sponsor.
Advertising
Characteristics of Advertising
‘Paid form’ of presentation emphasizes that

advertising space or time must be purchased
‘Non personal’ nature emphasizes that
advertising is not a direct or personalized
presentation to one individual but to the masses
‘Presentation’ signifies the format in which ads
communicate
Advertising
‘Promotion’ indicates the objective of advertising
‘Identified sponsor’ refers to the brand or the
advertiser that is communicating
Advertising
Reinforc
e
Inform
Functio
ns
Persuad
Remind e
Sales Promotion
It is a collection of tools that stimulate quicker or
greater purchase of products by consumers or trade in
the short run.
Sales promotion changes the price-value relationship
of a product by lowering the price, increasing the value
or both.
Sales promotion can be consumer or trade oriented.
Sales Promotion
Sales Promotion
Trade Sales Promotion

Consumer Sales Promotion (is directed to resellers like
(is directed to the end user distributors, wholesalers or
of a product, includes price retailers to motivate them
discounts, coupons, to provide special support
sampling, rebates, contests, for the company’s product,
sweepstakes, pop includes allowances, sales
materials) contests, price deals, trade
shows)
Direct Marketing
Is one to one approach that uses advertising media to
produce an inquiry, a transaction and some other
immediate response.
The marketer and prospect interacts directly without
the presence of any intermediary like retailers,
wholesalers.
Direct Marketing
Popular Direct
examples internet Mail
of Direct
Marketing Vehicles
•Amway
•Tupperware
of DM
•Readers’ Tele Direct
Digest response TV
marketing or radio
Mail order
catalogues
Direct Marketing
DM targets prospects on the basis of a database – a
store house of prospect/customer information
The database contains the demographic, geographic,
behavioural or psychological details
Direct Marketing
Allows to create Market

personalized segmentation
messages becomes easy
Advantag
es
Identifies
Customize
target
the offerings audience
Public Relations
PR is the managerial activity that is concerned with
gathering public opinion and analysing public attitudes and
thereby defining policies and a plan of action for an
organization so as to earn public appreciation and
acceptance.
It is a planned and sustained effort to positively influence
public opinion through good character or responsible
behaviour and build goodwill for the organization and its
products.
Public Relations
Public of the public relations include media,
community, customers, shareholders, employees,
government etc
PR is done to manage crisis, representing special
interest groups, planning political campaigns,
motivating employees
Analysts believe PR aims at building brand equity, that
is, goodwill for the brand.
Marketing Public Relation
The types of public relations activities that build
positive image for products are called Marketing
public relations (MPR)
MPR is ‘the process of planning, executing and
evaluating programs that encourage purchase and
consumer satisfaction through credible communication
of information and impressions that identify
companies and their products with the needs, wants,
concerns and interests of consumers.’ Thomas Harris
in 1993.
Marketing Public Relation
MPR is consumer driven while PR caters to
stakeholders including employees, investors, media,
governments, special interest groups.
Advantages of MPR
Highly targeted way for PR
Cost effective way to reach the market and create a
brand name
It achieves credibility
It makes advertising and its messages more credible
High ability of the consumer’s reach and awareness
It breaks through clutter
Disadvantages of MPR
Lack of control over media
It is difficult to tie in slogans and other advertising
devices
No standard measurement to judge the effectiveness
Personal Selling
A personal presentation by a representation of an
organization with the purpose of influencing consumer
buying decision, making a sale or building long term
relationships
There is a direct contact between the buyer and the
seller
It is done to create awareness, deliver information and
persuade a consumer
It is more flexible and interactive
Sales person can customize the message according to
the consumer.
Personal Selling
It is specifically for products that are high in value,
complex, requiring high deliberation, having large
order sizes or cannot be approached through other
tools/vehicles
Eureka Forbes found personal selling very effective
tool to sell its vacuum cleaners and water purifiers
It is not a very common component in most
companies’ communication mixes, primarily because
of its prohibitive costs and inability to reach large
audiences
Rural Marketing
The National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) of
India defines ‘rural’ as any habitation with a
population density less than 400 per sq.km, where a
minimum of 75 percent of the male working
population is engaged in agriculture and where no
municipality operates.
The Planning Commission has other criteria in which
towns up to a population of 15,000 also come in rural
category.
Rural Marketing
FMCG products like toothpaste, hair oil and shampoo, have
done well in the rural or semi urban sectors than urban
sectors.
Coca Cola developed its rural market in India for its bottled
water Bonaqua ( which literally means pigmy in Hindi).
LIC has done well in the rural, sector. 50% of fans, bicycles,
tea and wrist watches are also bought in rural India.
According to FICCI-Nielson Report 2010, there has been a
100 percent rise in the use of mobile phones by rural
subscribers. The number in 2010 rose to 201 million from
109 million in the previous year.
Rural Marketing
The Tatas launched a mass market of jewelery brand Gold
Plus for Rural India.
Kisan Credit Cards have been launched by the RBI,
NABARD and various nationalized banks to lend timely
supports from banks to the farming community.
Samsung rolled out its ‘dream home’ road show to create
awareness about its products.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhr
apradesh/samsung-india-kicks-off-road-show/article312883
7.ece
https://www.scribd.com/document/116552332/Solution-of-
Tata-gold-plus-Case-study
Rural Marketing
The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector in rural and
semi- urban India is estimated to cross US$ 100 billion by 2025
The rural FMCG market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of
17.41 per cent to US$ 100 billion during 2009–25
Rural FMCG market accounts for 40 per cent of the overall
FMCG market in India, in revenue terms
Amongst the leading retailers, Dabur generates over 40-45 per
cent of its domestic revenue from rural sales. HUL rural
revenue accounts for 45 per cent of its overall sales while other
companies earn 30- 35 per cent of their revenues from rural
areas
Rural Marketing
Rural Marketing & Advertising Strategies
Keep Low-priced and small unit packages
Build Imagery around products
Make reusable packages for reminder value.
Rural Marketing
Consumer Classification
Climbers Destitute
Well-off The term Aspirants Aspirants
Affluent/ The term refers refers to The term The term refers
Very Rich to households
households refers to to households
Households owing any/all of owing any/all
owing any/all households
owning these: of these:
of these: owing any/all
personal Air conditioner, Wrist watches,
motorcycle, DVD, of these:
car/jeep along pressure
scooter, washing mixer/grinder, Bicycle,
with other cooker,
machine, Colour sewing electric fans,
products TV, geyser, recorder,
machines, TV electric iron
transistor/radio
Internet/interactive Marketing
Tools like mails, weblogs, online discussion forums,
websites have changed the language, presentation and
delivery of messages
Internet communication is more personal, informal, up
to date, interactive, targeted, less intrusive and non
linear in nature
Internet can also aid other marketing activities like
market research, distribution of services or digital
products, payment collection etc
Integrated Marketing Communication
Instead of dividing communications into several
overlapping areas, IMC unifies each communication
element to deliver consistent messages with one voice,
one theme and one strategy
It is “a concept of marketing communications planning
that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive
plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of
communication disciplines for example, general
advertising, direct response, sales promotion and
Public Relations – and combines these disciplines to
provide clarity, consistency and maximum impact.” -
AMA
IMC was pioneered by Don E. Schultz of
Northwestern University’s Medill School of
Journalism.
It is also addressed as new advertising, one to one
marketing, whole egg, orchestration, 360 branding
and total branding
Strengths & Weaknesses of IMC tools
TOOLS STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
Advertising Informs, persuades, reminds and Expensive and cluttered

reinforces mass audiences about a media with high noise level
product, builds brand identity
Sales Promotion Leads to immediate sales, has a direct Has short term results,
impact on sales and is measurable, makes consumer deals
helps clear excessive inventory, helps prone, can erode brand
nullify competitive promotions, equity and loyalty, is
generates excitement, gets trade and gradually getting cluttered
sales force support and is relatively less and expensive
expensive than advertising
Direct Marketing Highly targeted, measurable Expensive, not suitable for
customization and personalization reaching large audience
possible, suitable for certain product
types, possibility for two way
communication and building long term
relations
Public Relations Can create goodwill, has Organization has little
high credibility, is low in control over what gets
cost, reaches many publicized, often has
audiences, especially hidden costs, results are
‘difficult to reach audience’ difficult to measure, does
not have direct effect on
sales
Internet/interactive Is direct, low in cost, Smaller audience, not

marketing interactive and two suitable for non savvy
directional, personalised, up audiences, spam emails or
to date, targeted, less pop ups can be quite
intrusive and less intrusive
commercial
Personal Selling Highly targeted, interactive Expensive, unsuitable for
and bi directional, flexible, large audiences
message and presentation
can be customized and
personalized, measurable,
offers immediate feedback,
takes the consumer closer to
sales, effective in building
relationships,
Strengths & Weaknesses of IMC tools
Packaging Makes the final impression, catches Placed in a competitive
consumers in the ‘ready to buy’ stage environment, reaches
small audiences
Point of High impact as it is one of the last Reaches a small audience,

Purchase reminder messages, makes a powerful low life cycle as no
visual statement, catches the impulse guarantee of continuous
buyer retail display/support
Sponsorship Earns goodwill, builds brand May be expensive, reaches

association with a particular cause, a small audience, is not
brings dedicated audience in a clutter measurable and has no
free environment, helps get publicity direct impact on sales
Event Marketing Creates excitement, builds brand May be expensive, reaches
association with a particular a small audience, may not
cause/event, brings dedicated be measurable, has no
audience in a clutter free direct impact on sales
environment, helps get publicity,
possibility for more interaction
with consumers
Trade Shows Dissipates information to targeted Reaches small audiences,

audiences, gets visibility and media relatively expensive,
coverage, can promote interactivity, exposes exhibits to
provides an opportunity for competition
competitive survey
Customer Service Delights customers, creates Directly adds to the cost of

differentiation at the time of the product, have to monitor
purchase quality
Case Study - IMC
Case in Point: Pepsodent increases recall and consumption
with integrated communications
Problem: Maturing Sales
Insight: Research indicated that while mothers wanted their
kids to brush regularly at night, kids often avoided it
Objective: Promote the habit of brushing one’s teeth at night
among kids
Case Study - IMC
Media:
A TV commercial introduced Bhoot Police (Pepsodent) that
fights Bhoot (germs); Another commercial followed mothers
singing as aarti to god to get their children to brush at night
and the latter half of the commercial showing that the
Peosodent Bhoot Police answers mother’s prayers
Groups of parents, teachers and even dabbawalas were
invited to sing jingle in a live chorus on popular radio stations
in a plea to children to brush their teeth at night
Case Study - IMC
A contest for parents to pen their own lyrics to the aarti
tune and the ones with the best or most funny lyrics got the
chance to sing the aarti on air; children were also invited to
sing their version of the jingle on air.
Radio One’s ‘The Midday Show’ made the jingle its
signature tune.
A contest for kids to become the Bhoot Police was run
As campaign culmination, school contact programmes
reached about 15000 schools and got a pledge signed by
the children and verified by the parents that the kids will
actually brush their teeth with Pepsodent at night
Case Study - IMC
Interactive website through which children can learn about
the benefits of brushing at night
Results
12 lakh children signed the pledge and confirmed that they
will use Pepsodent at night
Campaign won a gold award as the Best Media innovation
(radio category) for the Emvies 2006.
Ogilvy & Mather which was initially founded as an
advertising agency in India in 1928, has several business
units today that offer 360 degree communication options to
clients – Ogilvy Activation for Out of Home
communication, Ogilvy Interactive for online marketing,
Ogilvy Live for events and promotions, Ogilvy PR for
Public Relations, Ogilvy One for one-to-one marketing,
Ogilvy Signscapes for retail design solutions
IMC has the ability to add value to the company’s
marketing communication efforts by making them more
consistent and unified
When communication emanates from a single strategic
platform as in an IMC organization, inconsistencies and
duplication can be avoided and return on communication
investment can be maximized.
It is the most cost effective way of communicating because
it avoids duplication, selects the best suitable tools for a
particular communication task and produces a greater return
on communication investment by making a bigger impact.
Factors responsible for increased demand for IMC:
Decreasing impact of traditional advertising: traditional
advertising has become more costly and less effective than
before, i.e. advertising is able to reach fewer consumers even
with the same or higher spends. With the proliferation of new
brands, real product differentiation has become small and largely
insignificant, making it more difficult for advertising to create
the brand personalities of the past. The budget allocated to
consumer and trade sales promotion has increased as a result of
growing price competition, increasing clout of large retailers,
deal proneness of consumers and the pressure for immediate
sales.
Proliferation of new ways to reach consumers:
media like online communication, sponsorships,
product demonstrations, special events, in-programme
product placements are gaining ground because of
their cost- effectiveness, ability to target niche
audiences and measure performance.
Internet and mobile advertising have created space for
companies to have an online presence through the
website, blogs, games, sponsor internet or brand jingle
ringtones to consumers.
The sudden spurt in the number of low cost , more targeted, niche
options of reaching consumers has made a dent in the large audience
coverage that traditional media once offered.
Marketers are using out of the box ways of communicating to their
audiences for example:
HUL, one of the pioneers of rural marketing overcomes the limitation
of traditional communication channels by innovatively using
unconventional media like wall paintings, cinema vans, weekly
markets (haats), fairs and festivals to communicate with the rural folks.
Given the rural consumer’s fascination for cinema, HUL vans show
popular movies, interspersed with products advertisements. Weekly
markets have given HUL an opportunity to demonstrate product
benefits and also sell such products. Such demonstrations have played
a significant role in creating the detergents market in rural India.
Demand for greater accountability: Organizations want to develop
systems and processes to know which elements of the marketing and
communications plan worked well and how. For which they have been
using more and more analytic and accountability tools like Return on
Objectives (ROO) and Return on Investment(ROI).
ROO measures marketplace response against predetermined
communications objectives
ROI weighs communication cost relative to the returns generated, usually
in terms of sales.
ROI can be maximized only when newer, less expensive, more effective
and measurable tools are used.
Techniques like marketing and media mix modelling which compare
patterns in advertising and marketing to patterns in sales and accredit
increment in sales to attribute that drive it, are increasing the pressure on
communication even more. IMC is essential because it centralizes message
generation, avoids duplication and synergizes efforts.
Growth of database marketing: This helps the
companies to understand individual consumer
preferences, segment and target consumers more
effectively and customize communication programmes
for individuals and small groups instead of spending
large amounts on mass communication.
The modern day consumer has also become more
demanding who wants customized, interactive and
permission – based communication rather than mass
scale advertising or generalised sales promotion offers.
IMC is relevant because it is more than the coordination of a
company’s outgoing messages and the consistency among
them.
It is a strategic communication plan that captures and uses
customer information to sharpen its marketing efforts.
Growth of International Marketing: It is important for a
company to maintain consistent image worldwide. It is also
important to localize certain communication elements taking
into account cultural differences. For example, P&G’s Camay
soap failed in the Indian market because P&G reduced its
price to compete in the fiercely populated soap market.
Unfortunately, consumers did not see this move match the
international image of Camay as a premium, up market soap.
Emphasis on Relationship Marketing: relationship
marketing is a marketing practice that aims at building long
lasting relationships with various stakeholders of the
company, including its customers.
Relationship marketers look at the lifetime value of a
customer rather than at individual transactions, identify
high value customers and create a relationship with them
through personal treatment.
Customer retention is central to relationship marketing.
Relationship marketing makes customers more loyal, more
resilient to price increases and competitive promotions.
Relationship marketing requires communication to be
integrated because customer’s various contacts with the
brand can only be monitored in a synergistic system.
IMC also makes the process transparent, so that managers
in all departments are aware of a particular customer’s
various contacts and experiences with the brand.
Changing compensation structure of agencies:
increasingly greater demand is placed in marketing
communication agencies these days to become brand
custodians rather than simply transaction-based suppliers
of communication services.
There is an increased emphasis on measuring marketing ROI
and companies are linking the compensation of agencies in part
to the results of the campaign, set in objective terms like sales
and profitability, market share, increase in brand awareness etc.
therefore, agencies need to focus on the entire gamut of
communication activities.
They also need to explore the tools that are less expensive,
more interactive and more measurable than traditional
advertising.
Traditional advertising agencies are turning into ‘brand
marketing agencies’ offering an entire communications solution
with tools that are best suited to particular clients’ needs.
Need for a single brand custodian: integration helps
develop a single brand custodian rather than separate
stewards for multiple specializations. Different integration
mechanisms need to be experimented with. Today, there is a
possibility of cross-functional specialists who may purely
focus on consumer and brand planning.
Intra or inter agency integration can only work if there is an
attitude shift in the industry. Agencies would have to operate
in a matrix of horizontal and vertical accountability.
Agencies have to keep in mind that although they have
different specializations, there is only one brand and one
consumer. Hence, there is a need for a single voice.
Need for creating brand identity: IMC plays an
important part in the process of branding, or brand identity
creation and building brand equity. Brand recognition is
the result of awareness regarding a brand in the
marketplace and is created by direct experiences with the
specific product and through the influence of advertising,
design, media coverage, word of mouth and such. A brand
serves to create certain associations that come to
consumers’ minds when they think about it. IMC is
responsible for creating and managing consistent brand
associations.
IMC Model
Marketing Plan
Marketing Mix Elements
Price
Product Integrated Marketing Distribution
Promotion
Communication Mix Elements
Sales
Direct
Promotio
Marketing
n
Advertisin PR/
g Publicity
IMC
Internet
Events
Personal
Unconventional Tools
Selling Low Control Messages
Employee Behaviour, word of mouth, systems and

processes
IMC Planning Process
Corporate Plan
(Corporate Objectives & Strategies)
Marketing Plan
1. Situational Analysis
2. Set Marketing Objectives
3. Devise marketing Strategies
4. Frame Implementation Tactics
5. Monitor & Evaluate performance
IMC Plan
1. Situational Analysis
2. Determine a problem or opportunity
3. Determine the communication objectives
4. Determine the budget
5. Develop IMC strategies
6. Select Target Audience
7. Arrive at the Communication Mix
8. Design message Strategies
9. Determine media strategies
Market Segmentation Process
Define the
Create the
Market for the
Market Segment
Organization
Evaluate the
Construct
segments on set
Segment Profiles
criteria
Evaluate the
attractiveness of
Select target
the segments market/s
Develop and Develop

implement positioning
marketing mix strategy
Review
Performance
Market Segmentation
In a large product market, consumers are diverse in their
needs and buying requirements. A company cannot serve
all these consumers or develop marketing strategies for
all of them. Segmentation divides a large market into
smaller and more manageable sub markets in order to
identify homogeneous markets (consumer groups).
These homogeneous groups are
a. Similar in their needs and reactions to a company’s
marketing activities
b. Are considerably different from other such groups in
the market
Market Segmentation
A market segment is thus a group of consumers in a market who
have similar needs.
For example, The Incredible India Campaigns have strategically
tailored their messages according to different markets. For
instance, in Berlin in March 2007, vivid images of a warm,
sunny India were shown against the backdrop of the city’s
wintry grey streets. The same campaign was used in
Scandinavia where there is no sunlight for months. On the
contrary, in West Asia, the focus was on the monsoons as there
is lack of rainfall in that area.
It is important to note that marketers cannot create segments;
these segments pre exist in a product market. Marketers only
identify the existing segments and their varying requirements
and decide which one to target.
Market Segmentation
On the other hand, mass marketing is the process of
selling the same product with the same marketing
actions to all consumers in a market. It is a
standardization strategy that saves the company money
and makes coordination easy, but products, price,
communication or distribution formats may not be the
best fit for all segments.
Segment marketing reduces the waste in trying to cater
to the entire market and gives the company a better
understanding of the competitive, socio cultural and
general environment of that segment.
Market Segmentation
Segments should be measurable: Marketers should
be able to estimate their purchasing power, audience
size etc.
Segments should be of a substantial size: the
segments should be of a certain size so that the
marketer is able to seek profits.
Segments should be physically accessible: There
should be a developed distribution and communication
network. For example, some of the northeast
mountainous regions of India have no media access
and hence cannot be reached with a tailored
communications programme.
Market Segmentation
Segments should be differentiable: All the segments
of a product market should be differentiable with
different needs and responses to marketing activities.
For example, if men and women by paintbrushes in the
same manner, they do not form separate segments.
Segments should be actionable: It should be possible
for marketers to develop different products pr use
different marketing strategies for them.
Market Segmentation
Market Segmentation
Psychogra Demograp Geographi

