18- Chapter Advertising, Public Relations, and Sales Promotions
Advertising- paid form of communication, delivered through media from an identifiable source,
about an organization, product, service, or idea, designed to persuade the receiver to take some
action, now or in the future
Steps in Planning and Executing an Ad Campaign:
1. Identify Target Audience
2. Set Advertising Objectives
a. Advertising plan- subsection of the firms overall marketing plan that explicitly
analyzes the marketing and advertising situation, identifies objectives of the
advertising campaign, clarifies a specific strategy for accomplishing those
objectives
b. Pull strategy- goal is to get consumers to pull the product into the supply chain by
demanding it
c. Push strategy- designed to increase demand in focusing on wholesalers, retailers,
or salespeople
Informative Advertising- communication used to create and build brand awareness, with
the ultimate goals of moving the consumer through the buying cycle to a purchase
Persuasive Advertising- after a product has gained a certain level of brand awareness they
use communication used to motivate consumers to take action
o Occurs in growth and early maturity stages of the product life cycle, when
competition is most intense
Reminder Advertising- communication used to remind or prompt repurchases, especially
for products that have gained market acceptance and are in the maturity stage of their life
cycle
Focus of Advertisements
o Product-focused advertisements- inform, persuade or remind consumers about a
specific product or service
o Institutional Advertisements- inform, persuade or remind consumers about issues
related to places, politics or an industry (got milk?)
o Public Service advertising (PSA)- public welfare and generally sponsored by
nonprofit institutions
o Social Marketing- application of marketing principles to a social issue to bring
about attitudinal and behavioral change among the general public or a specific
population segment
3. Determine the Advertising Budget
4. Convey the Message
a. The Appeal
Informational Appeals- help consumers make purchase decisions by
offering factual information that encourages consumers to evaluate the
brand favorably on the basis of the key benefits it provides
Emotional Appeals- aims to satisfy consumers emotional desires rather
than their utilitarian needs
5. Evaluate and Select Media
a. Media Planning- refers to the process evaluating and selecting the media mix
b. Media mix- combo of the media used and the frequency of advertising in each
medium- that will deliver a clear, consistent, compelling message to the intended
audience
c. Media buy- actual purchase of airtime
Mass and Niche Media
o Mass Media- channels include national newspapers, magazines, radio, and
television and are ideal for reaching large numbers of anonymous audience
members
o Niche Media- more focused and reach a narrower segment, often with unique
demographic characteristics or interests
Choosing the Right Medium
Determining the Advertising Schedule
o Advertising schedule- timing and duration of Continuous advertising
schedule- runs steadily throughout the year and therefore is
suited to products and services that are consumed continually at relatively
steady rates and that require a steady level or persuasion
Flighting- advertising schedule implemented in spurts, with periods of
heavy advertising followed by periods of no advertising
Pulsing- combines continuous and flighting schedules
6. Create Advertisements
a. Headline- large type designed to draw attention and be read first
b. Body copy- main text portion of the ad
c. Background- backdrop of the ad
d. Foreground- everything that appears on top of the background
e. Branding- identifies that sponsor of the ad
7. Assess Impact Using Marketing Metrics
a. Pretesting- assessments performed before an ad campaign is implemented to
ensure that the various elements are working in an integrated fashion and doing
what they are intended to do
b. Tracking- monitoring key indicators, such as daily or weekly sales volume, while
the advertisement is running to shed light on any problems with the message or
the medium
c. Posttesting- evaluation of the campaigns impact after it has been implemented
Regulatory and Ethical Issues in Advertising:
Puffery- legal exaggeration of praise, stopping short of deception, lavished on a product
Public Relations- managing communications and relationships to achieve various
objectives, such as building and maintaining a positive image of the firm, handling or
heading off unfavorable stories or events, and maintaining positive relationships with the
media
o Cause-related marketing-cancer awareness ads
o Event sponsorship- when corporations support various activities, usually in the
cultural or sports and entertainment sectors
Sales Promotion- special incentives or excitement building programs to encourage
consumers to purchase a particular product/service, typically used in conjunction with
other advertising or personal selling programs
o Types of Sales Promotion
Coupons- offer a discount on the price of specific items when theyre
purchased
Deals- short-term price reduction that can take several forms
Premiums- offer an item for free or at a bargain price to reward some type
of behavior, such as buying, sampling, or testing
Contests- brand-sponsored competition that requires some form of skill or
effort
Sweepstakes- dont require the entrant to complete a task
Samples- potential customers the opportunity to try a product or service
before they make a buying decision
Loyalty programs- designed to retain customers by offering premiums or
other incentives to customers who make multiple purchases over time
Point-of-purchase displays- merchandise displays located at the point of
purchase, such as at the checkout counter in a supermarket
Rebates- price reductions in which a portion of the purchase price is
returned by the seller to the buyer in the form of cash
Product replacement
o Using Sales Promotion Tools
Cross-promoting- when two or more firms join together to reach a specific
target market
o Evaluating Sales Promotions Using Marketing Metrics