Behavioural
phic hic c
Geographic Segmentation
This technique is useful if a company finds consumers of different
regions exhibiting different needs, buying patterns, reactions to
marketing strategies etc.
For example, McDonald’s in India has segregated its vegetarian
and non vegetarian kitchens. 70 percent of its products are
localised to suit Indian palette. It also discontinued mutton
products after it realised that Indians did not prefer consuming
mutton out of home. The company’s pricing is also designed to
appeal to the large mass of Indian middle class. Introduction of the
Rs 7 Soft Serve Cone and the Rs 20 Happy Price Menu are the two
major crowd pullers. Its communication also has a distinct Indian
appeal with an emphasis on attracting families, promoting
attractively priced items and celebrating Indian festivities
Demographic Segmentation
This is the most commonly used segmentation in which the market is
divided on the basis of the characteristics of the population.
These characteristics can be Age, Gender, Income, Occupation, Family
size, Family life cycle, Education, Religion, Nationality, Martial Status
For example, Hero Honda introduced its maiden scooter Hero Honda
Pleasure in the women’s 2 wheeler segment. The scooter’s ABS body
makes it easy to handle and its self start option makes it a comfortable
ride for women, even the colour palette is customised to women’s tastes.
The scooter was developed for women’s segment based on the insight
that women are dependent on the male family member for moving
around, which substantially limits their mobility. Even the promotion is
directed at the women’s market with ‘Just for her’ women’s exclusive
stores and a tagline that questions, ‘Why should boys have all the fun?”
Psychographic Segmentation
Clarifies consumers according to their attitudes,
aspirations, values, lifestyle, personality traits,
interests.
Among these lifestyles and values are most frequently
used with extensive research done to group consumers
by these characteristics.
Segmentation by lifestyles is usually based on the
activities, interests and opinions (AIOs) of consumers.
Psychographic segmentation has become easy to use
with values and lifestyle (VALS) model developed by
the US based SRI international.
Psychographic Segmentation
VALS segments American consumers into 8 categories on the
basis of their personality and motivations. The model is based
on the assumption that people with same demographics can
have different motivations and personalities which will drive
their purchases.
When segmentation is based on consumer personalities,
marketers try to endow their products with a brand personality
that matches the actual or desired personality of their target
consumers. For example, a brand may appear ‘sincere’(BBC or
Aqua Guard), ‘sophisticated’ (Chevrolet Optra),
‘exciting’( MTV, Radio Mirchi), ‘competent’ (Whirlpool,
Ariel) or ‘rugged’ (Thumps up or Mountain Dew).
VALS
HIGH
RESOURCES HIGH INNOVATION
Innovato
rs
Thinker
s Experiencer
s
Achieve
rs
Believe
rs Striver
s Makers
Survivor
LOW RESOURCES s
LOW INNOVATION
Behavioural Segmentation
Consumers are divided on the basis of various
behavioural characteristics like purchase/use occasions
(regular/special), benefits (speed, service, economy,
quality, warranty), user status(non user, ex user,
potential user, first time user, regular user), usage rate
(light user, medium user, heavy user), product
knowledge (unaware, aware, informed, interested,
desirous, intending to purchase, purchaser, rejecter),
Loyalty status ( hard core loyal, split loyal, shifting
loyal, switcher), Attitude towards product
(enthusiastic, positive, indifferent, negative, hostile),
extent of involvement ( minimum effort, comparison,
special effort)
Benefit Segmentation
Consumers may be segmented on the basis of the
benefit they seek from the product. For example, while
air conditioners are primarily bought for cooling,
consumers may also seek other benefits that they
consider equally important, for example, fresh and
clean air, no sound, and energy efficient. Similarly
various consumers may buy a hotel room for different
primary benefits like pampered relaxation, temporary
night halt, business visit, clandestine deals or economy
Hybrid Segmentation
Instead of considering only one set of segmentation
variables, marketers may combine one or two
segmentation styles and arrive at hybrid segmentation
class.
The segmentation process considers these various
bases whether singly or in combination. Marketers
may then carry out a number of alternative
segmentation strategies and perform an in depth
analysis of the segments so that they can understand
the consumer needs currently not fulfilled and devise
best strategies to market to the chosen segment.
Hybrid Segmentation Variables for deodorants
Segments Demographic Primary Psychographics Behavioural Brands

traits Benefits Characteristics Favoured
Sought
Bold Teenage Fragrance, Carefree, Regular users but Elle 18
teenage girls ,economy freshness rebellious, bold not too loyal; try
girls segment new variants all
the while
Feminine Women, 25+ Fragrance, Feminine Regular, medium Ponds

women freshness users
Unisex Men and 24hour Sociable, active Regular, medium Rexona, Nevia
appeal women, value protection users
for money form body
segment odour
Cultish Males 16-24, Fragrance Cultish, with a go Regular, loyal, Axe

Young men premium that get it attitude medium to heavy
segment seduces user
the fairer
sex
Middle Middle aged Long Modern, Regular, loyal, Denim
aged men lasting masculine, casual, medium to heavy
masculine fragrance sophisticated, user
men sensitive
Target Marketing Process
Target marketing is a process by which marketers develop
different marketing strategies to satisfy different consumer
needs. Target marketing process involves four basic steps:
Identi Deter Sele Positi
fying minin cting oning
marke g a throu
ts mark gh
with et
mark mark
unfulf segm et to eting
illed entati targe strate
needs on t gies
Types of marketing
Undifferentiated marketing: involves ignoring segment
differences and offerings just one product or service to the
entire market. For example, Coca Cola, offered only one
product version. While this standardization strategy saves
the company money; it does not allow the opportunity to
offer different versions of the product to different markets.
Differentiated marketing: involves marketing in number
of segments, developing separate marketing strategies for
each. Differentiation allows ad appeals for various
segments, increasing the opportunity to satisfy the needs
and wants of various groups.
Types of marketing
Concentrated marketing: is when the firm selects one
segment and attempts to capture a large share of this
market. Volkswagen used this strategy in the 1950s
when it was the only major automobile company
competing in the economy car segment in the US.
Market Positioning
The art and science of fitting the product or service to
one or more segments of the broad market in such a
way as to set it meaningfully apart from the
competition.
Positioning can focus on either the consumers or on
competitors
Trout & Ries asks six basic questions to
develop positioning strategy
What position? (Do we have any in the prospect’s mind)
this information comes from the marketplace and not the
manager’s perceptions
What position do we want to own?
What companies must be outgunned if we are to establish
that position?
Do we have enough marketing money to occupy and hold
that position?
Do we have the guts to stick with one consistent
positioning strategy?
Does our creative approach match our positioning strategy?
Positioning by product attributes and benefits (odomos is
positioned as a mosquito repellant, hit is positioned as instant
cockroach killer, nokia was positioned as a user friendly cell
phone, monaco positioned itself as ‘light’ even the visuals
demonstrated the attribute)
Positioning by price/quality ( Nirma and Surf)
Positioning by use or application (Moov especially for women
backache problems)
Positioning by product class
Positioning by product user
Positioning by competitor (Tata Salt and Captain Cook Salt,
Savlon and Dettol)
Positioning by cultural symbols (Maharaja: Air India, Ronald Mc.
Donald)
Image or personality positioning ( Axe, thumps up, Lux (celebrity
image )
In order to extend its core essence of happiness to yet another
moment of joy in one’s life with the tagline ‘kuch meetha ho
jaye’, cadbury Dairy milk used the occasion of passing out of
school final exams to position itself. Every year 4 crore
children appear for school final exams in the country and
about 50 percent pass out. Using this insight, Cadbury
strengthened its positioning through the ‘Pappu pass ho gaya’
ad campaign. The brand also tied up with Reliance infocomm
and gave results to students who SMSed their exam ID
number to Reliance. For all those who passed, the marks
came with an accompanying message, ‘Pappu Pass ho gaya’
and persuaded the students to have some meetha in terms of
Cadbury dairy milk, this creative use of communication at the
exact moment of passing out fortified Cadury’s position.
Repositioning
Repositioning a product usually occurs because of
declining or stagnant sales or because of anti
entrenched perceptions about the product or brand.
Determining the positioning strategy
Identify competitors
Assessing consumers’ perceptions of competitors
Determine competitors’ positions
Analysing the consumers’ preferences
Making the positioning decision
UNIT II
Marketing Strategy
Marketing strategy evaluates the various ways and
options for achieving marketing objectives and selects
the right way to accomplish those objectives.
The strategic tools of the marketing mix are Product,
price, place and promotion.
It is important that marketing strategies should be
aligned towards the same goal. Only if all the elements
speak with one voice, can the marketing objectives be
realized with maximum impact.
Components of a marketing strategy
Competitive Strategies (must be able to identify its
area of competitive advantage)
Market Segmentation
Targeting
Positioning
The Marketing Mix Strategies
Product Decisions
Product must not be mistaken for a physical good alone, a product is
anything that can be offered to the market for satisfying needs and
wants.
It is important to mix tangible and intangible elements which can satisfy
functional needs as well as psychological needs.
According to a global online survey conducted by AC Neilsen, “31
percent of Indians buy designer clothes and ‘uplifting one’s social
status’ is the key reason behind the splurging.”
This explains the concept of product symbolism.
Product symbolism is “the sum total of what a product or brand means to
consumers and what they experience in purchasing and using it.” AMA
Eg. Titan Raga and Fast track have different characteristics.
It is not just the design, features and qualities of a product,
but also other factors like the service accompaniments,
warranties and guarantees, brand name and image, style,
package design.
Consumers evaluate all these product related elements and
form perceptions about the product.
The role of advertising and communication is to portray a
product as more than just a bundle of tangible elements that
lend themselves to direct comparison with competitors.
The real skill of marketing communicators lies in
animating dull, tangible features and in adding
comprehension and tangibility to fuzzy, difficult to picture
intangible features.
Product Life Cycle Stage Strategies
A PLC is divided into 4 stages and all products may not pass
through all the stages.
Each stage presents the seller with different problems and
opportunities. Marketing communication too needs to adapt as
products transit from one stage to the other.
Stages of PLC:
1. Introduction: primary demand for the product is created. The
emphasis is laid on the product instead of the brand. The
marketing communication should aim to build product awareness
and acceptance among end consumers and trade channels. Heavy
mass advertising is used to generate mass awareness and
extensive sales promotions like sampling, introductory discounts,
trade offers etc are used to stimulate consumer trial and counter
resistance.
 Growth: In this phase, communication expense may increase
marginally. The objective of advertising shifts from building
awareness to persuading more consumers, garnering repeat
purchase and stimulating greater interest in the product with more
specific information and attractive appeals. Sales promotion may
be reduced to take advantage of heavy consumer demand.
Maturity: this is a stage when the product is close to reaching
market potential and hence there is a slowdown in sales or sales
increase rate. The competition becomes intense now. Advertising
now focuses on brand differences and advantages and serves as a
reminder for the product. Sales promotion is increased as retailers
are wooed by competitors for shelf space and consumers are
flooded with abundant choices. Trade sales promotions become
especially important since most products are similar and sales are
largely a function of what brand is stocked at the retail points. As
products start attaining parity, communication becomes the prime
differentiator.
Decline: Most marketers discontinue communication or make
it more sales promotional in nature. At times marketers find it
hard to part with products close to their hearts and try to
resurrect dying products through feature, quality or design
improvements, change of market, new communication
strategy etc, but more often than not, they have to begin the
cycle with new product introductions.
Product Attributes: often product attributed like product

quality, features and design can drive a marketing
communications programme. Many companies have turned
quality related aspects like reliability, durability, accuracy etc
into a potent marketing weapon.
Product features such as the size, shape, weight, dimensions,
colour etc can also be a competitive tool for differentiating a
company’s offering from that of competitors.
Product design is another important product attribute that
marketing communicators may decide to emphasize. Contrary
to style, which simply describes the appearance of the
product, design refers not only to a product’s ‘looks’ but also
its ‘functionality’. Good designs can attract attention,
improve product performance and above all, give the product
a strong, competitive advantage.
Packaging
Package is traditionally viewed as a container that holds and
protects the product, it performs other functions too besides
containing and protecting.
Besides serving functional purposes, a package can also directly
serve as a communications tool by delivering important selling
messages at the point of purchase. A package can inform
consumers (ingredient information on a bottle of shampoo),
attract attention (a bottle shaped small sachet pack of Parachute
Mini hair oil sold at a price of Re.1), persuade consumers
(environment friendly cereal box with make -your –own – mask
perforation), demonstrate use (preparation directions on an
instant food mix), describe the product (popping candy that
explodes in your mouth), carry an offer (packs with bonus offer,
attached coupons, free gifts inside), or communicate the
corporate brand (all Himalaya products sport transparent bottles
The distinctive usage of teal green caps and logo, and the
brand name Himalaya placed identically across all product
labels).
It is a fact that very often consumers make product judgments
based on the packaging. The size, shape, colour and design of
a packaging may very well determine whether or not it is
bought by consumers.
Therefore, a package is a seller’s last chance of influencing
buyers in the midst of dozens of competitor products lying on
the retail shelf.
It is also true, that a lot of purchases are unplanned, where
innovative packaging can give a comp any competitive edge.
Branding
A brand is the name, term, sign, symbol, design or any other
feature of a product that identifies it as belonging to a particular
marketer and differentiates it from other products.
A brand is not just a brand name comprising words, letters or
numbers. It may also include a Brand Mark, which can be in the
form of a logo, design, symbol, character, picture, colour,
sound, lettering style or anything else that distinguishes the
product.
A brand that is legally registered with the office of the
Controller General of patents, Designs and Trade Marks
(CGPDTM) becomes a trademark.
The activity of branding a product, i.e., investing a product with
the desired attributes of a brand, is an important function for
marketers.
The branding strategy of a product comprises taking various
decisions related to a brand like the selection of an appropriate
brand name, determination of brand ownership, deciding on the
number of products to be included under the brand, positioning
the brand and planning the supporting communication campaign.
Branding strategy is important in determining the power, value

and goodwill of a brand in the market, i.e., in creating and
maintaining brand equity. The equity of the brand is reflected in
the extent of loyalty of its customers, the premium the brand is
able to charge its products, the acceptance of the brand at trade
levels, the strength of the image consumers have in their minds
for the brand etc. brand equity can be measured by the additional
sales a company is able to make and the premium it is able to
charge on its price with the brand name than it could without it.
The equity of the brand is a worthwhile intangible asset for a
company. One important role of advertising and communications
is in maintaining, reinforcing and increasing the brand equity.
Distribution Channel Decisions
Marketing channels or distribution channels include all
interconnected organizations, individuals and processes that
make a product available from the manufacturer to the end
user.
Distribution can be through a system of distributors, brokers,
wholesalers and retailers that help a firm make a product
available to consumers.
These intermediaries are collectively called resellers who
make sure that the product is delivered and serviced.
Traditional indirect channels like wholesalers and retailers
provide the primary means for purchasing most products.
Alternative to reseller strategy is the direct marketing
strategy.
Push Strategy
Promotional activities are used to influence, motivate and
persuade channel members so that they may carry, merchandise,
promote and sell an organization’s products in an advantageous
manner. Such strategy of directing promotions to channel
members is called a promotional push strategy since the product
is pushed through the channels to the consumer.
The underlying assumption is that the consumers will buy a
product if resellers stock it. Special offers or promotional
programmes mat be designed for the traders to reduce their
resistance in accepting a new product and in giving it enough
shelf space.
Channel members may also be educated about the new product
to help them promote it to consumers.
Cooperative advertising is a practice in which a manufacturer
supports its reseller’s advertising through financial or other
assistance, is also used to push products through the channel.
The push strategy is useful when there is low brand loyalty in a
category, brand choice is made in the store, retailer’s
recommendations are highly valued by the consumers, and the
product is an impulse purchase item.
For marketers, it is appropriate when they have favourable
channel relationships but lower promotional target.
Pull Strategy
An alternative promotion strategy is the pull strategy wherein
the manufacturer uses advertising and promotion to induce
consumers to ask for the product and pull it through the
distribution channel. The objective of this strategy is to
counter reseller resistance by building demand among end
users who are encouraged to request the product from the
retailer.
This strategy is appropriate when there is high brand loyalty
and high involvement in the product, the product has unique
benefits and is superior to competing brands and when people
make the purchase decision before they go to the store.
Price Decisions
The price of a product refers to what a consumer has to pay or
give up in order to obtain a product. Consumers purchase
products to derive value out of them. The value of a product
refers to the benefits derived from the product less the costs to a
consumer. Price can be equated to these consumer costs.
While most of the people think of price as only the monetary cost
of a product, it also includes a consumer’s time, energy and
psychic costs in producing the product. Hence, if 2 similar
products cost the same, a consumer is more likely to choose the
one that can be obtained more easily, because the time and effort
spent in obtaining the product is also the non monetary price she
has to pay for it.
A marketing manager must consider various internal and
external factors like cost, competition, demand, perceived
value, government policies, company policies in determining
the price of a product. Many marketers make the common
mistake of fixing the price in too cost oriented a manner or
setting it independently of the other elements of the marketing
mix. However, price should also take note of factors like
product quality, distribution strength and advertising and
communication.
Price also communicates about the product virtues of a product
and helps shape attitudes towards it.
Image pricing, where price serves as an indicator of quality, is
quite effective with lifestyle products like expensive handbags,
perfumes, that builds on a consumer’s ego.
Premium image products that go on sale too often face the risk
of losing the high quality and exclusivity perceptions.
When Reebok entered India in a joint venture with Phoenix
shoes, there were no sports shoes that sold for more than
1000/, whereas a Reebok could easily cost Rs. 2500. initially
the company was embarrassed about its high prices but later it
turned the same into a marketing weapon to lend the shoes an
air of exclusivity. And the premium pricing so much bolstered
the brand’s stature that when it offered ‘3D electrolite’ shoes
upwards of Rs 5000/, the product sold like hot cakes and
exhausted its supply.
For communications to be effective, the product’s price and
promotions should be consistent with each other and convey
the same message.
Ad Campaign
An Ad campaign is a series of ads of a brand that are
related because they all have the same central idea and
are running during the same time period.
Advertising Campaign
Creative Execution
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Relationships between price, relative quality and relative
advertising
Farris and Reibstein derived the following results after examining the
Relationships between price, relative quality and relative advertising for
227 consumer business from the Profit Impact of Marketing Strategies
(PIMS):
Brands with average relative quality but high relative advertising
budgets were able to charge premium prices
Brands with high relative quality and high relative advertising were able
to charge the highest prices
Brands with low quality and low advertising charged the lowest prices.
Consumers were willing to pay higher for known products than for
unknown products
The positive relationship between high prices and high advertising was
the strongest in the later stages of the PLC, for market leaders and for
low cost products.
A A
d d
1 2
Ad Campaign
A A
d d
3 4
Brand Strategy Big Idea Execution Elements
Dhara Health Demonstrates that Kids are proud of their Creative tagline,
Sunflower Oil Dhara keeps fathers who are elements of wit and
Campaign: My Daddy consumers’ hearts & healthy and strong humour, selection of
Strongest health strong (due to Dhara) right
characters,gripping
stories
Mentos Communicates that Mentos gives ‘fresh Creative tagline,
Mentos refreshes ideas’ in our otherwise elements of wit and
consumers mundane lives humour, selection of
right characters,
gripping stories, apt
sound effects
Axe Deodorant Create a sensual Talk of the ‘Axe Creative tagline,

appeal Effect’ i.e. how elements of wit and
women are humour, selection of
magnetically attracted right characters,
towards men using gripping stories, apt
Axe sound effects
Fevicol Reinforces Fevicol’s Show the bonding Creative tagline,

leadership position as power of the brand in elements of wit and
the ultimate adhesive a metaphoric way humour, selection of
Planning Advertising Campaigns
The advertising agency in charge if the campaign must
study the marketing plan to know the direction the
company is taking and the strategic decisions for the
future before working on an advertising campaign.
Brand positioning is the single most important
objective of advertising. Every agency evolves a
unique planning model but the basic essence remains
the same. The credit for making the most scientific
model with textbook precision goes to the advertising
agency J.Walter Thompson. The model known as the T
plan, has been adapted by many agencies, and is taught
by practitioners in various management schools (Jones
1989)
Planning Advertising Campaign
Where
are we?
Are we Why are
getting there? we there?
How can we Where could

get there? we be?
Where are we in the minds of:
a. Consumers
b. Market
 Why are we here? : It is essential to know the reasons for
the current market standing or the lack of it, distribution
problems, competitor’s better pricing strategy, brand image,
corporate image, consumer’s reactions to the product and
the reason for the same and the factors that have contributed
to the brand personality and positioning. Build and evaluate
hypotheses to seek answers to the question, ‘why are we
here?’ Constant probing and honest analysis will provide
enough cues to work on.
Where do we go from here? : it is important to determine
not just ‘where would it be desirable to be’, but also ‘where
we could realistically be.’ once that is worked out, establish
the communication objectives, which in fact must emanate
from the marketing objectives.
For example, if the market objective of a company is to
expand the market from the metros to the mini metro towns,
the communication objective will be to identify the
prospective buyers in the mini metros, their communication
habits and the media accessibility.
How do we get there? : The ‘How to’, in fact is the most
crucial part of the plan – the strategy to achieve the objective,
the intended route to fulfill the aim. Strategy must cover both
creative and media planning, including the economics of the
exercise.
A creative brief addresses the following questions:
What is the problem/opportunity?
What is the role of advertising?
Who are we talking to?
What is the desired key response?
What is the personality of the proposed advertising?
The strategy for deciding upon the most useful media should ideally
cover the following three criteria.
1. Medium as message: Determine which medium will contribute the
most just by its nature and associations; how people use the media –
for how long, with whom, when and where.
2. Medium as medium: determine what medium is the best suited for
the target responses and in creative expressions to achieve those
responses. Colour, sound, movement, ability to demonstrate and the
ability to use extended argument will be some of the considerations.
3. Medium as vehicle: a vehicle is a part of a particular medium. For
example, various channels, such as MTV, Star TV, Doordarshan are
vehicles of television, but each one caters to various tastes of
different target audience. Similarly, there are thousands of
newspapers and magazines in the print medium. The
vehicle/medium is right when it reaches the right target audience.
The media considerations would address issues relating to
coverage, frequency, costs etc.
What single, benefit do we want to convey? : each piece
of effective communication must convey a thought.
Similarly, the bottom line in all product advertising is to
enhance sales. Hence, it is very important to convey a
benefit, a value, to the advertisement viewer/listener/reader.
In order to achieve that, advertisers need to work on the
positioning aspect.
What consumer response do we want to elicit? : Advertising
must work from the point of view of the receiver of the
message to elicit the ‘desired response’. The role of brand
personality and the brand positioning of a product are of
importance here. In order to work on the brand personality,
a few choices, depending on the product and its usage
would be – individual appeals, appeal to senses, reason,
emotion and appeal to non-functional values. The other
alternative could be projecting the brand as a whole –
personality, characteristics, perceived uses, style,
association etc. the consideration for brand positioning
would include the brand’s market position – leader, second,
minor or specialist; and scope – international, national and
local.
Steps in Planning Advertising Campaign
1. Indentify the problem/opportunity
2. Analyse and define the target market
3. Set advertising objectives
4. Determine advertising budget
5. Decide creative strategy
6. Create advertisement Message
7. Develop media plan
8. Pre testing
9. Execute campaign
10. Evaluate advertisement effectiveness (concurrent and post
testing)
Unique Selling Proposition
In 1940s, Marketing concept proposed a theory that
successful advertising campaigns made:
Unique propositions to customers and motivated them to
choose them over competitors.
The term was invented by Rosser Reeves of Ted Bates &
Company
Unique Selling Proposition is the strategy of differentiating
a product or service by concentrating on unique features
that are not offered by competitors.
Process of Indentifying USP
Segmentation Targeting Positioning

What can help in identifying USP?
Marketing research
Brainstorming
Brain writing
Redefining sentences
Redrawing pictures
Problem solving matrix
This differentiation was done on the following basis:
What is the company famous for?
What is the appeal to attract sellers or buyers?
How do you plan to refine the message according to the target
audience?
Ideas to be considered before finalizing the USP:
Uniqueness
Specifics
Relevance
Believability
Conciseness
Motives for buying (desire for gain, fear of loss, comfort &
convenience, security or protection, pride of ownership,
satisfaction of emotion, satisfaction of ego)
It is important to keep in mind that if you are unique it does not
mean you are useful. Therefore, it is important to keep the
usefulness in mind.
It is important to hunt down the competitors. It is important to
develop a clear sense of who the ‘competitor’ is.
It is essential to consider the needs and wants of your most
profitable clients
It is important to have strategic differentiation. (who is your TA,
How is your product useful, take time to listen to the consumers)
Clear your mind of any preconceived ideas.
Be brutally honest about the product or service.
It is essential to observe what customer value you have created
List key features or benefits of the product.
Focus on target market
Give perks for being your consumer (gifts, deals, discounts)
Once you have identified the USP,
Convert it into a brief statement
Integrate it into everything you do
Make it a central theme in all the advertising
Reinforce the benefit of doing business with you in the
minds of the existing customers
Popular examples of USP
Avis: "We're number two. We try harder."
FedEx Corporation: "When it absolutely, positively
has to be there overnight."
M&Ms: "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not
in your hand."
Dominos Pizza: "You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to
your door in 30 minutes or less, or it's free.“
https://activegrowth.com/unique-selling-proposition-e
xamples/
Advertising Strategy
Leo Bogart (1984) defines strategy in the preface of his
book, Strategy in Advertising, as ‘the art of deploying
available resources to attain objectives in the face of active
opposition.’
According to him, ‘in a competitive economy, the success of
a company often hinges on its ability to master the strategy
of advertising. And the mastery, in turn, depends on the
company’s ability to assemble and to apply information.’
According to David Farbey (1979), ‘companies do not spend
hard earned money on advertising unless they have to and if
they spend, it must work.’
Advertising Strategy
An advertising plan aims at providing a flow for the
execution of creative media and execution strategies.
An advertising strategy, can be described as the
communication that conveys a brand’s primary
benefits, that is, how it can solve a consumer’s
problem/need.
The advertising plan is a natural culmination of the
marketing plan which needs to include a section on
analysis, advertising objectives and strategy.
Steps in formulating Strategy
Specify the key fact: a key fact is a single minded statement
from consumer’s point of view that identifies why a consumer
will or will not buy the brand.
State the marketing problem: market problem is the
marketer’s viewpoint from various perspectives, namely
price, promotion, distribution etc.
Work on communication objective: what effect the
advertising is going to have on the target audience and how
should it position the brand. It will look at the creative
message strategy.
Look at mandatory requirements: the inclusion of the
corporate logo, tag line etc
Marketing Planning
Kotler (2002) defined marketing as “ identifying and
meeting human and social profitably.’
Marketing plans are vital to marketing success.
A good marketing plan will include the following
elements:
1. Situation Analysis
2. Marketing Objectives
3. Marketing Strategy
4. Action programmes
The Marketing Planning Process
Analysis
Objectiv
Controls
es
Strategie
Tactics s
Situation Analysis
In situation analysis, the following broad areas are reviewed:
Company’s History and growth, product’s or services, sales
volumes etc
The current value and share trends for the category of the
concerned brand and competitive products need to be taken into
account
The brand’s share and volume objective (i.e., how much is to be
increased in a given period of time) has to be reviewed.
The specific changes that are required in a consumer behaviour
need to be looked at. This must answer whether the company is
looking at increasing trial, multiple use ( Hamdard’s Rogan
Badam Shirin), frequency of use, switching brands or
improving loyalty.
Situation Analysis
The past advertising of the company’s products needs to be reviewed,
that is, evaluation and impact studies, if conducted must be observed
and cues about changes in awareness, knowledge and attitudes must
be picked up.
The market structure needs to be taken into account. The consumer’s
point of view, how the product category in which the brand competes
is segmented has to be considered to learn about the brand’s primary
competition. Consider segmentation by product type, benefits, the
kind of people who use it, price and value both at tangible and
intangible levels.
The economic, political, social, technological or commercial
environment in which the company operates must be considered. This
means analysing the market trends affecting the brand, establishing
whether it is competition, political situation, economic situation, price
and packaging
Situation Analysis
The most relevant consumer trends, both demographic and
attitudinal affecting the brand must be observed.
The primary consumers of the product need to be established,
that is whether they are the rich, middle class, destitute, rural
or urban. Whether the brand’s consumers differ from the
average segment user has to be considered. If so, then the
reasons need to be looked at.
The brand’s physical, functional and psychological
characteristics, the primary benefits accrued to the consumers
(convenience, necessity, problem solving, emotional etc), and
the attributes which give it a competitive edge (heritage.
Quality, price, reliability etc) have to be considered as well.
Marketing Objectives
Marketing objectives are ideally ‘logical deductions from the review of
the company’s current situation, management’s prediction of future
trends and its understanding of the hierarchy of company’s objectives’
(Cravens et al. 1987)
The marketing objectives of a brand could be to:
Introduce the product to test the marketing in five new geographic
areas, so as to achieve 10 percent share in those markets in the first
year
Explore five new territories each in the second and third years. This
attempt may also be aimed at capturing 10 percent share in those
markets
Attempt all India penetration by the end of the third year
Acquire 30 percent share of the national market at the end of the third
year.
Marketing Strategy
Strategy is an important, section of the marketing
plan, a statement as to how the marketing objective
will be achieved. The marketing strategy is the total
directional thrust to achieve objective, marketing
choosing the most suitable, the ‘how’ of the marketing
plan.
Strategy also determines the right marketing mix and
positioning of the product, that is, ‘what the product
does and who is it for.’ (Ogilvy 1985)
Action Programme
Once the overall marketing objectives and strategy
have been clearly spelt out, it is time for the company
to determine the tactics or the action programme. In
other words, each input in the marketing mix, namely,
the product, price, promotion and place or distribution
decisions have to be determined before a product is
introduced in the market.
According to Bovee and Arens (1989), the objectives
of a company indicate where it wants to go, the
strategy indicates the method or the ‘intended route’,
and the tactics or the action programmes determine the
details of those methods and routes.
Control
The last step of the marketing planning and control
process is control, which forms a distinct process
itself. To implement a marketing strategy, the company
has to decide what level of marketing expenditures is
necessary to achieve the marketing objectives. The
total budget has to be allocated among the several
marketing activities the marketing objectives.
The total budget has to be allocated among the several
marketing activities and tools in the marketing mix
(kotler 1988).
Control
During the implementation of activities, the company
has to review the process of marketing and sales
activities regularly throughout the year. These reviews
provide an opportunity to listen to weak signals and to
redirect any parts of the planned action program that
are off target (Hopkins 1983). The controls can be
broadly categorized under the following heads (Kotler
2005):
Annual Plan Control
Profitability Control
Strategic Control
Planning Spectrum and Linkages
Refer to slides 68 &69
Marketi Market Communicati

on Mix
ng Plan
• Analysi
ing • Advertising
• Public
s Mix Relations
• Sales
• Objecti • Produ Promotions
• Direct
ves ct Marketing
• Exhibitions
• Strategi • Price • Social Media
es • Place
• Events
• Merchandisi
• Tactics ng
• Control • Prom • Retail
• Corporate
s otion identity
Functions of Objectives
The first function is to operate as communication and
coordination devices. They provide a vehicle by which
the client, the agency account executive and the
creative team communicate. They also serve to
coordinate the efforts of such groups as copywriters,
radio specialists, media buyers and research specialists.
Second function of objectives is to provide a criterion
for decision making. If 2 alternative campaigns are
generated, one must be selected. Not relying on an
executive’s esthetic judgment she/he should be able to
turn to the objective and select the criterion that will
most readily achieve it.
A relative function of an objective is to evaluate results. It
implies that there needs to be a measure such as market share or
brand awareness associated with the objective. At the of the
campaign, that pre selected measure is employed to evaluate
the success of the campaign.
Criterion for setting objectives
Establish a quantitative benchmark: objectives for advertising are
measurable only in the context of quantifiable variables. Advertising
planners should begin with quantified measures of the current status of
market share, awareness, attitude or other factors that advertising is
expected to influence. The measurement of effectiveness in quantitative
terms requires a knowledge of the level of variables of interest before an
advertising effort and then afterward. For example, a statement of
objectives in quantified terms might be increase the market share of
heavy users of the product category using the brand from 22 to 25%. In
the quantifiable and measurable market share objective is specified.
Specify measurement methods and criteria for success: it is
important that the factors being measured be directly related to the
objectives being pursued. It is of little use to try to increase the
awareness of a brand with advertising and then judge the effects based
on changes in sales.
If change in sales are expected, then measure sales. If
increased awareness is the goal, the change in consumer
awareness is the legitimate measure of success. This may
seem obvious, but in a classic study of advertising objectives,
it was found the claim of success for advertising were
unrelated to the original statements in 69% of the cases. In
this research, firms cited increase in sales as proof of success
of advertising when the original objectives were related to
factors such as awareness, conviction to a brand or product
use information.
Specify a time frame: objectives for advertising should
include a statement of the period of time allowed for the
desired results to occur. In some cases, as with direct response
advertising, the time frame may be related to a seasonal
selling opportunity like the Diwali period.
Advertising Objective
Advertising objectives lay the framework for the
subsequent tasks in advertising plan and take many
different forms. Objectives identify the goals of the
advertiser in concrete terms.
Advertising Objectives
To increase consumer awareness and curiosity about
its brand
To change consumer’s beliefs or attitudes about the
product
To influence the purchase intent of its customers
To stimulate trial use of its product or service
To convert one time product users into repeat
purchasers
To switch consumers from a competing brand to its
brand
To increase sales
We can also put advertising adjectives under the following
heads:
Creating or maintaining brand awareness
Creating, changing or reinforcing attitudes
Purchase intent
Trial usage
Repeat purchase
Brand switching
Type of Objective Specific Task End Result
Informational •Brand Awareness •Trial purchase

•Brand awareness knowledge •Trial Purchase
of brand attributes/benefits
•Knowledge of new •Increase usage
application •Sales leads/sales via personal
•Knowledge about brand and selling
company
Attitudinal •Associate brand with user •Loyalty

type •Loyalty
•Brand attitude/liking •Loyalty
•Associate feelings with brand
use/ positive
Behavioral •Brand awareness , knowledge •Trial purchase

of brand attributes, brand Repeat purchase
attitudes •Trial purchase
•Knowledge of brand Repeat purchase
attributes/ benefits •Trial purchase
•Brand attitude/liking Repeat purchase
Marketing Objectives
Marketing Objectives is the marketing strategy set in order to
achieve the overall organizational objectives
Marketing objectives must be:

1. Specific
2. Achievable
3. Measurable
4. Realistic
5. Time Specific
SMART for short!

The SMART technique helps in finding answers to the
following questions:
1. Are the objectives stated in a way that is precise about what
you are hoping to achieve?
2. Can you quantify each objective?
3. Are the objectives reasonable/ achievable?
4. Do you have sufficient funds, employees and resources to
achieve the objectives you have set?
Marketing objectives must aim at:
1. Increasing product awareness
2. Providing information
3. Reducing consumer resistance
4. Grow market share
5. Enter new markets (internationally or locally)
6. Improve stakeholders relations
7. Improve internal communications
8. Increase profits
9. Brand Recognition
10.Brand engagement
11.Market development
Example: As the owner of a brand new restaurant, the entrepreneur decided that one of his
specific marketing objectives would be to distinguish his food and eatery as the premier
Italian option, with the most distinctive and authentic regional Italian food to be found in the
Seacoast area where the restaurant was located.
Direct and Indirect objectives
Direct Objectives Indirect Objectives
That seek an overt Aimed at communication
behavioral response tasks that need to be
accomplished before overt
from the audience. For
behavioral responses can be
example, Trail or achieved. For example
Purchase creating brand awareness,
disseminate information and
create knowledge in order to
establish a particular image,
create brand attitudes etc
Budgeting for Marketing Communication
Budget should be determined by the objectives laid out for
communication function,
Budgets for a promotional programme are based on several
internal and external issues and there are various methods to
estimate and arrive at the budget.
A problem often encountered in budgeting practices is that the
budgeting decision tends to become routine and institutionalised
and a standard operating procedure or rule develops based on
how the decision was made last time.
Budgets are set for a year, reviewed at year end and fresh
allocations are made the year after.
Theoretical approaches to budget setting
Researcher Gary Lilien has proposed to reflect on three
important issues before making advertising budget decisions:
1. Economies of scale: is there some relevant range in which
increments of advertising yield increasing returns?
2. Threshold effects: is there some minimum level of
exposure that must be exceeded for advertising to have a
discernible effect?
3. Interaction effects: does advertising interact with each
element of the marketing mix, especially personal selling, to
produce effects that are greater than the sum of their
separate effects?
Marginal Analysis
Marginal analysis is a concept of economics, widely used in
business decision making to allocate scarce resources such as
IMC budgets, in order to maximize output produced, such as
sales.
It focuses on studying whether the communication budget
should be increased by one more unit or not, so as to maximize
profit.
It is understood that as promotion expenditure increase, sales and
gross margins also increase up to a point, after which they start
levelling off. Profit which is the difference between gross
margins and advertising or promotion expense, is maximum
when marginal revenue is equal to the marginal cost.
Marginal revenue is the increase in gross revenue by the addition
of one more unit of promotional expenditure, whereas marginal
cost is the increase in total cost with the addition of one more
unit of promotional expenditure.
When marginal revenue is higher than marginal costs, there
is scope for increasing promotional expenditure as it would
add to the profit.
If marginal costs are higher than the marginal revenues,
promotional expenditures should be reduced.
Limitations of the analysis
Considering sales as a direct result of promotions : It
takes time to convince a consumer to purchase the product.
Ignoring the impact of other variables on sales: sales are
affected by other marketing mix elements too other than
promotional tools.
Difficulty in predicting the marginal sales function:
estimating the exact rate at which sales will change in
response to advertising and promotion is a difficult task.
Factors Influencing Budget Setting
A. Product: Various factors related to product affect the budget
setting like: product type, stage in the PLC, complexity of
features, brand differentiation etc. for example, a newly
introduced product requires more budget to create awareness
and generate trial. On the other hand the reminder advertising
for mature brands usually comes at a cheaper cost. If the
product is very complex it needs more explanation and
frequent exposure. With the increase in frequency,
expenditures increases as well. Also products with little or
more differentiation, can call for heavy advertising. If a
product is a near commodity, it needs to advertise more if it
wants to establish a distinct image.
For example: Captain Cook salt established itself as the
premium salt brand and differentiated itself from Tata Salt
through heavy advertising. The advertising helped in
building an image permitted it to charge Rs 3/kg of salt;
double of what Tata was priced at. On the other hand, if a
product has unique features or exclusive benefits, then again
it needs to advertise more to establish those differences.
B Competition: Needless to say, the larger the number of

competitors and the strongest the competition, the more a
brand has to spend to make even a small noise. Also, many
companies determine their budgets based on what the
competition is spending.
C. Market Share: Small brands are required to over advertise
with their share of voice exceeding their share of market
whereas, large brands can afford to under advertise with their
share of voice below their share of market.
D. Market Situation: The size and nature of a product market
and the company’s goals influence its budget. For instance,
budget requirements for a soft drink market are higher than
that of a tyre market. Characteristics of the consumers as well
as factors such as their attitudes and perceptions, loyalty
towards products in the category etc also influence industry
spending on communication with budgets taking a dip during
economic downturns.
E. Distribution System: Longer channels increase the number
of consumers that a company has to reach through
communication. For example, FMCG companies have to
communicate to stockists, wholesalers, retailers besides end
F. Sales Decay Rate: This is the rate at which consumers can
forget a product or its advertising. If a product does not fulfill a
real need, does not have much aspirational value or is faced
with a clutter of competitive products, its sales decay rate is
high and so is the need for advertising.
G. Unexploited sales potential: Higher the available sales
potential, higher the need for advertising to tap it. Pioneer
brands tend to advertise heavily as they want to capture as much
of the market share as they can before their rivals follow suit.
Advertising Budget
The advertising budget of a business is typically a
subset of the larger sales budget and, within that, the
marketing budget. Advertising is a part of the sales
and marketing effort. Money spent on advertising can
also be seen as an investment in building up the
business.
Setting Advertising Objectives
Objectives include: increasing sales level, creating awareness about the product,
building customer loyalty etc
Task to achieve Advertising Objectives

Task may include: selection of Ad agency, selection of different media, deciding on
frequency and timing of the Ad and designing of Ad creative
Preparation of advertising Budget

After the identification of the objectives and the next task, the next step is to calculate
the cost of all such activities
Top management Approval

Budget is placed before the top management for approval. If they feel it is justified,
they will pass the budget
Allocation of Budget
Specifying the amount of money required for each activity and task company has to
perform
Methods of Setting Good Advertising Budget
Affordable Method
Percentage of Sales method
Competitive Parity method
Objective and task method
Brand
A brand by definition is a sign of identity, the mark or label which
differentiates one product from another. A brand is also a symbol
encompassing the key features of a product such as its physical features,
its price and its image.
According to Sir Anthony Tennant (1994), ‘A brand name is particularly
important for functional products which operate in such in such market
sectors as household goods, motor oil and stationary, where rival brands
all perform the same practical purpose and there is little, other than the
name, to distinguish between them.”
According to Stobart (1994) the brand or label given to a representational
product is equally important. Consumers, he writes, ‘purchase perfumes,
Scotch Whisky and luxury cars not so much for their practical purpose,
but more for the inherent qualities and image they project. Clearly these
intangible messages can say as much about the purchaser as about the
product.
Brands are supported and nurtured by advertising and
promotional initiatives. From brands the emphasis has shifted
to ‘power brands’ and ‘super brands’. Power brands and super
brands are supposed to be all pervasive. They are comfortable
at home and on the international turf.
Michael Levine (2003) reiterates this when he says that
branding is not simply giving a name to a product or creating a
logo, it is not an advertising campaign or a marketing slogan.
Quoting Karn Benezra, editor of Brand Week who said, ‘There
are so many parity products out there that the only way to
differentiate yourself from the others is to create an aura, an
image, around your brand. Consumers need a road map; they
need to find a way to get from their need to a product purchase
that’s simple, easy, not full of a lot of noise and most brands get
lost somewhere between the shelf and the consumer mindset.’
Basic Concepts of a Brand
Product Line: It means a cluster of products that may be
closely related by functional benefits such as price, place of
purchase, or the customer group. For example, Surf has Surf
Excel, Surf Supermatic, surf Bar all in the detergent
category. A product line can also comprise products in
various denominations based on price or packaging for
example, Head & Shoulders shampoo in packaged in 200
ml, 500 ml and also in sachets.
Product Mix: It refers to a group of various product lines
and items that a shop may offer, such as Westside has
jewelery, clothing line, household items and cosmetics etc or
a company like the Tata Group has steel, motors, tea, hotels,
consultancy. Etc
Depth of Product Line: This refers to various variants a
product may have, for example, Maruti Suzuki has many sizes
of cars with a view to appeal to every age, pocket and class at
various prices. Depth is also seen as an expression for the way
the line spreads outward in many directions, designed to attract
other buyers from other sectors of society.
Line consistency: This refers to how closely related the
products are in end use. For example, Tata has cars, trucks and
Suvs under the same banner. Line consistency, in short can be
defined as the way external products relate back to the core
product.
Width of Product Mix: A product mix can be defined as a
mix of length, width and depth of products of a company. For
instance, P&G produces many product lines: Hair care
products, health care products, personal hygiene products,
detergents, beverages, food etc.
Line Extension: When the seller adds a new product to a line, it
is referred to as a line extension, for example, IFFCO added
insurance to its portfolio.
Product Line Decisions: companies follow product line
analysis, product line length, line modernization decisions and
line pruning decisions. The companies keep in view product
cycle stage, competition, sales and profits in order to determine
which product needs to be built, sustained or divested. For
example Maruti 800 was gradually eliminated and replaced by
Alto.
Product Line Analysis: This is basically the comparison of
product line sale and profit with that of competitors. For instance,
Chevrolet Spark’s price was reviewed in its lowest segment to be
in tune with competitive cars.
Product line Sales and Analysis: the product line manager
learns about the percentage of total sale and profit contributed by
each item in the product line. This enables the product line
manager to decide upon the kind of marketing strategy to
undertake. Sometimes, competitive brands adjust their prices just
to be competition. For instance, Honda, Maruti Suzuki and
Toyota started a virtual price war after a dip in their sales in July
2011 ( The economic Times, August 8, 2011)
Product Line Market Profile: The product line manager

analyses which competitor’s product lines is positioned against
theirs, like Colgate launched Cibaca against HUL’s Aim in the
year 2000.
Brand Positioning and Advertising
Subrato Sengupta argued that “ there is no such thing as a product or
service which exists by itself in space, independent of the consumer.”
For a product to exist, it must find a place in the minds of an individual
consumer’s perception of the world of products around him or her.
According to Sengupta positioning involves the following:
1. The position of a brand is the perception it brings about in the mind
of a target consumer.
2. This perception reflects the essence of the brand in terms of its
functional and non functional benefits in the judgment of the
consumer.
3. It is relative to the perception held by that consumer of competing
brands, all of which can be represented as points or positions in his
or her perpetual space and altogether make up a product class.
Individual perceptions are always subjective, governed by
people’s values, beliefs, needs, experience and environment.
According to Kassarjian and Robertson (1981), ‘ the
cognitive map of the individual is not a photographic
representation of the physical world… every perceiver is, as
it were, to some degree a non representational artist,
painting a picture of the world that expresses his individual
view of the reality.’
An Ad placed by Ogilvy and Mather in the New York Times on
7th April 1971, with the signature of David Ogilvy and the
caption: How to create advertising that sells.
The Ad said: ‘ the most important decision. We have learned
that the effect of your advertising on your sales depends more
on this selection than on any other: How should you position
your product? Should you position SCHWEPPES as a soft
drink or a mixer? Should you position DOVE as a product
for a dry skin or as product which gets hands really clean?
The result of your campaign depend less on how we write
your advertising than how your product is positioned. It
follows that positioning should be decided before the
advertising is created. Research can help. Look before you
leap.’
Checklist for Brand Positioning
1. Brand Objectives:
 Marketing Investment-Less, more
 Product Innovation- re-launch
 Market Share-higher, same
 Users-Current, extended
 Usage- Current, extended
2. Brand Positioning: Market Position-leader, second, minor, specialist/niche
3. Scope: International, national, local
4. Competitive stance: General appeal, specialist
5. Brand Personality:
 Individual appeals-appeals to senses, reason, emotion, non-functional
values
 Brand as a whole- personality characteristics, perceived users, style,
associations.
The Pitch Process
Pitching is the process of competitive selection
of advertising agencies by clients.
When a firm wants to outsource their advertising
duties to agencies, they call for pitching wherein
all the short listed agencies present their ideas on
how they will take the brand forward.
The most appealing presentation finally gets
selected by the client to handle its brand
communication duties.
Why Does a Client Need Pitching
Expansion of business with great plans and need a
better aid to their growth
They need a full service communication partner and
not just an advertising agency
They want to big in league
Their current agency has out grown them and is
looking for bigger billings
Six principles in Pitching
Openness and Transparency between the Agency and the
Client
Respect
Bravery
Access and Navigation
Timing
The power of collective action
Pitch Process
Indentifying the crack team
Generating ideas
Finding the right contact
Establishing the contact
Opening the doors
First client meeting
Subsequent meeting
Research
Evolution of the agency
Briefing of the relevant internal departments
Assimilating the output
Finalizing the presentation
Pitch presentation meeting
Follow up
The post result period
Unit III
Creativity
Creativity is generally defined in aesthetic terms the
ability to produce useful ideas, originality,
imagination, or the capacity to join two or more
elements to form a new unity or purpose.
Creative impact is expected to achieve the desired
response.
I
d
Systematic
I Approach
e to Advertising Creativity
n a
f
o A i
r n s
m a
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a o
t y
r
i s n
o i
n s
G
June Valladares (Author of ‘Ideate with June a Valladares) : in
creative thinking the system often fails and the mind refuses
to work perhaps it is log jammed with information and over
ideation or just plumb weary.
A big idea cannot be forced it can only be wooed.
Bernstein’s Double ended funnel model of the creative
process
Fact P I Media Audience

s
With a wide mouth into which all facts and figures are
poured. They are eventually concentrated into the
proposition or the offer to be made to the reader, listener
or viewer that is the targeted consumer. This according to
Bernstein goes into the narrow central tube and emerges
as the creative idea. The funnel opens up into a second
mouth from which the advertising, conveying the
creative idea, spreads out through the media to reach the
target audience.
The proposition according to audience to the author is
arrived at through reason and P becomes I through
imagination. The idea thus, becomes an ad largely as a
result of craft.
How to Prepare a Creative Brief
The creative brief is a document that spells out the advertising
strategy and key execution details. After a strategy statement has been
finalised based on research and discussion with the client, the
account manager or planner prepares a creative brief to give some
direction and inspiration to the creative team.
It is a tailored adaptation of the strategy statement and every agency
has its own version. While a strategy statement helps at arriving at the
advertising strategy, a creative brief guides the creative team in
executing an individual advertisement or an entire campaign.
 It provides short and snappy information on the product, target
audience, problem to be solved, objectives of advertising, key
message or the big idea, reason why audience should believe the
idea, intended brand personality, media to be used, mandatory
creative elements (company’s logo, product shot etc), tone of the ad
and other execution related considerations.
Creative Brief
Date
Brand
Jobs
Background
The Problem
Campaign Objectives
Target Group
Task
Tone
Creative Mandatory
Creative Deliverables
Outdoor
Deadline
Creative Brief Checklist
It is pertinent to ask the following questions:
What is being advertised?
What is the key task this campaign is designed to accomplish?
Whom do you need to influence?
What do you know about your audience?
What do you want them to do?
What can you say or what reward can you associate with the
action that will get them to do that?
 Who are your major competitors?
How do they advertise?
What is the main reason consumers should choose you over your
competitors?
What is your ‘big idea’ or ‘key message’?
How will you know it worked?
What is your tone or style of voice?
What personality do you want to convey?
Where and when would the audience be most receptive to the
communication?
What is the key insight in this strategy?
What are the mandatory creative elements?
Tips on Creating Creative Ads
Be a Constant Learner: Advertising insight may come through
observation, personal experience or past learning.
Indulge with your product: It is important to see, touch, feel,
hear, read and experience your product to understand it fully.
How does it look like? how do you use it? What is it made of?
Try finding facts about your product and list them out.
Understand your Audience: it is important for the creative
person to put herself/himself in the audience’s shoes. One needs
to know how the audience thinks and feels, what it values and
what makes it tick. Interacting with consumers and involving
them in the brand development process can lead to newer ideas.
Know the rules before you break them: There are no definite
rules in advertising and often most creative ads have been the
ones that have been bold enough to break rules. However,
advertisers need to be aware of what usually works and what
might be a risky bet.
Base Creativity on strategy: One of the biggest advertising
mistakes is to come up with a brilliant execution idea and then
try to force the problem to fit it. Remember that in advertising,
strategy comes before execution. A creative execution that strays
Away from the strategy will lose its relevance. While creativity
should not be at the cost of a sound strategy, if creative ideas lead
you to newer and better strategies, do not shy away from
embracing the best solution.
Learn to work without USP: Not all products have Unique
Selling Propositions. Research has proven that consumers cannot
identify the difference between two colas but they do prefer one
Arouse audience’s interest: Remember that most of the
Ads are viewed as an intrusion to the activity that people are
doing: reading, viewing or reading. Thus, advertisements not
only have to deliver the message but also have to capture the
audience’s fancy; in other words, entertain them. It is
important to keep in mind, that the concentration should be
on attracting the attention of the “target audience” and not of
any passerby flipping through the magazine or surfing
through the channel. It is better to draw the attention of a
serious buyer through a simple ad than to use a clever ad and
pull other flippant readers who would not be interested in
the product anyways.
 Break from Stereotype: Average advertising always sticks
to stereotypes, but good advertising breaks those stereotypes
and creates a spark.
Emphaize Benefits, not product features: Leo Burnett once
said, “the greatest sales strategy in the world is “Don’t tell me
how good you make it; tell me how good it makes me when I
use it.” Women don’t buy cosmetics, they buy beauty. People
don’t buy health insurance, they buy risk cover.
Use numbers with caution: Advertisers are often obsessed
with punching numbers into their ad messages with a view to
add seriousness to the product. Numbers can add to the
credibility, offer a competitive advantage or prove to be
meaningful when they are put into context. If a product fails
to deliver on the promise, numbers can lead to a quicker
doom. Hence, they should not be used for their sake alone.
KISS: Keep it short and stupid. Make the point clear. Simple
messages are effective but not easy to come up with.
Keep the communication current: while a brand’s value
proposition may remain the same, its message strategy may
periodically adapt to its times. Creative execution should be
refreshed even more frequently as fresh execution recreate
the interest in an otherwise old brand.
Creative Execution Elements
1. Message Appeals: Rational vs Emotional
Rational appeals promise that the product will deliver certain
benefits. They woo the reasoning side of the brain. Messages
focusing on quality, price, value for money, performance etc. are
examples of rational appeal. Emotional Appeals tend to rouse
positive or negative emotions (humour, fear, pride, guilt, shame,
sex, pleasure, affection, status) to drive purchase. Consumer
behaviour analysts say that some purchasing decisions are based
more on reason while others are based more on emotions.
If the product assumes high importance in a consumer’s life and
involves a decision that cannot be easily reversed, there would
require extensive information regarding it. Products such as cars,
homes, loans, insurances, furniture, large consumer durables,
computers etc all fall under this category.
There are products which carry much importance in a consumer’s
life but for their purchase, individuals rely more on feelings and
attitudes about the products than on hard data or information.
They are related more to the consumer’s image. Popularly known
as ‘image products’, they include fashion apparel, jewellery,
fragrances and holiday destinations. Eye catching visuals and
emotionally appealing statements work better than pure logic in
their case.
2. Message Formats: message formats are the template for
determining how the advertising story will be told – as a piece of
news, dramatically, musically, with scientific support, through a
demonstration. The actual story is written in the form of a script
or copy.
Types of Message Formats:
a. Factual/News: An information rich message format that
conveys in a straightforward manner the facts to be dissipated
through the ad. It is usually devoid of any emotional appeals,
special effects, gimmicks or anything that distracts the audience
from the main message content.
b. Comparison: Features or functions of two or more brands are
compared through which the advertiser’s brand comes out
superior. Direct comparison formats straightaway mention the
brand that they compare with. For example, ads of cars or
electronic equipment frequently compare the features of their
brands with those of competitors’ by clearly naming them.
Indirect comparison formats either give indirect hint about the
competitor brand that is not mentioned explicitly or label it as
any other brand. It is done with either blurring the logo or
without naming the competitor brand.
c. Demonstration: This format is especially useful when consumers are
not likely to learn easily how to use the product or what to do with it, or
for comparing the advertiser’s product with the competitor’s. Television
is one of the best media for demonstration. Demonstration ads can be:
i. Product-in-use: most washing detergent ads show the product being
used and the grease or stain getting washed away.
ii. Before-and-after: in a TV commercial for Fair and lovely Anti marks
cream, pockmarked girl visits a beauty parlour. As she is admiring the
posters of some beautiful women, the expert arrives and suggests her
to use Fair and lovely Anti marks cream and sometimes later, shows
up looking stunning. The beautician points to the blank picture
frames, which she now wants to replace with the girl’s photos.
iii. Side-by-side: A television commercial for Mortein mosquito mats
showed the working of Mortein and an ordinary mosquito mat side-
by-side on a split screen, depicting the clock movements that while
the ordinary mat worked only for 8 hours, Mortein worked for 12
hours.
iv. Problem solution/problem avoidance: The ad begins with a
problem and the product, which is portrayed as a hero, provides
the solution. Ads that show hair oils curbing hair loss, fairness
creams enhancing complexion, sunscreens protecting from
tanning, cough drops curing cough are all examples of this
format.
v. Slice-of-life: This style shows one or more typical people
buying, using or preferring the product in a normal setting. For
example, two mothers discussing the nutritional benefits of a
milk powder.
vi. Drama Format: It is a variant of slice of life format, with the
difference being that real life situations are exaggerated or
dramatised to heighten impact. Dramas are like mini movies
which can be built around characters and the characters usually
speak to each other, not to the audience. viewers make inferences
from these advertising dramas and pick up messages, which are
vii. Teasers: Teasers are mystery ads that don’t name the product
or reveal much information but keep the audience guessing by
creating an air of suspense. They intrigue the audience to know
further and make easy their next task of dissipating information,.
They can lead to quicker awareness once the suspense is
revealed. They attract attention, are brief, yet cover the essentials.
viii. Spokesperson: Celebrities, created characters or experts
whose advice we may seek or whose opinions we may trust, are
chosen to deliver the message.
ix. Personality Symbol: This style creates a character, animated or
real, that represents the product. The character can personify the
product, represent the typical audience member, or just serve as a
spokesperson. The white n soft dough like Pillsbury Doughboy,
the pink and stretchable bubblicious Babool man, the Marlboro
man, the 7 up Fido Dido, etc all represent the product.
Product as Star: The entire focus is on the product alone. No theme
or story is involved, lest it robs the product of the spotlight. An ad for
Promise Anti Cavity toothpaste showed the product from various
angles while an offline announcer directed an off screen cameraman
“thida right, thoda left, thoda aage, thoda piche” and then clicked the
picture of the product.
Vignette: A vignette is a series of short incidents that are tied together
and make the same point. In this format popular for television and
radio commercials, different characters, locations and stories may be
used for different incidents. Kodak camera ads with the ‘Kodak
moments’ tagline showed vignettes of friends and family members
getting together for a Kodak moment of memorable pictures – one
family taking pictures of their vacation, another of their grandpa’s
birthday, college friends taking pictures of their reunion and so on. All
incidents pointing to the claim that Kodak moments are special
moments.
Testimonial: This format features real experiences of real
people, backed by evidence. The testifier could be a celebrity or a
member of the public.
Lifestyle: this format portrays aspects of the target audience’s
lifestyle- how she works and play, what she eats and wears, what
she drives and reads, etc and shows how the advertised product
fits in with that style of life. For example, an EverYuth face wash
ad shows a beautiful 30 something lady eating fruits, going for
aerobics, endorsing natural products, travelling in a car and
generally having a busy lifestyle, indicating that the product is
for the modern active woman who cares for health and beauty.
Musical: Show one or more people or animated characters
singing a song about the product. For Example a husband and
kids rave about Maruti Oil and sing a song about the goodies that
the wife has cooked and Nerolac Paints
Image: The style builds a mood or image around the product –
sincere, competent, artistic, exciting, rough and tough etc. for
example, many bike ads portray a distinctly macho image by
depicting brawny riders, rough terrains, riders zooming at high
speeds, close up shots of the bike and such other imagery.
Scientific Evidence: This style presents scientific evidence,
gives an explanation or validates with proof a claim that the
brand is making. It works best for high involvement products or
products using a rational appeal. For instance, a commercial of
TVS bike showed the engineers working in a lab and performing
various tests on the bike. One of the test was the horsepower test
and the technicians were shown to not approve the bike until it
exceeded 100 cc.
3. Message Tone: Message tone reflect the emotion behind the ad
–happy, fearful, friendly, angry, excited, vulgar, funny, serious,
advisory, silly, provocative etc. ads can adopt various tones of
voices owing to their conversational nature. The choice of tone
affects the way advertising copy or script is written, the way
people feel about an ad, and the relationship that the ad creates
with consumers. For example, The polio campaign.
4. Message Structure: The structure of the message depends upon
the following factors:
a. Verbal vs non verbal: When we think of delivering a message,
we can either use words (verbal) or visuals (visuals) or both.
While words and visuals complement each other to present the
complete creative concept, they perform different functions and
produce diverse effects. Different people also perceive them
differently. A strong intriguing visual is more likely to get the
attention than the written word.
Words rule when:
i. A message is complicated and demands detailed description or
the need to be reread.
ii. The product in question is a high involvement product (financial
services, medial facilities) or a consumer is in a ready to buy
stage and is specifically seeking more information.
iii. The information to be presented is slightly abstract ( eg:
qualities like efficiency, intelligence etc)
Visuals rule when:
i. Attention needs to be gotten quickly or message needs to be
communicated fast.
ii. The advertiser wants to have a lasting impression.
iii. A demonstration has to be made.
iv. Advertising is into brand building or reinforcement stage.
v. Undifferentiated products need to be differentiated.
b. Readability: Readability concerns the verbal elements of a message.
It depends on factors like arrangement of words in a message, word
frequency sentence length, number of ideas in a single message etc.
too long sentences or paragraphs, cluttered and small font text,
unfamiliar slangs or jargons, too many ideas put forth in a single ad,
improper grammar etc. can make a message less readable.
c. Ordering effect: Ordering refers to the timing of presentation of key
ideas in a message – beginning, middle or end of the message. One
option for the advertiser is to get his side of the argument first. This is
known as the primary effect. Since people are usually more attentive
towards the beginning of an ad, the earlier the key points are
presented, the better they are remembered. The other option is to
‘have the last word’. Known as the recency effects, its objective is to
let the message remain with the consumer in the end. This is useful
when the advertisement ends with an unexpected twist or when the
information is presented in the end is so compelling as to strongly
negate the contradictory information presented earlier.
For example: the Lemon Campaign:
“This Volkswagen missed the boat. The chrome strip on the glove
compartment is blemished and must be replaced. Chances are
you wouldn’t have noticed it; Inspector Kurt Korner did. There
are 3,389 men of our Wolfsburg factory with only one job; to
insect Volkswagens at each stage of production. (300
Volkswagens are produced daily; there are more inspectors than
cars.) Every shock absorber is tested ( spot checking won’t do),
every windshield is scanned. VWs have been rejected for surface
scratches barely visible to the eye. Final inspection is something!
VW inspectors run each car off the line onto the
Funktionsprufstand (car test stand), tote up 189 check points, gun
ahead to the automatic brake stand and say ‘no’ to one VW out of
fifty. This preoccupation with detail means the VW lasts ,longer
and requires less maintenance, by and large, than other cars (it
also means a VW depreciates less than any other car.) We pluck
the lemons; you get the plums.”
d. Repetition: Repeating a point within a single message increases
its memorability and persuasiveness. The following ad creatively
repeats the message that the brand tries harder than their bigger
rival.
“Avis is only No.2 in rent a cars. So why go with us?
we try harder (when you’re not the biggest you have to). We just
can’t afford dirty ashtrays or half empty gas tanks, or worn out
wipers, or unwashed cars, or low tyres, or anything else than seat
adjusters that adjust, heaters that heat and defrosters that defrost.
Obviously, the thing we try hardest for its just to be nice. To start
you out right with a new car, like a lively , Super torque Ford,
and a pleasant smile. To know, say, where you get a good
pastrami sandwich in Duluth. Because we can’t afford to take
you for granted. Go with us next time. The line at our counter is
shorter.”
e. Arguing and counter arguing: A message can be one sided or two
sided. In the former, the advertisers only present their own argument
or the product’s positives without mentioning the negatives. This
approach is beneficial when the audience is sporty and friendly, when
no counter arguments are presented by other organizations or when
advertisers don’t want to confuse the audience. For example cold
drink advertisers talk only about the drink’s taste and fun, and not
about the bucket loads of calories that consumers glug along with. On
the other hand, a two sided message includes counter arguments. It is
useful when advertising to educated and informed audience who also
use other means of gathering information about the product through
which they are likely to learn about the counter arguments. Hence,
when the negatives come directly from advertisers, they view the
advertisement as more objective and honest. Also, if the audience has
multiple opinions about the subject, counter arguments improve
persuasibility. For instance, in the following example, Buckley’s
presents an honest two sided picture of the cough and cold medicine.
A man faces the camera and stuffs his nose with cotton plugs. A
voiceover says, “you’ll be amazed at how quickly Buckley’s
gives you relief from cough and cold.” Next, he wraps a plaster
around his head, ensuring the plugs are in place. He takes a
spoonful of tonic and warily raises it to his lips. The voiceover
adds, “you’ll also be amazed at how it tastes.” A super reads,
‘Buckley’s. It tastes awful. And it works.’
Another example is Bangur Cement: “Sasta Nahi, Sabse Accha’
5. Production and Design Decisions: Production and design
decisions are also part of the creative execution elements. They
include decisions on aspects such as colour, design, layout, type
selection, sound, lighting, casting, location and staging, and all
such rudiments that give a distinguishing look and feel to an Ad.
Creative Execution and Design in Print
David Ogilvy: “ I don’t know the rules of grammar…if you’re trying to
persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you
should use their language, the language they use everyday, the language
in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”
Print is one of the oldest media of advertising. It is also a very challenging
one. Executing a creative idea in this medium calls for various skills:
creative writing, visualisation, designing etc. creative directors practice
the most in print as it is easier to make more rounds in this medium.
Elements of Print Advertising:
1. Layout: a layout is the art director’s counterpart of a blueprint or a map
to roughly lay, position and size various print elements like headlines,
visuals, body copy and brand logo. Once a layout format is picked from
among the many alternatives, it may be shown to and approved by the
client. This eliminates the need to produce too many ads and checks
production cost.
A layout also serves as a communication tool for various
creative personnel working on different print elements as they
get a broad idea of the overall design and where their piece will
stand.
A print ad begins by finalising the layout. One has to tentatively
decide whether the Ad should be heavy on words, visuals or
both. There have also been instances where initial layouts have
changed after the entire execution is put together. While
designing layouts, it is important to keep in mind what the
researcher has to say: visual, headline and copy are important in
that order. A picture is viewed first and it must b attention
grabbing. Then the headline must drive the reader into reading
the copy. And unless, it is really outstanding, full copy is hardly
read by most readers.
Layout Formats
Picture Window: This is the most common layout. The visual is
the prime element of the ad and occupies between two third and
half of the area. Headline and copy are usually placed underneath
it. The brand name, logo and tagline sign off the message at the
bottom, usually at the bottom right corner.
Silhouette: A visual or shape provides a non linear outline for the
copy.
Frame: A shape or visual is used to border or enclose copy. For
example, an LIC ad had copy enclosed by the visual of two
cupped hands like in the logo of LIC.
Comic Strip: All elements are structure linearly in a strip, as in
comic books.
Rebus: Layouts where visual and copy are interwoven or chained
one after the other.
Copy Heavy: A format for those that need to impart a lot of
information. Copy is the prime element. This layout
accentuates the type instead of the art and sometimes the
advertisement is all copy in which the headline is also regarded
as a type art. If art is used, it is either embedded in the copy or
placed at the bottom of the layout such that it seems like a
secondary element.
Type Specimen: The style, size, rearrangement or colour of the
type are the prime attractions of the Ad.
Circus: A circus is just that – random activity without any
particular organization. This layout combines and jumbles up a
lot of elements-visuals, type, colour etc. – to create a very busy
environment. It can be catchy if it succeeds in breaking away
from the clutter but the word of caution is that too much
busyness can fail in communicating the prime message.
Mondrian: It is a boxy format. Visuals, headlines and copy are
arranged like large pieces of a mosaic.
Grid: Visuals are arranged into neat and evenly divided grids or
boxes. Unlike in the Mondrian format, the boxes are equal in
size.
Axial: Visual is in the centre and copy floats around it.
Non Linear: In this format, visuals and copy are spaced out
such that it does not matter where you begin reading. There are
no closing and opening paragraphs, just bulleted paragraphs that
have some relation to one another.
Layout Design Principles
Order of elements: Order is the pattern created by the
placement of various elements. Images which are organized in
some kind of preference, size or pattern order are easier to
process and remember than images which are just strewn
haphazardly in an Ad.
Visual Path: When we look at an image that is made up of
various elements, our eye scrutinizes those elements in order to
establish a visual path for studying one element after the next.
The visual path for most people in akin to the pattern in which
they read. Hence, most people process elements from top to
bottom and from left to right. While most layouts work with
these natural eye movements, some give a directional map that
guides the eye to follow a certain visual path and create a sense
of movement. By using lines, scaled shapes, colour, texture,
Negative or white space: Objects in an environment represent
positive space whereas the environment represents the negative
space. In other words, white space means blank space or areas of
the layout that are not concealed by visual or copy. These white
space areas are clubbed visually and used either to frame an
element, which increases its significance, or to separate elements
that are distinct. When things are set apart, framed, a feeling of
exclusivity is created. White space in the centre of an ad makes
the design look dispersed and inconsistent.
Contrast: How does black circle on white space look? It stands
out, Doesn’t it? Contrast, which is created by a sudden and
unexpected change in a visual element, thus attracts attention.
Contrast between the background and the foreground in an ad
helps separate print elements. A variation in visual sizes and
shapes, colour, fonts, their weights, surface texture can create
contrast.
Unity of Elements: Unity, which is the opposite of contrast,
combines elements of an ad to accent their similarities and
produce a cohesive look. Using a single font type, colours of the
same shade family, similar textures, layout directions and
element weights all produce a unified layout. However, when
the ad becomes overly harmonious, the importance of individual
elements wanes and people lose interest.
Focal Point: The focal point of an ad is the dominant element
that an advertiser wants you to see first. The eye focuses on the
emphasised element first and then takes in the rest of the
composition. Generally, a visual is the overriding element first
in an ad and it becomes prominent due to its size, colour and
inherent human interest in images. If a headline is intended to
be the central constituent, it should be set apart with big and
bold type, bright colours, different texture, etc. to dominate
other components. Note that there can only be one ruling
element in an ad and all other constituents become subordinate
Balance: Balance is the overall visual weight of a composition.
Layouts that are not in the state of visual equilibrium create a
sense of lopsidedness. Balance can be of the following types:
a. Symmetric or formal balance: Both sides of a layout have
equal weights, i.e. either to the left and right or to the top and
bottom of a central axis. Formal balance suggests steadiness
and constancy and is easier to achieve.
b. Asymmetric or informal balance: Visual weights are
counterbalanced around an imaginary optical centre, which acts
as the line of gravity. For example, a smaller area of darker
colour can be balanced by a larger area of lighter colour; a
heavier object can be balanced by many lighter objects, larger
items closer to the centre can be balanced by lighter items away
from the centre. Asymmetric balance lends excitement to a
layout but is more difficult to achieve.
c. Radial Balance: It originates from the centre, as in a sunflower
whose petals though not equal, all lead to the central point.
 Proportion
Rhythm: Rhythm is created by the regular repetition of elements
of art- colours, shapes, texture, lines etc. A piece of copy
followed by an illustration followed again by a piece of copy
tagged by an illustration and so on and so forth creates a rhythm.
It creates movement in design but kills suspense, unless at the
end of the rhythm is located another significant element.
Simplification: The more elements you throw into your layout,
the more crammed your layout becomes. Real beauty lies in
simplicity where 3-4 elements can be given due prominence.
This advice is not relevant only if you are going for a circus or
non-linear look where the chief aim is to create busyness as a
distinguishing factor.
2. Headlines: “ On the average, 5 times as many people read the
headlines as read the body copy. It follows that, unless your
headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your
money.”- David Ogilvy
A headline is the main text line of an ad that is highlighted and is
usually the largest size text in an ad. It is supposed to convey the
main message in an ad and hopefully, sell the reader on the
product even if the reader does not read the entire ad. Readers
should know what the idea is by the time they finish reading the
headline. A headline must be gripping in order to turn scanners
into readers. At least those that comprise the product’s target
audience.
Functions of Headlines:
a. Grab reader’s attention
b. Summarize the selling proposition
c. Select the prime prospect
e. Emphasize the brand
f. Encourage readership of body copy
g. Synergize with a visual
h. Strike an emotional chord
Types of Headlines
1. Benefit: Most effective of all, direct benefit headlines do not
beat around the bush. They straightaway tell you why you
should use the product. Garnier Pure asks,
‘ Sudden Pimples? Zap them in just 24 hours’
Alternatively, reverse benefit headlines tell you what you will lose
if you don’t buy the advertised product.
2. News: news headlines are not only used for new introductions
but also for modifications, reformations, new styles and new
uses. New is the most powerful word in a copywriter’s
dictionary. It can be alternated with introducing, presenting,
now improved etc. inappropriate and over use must be avoided.
“Now, 3 daily morning flights between Mumbai and Delhi
within just one hour. Only with Jet Airways.”
3. Factual: Trivia too can generate interest as people love to read
interesting tidbits. They may forget the details but remember
the larger picture that the ad draws.
“ Best actor. Best actress. Best writer. Best director.
Sholay won none of these.”
Example of trivia headline by Inox multiplex theatre Pune.

Guidelines on Pepping up a headline:
a. Repetition: Repetition creates emphasis and puts power into a
message. A headline can repeat the structure of a phrase or
sentence, to call attention to a point. An ad for Odomos
mosquito repellant coils repeated following mantra”
“mosquito mosquito mosquito mosquito mosquito mosquito
mosquito”
b. Parallel Structure: A parallel construction headline is also
repetition to lend emphasis, not merely words but of the
structure of a phrase or sentence.
“ 13 Rock albums, 7 operas, 52 Ghazals, 16 instrumentals, 5
waltzes, 1battery”
(An ad for Duracell talking about how the battery lasts through
your entire music collection and six times longer than
ordinary batteries)
c. Wordplay and puns: Playing with words or using words with
more than one meaning appeals to one’s wit. While wordplay are
witty, be clear before clever. Pay attention that your message
does not get lost in the play. Some examples:
Andheri. Raat main. Diya tere haath main.
(an ad for Chalomumbai.com talking about nightlife in Andheri
and shopping in the city)
One on the Rocks!
(An Ad for McDowell’s showing a man doing rock climbing and
signaling for one drink.)
d. Familiar and strange: Putting the familiar in an unexpected
situation often produces some of the best and simplest creative
ideas. For example, an anti AIDS ad by Mudra showed the visual
of a condom standing straight on its rolled up edges and the
headline reading,
‘Sir salamat to pagri pachaas.’
An ad for Bajaj auto shows a picture of Gandhiji operating the
Charkha and the headline reads:
‘Often, all it takes to move a nation are just two wheels.’
e. An unexpected twist: End the last part of your headline in a way
that does not seem to be the expected ending of the initial part.
For example:
‘Sometimes, the only person you need to listen to in office is
Harsha Bhogle.’ (magiccricket.com)
“Be gentle,” she said, “it’s my first time.” “Don’t worry,” he
said… “I only trust Sunsilk Pro Colour”
f. Similes, metaphors and analogies: Comparison can help
dramatize and describe a product through an instant connection
with a commonly known thing.
An Ad for Cholamandalam General Insurance showed the back of a
baby on all his fours with one bum uncovered due to a torn
diaper. The headline said: We cover everything. Well almost.
g. Rhyme: Words that end with similar sounds can make a
headline poetic.
The following headline of LG microwave combines both parallel
construction and rhyme:
To change the way you look
Just change the way you cook
h. Alliteration: Words in a sentence starting with the same vowel
or consonant also create a poetic effect.
Go Green (Fuji Film)
Butter se Better (Nutralite)
i. Word length: Long headlines are good. Short headlines are good
too. Headlines that are longer than they need to be are bad. The
headline of Colgate Dental Cream’s Silver Abby winning ad
only says, ‘’32-36-24-36” and shows a visual of a Colgate
pack in a corner. On the other hand, an ad for Nokia 6820 has a
long headline embedded in a visual:
SOS Help!
I need to get of this island so please save me. If you see this
message, send for help or come rescue me yourself. And call
my wife, let her know where I am. Her number is…
(the visual shows an Arial shot of a man stranded on a beach
writing the above message. The sub head says, ‘New Nokia
6820. Get used to saying more.’)
3. Other Display Copy: Elements like headlines, subheads and
taglines that readers see in their initial scanning are called display
copy, which enjoys high readership. Sub heads are headings that
break up large blocks of text. They allow skimming through a
text heavy ad and may also describe photos.
Taglines are catchy and memorable phrases used to conclude or
wrap up an ad idea. They may be limited to one single ad,
campaign or could be used for all campaigns for a brand. The
purpose of a tagline is to register the key brand message in the
minds of the target audience.
Tips on writing an effective tagline:
1. Make it memorable
2. Include the brand name: e.g.: The Axe Effect or Kelvinator,
the coolest one
3. State the prime benefit: e.g.: tagline for Rajasthan Patrika
is ‘ Rajasthan’s No. 1 Newspaper’
4. Differentiate your brand: e.g.: Lux says, ‘75 years of stardom’
Elle 18 says, ‘Be Yourself’, Loreal ‘because you’re worth it!’
5. Convey the brand personality: Thumps up ‘Taste the Thunder’,
‘Impossible is nothing’ talks about Adidas’ perseverance and long
lasting association with sports.
6. Communicate the Business Strategy: Amul: ‘The Taste of
India’, Nokia: ‘Connecting People’, Kotak: ‘Think Investments,
Think Kotak’
7. Watch the word length: Remember that a slogan is a statement
that can be remembered and repeated, which means there is a limit
to how long it can be. Apart from being unmemorable, long taglines,
become clumsy and complicated. For examples, do you think the
following taglines would be more effective if they were tailored or
altered?
‘The expertise of Arya Vaidya Pharmacy. Supported by
Hindustan Lever.” “ You and Whirlpool/ The world’s best
homemakers.’
8. Try the rule of three: An effective technique in tagline making
is the rule of 3 since the lyrical effect aids memory. For example:
‘Shines, Nourishes and protects” KIWI shoe polish
‘Fill it, shut it, forget it’ Hero Honda
9. Check for meaning: Are you communicating anything at all or
is your tagline just meaningless?
4. BODY COPY: The body copy is the main text of the Ad used to develop
and complete the message presented by the headline, state arguments to
corroborate a claim, provide explanation and recapitulate the evidence.
Consumers my be interested with the display copy and visual but they
have to be won over with the message in the body copy. A powerful
headline may succeed in directing the readers to the fine print, but if the
copy fails to hold their interest or runs overboard, readers will be lost and
so will the advertisement’s point.
Copywriting Approaches:
a. The customary approach: This is the most common approach used in
Ads. The copy is like a miniature essay building up on the point made by
the headline. The opening paragraph of the copy links the headline with
the rest of the paragraphs. The succeeding paragraphs provide more
details, elaborate on the benefits, give reasons for claims made and prove
a point . The closing paragraph wraps the idea. It may extend the reader
and invitation to use the product, give a call to action or provide contact
information. In a standard copy, the opening and the closing paragraphs
get the maximum attention.
For example:
Headline: Black-spotless mirrors? Yes from Modiguard.
Body Copy: We proudly present the new Modiguard GMP
mirrors. Offering you black-spotless performance for years.
The secret is in the specially formulated GMP coat protecting
the silver layer of the mirror. It obsoletes the copper layer
used in ordinary mirrors, which gets corroded by moisture
and atmospheric chemicals exposing the silver to oxidation,
resulting in black spots. That’s not all. On the GMP coat
comes two more ultrastrong paint coats, keeping moisture
and atmospheric chemicals further a bay. In short, buy a
Modiguard GMP Mirror and forget blackspots developing in
your mirror. Enjoy clear, distortion free image for years.
b. The story approach: If an advertiser’s story is gripping, it can
entice the reader into reading more of the copy than they
normally would. Narratives can be first or third person voice.
Readers pick up messages from the story by inference like
deriving the moral of a story.
c. The dialogue approach: Although print is a textual medium,
sometimes copywriters use the dialogue format as in radio and
TV since it makes the copy more vernacular and
conversational. Readers are allowed to listen in in a
conversation. Direct speech works better than indirect speech.
d. The Bulleted Approach: Ads which create a roster of say,
product advantages or features, fall into this category. This
approach works best when a lot of points, technical or not, need
to be made without much elaboration. The attempt is to drive
home the ‘plentifulness’ of benefits/features by listing them all
together.
e. The poetic approach: Using the lyricism and fantasy of poetry
to make a point.
Tips for Aspiring Copywriters
a. Be clear before clever: Most copywriters love to play with
words. However, wit at the expense of comprehension fails in
getting the message across. According to Collen Fahey,
Executive Vice President, Publicis Dialog, “ to be a good writer,
the first thing you need is empathy. I never choose the ones who
rely on puns and jokes- though I lvoe puns and jokes. I look for
people who can get inside the skin of the people to whom they
are taking: whether those people are grocery produce buyers, five
year old, or Chief Financial Officers. Wit helps a lot. It engages
your prospects, makes them like you, makes them smile, but
empathy and clarity drive the bus.”
b. Put benefits over features: Because people are interested in
what your product will do to them and not in what your
product is.
c. Simplify: Copy should be as simple as possible. A
copywriter is supposed to write not for the technician but for
the lay consumer. It is the job of the copywriter to transform
features or jargons into concrete benefits that consumers can
comprehend.
d. Study the media and competition: Be aware of the
environment your ad is likely to be placed in, for a lot of
times media too can spark ideas. Is it a local newspaper or a
cosmopolitan magazine? What kind of editorials and articles
get published? Do your competitors frequent your chosen
media or would you get exclusivity? What are the general
style, tone and theme of competition? What kind of audience
is likely to pick your selected magazine?
e. Stick to the present and active: Present tense makes a copy
tight, indicates that a state of being in the present and creates a
sense of urgency. Active voice lends more action and force than
the passive. Although there are usages for which passive voice
is best suited, if you are not sure, active voice is a safer bet. For
example, ‘we deliver’ and ‘let’s make life better’ have more
impact than ‘we have delivered’ and ‘let life be made better’.
f. Think visually: While writing copy, be aware of the layout-the
position where your copy is likely to be placed, the space
allocated etc. Also imagine it with the visual in the Ad. Visualise
the composite picture when you write.
g. Make your copy express your love for the product: Write
with passion and readers will read. According to David Ogilvy,
“there are no dull products, only dull writers.”
h. Keep one theme per copy: Do not try to do everything in one
Ad. One big idea is more powerful than several small ones put
together. For example, the copy for Santro zip plus Automatic:
You’re at heart a simple man.
You love hearing the sound of a pebble breaking the stillness of
water.
You like playing ‘catch me’ with the tide, and losing.
To you, a child licking the ice-cream of a biscuit is a trip down
memory lane
Happiness to you is surprising your wife with a pann after dinner,
or spending time with your kids on a Sunday afternoon.
Your motto has always been simpler the better.
There’s no reason why you shouldn't stay that way.
The simplest car to drive. Santro zipPlus Automatic.*
i. Be Precise: Avoid vague an sweeping statements, for they will
only confuse the consumer. For example, ‘India’s best cuisine
available at our fine restaurant.’ what kind of cuisine? Gujarati,
Punjabi, South Indian? What does ‘fine’ mean? Elegantly
upper class or hygienically clean for the budget buyer?
j. Talk to the Individuals: Although advertisements are directed
to the masses, they are intended to speak to the individuals. Use
monosyllabic, simple and everyday verbs such as have, take,
give, get, keep, do, make, know etc. use singular nouns and
verbs as compared to collective ones and personal pronouns
such as you, yours, we, ours. This makes the copy brief, clear
and intimate, almost as if you are talking in person.
k. Curtail Bragging: Don’t be overly full of yourself. Telling
them how big and strong you are won’t attract them. Tell them
how humbly you’ll serve them, how much you love them, and
they will come.
l. Chick Clichés: Copywriting is an escape from the hackneyed.
Surely you can come up with refreshing phrases of your own to
describe the product and not have to resort to clichéd phrases or
strings of superlatives like India’s No.1, Zabardast dhamaka
offer, out of this world.
m. Use Colourful language: To add colour to your writing, alter
the length, structure and style of your sentences. Use vivid,
evocative, crisp, imaginative and appealing vocabulary. Coin
new words. Simplify the complex and complicate the overly
simple. Include a dialogue and make the copy conversational.
Add colloquial phrases.
5. Visuals: A visual is the first element that a reader notices in a
print ad. It performs many functions like grabbing attention,
conveying the message, demonstrating use, differentiating the
look of an ad etc. visuals go hand in glove with the headlines,
copy and rest of the elements.
Types of Visuals:
a. Snapshot of the Product: Although this is the simplest of all
visual strategies, sometimes nothing works better than a visual
of the product itself. The reader is curious to know how the
product looks like.
b. Product in use: Demonstrate how a product works or looks in
application. Visuals of models donning apparel, tapestry sown
on furniture, are examples of product in use visuals.
c. Close up of some critical part of the product: In a print ad
you can’t show your entire hotel, but a shot of the clean and
comfortable room can tell the story.
d. The kind of person who needs the product the most
e. The benefit of using the product: Clean & Clear shows
models washing their faces with the face wash and
flaunting a pimple free skin, pampers shows a baby
smiling in the comfortable diaper.
f. The ills of not using the product: The ad for itch guard
very clearly explains what may happen if you do not use
the product.
g. Comparison with competitors
The Page Personality: A page personality is the words, visual
ideas and design elements used to project a particular brand
personality within an advertisement. It does the following:
a. Portray the stance or attitude taken by the brand
b. Include rational and function al benefit elements, which are
not usually primary.
c. Relate to a brand position, differentiate the brand and
occupy a piece of the prospect’s mental real state.
Creative Execution in Broadcast Media
Scriptwriting in Radio: A script is a blueprint comprising of
dialogues, sounds, music and tone of voice instructions for a
commercial. It guides the artists, directors and other involved in
the recording of the commercial. A script should be such that
there are enough production prompts for the producer and
directions for the voices.
Structures of Radio Commercials:
a. One voice: The entire commercial is a monologue. The
announcer could speak to the listener or to herself making it
seem like the listeners are listening to her private thoughts.
Choose a commanding, befitting and interesting voice. Make the
script powerful.
b. Dialogue: A dialogue comprises two people talking. It is a
conversational style. Dialogue format is used to dramatise situations.
The dialogue should sound real.
c. Multi voice: When more than one voice is used for a single
commercial, make sure that one can be distinguished from another.
d. Celebrity: The identifiable voice of a famous personality is used to
endorse a product. Do not use celebrity that is supporting too many
products. Advertisers want someone with whose voice their brand can
get linked.
e. Continuing character: A singularly distinctive character is used for
all the ads in a certain campaign. The character may not be a celebrity
but becomes one owing to the Ad.
f. Audio demonstration: This format calls for demonstrating a product
in use with the help of voices and sounds alone. Castrol CRB plus uses
the metaphor of a voice with a sore throat for an engine using regular
engine oil and a deep an clear voice for an engine using Castrol engine
oil to demonstrate the working of its oil.
g. Sounds and music: commercials can revolve around
clutter breaking sounds or catchy music or jingles. David
Oglivy said: “when you have nothing to say, sing it”
h. Interviews: an interviewer interviews an individual or a
group of people and takes their opinion on a specific issue.
A lot of times, real people on streets, in houses or in offices
are interviewed spontaneously and an edited version of their
responses is used as an ad.
i. Vignette: A vignette is a series of short situations, accounts
or episodes that lead to the same point and are linked by a
piece of music, an announcer line or sound effects. Towards
the end, the announcer concludes the spot with a closing
vignette. They are difficult to execute on radio.
j. Case history: A situation is presented as a problem and the
use of the advertised product as the solution to that
problem.
Tips on Writing Radio Commercials
a. Start with a bang: begin with something unexpected to quickly to
gain the audience’s attention. If people don’t start paying attention
from the beginning, they would never catch up.
b. Make one point
c. Indentify the brand
d. Simplicity counts
e. Keep away from numbers
f. Make it personal
g. Be conversational
h. Use sound effects and music discreetly
i. Choose a spot length wisely
j. Get the timing right
k. Ask for action
l. Unify a radio campaign
m. Use humour prudently
Elements of Television
Process of creating a TV commercial
1. Review the creative Brief
2. Think Pictures
3. Use Narratives
4. Write a script
5. Prepare a storyboard
6. Get the commercial produced: key production issues:
 Number of scenes and shots
 Setting
 Length
 Casting
 Costumes and make up
 Props
 Art decisions
 Lighting
 Pacing
 Camera shots, moves and transitions
7. Post production/editing
Some Guidelines for making a good TV commercial
1. Use movie language
2. Balance audio, video and words
3. Strategy over technology
4. Product over story
5. Think benefits
6. Make it intimate
Advertising Research Process
1. Define the Problem and research objectives
2. Check secondary sources like client records, trade publications,
government publications, commercial sources, agency research
and websites, magazines and general publications
3. Carry out the Primary research by using
a. research approaches like firsthand experiences, observation,
survey, experiment.
b. Contact methods like mails, telephone, personal interviews/group
interviews
c. Sampling plan
d. Research instruments like open ended/closed ended/ mixed
questionnaires, psychological tools, mechanical tools like
pupilometers, Galvanic Skin Response
4. Interpret the results
Advertising Research
Most advertising research is applied research and is designed to
have direct applicability to the decision making process – to
identify problems that require decisions such as market analysis,
market descriptions, competitive analysis or situation analysis.
According to Joel J. Davis (1999), ‘Research plays a critical role in
advertising decision making. It provides information that helps
individuals at the agency and the client to better understand their
product and target audience, the marketing environment and the
effectiveness of the product’s advertising and media placement.
Research helps inform the advertiser’s judgment so that they can
identify their range of options and evaluate the strengths and
weakness of each option.’
Advertising research focuses on gathering information that
helps to reduce the uncertainty and risk associated with
advertising, which invariably includes consumer attitudes
towards products, consumer reactions to various advertising
strategies and messages, information about competitor’s
adspend and information about media audiences.
Advertising research broadly embraces the following areas:
Target market research
Competitive activity research
Positioning research
Pre test message research
Post test message research
Audience research
Storyboard
A storyboard is a graphic organizer in the form
of illustrations or images displayed in sequence
for the purpose of pre visualising a motion
picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive
media sequence. The storyboarding process, in
the form it is known today, was developed at
Walt Disney Productions during the early 1930s,
after several years of similar processes being in
use at Walt Disney and other animation studios.
A film storyboard is essentially a series of frames,
with drawings of the sequence of events in a film,
like a comic book of the film or some section of
the film produced beforehand. It helps film
directors, cinematographers and television
commercial advertising clients visualize the
scenes and find potential problems before they
occur. Besides this, storyboards also help estimate
the cost of the overall production and saves time.
Often storyboards include arrows or instructions
that indicate movement.
A storyboard provides a visual layout of events as
they are to be seen through the camera lens. And in
the case of interactive media, it is the layout and
sequence in which the user or viewer sees the
content or information. In the storyboarding process,
most technical details involved in crafting a film or
interactive media project can be efficiently described
either in picture or in additional text.
Storyboards for films are created in a multiple
step process. They can be created by hand
drawing or digitally on a computer. The main
characteristics of a storyboard are:
Visualize the storytelling.
Focus the story and the timing in several key
frames (very important in animation).
Define the technical parameters: description of
the motion, the camera, the lighting, etc.
Appeals in Advertising
Rational or Logical appeal:Promises that the product will deliver some benefits.
They woo the reasoning side of the brain. Messages focusing on quality, price, value
for money, performance etc are examples of rational appeal.
Emotional appeal: Indian Advertising is replete with navarasas, the nine principles
or moods of our life. Emotional appeals tend to rouse positive or negative emotions
in a bid to drive purchase. Types of emotional appeals:
a. Fear Appeal: Is essentially a negative appeal that cautions consumers against a
risk or talks about the ills of not using a product. Fear appeals work better when
the credibility of the brand or endorser is high and when the communication
promises to alleviate the fear it stirs up.
b. Humour appeal: Humour can get consumers interested in a dull purchase thing
like a car battery or make an unfriendly product seem more approachable. Humour
should be used strategically. It attracts attention and can increase liking for a
product, but it does not increase its acceptance, persuasiveness, credibility or sales
worthiness. It is more apt for low involvement products where decisions are based
more on emotion than for high involvement products which require much
deliberation.
Consider the following guidelines on the art of using humour in
advertising:
a. Avoid humour at the expense of others, such as competitors,
consumers or ethnic groups
b. Consider humour, which has repeat value, not jokes that cease
to be funny the second time round
c. Retain the product’s importance over humour’s, ensuring that
the brand is not forgotten after the laughs
d. Test if the humour is comprehensible and funny to the
audience in question
c. Sex appeal: Projection of sex appeal in advertising ranges from

explicitly nude or sensuous scenes to sexual innuendos to
scenes so subtle that only trained eye would recognize them.
d. Agony Appeal: Ads that depict is great detail the abrasive area
of allergic skin, the effects of gastric troubles, headaches, itching,
cracked heels etc. repulsive and displeasing as they may seem,
they are a potent tool for companies who can quickly connect
with an audience suffering from these ailments. The audience
feels that the advertiser can empathize with her/his suffering and
hence, the advertiser’s credibility gets quickly established.
e. Moral Appeal: Moral appeal is aimed at the audience’s sense of
right and wrong. Usually adopted for social causes by not for
profit organizations, moral appeal can touch the soft nerve of the
people. It rests on the assumption that it will give people the
satisfaction of doing something for a good cause by just buying a
product.
UNIT IV
Media Agency
A media agency advices a company/advertiser where
and how to advertise. It also tells how to present a
positive picture of the company before the audience.
The main services offered by a media agency includes
PR and advertising. A media agency looks after the
media buying for a company. It is responsible for
selecting the best media vehicle for positioning the
advertiser’s product. Media agencies are equipped to
advise and negotiate the targeted media inventory
which is prepared keeping in mind the key
performance indicators.
Media Planning
Media planning is an art and a science that helps
determine the most effective manner of spending the
marketer’s money across media so as to generate the
best return on investment and value for a brand. A
concern for return on investment alone will help
produce the lowest cost per person or the highest
amount of audience delivery, but it will not necessarily
produce the most effective communication effort. A
parallel concern for value will ensure that a creative
message is delivered through media that reflects the
tone, manner and execution elements of the message
itself, and reach the consumer at her highest point of
receptivity.
Media planning is generally the task of a media agency
and entails finding the most appropriate platforms for a
client’s brand. The job of a media planner involves
several areas of expertise to determine the best
combination of media to achieve the client’s marketing
communication campaign objectives. The role includes,
analysing the target audience, keeping abreast of media
developments, obtaining media costs, discovering market
trends and understanding motivations of consumers.
Media planning comprises a ‘series’ of decisions made to
answer the question, “what are the best means to
delivering ads to prospective purchasers of my brand or
service?
A good media plan needs to address the following issues (Sissors
and Bumba, 1995):
1. How many audiences is the media plan proposing to reach?
2. What are the best media to place the ads in?
3. How many times should the ads reappear?
4. What would the ideal media mix be?
5. Which geographical regions should the ads appear in?
6. Which media should be selected to avoid places which do not
have the product advertised?
7. How should the budget appropriation for various media thus
chosen be made?
A media buyer’s role begins from where a media planner’s
ends. A media buyer is primarily concerned with the
procurement of media real estate at optimal placement and
price. This involves a lot of negotiation for the best rates,
advertising time and space. While media planners are
concerned with selecting the media mix, media buyers
decide the specific vehicles within each medium. A media
vehicle is the specific medium for the transmission of an
advertiser’s message.
the agency that handles the media business for the client is
called the AOR (Agency of Record). It handles media
planning and buying. A client can have a separate agency for
creative production. Normally, if the client works on a 15%
commission basis, the creative agency gets 12.5% and AOR
agency gets 2.%
Strengths and Weaknesses of various media
Medium Strengths Weaknesses
Print (Newspapers) •Better shelf life •Suffer from literacy barrier
•Can cope with detailed •Lack of drama and emotion
coverage •Demonstration of product not
•Written word has more effective
credibility •Overtaken by television in
•Messages carry urgency speed
•High on national coverage •Lacks empathetic readership
•Average time devoted to
newspaper reading is very
low., hence ads do not stand
much chance of being noticed
Print (local/ regional •Strong reader loyalty •Small circulation
newspapers) •Local coverage •Potential to be biased
•Regional flexibility •Generally poor readership
data
Print (Magazines) •Selective readership • high production cost
•High shelf life •Long copy and cancellation
•Create a bond and empathy dates
with the readers •Expensive advertising
•High on style, design and medium
colour
Television • Reaches a wide audience •Expensive with regard to
•Scope for dramatic time and production
possibilities •Bad quality, transmission
•Larger than life image problems and poor anchors
•Achieves viewer’s empathy may put the viewers off
•High on credibility •Transient messages
•Wide choice of channels
without incurring extra cost
•A family medium
Radio • Wide coverage • suffers from apathetic
•High OTS among listeners listeners
•Advertising inexpensive in •Audience use it as ‘audio
comparison to radio and wallpaper’
print •TV preferred over radio
•Long broadcasting hours •Speed of broadcast (short
•High impact and lead time)
immediacy •Not a very interactive
•A mobile medium medium
•Not very innovative
Cinema •Impact of big screen with • slow build up of audiences
sound, movement and colour •Attendance is low and
•Attracts young crowds infrequent
•Theatre viewing a •Commercials shown either
Outdoor Media • High coverage and OTS • high printing cost
•Large sized billboards give larger •Poor audience research
than life images •High velocity winds often
•Sites can be booked very flexibly damage the boards
•Can create drama with colours and •Only small messages
size possible
•24 hour projection •They distract drivers
•Good reminder medium
•A community medium
New Media (Internet) • global networking • low access
•Seamless coverage •Information overload
•No hierarchal set up for access of •Banner advertising recall
information not very high
•High interactivity •Not a medium to suit all
•Free to access medium demographic profiles
•Instant connectivity •Requires time
•Online marketing commitment
New Media (mobiles • reach not dependent on location • Intrusion in privacy

and SMS) •Reach the target audience •A possible health hazard
•Permission marketing possible •Literacy barrier
•Emotional connotation
IMPORTANT TERMS
Reach: is the number or percentage of different homes or
persons exposed to an advertising schedule at least once over a
specific period of time. For example if 75% of 10,000 people in
the target market watch a commercial on television once in four
weeks, the reach will be considered to be 7,500 people. Reach in
other words, measures the unduplicated extent of audience
exposure either as a percentage of the total market(75%) or as
raw number (7500). Reach id connected to vehicle exposure and
not advertising exposure. According to Bovee and Arens (1988),
reach is,
A measurement of audience circulation;
Unduplicated static;
Measured, although it can be estimated
Measured for a single vehicle or a group of different vehicles;
Measured for subsequent issues of the same magazine;
Reported for a four week period of television viewing;
Reported for almost any period of time in broadcast
measurement;
Reported by the issue in the print medium;
Reported as a raw number or as a percentage of some
universe;
Reported for households or for individuals in a demographic
category;
Another term for coverage in the print medium;
Measured on the basis of exposure to ads in a vehicle;
A measurement that tells the planner how many people had an
opportunity to see ads in a vehicle
Frequency: is the number of times that an average household
or person is exposed to an advertising message or media.
Suppose 5,000 of a TV audience watched the commercial of
Maruti Estilo three times during the post four week period and
another 5000 saw it five times. To determine the average
frequency, the following formula will be used:
Average Frequency= Total Exposure/Audience Reach

(5000x3) + (5000x5) / 10,000
40,000/ 10,000 = 4
Thus, for 10,000 TV viewers reached, the average frequency or
number of exposures is 4.
According to Bovee and Arnes (1988), 3 to 6 contacts over a
period of four weeks can be said to be an “effective frequency)
Impressions: impressions are the total of all the audience covered
by a media plan. With regard to TV and Radio, it will be
referred to as total exposures. It is calculated by the number of
times they receive the message.
Gross Rating Points: are the product of reach and frequency
and represent the aggregate total of all ratings delivered by a
given list of media vehicles. There is a minimum threshold of
GRPs below which advertising does not have much impact
and a saturation point above which GRPs will not yield much
consumer response.
GRPs= Viewers counted once x Average no. of times they view
GRPs= Reach x Frequency
Media Brief
A media brief can be defined as a checklist for media
planners to help them prepare a media plan for the
client. A good media brief should include the
following:
Marketing information checklist
Marketing problem
Objectives
Geography/location
Seasonality/ Timing
Target Audience
How to Prepare a Media Plan
A media plan is a blueprint that maps out the best channels to
send a marketing communication message to the target
audience at the right time, at the right place, in the right
intensity and for the right cost. It is based on the marketing
communication plan, which is derived from the marketing
plan, which in turn is prepared from a business plan. It has to
support and fulfill the objectives of all the plans prepared
before it. For this, it requires the development of specific
media objectives and media strategy.
Steps in preparing a media plan
1. Performing situational analysis
2. Setting media objectives
3. Designing a media strategy
4. Formulating media tactics
5. Evaluating and following up
Performing a Situation Analysis
Planners should review internal and external factors that are
likely to affect a brand’s media decision. Internal factors
such as a company’s promotional capabilities, nature of the
product, media budget can affect plans. External factors
such as the regulatory environment, availability of media,
competitive factors can also influence media decisions.
Media planners should also review the client’s marketing
brief and the agency’s advertising brief, as insights drawn
from these briefs will have a bearing on the media plan.
The advertising brief outlines the brand’s advertising
objectives which emanate from the client’s marketing
objectives.
It is also important to understand the media
environment in which the brand operates. This usually
implies accessing databases related to the population
and economy estimates and market estimates.
Setting Media Objectives
Media objectives are based on marketing and communication
goals and should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Realistic and Time bound. The media objective specifies
market coverage goals and audience exposure goals and
assumes that the target audience and geographic market
remain the same. The best idea it to answer the following
basic questions:
Who to advertise to?
Where to advertise? (where the business is or where there is
no business)
When to advertise?
How to advertise?
How much to advertise? (media weight)
Setting media Strategy
Once the media objectives are laid out, a media
planner begins developing a comprehensive strategy
that outlines how these objectives will be achieved.
Media planners make three crucial decisions at this
stage:
a. Target market selection (geography)
b. Media category selection (media mix)
c. Media schedule decisions
Target market identification will help media planners in selecting
markets that should receive media support at equal or varied weights.
There are three standard approaches to geographic spending allocation: a
national approach, a spot approach (advertise only in selected markets) or
a combined national plus spot approach( advertise in all markets with
additional spending in selected markets)
Before selecting individual media, a media planner also has to consider
whether to go for a media concentration approach or a media dispersion
approach.
The media concentration approach uses fewer media and allocates
greater spending per medium, this gives the media planner more
frequency with the same audience. This strategy is useful when
marketers want a high share of voice within at least one medium. Share
of voice is the percentage of spending by one brand in a given medium
relative to the total spending by all brands that are advertising in that
medium. High share of voice gives dominance in the chosen channel.
The media concentration approach is often preferred by brands that have
a small or moderate media budget but intend to make a great impact.
In contrast many people believe that an important objective of the media
plan is to deliver the message to as many consumers as possible. The
media dispersion approach places the message in as many different
media as possible to avoid duplicating the audience. In this strategy,
reach has priority over frequency. Media planners also like the
dispersion approach for the reinforcement that it brings – consumers
who see multiple ads in a multiple media for a given brand are more
likely to buy.
An integrated campaign might use multiple categories of media to reach
different sets of consumers at different stages of purchase decisions, or
to fulfill varied objectives at different times or in different markets.
Within a media category too individual media have to be selected.
Planners need to look at the entire array of media options, including
online advertising, sweepstakes, sponsorships, product placements,
mobile phones, blogs, podcasts etc. and not just as media
disseminators but as brand contact managers.
Media planners need to consider when to advertise. While ideally they
would like to advertise at all times to constantly keep their product in
the consumer’s mind, they have a fixed annual budget which acts as a
constraint. Scheduling refers to the pattern of advertising timing,
represented as plots on a yearly flowchart. Planners can choose from
among three methods of scheduling: continuity, flighting and pulsing.
Continuity scheduling spreads media spending evenly across a given
time period – months, weeks or days. Typically for non – seasonal
products, or products which are purchased regularly, advertising runs
steadily with little variation over the campaign period. This pattern is
prevalent in service and FMCG goods that require continuous
reinforcement for top of mind recollection at point of purchase.
Best suited for seasonal product categories, flight scheduling involves
intermittent and irregular periods of advertising, alternating with
shorter periods of no advertising at all. Quite often, small advertisers
buy heavier weight than larger competitors for a relatively shorter
period.
There is little waste in flighting since advertising concentrates on
the best purchasing cycle period.
Pulse scheduling combines continuity and flight scheduling
methods so that the brand maintains a low level of advertising
across all months but spends more in peak selling months. Eg:
deodorants, airlines
Formulating Media Tactics
Some media tactics:
1. Reach and Frequency considerations
2. Cost considerations ( promotional costs are categorized in two
ways: Absolute cost – is the actual total cost required to place
a message in a medium and Relative cost – expresses the
relationship between the actual cost of advertising in a
medium and the audience delivered by that medium.)
3. Media and Vehicle quality considerations
4. Planning Ad insertions (no. of ads per week, size of the ad,
duration of the ad)
5. Adding a drop of flexibility to the plan
Plan Implementation
Once the media plan is prepared, the media operations department
takes over for the implementation of the media plan. This
consists of preparing the release orders for each media vehicle,
be it press, television, radio, outdoor etc. thee release orders
give complete details about the advertising campaign to be
released in that particular medium along with the rates, number
of insertions/spots, duration of the campaign, days on which the
ads have to be released. Accompanying these release orders is
the appropriate material required for the campaign, be it a print
ready ad or a commercial tape.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Media Plan
After the campaign is released across the various media and the
planning period is over, a post evaluation is done to understand
how much of what was planned actually took place in the right
way. Because media spending usually accounts for 80% or
more of the budget for typical advertising campaigns, the
effectiveness of media plans is of particular importance.
One of the factors that is evaluated is the actual execution of
scheduled media placements. Did ads appear in the media
vehicles in agreed upon time?
Another factor that planners evaluate is the media vehicle
exposure. How many of the target audience were exposed to
the media vehicles and to ads in those vehicles during a given
period of time?
Avenues for Retail Merchandise
Point of Purchase: A point of purchase is a place
where sales are made. On a macro level, a point of
purchase ay be a mall, market or city. Consumers tend
to make purchasing decisions on very high margin
products or services at these strategic locations. The
merchant typically creates an invoice or sales order.
After receiving the payment, the seller creates a receipt
that is given to the buyer. Such receipts are usually
printed.
Point of Sale: On a micro level, retailers consider a
point of purchase to be the area surrounding the
counter where customers pay, the area is known as
point of sale.
Methods of measuring effectiveness of an Ad
programme
Pretesting Tools and Techniques:
a. Focus group: in the context of measurement, focus groups are used to
evaluate one or more ad concepts through in depth discussion on a
topic. For instance, groups may be shown alternative ad concept and
asked, “ which of these ads do you like the least and why?” focus
groups are one of the most used research techniques because of their
qualitative nature and ability to discover important issues through
exhaustive group discussions.
b. Individual interviews: Test audience may be interviewed individually.
c. Anteroom trailer: anteroom trailer or a mobile van, is used wherein, a
mobile laboratory is set up inside a van parked near popular public
places like malls, cinema halls etc. Random passerby are chosen as
interviewees and offered some incentive for participating and
interviews are conducted.
d. Consumer Juries: consumer or target market representatives
are appointed as juries to evaluate the performance of a
selection of ads on various criteria. Juries are presented with
rough or final ads and asked to rate or rank them.
e. Ethnography: ethnography is an observation research
technique in which data is collected by observing consumer
behaviour. Data can be collected by having human researchers
observe consumers in stores, work places, homes etc; by giving
consumers a video camera to record their interactions with the
target product; by having consumers record their behaviour in a
diary etc.
f. Theater Test
Concurrent testing tools:
a. Coincidental survey: the coincidental methodology is a
system of audience measurement primarily for the broadcast
media. C.E. Hooper popularised this system where random
calls are made to people to ask the following three
questions:
Are you listening to the radio/watching TV?
What Programme?
On what Station/channel?
b. Attitude test: surveys are popularly conducted to measure
consumer attitudes towards the ad.
c. Tracking studies: depending on the speed of purchase cycle,
tracking can be done. Ad tracking methods:
1. Wave analysis: measures the impact of advertising over time
through multiple measures and a series of interviews, which
give a wave like pattern of communication performance when
plotted on graphs. Personal, telephone, mail, internet and
intercept interviews are used to track campaign performance. A
set of questions are asked to random people.
2. Consumer Diaries:
3. Pantry checks: this is used during new product introductions,
a researcher visits homes of consumers and inquires regarding
products used or purchased.
4. Single source tracking: this method refers to the collection of
data ranging from communication exposure to product
purchase regarding a single family or group of consumers.
Post testing tools and techniques:
 Recognition (readership) tests
Recall tests
Inquiry tests: these are behavioural post tests to check how
much an ad campaign has succeeded in developing purchase
intentions. Their objective is to generate the maximum
number of inquiries in response to an ad campaign. People
are encouraged to enquire about the product through business
reply cards, toll free numbers, emails and websites.
Sales tests: the most common approach is to compare sales
pre and post campaign or past sales with current sales.
Newspaper circulation
Classification of Newspapers on the basis of circulation:
Paid newspapers: These are newspapers that are
circulated for a charge. Their editorial content is
perceived to be more serious.
Controlled Newspapers: They are distributed for free
and earn their revenues solely from advertising. The
content is usually snappy and less serious.
The Newspaper Industry and its Audience
Circulation, Readership and Total Audience: for any newspaper or
magazine, the circulation of its publication is a very important
figure to determine its reach and advertising rates. Circulation
figures represent the average number of copies distributed by a
newspaper in a day. Newspaper copies sold may not be equal to
the circulation figure since copies may also be distributed for
free. The number of sold copies is called paid circulation.
Circulation figures include subscription sales, newsstand sales and
copies distributed for free. In addition to circulation, advertisers
are frequently interested in yet another figure called pass along
readership because that is what actually defines the reach of a
newspaper. Pass along readership is when the primary buyer or
subscriber of the newspaper passes off the newspaper to
taking all these figures into considerations, the total audience or
readership of a newspaper can be obtained by:
Total Audience = Readers per copy (total primary +pass along
readers)x Circulation
For example, the total audience of a newspaper with a circulation
of 50 lakh, an average of 1 primary and 2.9 pass along readers
per copy = 3.9 readers per copy x 50 lakh = 195 lakh readership.
Remember that newspaper reach can be determined either on basis
of its circulation or readership, but the two figures are not the
same. The former refers to the number of copies distributed and
the latter to the number of people reading them.
Circulation Source Verification
The main source of information about the newspaper industry
is the Audit Bureau of Circulation (of India), established in
1948 as a voluntary effort by national advertisers,
advertising agencies and newspaper publisher in their
common interest to measure circulation of publications in a
true and standard manner. The Indian ABC is a founder
member of International Federation of Audit Bureau of
Circulations. The ABC certifies the figures of net paid
circulation which is defined as that portion of a publisher’s
circulation which has been either sold directly to and paid
for by the reader, or sold by the publisher through
distributors at a commission not exceeding 40 percent of the
published or cover price.
Another source of information is the Registrar of newspapers of
India (RNI), established in 1956 on the recommendation of the
First Press Commission. The RNI compiles and maintains
industry statistics, in addition to performing many other
statutory and non statutory functions. The certifying authority
for circulation up to 25,000 is the practicing Chartered
Accountant. Beyond that the certifying authority is either the
ABC or RNI.
Readership Surveys
Independent readership surveys of publications are conducted which also
provide valuable information regarding newspaper circulations, literacy
and readership rates, readership patterns and the like. The notable
among these surveys are the National Readership Surveys (NRS) and
Indian Readership Surveys (IRS). IRS, conducted by the Media
Research Users’ Council (MRUG), is the largest continuous media
survey ever conducted providing a single source database for
demographics media habits and product/brand usage across a
representative sample of town and villages in India. NRS, conducted by
the National Readership Studies Council (NRSC) comprising
Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Audit Bureau of
Circulation (ABC) and Indian Newspaper Society (INS), measures
the readership of publications. Since September 2011, IRS and NRS
have merged to form the RSCI (Readership Studies Council of India)
Audience Information: in addition to circulation figures,
newspapers also make available for advertisers information
regarding the characteristics of their readers through a
readership profile of their publication. For example, a
typical readership profile has data regarding the age, gender,
education, occupation, income, location etc. of its users.
This lets the media planners match the characteristics of her
target audience with that of the readers of a newspaper. In
India, NRS and IRS provide audience profile data for the
entire newspaper industry audience. NRS data also includes
lifestyle parameters like children’s medium of education,
type of home and cooking habits, mode of travel used for
travelling to work.
Newspaper Associations
There are local and national newspaper associations that work to
promote the interests of the newspaper industry. For instance, the
Association of Small Newspapers of India and the Indian
Federation of Small and Medium Newspapers and are such
bodies that represent newspapers to consumers, advertisers,
advertising agencies and the government. They also undertake
research from time to time to promote the growth of newspapers.
Furthermore there is INS (Indian Newspaper Society) earlier called
IENS (Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society) founded in 1939
with membership spread over South Asian countries. The society
acts as the central organization of the press in India and promotes
and safeguards the business interests of its members. From
newsprint to advertising, from licenses for machinery to freedom
of the Press, INS today is involved in many spheres of activities.
Buying Newspaper Space
The cost of newspaper space depends on a number of factors
like the number of markets bought and the newspaper’s
circulation, type of newspaper, selection of colour or black and
white ad, cost of operation, size of the ad, placement section
and day of the week, discounts available.
Rate units: In earlier times, the unit of advertising rates was an
agate line. An agate is a measure of space, usually one column
wide and 1/14 of an inch deep, used especially for classified
advertisements. Today, newspaper rates are also quoted in
column inches or column centimeters. However, since the
columns of different newspapers are of varying width, there are
variations in the number of columns. In fact, the number and
size of columns sometimes vary from page to page and even on
the same page for the same newspaper.
The column size varies on a need basis considering factors
like the availability of advertisements, their sizes and their
news content. This make matters worse for advertisers who
can neither produce a standard size ad to fit multiple
newspapers nor compare column inch rates across
newspapers. To address this problem, the Inter
Ministerial Rate Structure Committee constituted by the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
recommended that for rate purposes, Standard Advertising
Unit (SAU) should be Square centimeter. While most of
the newspapers publish their rates in rupees per square
centimeter, a majority of vernacular language papers still
follow the column centimeter unit.
Rate Structures: Newspapers print their rates in a document called a
rate card that contains prices and descriptions for the various ad
placement options. They offer different rate structures, which should also
be a factor worth considering while estimating media costs. Some
newspapers charge flat rates i.e. standard rates with no discounts
whatsoever. Most others have an open rate structure wherein they allow
various types and levels of discounts based on the frequency, volume,
desire to sell last minute unused space.
Media planners who purchase more insertions and more advertising
space, get proportionately lower rates Contract Rates are lower than open
rates and are offered to advertisers who plan to run a series of
advertisements in a particular period, usually one year. If less than
contracted space is purchased in a year, a short rate that is higher than the
contract rate is charged. If more space is bought, a rebate is provided.
Many advertisers also buy newspaper space based on Combination rates:
single discounted rates for space buys in multiple publications offered
by publishers who own many newspapers in a number of markets,
although each publication is likely to have different rates.
Run of Press: rates allow publishers to position the
advertisement on any page. Alternatively, advertisers can
request placement at a certain location. ROP ads are at a
reduced price than the preferred placements for which a
higher preferred position rate is charged.
Differential Rates: Newspapers do not always offer the same
rate structures to all advertisers. For instance, when national
advertisers place advertisements, they usually do so through
advertising agencies which get about 15 percent
commission. Central government ads are placed through its
nodal agency DAVP (Directorate of Advertising and Visual
Publicity), which negotiates yearly or three yearly rate
contracts with individual newspaper publishers.
Magazines
On the basis of the audience served, there are two types of
magazines:
1. Consumer Magazines: They are bought by the end users of
products.
2. Business Magazines: Business magazines target channel
members like retailers, wholesalers and distributors;
manufacturers and service providers; or specialized
professional groups like doctors, lawyers. These publications
target professionals in a particular field and publish relevant
information regarding the industry, careers and the like,
offering a focused and predetermined target audience to
advertisers.
Strengths and Limitations of Magazines
S. No. Strengths Limitations
1 Selectivity (extremely focused Difficulty of reaching a mass audience
audience)
2. Outstanding visual reproduction Lack of proper measurement tools
quality
3 Long life span High Cost
4 High pass along readership Long lead time (sometimes up to 90 days
in advance)
5 Creative options (gate folds and Clutter and competition
split covers)
6 Bleed Ads Do not deliver to the entire audience
instantly
7 Advertorials
8 Credibility and prestige
9 Reader involvement
10 Long copy exposition
11 Promotional Research
Buying Magazine Spaces
According to the magazine industry, around 70 per cent of a
magazine’s revenue comes from advertising. The amount
received through circulation can be from newsstand sales or
subscription. Newsstand copies are charged higher and offer
greater visibility, which is especially important for magazines
that are an impulse purchase product. On the other hand
subscription sales ensure a steady flow of revenue for the
subscription period.
Advertising Rates: Magazine publishers fix their rates based on
various factors like their circulation, quality of audience profile,
number of years in business, their image. Magazine advertising
units typically range from small classified ad sizes, few
columns, half page, full page, spread to multiple pages.
Magazine rates also depend on the placement of the Ad. The
equivalent of newspapers’ Run of Press rate is called Run of
Book (ROB) for magazines which allows publishers to
place the Ad anywhere in the magazine. It is the cheapest
option. The four positions (front cover, back cover, inside of
the front and inside of the back cover) cost more than the
inside pages.
Special creative gatefolds, advertorials, inserts, pop ups, split
ads etc also cost more than regular ads. National buys in
national magazines are proportionately less expensive than
placement in selective geographic editions alone. However,
regional or geographic editions present small advertisers
with the opportunity of advertising in prestigious national
magazines.
Purchasing Protocols
While purchasing magazine space, advertisers need to size their
ads to fit the specifications of each magazine. The physical size
of a magazine and its available print area for non bleed ads vary
from publication to publication, although there are a few
standard sizes.
Advertisers also need to remember important dates related to a
magazine. A publication’s closing date is the last date for
acceptance of advertising material for an issue. The cover date
refers to the date mentioned on its cover. However, the cover
date is usually in advance of the actual date of the sale of the
magazine.
The difference between the closing date and date of sale is called
the lead time that the magazines need to collate the editorial
matter and advertisements.
Buying outdoor media
In most places it is the local municipal bodies that govern and
regulate the outdoor advertising business. Each of these bodies
frames their own rules and guidelines, which have to be
followed. Unfortunately sometimes clashes arise between the
various regulatory bodies because of lack of clarity.
Buying Television Time
Network vs. Spot Buy
Television advertising falls into 3 main categories: network, national
spot and local spot.
A network buy refers to buying commercial time for the entire
geographical market covered by a network. Network buy is best for
mass or national coverage, as it helps reach lakhs or crores of
people simultaneously. A network buy simplifies the purchasing
process as a single deal with one media representative can get
nationwide coverage. As against these advantages, network buys
have absolute high costs, limiting their use by small and medium
sized advertisers. They may not be suitable for reaching specific
niche, local or focused audiences. Further, because of network’s
popularity, network airtime is a scarce resources and has to be
booked well in advance, which requires a lot of pre planning.
Regional network buy, is a customized regional coverage by a
national coverage. The fees are proportionately higher than for
a national network buy because the national network is
required to split its feed for the regional advertiser. Also
advertisers can buy airtime on smaller networks and cable
television networks which are cheaper and more focused, but
also command good credibility. For example, small advertisers
can buy airtime on STAR’s Tamil feed or its Tamil Channel
STAR Vijay TV.
A media buyer can also opt for spot buys. Spot advertising refers
to airtime purchased directly from local television stations.
Spot advertising can be national or local. When national
advertisers buy airtime from television stations, it is called
national spot advertising and if local firms such as retailers,
restaurants etc buy such airtime, it is called local spot
advertising.
Spot advertising faces more clutter and a number of restrictions
in terms of placement of spot ad slots. This is because networks
often compel television stations to sell spot commercial time
only after network advertisers have bought all commercial time
on a programme.
Cable buy is a type of network and /or spot buy that is purchased
from a different source, rather than from network operators

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Advertising Practices

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Marketing

It includes several tasks from identifying consumer needs

Philip Kotler explained that marketing is “meeting the needs of your

All exchanges may not involve tangible products like automobile,

Fact finding &

ADVERTISING, PUBLICITY, EMPLOYEE

Promotional activities carried out through mass media like TV,

Non media activities like events and activations

salesmanship Public relations

‘Paid form’ of presentation emphasizes that

Trade Sales Promotion

Allows to create Market

Advertising Informs, persuades, reminds and Expensive and cluttered

Internet/interactive Is direct, low in cost, Smaller audience, not

Point of High impact as it is one of the last Reaches a small audience,

Sponsorship Earns goodwill, builds brand May be expensive, reaches

Trade Shows Dissipates information to targeted Reaches small audiences,

Customer Service Delights customers, creates Directly adds to the cost of

Marketing Mix Elements

Product Integrated Marketing Distribution

Employee Behaviour, word of mouth, systems and

Develop and Develop

Psychogra Demograp Geographi

Segments Demographic Primary Psychographics Behavioural Brands

Feminine Women, 25+ Fragrance, Feminine Regular, medium Ponds

Cultish Males 16-24, Fragrance Cultish, with a go Regular, loyal, Axe

Product Attributes: often product attributed like product

Branding strategy is important in determining the power, value

Axe Deodorant Create a sensual Talk of the ‘Axe Creative tagline,

Fevicol Reinforces Fevicol’s Show the bonding Creative tagline,

How can we Where could

Segmentation Targeting Positioning

Marketi Market Communicati

Informational •Brand Awareness •Trial purchase

Attitudinal •Associate brand with user •Loyalty

Behavioral •Brand awareness , knowledge •Trial purchase

Marketing objectives must be:

SMART for short!

B Competition: Needless to say, the larger the number of

Task to achieve Advertising Objectives

Preparation of advertising Budget

Top management Approval

Product Line Market Profile: The product line manager

Fact P I Media Audience

Example of trivia headline by Inox multiplex theatre Pune.

c. Sex appeal: Projection of sex appeal in advertising ranges from

New Media (mobiles • reach not dependent on location • Intrusion in privacy

Average Frequency= Total Exposure/Audience Reach

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